Song Fengsui lowered his head slightly and took a bite of the earth-fruit Duan Yan had peeled and brought to his lips.
It was soft and dense in the mouth, with a faint sweetness. Since he had never eaten one before, and it had been roasted without any seasoning, its flavor was close to that of the food itself. He found that it carried a slight earthy taste.
Overall, however, it was not unpleasant. Most importantly, like taro and Chinese yams, it was remarkably filling.
Seeing how interested Duan Yan was, Song Fengsui knew that the man had already begun making plans.
“Old sir, these earth-fruits certainly have a distinctive flavor. I haven’t seen anything like them being sold elsewhere in the city. May I ask where you got them?”
Duan Yan bought twenty in one breath, intending to take them back for the people under him to sample. On the surface, he was supporting the old man’s business; in truth, he hoped to find out where the earth-fruits had come from.
Potatoes were cold-resistant, drought-resistant, tolerant of flooding, and able to grow even in poor soil. They could withstand almost every kind of disaster. They were also high-yielding and easy to cultivate. In times of peace and prosperity, they might not have many opportunities to display their value, but during troubled times and years of famine, they would be life-saving food.
If they planted earth-fruits in the town, then even if the harvest failed and rice and grain became scarce, there would be nothing to fear. With earth-fruits to fill their bellies, they could provide food for nearly all the ordinary people.
Since he had encountered such an opportunity, how could he not make inquiries? If he did not bring some seeds back, this trip would have been for nothing!
Duan Yan had already worked everything out in his mind. Who would have thought that the amiable old man, upon hearing his question, would first say proudly, “Only we know how to grow these earth-fruits. You can’t buy them anywhere else.”
Then, lowering his eyelids, he drawled, “I only sell ’em roasted. I don’t sell anything else.”
Duan Yan immediately understood what he meant. He spoke in a conciliatory tone. “My wife and I came from out of town. We happened to see how unusual these earth-fruits are, and we were hoping to buy some seeds from you to take home and plant.”
“As for the price, we can discuss it. Just name your figure.”
The old man waved his hand firmly. “We don’t sell seeds. I wouldn’t be tempted even if you offered a fine price. If the only thing our family has is sold everywhere and everyone starts growing it, what money would we make?
“These little earth-fruits were bought by my son from some foreign traders aboard a large ship on the southern sea. It took a long time to have ’em brought back. I worked myself to the bone before I managed to grow this year’s crop.”
The old man spoke with such conviction that he almost sounded farsighted, as though he understood that good things had to be kept in one’s own hands and sold exclusively for maximum profit.
Song Fengsui said, “You have a point, Old sir. But setting aside the fact that my wife and I are from out of town, even if we bought the seeds and planted three or five mu of them, the distance and the roads would hardly affect your business in the prefectural city.”
“Still, in my humble opinion, it may not be a bad thing if more farmers begin growing earth-fruits. If more people cultivate them, then more people will learn about them. Before long, restaurants and eating houses will develop all kinds of dishes—fried, boiled, stewed, and roasted. Wouldn’t earth-fruits then sell even better than the vegetables and meat at a street stall?”
The old man seemed to think there was some sense in that, yet he also felt that the two were merely trying to deceive him and trick him out of his precious produce.
He closed his eyes and refused to listen. “I’m just a farmer. I don’t understand any of those business dealings. All I know is that if I don’t want to sell something, then I won’t sell it.”
“I’ll give you thirty taels for one basket of raw earth-fruits. How does that sound?”
The old man’s heart gave a slight jolt. His eyes opened briefly, but he quickly stiffened his neck again and said, “Even if you gave me fifty taels, I still wouldn’t do a one-time deal like that.”
“How would it be a one-time deal? If you sell the seeds to me today, you can still sell them tomorrow to the next merchant or farmer who takes a fancy to these earth-fruits.”
The old man waved his hand repeatedly. “I told you, I’m just a dirt-legged farmer. I don’t understand all those twists and turns of merchants.”
Duan Yan and Song Fengsui refused to give up. They tried persuading the old man for quite some time. At first, he was still willing to say a few words, but later, no matter what they said, he kept his mouth shut. When he glanced up and saw that the rain had stopped, he simply pushed his charcoal stove cart into the street.
“I said I won’t sell, I won’t sell! Why do you keep pestering me and holding up my business?”
Duan Yan seemed about to chase after him, but Song Fengsui hurriedly grabbed his hand.
“That old man isn’t greedy for money. You raised the offer all the way to a hundred taels, and he still refused. If you keep pressing him, you’ll only make him dislike us even more.”
“But these earth-fruits really are excellent! I… I once heard an old traveling merchant speak of something like this. He said it was easy to grow and could withstand disasters. At the time, I didn’t believe him. I thought he had merely heard some strange legends beneath a bridge and was boasting about them.”
“But now that I’ve seen these earth-fruits, they’re exactly as he described!”
Song Fengsui’s brows drew together. He glanced toward several idlers lounging at a table outside a teahouse, then pulled Duan Yan over and called one of them over.
He took out a few loose coins and pointed toward the old man, who had already pushed his cart away.
“What kind of person is that old sir? Do you know anything about him?”
The idler became very enthusiastic after receiving the money. “He’s just an old fellow who sells roasted food. I haven’t heard that he has anyone backing him.”
“Does he often come here to sell things? Can he be seen every day?”
“Not necessarily every day. When the weather’s clear, he sets up his stall near the workshops on West Street. When it rains, he goes wherever he can find shelter.”
Another idler sitting nearby said, “I’d guess he’s a villager from outside the city. During the busy farming season, you hardly ever see him around. Once the autumn harvest is over and he has some free time, he comes out to sell roasted goods every few days.”
After hearing this, Song Fengsui gave the speaker two more coins.
“Which of you is willing to take on a job for me? Find out everything you can about that old man. I want to know about the earth-fruits he sells.”
The two idlers who had received money immediately agreed to do the work.
Song Fengsui left them the address and told them to come to their residence once they had gathered the information.
Seeing this, Duan Yan felt it was better than the two of them continuing to pester the old man without knowing anything about him and trying to buy his seeds.
For now, they could only wait patiently for the idlers’ news.
“That old man seems shortsighted, yet he knows enough to hold tightly to something no one else has so he can make money from it. But if he’s farsighted, then why would he refuse even a hundred taels for the deal?”
Song Fengsui shook his head helplessly. “There aren’t many people willing to buy his earth-fruits. He sells them for one copper each. A hundred taels would be enough to cover how long he’d have to sell roasted earth-fruits to earn that much. How could he not know how to do the sums?”
Duan Yan said, “Many old farmers are inevitably rather set in their ways. They cling to their own principles and refuse to adapt, always believing that craftsmanship is more valuable than anything else. The same goes for rare crops. They feel that only by keeping such things in their own hands can they continue to support their families in the long term.
“No matter how much silver you offer, it’s only useful for a little while. It’s dead money.”
They understood some principles, but not all of them. Most common people were like that. If everyone were shrewd, there would not be so many people living in poverty.
Because of the matter concerning the earth-fruits, Duan Yan had no choice but to postpone their departure from the prefectural city.
After roughly two days had passed, the idlers came to see Duan Yan one after another and told him what they had learned about the old man.
“The man really does live in a village on the outskirts of the city. He’s just an ordinary farmer. His family isn’t especially wealthy, but they aren’t poor either. They live in a tiled house and have more than thirty mu of farmland.
“His two elder sons have been away in other parts of the country doing business for several years now, and they often send money and goods home. The youngest son, who remains by their side, is a carpenter. With nothing but his craftsmanship, he can support the whole family, young and old. They also have an elder daughter and an elder son who have both married and started families of their own......”
“The old man is skilled at tending the land and growing crops. Throughout the village, he’s a well-known farmer. Those earth fruits he sells really are only found at his place. He keeps a close watch over them. The villagers say he’s fenced off all the fields where they’re grown, and he even put up a shed with someone sleeping inside it at night to keep an eye on the crops, afraid someone might steal them.”
“At first, the villagers thought it was something novel, so they bought some from the old man to try. In the beginning, he sold them for quite a high price—five copper coins apiece. But after tasting them, people felt they weren’t anything special. They weren’t even as good as yams or taro, so the novelty soon wore off.
“When business slowed, the old man lowered the price. In the city, he sold them alongside roasted goods for one copper coin each.”
After gathering all the information, Duan Yan and Song Fengsui learned that the old man’s family was well-off and lived a comfortable life. Unfortunately, people like that were the hardest to negotiate with. Without spending a long time getting to know them, it was difficult to figure out what they lacked, much less appeal to their preferences.
If they were dealing with a poor family short of money, all they had to do was spend a little silver and things would be easy.
But the old man regarded his earth fruits as dearly as his own eyes, convinced that they were something precious that could bring him lasting benefits. Money alone wouldn’t be enough to move him.
Duan Yan and Song Fengsui felt that the matter would be rather troublesome. Unable to think of a solution for the moment, they simply went to the village where the old man lived, hoping that wandering around there might help them come up with an idea.
Following the directions they had gathered from casual inquiries, the two soon found the place. By sheer coincidence, without asking anyone else for directions, they somehow blundered straight into the old man’s fields.
Song Fengsui noticed that the oilseed rape and young autumn pea shoots showed signs of curled leaves. He was telling Duan Yan how unfortunate it was that the crops had been infested with aphids. If they weren’t properly treated, the leaves would curl, and the tender seedlings would be ravaged by pests. They would have difficulty growing strong afterward, which would affect the harvest.
Duan Yan smiled. “So Doctor Song can treat not only people, but crops as well.”
“Eh? Ah-ah!”
The old farmer, who had been bent over in the field with his rump sticking up as he pulled weeds, heard the voices and straightened up to see who had come. The moment he raised his head and saw two familiar faces, he cried out.
Song Fengsui was startled by the sudden shout and instinctively moved closer behind Duan Yan.
Duan Yan shielded him, and only then saw the person who had suddenly risen from the oilseed rape field.
“How did you two find this place?”
The old man crawled out of the field and climbed onto the ridge between the plots. “You two really don’t know when to give up, do you? You’ve even followed us right into our fields! Let me tell you—if you dare try anything with the earth fruits in my land, I’ll call the whole village over. You won’t be able to run!”
“Old Sir?”
Duan Yan’s brows twitched. Who would have thought they would run into the man while he was working in the fields?
At a time like this, it truly wasn’t easy to claim that they hadn’t come for his earth fruits.
Song Fengsui let out a small sigh of relief. “As the saying goes, visitors are guests. Why are you being so fierce and overbearing, Old Sir? If we had bad intentions, why would we come in broad daylight? People with plans to steal or rob would come sneaking over at night.”
The old man snorted at Song Fengsui twice. “Then what did you come here for?”
“We’re about to return home, and we didn’t happen to see you in the city. My husband was still thinking about your earth fruits, so he asked around and came to the village. Is this any way to treat guests? We’ve only just arrived, and you’re already shouting and cursing at us.”
The old man found himself at a loss for words after Song Fengsui said that, and his aggressive manner weakened somewhat. “Young sir, you have good taste to like my earth fruits. I can give you a basket of ripe ones as a gesture of hospitality and not dishonor my duty as a host. But if you want to plant them, I’ll say the same thing as before: I won’t sell them!”
Duan Yan frowned. “You won’t sell them no matter how much we pay?”
“Won’t sell them. Won’t sell.”
Song Fengsui glanced toward the edge of the field, and suddenly his eyes shifted. “Old Sir, I understand that you aren’t short of money and don’t wish to sell the only thing you have. As it happens, I possess something good—something that isn’t even available on the market yet.”
“And it’s something you’ll certainly find useful. If you had it, all the farmers in the village would have to rely on you. Would you be willing to trade your earth fruits for it?”
The old man listened to Song Fengsui speak as though he were describing some miraculous treasure and said, “Young sir, don’t try to fool this old farmer just because you think I’m ignorant.”
Song Fengsui’s brows moved slightly. “Since you have no interest, then forget it.”
He went over and took Duan Yan’s hand. “Let’s go. It seems we simply have no fate with those earth fruits, and we can’t force the matter. Since you like them so much, we can go to the coast and look around later. I’ve heard that the foreign barbarians over there always bring strange and unusual goods into the harbor on their ships. Perhaps we’ll have some luck when we go.”
Duan Yan immediately understood and cooperated with a sigh. “It’s already kind enough that you were willing to bring out the treasure you keep hidden away to trade for them. Just knowing how much you care about me is enough. I can live without the earth fruits.”
With that, the two clasped hands and began to leave.
The old man saw that they had stopped halfway through their explanation and were actually walking away without finishing. He was, after all, not the sort who could bear having his curiosity piqued. He called after them, “What is this thing? If you don’t tell me, how am I supposed to know whether it’s worth the trade?”
Song Fengsui raised his brows and stopped. He turned around, preparing to speak, but Duan Yan tugged at his sleeve. Song Fengsui immediately fell silent.
The two of them glanced around. Seeing this, the old man also quieted down and instinctively looked around to check whether anyone else was nearby.
Only then did Song Fengsui and Duan Yan walk back a little. The old man tightened his body and took a few steps forward to meet them.
Song Fengsui lowered his voice. “We’re farmers ourselves. Back home, we have a small estate. We came out this time to purchase some old medicinal varieties and bring back some new seeds to plant on our land.”
“After years of farming and research, we developed a medicinal solution that specifically treats aphids on seedlings. Spraying it over infested crops can kill most of the pests and save farmers a great deal of effort in controlling the infestation. Moreover, after the solution is used, it won’t harm the crops or hinder their growth.”
The old man’s eyes widened. This really was a fine thing. Farming was hard work, especially for farmers willing to devote themselves to the land. Hearing that such a solution existed was like being handed a pillow just as one was growing sleepy.
But his surprise quickly gave way to caution. How could he use a medicinal solution so casually? If anything went wrong, it might kill an entire field of crops. Then, instead of merely losing the seedlings that had been damaged by pests, he would lose the rest to the medicine as well. Wouldn’t that infuriate him?
“Is the solution really as good as you say? All medicine carries some poison, you know!”
Song Fengsui wasn’t in a hurry when he heard the old man say that. The fact that the man was asking so seriously showed that he had already been tempted. He merely wanted Song Fengsui to assure him that there would be no risk.
He said, “It is precisely because farmers know better than to recklessly spray chemicals on young seedlings that the excellent medicine our estate developed is so precious and difficult to come by. Nowhere on the market can you find anything as good as this. If my husband weren’t so fond of potatoes, the two of us wouldn’t have revealed a single thing about it.”
“If you’re willing to give it some thought, Old Father, I’m not making empty boasts. Just look at the rapeseed and beans in your fields—they’ve already been infested with aphids. They’ll be perfect for testing the medicine and seeing how effective it is.”
The old farmer cried out in a low voice, “Don’t go spraying it recklessly! What if you kill them all?”
“Old Father, we’re farmers too. We know how difficult it is to raise seedlings until they grow tall and spread their leaves. How could we be so foolish? Though we’ve spent a great deal of time researching and refining this medicine and have ensured that it won’t affect the growth of the crops, when testing it with you, we’ll naturally begin with just one or two seedlings that are suffering the worst infestation.”
Song Fengsui lifted his chin slightly. “If you want us to test it on the entire field, we won’t agree to that.”
The old farmer clasped his hands behind his back and furrowed his brows. He paced back and forth at the edge of the field several times, gazing at the seedlings. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t frustrated.
“Old Father, if you’re unwilling, then forget it. This medicine… may not actually be as good as we say. There are bound to be some risks.”
At that moment, Duan Yan tugged lightly at Song Fengsui’s sleeve and murmured, “Forget it. If Father finds out once we get home, he’ll surely give us a good scolding…”
“Fine, we’ll test it! We’ll test it!”
Seeing that Duan Yan looked as though he had suddenly made up his mind to abandon the whole affair, the old farmer hurriedly called out, “If that medicine of yours really can get rid of the aphids, we’ll give you the best potato seeds we have.”
Duan Yan seemed to have been forced into the matter and remained silent. Song Fengsui looked at Duan Yan and appeared to lose the desire to say anything as well.
Seeing this, the old farmer urged them on instead. “Come now, where’s the medicine? How do we test it? Weren’t you two planning to return home? The sooner you finish, the sooner you can leave. The weather is clear and pleasant at the moment, but if you wait until there’s more rain, the journey will be difficult.”
Song Fengsui and Duan Yan exchanged a sly glance in secret. Only then did they dawdle over to a small square satchel they had brought with them, take out a packet of medicine, and follow the old farmer to fetch water, mix the medicine, and spray it on the pests.
…
The next morning, Duan Yan and Song Fengsui were eating breakfast at the residence when Gou San’er came trotting into the room and said, “That old farmer is here!”
Duan Yan set down his chopsticks and glanced at Song Fengsui. “He came early.”
Song Fengsui smiled. “We sprayed the medicine yesterday, and he clearly saw that the aphids had been killed completely. Yet he still couldn’t put his mind at ease and insisted on waiting another day to see whether the seedlings would be affected. Now he’s in a hurry, but I’m not~”
He leisurely spooned some vegetable and lean-meat congee into his mouth. Duan Yan had gotten up while it was still pitch-black outside to cook it.
Duan Yan smiled as well and picked up a mouthful of refreshing pickles for him. “That’s right. Take your time. Finish eating before you go see him.”
The old farmer had craned his neck and waited outside for quite a while. When no one came out, his anxiety grew even greater.
The previous night, his family had urged him to obtain the recipe for the medicine immediately. Such a wonderful thing—who among those who farmed and tilled the land wouldn’t want it? Yet he had remained calm enough to say they should wait another day.
He had acted as though he were being prudent and composed. But once night came and he lay in bed, he had imagined all sorts of happy things. He pictured how, once they had the medicine, they would no longer fear aphids, and how much better the harvests would be. Then he imagined the villagers gazing at him eagerly and begging him for the recipe, and how imposing he would be in the village.
After dreaming of every possible happy outcome, he began to worry that Duan Yan and Song Fengsui might change their minds after returning home and refuse to exchange the medicine for his potatoes. After all, the married couple had already seemed somewhat hesitant before spraying it.
The old farmer had been both delighted and anxious. He had tossed and turned all night without sleeping. Before dawn, he had carried a torch to the fields and examined the few seedlings sprayed with the medicine again and again. Seeing that the plants remained strong and healthy, showing no sign of wilting from the medicine, only made him more anxious.
Thus, after spending the entire night awake, he had hurried into the city before the sky had even brightened.
He had waited for quite some time. When Gou San’er finally came out and invited him inside for a cup of tea while he waited, he was only then able to breathe a sigh of relief.
After finishing breakfast, Duan Yan and Song Fengsui went to the main room to meet him.
The old farmer could barely contain his impatience. “Oh dear, I’m afraid I’ve delayed you two. I’ve come to invite you back to my home to choose the potato seeds!”
Song Fengsui asked, “How are the rapeseed seedlings?”
“They’re fine, they’re fine.”
Duan Yan and Song Fengsui exchanged a faint smile. They hitched up a flatbed cart, brought along two experienced tenant farmers from their household, and returned to the village with the old farmer.
There, they personally selected four large baskets of potatoes suitable for use as seed.
Song Fengsui once again explained the precautions for using the medicine in detail. He also advised the old farmer that, if he still felt uneasy, it would be best not to use the medicine on all the seedlings.
For this year, he should first test it on half a mu of land. Afterward, he could observe the plants’ continued growth and the final harvest. Only once there were no problems should he begin using it on a wider scale.
The old farmer felt that the two men were honest and kindhearted, and in return, he taught them everything he knew about growing potatoes.
“Our original plan was to sell the medicine for money and use that money to buy supplies. Unfortunately, we didn’t think it through carefully enough. To sell the medicine, we’d have to travel to the farming villages and promote it there before anyone would be interested. Here in the city, no matter how hoarse we talked ourselves, no one would believe how effective it is.”
On the road back to the medicinal farm, Song Fengsui patted the small cloth bag hanging at his side and sighed with feeling.
“At least we didn’t bring it out for nothing. We exchanged it directly for goods instead of money, which saved us the trouble of going through an entire sale.”
Duan Yan smiled. “In the end, you’re still the clever one, with more ideas than anyone else. The medicine has certainly been put to good use. Once the potatoes have been planted and the new crop comes in, I’ll prepare a whole potato feast to celebrate your success.”
“Then I’ll look forward to that feast.”
Song Fengsui carefully closed the bag. “Hopefully, we can exchange some of the medicine for herbs at the medicinal farm as well. That would save us some money and let us buy a few other things.”
They had come to the prefectural city to purchase salt, seeds, and various sundries, as well as hire an escort agency. Counting their lodging, meals, and all their other expenses, they had already spent more than two thousand two hundred taels.
When they had set out, they had been carrying eight thousand eight hundred taels. In other words, they now had less than seven thousand taels of silver left.
That might still sound like a considerable amount, but they had only dealt with one major expense so far. There were still plenty of places where they would have to spend money.
For the moment, everything on this end had gone fairly smoothly. The salt they had purchased from the salt merchant had already been sent out by the escort agency three days earlier, and it would arrive in Kang County in another half a month or so.
However, they had no idea how the matter of the illicit salt was progressing. Lin Erzou had been gone for a full seven days, and Nine-Beard had arranged for the salt to be delivered as soon as Lin Erzou departed.
Now they not only had to keep an eye on matters here, but also worry about the salt. There was truly no chance for them to relax.
The one reassuring thing was that the prefectural city still appeared calm and peaceful. There had been no sign of war or smoke on the horizon. Along the official road, the merchants coming and going were all traveling in peace.
