coobybook Chapter 106 Deliberate
Chapter 106 Deliberate
After two days of worrying, Li Xiaonuan still hadn't come up with a good solution. Wei Yu had already sent over the seeds. Li Xiaonuan looked through them and found that the large bag of seeds contained mostly seeds of spices from the Western Regions, especially herbs.
However, among those spice seeds, there was one that could instantly invigorate Li Xiaonuan—chili seeds. Li Xiaonuan examined them repeatedly, even biting into several before finally confirming it was chili seeds.
Just the thought of chili peppers made Li Xiaonuan very excited. As for other spice seeds, she didn't think much about planting them. After all, there were very few dishes in Qisong that used Western spices. Moreover, many spices had very demanding growing conditions, and Li Xiaonuan simply couldn't grow them.
Of course, besides the spice seeds, there was another thing Li Xiaonuan hadn't thought of: taro, also known as wild lotus root. This thing was heavy, unattractive, and tasted terrible when eaten raw. Therefore, the person Wei Yu sent to deliver it simply threw the bag on the ground.
Although this taro isn't particularly appealing, its high starch content is undeniable. The starch ground from it makes for delicious dried lotus root starch. Moreover, the noodles made from it are very chewy and keep well. At the very least, it can be used to feed pigs, resulting in large, fat pigs.
This reminded Li Xiaonuan of the lotus root starch soup she had in her previous life, a sweet soup made from lotus root starch that was truly delicious. However, that lotus root starch didn't contain sugar. So, to eat it, you first mixed it with boiling water, then added sugar or honey, resulting in a bowl of crystal-clear starch soup.
After thinking it over, Li Xiaonuan decided to have someone dig a field to plant lotus roots next to the pond. They wouldn't need to plant many, just four or five acres would be fine. As for the pond itself, they would plant some ornamental lotus flowers and stock it with fish and shrimp. Planting water chestnuts along the pond's edge would make it perfect.
As for the remaining nearly thirty acres of land, Li Xiaonuan plans to build some pavilions with ethnic characteristics and lay wooden walkways on them. Then, she will plant different flowers and fruits according to the different regions.
After thinking for a moment, Li Xiaonuan took out paper and pen and wrote down her thoughts. It's said that a bad pen is better than a good memory; writing it down would make it easier to summarize and add to later. After finishing, she stared blankly at the courtyard again.
Because of the matter concerning Zhao Wangchuan's master, Li Xiaonuan couldn't come up with a compromise. Furthermore, the thought that she was merely a pawn in Prince Jing's hands filled her with anxiety, fearing that if she made a mistake, her whole family would suffer.
Fortunately, fate always favors those with protagonist auras. Li Xiaonuan didn't have to worry for long before a rare opportunity came her way.
On this day, Li Xiaonuan, along with Xiaogang who had finally managed to slack off for a day, planned to go to the wasteland to check on the situation. Just outside the Zhao family's gate, they encountered Zhao Wangchuan and his apprentice, who were about to leave.
"Brother Wangchuan, are you going hunting in the mountains? Can you take me with you?" As soon as he saw Zhao Wangchuan, Xiaogang ran up to him excitedly and asked. Zhao Wangchuan and his apprentice had recently hunted a clouded leopard in the mountains, and it was quite a sight. Now, that clouded leopard had become a symbol of Xinzhou Village.
Every evening, Zhao Wangchuan and his apprentice would take the clouded leopard for training near the mountains. Xiao Gang, out of curiosity, had watched from afar several times and grew very fond of it. He longed to have a big cat like that himself, even if it meant raising it from a kitten.
Zhao Wangchuan patted Xiaogang's head and said, "Xiaogang, we're going deep into the mountains this time, and we might stay for about ten days, so we won't be taking you with us. But if I manage to catch a leopard cat, I'll bring it back for you, okay?"
Xiao Gang asked in confusion, "What kind of cat is a leopard cat? Is it fierce?"
Zhao Wangchuan replied, "The leopard cat is a very wild cat, larger than the ocelot you used to have. It's just too wild and difficult to tame. If you want to keep it, you'll have to put in some effort to train it."
Xiao Gang pouted and said, "What's the difference between that and a house cat? I'd rather not have one. How about you bring me back two mountain turtles? I can keep them."
Zhao Wangchuan chuckled and nodded in agreement: "Okay, brother will help you find two mountain turtles."
Just as Xiao Gang was talking to Zhao Wangchuan, Li Xiaonuan nervously greeted the old Taoist priest: "Old man, are you going into the mountains again?"
The old Taoist priest glanced at Li Xiaonuan briefly, somewhat surprised. He then looked her up and down seriously before answering, "Yes, I can't stay still, so I wanted to go into the mountains for a bit."
Li Xiaonuan felt her hair stand on end under the old Taoist's gaze, fearing he would notice something amiss. Fortunately, although the old Taoist's gaze was sharp, it wasn't harmful. Only after the old Taoist answered her kindly did Li Xiaonuan relax.
"Old man, actually, I have something I want to ask you, and I don't know if you'd be willing to tell me." Faced with the old Taoist's all-knowing gaze, Li Xiaonuan didn't dare to beat around the bush and told the truth directly.
The old Taoist priest stroked his white beard and said casually, "I know who sent you to ask this. And I deliberately waited here for you to ask this."
Hearing this, Li Xiaonuan felt completely bewildered. She suddenly realized how ridiculous her own schemes were. Everyone else knew everything, while she had racked her brains to get this opportunity. Was she some kind of monkey being played? She had put on a great performance, but the audience already knew exactly what she was doing.
Li Xiaonuan cleared her throat, forced a smile, and said, "The old man is truly insightful. I wonder if he would be willing to tell me?"
This time, the old Taoist priest was not so polite and easy to talk to. He snorted and said, "Then you have to return my two scriptures first before I will consider whether or not to tell you."
Li Xiaonuan exclaimed "Ah!" and asked in confusion, "What scriptures? Where did they disappear from? What are their characteristics?"
The old Taoist priest snorted again and said very seriously, "It is a book, just one. Fifteen years ago, I gave it to a little girl on the road who gave me wild fruit to eat. Inside that book is my Taoist cultivation method, which ordinary people cannot understand. They can only roughly guess that it contains some symbols and illustrations."
When the old Taoist priest mentioned the titles of the two books, Li Xiaonuan had already guessed who he was. Hearing the rest of the text confirmed her suspicions.
Although it is unknown whether there are cultivators in this time and space, the fact that the old Taoist priest was willing to give them the book containing the cultivation method shows how much he respected those who helped him.
However, both books are currently in Prince Jing's possession. Therefore, Li Xiaonuan could not agree to return them on the spot. She said with slight disappointment, "I'm sorry, sir, I lent your books to someone else. But I will find them as soon as possible. However, you will have to give me a few more days."
The old Taoist stroked his beard and said nonchalantly, "I've already made my point. What you do is your business. Even if those two books aren't returned, it won't really be a loss for me. It's just that those two books are my late master's heirlooms, and I want to find them and enshrine them."
Li Xiaonuan was at a loss, wanting to agree to the old Taoist's request to retrieve the book, but also afraid that Prince Jing would object. However, no matter how conflicted Li Xiaonuan was, the old Taoist still went into the mountain. Before entering the mountain, the old Taoist gave a warning.
"If I can see the scriptures when I come down from the mountain, I will tell you everything you want to know. If not, then you are not fortunate enough to have them."