Chapter 168: Since We’re Already Here, Let’s Just Bring It All Back
Just like that, the very next day, Wen Xiuyi informed the rest of the Wen family that he and Wen Yao were going to take a long journey.
“What for? Why on earth are you two suddenly going on a long trip out of nowhere?” Old Madam Luo was the most worried. It was one thing for Wen Xiuyi, but this girl Wen Yao had never traveled far from home before. She couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Wen Xiuyi explained that they were going to look for fertilizer.
The moment Old Madam Luo heard this, she nearly took off her shoe to give Old Man Wen a good thrashing with the sole.
“Worrying about this nonsense all day long! Are you their father or their mother? Why must you meddle? How is it that you can’t stay idle for even a second, and why can’t you keep that mouth of yours shut, huh?” Old Madam Luo scolded Old Man Wen up one side and down the other.
Old Man Wen just sat there and let his old wife berate him. Once she finally finished, he looked at Wen Xiuyi and asked, “Can you really find it?”
Wen Xiuyi nodded. “I read about it in a book before. Yao’ao and I will go give it a shot. At the fastest, we’ll be back in four or five days. During this time, teach them the methods I showed you before on how to differentiate between good, bad, strong, and weak seedlings, and let them judge for themselves. If they truly want to save their crops, they can do as I said. If they aren’t willing, then just forget it.”
This sort of thing was completely a matter of mutual willingness.
Old Madam Luo chimed in with a warning, “Make sure you lay out the harsh truths to them beforehand. Tell them this is exactly how our family did it. The method has been given to them, so whether it works or not depends entirely on their own luck. Don’t let them come back and blame us if their crop yields don’t meet their expectations down the line.”
Old Man Wen knew his old wife was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. He hurriedly agreed, “Yes, yes, yes, absolutely. I will make sure everything is clearly explained.”
Old Madam Luo shot him a glare. All he knew how to do was bring trouble to their son.
“Forget it. When the time comes, I’ll go with you.”
Old Man Wen grinned broadly. With his old wife around, he only needed to play the good cop, since the old lady would firmly handle the bad cop role.
Once they finished discussing it, Old Man Wen looked back at Wen Xiuyi. “So when are you two leaving? Is it absolutely necessary to take Yaoyao along? Can’t you just go by yourself?”
Old Man Wen naturally understood what his old wife was worried about. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with Wen Yao running around outside with Wen Xiuyi either. What business did a young girl have running around blindly, even if this girl’s courage was bigger than the heavens?
“Then let Xiao Jun come with me.”
Old Man Wen countered, “Then Yaoyao might as well go with you. Let’s not disrupt Xiao Jun’s proper duties.”
Wen Yao: ?????
Grandpappy, can our grandparent-grandchild bond still be salvaged?
Old Man Wen received another slap from Old Madam Luo. Old Madam Luo looked at Wen Xiuyi and said, “Isn’t Wen Nong at home during this period anyway? Let him go with you.”
The corner of Wen Xiuyi’s mouth twitched. Wen Nong? Could Wen Nong manifest things out of thin air?
“Mother, Yaoyao wants to go herself. She wants to take a trip outside to see if she can find some other profitable business for our family. Yaoyao, isn’t that right?” Wen Xiuyi quickly shot Wen Yao a meaningful look.
Wen Yao held the old lady’s arm and coaxed gently, “Grandma, just let me go with my dad. I promise I’ll listen to him and won’t wander off.”
“Do you really want to go?” Old Madam Luo frowned.
Wen Yao nodded like a little woodpecker. “Mmh, mmh!”
After a long moment, Old Madam Luo finally let out a sigh and glared at Wen Xiuyi. “Then you make sure you take good care of the child. You’re a father now, so don’t go acting without a shred of propriety.”
“Yes, yes, yes. Everything will be done according to your wishes, Mother.”
In the end, Old Madam Luo still wanted Wen Nong to go along so that Wen Xiuyi would have someone to order around. But how could Wen Xiuyi possibly dare to bring him? If he brought him, wouldn’t they be exposed instantly?
Under Wen Xiuyi’s stubborn insistence, Wen Nong was ultimately left at home to help with the chores. He would take Wen Yao to the broker’s agency to rent a carriage and head to the prefectural city to look around.
As for the rest of the Wen family, those who never had decision-making power anyway weren’t qualified to speak up; they only needed to listen and obey.
The next day, Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi packed a few changes of clothes. Under the exhaustive and repeated reminders of Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo, they took the ox-cart into the city, rented a horse carriage from Broker Deng’s agency, and set off toward the prefectural city.
As the superior city governing Yunwu Town, the distance between the prefectural city and Yunwu Town wasn’t actually that far. By horse carriage, it took only a single day’s travel to arrive.
However, because Yunwu Town sat right along the river, most people chose to travel by water since it was highly convenient. While land routes existed, they were rarely used.
Broker Deng had worried that the father and daughter wouldn’t be able to drive the carriage well, so he had even provided them with a driver. Just like that, stopping and starting along the way, they finally arrived at the prefectural city in the afternoon of the second day.
The prefectural city certainly lived up to its status, being vastly more prosperous than Yunwu Town. The father and daughter stayed the night at an inn and spent the entire next day exploring the city, buying gifts for everyone in the family. Only then did they begin mulling over how to find a place to bring out the compound fertilizer, have it repackaged, and haul it back.
Ah, this tight schedule really is a hassle.
Fortunately, the driver who had brought them was a veteran worker under Broker Deng. Upon learning that the two wanted to find a temporary space to store some goods, he led them to a broker’s agency in the prefectural city that had friendly ties with Broker Deng. For a monthly rent of one tael of silver, they secured a small, secluded courtyard. Since it was purely meant for storing goods, there weren’t many requirements—just a few rooms that could keep out the wind and rain would suffice.
Moreover, having this house rented meant that if they ever needed other items in the future, they could use this place as a transit station. Most importantly, the house was in a highly remote location with very few neighbors around, making it the perfect spot to secretly get things done.
Leaving Broker Deng’s driver at the inn under a pretext, the father and daughter immediately rented a different carriage to head out to the small courtyard they had leased.
The moment they unlocked and pushed open the gate, they were completely stunned. There were four rooms in total, and while the doors and windows were completely intact, the courtyard was overrun with wild weeds. It was blatantly obvious that no one had lived here for a very long time.
“This place is grand. No one would ever dream of what’s hidden inside here,” Wen Xiuyi remarked, highly satisfied.
Wen Yao took the keys to open the doors to the various rooms. The interiors were coated in thick layers of dust and cobwebs, with tables, chairs, and stools overturned all over the place. The sight alone was enough to give anyone a headache.
“Dad, stop inspecting it. Let’s clear out a corner first so I can put the things down.” Wen Yao had purchased a massive pile inside her space. Although the space was large enough that it didn’t take up any physical room, every time she went inside, she had to pass by a mountain of compound fertilizer. The smell was simply indescribable.
Once the two managed to clear out a corner, Wen Yao didn’t hesitate to pull out all fifty bags of compound fertilizer in one go. Half the corner was instantly stacked to the ceiling.
Utilizing the convenience of the space, Wen Yao had also swapped all the original packaging for plain burlap sacks.
It had been so long since Wen Xiuyi had laid eyes on these things that it felt like encountering an old comrade. Even the pungent odor no longer smelled foul to him.
“Let it sit for two days, and then we’ll hire someone to haul it all back,” Wen Xiuyi said, clapping his hands together with immense satisfaction.
With this massive weight lifted from his chest, Wen Xiuyi instantly felt exceptionally light. Anyway, once they hauled it back, if anyone asked where the stuff came from, he would just say he went out and found it. As for where exactly he found it? Sorry, that’s a trade secret. If you keep prying, you won’t get to use it.
He refused to believe he couldn’t keep them under his thumb.
When the two returned to the inn, Wen Yao clattered around and pulled several more items out from the space. The moment Wen Xiuyi saw the design of the boxes, they looked instantly familiar.
“A stethoscope, a sphygmomanometer? What did you bring those out for?” Wen Xiuyi stood frozen. The fertilizer was a simple matter; after all, no one here could analyze its chemical components, so they just needed to keep their mouths shut.
But these medical tools—one glance was enough to tell they definitely shouldn’t exist in this era.
Wen Yao looked completely indifferent. “Well, since we’re already out here anyway, my brother misses these old comrades of his terribly. Let’s just bring them back for him together.”
Since they were already laying all their cards on the table, it didn’t matter anymore.
Wen Xiuyi gave it some thought and realized she was right.
“In that case, you’ll probably need to get another set,” Wen Xiuyi remarked, stroking his chin.
Wen Yao looked up. “Why?”
Wen Xiuyi let out a sly chuckle. “Have you forgotten? Your brother currently has a master who is an absolute medical fanatic. If he finds out your brother possesses such wonderful treasures, he’ll be clinging to your brother every single day.”
Wen Yao: “…”
How on earth did I completely forget about Doctor Jin?
