Border Cook

Chapter 678: Cotton Seedlings

Yin Lingyou sighed, "It's just that in the past month, Sanli and I have been transferred many times, and the people guarding us have changed several times. During this period, there were also people who pretended to help Sanli and me escape, but in fact they just wanted to get information from us."

"At this moment, we couldn't tell who was telling the truth and who was lying, so we didn't dare to believe what Lord He said, and we didn't even dare to accept the food he asked people to give us."

"Now that we are sure that Lord He is a good person, we have to trouble Madam Xia to convey our gratitude to him. If we have the opportunity in the future, we will pay him a visit and express our gratitude."

"Don't worry, Doctor Yin. I will make proper arrangements."

Xia Mingyue's face was full of apologies. "The root cause of this matter is that the Wen family wanted to kill Qi Yan and me. Doctor Yin and Brother Mao were caught in this misfortune because of us..."

"You can't say that." Doctor Yin interrupted Xia Mingyue. "It's a blessing, not a curse. It's inevitable. This kind of thing will always happen, it's just a matter of time. Even if it's not the Wen family, there will be other people with ulterior motives who want to use this as an excuse to cause some trouble."

A matter of sooner or later?
Xia Mingyue was stunned for a moment.

Mao Sanli also scratched his head and looked at Yin Lingyou in confusion, "Master, what do you mean by this? Could it be that I am really..."

"What the hell!" Yin Lingyou reached out and gave Mao Sanli a slap on the face, curling his lips, "Are you so lucky?"

"Your parents had died of illness, and you lived with your uncle. You were young, but big, and ate a lot. You kept complaining about being hungry, and your uncle despised you so much that he found a chance to leave you alone. I happened to find you, and because I felt sorry for you, I gave you a bite to eat and kept you by my side."

Is that right?

Mao Sanli was still somewhat puzzled. "But Master, you said before that I was an orphan and had no parents. I was dying and was thrown on the roadside to die. Did you save me because you couldn't bear it?"

"Your uncle didn't want you anymore. You were hungry and crying so hard that you couldn't catch your breath. Aren't you dying?" Yin Lingyou rolled his eyes at Mao Sanli. "To be honest, I regretted it the moment I adopted you. You were only 15 or 16 years old at the time, and your appetite was bigger than mine. My wallet was empty in just two days. I was so heartbroken."

"Fortunately, you have no other advantages except that you are very strong. I accidentally stepped on a tree root that someone had cut with a sickle, and I was almost pierced. I couldn't walk, so I found a flatbed cart and asked you to pull me."

"I thought raising you was the same as raising cattle, so I might as well keep you by my side. I have been raising you for more than ten years..."

It turned out to be the case.

Mao Sanli suddenly understood, but was still a little confused, "Then what did Master mean when he said that something like this would happen sooner or later?"

Yin Lingyou, "..."

This kid is usually stupid, but today he is smart and has so many questions!
Yin Lingyou raised his hand and slapped Mao Sanli in the face, saying unhappily, "You are so stupid. I was the imperial physician in the previous dynasty and I know a lot of things. I ran all the way to the border because I was afraid that someone would find me and bring up my previous identity and position."

"Earlier, Madam Fan wanted me to come to the capital, but I didn't dare to come. It was also because of this that I was afraid that someone would bring up those things from the previous dynasty and make up a random excuse to kill me!"

"You kid, don't you really think you might be a prince of the previous dynasty?"

Yin Lingyou asked, and without waiting for Mao Sanli to respond, he raised his hand and slapped him again, "You are a brainless thing, you believe everything others say! I have been a royal physician in the palace for half my life, I have seen emperors of the previous dynasty, concubines of several palaces, princes and princesses, and even the backyards of some princes and nobles. If you are really a prince, I would not have time to run away, how dare I take you in?"

"Those people just thought that I was an imperial physician and that your eyes happened to resemble those of the previous emperor, so they had evil thoughts in their hearts and wanted to use these two coincidences to create some trouble and cause some damage."

"Besides, the emperor has already said that the princes of the previous dynasty have all died long ago. How could another one pop up? How could he grow in the ground? If you are really a prince of the previous dynasty, would the emperor still be able to let us go without worry?"

"Use your pig brain and think about it carefully!"

Yin Lingyou tapped Mao Sanli's forehead again.

Mao Sanli scratched the back of his head and nodded repeatedly, "Master, what you said makes sense."

"It's more than just reasonable, it's the truth!" Yin Lingyou said, "You should be more careful in the future, don't just believe everything others say. There are many people with crooked minds, and they all have ulterior motives."

"Yes, yes, Master is right." Mao Sanli nodded again.

Yin Lingyou rolled his eyes in annoyance again.

Mao Sanli chuckled and kept moving closer to Yin Lingyou, "Okay, Master, you've already lost your temper, so don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Everyone doubts him as a master, how can he not be angry?

Yin Lingyou's face was filled with anger, but when he saw Mao Sanli grinning, with eyes and brows that looked very much like an old friend, his heart couldn't help but soften, and the anger on his face dissipated for the most part.

No matter what, this disaster is over, and he and Mao Sanli will be safe from now on.

If he could let Mao Sanli grow up safely, get married, have children, start a family and live an ordinary life, then he would have fulfilled her last wish.

If she knew about this in the afterlife, she would probably be relieved...

Yin Lingyou's expression changed, and his eyes changed again and again, and finally turned into a sigh, as if he wanted to let out all the past events with this breath.

Xia Mingyue noticed these subtle movements and pursed her lips.

Obviously, there is something else going on in this matter that they don't know about.

But then again, even if there is, what can we do?
The emperor has spoken, the matter has been concluded, and no one will pay attention to it anymore, let alone care about the truth of the matter.

Many times, the four words "it's bliss to be confused" are the principles for being a person and doing things.

Xia Mingyue smiled and said, "It's getting late. Doctor Yin and Brother Mao are already tired. Yin Qiao and Zhuang Cui have already cleaned up the courtyard and the house for you. Go to bed early."

"During this period of time, Doctor Yin and Brother Mao can stay here with peace of mind. Take care of your health first and we can talk about other things later."

"Okay." Yin Lingyou and Mao Sanli agreed in succession, and went to their courtyard accompanied by Xia Mingyue and others.

After a simple tidying up, the two of them went to bed.

Xia Mingyue arranged a capable servant to serve in the yard, and then instructed others to take good care of it during this period of time.

Zhuang Cui was relieved to see that her master and senior brother returned safely. At the same time, she was so excited about this matter that she could not sleep. She simply went to prepare the medicinal materials that needed to be boiled early tomorrow morning, and also prepared more ointments and powders for the two of them to use during this period of time.

Yin Lingyou and Mao Sanli had a sound sleep.

He slept from that night until the afternoon of the next day before opening his eyes. During this time, Xia Mingyue and others did not disturb him at all.

Although weak people now need to eat to supplement nutrition and take medicine to treat injuries, a deep sleep can greatly restore physical and mental strength.

Especially when Yin Lingyou and Mao Sanli had endured such a great ordeal, the fact that they were able to sleep so soundly at this time showed that they felt at ease and were no longer worried.

In fact, it was just as Xia Mingyue and others expected.

When Yin Lingyou and Mao Sanli got up, although they still looked extremely thin, with high cheekbones and deep eye sockets, they both looked energetic and in good condition.

After eating some thick minced meat porridge, soft steamed bread, stir-fried green bean sprouts, stir-fried pork slices, vermicelli with garlic and other side dishes, the two felt that they had regained some of their souls.

Afterwards, Zhuang Cui and Yin Qiao were responsible for preparing the medicine and taking care of the two.

After Fan Jinglan learned about this, she came to visit and brought many rare and nourishing medicinal herbs that were only available in the palace.

These medicinal herbs are all very tonic, but the conditions of Yin Lingyou and Mao Sanli need to be slowly recuperated. Sudden large doses of tonic may make the body weak and unable to be absorbed, so they can't be used for a while.

But these were Fan Jinglan's intentions, and Yin Lingyou also knew that she didn't understand pharmacology, so he just accepted the things and thanked her repeatedly.

He even said, "After I have recuperated for a period of time and my body has recovered, if Madam Fan has any other plans, I can follow Madam Fan into the palace."

"Really?" Fan Jinglan was surprised and delighted. "Doctor Yin is willing to come to the palace to see the Queen Mother's body?"

"For your sake." Yin Lingyou said.

He didn't want to come to the capital before because he was afraid that Mao Sanli's affairs would be discovered. Now that the matter has been exposed and clarified, he doesn't have to hide it anymore.

The more natural and generous you are, the less gossip there will be, and you will avoid causing trouble for Xia Mingyue and others.

Being close to the royal family, and even making them dependent on him, is one of the reasons why he can survive safely.

When Fan Jinglan heard this, she chuckled and said, "Thank you, Doctor Yin."

"You're too polite, Madam Fan." Yin Ling returned the greeting with a smile.

In the following days, Yin Lingyou and Mao Sanli remained in a state of rest.

His daily routine was to eat, take medicine, sleep, apply medicine, and do some simple boxing and kicking exercises with Zhuang Cui to restore his previous strength. When he was bored, he would play with Wu Jin.

Life is dull but not boring.

As for Xia Mingyue, she would visit the He family every day, make some of her delicious food, and feed the greedy cats around her.

The cotton seedlings in the greenhouse have grown to the expected extent, and Xia Mingyue even invited Fan Hongyu to take a look.

When Fan Hongyu saw the green and vigorous cotton seedlings on the ground, his eyes suddenly lit up. He squatted down and touched the thick and tender green leaves of the cotton seedlings with his hands, and couldn't let go.

"The cotton seedlings are growing really well." Fan Hongyu was a little excited. "If we plant cotton seedlings like this in the ground, their survival will definitely not be a problem!"

As long as the survival rate is high enough, the cotton yield will naturally increase.

only……

Fan Hongyu looked embarrassed. "These cotton seedlings are tall. We can use this method to grow cotton in the future. But after the seedlings are grown, if we plant them in the fields, will they die easily if we pull them up by the roots and bury them in the cold soil?"

"Don't be afraid of that." Xia Mingyue used a small shovel to dig up the soil at the edge of the greenhouse, revealing neatly arranged mounds of earth inside.

"When digging up the seedlings, dig up these soil mounds as well and bury them in the fields when planting. This will help the cotton seedlings adapt to the soil better and make it easier for them to survive."

"That's a good idea." Fan Hongyu was delighted again. He even picked up the complete mound of soil along with the cotton seedlings, examined it carefully again, and sighed again, "That's a really good idea."

"The only difficulty now is making the soil mound for raising seedlings." Xia Mingyue said, "I made a mold out of wood because it was temporarily used. The efficiency of making this soil mound was relatively low. If we really want to promote it, the efficiency of using only wooden molds will be too low."

Xia Mingyue said, "I have thought of a tool for making earthen mounds these past two days. I drew it for Lord Fan. Lord Fan asked a skilled craftsman to make it and see if it fits his hand."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Madam Fan." Fan Hongyu thanked her repeatedly.

Xia Mingyue found some paper and pen, and drew the appearance of the Qiduner tool according to her previous memory.

Front view, side view, detail view...

Xia Mingyue drew many pictures, and marked the dimensions of each component clearly.

After looking at it carefully, Fan Hongyu was impressed by Xia Mingyue's wonderful ideas, as well as the meticulous and prudent way in which she did things. He was even more impressed by Xia Mingyue's willingness and courage to try, and her sincere heart that was willing to use this idea to benefit the people.

Fan Hongyu suddenly felt that he could understand why Lu Qiyan, who was a shrewd and experienced so many things, could accept Xia Mingyue as his wife when Xia Mingyue was a refugee and her identity was unknown.

Who wouldn't like a woman like this?
Fan Hongyu thanked Xia Mingyue again, "Thank you for your trouble, Madam Xia."

"Master Fan, you are too polite." Xia Mingyue said with a smile, "But I also have some selfish motives. When Master Fan finishes making this pier, please remember to give me a few. I will take them back to the farm for use."

"Although the Ministry of Revenue will definitely promote it to the whole world in the future, I think the samples made by the Ministry of Revenue at the beginning must be of good quality and good craftsmanship, and they are particularly easy to use. I am also greedy for a bargain and save some trouble."

"No problem." Fan Hongyu agreed readily. "The emperor also rewarded Dingyuan Hou and Shenhu General with a lot of land before. Madam Xia will probably need to take care of it in the future. I will prepare more for Madam Xia later. It will definitely be enough for Madam Xia."

"Then I'll trouble you, Master Fan."

Xia Mingyue was of course very happy about this extra gain and accepted it calmly.

"Ms. Xia, you're welcome."

After finishing his words, Fan Hongyu picked up some cotton seedlings and wanted to take them back to show them to other people in the Ministry of Revenue.