novelSusiti Chapter 37 begins
Chapter 37 begins
Seeing the sincerity in their attitudes, Master Zhao's sharpness gradually melted away, replaced by a kind smile.
He waved his hand, indicating that the two of them didn't need to be so tense.
"In that case, I am relieved. Lu Chuan, go home with your father. Although it is a holiday these days, you must not stop copying the Duobao Pagoda Stele."
"I will remember this and will certainly not fail my teacher's trust." Lu Chuan bowed deeply again and politely retreated to his father's side.
The moment I stepped out of the study, the previously oppressive atmosphere lightened.
Lu Shouye had not yet recovered from the enormous impact.
On the oxcart returning to the village, the atmosphere was completely different from when we arrived.
Lu Shouye sat in the front of the car, one hand tightly clutching the thick stack of manuscripts in his arms.
The oxcart rolled over the puddles on the official road, splashing mud everywhere.
Looking at his son's still-childish face, Lu Shouye was filled with mixed emotions.
"Chuan'er," Lu Shouye opened his mouth, his tone more serious than ever before, "I've taken your father's words to heart. After we return to the village, don't worry about planting medicinal herbs, don't touch them at all. Even if I have to bury this old body in the back mountain, I'll still make sure they're planted."
Lu Chuan felt a warmth in his heart as he looked at his father's hands, which were covered in cracks from years of hard work.
This is a typical father-son logic: the father does the heaviest work, while the son gets the best future.
"Father, actually, the Master has already specified the most difficult parts in this notebook," Lu Chuan said softly, his tone gentle. "As long as you do as the Master says, you are acting on behalf of the Master. If you encounter anything you don't understand, just come and ask me, and read the difficulties you encounter to me."
"Although I don't work in the fields, I'm offering my opinions, which shouldn't be considered a distraction."
Upon hearing this, the worry in Lu Shouye's eyes instantly vanished.
He slapped his thigh suddenly: "That's right! How come I didn't think of that! I won't make you do any work, I'll make you teach me how to read the manuscript, that should be fine, right?"
Uncle Liu, who was sitting to the side, also laughed, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out: "Shouye, you've finally figured it out. Chuan'er is passing on his skills on behalf of his master."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan's lips twitched slightly.
Uncle Liu's analogy is quite outrageous.
As the oxcart slowly entered Liutang Village, the old, crooked locust tree at the village entrance was already crowded with villagers waiting for news.
Ever since Lu Chuan went to the private school, every monthly break has become a major event for the whole village.
It wasn't just because Lu Chuan brought back his observations from the county town, but also because this child carried the potential to change the village.
"He's back! Chuan'er is back!" someone shouted.
The eldest son of Lu Dashan's family, along with several mischievous kids who were usually on good terms with Lu Chuan, rushed up in a swarm.
"Brother Chuan, are the candied hawthorns in the city really as long as arms?"
Lu Chuan jumped out of the car, bowed respectfully to the elders, and patted the heads of the children with graceful and appropriate gestures.
"What did the teacher say about maintaining the family business?" Although the village head, Lu Deshou, had not gone to the county town, he had been pacing at the entrance of the village.
Lu Shouye didn't say anything, but straightened his back and carefully took out the stack of manuscripts from his pocket.
"Uncle, Sixth Uncle, let's go to the ancestral hall to talk." Lu Shouye's voice was louder than ever before.
Under the astonished gazes of the villagers, Sixth Uncle laid the manuscript flat on the offering table.
"Everyone, take a good look." Uncle Liu looked around, his voice echoing in the empty ancestral hall. "This is the 'Essentials of Medicinal Plants' with annotations by Scholar Zhao and Master Zhao from Qingyang County. Chuan'er's pursuit of knowledge in the academy impressed the master. The master, pitying the poverty of our Lu Family Village, specially pointed out a proper way to make money."
The crowd erupted in an uproar.
"Growing medicinal herbs? Isn't that something only doctors know how to do?"
"Shut up!" Lu Dexing slammed his pipe down. "This is a prescription from the scholar! The scholar is like the God of Literature descended to earth; he understands the essence of our village and is showing us the way."
"Anyone who dares to gossip again can get out right now. If any gold grows in this land in the future, you won't get a single penny."
The noise stopped abruptly.
In the farmers' simple understanding, knowledge is sacred, and the scholar's annotations are divine decrees.
Lu Chuan stood in the shadows of the ancestral hall, watching the faces in the firelight, a mixture of greed, doubt, and excitement. His mind raced, calculating everything.
"Dear uncles and elders."
"Master often said, 'Profit is the harmony of righteousness.'" Lu Chuan's voice was clear and resonant, sounding exceptionally calm in the ancestral hall. "The matter of planting medicinal herbs is a blessing bestowed upon us by Master, but whether it can succeed depends on the spirit of our Lu Family Village. That barren slope behind the mountain used to be unclaimed land, but now that we want to plant medicinal herbs, we must establish rules."
He looked at the village head, Lu Dexing, and said calmly, "These medicinal herb fields cannot be planted by each family separately. If someone harvests them prematurely to save money, ruining the reputation of the entire village, then this account will never be balanced. My opinion is that this land should belong to the public."
"Surname Gong?" Lu Shouye was taken aback. "Chuan'er, then what about our own family's hard work..."
"Father, the Master said we need to take a holistic approach." Lu Chuan rephrased it, "We'll divide the shares according to labor. Those who provide the land, those who provide the labor, and those who watch the mountains, after the medicinal herbs are sold to 'Ji'an Hall' in the city, will receive grain and money according to their share, after deducting the cost of the seeds."
"In this way, no one will dare to cheat or shirk responsibility, because stealing from others is stealing from your own."
The men in the ancestral hall listened, stunned. Although they didn't understand, they grasped the most crucial sentence: "Stealing from others is stealing from your own home."
"I agree!" Lu Dashan was the first to stand up. "Brother Chuan is right! Our Liutang Village has been poor for so many years because everyone has their own ulterior motives. Since it is a rule set by the scholar, who dares to disagree? I, Lu Dashan, will be the first to object."
"I agree!"
Count me in!
Lu Chuan looked at the raised hands and breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Late at night, in the Lu family's earthen house.
"Chuan'er, are you asleep?" Lu Shouye asked softly.
"Not yet, Father." Lu Chuan sat on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Your heart was pounding in the ancestral hall just now," Lu Shouye said in a low voice. "Tell me the truth, are we really that confident about this? If we lose money, we'll be too ashamed to face anyone in this village."
Lu Chuan put down the bamboo branch.
"Dad, look at this wick." Lu Chuan pointed to the flickering flame. "In the past, we had to turn off this lamp after dark because it wasted oil."
"But if we successfully cultivate this medicine, we can keep these lights on for as long as we want."
He paused, his tone becoming extremely firm: "And this is what the Master said."
Upon hearing the name "Master Zhao," Lu Shouye's last trace of doubt vanished.
He nodded emphatically: "Alright, I believe you, and I believe the Master. Tomorrow morning, I'll take your uncle and the others to the back mountain and clear away the rubble under those lacquer trees!"