Walking the Path of a Workaholic in Cliché Novels (QT) Chapter 63

“Look, the name of our village is on such a large stone.” The village chief and others led everyone to stand at the village entrance. Today was the day when their village officially changed its name – Sanjin Village.

     The huge stone tablet was painted in white, red and black, and the village name was in gold. Many vivid crucian carp were carved on it. This was the origin of their new village name.

     A few years ago, Tian Xi, a resident of this village, bred a three-color and two-color crucian carp. Because of its beautiful shape, easiness to raise, and low price, it became immediately popular.

     Although goldfish have been specially bred in other places and many rare species have been bred, they have not reached a large scale and were not as cheap as here. The business of ‘Tian Xi’ has always been very good. Many dignitaries came to buy fish, and once they bought it, there was a lot of money.

     Tian Xi felt that the villagers took good care of them, so he decided to teach the villagers the skills of fish farming and give away fish fry. Now, almost everyone in their village raised golden crucian carp. Over time, their village became known as ‘Jinxiang Village’.

     In fact, there were people from other villages who came to learn, but fish farming depends on talent. The same fry, the same method, some people can raise it well and some can’t.

     Tian Xi’s breeding was particularly good. People heard that he also bred several golden crucian carps that were golden in color with only a red mark on one side of the forehead. They were called ‘Zhuyin Jinjin’. The adults in the county spent a hundred taels of silver to buy them.

     Others in the village didn’t earn that much, but they could still get an extra one or two taels of subsidy a year. And it didn’t take much effort to take care of the fish. If they are not particular about feeding red worms and shrimps, if they are particular about it, they go to Tian Xi’s place to buy feed. Children can take good care of it.

     After that, An Yinong taught the villagers how to use paper and bamboo silk to make brocade crucian carp lanterns, hangings, purses… In just two years, the tricolor crucian carp has become synonymous with this village. As long as it is related to the tricolor crucian carp, you can always buy it in this village.

     There was even a scholar who came to visit and often took a tank of water plants and a few fish with him when he left, which was another source of income.

     There was no delay in farm work, no extra effort was required, and they can get several taels more money every year. Even the marriage of girls and boys at home was smoother than before. Who in the village did not appreciate his benefits?

     Of course, one thing that prompted the villagers to decide to change their name was that Tian Xi had become a scholar a few months ago and was number one in the first class of the new dynasty, so he was the head of the case. He has great hope of being admitted to the Juren Examination in the future.

     It was said that he was going to the county school this month, so the villagers changed the name of the village before he left.

     “How many years have you been waiting for this moment?”

     In the bamboo house, goldfish swam in a white porcelain basin, and there was faint smoke in the copper incense burner. An Yinong was practicing calligraphy with a pen. A hand reached out from the sky, held his hand, and guided him, stroke by stroke. .

     An Yinong didn’t answer, he just put down his pen and turned around.

     The skinny kid back then was now a man as outstanding as a jade tree. He wore a light cyan gauze covering his goose-yellow middle coat, and a jade belt cinching his waist. He had a lean and elegant figure. As long as he doesn’t make fun of people, he was as outstanding as an immortal in the painting.

     Gu Zhengzhong looked at him and gently stroked his hanging dragon hair with his fingers: He had grown up and could no longer practice calligraphy in his arms like before.

     “If sir, you want to ask, did I wait for the empress to come to court and become the first scholar of the new dynasty.” An Yinong said with a slight smile, “Yes.”

     One doesn’t know if they got along day and night, but after a long time, An Yinong also learned Gu Zhengzhong’s demeanor. No matter how he talked or behaved, he was getting close to someone intentionally or unintentionally. Unless he said it himself, no one would believe that he was a student from a civilian background.

     “When the empress had not yet confiscated and restored the territory, she promulgated the ‘Field Tax Law’, changed the tax from household size to the tax per acre, pardoned the lowly people’s registration as farmers, encouraged widows to remarry, emphasized agriculture, mulberry, water conservancy, and martial arts, and did not judge people based on their origins. She likes to reuse talented people… I want to sell my knowledge to the emperor, so I naturally need to find a suitable owner for it.”

     An Yinong slowly walked out holding an umbrella. He didn’t care whether his boss was a man or a woman. He only cared that the other party could tolerate him.

     Ma Zhe didn’t learn well back then and didn’t grasp the best dragon-slaying skills. Now he has to focus on the imperial examination and contribute to the stability of feudal society. He was speechless when he met his political teacher.

     “Hey, I’m ashamed to say that I’m a time traveler.”

     System:……

     Gu Zhengzhong came over, and as soon as he got close, An Yinong opened his umbrella and carefully covered him inside.

     He didn’t know whether he was influenced by some ghost stories or scripts, but he always felt that sunlight was harmful to Gu Zhengzhong, so when he was around, An Yinong would hold an umbrella when he went out.

     Gu Zhengzhong didn’t say anything, as if he was just the kind of kid who just took shape and would be blown away by the wind.

     The two walked along the overgrown path. Although they didn’t speak, they had a perfect understanding. Sometimes they knew what to do next just by looking at each other, without even looking at each other.

     The villagers on the road came to say hello to him, and a little girl with the bamboo basket even trotted a few steps, but when he came closer, she blushed and was too timid to look directly at him.

     An Yinong didn’t blink and left holding an umbrella.

     An Yinong turned nineteen and still refused to get married. The most beautiful girl in the village waited until seventeen for him to get married, but she still persisted.

     The people in the village only lamented the crime, but they did not stop their girl from secretly admiring him: The village cannot keep such a person, and the girls in the village cannot keep him, so what can he do if he sees him? It is better to improve your horizons by looking at good things than to be easily deceived by gangsters if your eyesight is too shallow.

     Gu Zhengzhong raised his eyes to see the girl walking away, then looked down at An Yinong’s hand holding the umbrella handle, with a smile on his lips.

     “I have to leave for a few days for something,” he said.

     “Oh.” An Yinong nodded.

     Gu Zhengzhong didn’t mind An Yinong’s simple response. He continued, “I’ll bring you some snacks when I come back. The snacks over there mostly use milk, so they’re soft and sweet.”

     The two of them took a walk in the nearby bamboo forest. After returning, An Yinong unfolded the paper and prepared to draw ink bamboo. Gu Zhengzhong, who was about to leave, said:

     “When I’m not here, don’t go out after dark. It’s not safe. After dusk, if someone calls you and you can’t find them, you don’t have to answer. And that Huang Meisheng, he is a bit weird and an ominous person.”

     He went on to mention several precautions one after another, as if he was gone not for a few days, but for a few months, and as if the An Yinong being warned was not a young man who could get married and have children, but a young man with hair hanging on his temples.

     An Yinong responded with a smile, without any impatience. The next day An Yinong woke up and didn’t see Gu Zhengzhong. He lit a stick of incense and watched it slowly burn out.

     “Host, what do you think about Gu Zhengzhong?” The system didn’t quite understand. It saw its host being wary from the beginning to becoming as familiar and natural as breathing. Sometimes it felt that there was something going on between the two. Sometimes it feels that their openness is the heart. Even now, it still couldn’t understand what’s going on with these two people.

     Ask the host, and the host has never answered directly. One says they are friends or teachers and students, but they seem too close. If one says they are lovers, but they are also a little distant. Could it be that PTSD happened in the last world? The host has a psychological shadow and dare not reveal it?

     “I treat him as my husband.” An Yinong picked up the umbrella and walked outside the house, opened it, “I’m going to see the paddy fields.”

     He didn’t walk long before he met Huang Meisheng on the road, who was regarded as a cancer by Gu Zhengzhong.

     Huang Meisheng still dressed like a Confucian scholar, with a smile on his face from time to time. The color of his clothes brought out “scholarly charm”. Although the dynasty changed, the empress granted amnesty and recognized the diplomas of the previous dynasty, so Huang Meisheng was still a scholar.

     Besides An Yinong, Huang Meisheng was the most popular person in this village, and even his married status could not stop those obsessed suitors. Gu Zhengzhong was right, Huang Meisheng was indeed a bit weird, and it was easy to attract some people who were romantic in nature, or inhuman.

     “Brother Yinong, would you like to go out for a walk? I heard that you were sick, are you feeling better now?” Huang Meisheng’s eyes lit up when he saw him, and he walked over quickly.

     “Thank you, Brother Huang, for your concern. I’m in good health.”

     An Yinong had been suffering from minor illnesses over the years. He claimed that he had been weak for a long time and used this as an excuse to refuse several invitations from scholars. So no one thought it was strange that he was holding an umbrella in broad daylight. He was weak and had contracted the disease while fleeing.

     “Is he a little shy?” The system didn’t understand. The more the host showed his dislike on his face, the more attentive he became. Moreover, the higher the host’s status, the higher the person’s regret value.

     This year, An Yinong passed three tests and won the first place in the scholar examination, stealing all the limelight from Huang Meisheng. Instead, Huang Meisheng couldn’t forget it and felt regretful.

     “No, he is just a simple admirer.” An Yinong frowned secretly.

     “Where are you going, Brother Yinong?”

     “I saw that the weather is nice today, so I went out for a walk.” An Yinong covered his lips with his sleeves, coughed lightly, and asked, “Where are you going, Brother Huang?”

     “My wife is not feeling well. I’m going to call the doctor.” Huang Meisheng remembered the business of his coming out.

     “Being unwell is a big deal, so I won’t bother Brother Huang. Brother Huang, please.”

     An Yinong looked considerate and considerate, but Huang Meisheng couldn’t stay any longer. He walked a few steps, looked back and saw that An Yinong had turned to the bamboo forest, leaving only his back like a green bamboo.

     An Yinong seemed to realize something. He turned around in the bamboo forest, holding an umbrella and looking back. Huang Meisheng’s mind went blank, forgetting everything about where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do, and he stood at the intersection and stared blankly.

     “Bah!” The system spat out once again, “The host didn’t even give him a smile, but he dared to have more than 40 regret points. Did he forget that the host was able to kill each other neatly on the way to escape?”

     “…Don’t smile so happily. I still want to believe that you are truly indignant.”

     “Hehe.” The system squirmed around, “The host has done nothing and is worth more than forty regrets. Otherwise, you could just give it a push and pass it. How simple is it?”

     “That’s good these days.”

     An Yinong was unmoved. He continued to move forward without taking Huang Meisheng to heart. This person had too many distracting thoughts, had a weak character, tended to go astray, and could not achieve great things.

     Bypassing the bamboo forest, one will find the largest paddy field in the village. Because it rained a lot here, paddy fields were the most abundant. The villagers lived in the mountains and concentrated their planting areas at the foot of the mountains.

     The paddy fields in front were all deep paddy fields located in low-lying areas, and they were also planted with deep-water rice. The water was from a mountain spring flowing and the dark soil was also rich in nutrients. The rice inside was golden and the ears of the rice were bent down.

     An Yinong bought ten acres of fields here and started experimenting with fish farming in rice fields the year before last.

     Because the characteristic of deep-water rice was that it was resistant to flooding, no matter how deep the water was, as long as the rice head was exposed above the water, it would not hinder the growth of the rice seedlings. Such fish farming conditions were almost as good as shallow water pond farming.

     Such deep water fields had many advantages over shallow water fields for fish farming. For example, it did not need to wait until March for the rice to be harvested before fishing. It can adopt the feeding method of rotating, catching and releasing to increase the yield.

     If he succeeded in raising fish, it would be equivalent to increasing the income of the surrounding mountain villages.

     When An Yinong came over, the helper, Uncle He, was inspecting the ten acres of paddy fields. As soon as he saw An Yinong, he came over and said, “Master, do you want to come and see the fields?”

     “Yeah, I think some of the fish are almost ready to be caught. You can catch some and take them back.” After seeing it, An Yinong was very satisfied, so he was in a good mood.

     “It’s not possible,” Uncle He waved his hands repeatedly, and said in the local dialect, “My boss gives me so much food a year. If I’m sick, I’ll call a doctor. If my house collapses, I’ll repair it. Where can I get your fish?”

     He didn’t know how many people envied him and worked for him as a tenant. People should cherish their blessings.

     An Yinong said nonchalantly: “This is what it should be. Besides, Uncle He is the one who collects silkworm excrement and shrimp worms to feed the fish every day. This fish is half of Uncle He’s. Let’s catch some and take them back. I heard that the eldest daughter-in-law in your family is pregnant. Just eat some fish, which is good for both pregnant women and children.”

     Uncle He couldn’t refuse after all. He quietly looked at An Yinong’s back holding an umbrella and leaving: “How can there be such a good person in this world? He will definitely be a high official in the future, and there will be an angel to match him.”