Chapter 169: Returned
On the day of their return journey, Wen Xiuyi had the driver go to a carriage rental shop in the prefectural city to hire several extra horse carriages. He then brought them to the secluded little courtyard, where all the compound fertilizer was loaded onto the carriages before they set off for home.
The driver who had brought them there could not fathom it no matter how hard he thought. They had clearly arrived together, and the courtyard had only just been rented. When on earth had someone managed to deliver all these goods inside?
However, he knew very well what he should ask and what he shouldn’t. His only duty was to safely drive the carriage to deliver Wen Yao and Wen Xiuyi back to Gutong Village, after which his mission would be complete, and he could return to the manager to report.
Back in Gutong Village, Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo, under the organization of the village chief, had gathered the villagers together to pass down the yield-increasing methods Wen Xiuyi had taught them.
Aside from the members of the Wen family and the few households who followed their lead, everyone else remained skeptical. After all, the seedlings had already grown so large by now; wouldn’t it be a terrible pity to pull them up? Even though those deformed and weak duds weren’t growing well, they could at least yield a tiny bit of grain.
But if they pulled them up, they would truly be left with nothing.
Furthermore, everyone said the eldest son of the Wen family went to look for fertilizer, but whether he could actually find any was still a complete mystery.
“In any case, we’ve told you everything that needs to be said. Whether you do it or not is entirely up to you. My eldest son has already gone to find suitable fertilizer for everyone. If he returns and you can’t catch up with the top-dressing schedule, don’t blame us for not warning you.” Seeing the villagers’ attitude, Old Madam Luo threw down these words, called for Old Man Wen, and marched away.
The villagers were half-believing and half-doubting, but a few bold households still went out to their fields under the cover of night to pull up the small, stunted, and deformed seedlings just as Old Man Wen and the others had advised.
There were also those who maintained a wait-and-see approach, feeling that it would still be in time to pull them up later anyway.
However, as time ticked away day by day, neither Wen Xiuyi nor Wen Yao returned. Let alone the villagers, even Old Madam Luo and Old Man Wen began to lose their nerve and grow anxious.
It wasn’t until the fifth day after the two had left the village that someone caught sight of horse carriages approaching the village from afar. As everyone craned their necks to look, they finally discerned exactly who was waving at them from atop the leading carriage.
“They’re back, they’re back! Scholar Wen is back!” The person who saw them immediately raised a cheer in the village, drawing everyone out of their homes.
People ran around spreading the word, heading out to the fields to call back every single person working out there.
Flanked by the surrounding villagers, Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo walked at the very front of the crowd, with even the village chief lagging a few steps behind them.
Wen Xiuyi’s carriage ground to a halt at the entrance of the village.
“Dad, Mom, we’re back.” Wen Xiuyi leaped down from the carriage and stepped forward to bow to his parents. Wen Yao hopped down right after him, giving Old Madam Luo a fright: “Slow down!”
Wen Yao gave a sheepish giggle and stood beside the old lady, casting a glance around. It seemed practically half the village had shown up.
“Did you find the stuff?” Old Man Wen asked solicitously. This was his primary concern. Although they had laid out the harsh truths beforehand—that whether it could be found depended entirely on fate—Old Man Wen still hoped Wen Xiuyi could resolve the village’s crisis. If one could eat their fill, who would willingly choose to starve?
Wen Xiuyi nodded, pointing to the several carriages behind him. “We found it, Dad. It’s all right here.”
Old Man Wen nearly wept with joy. The moment he saw the bags of fertilizer piled high across the several carriages, the anxiety in his chest vanished instantly.
Upon hearing that it had been brought back, the villagers surged forward in a wave, wanting to take a closer look.
Seeing this momentum, Old Madam Luo knew it wouldn’t do. What if someone took advantage of the chaos to cause trouble or secretly pilfer some?
“All of you freeze right there! Nobody move a muscle!” Old Madam Luo roared. Wen Xiuzhu, Wen Xiuqing, and the Lu brothers immediately stepped in front of the carriages, shielding the goods behind them.
The crowd ground to a halt. Old Madam Luo let out a cold snort and said, “Eldest, have the men deliver the goods straight home first.”
Wen Xiuyi blanked for a second before snapping out of it.
“Ah, right. Second Brother, Third Brother, you lead them there.”
Only then did Wen Xiuzhu and Wen Xiuqing signal the carriage drivers to follow them. With Old Madam Luo standing guard, no one dared to step forward and touch anything at this moment, so they could only watch blankly as the carriages departed.
“Madame Wen, is it really out of the question to just let us have a look?” someone called out, drawing murmurs of agreement from the people beside them.
Supported by Wen Yao, Old Madam Luo kept her spine perfectly straight and remarked indifferently, “Of course you can look, but you can see it perfectly fine from right there. This fertilizer was found by my eldest son. As for how it will be distributed or sold later, we still need to discuss a proper protocol. All of you just wait.”
Someone gasped in surprise, “It actually costs money?”
The question actually amused Old Madam Luo.
“If it doesn’t cost money, can the grain from your family’s fields be given to my household? What a joke. This fertilizer was bought by my son with cold, hard cash. Giving it to you for free? You certainly have a grand imagination.”
The crowd was instantly stifled.
Someone muttered in a low voice, “Had I known it would cost money, I wouldn’t have followed along with this.”
Old Madam Luo sneered. “We said right from the very start that it was entirely voluntary. Alright, Eldest, Yaoyao, let’s go home.”
As she walked past the village chief, she cast a glance at him, tilted her chin up, and said flatly, “The village chief should come along as well.”
The village chief: “…” For the sake of the fertilizer, he could only follow behind them submissively, not forgetting to placate the anxious villagers beside him, promising he would definitely figure out a solution.
The villagers fell into a chaotic flurry of discussion, spouting all sorts of remarks. Some said the Wen family had struck it rich and now looked down on the villagers, while others argued that since the items were purchased by them in the first place, charging a bit of money was only natural, as they couldn’t be expected to take a loss. Still others felt that since the Wen family wanted to do a good deed, they should just carry it through to the end; what was the point of charging money?
In short, they said whatever they pleased, but it didn’t affect the Wen family members in the slightest as they went about their business.
By the time Old Madam Luo and the others returned, Wen Xiuzhu had already led the men to unload all the bags into the empty front gatehouse room at Wen Xiuyi’s house.
Wen Xiuyi settled the wages with the carriage drivers, and they went on their way.
The family stood inside the front gatehouse storehouse, staring at the sacks of goods with immense curiosity.
Wen Xiuyi opened a sack and scooped out a bit of the compound fertilizer inside.
“What on earth is that smell?” Everyone instinctively covered their noses and mouths, finding the pungent odor incredibly piercing.
Once he grew somewhat accustomed to it, Old Man Wen stepped forward, grabbed a handful, and looked at Wen Xiuyi. “Eldest, this stuff is the fertilizer?”
Could these little clods of dirt actually work?
Wen Xiuyi nodded. “Dad, the dosage is fifty catties per mu. Just scatter it evenly out in the fields. I don’t know if this large amount will be enough.”
Old Man Wen looked at the massive pile stacked in the storehouse, roughly estimating it to be around two to three thousand catties. It should be plenty.
“Where did you two manage to procure this from?” Old Man Wen inquired. Truly, he had never seen this type of fertilizer before in his entire life. Just this tiny bit—fifty catties was enough for a whole mu?
Wen Xiuyi glossed over it. “We just went out and found it. I can’t quite remember which book I read it in a long time ago, but it said this stuff works.”
Old Man Wen shot him a glance but didn’t press further.
“Eldest, how much does this cost per catty?” Old Madam Luo inquired.
Both Wen Xiuyi and Wen Yao breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Thank goodness the Wen family didn’t keep interrogating them; otherwise, they truly wouldn’t have known how to answer.
It seemed the plot elements of the original book were actually somewhat useful at times.
