Chapter Sixteen: Sprouting (Part Two)

  Nothing much happened, looking at the sky, Wang Xiao hadn't finished school yet. Wang Kuang walked into the hall again and sat down in a corner, choosing a low table and stool to sit on. Sitting on the floor was really not habitual, but he could only endure it. Wang Kuang didn't dare easily bring out the hu desk and hu stool, as a twelve-year-old local child, it was absolutely impossible for him to have seen them before. If they were really brought out, the trouble would be great, how to explain would be the first problem.

  Sun Er finished greeting the guests and saw Wang Kuang sitting there, thinking he was waiting for him. He quickly ran to the kitchen, brought a bowl of tea over to Wang Kuang, and said: "Master, please wait a moment, I'll go help you with those things right away."

  "No rush, no rush. I have nothing to do, so I'll just sit here and listen to these interesting stories from all over the world. Actually, how did I gain so much experience? Isn't it because I like listening to people's strange tales and being handy myself?"

  "I said, everyone says that Dalang has seen the world, and it turns out to be like this. Don't even mention it, this inn is really full of amazing stories from all over the world. Just take yesterday for example, there was a traveling merchant who said something like: 'This world isn't just our Great Tang Dynasty, far south of Lingnan, there's another country called... um, Nan, where it's summer all year round and never snows.'"

  Wang Juan knew he was talking about Annan, but didn't say anything. What's the point of saying it? To show off his knowledge? There's no benefit to that. Sun Er had already admired him with all his heart. He just smiled, with a look of surprise: "I never knew there were places where it doesn't snow."

  Two men chatted for a while, and then another guest arrived. Sun Er hurriedly ran over to greet them. Now Sun Er was full of energy, as he had heard from Sun Zhanggui that the inn would be expanded soon, and he would be promoted to manage all the small staff in the food department. This was something he wouldn't have dared to think about before. He used to just hope to work at the inn for three to five years while he was young, save some money for his wife, and then work a few more years. According to the inn's custom, when he resigned, the boss would usually give him a few acres of land, so he would have a stable life in his later years. Now that he had the prospect of becoming a manager, the inn's business was booming day by day, and the future prospects were too wonderful to contemplate.

  Wang Juan sat there and drank a cup of tea, which was boiled with salt and some other things. He didn't get used to the taste and didn't hear any news he wanted to know, so he got up and went back to his room.

  Can't help but say, Sun Er took over the task of handing over things to Wang Kuang very seriously. Just as Wang Kuang returned to the yard and was considering where to plant the sweet potato sprouts if they were successfully cultivated, it would be best to clear out a piece of land in this yard and have Sun Er help flip the soil and replace it. Just as he was thinking about it, Sun Er came in with a winnowing basket slung over his shoulder, filled to the brim with mixed fertilizer. He also held a flower pot in his hands.

  When Wang saw that Sun Er had delivered the goods so quickly, he was overjoyed and praised Sun Er, who was so delighted that he couldn't find his way back. The scene was just like a little child who had done something right and received praise from an adult, happily running back to the front hall.

  The next thing was very simple, Sun Er not only mixed the bran and red mud well, but also carefully crushed the mud. Wang Kuang just needed to dig a hole, bury the sweet potatoes, cover them with a layer of floating soil, sprinkle some water and throw it under the sun, and that's it. By nightfall, move it into the house, cover it with cloth, and it's done. Then it's just repeating every day, sprinkling water until sprouts appear.

  After finishing everything, Wang Kuang still ran to the front hall, handed over to Sun Er, and saw that there were merchants going to Lingnan. He asked them to help find something called sweet potatoes, not too many, just a dozen or so catties would be enough, and he was willing to buy them at a high price. After listening to Wang Kuang describe the appearance of sweet potatoes and taking him to the courtyard to see the real thing by digging up the soil, Sun Er was clever and immediately thought that Wang Dalang was going to make new food again. His guess was not far off, but this time it was just as a supporting ingredient. From then on, whenever there were merchant-like guests coming, Sun Er would always add a sentence after greeting them: "Are you going to Lingnan?"

  In the blink of an eye, several days passed, and Wang Kuang woke up again at noon. As for Wang Xian, he had already gone to school early in the morning. Now, he has new playmates in school, Sun Mingqian's two sons, one named Sun Jiajing, eight years old; the other named Sun Jiahao, eleven years old, and they get along well with Wang Xian. However, unlike them, these two kids are just going through the motions in school, only Wang Xian, probably because he has suffered enough, now that he has no worries about food and clothing, and has this opportunity to go to school, is very diligent in his studies, and has earned the praise of his teacher.

  As usual, Wang Juan brought the flower pot into the yard, lifted the covered cloth, and was delighted to find that a small tender bud had trembled out of a small tip. Worried that it was a weed, Wang Juan carefully removed the layer of floating soil and confirmed that it was a sweet potato sprout, his heart was overjoyed, and with one sprout there would be a second and third, it seemed that the first step in cultivating this sweet potato had succeeded. Originally, Wang Juan didn't expect that this half-dry sweet potato could cultivate buds, and he hadn't planted them before, but now he had succeeded.

  It wasn't until then that he remembered the yard hadn't been cleaned, and this physically demanding task was beyond his small body's capabilities. He ran to the front hall, called in Sun Er who was idly chatting with other colleagues, instructed him on how to clean the yard, and then rushed to the kitchen to slice a plate of braised meat. The congee was, as usual, heated up by Zhu Si Niangzi, accompanied by a side dish of pickled vegetables. He wolfed down three or four mouthfuls before rushing off to find Sun Mingqian again.

  Sun Ming's home was not far from the guest house, located between the South Gate and the Zhou Prefecture government office, just a few alleys away from the guest house. The house wasn't very big, with a gate made of green bricks, and walls that were still rammed earth. From the outside, the only difference between its enclosure wall and those of ordinary people's homes was that it was covered in green tiles rather than thatch.

  The gatekeeper naturally recognized Wang Kuang and hurriedly led him to the backyard, where Sun Mingqian was drinking tea. A small maid knelt beside him, waiting on him. Seeing Wang Kuang arrive, she quickly got up and greeted: "Master is here, come, come, sit down and have a cup of tea."

  Wang Kuang had no interest in Tang Shi's tea, but he didn't want to take out the roasted tea yet. Everything would have to wait until later when he was capable of protecting himself and then he could do many things he wanted to do. He made a bow and knelt on the mat on the ground, smiling and saying: "Uncle is in high spirits."

  "This is all thanks to Dalang's help, otherwise, Uncle, I wouldn't have the leisure to be drinking tea at this time. In the past, I was worried every day about how to get the inn up and running. Now that business is booming, I finally have some free time on my hands. Dalang must have come because of some trouble." He also knew that if Wang Kuang came looking for him, it was probably something that Sun Zhanggui couldn't handle.

  "It's nothing much, just recently got some new things, still brought by Brother Qiang. I didn't think to come and see if Uncle can allocate a piece of land next year."

  When Wang Kuang said something new, Sun Mingqian waved his hand and let the maid retreat. This allowed Wang Kuang to continue speaking. Wang Kuang roughly explained the sweet potato situation, and upon hearing that with sweet potatoes, many delicious dishes could be made, even congee would become extremely tasty, Sun Mingqian couldn't sit still. He hastily followed Wang Kuang to the inn to see the sweet potato sprouts. Looking at the sprouts that had just poked out their tips, Sun Mingqian's face alternated between tears and laughter: "Ancestors, from now on, my Sun family will be a wealthy household! If in the future, our Sun family can produce even half an official, it will be a great and noble household!"

  At the moment, Sun Mingqian had already gone back to report on the matter of the land. For him, it was a simple task. The red soil was abundant in Jian'an, and he even had a piece of barren land with red soil in his own villa outside the city. Usually, because the red soil was not fertile, nothing could be planted there, but now it was just right. After arranging for the land, he also asked the steward to invite masons to come and build a wall around the land, and to build a small house inside. He arranged for reliable people from the villa to take care of it, and according to Wang Kuang's requirements, they dug drainage ditches around the prepared land. It was said that sweet potatoes were drought-tolerant but not flood-tolerant, and Min County had a lot of rainfall. If the drainage was not done well, the sweet potatoes would rot in the ground after being planted. Although the land wouldn't be used until next year, making preparations ahead of time wouldn't lead to chaos when the time came. This year's sweet potatoes would still have to be planted in Wang Kuang's courtyard, and then they could be planted on the new land next year.

  The local matter has been settled, and Wang Kuang has returned to his usual self. He is no longer sitting in the corner of the lobby drinking tea and listening to the chatter of passing customers from all over the world. Instead, he goes out for a stroll and sits at the stall in front of the inn. The regular guests at the inn also know that Wang Daren likes to listen to interesting stories and anecdotes, so they will share some unusual events with him. If he enjoys them, he might even treat them to a pot of wine. It is said that this Wang Daren is a distant nephew of the East House owner and is very much liked by him. Even Sun Zhanggui, the manager of the inn, has to listen to him. They have seen it before - once when Sun Zhanggui disagreed with Wang Daren on something, he still ended up listening to him. Afterwards, Sun Zhanggui even apologized to Wang Daren. If they can curry favor with the young master of the East House, they might get a free pot of wine, which costs two cents.

  There were also some familiar customers on the stall who knew Wang Kuang. The little beggar who used to sleep in the Taoist temple, unexpectedly turned out to be the distant nephew of the wealthy owner of the Rich Come Inn. Now that they had acknowledged their relationship, look at how things have changed, and he is very much favored by the master. Haven't you seen that even the hemp clothes he wears are more exquisite than those made by ordinary people? Moreover, look at his complexion, with a radiant and rosy face, where has the pale complexion of before gone? And every day, he has the leisure to listen to people's gossip. After all, he is now a young master, although merchants have a low social status, in Jian'an City, Sun Ming was also a notable figure, so these familiar customers would naturally be interested in talking about Wang Kuang, and if they spoke well of him, they could get a small wooden token from him. With this token, they could exchange it for a free pot of wine at the Rich Come Inn. Look at how well he's doing, why don't I have such good luck?

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