HCB Chapter 403 Planting Beans South of the Mountain, Weeds Grow Thickly, Bean Sprouts Are Sparse
Chapter 403 Planting Beans South of the Mountain, Weeds Grow Thickly, Bean Sprouts Are Sparse
You know what, Yinzuo really underestimated the appeal of growing vegetables to Yinzhi, Yinqi, and the other pampered young masters. They weren't bothered with Yinzuo's calculations anymore; they all got up and strolled towards the greenhouse, clearly choosing a location.
Yinzhuo's greenhouse was built to resemble Kangxi's peony garden. Although it wasn't particularly large, it was more than enough for each of his brothers to grow vegetables. After Yinzhi and the others had marked out their areas and asked what they wanted to grow, Yinzhuo assigned each of them an assistant before they could even speak.
When it comes to growing vegetables, Yinzhi and the others are full of enthusiasm but have absolutely no experience. They can learn something at a glance but fail miserably when they try to do it. Fortunately, the assistants assigned to them by Yinzuo are all experts in tending vegetable gardens. Even with these princes constantly following around and causing trouble, they can still manage their assigned plot of land in an orderly manner, step by step.
"Oh, it's finally finished. This kind of work is really not easy. Look, even with help, we're still so tired. If we had to do it all ourselves, we would have collapsed from exhaustion."
Yinzhi, Yinqi, Yintang, and Yinzhi all agreed with what Yinzhi said. They were so tired after just one experience, given their delicate and pampered nature. If they were really made to farm, they would probably collapse from exhaustion.
"What Third Brother said is both right and wrong. It's right because farming is never an easy task in any era. It's wrong because people can't do something unless they're pushed to the limit. When they're really pushed, they can endure any hardship."
Yinzhuo's words were actually nothing to worry about. After all, there's a saying that there's no such thing as an insurmountable burden, only blessings that can't be enjoyed.
What did Yinzhi and Yinqi get in return for their unprecedented enthusiasm for growing vegetables? Well... it's not hard to guess. A month later, Kangxi's dining table was set with a table full of spinach dishes without fail for several days in a row. Yinzhuo was a typical carnivore. You could let him eat vegetables occasionally, but if you let him eat them every day, he would get tired of it.
“Father, your son isn’t a rabbit. What’s the meaning of you putting a table full of spinach in front of me every day? And my third brother and the others, can’t you just show your filial piety all at once? It’s like a relay race every few days, one person comes and another comes, who can stand it? I’ve had enough of this spinach, Father. If you keep feeding me grass like this, I’m not coming to eat with you anymore.”
Not to mention Yinzhuo, even Kangxi had had enough of the spinach he had been eating for the past few days. But he couldn't just throw away the gifts his son had kindly sent him as a tribute. So, not only Yinzhuo was worried these past few days, but Kangxi was also quite troubled.
"If you don't want to eat, then don't complain! You were the one who was clamoring to build greenhouses to grow vegetables, and now that the vegetables are grown, you're the one saying you've had enough. What, do you think you're right about everything here and there? Fine, since you've had enough, then tell the imperial kitchen to remove this dish from the menu for dinner..."
Yinzhuo now understands that his father's move of going with the flow, fishing in troubled waters, and using someone else's strength to his advantage is quite clever. He scolded him so righteously, but if he's so capable, he should just keep eating by himself.
Whether Kangxi was capable or not is unknown, but when it came time for dinner, Yinzhuo no longer saw that table full of spinach products. Finally free from the sight of greenery, Yinzhuo faced a table full of delicious dishes and naturally had to eat first as a sign of respect. Then... he gloriously succeeded in stuffing himself.
They say it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, but given Yinzhuo's cockroach-like recovery ability, it hasn't even been three months since he sprained his ankle, and he's already jumping around again. Since his ankle is fine, what can he do after eating too much? Naturally, he'll just take a stroll.
It's already mid-May, and even in the evenings the weather isn't cold outside. There are still many flowers blooming in the gardens surrounding Qingxi Study. Yinzhuo simply dragged his father to the garden for a stroll and to admire the flowers.
"Father, look how beautifully these peonies are blooming! Grandmother loves them the most. Tomorrow, I'll have someone cut a few and send them to her. She'll be so happy to see them. And these roses are lovely too. Do you like them, Father? If you do, I'll cut some for you tomorrow and put them in the flower hall..."
Kangxi would naturally not refuse his son's filial piety. The father and son walked and chatted along the garden and soon arrived at the lakeside pavilion. Yinzhuo was not a very active person. Now that he had digested his food, he naturally did not want to continue walking. Seeing that there was a pavilion in front of him, he simply pulled his father to sit down and rest.
The May wind was quite gentle. Yinzhuo was always sleepy after eating, and after taking a stroll and sitting by the lake for a while, he was starting to feel drowsy. However, since he was still outside, he knew he couldn't sleep yet, so he started making small talk with Kangxi to try and distract himself from his sleepiness.
“Father, in a couple of years, once Fourth Brother is more familiar with court affairs, why don’t we pass this position to him? Then your son can take you, and you can bring the money. We’ll find a place with mountains, water, and forests, and live a carefree life like picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence and leisurely gazing at the southern mountains. But even if we’re leaving, we must take more people with us. Otherwise, with our limited self-sufficiency, we’ll probably end up like the proverb, ‘Planting beans south of the mountain, the weeds are lush but the bean sprouts are sparse…’”
No wonder Yinti and the others always said that Yinzuo was Kangxi's biological son. Look at such treasonous words! If it were Yinti and the others who said them, Kangxi would probably have already been furious and had them dragged away and punished. But look at Yinzuo, after he said those words, not only was he not punished, but Kangxi actually started to think about it seriously.
"Planting beans south of the mountain, the weeds are lush but the bean sprouts are sparse? You're talking about yourself, aren't you? I'm not like you. Even if I were to farm, I'd be a master. Just look at the few acres of rice I planted next to Changchun Garden. Doesn't it yield a good harvest every year?"
Heh, wasn't that a good harvest? After all, that was your Oden, with a whole bunch of people serving you. If you were really relying on yourself, you'd likely have a complete crop failure, if not a total loss...
"Father, you're always so busy with work, is it possible that the good harvest from the rice paddies has nothing to do with you at all?"
Hey, what's wrong with you, you brat? Haven't you heard the saying, "Don't say what you see"? Kangxi, having been shut down by Yinzhuo, was too lazy to pay him any more attention and got up to walk out of the pavilion.