pdf-ebookys Chapter 121 Wild Rice Seeds
Chapter 121 Wild Rice Seeds
"Chief Lu, the teachers in our mountain village are of limited ability. Now that we have entered the world, we would like to allow the children in the village to participate in the county examination. I have heard that the two teachers in Xishan Village are very talented and have taught excellent children. I have come to ask Chief Lu for permission to allow the children in our village to study with them."
Village chief Qiu brought a lot of mountain products. They also wanted the children in the village to have more contact with the outside world. It would be best if they could take the imperial examination.
Now most of their tribesmen are still in the military camp, and there are many children in the village. For the future of the children, he can only come for help.
"Village Chief Qiu, you are so polite. It's not that I don't agree, but you also know that this school was built by Mrs. Lu with her own money. She also pays the majority of the teachers' tuition fees every year. So if you want to let the children in your village study here, you still need Mrs. Lu's consent.
We only have two teachers now, and we're worried we won't have enough manpower to teach so many children."
"Don't worry, Patriarch Lu. We currently just want to ask Master Yun to help us judge whether there are any children in our village who can take the county exam. If there are, let these children come to study with us first, and we will give the others enlightenment first. I also passed by the school today. It would be a waste of such a large school if it only taught the children in the village. I am afraid that you will have to hire a master in the future. By then, all the children in our area can come to study."
"As expected, nothing can be hidden from Village Chief Qiu. Boss Lu does plan to build Xishan Village into Chongshui's first academy, but it's still in the planning stages and we haven't recruited teachers yet. We've already chosen a site, on the mountain over there, but it won't be achieved overnight, so we need to keep working hard."
"Boss Lu and Clan Leader Lu are truly far-sighted. If it's built, don't forget our Qiu Village. We're willing to contribute money and manpower to help build it."
"Okay, okay. I'll take you to see Mrs. Lu now. If she agrees, there won't be any problems. Oh, by the way, our two teachers will be leaving for Hezhou to take the exam in a few days. If the students come, they will have to study with the other students first. Is that okay?"
"Of course there's no problem. The two teachers are really dedicated to their duties. They are about to take the provincial examination, and they still have to teach the children carefully. No wonder the children have become so talented. Meeting a good teacher is a win-win situation."
When he heard that the two were going to take the imperial examination, Village Chief Qiu had no complaints. If both of them passed, the one who would teach the children in the future would be a Juren, which was not on the same level as a Xiucai.
It is the children's luck to receive personal instruction from the Juren.
After hearing what Village Chief Qiu meant, Lu Linlang naturally agreed. The school she built was not only for the children of Xishan Village, but she planned to use it as a place for the children of Xishan Village to start their education in the future. The address of the academy has been selected, and construction will begin after the autumn harvest this year.
"Mr. Lu, we heard you were looking for wild rice seeds. Coincidentally, we came across some in the mountains and brought them here. If they can be of any use to you, that would be great. The seeds you gave us before were very good. Now the rice ears are bent under the weight, so I think this year's harvest will be even better than last year's."
Village chief Qiu took out the wild rice seed and showed it to Lu Linlang. She took it and saw that it was indeed not the current rice variety. If such a variety was hybridized with the current one, better seeds would be obtained.
He immediately asked excitedly, "Village Chief Qiu, I wonder how much rice like this there is left. I want to go and see it myself."
"There are quite a few more. They were discovered by one of our tribesmen. We have protected that place. If Miss Lu wants to see it, she can go anytime."
"Okay, let's go now." Lu Linlang couldn't wait any longer.
Before entering the mountain, Lu Linlang also told the clan leader that if the village heads of several surrounding villages came to talk about studying, they could temporarily agree to allow children who were qualified to take the county exam to study with them.
After giving the instructions, Lu Linlang took everyone to the mountains. The temperature in the mountains was lower than outside at this time, but when she arrived at the place where wild rice was discovered, she felt that this place was warmer than other places.
Moreover, the place where the wild rice grows happens to be next to a pond in the mountains. There is water flowing here all year round, so gradually, a lot of rice grows.
When the people in Qiujia Village first saw the rice, they thought of harvesting it in autumn. However, after hearing the news, Village Chief Qiu remembered that Lu Linlang had previously spread the word that he wanted to buy wild rice seeds.
Seeing this, Lu Linlang was really excited, but it was not yet the harvest season, so she had to ask the people of Qiujia Village to help protect this place and prevent wild animals from destroying the rice.
Then, she began to check out the environment here. Lu Linlang was so excited about finding wild rice seeds that she hadn't noticed that there was a waterfall here. Above the waterfall, there was a rainbow. The surrounding water flowed into the pool, and then flowed from the pool to the surrounding area, creating several flat areas.
With the guidance of the people from Qiujia Village, Lu Linlang looked around to see if there were any new varieties.
"Hey, is this a wild potato?" Suddenly, she saw a place where the leaves and stems had begun to dry up. After careful observation, she had a guess in her mind.
I hurriedly used a hoe to tentatively dig around, and sure enough, under the pole grew a small bunch of tiny tubers, exactly like wild potatoes.
"Hurry, help me look for it again to see if this thing is still there. We must not dig it out. We must dig it all out." Lu Linlang said, and everyone began to search carefully.
Although no one knew why Miss Lu was so excited, no one refused. After a while, they found a few more plants in other places.
"This is really a blessing in disguise. I can find two good things at once. It's great." Lu Linlang didn't even mind the dirt on the potatoes and looked at them carefully.
"Miss, what is this? Is this edible?"
"Not only is this edible, it's also delicious. However, it's not edible yet. It's too small. It needs to be planted a few more times before it reaches the standard."
"I've seen this thing bloom before, but I've noticed that wild animals won't eat its fruit. One time, I picked a fruit to feed a chicken, and it died. We all thought it was poisonous. Could it be that this thing, like konjac, requires special processing before it can be eaten?"
When Village Chief Qiu heard her say this, he asked curiously.
"This thing is indeed poisonous. When eating it, you must pay attention to whether it sprouts. The fruit is also poisonous. We can only eat the tubers underneath. The ones that sprout are not edible. But this thing can fill your stomach, just like sweet potatoes. When I grow them, you will be able to taste them."
"That's great, Mr. Lu. You're truly an amazing person. You know more about farming than we do. And as a lady from a wealthy family, you don't look down on us peasants. No wonder you're successful. Anyone who succeeds is a person with real skills."
Village chief Qiu was generous with his praise. Their tribesmen were in the military camp and naturally knew how hard life was there. However, in order to make merit and for the future of their children, they charged forward without hesitation.