The moment the ammonia erupted, Li Wencheng's face looked even more spectacular than if he had swallowed a fly.
As the white smoke cleared, that pungent, eye-watering stench still hung in the air. Xu Qinghuan stood atop the carriage, looking down at the pairs of terrified eyes below, feeling utterly delighted. Scared now, are you? Good! That's exactly what I wanted!
This is the effect I'm going for. From now on, if anyone dares call me a living Bodhisattva, I'll release this "poison gas" right at their doorstep.
"Li Sheng!" Xu Qinghuan flicked her sleeve and pointed at the earthen mound still billowing white smoke. "Go to the city and buy tarpaulins. Buy as many as you can! Even if you have to strip them from other people's roofs, get those tarps for me!"
Li Sheng covered his nose, tears streaming down his face. "Young Mistress, what do we need tarps for? It's already exploded..."
"Seal it!" Xu Qinghuan's eyes flashed with a fierce light. "Cover these mounds up tight! Not a single whiff is allowed to escape! I want this poison gas stewing inside properly. No one gets to smell it!"
Her little scheme was devilishly clever: adding wood ash would definitely ruin the fertility. Now, while it's hot, she would smother the whole thing. Sealed airtight, it would surely mold, grow fungus, and rot into an utterly disgusting mess.
When they finally uncovered it, that would be the truly revolting part. This whole pile would be completely ruined, worthless even if you paid someone to take it.
When Li Wencheng heard this, he scrambled backward a good hundred feet, pointing at Xu Qinghuan and cursing, "Madwoman! You're trying to cultivate poison gas! Are you trying to breed some kind of Gu King?!"
Xu Qinghuan looked down at him with the expression one reserves for idiots. "Magistrate Li, if you're afraid of dying, then get lost. This land now bears the Xu family name. I'll do with it as I please. If you're not happy, by all means, send your men to arrest me. Let's see if your constables run faster, or my poison gas drifts faster."
Who would dare arrest her? The constables were already scared out of their wits, wishing they could bury their heads in their pants.
Li Wencheng looked at these officers, terrified of being poisoned, and felt utter despair.
"Damn it! Is being cowards what the court pays you for?!"
"Get up there and seize her!"
Li Wencheng shouted, but even though the soldiers were covering their noses, it was as if they had covered their ears instead. They simply couldn't seem to hear a word Li Wencheng said.
In times like these, everyone fears death.
A few dozen coins a month isn't worth risking your life for!
Can't understand, won't listen! It's all pointless!
"Damn it!"
"A bunch of useless freeloaders!"
Li Wencheng cursed. He was a cowardly sort himself, or he would have charged forward long ago.
But seeing Xu Qinghuan's smug expression, another wave of anger surged within him.
He rolled up his sleeves, preparing to...
Suddenly, a dark figure glided over.
It was that person's personal guard.
"His Highness the Third Prince has ordered..." the guard whispered a few words into Li Wencheng's ear—a message from Xiao Jingyan. "Do not startle the snake."
Li Wencheng's panicked, aged face stiffened for a moment, then his heart skipped a beat.
The Third Prince was watching?
His mind raced with over-interpretation, believing the Third Prince was granting him an "Imperial Sword," authorizing him to clash with the Xu family to the bitter end.
Li Wencheng bowed deeply and respectfully in the direction where the Third Prince was.
After the guard left, Li Wencheng was a changed man.
Watching the Xu family servants struggling to haul the tarpaulins, he revealed a scornful smirk, gritting his teeth as he threw down a challenge: "Fine! You've got guts, go ahead and seal it! Let's see what world-shattering poison gas you can brew!"
"This official will now mobilize men to seal off a five-mile radius! In a few days, when that poison gas can no longer be contained and erupts, it will be time for the extermination of your entire Xu family!"
With that, Li Wencheng led his men away in a hasty retreat.
Xu Qinghuan watched their retreating figures and snorted coldly.
Idiots.
In a few days, when this pile has rotted into a complete mess, I'll dump all this waste soil into the moat, polluting the water source once more. Let's see if this infamy can finally fill up that damn system progress bar for me.
...
Three days.
For these three days, the atmosphere in Taoyuan County was more sour than the vinegar in a giant pot.
The earthen mounds outside the city, tightly wrapped in tarpaulins, had become the entire county's nightmare. Li Wencheng had indeed mobilized several hundred local militiamen, surrounding the area so tightly not even a fly could get in.
At noon on the third day, under the most scorching sun.
Li Wencheng arrived on a tall horse. This time, he not only brought constables but also invited several venerable local gentry elders from the county. He had even managed to coax an Education Intendant, who happened to be passing through on an inspection tour, to attend. He wanted to expose the Xu family's shame before the whole world, turning this "poison-brewing" ironclad case into a sealed verdict.
"Honored sirs, please look." Li Wencheng, holding a folding fan, pointed at the distant, massive black tarpaulin bundles. "That Xu woman, perverting the natural order, sealed the poison with tarpaulins. Now that three days have passed, the poison gas inside has likely transformed into a deadly, heated miasma!"
Everyone followed his pointing finger. Above the tarpaulins, the very air seemed to warp and shimmer.
Even from dozens of yards away, one could feel a startling wave of heat rushing toward them. The sight was as if a volcano on the verge of eruption lay beneath these earthen mounds, steaming with heat, even puffing up the tarpaulins so they bulged, looking ready to burst at any moment.
"Hiss—" The Education Intendant drew a sharp breath. "Such intense heat is surely a sign of poisonous fire assaulting the heart! This Xu family is truly deranged!"
Li Wencheng was immensely pleased. This time, it's in the bag.
Just then, that iconic red carriage came swaying into view.
Xu Qinghuan stepped down from the carriage, fanning herself. Seeing the scene, she felt even more confident. So hot? It seems the stuff inside has spoiled thoroughly, must be completely rotten by now.
"Well, well, Magistrate Li, have you brought people to see off my piles of rotten mud?" Xu Qinghuan laughed, utterly carefree.
Li Wencheng sneered, "Xu Qinghuan, keep up the act. Today, before His Excellency the Education Intendant, this official will tear off your mask! Men! Go and pull down those tarpaulins! Let everyone see what scourge is hidden within!"
A few brave constables, with wet cloths over their noses and mouths and holding long hooks, approached tremblingly.
The watching commoners recoiled in fear, worried that once the cloth was pulled back, some man-eating monster would come rushing out.
"Open it!"
Li Wencheng shouted the command.
The constables swung their hooks, catching the edges of the tarpaulin. With a combined effort, they yanked it down hard!
Whoosh—!
The enormous tarpaulin slid down.
Everyone instinctively covered their noses and closed their eyes, bracing for the soul-wrenching stench that was sure to come. Xu Qinghuan retreated even farther, taking a couple of steps back, ready to welcome the tidal wave of scathing criticism.
However.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths.
The anticipated foul stench did not appear.
Instead, a plume of white steam, like the heat from freshly steamed buns, billowed skyward. The steam dissipated under the bright sun, carrying with it a scent...
The smell of earth?
No, not quite that.
It was an indescribable, mellow aroma, like freshly turned black soil mixed with fermented rotten leaves. It wasn't foul. It was even somewhat... pleasant?
"Hmm?" The Education Commissioner's nose twitched, and he lowered the sleeve he had been covering his mouth with. "What... what is this smell?"
Li Wencheng was also stunned.
He took a couple of deep sniffs.
No smell of rotting corpses, no pungent sour stench, only a faint, earthy fragrance.
As the steam dissipated, the true appearance of the earthen mound was revealed. The original yellowish, dirty mess mixed with rotten straw and ash was gone. In its place was a pile of black soil, so dark it gleamed, as soft and fine as flour.
Even more miraculous was that while the place had originally been swarming with flies, at this moment, the pile of black soil was utterly clean, without a single insect in sight!
"This is impossible!" Li Wencheng's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He rushed over, grabbed a handful of the black soil from the ground, refusing to believe it.
"Hot!"
Li Wencheng's hand jerked; the soil was actually warm to the touch, almost scalding.
Doctor Wu, who had been shrinking back the whole time, now seemed to have discovered a new world. He boldly stepped forward. Pinching a bit of the black soil between two fingers, he brought it under his nose to smell, then examined its fine texture. Suddenly, a dazzling light burst forth from his old eyes.
"A miracle... this is a miracle!"
Doctor Wu was so excited his beard trembled. With a thud, he knelt on the ground, cradling that handful of soil as if it were gold. "Filth transformed into earth, its color like ink, its heat like fire, its scent pure... This is no poison! This is clearly the 'mature fertilizer' recorded in ancient texts!"
"What fertilizer?" Li Wencheng was dumbfounded.
"Mature fertilizer!" Doctor Wu's voice cracked with the shout. "The raw manure we usually use is the lowest grade—it burns seedlings, attracts pests, and stinks! But this stuff... after being refined by such high heat, all the insect eggs are dead, all the toxic fumes are gone, leaving only the pure essence of fertility!"
"Spread this on the fields, and it's like a powerful tonic for the crops! One handful of this is worth ten handfuls of raw manure!"
His words fell into dead silence.
Then, the crowd erupted.
The farmers, who had originally been scared to death, heard "powerful tonic" and "worth ten handfuls," and the green light in their eyes became fiercer than that of starving wolves.
"Mature fertilizer? This is the legendary mature fertilizer?"
"Look at that color, so black it's glossy!"
"No wonder Miss Xu added plant ash—it was to kill the pests! No wonder she covered it with the tarpaulin—it was to refine the elixir!"
Some old farmer took the lead, crossing the constables' cordon and rushing over. He grabbed a handful of the warm black soil and rubbed it between his hands, weeping as he did so. "Good soil! Truly good soil! I've farmed all my life and never seen fertilizer this good!"
The situation reversed in an instant.
The former "poison-refining site" had, in the blink of an eye, become a "scene of the Divine Farmer bestowing his wisdom."
Li Wencheng still held that handful of soil. Looking at the jubilant commoners around him, then at Doctor Wu being surrounded and revered in the center, he felt his face burn with shame.
He had pointed at this pile and called it poison, but they called it treasure.
He had brought all these people to witness the Xu family's downfall, but instead, he witnessed the Xu family perform another miracle.
"Impossible... this is absolutely impossible..." Li Wencheng muttered to himself, his legs going weak, nearly stumbling into that pile of black soil.
Not far away, Xu Qinghuan was gripping her round fan so tightly her knuckles were white.
She stared at Doctor Wu, wishing she could rush over and sew the old man's mouth shut.
Mature fertilizer? A miracle?
I was trying to destroy the evidence! I was trying to make that pile of shit even more disgusting! How did it become a powerful tonic for crops?
In her mind, that damned system notification sounded.
One million yuan.
Hearing that number, Xu Qinghuan only felt her vision darken.
The cheers around her were nothing but noise in her ears.
Just then, a farmer who looked honest and simple, his eyes red, pushed his way to the front of the carriage. He pulled a grimy cloth bundle from his robe and poured all the copper coins inside onto the ground.
"Miss Xu! How much for this mature fertilizer?" the farmer shouted, his voice hoarse. "I'll pay five coppers a basket! Please, sell it to me!"
That shout completely lit the powder keg.
"I'll pay six coppers!"
"I'll pay eight! Don't anyone try to outbid me!"
"Miss Xu, I'm from Zhao Village, I'll take it all! However much you have, I want it all!"
Countless hands holding money pouches surged toward Xu Qinghuan like a tide. The fanaticism in their eyes was even more terrifying than when they had regarded her as a living bodhisattva. It was a craving for a bountiful harvest, an instinctive pursuit of survival.
Xu Qinghuan stood on the cart, looking at these frantic faces, at the copper coins scattered all over the ground, and then at that black, massive pile of muck that was now continuously "generating money" for her.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say, "I'm not selling," wanting to say, "It's just a pile of garbage."
But the words that reached her lips turned into a feeble sigh.
It's over.
This time, not only did I not go bankrupt, but I'm about to become the largest monopoly fertilizer merchant in the Great Qian dynasty.
"Miss..." Li Sheng beside her was so excited his hands were shaking. "We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich again! All the shit and piss in this city is worth more than gold!"
Xu Qinghuan turned her head, looked at Li Sheng's excited face, and squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Shut up. Say another word, and I'll bury you in that pile of soil as fertilizer."
She looked up at the sky. The sunlight was blinding.
Heavens above, I just want to be a scourge. Why is it so hard?
