Chapter 980
Chapter 980
The horse bought on short notice was not good enough; it was a dreadful horse. Pan Yun had to slap its rump for a long time before it would budge. It was originally meant for pulling a cart, so it had enough stamina, but not enough speed.
Fortunately, the people in front were riding in a horse-drawn carriage, and they weren't going very fast.
Pan Jun stroked his new companion's neck and coaxed it for a long time, then gave it a piece of candy. Only then did the nag lift its precious hind legs and move forward amidst Pan Xiaohei's snickering laughter.
Da da da,
Da da da.
The young nobleman in the carriage lifted the curtain and glanced back. Seeing that the horse was walking erratically and the young girl on the horse was about to fall off several times, he lowered the curtain and didn't think much of it.
On the other side, the curtain was also lifted, and a middle-aged man peeked out and looked back. After lowering the curtain, he said, "It's nothing. They must be going the same way. I wonder whose child they are. It's one thing to not have a horse ready when you go out, but you could at least have a donkey. Riding a nag like that, aren't you afraid of falling off?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a thud came from behind, and the rumbling sound of the carriage could not be concealed.
The carriage continued forward, and out of consideration for the young girl behind, no one turned around to look.
Pan Yun got up from the ground, dusted off her bottom, and silently stared at Ma Dayan.
Compared to a horse, she has small eyes.
Pan Jun let out a breath, resignedly took out a piece of candy, put it to its mouth but then pulled it back, glaring at it and saying, "This is the last one. If you don't behave, I won't mind eating horse meat."
The horse snorted and arrogantly turned its head away, ignoring her.
"Calling me stupid?" Pan Yun narrowed his eyes. "Your horse may not be good with its legs, but it's not stupid. You don't believe I'd kill you?"
Under the oppressive force, the horse's legs bent slightly, its hooves twitched uneasily, and its two large eyes looked at Pan Jun with apprehension.
Pan Yun smiled at it: "That's right, I can understand what you're saying."
After a moment of staring at each other, Pan Xiaohei jumped off his horse, squatted on Pan Jun's shoulder, and urged, "Are you done yet? The carriage ahead is almost out of sight."
Upon hearing the cat speak human language, the nag was startled and surprisingly freed from the oppressive force. It kicked its front hooves and jumped twice on the spot.
Pan Jun grabbed the reins and glared at it. The nag immediately lowered its head obediently and bent its knees slightly, as if in submission.
Pan Jun was finally satisfied.
She gave him a treat, like a sweet date, and then fed him the candy in her palm before carrying Pan Xiaohei onto the horse.
The rest of the journey went smoothly.
They followed the carriage at a distance, heading west and then north, until the carriage entered a large village just before sunset.
Pan Yun reined in his horse outside the village, found a nearby small hill, flew up to it, and looked down from above.
Not far away, one could see white walls and gray tiles, a cluster of undulating houses, which was a large village with about three or four hundred households.
Such a large village is quite rare, because there are three or four village heads alone. If you surround it with walls, it's like a small town.
Outside this large village, within a visible distance of five miles, there are several scattered settlements, each with only a few households, some with thatched roofs and others with gray tiles and white walls.
There are three households at the foot of the hill where Pan Jun is stationed, each only a dozen steps away from the others.
It was dusk, time for dinner. Smoke curled from the chimneys, carrying the fragrant aroma of rice. Pan Jun's stomach rumbled loudly.
She instinctively clutched her stomach.
Pan Xiaohei also felt a bit hungry and urged her, "This village is so big, if we just find an entrance, do you think they'll still be able to find us?"
Pan Jun thought this made sense and asked, "Which one do you think we should go to?"
"Go to whichever restaurant's food smells the best."
Pan Yun: "I think the three restaurants at the foot of the mountain are pretty good."
Pan Xiaohei: "...They look a bit poor."
“So what if we’re poor? As long as we have rice, that’s fine. I have meat!” With that, Pan Yun pulled out a pork belly, two pork ribs, and a bag of pastries from the spiritual realm.
Pan Xiaohei: "...Didn't you buy this for Cao Jixiang this morning when you went to see him?"
Pan Yun: "I was so focused on talking that I forgot to give it to him."
Pan Yun is a very polite person who cares a lot about etiquette when visiting someone's home. How could she go empty-handed when she went to inquire about customs revenue?
Unfortunately, I was so focused on the conversation that I forgot to give a gift.
Pan Yun, carrying things in one hand and leading the horse down the other side of the mountain, said, "But it wasn't a waste; it was still a gift in the end."
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, standing under a tree, Pan Jun looked at the three families scattered in three corners.
All three houses had mud walls and thatched roofs, but each had three large rooms, with side rooms built on both sides, also with thatched roofs, only the doors were much smaller.
The yard is enclosed by a fence and is about three-tenths of an acre. It is quite large and spacious.
Pan Jun thought it was pretty good.
The aroma of white rice wafted from all three houses. After thinking for a moment, she simply picked up three stones, closed her eyes, and silently chanted, "May the Heavenly Venerable grant me boundless blessings, and may those who benefit me be blessed!"
After throwing down the stone, Pan Yun glanced at it and decisively led the old horse to knock on the courtyard of the house in the very middle.
It was dark, and no lights were on in the house except for sounds coming from the kitchen.
Pan Yun knocked on the courtyard gate for a while before an eight or nine-year-old boy ran out of the kitchen.
He glanced at Pan Yun, then turned and shouted towards the kitchen, "Sis, we have guests?"
"Who's coming?"
"I don't know her! Sister, come out quickly, she's so pretty!"
A girl of about twelve years old ran out, wiping the sweat from her face. She paused when she saw Pan Jun and asked politely, "Who are you looking for, young lady?"
Pan Yun said, "I came to visit relatives, but I took the wrong road. It's getting late, so I'd like to ask if you can make it convenient for me to stay the night?"
The young girl wiped her hands as she opened the courtyard gate, taking the opportunity to sized up Pan Yun. Seeing that she had a kind face and a friendly demeanor, she lowered her guard a bit. She peeked out and looked down into the road, finding it empty and deserted, and asked, "Are you all alone?"
Pan Yun nodded: "Yes, it's just me."
The young girl hesitated for a moment, but still stepped aside to let her into the courtyard: "You are very brave. Although there are no bandits here, it is too dangerous for a young lady like you to go out alone."
The little boy rushed up to help pull the horse, and after the horse was tied up, he saw the meat and snacks that Pan Yun was carrying, and his eyes widened.
Pan Yun smiled and handed him the meat and pastries, saying, "It's too hot to keep them fresh, so how about this be considered as payment for your room?"
The boy reached out to take it, but his sister slapped his hand away.
The little girl declined, saying, "No need, no need. It's already cool at night. It'll be fine to leave it outside overnight."
"I'll buy it tomorrow. Meat tastes better when it's freshly cooked. If I leave it until tomorrow, not only will it spoil, but it might also be taken by rats or wild cats."
The little girl couldn't refuse and had to accept the meat, but she refused to leave the pastries no matter what.
Pan Yun didn't force him to give it to her. Instead, when she took the meat into the kitchen, she opened the paper and took out a pastry for the little boy.
The little boy happily took it and bit off half of it in one go.
Pan Yun smiled and said, "My name is Pan Yun, what's your name?"
The little boy had no idea how to write "Pan Yun" and barely understood what she was saying, only replying, "My name is Chunwang." Pan Yun smiled and nodded: "And your sister?"
"My name is Chunlian." The little girl stood at the kitchen door, glared at her younger brother, and said, "Go and fetch a bundle of straw to feed Sister Pan's horse."
Chunwang immediately stuffed the remaining half of the pastry into his mouth, made two muffled responses, and ran to a room across the street to gather straw.
Chunlian brought out a stool from the house and asked Pan Yun to sit down, saying, "Please forgive me, Sister Pan, it's not dark yet, so my house doesn't have any lights on."
Pan Yun said it was okay, she could still see.
Seeing Chunlian scooping water to wash and cut meat in the yard, and after Chunwang brought straw to the horse, she even asked him to go to the vegetable garden to pick another basket of vegetables.
Pan Yun then rolled up her sleeves and said, "I'll help you."
Chunlian did not refuse.
The two of them cut meat, chopped ribs, picked vegetables, and washed vegetables together.
Seeing that Pan Yun was quick and skillful, Chunlian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Pan Jun heard this, looked up and smiled at her: "What, you think I can't?"
Chunlian: "I thought Sister Pan was a rich young lady."
After all, he was riding a horse.
It's like having your own independent flying boat in the 26th century.
Pan Yun smiled and said, "It's rented. It's a nag, so it's not expensive."
Chunlian asked, "Which village are Sister Pan's relatives in?"
Pan Yun thought for a moment about the villages near Quanzhou and said, "Balipu."
"Ah, we've gone the wrong way. It's very far from here. It would take a whole day to walk there, but riding a horse would be much faster."
Pan Yun asked with a smile, "You've been there?"
Chunlian shook her head: "I've never been there. My great-aunt married there, and my grandmother took my younger brother to her wedding banquet."
Pan Yun: "Where are your family members?"
Chunlian gestured with her chin towards the outside, indicating, "They're all still in the fields."
Pan Jun turned her head to look outside. At this time, the visibility was less than five meters, and it was about to get completely dark.
She looked up at the sky. The moon had already risen, but the clouds were thick tonight, and the moonlight shone through the clouds onto the ground, making the light almost invisible.
She felt the wind; perhaps it would be much better in the latter half of the night, when the clouds would clear and the moon on the 20th would illuminate the ground with a clear white light.
Pan Jun looked away: "It's so late, are you harvesting rice?"
Chunlian nodded and said, "After the strong winds in June, our family replanted a few more plots of land, and now we can harvest them."
Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "Can we replant in June?"
“My family didn’t think it would work either, but my grandfather said, how would we know if we didn’t try? Who knew it would actually work? Not only did it work, but the harvest of this late rice crop was even better than the one harvested half a month ago.”
Pan Jun was overjoyed: "Your grandfather is bold and willing to try, that's great!"
Chunlian was pleased to hear her praise and said, "My grandfather said that we should thank the Imperial Observatory and the Imperial Preceptor the most for this matter."
"Oh?"
“The Imperial Astronomical Bureau predicted in May that there would be strong winds this year. The Imperial Advisor sent people to spread the word. My grandfather thought of the strong winds last year, so he reserved a small plot of land in advance to grow seedlings and left it untouched.”
“When the wind blows, most of the rice in the field is flattened, but that patch of rice seedlings was not affected because it was thick enough. We turned over the roots of the flattened rice in the field, pulled out the rice that couldn’t survive, and planted rice seedlings. Unexpectedly, it really stood up. Not only that, it also grew very fast.”
Chunlian gestured and said, "It was this long when it was planted, and it sprouted ears of grain in half a month, and then it filled with syrup. My grandma said it was God's blessing."
Pan Jun murmured, "It's because there's enough fertilizer and plenty of sunlight that it grows so fast."
“My grandfather said the same thing, and that our seedlings were grown long enough. This is the first time we’ve grown such long seedlings before planting them.”
Pan Yun asked, "Are there many people in the village who grow it this way?"
"Not many. When my grandfather started planting it, only five families followed suit. But I think that since my family succeeded this year, many more families will follow suit next year."
Chunlian said, "As long as the Imperial Observatory reports the weather to us from now on, we can prepare in advance."
Pan Yun asked with a smile, "What if the Imperial Observatory made a mistake?"
She said, "Celestial phenomena change in an instant; even immortals would find it difficult to predict them accurately, let alone the Imperial Observatory."
"If we miscalculate, we miscalculate. A plot of seedbed only yields one or two kilograms of rice seeds. We can just save a little more each year when we save seeds. It doesn't cost much."
Pan Yun nodded slightly and casually asked, "With the natural disaster, how is this year's harvest if we don't count the late rice?"
"It's alright," Chunlian said. "The imperial court exempted half of the land tax and half of the poll tax, so our family is doing quite well. For example, since the new grain came in, we've been eating white rice for six days straight."
Chunwang leaned closer and stared at the meat, adding, "It's like celebrating the New Year."
Chunlian picked up the sliced meat and poked his forehead with her other hand, saying, "Get out of here, all you think about is the New Year."
"What's wrong with celebrating the New Year? You get to eat meat during the New Year."
The siblings went into the kitchen; one started the fire, and the other cooked the vegetables.
The two of them had been cooking and preparing dishes. There were already two dishes on the stove: stir-fried cabbage and winter melon stewed with tofu.
Pan Yun brought the meat, and Chunlian then cut a large piece of winter melon and pork ribs to stew, and stir-fried the meat with greens, instantly turning two dishes into four.
Chunlian thought for a moment, then scooped all the rice from the small pot into a large basin, and rinsed two more bowls of rice to steam.
With such delicious food tonight, they'll definitely eat a lot. We should steam more, especially since we have guests...
When Chunlian turned around, she saw Pan Yun standing by the door watching, and said shyly, "I can't cook many dishes, I can only boil and stir-fry."
Moreover, only oil and salt are added.
Pan Yun smiled and said, "This is already very good."
He seems to be better than her.
Chunwang added proudly, "My sister can weave! In winter, she goes to the Gu family's weaving workshop to work as a weaver, earning more than a cook!"
"Sis, it's okay if you can't cook, I can. In the future, when you earn money to buy meat, I'll cook for you."
"Go away, Grandpa said he'll send you to school next spring. Stop thinking about things in the kitchen."
The siblings were chatting animatedly when a noise came from outside the door, followed by a deep and cheerful voice: "Chunlian, we have guests. Quickly steam two more bowls of rice. Chunwang, where's the cured meat hanging from the rafters? ...Hey, whose horse is that in the yard?"
Pan Yun peeked out from the kitchen and immediately saw Xue Shao and his servant following the old man in.
Pan Yun immediately stood up straight and walked out of the kitchen.
Her gaze swept over Xue Shao, then she raised her hand in a gesture of respect to the old man: "Sir, my name is Pan Yun. I'm passing through on my way to visit relatives and would like to ask for lodging for the night." (End of Chapter)