Qi Qi's words reminded Shao Xuan of the precious Thousand Grain Gold in his backyard.
It was said that the more precious something was, the more fragile it was and had to be protected. Shao Xuan sighed as he thought about the sprouts and the days he had been cooped up in his house. He no longer had any hope.
When Qi Qi saw Shao Xuan's reaction, she realised this Elder had probably forgotten about the Thousand Grain Gold and did not care at all. If it had been anyone else, Qi Qi would have started scolding and beating them up. However, this was the Elder of the tribe, second only to the chief and the shaman. He was also the owner of the Thousand Grain Gold. She did not dare to scold him, much less beat him up.
No matter how furious she was, she could only take a deep breath and suppress her emotions. Then again, her own crops had all failed, she had no right to criticize him.
It was a pity that this Young Elder was too young and did not realise the importance of the Thousand Grain Gold. Qi Qi sighed.
"Let's go take a look." Shao Xuan tidied up the thick, dry leaves beside him that served as a notebook, then brought Qi Qi to the backyard.
Previously, when he heard that Shao Xuan was planting some precious crops here, Duo Kang specially brought people over to wrap a piece of cloth around the wooden fence to prevent the naughty kids from kicking pebbles and other things inside. That was why these few days, not just Shao Xuan, even the people who walked past Shao Xuan's house every day couldn't see what was going on inside. Those who were curious did not dare to peek into Shao Xuan's house either. The Elder's position was very powerful in this aspect.
He had lost all hope but when Shao Xuan opened the back door and looked into the yard, he realised that there were many green sprouts swaying in the wind.
The last time Shao Xuan looked, only half of them had sprouted but this time, there were more than 80 sprouts. The last 30 sprouts had probably sprouted later so Shao Xuan did not notice them last time.
The sprouts were not very tall, only a little taller than Shao Xuan's ankles. Although they were growing slowly and did not look very energetic, they were still alive!
"This …" Qi Qi looked at the small yard and the sprouts on the ground. She was so shocked she did not know what to do.
She quickly walked forward and looked at the ground. Because no one had watered or fertilized them, some parts had cracked.
"Elder, this … how did you plant them?" Qi asked Shao Xuan.
"I planted them like you did. You saw it the last time too. I watered them a little when they sprouted but I did not use the fertilizer." Shao Xuan pointed at a vat in the corner. It was the fertilizer Qi Qi had given him.
Qi Qi had told Shao Xuan to water the sprouts when they grew. But Shao Xuan had forgotten about it when he got busy. He had put all his attention on the cloud patterns and did not remember about the sprouts, fertilizer, and watering.
Qi Qi did not doubt Shao Xuan's words. She had occasionally gone up the mountain to talk to Shao Xuan about the Thousand Grain Gold sprouts. But every time she came, Shao Xuan would close the door so she did not disturb him. This time, it was really urgent and she had to knock on the door.
Looking at the sprouts, Qi Qi's face was full of guilt. "Elder, I have disappointed you!"
"What's wrong? Are there problems with the sprouts? "Shao Xuan asked.
Qi Qi's face was red and she felt even more guilty. She did not know what to say. It was not just problems. The sprouts that were growing well were starting to wilt!
Qi Qi brought Shao Xuan to a few fields. From the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, the situation was similar.
"It was fine at the start and everyone was happy. But as they grew, they started to wilt …" Qi Qi told Shao Xuan about the sprouts' growth.
Shao Xuan could not understand it either. Qi Qi and the rest had taken good care of the sprouts. They should have been growing well when they first sprouted. How could they wilt?
Could it be that they did not have enough nutrients?
Qi Qi and the rest had prepared the fertilizer and watched over the sprouts every day. When they heard Shao Xuan say that the area where they found the Thousand Grain Gold was dry, they reduced the number of times they watered the sprouts. They only watered the sprouts according to the situation.
Not acclimatized?
They had sprouted leaves and were growing well at the start. But as they grew, they wilted and died one by one. Qi Qi and the rest were heartbroken. The few elders did not sleep for a few days. They discussed and tried all sorts of methods but to no avail. Now, there were only about 20 sprouts left in the 10 plots of land. They were much taller than the ones in Shao Xuan's backyard. They were knee-high but they were wilting. They were even worse than the ones in Shao Xuan's backyard.
Thinking about it, Shao Xuan couldn't come up with a reason.
"Then … Elder, what should we do next?" Qi Qi asked carefully. She was worried that Shao Xuan would scold them. When Shao Xuan gave them the seeds, they promised to do their best. But in the end, they failed to live up to Shao Xuan's expectations.
Shao Xuan thought about the progress of deciphering the cloud patterns. He did not plan to stop halfway. It was rare for him to find an idea. He did not want to stop and think about other things. Compared to the Thousand Grain Gold, he was more interested in the cloud patterns. The more he understood, the more he felt that the cloud patterns contained a huge secret about the Xia people.
After thinking about it, Shao Xuan said, "How about this? Please help me take care of the sprouts in my backyard."
"Ah?" Qi Qi looked up in shock. Shao Xuan's decision was not only not to scold them, but also to entrust them with important tasks. How … how could she do that!
But Qi Qi was still curious about the sprouts in Shao Xuan's backyard. She wanted to know if the sprouts were still alive because they were not tall enough or because of other reasons.
"But … but what if the sprouts …" Qi Qi tugged at her muddy clothes nervously. She was in a dilemma.
"Don't worry. Even if all the sprouts die, I will not blame you. They are hard to grow anyway. Since they can't be grown, I will cook the remaining grains for everyone to eat, "Shao Xuan said.
Qi Qi's face twitched. Such precious seeds … were eaten?
After Shao Xuan made his decision, he followed Qi Qi's suggestion and opened a small door at the wooden fence in the backyard. According to Qi Qi, they would definitely go over every day. They might even go over a few times a day. It was inevitable that they would disturb Shao Xuan. They just had to open a small door at the fence in the backyard for her to enter. They would take care of the other things themselves. Shao Xuan did not need to care.
That afternoon, Shao Xuan made a movable door at the wooden fence. Since no one would dare to barge in, he did not even need to tie a rope.
Closing the door, Shao Xuan's eyes swept across the courtyard. He felt that something was missing. When he was about to enter the house, he suddenly stopped at the door.
Shao Xuan looked down at his feet. At the back door, there was a weed. When Shao Xuan entered, his trousers swept across the weed, so he noticed it.
Weed …
He turned around and looked at the yard. He thought back to the time when the Thousand Grain Gold sprouted. Shao Xuan remembered that there were many other unknown weeds growing in the yard. At that time, Shao Xuan was thinking about the cloud pattern. He planned to wait until the seedlings were bigger before getting rid of them. Who knew that he would wait until now? It had been more than twenty days. Shao Xuan did not even go out for a hunt.
It had been more than 20 days, and in such warm weather, the annual weeds should have grown even more vigorously, right? But the truth was, there were only a few weeds in the yard. Most of them were spread far away from the seedlings. The weeds from twenty days ago were long gone.
Shao Xuan found a thick leaf without writing and recorded this discovery. He would look at it later.
After entering the house, Shao Xuan continued to decipher the cloud patterns. He could already decipher the general meaning of the cloud patterns. Although he had only deciphered two cloud patterns and there was still a thick stack of cloud patterns to be deciphered, it was good to have some progress. Shao Xuan would decipher all the cloud patterns on the cauldron.
In the following days, other than going out to hunt, Shao Xuan spent most of his time deciphering the cloud patterns in the house. As for the Thousand Grain Gold seedlings in the backyard, he would only occasionally take a look at them when he was resting. When he came back from his hunt, Shao Xuan asked about the situation of the Qi Qi seedlings.
In the ten plots of land on the mountain, only two Thousand Grain Gold seedlings were still alive. They were the two slowest growing seedlings. They didn't look like they could last much longer. The eighty seedlings in Shao Xuan's backyard were also growing faster under the care of Qi Qi and the rest.
The seedlings in Shao Xuan's backyard were almost as tall as the seedlings they took care of before. However, when they reached this height, it was as if they couldn't cross the threshold. They changed their growth pattern and started to wither until all of them died. That was why Qi Qi and the rest were worried as they watched the seedlings grow taller by the day.
For the sake of the seedlings in Shao Xuan's backyard, Qi Qi even invited some people to the Taihe tribe to exchange their experiences. They wanted to lower their status and learn something useful from the Taihe people. If they could take care of the seedlings, they would be able to answer to Shao Xuan.
However, the situation in the Taihe tribe wasn't good either. They only lasted a little longer than them. Once the seedlings reached that stage, they withered. When Qi Qi and the rest went over, the Taihe people wanted to go over to Yanjiao to take a look.
Fertilizing the land, plowing the soil, improving the soil … everything was done. The seedlings were so healthy. Why did they wither in the blink of an eye?
As expected of the precious Thousand Grain Gold. They were so hard to take care of! Everyone was worried.
Because of the Taihe people's meticulous care, the seedlings grew too quickly. Although they were planted later, they were still growing faster than the ones in Shao Xuan's yard. But once the seedlings reached that stage, they withered. There was no helping it. They heard that only the ones in Shao Xuan's backyard were left. Hence, the Taihe people went over to Yanjiao every day to take a look.
Seeing that the seedlings were growing faster under the care of Yanjiao and Taihe people, and that they were about to reach that 'threshold', Qi Qi and the rest were even more worried. They couldn't sleep at night. It was as if they had an anxiety disorder.
Shao Xuan, on the other hand, had been deciphering the cloud patterns behind closed doors. He did not experience their fear at all.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
