The next day, Uncle Zhong stared at the dozens of bags of vegetable seedlings they had just bought, and couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation on his scalp.
He could read and write, do accounts, and had even practiced martial arts with the prince for a few days. He couldn't be called a man of both letters and martial arts, but he was quite well - traveled. However... farming?
He was the chief steward of a first - class prince's mansion! Why on earth should he know how to farm?
This was simply beyond his scope of business and psychological expectations.
Li Wanming was extremely happy when she saw the sacks on the ground.
"Are we about to start?"
She squatted down and excitedly rummaged through the seedlings in the sacks. "Not bad. They're quite fresh."
Spring Peach stood beside her, also delighted. "Miss, look. The cabbage seeds in the capital are even plumper than those in Fujian."
When she first came to the Li family, Li Rusong was just an eighth - rank military officer and the family wasn't well - off.
So when Miss Li grew vegetables, Spring Peach would help out.
It had just been the past two years in the capital that they hadn't done such rough work. Now, suddenly seeing it again, it felt quite familiar.
"That's bok choy!"
Li Wanming glared at her. "You always misidentified them back then. How come you still haven't remembered?"
Spring Peach wasn't angry at all. She grinned. "They look pretty much the same!"
"Alright. Let's not get in the way. Let Uncle start planting!"
Li Wanming pulled Spring Peach aside.
Uncle Zhong had no choice but to muster up his courage and start giving orders.
"You two, plant these rapeseed seedlings in that field..."
Li Wanming: "That's bok choy."
"Oh, then this coriander..."
"That's Chinese prickly ash."
"This radish..."
"That's eggplant."
...
Li Wanming finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Uncle, do you even recognize vegetables?"
He hadn't named a single vegetable correctly. Was he really a vegetable farmer?
Uncle Zhong blushed. He stubbornly said, "We'll recognize them once they grow. The seeds are all so tiny. Who can tell them apart?"
"But if you don't recognize the seeds and seedlings, how will you know what kind of fertilizer to use for each field?"
Uncle Zhong was stunned. "The fertilizers are different?"
"Of course they are!"
Li Wanming was speechless.
"Wood ash, chicken manure, green manure, bean dregs. There are more than a dozen types of fertilizers alone! Also, some vegetables like sunlight, some like shade. Some need to have their tips pinched off after sprouting, and some need support frames... If you don't know these things, how can you grow vegetables?"
Li Wanming rattled on in one breath, leaving the people around her stunned.
Uncle Zhong was already regretting it in his heart.
The identity of a vegetable farmer was something they had casually come up with on a whim.
They had thought that selling vegetables was an easy and simple job. They never expected there to be so many details! If they had known, they would have chosen a different identity...
Xiao Jingnan forced out a couple of dry laughs and explained, "Uncle has been growing vegetables for so many years. How could he not know? He must know. He's just teasing us..."
He leaned over to Li Wanming's ear and whispered, "Didn't I tell you? My uncle and aunt are extremely lazy. They rely on the weather to farm. They don't pay that much attention to details."
"But can the vegetables grown like that be eaten?" Li Wanming couldn't believe it.
"They can, but they don't taste very good."
...
After hearing this, Li Wanming turned around seriously and said, "Uncle, where do you set up your vegetable stall? I need to tell our kitchen staff to avoid it in the future."
Uncle Zhong blushed to the roots of his ears.
What a disgrace!
It was truly a disgrace!
After managing the prince's mansion for so many years, this was the first time someone had questioned his ability to do things!
Avoid it... It was simply a great shame in his career.
Seeing this, Xiao Jingnan quickly pulled Li Wanming away. "Let Uncle and the others farm well. Let's not disturb them. Aren't we going to the Flower - Worshiping Festival the day after tomorrow? Let's see if there's anything we need to prepare..."
"Prepare what? Can't we just go directly?"
Xiao Jingnan sighed deeply. "My dear wife, Mother is also going. It's not appropriate to let her take the ox - cart to Changming Street this time..."
Li Wanming thought for a moment. "You're right."
Changming Street was bustling and crowded. An ox - cart would easily cause traffic jams.
"Then I'll ask Spring Peach to hire a carriage."
Saying this, Li Wanming left with Xiao Jingnan, leaving Uncle Zhong, Lu Ping, and Wu Yao to continue smiling bitterly at the vegetable seeds on the ground.
——————————
On the third day of the third lunar month, it was the Flower - Worshiping Festival.
It was the most beautiful season of the year. The willows were budding, the peach and plum blossoms were exuding fragrance. The warm sun and gentle breeze dispelled the cold of winter, and the whole capital became bright and colorful.
The busiest place, of course, was Changming Street, the main thoroughfare running through the capital.
The imperial examination had ended the day before yesterday, and the emperor had named the top three scholars: the Number One Scholar, the Second Place Scholar, and the Third Place Scholar.
Today, they would ride through the streets on horseback with the other successful candidates.
This was a royal grace and an unparalleled glory.
Countless scholars had studied hard for ten years just for this moment of bringing honor to their ancestors!
Changming Street was already filled with people as far as the eye could see. Even the teahouses and shops on both sides were crowded.
The young ladies and married women from various families had occupied good positions early in the morning, eager to choose a suitable husband for themselves!
Yes, that's right. In the Great Sheng Dynasty, there were two grand events for choosing a son - in - law. One was when the results of the spring imperial examination were announced, and the other was the parade during the Flower - Worshiping Festival.
Relatively speaking, the event when the spring imperial examination results were announced was a bit less grand, because at that time, the imperial examination had not yet been held, and people didn't know the rankings of the top three. Choosing a husband was a bit like opening a blind box.
The parade during the Flower - Worshiping Festival was different!
The Number One Scholar, the Second Place Scholar, and the Third Place Scholar - the three most outstanding young talents in the Great Sheng Dynasty had been selected. Choosing a husband at this time was a targeted and sure - fire way!
Moreover, the way of choosing a husband here was different from that when the spring imperial examination results were announced.
It was more civilized and elegant.
When the spring imperial examination results were announced, women would cover a man's head and take him away. But during the parade, the custom was to throw flowers.
The young ladies would first write their names or poems on bookmarks and tie them to the selected flower branches. When they saw a desirable gentleman, they would throw the flower branches at him.
If the gentleman was also interested, he would accept the flower branch and then pay a visit to the young lady's family.
Throwing flowers to choose a husband was just that sophisticated.
Li Wanming's carriage couldn't move forward as soon as it reached the alley entrance.
On the street, there were crowds of people as far as the eye could see. The heads were so dense that it was like ants moving.
"Why are there so many people? Is the parade of the top scholars really that interesting?" Li Wanming was very surprised.
The parade of the top scholars was held once every three years. She had only been in the capital for two years, so this was the first time she had encountered such a grand occasion.
However, what she didn't know was that the overcrowding on Changming Street this year was all thanks to her!
Since last month, after she had taken a husband under the imperial list, the market for "catching a husband under the imperial list" had plummeted!
It was widely rumored in the capital that the husband the Li family's daughter had caught under the imperial list hadn't even taken the exam!
Moreover, he was a poor man!
He didn't like reading!
He was weak and sickly!
He was lazy!
He was greedy!
...
Was this the quality of the husbands caught under the imperial list?
No, no. It was too unreliable!
Come to think of it, throwing flowers during the parade was more cost - effective!
Just like this, Li Wanming single - handedly lowered the reputation of "catching a husband under the imperial list" and promoted the prosperity of the market for choosing a husband during the parade.
At this moment, the culprit was completely unaware. She was sweating profusely and struggling to squeeze forward in the crowd with Xiao Jingnan.
Although Wu Yao and Lu Ping were opening the way in front, they couldn't withstand the surging crowd.
The Prince of Ning said he was unwell and couldn't go out, and Uncle said he had to hurry up and clear the land at home. Her parents had received an urgent report early this morning, saying that there was an important matter in the military camp.
So today, only she and Xiao Jingnan, together with the Princess of Ning and their two "cousins", came to watch the parade.
There were simply too many people. Li Wanming gradually lost sight of Lu Ping and Wu Yao in front. When she looked back, she found that the Princess of Ning was also gone!
This scared her to death!
With so many people, what if this delicate mother - in - law was squeezed and hurt?
Li Wanming turned around and walked back. She desperately searched in the crowd while scolding in her heart: Why on earth did we come to watch this stupid parade? Wouldn't it be better to stay at home?
Xiao Jingnan was very calm. "Don't worry, wife. Mother may just want to take a stroll on her own..."
"With so many people, where can she stroll!" Li Wanming roared.
What was this guy thinking?
Wasn't he worried about his mother's safety at all?
Just as she was getting anxious, she suddenly saw Wu Yao and Lu Ping waving at her in front. "Cousin and cousin - in - law, this way!"
The two of them pushed through the crowd and managed to pull Li Wanming, Xiao Jingnan, and Spring Peach out of the crowd.
Li Wanming tidied up her clothes that had been messed up by the crowd. She saw that the place where Wu Yao was standing was a secluded and elegant attic.
The hall was spacious, and a faint fragrance wafted in the air.
Compared with the overcrowded street outside, it was like a paradise in the bustling city.
She looked up and saw a plaque hanging in the middle of the attic, with three big characters on it: Muyun Pavilion.
...
Muyun Pavilion?
The most expensive restaurant in the capital, as the legend went!
A simple meal here would cost thirty taels of silver, and it only served high - ranking officials and nobles!
Was this a place they could come to?
What did Lu Ping and Wu Yao bring them here for?