Chapter 115: Fruits

Chapter 115: Guazi

In the winter of Chongde's fifteenth year, Chen Zhudao, the county magistrate of Sui County, submitted his year-end report to the throne, praising Gu Chaoning's rice-paddy fish farming and Yin Hongxue's bamboo-cylinder waterwheel.

In the spring of Chongde's sixteenth year, a decree from the capital designated Sui County as the pilot site for Gu Chaoning's rice-paddy fish farming method, and that same year, Yin Hongxue's bamboo-cylinder waterwheel began its nationwide rollout.

In the summer of Chongde's sixteenth year, the regions where Yin Hongxue's bamboo-cylinder waterwheel had been rolled out saw abundant harvests of produce and grain.

In the autumn of Chongde's sixteenth year, the pilot project of Gu Chaoning's rice-paddy fish farming in Sui County saw the whole county enjoy a double bumper harvest of fish and rice.

In the winter of Chongde's sixteenth year, Chen Zhudao, the county magistrate of Sui County, submitted his year-end report to the throne once again.

In the spring of Chongde's seventeenth year, the entire city of Chuanyang Prefecture was designated as a pilot site for Gu Chaoning's rice-paddy fish farming method, and in the autumn of that year, Yin Hongxue's bamboo-cylinder waterwheel completed its nationwide rollout across the Great Qi.

"Tea, good tea! Hot summer day—two coppers a bowl, cools you off and quenches your thirst!"

The wagon train slowly pulled to a stop, and a group of travelers came over, each ordering a bowl of tea.

The shop assistant carried over two trays and set them down, but before he could leave, the man at the front asked, "Hey, boss, is Duckweed Town up ahead?"

"Yes!" The assistant was clearly used to travelers asking this question, and went on, "If you're driving carts, you'll get there in about an hour and a half."

The assistant wiped his sweat and pointed ahead. "You can't miss it—just follow this main road straight, and you'll see a big sign that says 'Duckweed Town,' and that's it."

The man at the front thanked the assistant, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

After finishing their tea, the group set off once more.

The paddy fish from Duckweed Town had become famous far and wide over the past two years—even dried fish, people would buy them and ship them up north or down south.

They were headed north this trip.

The south had lots of rivers and the ocean, and though the folks down there were curious about paddy fish and would buy some to try, it just didn't compare to the north.

As for fish, they planned to buy two cartloads of live fish and sell them at the next prefecture seat, then spend the rest on dried fish to haul up to the far north.

The far north had lots of cattle and sheep—they could use the fish money to buy furs, beef, and mutton, then haul those back and sell them for a profit too.

Round trip, they'd not only have some money left over for a good New Year, but they could also buy cloth to make new clothes for their wives, husbands, kids, and parents.

Thinking about that, the group kept going for about another hour and a half until they spotted the big sign for Duckweed Town.

The town gate looked brand new, probably built in the last couple of years. There were a lot of people going in, and a constable was checking people.

The man at the front observed for a moment and was glad to see there was no entry fee.

One of the guys behind him couldn't help laughing. "This Duckweed Town is as lively as a county town!"

No kidding—they'd been all over, passed through several county towns, and some run-down, half-empty county towns weren't even as lively as Duckweed Town.

The group waited in line for another fifteen minutes. When they saw the constable checking the carts, the lead man rubbed his sleeve, getting ready to pull out some silver to bribe the constable with "tea money."

But before he could even offer it, the constable checked them, found nothing wrong, and just waved them through.

The lead man froze for a second, and the constable got a bit impatient.

"Get moving! You're blocking the way—how are the folks behind you supposed to get through?"

After getting yelled at, the whole group nodded, dazed, and hurried forward, forgetting to hand over the money they'd already pulled out.

Only once they were inside the town did the man scratch his head.

"Boss, do the constables here in Duckweed Town not take bribes?"

The lead man, who'd just been yelled at, was even more confused than the other guy.

"How the hell should I know? If they don't take it, even better—come on, let's go. That money can buy us an extra fish."

Fair enough—everyone chuckled and moved on.

That night, they found an inn to bunk down at, and early the next morning, they had breakfast and headed out to scout for fish.

"Fish? If you want the best paddy fish in town, you gotta go to Little River Village—the place that first started rice-paddy fish farming."

The group nodded; they had all heard of Little River Village.

After all, along with Gu Chaoning's rice-paddy fish farming and Yin Hongxue's bamboo-cylinder waterwheel, the name of their village—Little River Village—had spread far and wide too.

Seeing they were tempted, the guy changed his tune and added, "But Little River Village's fish are so in demand they're probably all spoken for by now."

"Hell, even I can't get an order, and I'm a local—you outsiders don't stand a chance."

The lead man sighed along with him, chatted a bit more to find out where else to buy fish, then headed out.

"Boss, is it this way?"

"Hey, hey, Guazi, get back here!"

As the group was looking in that direction, a little golden monkey suddenly shot out from the side.

The little monkey was only about half as long as a man's arm.

It ran over, ran into the group, grabbed the lead man's clothes, and scrambled up onto his shoulder.

"Hey, hey, where did this little monkey come from!"

"Guazi, come back!"

The little monkey was holding a calligraphy brush in one hand and grabbed the lead man's hair with the other and wouldn't let go.

Hearing the calls behind it, it squeaked anxiously.

Two young men of about the same build came running over, one in front, one behind, looking like a rich young master and his servant.

The one in front had a box strapped to his back, wearing light blue robes with a dark blue sash, from which hung a jade ring and a sachet.

At first glance, he was fresh and striking.

As they got closer, they saw that his face was even more striking than his clothes.

One of the guys, only about sixteen, stared blankly at the young man running over, completely transfixed.

Then the guy next to him elbowed him.

The young man quickly looked away, staring at his feet, his ears turning bright red.

The young man stopped, his cool, distant expression softening into a smile.

"Sorry about that—my little monkey got spooked and ran over here. Good thing you caught him, or we'd still be chasing him. I'm Guan Qi."

The lad behind him stepped forward and handed the leading man a plain-colored pouch.

"Here's some silver for you brothers to get some tea."

The leader didn't want to take it, but before he could wave it off, the skinny young man somehow managed to press the pouch right into his hand.

When he raised his hand again, the little monkey that had been clinging to his shoulder and grabbing his hair let go and jumped into Guanqi's arms.

Guanqi then gave him a brief bow and stepped back to stand behind the young master.

The young master also bowed to them, took the little monkey from Guanqi, and turned to leave.

Not far ahead, they spotted a couple of chubby young men running toward them.

One of them called out, "Xue-ge, Xue-ge, did you find Guozi?"

"We found him. Luckily we bumped into some folks—Guozi climbed onto one man's shoulder..."

"Hey, bro, how much did that young master give?"

Someone leaned over, eyes fixed intently on the plain pouch.

It looked fairly full—probably a few hundred coins, right?

They'd heard rich young masters carried special tip pouches with fixed amounts—tens to hundreds of coins, usually lucky numbers.

The leading man instinctively squeezed the pouch and felt something odd with his fingers.

Opening it, he saw pieces of silver.

"Whoa, this is their everyday pouch, isn't it? Must be over a tael."

Just for catching a monkey, that's a lot.

They clicked their tongues in amazement, figuring that Dudu Town was more prosperous than the average county seat.

...

"Xue-ge, let me hold Guozi—you've already got a heavy box to carry."

With that, Gu Mu'an reached out, and the little monkey, now calm, didn't struggle and let Gu Mu'an take him.

Yin Hongxue then took the brush back from Guozi and handed it to Guanqi beside him.

He sighed. "That acrobatic troupe is really something else. It's been over two years, and Guozi still gets scared when he sees them."

"Exactly! Though at least now they only do acts with people, not animals."

Guanqi and Tingfeng trailed behind, listening to the young masters talk up ahead.

Guozi's little furry face peeked out from Gu Mu'an's neck, staring at them. Seeing this, Tingfeng made a funny face at Guozi, and Guozi grinned back.

Back at the residence, Zhenxia was waiting at the gate. Yin Hongxue and Gu Mu'an hurried over to her.

Zhenxia's serious face softened the moment she saw them.

"Second Young Master, Third Young Master, the lady of the house has asked about you twice already. Was something holding you up today?"

"We ran into a bit of trouble." Yin Hongxue replied, picking up the pace.

Guanqi and Tingfeng had been under Zhenxia's care since entering the Gu household, and both brightened up at the sight of her.

Zhenxia smiled at them too, then walked alongside Yin Hongxue and Gu Mu'an.

Zhenxia had been in the household for nearly three years now. The masters treated their servants kindly, and she felt a sense of closeness to them.

Guanqi and Tingfeng had both come to the household this year—one reserved, one lively, both good-natured.

There was just one thing, though.

Guanqi couldn't speak.

The young man was fortunate, though, to have caught the Second Young Master's eye and study reading and painting at his side.

Entering the second courtyard, Chen Youyan and Wang Xiuxiu were packing up stuff, while not far off, Gu Wen and Jianshan were lifting a large chest onto a cart.

Gu Chaoning stood nearby, carrying something too.

When she saw them come back, Wang Xiuxiu was the first to ask, "Why are you back so late?"

"It was Guozi," Gu Mu'an said, stroking the monkey as if to soothe him. "We ran into that acrobatic troupe from before. He got scared and ran off, so Xue-ge and I chased after him for a while."

Guanqi and Tingfeng had already gone to carry Yin Hongxue's and Gu Mu'an's belongings. Yin Hongxue first set his box carefully on the stone table, then joined in.

"Guozi's still afraid of them?" Chen Youyan asked, surprised.

Both of them nodded.

Indeed—with how Guozi was always getting into trouble and climbing on roofs, you'd think he'd have gotten over it long ago.

Wang Xiuxiu comforted the monkey, "It's okay, Guozi. In a few days when Grandma has time, she'll make you a new outfit."

Guozi chirped as if he understood.

Everyone talked as they finished loading everything up.

Gu Wen drove the front cart, and Jianshan drove the cart behind.

Jianshan and Zhenxia were both servants bought when they first moved to the town residence—Jianshan a man, Zhenxia a woman. When they first arrived, they were nervous watching the Gu family do their own work, but now they'd gotten used to it.

Earlier this spring, they'd bought three servants for the three children: one man named Zhimo, and two young men, Guanqi and Tingfeng.

The names were all chosen by Gu Chaoning—as Gu Daniu put it, they were fancy and hard to pronounce.

But after saying them enough times, they'd gotten used to them.