Chapter 16: Generous and Righteous
Many of the young people in Zhaojia Village were actually quite friendly with Qin Tong. They would go together to cut pig feed or gather firewood almost every other day, and during these times, chatting and boasting were inevitable.
In front of them, Qin Tong would certainly not mention Zhao An’s magical abilities; this was a secret Hai Bo had repeatedly warned him never to reveal. But he would show off by talking about some trivial matters, such as going to the city every other day to sell strawberries, how Zhao An would sometimes treat him to wontons, or buy some pastries. Most importantly, he talked about buying meat, and how Hai Bo would use his cooking skills, which crushed those of the village women, to make all sorts of dishes.
Whenever he spoke of these things, all his listeners couldn’t help but drool. In comparison, when he mentioned things about the capital city, everyone seemed less interested. The one thing they were most interested in was whether the Zhao family’s imperial consort was very beautiful.
Regarding Zhao Qingcheng’s beauty, Qin Tong, who was now a young man, actually had some feelings, but this was a topic he dared not speak of casually. Whenever his friends brought it up, he could only steer the conversation back to the delicious food in Changxi County, and everyone would immediately lose interest in the imperial consort.
As a result, while the young people remained curious only about the delicious food Qin Tong described, the adults realized that Zhao An’s family could afford to eat meat every day because they sold a fruit called strawberries. Zhao An had mastered the method of cultivating this fruit and could sell some every other day for a large sum of copper coins.
Knowing that Zhao An could make money, it wasn’t that no one in the village felt jealous. But Zhao An was, after all, the son of the Prime Minister and the brother of the imperial consort. Even though he had been sent back to his hometown by the emperor and forbidden to leave, he was not someone they, the common folk, could bully at will.
As for the dispute between Zhao An and Zhao Tongming, that was a conflict between brothers. So, whether it was Zhao Tongming taking Qin Tong and Hai Bo to be sold, or Zhao An beating up Zhao Tongming, the villagers only watched the excitement and no one stepped in to stop it.
Under these circumstances, no one could have imagined that Zhao An, upon seeing them suffer from the flood, would actually take out his money-making strawberry seedlings and give them to them to cultivate.
Liu Huan could only thank Zhao An repeatedly. The little old man with graying hair was almost moved to tears. “When the Old Prime Minister was in office, besides purchasing two hundred mu of ancestral land for the Zhao clan, he also allocated one hundred mu of land to our Liu family. We should have erected a living shrine for him back then. Now, the Young Master is also so generous and righteous. I really don’t know what to say.”
In fact, Zhao An himself felt a little embarrassed by his words. He could only force a calm expression and say, “Seeing myself living a good life while the surrounding villagers are all impoverished, I can’t bear it. And the most important point is, I returned to my hometown alone and am inevitably subjected to some bullying and exclusion. So I want to make more friends, so that when my family is in trouble, someone can stand up and speak for me.”
When Zhao An first started speaking, he was just thinking of being polite. But by the end, he had become somewhat emotional and revealed his true request. He looked directly at Liu Huan, hoping for a definite promise. At the very least, the next time Hai Bo or Qin Tong were in danger, the other Liu families in Zhaojia Village could no longer turn a blind eye.
The potential profit from the strawberry seedlings was indeed enough to move people’s hearts. Liu Huan, without much hesitation, patted his chest and guaranteed, “Since the Young Master is so considerate of my Liu family, my Liu family is naturally not ungrateful. If you have any instructions in the future, we are at your command. Even if other families are unwilling, my three sons will definitely follow the Young Master’s arrangements.”
Seeing that Liu Huan showed no signs of doubt, Zhao An chose to believe his promise. “Regarding the planting of the strawberry seedlings, I must ask the clan head to make arrangements as soon as possible. I will go back first and have Qin Tong stay behind to explain the precautions for growing strawberries.”
Although Zhao An used his ability to ripen the strawberries every time, factors like using manure versus plant ash, adding bone meal, and changes in sunlight and temperature could all affect the size and taste of the strawberries. Qin Tong had been watching for so long that he indeed had some knowledge to share.
For the next month, Qin Tong was invited to the Liu family’s ancestral land every day to look after the thriving strawberry seedlings.
Zhao An’s work, on the other hand, was to cultivate the gastrodia he had found. As a result, the amount of ability he could use became stretched thin. The number of strawberries delivered to Ruyi House every other day was decreasing. His explanation for this was, “The strawberry season is gradually coming to an end.”
Manager Feng of Ruyi House, though regretful, could do nothing but urge him, “Young Master Zhao, please hurry and bring the grapes from your home for me to taste. If the taste is good, we can discuss the purchase price for the grapes.”
Only then did Zhao An remember that he had once said he was growing grapes at home. But now, his family didn’t even have a single grapevine, let alone grapes. Yet, he said without blushing, “It’s only mid-April. How could the grapes be ripe? Wait until May, before the Dragon Boat Festival. I will definitely let you have a good taste of my family’s grapes, Manager Feng.”
So, after returning from Changxi County, Zhao An hurriedly had Hai Bo and Qin Tong pack their luggage, hired Liu Hu’s ox-cart, and went to the prefectural city to buy a few old grapevines for him.
