Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 151

“Sir, look, is this how tea is grown?” A yamen runner carefully straightens the tea tree seedling beside him, fearing he might break it.

Jiang Miao goes over and takes a look, saying, “Yes, that’s right. You don’t need to be so careful.”

These tea trees were found after they searched the surrounding mountains. They marked the spot at that time so they can find and transplant them quickly now.

There are more tea trees in the mountains than they imagined, but not enough to fill all the hills they cleared. So Pei Che has to send more people to search while also sending people south to see if they can buy some tea seedlings.

On the other hand, Jiang Miao is also trying to find a way. He remembers his friend once said that there are many ways to cultivate tea trees, but methods like division and grafting aren’t particularly suitable for the current situation. Jiang Miao decides to use layering and cutting to propagate.

Unfortunately, he has only heard of these two methods roughly before and has never actually done them. Now he can only fumble and improve as he goes along.

After inspecting the mountain, Jiang Miao ties red ropes to some particularly strong branches. Once these tea trees survive, he will start the layering experiment.

As for cuttings, he needs to build a greenhouse and use some soft sandy soil so they can survive in warm and humid soil. This will increase the chances of success.

Jiang Miao observes the surrounding environment and decides to build the greenhouse in a village at the foot of the mountain. The village isn’t very large, with only thirty households. The village chief’s house, the best in the village, is also built with yellow mud and stones. Apart from looking bigger than the other houses, there’s nothing special about it.

Hearing that the yamen is going to build a house here, the village chief is so excited he trembles. He immediately expresses his willingness to gather people as soon as possible to help them build the house.

Jiang Miao previously asked someone to inquire about the current price of building houses. After the village chief’s assurance, he tells them his requirements and then takes out a bag of silver.

Looking at the bag of silver, the village chief’s attitude improves even more. His rather old face smiles like a small daisy. He originally thought these officials wouldn’t give money, or at least not so readily, but he didn’t expect this young official to trust him so much.

“Village Chief Huang,” Jiang Miao smiles, throwing out a tempting offer, “Here are fifty taels of silver. After you help me build the house according to my requirements, the remaining silver will all be yours.”

Village Chief Huang gulps. The remainder belongs to him? Even if only a few taels remain, it’s still a significant sum for him. What kind of work could yield such a reward in so short a time? However, this is the minimum estimate. From the gentleman’s tone, it seems he won’t be sending a supervisor. In that case, he will have the final say. Then, he could…hehe…

Jiang Miao maintains his smile. He notices the barely concealed longing on the honest village chief’s face and almost wants to remind him to temper his emotions. If one’s schemes are so transparent, how can they hope to outsmart others?

After indulging in his own thoughts for a while, Village Chief Huang finally snaps back to reality and sincerely assures Jiang Miao, “Master Jiang, rest assured. I’ll build the house here as soon as possible!” He just heard someone address him that way.

“Then I’ll have to trouble Village Chief Huang.” Jiang Miao stands up and puts the bag of silver into Village Chief Huang’s arms, “But there’s something we need to discuss first.”

Village Chief Huang is holding the silver and smiling brightly, when he suddenly hears Jiang Miao say “but,” his heart suddenly lifts up: “Master Jiang, just give your orders.”

“Well, it’s not exactly an order,” Jiang Miao continues, “but this house, it must be built well. There must be no cutting corners. If the house isn’t up to standard, I’ll be very angry. And when I’m angry, I might do something irrational. For example, your village might have to do a lot of extra labor for the next few years. Do you understand what I mean, Village Chief Huang?” Jiang Miao pats Village Chief Huang’s shoulder with a smile and then turns to leave, leaving the village chief sitting there, looking terrified.

These words undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on Village Chief Huang. The once enticing silver now feels like a hot potato. He wants to take it, but he’s afraid; he wants to throw it away, but he can’t bear to part with it.

Jiang Miao gives his orders and then leaves it at that.

While they wait for the house to be built, both good and bad news arrives.

The good news is that ninety percent of the transplanted tea trees have survived. Only a small portion hasn’t survived due to root damage during excavation. The mountains they chose are all relatively close to water sources, so although people still need to carry water up, this is just at the beginning. Once the tea trees are established, they won’t need to be watered so frequently. Cangzhou has abundant rainfall, and they can use their own roots to absorb moisture from the soil.

The bad news is that the people Pei Che sent south have sent a message back saying that after asking all the major tea plantations, most are unwilling to sell young tea saplings. The only one that has relented has quoted a high price of sixty or seventy wen per sapling, and they can’t guarantee that the saplings will survive the long journey. In other words, it’s possible that they won’t get a single sapling for the high price they paid.

Pei Che is somewhat disappointed, but there’s nothing he can do. Until Jiang Miao’s layering and cutting methods take effect, they will have to continue searching these mountains.

Before, for safety reasons, they had only searched the outer mountains. These mountains weren’t very high, and a lot of people went into them, so there weren’t many wild animals. Now, thinking about it, they should send more people to check out the deeper mountains so that they can at least have a general idea of whether there is any or not.

Before Pei Che makes his decision, the greenhouse that Jiang Miao requested is completed.

After receiving the message from Village Chief Huang, Jiang Miao and Pei Che go to the place called Tuoyan Village together.

Before they even enter the village, everyone’s attention is drawn to the large blue-brick tiled house at the entrance. It hadn’t been there the last time they came. In just over a month, it has been built.

Village Chief Huang has been waiting there. Upon seeing them arrive, he hurries over and greets them, “Master Jiang, please take a look. Is this house to your satisfaction? If there’s anything you’d like changed, just let me know.”

Jiang Miao doesn’t speak. After inspecting the house inside and out, he finally speaks, his voice easing Village Chief Huang’s tense demeanor. “It’s fine. You paid attention to the details I mentioned last time. The house is well-built.”

Village Chief Huang breathes a sigh of relief. During this period, he has tossed and turned at night, worrying that the house might not be up to standard and could cause trouble for everyone. Thankfully, his hard work has paid off, and the house is finally complete without any flaws.

Thinking about the remaining seven taels and five cents of silver at home, Village Chief Huang can’t help but be distracted. His family owns the most land in the village, but even with the annual harvest and income from selling mountain products, their total income is only about a dozen taels. After accounting for the family’s yearly expenses, if they are lucky to have four or five taels left, it would be considered a blessing from above, a year of good weather, good harvests, and family health.

“Thank you, Village Chief Huang and all the villagers,” Jiang Miao says. “Now that the new house is built, we’ll be interacting with the villagers more frequently. Let’s take advantage of today to treat everyone to a meal and get to know each other better.”

The invitation to a feast is very tempting for the people of Tuoyan Village, who have been living on the brink of subsistence for years. The village chief takes the money and goes from house to house, purchasing local produce and vegetables. He also brings a lean pig from his own household and sells it to Jiang Miao.

The women in the village come with their tools to prepare the food, while the men move tables, chairs, and benches from house to house. This is clearly their customary way of hosting guests.

Soon, the aroma of food fills the courtyard. Everyone sniffs eagerly, and some people look a bit regretful. If they had known there would be a feast, they wouldn’t have eaten their morning meal. That way, they could have saved food and come to the feast with empty stomachs, allowing them to eat more.

At noon, the feast begins. The simple villagers use large, coarse earthenware bowls, eating with a hearty and unrestrained manner. Jiang Miao and his group sit at the same table as the village chief. As befitted his status, he eats with a more restrained elegance than the other villagers.

At the table, Pei Che begins to inquire about the deep mountains, wanting to understand what kind of terrifying things lurk in the mountains that have caused so many people to disappear.

When the topic comes up, the village chief seems reluctant to speak. Seeing that Pei Che is a guest brought by Jiang Miao, he says, “There’s all sorts of things in the mountains, things that can kill you. It’s best not to go in. Two men from our village disappeared in the mountains. The county sent people to search and found two pieces of torn clothing, and that was the end of the case. No one ever saw them alive or dead, and their mothers cried so hard that her eyes went blind.”

After saying this, he realizes that he might have spoken ill of the government office, and he nervously glances at Jiang Miao, afraid that this official would punish him.

Jiang Miao’s expression turns serious. He looks at Pei Che and decides to persuade him to give up the idea of sending people into the deep mountains to find tea trees. The villagers who rely on the mountains for a living are so wary of the deep mountains, and as outsiders unfamiliar with the mountain paths, they might face even greater dangers.

“Since they have always known that there are dangers in the mountains, why do the two men still go in?” Pei Che asks.

Village Chief Huang looks at him and thinks that although this young master looks quite handsome, the questions he asks are very interesting.

“It’s all because of poverty. If you want to make a lot of money, you have to go into the deep mountains. The things outside, many peddlers look down on them and keep the prices low.” Village Chief Huang’s expression turns ugly when he mentions these people. The things they were reluctant to eat were worthless in the eyes of those people.

“However, while the mountains are dangerous, there weren’t as many disappearances in the past. Most people were bitten by snakes, attacked by wild boars, or caught by bears. Even if they couldn’t return alive, their bodies could still be found. In recent years, not only have living people disappeared, but even dead bodies haven’t been found.” Village Chief Huang thinks for a moment and feels that it is indeed a bit strange. It seemed that what those people said was true; they had taken too much from the mountains and disturbed the mountain gods, who were now punishing those who dared to enter the mountains.

Pei Che presses, “About when did so many people start to go missing?”

Village Chief Huang recalls, “It should have been about seven years ago. I remember the first person to disappear was a hunter from Shangyan Village. His wife was from our village. Since she didn’t have many relatives in her husband’s family, she came back to her parents’ home crying and begged her family to go into the mountains with her to search. Her brothers were very loyal and followed her into the mountains, but they only found a piece of bloody clothing. After that, people from several nearby villages disappeared, and the two from our village who didn’t listen to advice also disappeared after entering the mountains.”

Village Chief Huang sighs, but Pei Che falls into deep thought. Seven years ago? The mountain road collapse also happened seven years ago. What exactly happened that year?