Chapter 322: No matter how much I planned, I still lost face

f you hadn’t come and competed with us, it definitely wouldn’t be like this!”The villagers were already eyeing the wild chicken, hare, salted fish hanging in Li's courtyard, as well as the various mou...The villagers stared in astonishment.

"Sir, did you see with your own eyes Such a big fish! Surely one bite would swallow a person whole"

"That fish is so big, it could eat a boat, let alone a person!"

"It's not necessarily true, how could you chew and digest a whole ship"

Everyone was talking over each other, and it looked like they were about to start a fight. The village head, carrying his pipe pot, banged on the table, "What's all the noise Let the master speak."

Everyone was silenced by the words spoken.

Li Zhensheng smiled and waved his hand, "Everyone is right, that kind of big fish is called a whale. They generally live in the deep ocean. A whale is really bigger than a house, but they don't eat fishing boats, they only eat fish."

"When encountering a school of fish, it opens its wide mouth and sucks them all in, along with the seawater. Of course, we didn't go out to sea or see it with our own eyes, but this is what fishermen from Quanzhou know. This time, we only had time to take a look at the seaside. Next time, if we go back for longer, maybe a few months, there might be a chance to go out to sea and even see whales ourselves."

Upon hearing this, the crowd was moved. Some pursued and asked, "Master, when will you go again Take us with you, we also want to broaden our horizons."

"I'll go too!"

"And me too!"

Seeing that most of the village's able-bodied men were about to leave, the village head quickly poured cold water on their enthusiasm, saying, "If you all go to the seaside, how will you manage your families and daily lives"

Everyone giggled and remained silent, clearly still harboring the thought.

Doesn't every man want to go out and explore the world!

Li Zhensheng pondered for a moment and said, "Everyone wants to go out and broaden their horizons, which is a good thing. But we can't neglect our families. Fortunately, I will often go to Quanzhou in the future. So, from now on, during the winter when things are slow, several people from the village can go with me to help out. This way, we can rotate shifts, and over three to five years, everyone will have had a chance to go."

The village head let out a sigh of relief, and the villagers also found it reasonable. Thus, the matter was settled.

He also talked about the local customs and habits of Quanzhou. As night deepened, people in the village dispersed.

Each woman took the dried fish and laver that they had been given, thanked the old woman, and chatted about how they would cook it.

As the night breeze blew, their laughter and chatter filled the air, even attracting the moon to peek down in amusement.

Li Lao'er closed the front door and checked around. Seeing that there was no problem, he returned to the house. As soon as he entered, he saw Big Brother move a small box about two feet square.

He hurried forward to help and asked, "Brother, what is installed here"

Li Zhensheng smiled and said, "What Chen the manager gave is probably something new and interesting that the Marquis's men found on those ships overseas."

Li Lao'er sighed, "The Marquis is really good to our family. I hope Lao Si can follow the Marquis and help him out."

The box was very light, and the two brothers easily carried it into the house.

Everyone was curious and asked him about it, but Li Zhensheng answered in the same way.

Jia Yin was still a little sleepy, but when she heard this, she immediately perked up.

How could she have forgotten such an important matter Back then, when she secretly asked her godfather for help transporting corn and potato seeds, she had also brought along a box of various vegetable seeds.

Now, this box of seeds, coated in a layer of gold from overseas, has finally returned to the Li family.

She quickly jumped out of her grandma's arms and ran over, walking around the box. Seeing that the seal hadn't been opened, she felt even more at ease.

"Uncle, start!"

Li Zhensheng took the key and quickly opened the box.

The family members were curious and all looked over.

I thought it might be some rare jewels or something, after all, the Marquis had been particularly keen on collecting jewelry for Jiayin before.

But inside the result box were little cloth pouches, each with a copper pipe hanging from it.

Li Zhensheng took out a cloth bag and opened it, grabbing a handful of light-colored black seeds. They looked like sunflower seeds, but much larger.

He opened the copper pipe and poured out a piece of paper, his face creased with concern.

"Why is everyone writing only half of this character!"

Li Lao Er was curious, he took the note and examined it carefully. "Could it be that foreigners don't understand our characters The writing isn't just ugly, it's also incomplete."

As he spoke, he read with difficulty, "Melon seeds, edible, stir-fry... fragrant..."

Lao Li peeled open a seed, revealing the white kernel inside. She popped it straight into her mouth, startling everyone who tried to stop her.

"Mother, how did you eat it What if it's poisonous"

"Oh well," Old Lady Li waved her hand nonchalantly, "The Marquis came looking for it, how could it be poisonous Didn't the note say it was edible"

Having said that, she urged the crowd again, “Take a look at what else there is. Don’t mix up the pieces of paper.”

Everyone saw that the old woman was indeed nothing unusual, so they continued to open the bags and copper pipes.

The old woman took the opportunity to wink at her granddaughter, causing Jia Yin's face to flush red. She really wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in.

Here, Tian Wu uses traditional Chinese characters, but when she left a note, she used simplified characters.

Now, in the eyes of my second uncle, these are strange half-characters, and some he doesn't even recognize!

Thankfully, the whole family was focused on the seeds in the box and no one noticed anything different about her.

"Lettuce This should be lettuce, leafy greens, can be stir-fried or eaten raw."

"This is wax gourd, can be steamed and eaten, can be stored for half a year."

"Is this a heart's beauty radish What is heart's beauty"

"I don't know, but carrots can never be wrong!"

A family gathered around a box, busy for a long while, finally picking out dozens of kinds of vegetable seeds.

Tao Hongying took a bag of chili seeds and dried chilies, carefully tasted them, the spiciness made her gasp, but her eyes sparkled with joy.

Based on her intuition as a cook, she guessed that this thing must be a spice, or a very unusual spice.

If it can be cultivated, we could probably create many new dishes!

"Mother, shall we plant these seeds tomorrow"

The old woman was delighted to see her daughter-in-law so happy. She quickly replied, "Of course it's a good idea! But our yard probably isn't big enough to grow them. Let me ask the village head for a suitable plot of land. Perhaps we can grow these vegetables and make some money from them in the future!"

“Haha, Mother is right. Things that are rare are valuable, they'll definitely sell for a high price.” Li Zhensheng reassured his mother and added, “When I go to Quanzhou again, I’ll find some novel things and bring them back for you…”

After a lively gathering, the family was ready to wind down.

Tao Hongying asked Jiayi to help move the boxes back to her room, intending to rewrite those notes.

Of course, Jia Yin should follow along. In case my old mother doesn't understand, she can "mend the broken fence after the sheep is lost."

The old woman tapped her granddaughter's forehead. Seeing her granddaughter smile so pleasingly, looking so meek and adorable, she smiled too, then led the cat back home to sleep.

Tao Hongying piled the seeds on the table, laid out paper and inkstone, and meticulously copied each one.

Jia Yin lay quietly on the side, behaving herself and not causing any trouble at all.

Tao Hongying looked on with a mixture of heartache and warmth, and whispered, "Funiu, go to sleep first. Mama will hold you after I finish writing, okay"

"No, I'll accompany mother." Funiu grinned with her small white teeth, looking like a well-behaved young lady, which made Tao Hongying hug her and kiss her several times.ds, there was occasionally a person who would walk around Yaochi hidden entirely within a cloak.I speculate that this person must be one of our Tianwu people, and their identity is well-known to many,...