Imperial Husband Chapter 83

Chapter 83

Upon Dashu saying this, Dongzi immediately understood the kind of commotion Dashu's family would likely cause, and he said decisively, "Dashu, then leave your sweet potatoes at my place. I'll keep them for you."

"Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"

Although Dashu's words were apologetic, he was actually extremely happy in his heart.

"It's no trouble." Dongzi patted Dashu's shoulder emphatically. "Dashu, how long have we known each other? Why say such distant words? Listen to me, it's definitely not wrong."

"Alright, Dongzi, I'll listen to you."

While responding seriously, Dashu secretly glanced at Li Jin, as if silently telling him that he had finally gotten Dongzi to open up his heart's knot and no longer stubbornly wanted to avoid him.

Li Jin quickly noticed Dashu's glance and gave him a "keep up the good work" expression.

Dashu immediately grinned foolishly.

Seeing them digging sweet potatoes while also picking sweet potato leaves, Li Jin promptly reminded them, "Right, don't pick all the leaves. Leave some to let them continue growing. In a few more days, you can pick more. If you want to plant them, you can also try. These sweet potatoes are drought-tolerant. You can take some seedlings back and try planting them."

"This thing can be planted?"

Dashu and the others were startled again.

When they first learned sweet potatoes were edible, they were already quite surprised. They hadn't expected that they could also be planted.

Just now, after digging along the way, they had dug up quite a few sweet potatoes. If they could really be planted, perhaps they could survive this drought.

"It can be planted, but whether it can succeed on your land is another matter."

Li Jin didn't state it as an absolute certainty.

In the Da Xia Dynasty, what was planted on fertile farmland was regulated. If crops other than those designated by the court were planted, one could go to jail. So, what Dongzi and the others could plant was only the remaining dryland.

However, dryland was inherently poor, and coupled with the drought, nothing could be planted.

"Brother Jin, can it be planted on dryland?"

Dongzi, still unwilling to give up, wanted to ask Li Jin.

The only male left in Dongzi's household was the infant just born to Liu Rong, who was too young to be of any help. Liu Rong had just given birth and was not fit for work in the fields. Dongzi alone could not possibly manage all the labor. Furthermore, Dongzi’s own health wasn't great, and he could not endure long periods of heavy work. Liu Rong had been forced to let other villagers farm their land, taking only enough grain to meet the tax quota. For him and Dongzi, they simply scraped by on whatever they could find; survival was enough.

But times had changed.

Previously, this arrangement had sufficed, but now the family had an additional infant. Liu Rong needed proper nourishment to recover, so food could no longer be in short supply. Therefore, if it was possible, Dongzi very much wanted to try planting the sweet potatoes. If they succeeded, Liu Rong would no longer have to worry about going hungry.

Ying Yuan asked in confusion, "Dongzi, didn't the imperial court allocate grain? Why haven't you gone to collect it?"

Dongzi shook his head dejectedly.

"We have no power or connections. How could we possibly contend with those influential families in Zhuzhou City? Besides the powerful, there are also merchants who hire people to falsely claim the rations..."

In the past, Dongzi would never have spoken of such matters. After all, a single misstep could lead to serious trouble. But Li Jin and the others were different. After the incident with Liu Rong, Dongzi regarded them as his benefactors, so naturally, he no longer held such reservations.

Ying Yuan's expression darkened. "Dongzi, is no one overseeing this?"

Now, Ying Yuan finally understood. Despite so much disaster relief grain being distributed, people were still dying daily. It turned out these individuals were the root of the trouble.

Dongzi offered a bitter smile. "No one will intervene."

Li Jin chose that moment to approach and interject. "A-Yuan, Dongzi and Dashu have gathered enough. We should head back."

"Mm."

Ying Yuan nodded and walked side-by-side with Li Jin.

Their harvest from coming up the mountain this time was quite abundant, and the smile on Dongzi's face never faded the entire way back.

Watching Dongzi and Dashu chatting and laughing ahead, Ying Yuan spoke in a volume only the two of them could hear, "A-Jin, after entering Zhuzhou City, I will remove all these black sheep completely."

Li Jin nodded. "Okay."

"A-Jin, why didn't you say I'm being impulsive?" Usually, when Ying Yuan made decisions, Li Jin would offer some advice, however small, but just now Li Jin agreed instantly.

"Since they have the heart to profit from the nation's disaster, they should be prepared to bear the consequences."

Li Jin shared Ying Yuan's perspective, neither had any intention of letting these offenders off lightly.

Under normal circumstances, if they had sought only minor profits, Li Jin might not have refused them. But they absolutely should not have exploited the people's calamity, profiteering without regard for lives during such a profound disaster.

Hearing this, Ying Yuan gave a solemn nod.

Suddenly.

Li Jin gestured for Ying Yuan to look up. "A-Yuan, look at the clouds in the sky."

"Huh... Clouds?"

Ying Yuan's mouth twitched slightly.

They just discussed about Zhuzhou City, how had the conversation suddenly shifted to clouds?

"Mm." Li Jin nodded, his tone meaningful. "Clouds crossing clouds. Perhaps rain will come to Zhuzhou soon."

"..."

___

In Liujia Village, where everyone knew each other, the news that Li Jin and his companions had returned from the mountains with stones and some unknown red object spread quickly. It drew a crowd of curious onlookers as they made their way home.

"Huh? It really is stones. Why are they carrying stones all the way back from the mountain?"

"Dongzi too. Those two are, after all, relatives of his father. Dongzi didn't stop them and even joined in the mischief. What a mess. No wonder no one has proposed to Dongzi."

"Look, what are those red things? Why do they look so strange?"

"Huh... Those leaves are completely inedible. Why has Dongzi picked so many?"

"Isn't that Dashu? Why is he also indulging Dongzi's craziness?"

Each of the three items Li Jin and the others brought back was considered worthless in the villagers' eyes. Along the way, there were nothing but pointing fingers and comments about Dongzi's foolishness and lack of sense.

Dashu, however, because he himself was capable, didn't receive much criticism.

A young man who was close to Dashu couldn't resist his curiosity and asked, "Dashu, what is that strange thing you're carrying?"

"Oh, you mean this?"

Dashu casually picked up a sweet potato from his basket and waved it in front of the young man.

"Yeah."

The young man quickly nodded.

"I don't know either." Dashu scratched his head in a carefree manner. "These were all discovered by Dongzi and the others. I saw Dongzi carrying them was hard, so I just helped out a bit. However, Dongzi and the others said this thing is edible."

This explanation was something they came up with just before returning to Liujia Village.

The young man was instantly shocked. "What? You can eat this strange thing?"

At the same time, the nearby villagers watching all showed looks of surprise and disbelief.

"Dongzi, that thing is covered in mud. Are you sure it's edible?" The young man swallowed his saliva and couldn't help but ask Dongzi.

"Get rid of the mud, then peel off the skin. You can also wash it with water, add a little water, and boil it to eat." After saying this, Dongzi took a few sweet potatoes from Dashu's basket and handed them to the young man. "These are for you."

"Thank you."

Although the young man didn't know what it was, he accepted it anyway.

This young man's family situation wasn't much better than Dongzi's. The adult males in his family had been taken away. He had to shoulder everything alone, but he was no match for an adult man after all. His younger brothers and sisters were always hungry. So now that Dongzi was willing to give him food, he was grateful and couldn't possibly refuse.

Seeing the young man, Zhuzi, accept the sweet potatoes, someone reminded him with concern, "Zhuzi, I think you should still throw them away. The things Dongzi gives just don't seem reliable. They might even be poisonous." 

"Yeah, Zhuzi, just listen to our advice. If something happens, it'll be troublesome."

"Who knows what Dongzi intends, giving you such weird things."

Perhaps because of their long-held prejudice against Dongzi's family, the remarks from some of the villagers who looked down on them became increasingly harsh.

"I trust Dongzi."

Zhuzi ignored those villagers' words, tightly hugged the sweet potatoes Dongzi gave him, and ran toward his home.

"Tch, so ungrateful."

"We've already advised him. If he wants to die, how can we control that?"

"Ah, it's getting late too. Now that we've got the well back, I need to go draw more water for home."

"Right, right, me too."

"I'll go with you."

Having confirmed with their own eyes that what Dongzi and the others brought back was useless, the villagers lost interest in watching further and quickly dispersed to attend to other matters.

"Let's hurry back. Amu must be waiting anxiously."

Dongzi, with his whole mind set on cooking sweet potatoes for Liu Rong, didn't take the villagers' earlier words to heart at all.

Meanwhile.

As soon as Zhuzi returned home, he immediately followed one of the methods Dongzi mentioned. He cleaned the mud off the sweet potatoes, washed them with clean water, and put them in a pot to boil.

"Brother Zhuzi, what are you cooking? It smells so good." Zhuzi's younger brothers and sisters, smelling the sweet potato aroma when Zhuzi opened the pot, were all drawn over.

"Zhuzi, is this thing what Dongzi gave you just now?"

Zhuzi's mother and grandmother were also drawn by the sweet potato's fragrance and walked over to Zhuzi, examining these cooked sweet potatoes.

Truth be told.

The appearance of the cooked sweet potatoes was quite pleasing.

"Mm."

Zhuzi nodded, then carefully took out one of the cooked sweet potatoes.

Zhuzi's grandmother said uneasily, "Zhuzi, they all say this thing is no good. How about... how about we still throw it away?"

"Grandma, it's fine. I'll eat first." To prove that what Dongzi gave was edible, Zhuzi endured the heat and personally broke open the sweet potato, taking a bite.

Zhuzi's mother was startled by his sudden action. "Zhuzi, are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

So sweet.

Zhuzi looked at his family excitedly. "Grandma, Mother, it's sweet. This thing Dongzi gave me is sweet, and the taste is really good too. You try some."

"Sweet? No way?"

Zhuzi's mother and grandmother widened their eyes in disbelief and immediately, as if by agreement, took a little to taste.

It really was sweet, and it was definitely edible.