Chapter 289 (2/2)

When he saw the entire courtyard filled with verdant green vegetables without a single locust on any of them, Zhu Junfan was quite surprised. Despite his astonishment, he didn't reveal any of it on his face. He grinned slyly and pointed towards the green vegetables with the fan in his hand as he said, ”Did you spray pesticides on these vegetables?”

Yu Xiaocao nodded her head, ”My lord is wise. This commoner girl followed the precepts of traditional medicine and, with the help of Doctor Sun from Tongren Medicine Hall, created a pesticide that could destroy locusts. I spray some on the plants every morning and evening, and it protects the vegetables from being eaten by the insects.”

”Since this pesticide can kill locusts, that means it has a bit of poison in it, right? Would there be any adverse effects to the people who end up eating the vegetables then?” When Zhu Junfan found out that this pesticide could kill locusts, he thought further ahead. If this could be ma.s.s-produced and disseminated, wouldn't the people be able to plant a crop before the start of autumn and harvest something? However, if this was similar to the pesticides in his previous life and had bad effects on the body, then he would forget about it!

Yu Xiaocao proudly smiled and explained, ”Although my pesticide does have some poison in it, the poison is volatile and completely dissipates within twelve hours of being sprayed. As long as I don't spray any on the vegetables about twelve hours before we harvest, there won't be any harm to a person's body. Furthermore, even if someone accidentally ate some vegetables with the pesticide still on it, it's not a big deal. The poison isn't very strong. Those with strong and healthy bodies won't feel any effects. As for those who are weaker, they'll just end up going to the bathroom to relieve themselves a couple of times. As long as they drink enough water, they should be fine!”

”Volatile?” Zhu Junfan repeated this term a few times as a mysterious smile flickered on his lips. Aha! I've caught your little tail. He was willing to bet the head on his shoulders that the Yu Family's youngest daughter was a transmigrator.

Yu Xiaocao thought he didn't understand what the term 'volatile' meant and hurriedly gave an explanation, ”Volatile means that it dissipates quickly! The pesticide's poison has a time limit for how long it is effective. When enough time pa.s.ses, then the poisonous effects will disappear. It doesn't go into the air and actually truly disappears. It won't have any polluting effects on the air or soil around it!”

'Pollution? Heh heh! Miss Yu Xiaocao, the more you say the more mistakes you make! It is you! You are my fellow transmigrator!' Zhu Junfan was calculating the possibilities within his mind and didn't beat the gra.s.s to scare the snake. If he had to choose between Yu Hai and Yu Xiaocao being the transmigrator, he would rather Yu Xiaocao be the transmigrator.

Why? The reason was simple. Men tended to have ambitious thoughts. After all, didn't his current grandfather, who was previously a general in his past life, s.n.a.t.c.h an opportunity during the chaos of the previous dynasty and became the emperor who established the Great Ming Dynasty? Although he wasn't very attached to being the emperor, he also didn't want the hard work that his grandfather had done in establis.h.i.+ng this dynasty to be destroyed by someone else.

If this little girl, Yu Xiaocao, was the transmigrator, then he didn't have to be worried. From his taciturn younger cousin, he could tell that this little girl had either been a farmer or a small restaurant owner in her past life. Otherwise, how could she come up with methods in growing vegetables and watermelons early as well as be able to cultivate potatoes and corn so well?

If his hunch was correct, then he didn't have to worry that the little girl was someone like Wu Zetian [1]. Today he was finally able to meet this weak, delicate, and adorable little girl. He could tell in one glance that she wasn't someone who had raging ambitions. This made him relax even more.

When Zhu Junyang noticed that all of Yu Xiaocao's attention was on the emperor, he immediately felt as if he had been coldly abandoned. He dryly coughed a couple of times and stated, ”Yu Xiaocao, I want to eat pork stewed with vermicelli and savory and spicy river snails...”

Yu Xiaocao turned around and rolled her eyes at him, ”We don't have any river snails today! We only have potatoes stir fried with potatoes, green vegetables sauteed with green vegetables, and locusts fried with locusts!”

”Locusts? You can also eat locusts?” Zhu Junfan had been born and raised in a city in his previous life. Thus, he had only seen locusts as ill.u.s.trations in books.

Yu Xiaocao turned back to face the 'heir of Prince Jing' and immediately changed her aggressive expression into one filled with smiles, ”Although locusts look quite scary, they are actually very tasty. Furthermore, locusts are very nutritious, so they don't harm the body and only strengthen it! My lord, do you want to try some at noon?”

Zhu Junfan was just about to agree when his younger cousin with the stiff face interjected, ”If you don't have any river snails, you can go gather some! There's still some time between now and noon. If you gather some now, you'll still have time to clean them of their dirt!”

”If you want to eat them, go gather some yourself! The back courtyard has a gate that leads to the lakeside. I'll have Little s.h.i.+tou show you the way!” Yu Xiaocao rolled her eyes at him again and replied in a voice full of impatience.

”Savory and spicy river snails? I've heard that they are quite good. We...I would also like to try some!” Zhu Junfan started reminiscing about his college days. At that time, he had gone out with three of his buddies and they had ordered a plate of river snails and a few bottles of beer. It was the summer, so they were s.h.i.+rtless as they sat next to the small food stall as they ate food and drank beer leisurely. Those were the times that he missed the most ah! Unfortunately, it was highly unlikely that he would ever see those buddies of his again...

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[1] Wu Zetian (武则天) - A Chinese sovereign who ruled unofficially as empress consort, and later officially as regent, empress dowager, and empress regnant during the Tang Dynasty