Chapter 659: Chapter 431: Potatoes
Wei Ziang returned to his room, closed the door, and as soon as he turned around, the window was pushed open.
Xiaomi was sneakily standing outside, waving at him.
Wei Ziang sighed helplessly but still walked over: "What’s up? Didn’t mom tell you to take a good nap?"
Xiaomi pursed his lips: "I slept so much this morning, how can I fall asleep again? Big brother, let’s sneak out and play."
Wei Ziang looked at the weather; it was noon, the hottest time of the day.
But he asked, "Where do you want to play?"
As he spoke, he propped up the window and climbed out,
Behind them was a small corridor, with some flowers and plants growing next to the wall. It was puzzling why Xiaomi felt the need to be so secretive.
Xiaomi pulled Wei Ziang to the bottom of the wall: "We could play in the mountains, go hunting, or find a cool place to plant potatoes."
"Didn’t you say it’s too hot to plant them?"
"That’s why we need to find a cool place, otherwise come winter, we can’t just pull them out of thin air."
As they spoke, they had already climbed out, and just less than ten meters away, two people were hiding under the shade of a tree watching them.
Xiaomi made a ’shh’ gesture towards them, and the two people obediently turned their backs, pretending not to see anything.
Wei Ziang quickly whispered: "Later, let mom and dad know, we’ll be back in the afternoon."
The two nodded behind them to show they heard.
Then the two quickly ran off without riding horses.
As soon as they entered the forest, they instantly felt the temperature drop a lot, and Xiaomi immediately took out two bowls of icy treats, feeling instantly cooler.
Near the border, there were fewer people, so while Xiaomi was running around recently, he installed solar batteries on many barren mountains, and now many appliances in the space could be used.
Ling’er, with nothing better to do, made lots of icy drinks for them.
"Hey, big brother, do you think when we go back later, taking several big boxes of icy treats will be too extravagant?"
Wei Ziang thought for a moment: "Are the icy treats Ling’er made using bamboo tubes as molds?"
There were a few bamboo trees growing in the space; initially, there were only a few, but now there is a large patch.
Not only can they dig many bamboo shoots every month, but they can also harvest bamboo over and over again; Ling’er often makes bamboo baskets and other items to store things.
"Yes, natural molds, and there’s a bit of bamboo fragrance too."
"Then just take them, it’ll be fine since no one knows where we went. You can have Ling’er put a layer of oil cloth under the bamboo basket, then spread some ice shavings and put the bamboo tubes directly in the room so when we come back we can carry the bamboo baskets."
Xiaomi was surprised: "You’re not afraid of suspicion?"
The big brother who had confidently told him not to show off and to avoid being discovered, had his mind wandered?
Wei Ziang sighed: "During this time, have the things you’ve done that could raise suspicion been few?"
Xiaomi was embarrassed; well, it really was a lot.
Her head was rubbed: "Don’t worry, no one’s stupid. Even if everyone knows, they won’t ask too much as long as you don’t use it blatantly in front of others."
"Also, if someone threatens you, just shut them up. If anyone dares to threaten you with mom, dad, or big brother, then we’ll simply take everyone and leave together."
As long as the last layer of gauze is not torn, everyone can coexist knowingly.
But if anyone dares to cross the line, they are not afraid of anything.
Even if Xiaomi can’t enter the space himself, he is confident that even against thousands of soldiers and horses, he can confidently ensure Xiaomi escapes safely.
So, as this point has been reached, there’s no use in hiding any longer.
As long as the ultimate trump card is not exposed, there’s no need to worry too much.
Hearing this from Wei Ziang, Xiaomi instantly felt relieved.
"Alright then, when we go back in the afternoon, we’ll take an ice treat for everyone."
It was made with Spiritual Spring water, honey, and fresh grapes by Ling’er; although the method was simple, it was perfect for beating the summer heat, especially when it’s something generally unavailable outside.
As for the peace of mind Wei Ziang mentioned, she had thought about it too.
Before, in the village, they had hidden the secret fearing being treated as monsters.
But scholars generally don’t believe in supernatural things, as long as they don’t do harm, they generally won’t associate things with monsters.
This isn’t absolute, but in most people’s minds, it is true.
And the more mature one’s thoughts are, the more they will weigh the pros and cons when facing things. So far, the benefits brought by the Jiang family far outweigh...
No, there’s no downside at all; they’re not harming people or committing corruption, so where’s the downside?
Who in the court could be a fool? The benefits the Jiang family brings to the court are substantial, who would discard such a valued asset and treat them as monsters to be driven away?
No one with a brain would commit the act of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Thinking about it this way, there’s really no need to worry too much.
Conversely, those ignorant of everything are more scared of the unknown, easily swayed, imagining themselves being harmed, and are more likely to inadvertently harm innocents.
So the two happily decided that they would carry several large bamboo baskets back in the evening.
Xiaomi also quickly reported to Ling’er in the space, to prepare seven hundred sticks for the five hundred Forbidden Army soldiers and over a hundred villagers.
For Ling’er, this was just a thought, so she might as well give everyone one.
After eating the icy treat, they immediately felt cooler, and Xiaomi took out their bows and leisurely strolled through the mountains.
"Ling’er processed the potatoes a few days ago and successfully sprouted them. We’ll find cool places to plant them today, and later I’ll come by regularly to water them with Spiritual Spring."
They had previously forgotten about this, and now remembered to take the seeds home, unable to wait for cooler weather to plant, only to take them back after the new year.
If they delayed like this, by the time they wanted to plant them at home, they’d have to wait until next year when the weather cools down.
This would push back the effort to promote them until the next year, taking too long. Instead, they’d plant them now using Spiritual Spring, even if yields were low, they could be revealed sooner.
Wei Ziang nodded: "Then find more places nearby, scatter them around, and if there’s a chance to go elsewhere, plant a bit here and there; don’t just plant them nearby."
Otherwise, it’d be too obvious, clearly showing everyone they were planted by them.
"Don’t worry, I know, later we’ll pretend to get some to taste it and then take everyone up the mountain to find them."
The steps are all thought out, waiting for actual operation; as long as the general direction is right, there won’t be any issues.
So, the two quickened their pace, traversing the surrounding mountain forests, every so often finding shady spots with soft soil to bury sprouted potatoes.