Chapter 150: How to Plant It
Editor: Atlas Studios
In the end, Fan Zijin had to fork out money to buy his corn because Qi Haoran really didn’t have a single cent left.
Such seeds were naturally useless for the two of them, so Mu Yangling took over and said to the two of them seriously, “Actually, corn is truly a high-yielding crop that can grow in the drylands, and doesn’t need to be served more meticulously than wheat. When I go back, I’ll plant it in the remaining 20-odd acres of low-grade land in the south.” Mu Yangling touched the sack and sighed slightly. “Although I don’t like to eat corn, I can’t deny that what Shizong said makes sense. Now that it’s a chaotic world, who knows if the heavens will come out and interfere? Therefore, it’s still better to have an additional life-saving item.”
Mu Yangling pinched the corn and said in the end, “I prefer to call it maize. Sounds more unpalatable and cheaper.”
This time, even Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin could sense the deep displeasure in her tone.
Fan Zijin looked at her suspiciously. “You’ve eaten maize before?” He had also seen the description and image of corn in ‘The Alternate Matter Records’. That was why he could recognize this thing immediately after Mu Yangling mentioned it. Why did it seem like Mu Yangling was very familiar with this?
Instead of explaining, Mu Yangling just looked at the mother and son and asked Qi Haoran, “What do you plan to do?”
Qi Haoran replied with a serious expression, “Of course I’ll keep them here. Don’t worry, I’ll arrange their accommodation. The military doctor will treat his mother’s illness, and the medicinal herbs will be provided by me.” A bear-like glint flashed across Qi Haoran’s eyes. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.”
After that, it was all confidential. Qi Haoran stopped talking and Mu Yangling stopped asking.
Fan Zijin went over to discuss with the man. Although he had just come out of the mountains and was an honest man, he was still vigilant. Moreover, Qi Haoran was a soldier. The commoners had never had a good impression of soldiers.
Fan Zijin pointed at Mu Yangling and said with a smile, “This is our younger sister. She wants to plant the maize you brought here, but she has never planted them before, so we hope that you can stay and give her some pointers.” Fan Zijin looked at the old woman lying on the bed and said worriedly, “Your mother’s body is so weak. Even if she takes the medicine, I’m afraid she won’t be able to travel such a long distance back. Why don’t you stay and wait for your mother to recover before leaving?”
The man looked at his mother and agreed without thinking. He rubbed his hands helplessly and said, “But how can I live in the military camp? Why don’t I just find some place to stay in the county? If the young lady wants to plant seeds, she can just come and look for me.”
How could Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin let him leave in peace, let alone let him stay in the military camp? This person’s identity had yet to be investigated clearly. Even if he and Fan Zijin already believed his words, they had to investigate further. Otherwise, what if he was a Hu spy? There were many secrets in the military camp.
Qi Haoran walked over and said, “I’m not asking you to stay in the military camp. I have a friend in the county who has a house there. Bring your mother there to stay. I’ll get someone to take care of you later. The military doctor will also go over to treat your mother. When we’re ready, we’ll invite you over to help see how to plant the maize.”
Qi Haoran waved his hand and called a group of soldiers over. He pointed at them and said, “Let them send you there.”
That man was so frightened that he fell sitting on the ground. He looked at Qi Haoran with a pale face. Looking at the soldiers with sabers and armor, he felt that he might be sent to prison.
Before Qi Haoran knew what had happened, Mu Yangling had already taken two steps forward to comfort him. “Uncle, Little General is concerned about your mother.” Mu Yangling tried her best to show a look of reverence and admiration on her face. She said affectionately, “Little General is a very kind person. It’s really because of this that I thought of bringing you here to look for him. As long as there’s any difficulty, as long as he can help, he will do his best to help the people. Everyone in a radius of five kilometers knows this, so everyone adores Little General.”
That man looked at Qi Haoran suspiciously. He was clearly just a teenager. Was he really that powerful?
Thinking of this, Qi Haoran didn’t seem terrifying. Which man in his twenties or thirties would be afraid of a youth in his teens?
Seeing that his expression had softened a little, Mu Yangling continued, “Just now, Little General told me that he respected Emperor Shizong the most. How could Emperor Shizong be wrong? It must be that the people aren’t planting the corn the way Emperor Shizong had in mind, so Little General plans to personally experiment. We must try to produce the high-yielding and drought-resistant maize that Emperor Shizong envisioned.”
“It’s corn.” The man mustered his courage and corrected her. “We call it corn there.”
“Yes, it’s corn, but we have to conform to the requirements of the times. It’s no big deal to refer to it as maize. Don’t you think the name ‘maize’ is more appropriate?”
Only then did the man stop objecting. Mu Yangling then asked, “Uncle, after talking for so long, I still don’t know your surname.”
The man looked at her blankly. “What?”
“What’s your surname?”
“My surname is Zhuang1.” The man scratched his head and smiled foolishly. “They all say that I have a great surname, so the crops I grow are the best. Take corn, no, maize, for instance. In our village, my yield is the highest. Last year, one acre of my maize fields harvested about 300 catties.”
Only then did Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin’s eyes widen. “So much? Back then, when we planted it for the first time, the yield was only 56 catties per acre.”
A mouthful of blood stuck in Mu Yangling’s throat. “How did you produce such a strange yield?”
This time, everyone looked at Mu Yangling. She immediately shut her mouth and said, “Forget it. Let’s treat Grandma Zhuang first. I’ll go back first.”
The man hurriedly said, “I’ll help you carry the corn back.”
“No need. It’s just two sacks. I can do it myself.” As she spoke, Mu Yangling picked up one sack in each hand, nodded to Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin, and strode away.
Only the man was left with his mouth agape as he watched Mu Yangling leave.
Fan Zijin had been paying attention to him. Seeing that his expression did not seem to be fake, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
After Mu Yangling carried the corn home and poured it out, she realized that all the corn was not bad and was very plump. She believed that it would work well as seeds.
Looking at the corn, Mu Yangling couldn’t help but think of her previous life. Speaking of which, that previous Mu family1 could be considered to have no progeny anymore. Now that she and her father were dead in that world, she didn’t know if there was anyone to offer incense to her grandparents in the future.
However, when she thought about how loyal their entire family was, she felt that there should at least be someone offering incense to her ancestors. She just didn’t know if there were many.
Mu Yangling let her imagination run wild for a moment before packing the corn again.
As soon as Xiuhong and the others opened the door, they saw a golden patch on the ground. Having never seen this thing before, their mouths immediately fell open. Little Bowen ran to his sister’s side and asked in surprise, “Sister, what is this? It’s gorgeous! Can it be eaten?”
“Didn’t you go to the county to buy food ingredients for your brother? Why did you carry this back?” Mu Shi asked with widened eyes.
Only Shu Wanniang hesitated for a moment before asking uncertainly, “This is corn, right?”
Mu Yangling looked up at her mother. “Mother, do you recognize it?”