Song Lianhe sat dazedly on the couch.
When she woke up in the morning, Zhou Cangyan was already gone.
Just then, a falcon with ssy feathers flew to the window. It stood there, looking this way and that. You couldn’t find another bird of prey in the entire Bird World with such a uniquely shifty gaze—it had to be Chun Hua.
She got up and walked over to Chun Hua. "I never would’ve thought you were so capable. You actually managed to find him..."
Song Lianhe’s gaze was drawn to a small object hanging around its neck.
It was a teardrop-shaped piece of Blood Jade of the finest quality.
She looked up at Chun Hua. "Can I touch it?"
Chun Hua tilted its head, its eyes darting around.
It didn’t say anything, which ant it didn’t object.
She reached out and touched the jade. "It’s so warm~"
The warmth didn’t co from Chun Hua’s body, but from the jade itself. The jade was vibrant and delicate, with a translucent luster. When she held it up to the sunlight, she could see the natural, blood-like veins within it.
"Huh? What’s this?"
As she brought her eyes closer to the Blood Jade, the two characters "Biwu" actually appeared inside it!
"This... This is so unscientific!"
She looked closely and confird that those were indeed the two characters.
In that case, this jade must belong to Zhou Cangyan, and he certainly wouldn’t give it to Chun Hua.
’Then... is it for ?’
Song Lianhe asked tentatively, "Is this for ? Then... I’ll take it off?"
Chun Hua flapped its wings a couple of tis as if in response.
Only then did Song Lianhe carefully remove the jade from its neck. As if its mission was complete, Chun Hua flapped its wings and flew away.
The brilliant, vibrant Blood Jade rested in her hand, emitting a warmth close to that of a human body, which naturally gave it a familiar, comforting feel.
The characters inside the Blood Jade only appeared when held up to a strong light. This couldn’t help but remind her of the Jade Pendant she had given Zhou Cangyan, which was also engraved with her own courtesy na, Wenxin.
Song Lianhe clutched the jade in her hand and couldn’t help but smile.
’He even knows how to return a gift.’
She no longer hesitated and hung the Blood Jade around her neck.
Da Xi ca in to help her wash up. Song Lianhe asked curiously, "Why is it you?"
Da Xi glanced at her, then lowered her head and her voice. "Did you recomnd to the Old Master to be Nanny Gui’s assistant?"
"I did." Song Lianhe’s eyes widened. "Did she give you a hard ti? I’ll go stick a few needles in her right now!"
"No!"
Da Xi said hurriedly, "She sent soone to call over first thing in the morning. Not only did she give a new room and raise my monthly allowance, but she also assigned two people to serve under ."
"Heh, she knows how to play the ga."
Song Lianhe washed her face, took the handkerchief Da Xi offered, and dried her face. "Just keep up the good work. You’ll be taking her place before you know it. But why are you here with ? With so much going on in the mansion, shouldn’t you be busy?"
Da Xi avoided her gaze. "The Young Master left before dawn. You’re all alone... you must be bored. I just thought I’d co see you."
Song Lianhe was genuinely touched. "Little Xixi, you’re so good to !"
"I’m not!" Da Xi blushed and explained, "I was just on my way to the kitchen when Sister Mi said you hadn’t had breakfast. I didn’t realize you hadn’t gotten up yet..."
"Haha, alright, I get it."
Song Lianhe pulled her toward the door. "I’ve got a lot to do today. You should go get busy too. What if Nanny Gui causes trouble for you?"
But Da Xi shook her head. "She’s probably hoping I’ll stay by your side. When I asked for leave, she specifically instructed to take good care of you."
Nanny Gui’s intentions were obvious without needing to be said.
However, she did indeed need Da Xi’s help, so she said, "Alright then. Today, you can help with a few things..."
At noon, Luo Fubang finally received news from Zhong Shimin.
They had found the vine seedlings and would be able to return to Sui Ning City in three to four days.
Luo Fubang was overjoyed. He took the letter and went to find Song Lianhe, but ended up finding her in the Prince Mansion’s garden.
"Tear all these flowers out."
The young servants of the mansion exchanged glances. "But these are the Warlord’s favorite flowers."
Song Lianhe crouched in front of the garden, nibbling on a vegetable flatbread. She said unhurriedly, "We’re about to run out of food. Who has ti for romantic nonsense about flowers and the moon? Haven’t you heard the saying, ’A full belly leads to lewd thoughts’? It ans you can only start misbehaving after you’ve eaten your fill!"
The person who had just arrived ca to an abrupt halt.
When the young servants saw who it was, they quickly knelt.
Song Lianhe turned around and saw the reluctant, conflicted expression on Luo Fubang’s face. She stood up and tried to persuade him, "I’ve surveyed all the land in the entire Prince Mansion, and your plot is the best. The ideal soil for planting sweet potatoes should be sheltered from the wind but facing the sun, with a thick layer of loose, well-draining earth. Soil that has previously grown vegetables is even better! We can’t touch the vegetable patches in our Prince Mansion, so we have no choice but to use your garden."
Luo Fubang waved his hand, turning his face away in anguish. "Just... do as she says."
And so, all the flowers in the garden were pulled out by the roots.
These flowers had always been delicate, and it had taken a great deal of effort to keep them alive in a place like Sui Bei. ’The girl is right,’ he thought. ’The common people are about to starve. How can I still care about these fragile things?’
Song Lianhe comforted him, "Don’t be sad. At noon, I’ll have Sister Mi stew these flowers for you. It’ll give them a proper send-off, in a way."
Luo Fubang felt a throbbing pain in his temples. He rubbed his forehead and handed her the letter.
"Here, take a look. It’s from Shimin."
Song Lianhe took it and glanced at it, saying happily, "It really is Leader Zhong! He found them so quickly! Looks like we need to hurry up, too."
Although sweet potatoes are highly adaptable, choosing the right soil can greatly increase the yield.
They no longer had ti for trial and error. Song Lianhe only knew about planting dicinal herbs; she had never personally grown sweet potatoes. However, when she lived with her grandparents, her grandmother had grown them, so she was familiar with the general process and wasn’t going in completely blind.
Next, she had Da Xi find so large-scale farrs in the city. She selected a few of them and began training them on how to plant sweet potatoes.
Since Sui Bei was mostly sandy, barren land, they had to apply enough base fertilizer to achieve a high yield.
In addition to traditional fertilization thods, she also needed to borrow so modern scientific techniques.
She rembered her grandmother used to say, "Nitrogen for leaves, phosphorus for fruit, but a lack of potassium makes it all a waste."
Although Song Lianhe didn’t fully understand what this nitrogen and phosphorus stuff was, she rembered what her grandmother used to do.
She would take leftover fruit peels and soybeans, add water, and let them fernt. She also collected eggshells, washed them, sterilized them in the sun, dry-roasted them in a hot wok, and ground the cooled shells into a powder. Finally, she would fernt dry nutshells with soil.
Her grandmother’s sweet potatoes were always fragrant and sweet, so these thods must have been very effective!
So, after arranging for the farrs to be settled, Song Lianhe took Da Xi to the market.
"Where are we going?"
Da Xi was now rely curious about any of her decisions, without a hint of doubt.
Song Lianhe grandly pulled out the silver Luo Fubang had given her before she left. "Today, I’m taking you out to eat!"
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