Chapter 104: Chapter 62: The World Outside (Part 2)

Seeing the Black Dog’s antics, Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you yapping about? This pastry will get stuck in your teeth.”

Seeing her daughter explaining things to the dog so seriously, Mother Yang let out a “PFFT” of laughter and shot her a playful glare.

Seeing his little sister eating so happily, Qingmu also smiled in contentment. He then mentioned that he had bought quite a few seeds, some he recognized and some he didn’t.

Mother Yang opened the seed packets to take a look. “These are large green beans, the kind that pop in August,” she said. “And this is potherb mustard—it also grows in the winter, but people don’t really plant it here on Little Qing Mountain.”

Juhua was delighted to see them. Pickled potherb mustard was far more fragrant and refreshing than pickled cabbage.

“What’s this?” Mother Yang asked Qingmu, holding up another packet of seeds.

Juhua leaned in for a look. The seeds seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite place them. In her past life, she had left the countryside early for her studies, so her memories of farming were a bit hazy, aside from the things she had loved to eat, which she remembered vividly.

Qingmu took the packet and examined it for a moment before saying, “The shopkeeper said these are red radishes, and they’re very sweet. They come from the north and are meant to be planted in the winter.”

Hearing this, Juhua had a flash of realization—’Aren’t these just carrots!’ They were not only edible for people but also excellent pig feed. She couldn’t help but want to laugh. ’It seems like everything I’m interested in can be eaten by both people and pigs.’

In her past life, when she went to school in the city, she once mentioned that her family used carrots to feed pigs. A group of her classmates got angry and called her family wasteful—after all, for them, carrots were a proper dish served at the dinner table.

Of course, how could they have known? Back when the market economy wasn’t as developed, everyone was self-sufficient. People didn’t just take everything they grew to the city to sell. Her family would chop up the carrots, tops and all, to feed the pigs. Occasionally, they would wash a few and steam them on the side of the rice pot as a snack for the children. They rarely stir-fried them as a dish like city folk did.

Seeing Juhua’s stunned expression, Qingmu quickly asked, “Have you seen them before, Sis?” But as soon as he asked, he felt foolish. ’My sister never leaves the house, how could she have seen something like this?’

Sure enough, Juhua replied, “No, I haven’t. We can just plant some and see what happens. Brother, are you sure you heard him right? How could anything grow if planted in this cold? Isn’t it more likely that they’re planted in the fall and harvested in the winter?”

’The shopkeeper must have gotten it wrong,’ she thought. ’Carrots are sown in the fall. If we plant them in the middle of winter, the seeds won’t even sprout. They’ll just freeze to death.’

Qingmu thought for a moment and nodded. “The shopkeeper probably did get it wrong. Why don’t we plant a few to test it out? If it doesn’t work, we’ll just have to wait until next year.”

Mother Yang spoke from experience, “He definitely got it wrong. It’d be a waste of time to even try.”

With that, she wrapped up the seeds and set them aside.

Zheng Changhe then began to ask Qingmu in detail about what Qinghui County was like and whether his trip had been successful.

Qingmu recounted everything in detail. According to him, he had even met County Magistrate Hu of Qinghui County.

Juhua asked in disbelief, “You went to register a land deed, and the county magistrate granted you an audience?”

Qingmu laughed. “It wasn’t like the Lord County Magistrate granted me an audience. Uncle Gengtian and I were with the Chief Clerk to get the deed processed when the Lord County Magistrate happened to be there. He just started asking me a lot of questions.”

Zheng Changhe eagerly asked, “What did the Lord County Magistrate ask you?”

Qingmu clearly had an excellent impression of County Magistrate Hu. He recalled with a smile, “The Lord County Magistrate asked me how our harvest was this year and how the family was doing. When he heard that my father had broken his leg and we’d gone into debt for his treatment, he asked with concern if Dad was better now and if our family was managing. Uncle Gengtian told him that our family is very hardworking and that we’d been working from dawn to dusk doing a small business to save up money to buy this land. The Lord County Magistrate was pleased and even asked if I was married. When he heard our village had started a school and hired a teacher for the children, he was delighted and praised Uncle Gengtian profusely.”

Juhua thought to herself, ’It seems this County Magistrate Hu is a good official. He’s concerned with the people’s welfare and asks practical questions.’

Qingmu then added, “County Magistrate Hu also said he’ll still be the County Magistrate of Qinghui County next year. Of course, I was happy to hear that. But Uncle Gengtian told me later that the reason Magistrate Hu hasn’t been promoted despite being a good official is that he doesn’t know how to flatter his superiors. He felt it was very unfair to him!”

Juhua thought privately, ’The waters of officialdom run deep. It’s not something that can be explained in a single sentence.’

Zheng Changhe said, “That’s quite a dilemma. We don’t want him to get promoted, but we also hope he gets promoted.”

Mother Yang shot him a glare. “What’s the use of you hoping? Whether he gets promoted or not has nothing to do with what you think. If he’s going to be promoted, he won’t stay even if you cry and beg him to. And if he’s not going to be promoted, all your hoping is useless.”

Hearing this, Qingmu and Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. Zheng Changhe chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

Qingmu then took the initiative to share more of what he’d seen and heard in Qinghui County. He said that pork in Qinghui cost only about sixteen or seventeen cents a jin, and the price of rice wasn’t high either.

“Uncle Gengtian said it’s all because County Magistrate Hu governs so well. A whole set of pork offal is only two cents, and even then, nobody buys it. This time in the city, we ran into Manager Mao from the Qinghui Restaurant. He told me that his boss has already secured a shop in the county seat and is planning to open a restaurant there. From now on, they’ll buy the pork offal they need in Qinghui County. Since Xiatang Market only butchers a few pigs a day, they won’t compete with our family anymore, so as not to affect Mom’s business. He also said that for the dishes Juhua taught him, except for the pork stomach stuffed chicken, his boss doesn’t plan to sell the others at a high price. They’ll still be cheaper than meat. This is to prevent the price of pork offal from shooting up if the dishes get popular.”

Juhua silently praised the Chen Family for their foresight. It was the same logic she had used when she priced pork offal at one cent per scoop. ’This family is truly honorable,’ she thought. ’They haven’t just abandoned us after getting what they needed.’

She gazed at Qingmu with a beaming smile. She hadn’t expected him to conduct market research. Although it wasn’t strictly necessary yet, they would have to consider such things eventually. There was no harm in looking ahead.

Seeing her brother speak so eloquently and logically, it was clear he had paid special attention to these matters, which made her even happier. ’It seems my brother’s horizons are broadening, and he’s developing toward a set goal. As his little sister, I’ll be able to rely on him and live a good life in the future.’

So, she quietly smiled and leaned against him, tucking one of her small, cold hands into his armpit to warm it.

Qingmu smiled and took her other small hand, enveloping it in his own large, warm palm. He continued telling his parents about his experiences in Qinghui County—how the county seat was huge, how the wealthy gentlemen all traveled by horse-drawn carriage, and how the Qinghui docks were crowded and bustling… (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep