"Young Miss He!" Three shadows suddenly appeared in front of her as she entered the city gates. "Who are you?" she inquired. "We are guards of the young master. He has been waiting for you for several days." They almost did not recognize her since she was this muddy. "Ah, it’s you. I remember now. Please deliver this pill box to him. I have other matters to attend to." She recognized one of Xincheng’s guards. They delivered this pill to her days ago, they must be anxious by now. "Miss, aren’t you going to meet the young master?" "No. Please remind him not to forget our agreement." He needed to bring Hui Lin to the tea ceremony and let her apologize to Xin Xi. Soon, they would meet again. She handed over a small wooden box to them and walked away. Looking like a beggar, people probably wouldn’t want to engage with her in this state. She needed to buy new clothes. Appearing in such a state, let alone the tutors, even beggars would not talk to her, as she would tarnish their reputation. Entering a clothing store, Zhenzhu bought a new outfit. Then she headed to the main street where the Yongyuan Kuaile School was located, bustling with scholars. She entered a nearby eatery, ordered some snacks and drinks, and chose the most secluded corner to sit in while peeling roasted nuts and observing her surroundings. "I really pity him. He has to support his wife and kid. What will he do now that he’s been fired?" "What can you do? Are you going to help him? You might end up unlucky too. Don’t you know that the Magistrate Song is the Governor of Feirong City’s son-in-law? If he targets you next, you’ll be fired too." "I just said that. What can someone like me do? I have to support my wife and kid too. I just feel sorry for him." "What are you gentlemen talking about?" Zhenzhu leaned in, curious. Eavesdropping on locals could be useful. She wasn’t really eavesdropping, just to clarify in case someone misunderstood. "Hey, little girl, you startled me! When did you get here?" One of them jumped in surprise upon noticing the little girl leaning in. "I’ve been here since you started talking. Hurry up and tell me, I want to know." "Ah, you’re really nosy." "People need to have some knowledge. Hurry up, these snacks and nuts." She moved to sit with them without an invitation, relying solely on her boldness. The two men, taken aback by the adorable little girl with pigtails, wondered who could have lost such a child nearby. They thought to themselves how she could be so shamelessly forward. "Alright, alright, I’ll tell you." Don’t think of me as a gossiper, just think of this as sharing news. "Just yesterday, a teacher from the Yongyuan Kuaile School was fired." "Why was that?" She asked while munching on nuts. "Hey, don’t interrupt. I was about to continue," the man said, slightly annoyed. "It’s because he punished the son of Magistrate Song. The boy was bullying his peers and not paying attention in class, so the teacher assigned him to copy letters a hundred times. But that boy, being very arrogant, told his father that Teacher Li beat him. Magistrate Song, very protective of his son, used his power to force the headmaster to fire Teacher Li." "That boy really has a bad attitude, but no one dares to punish him because his father is very powerful. He is the son-in-law of governor of Feirong City, always swaggering. Probably only Teacher Li had the courage to discipline him, and it’s a pity such a good teacher was dismissed. It’s unfair for Teacher Li. What was the headmaster thinking, firing a good person like that? Heaven doesn’t favor the good after all." "And where is Teacher Li now, uncle?" "He’s probably at home. A teacher’s salary is only a few taels a month, not much savings. With no job , he must resort to manual labor to support his family," the man said sympathetically. "Uncle, where does Teacher Li live?" "His house is on Main Street Lane 1, Alley 8. Are you going to visit him? Just ask the locals there; he’s a kind man, well-known by everyone. But why are you looking for him?" "I want to hire him to tutor my younger brother," she revealed her intentions. "Ah, that’s good. He’ll have some income to support his family. His child is still very young, only 4 years old." "Thank you, uncle. I must be going now." She left a tael on the table and hurriedly left the shop. The two men looked at the tael left behind and then back at the little figure hurrying down the street. What kind of girl uses money so freely? Zhenzhu followed the directions given by the two uncles and asked around, learning that Teacher Li truly was a good person who always helped others when he could. She arrived at a small, serene house. A woman sat sewing on the bench, with a little child nestled in her lap, singing a folk song, the one that children love to sing. "Aunt, is this Teacher Li’s house?" "Yes, dear. Who are you looking for?" "Is Teacher Li here?" "He’s not. He went out to look for work," the woman said, sounding sad. "Aunt, I would like to hire Teacher Li to tutor my younger brother. Could you please ask him to visit me at Master He’s house tomorrow if he’s available?" "Are you the daughter of Master He?" she asked, her hands were trembling. How could she not recognize him? Master He is a renowned agricultural spirit energy cultivator. "Yes, my home is located outside the city to the north, about 30 minutes away. You will see a walled house on the right side." "Alright, young lady. When Teacher Li returns, I will promptly inform him." This morning, Zhenzhu was inspecting the vegetables and herbs that were nearly mature enough to harvest. In another week, they could probably be sold. Some plots glowed with the blue-tier spirit energy, while others with dark blue-tier. Every plant grew robustly, making one eager to bite into them right then. Some weeds had grown back after being pulled out last time, so she needed to remove them again. She picked up a small backless chair her father had made for her and began weeding. "You’re here, miss. I’ve been looking everywhere for you." "Come and see for yourself," Peipei suggested with a mysterious smile, prompting Zhenzhu to stop weeding. Follow current novᴇls on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽 She followed Peipei to an open plot that she remembered planting the Cheng Jiao Shu tree nearly ten days ago, almost forgetting about it. The entire He family and Xin Xi were already there, excitedly pointing at the base of the Cheng Jiao Shu tree. "Big Sister, come quickly. Erdan mushrooms have grown in our garden. How wonderful!" He Yu ran to her first, leading her by hand to the Cheng Jiao Shu tree she had planted. Though it wasn’t very large yet, it now vibrated with life. Around its base were small Erdan mushrooms, not yet fully bloomed, flourishing due to the recent frequent rains creating the perfect moisture level. "Zhu’er, did you plant the Cheng Jiao Shu tree for this reason?" Miss Wang asked excitedly. Having Erdan mushrooms in their garden without having to go to the mountains to collect them would be quite beneficial. "Yes, mother. When I went up the mountain, I noticed that Erdan mushrooms grow in areas with Cheng Jiao Shu trees because the roots of these trees have a certain fungus conducive to Erdan mushrooms. If the right moisture and mushroom spores are present, they will grow." "So, we can grow our own Erdan mushrooms?" He Ming asked. "I believe so. But if we want to cultivate them, we need to plant more Cheng Jiao Shu trees and spread the spores around them. The spores should come from mature mushrooms that are producing spores. Eh, ah..., the mushroom’s spores, we should crush the mature mushrooms into water and sprinkle it around the Cheng Jiao Shu tree’s base. The spores will seep into the soil, and when conditions are right, they will sprout." "Younger Sister, you’re so clever. How did you know all this?" He Ming said. It’s from watching documentaries. "I just observed and guessed." "You’re very observant, Zhu’er. So, we need to dig up more Cheng Jiao Shu trees and collect mature mushrooms," He Lei concluded. It would be great to be able to grow their own mushrooms without the effort of going up the mountain. "Then, father and I will dig up more Cheng Jiao Shu trees." "I’ll help too," Xin Xi offered. "I will go collect mature mushrooms to make spores then." Miss Wang said. "I’ll go with furen.” Peipei said. Everyone went their separate ways to perform their tasks excitedly. However, Zhenzhu stayed put, pondering over the small mushrooms that had sprouted. Currently, it’s the rainy season, with the right moisture and temperature for mushrooms to grow, but what about other seasons? Her speculation didn’t last long as Baihu’s mental message, standing not far away, told her that without rainy season conditions, mushrooms wouldn’t grow. "How did you know that, Baihu?" Baihu conveyed that it was Xiao She who informed him. Ah... so it was Xiao She. Well, that makes it a bit more credible. Xiao She mentioned that besides the fungus on the roots of the Cheng Jiao Shu tree, soil moisture, mushroom spores, environmental conditions also depend on the amount of light, temperature, air humidity, and the density of nutrients in the soil. How could she solve this issue? Or was the idea of cultivating mushrooms out of season just a fleeting thought? After all, there are no mushroom cultivation greenhouses in this era. Ah, a mushroom greenhouse? But how would she manage to control the temperature, light, and air humidity effectively? Zhenzhu couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard she thought. She slumped down on the grass, gazing at the tiny mushrooms sprouting up, sighing deeply before gazing off into the distance in thought. And that’s when her eyes fell on the sticks she had placed for planting the eight elements immortal flowers in a formation. Clicked! A lightbulb went off in her head, as if a burst of enlightenment had struck her. The solution to her problem was indeed a formation. Zhenzhu hurriedly went to her room, brought out all three books of formations, and spread them open immediately. She looked for a formation that could solve her problem. She had heard of various formations that could alter the environment of an area. According to travelers, some formations could turn lush green fields into scorching deserts or vast oceans. Some people even lost their lives in formations unable to escape. Therefore, there must be formations capable of altering the environment too. She flipped through the manuals with hope. However, despite flipping through the books until they were almost torn apart, she found no formation that met her needs. Some were too hot, others too cold, and most of Monk Xin Gong’s books were designed for slaughter. Why, with his inclination towards virtue, did he not have any environmental formations for growth? She felt disheartened. Exhausted and without finding what she was looking for, she collapsed onto the floor in defeat. What was she to do now? Her hope vanished once again. The sound of a fall startled her. It was a red-covered book that had been carelessly placed on the table and had fallen. Luckily, she wasn’t lying close to the table, or it would have landed on her head, possibly causing her demise. She sat up, picked up the red-covered book, and pondered. If there was no existing formation to meet her needs, she could create one herself and enhance it with specific characters. Well, if it wasn’t perfect, she could always ask Master Xin gong to adjust it for her. Without delay, Zhenzhu brought out a large sheet of blank paper, started sketching the formation based on logic and principles, placing elements and directions as harmoniously as possible, then integrating certain characters into specific points. She wrote, adjusted, and repeated, crumpling and discarding paper after paper until the room was littered with them. Her neatly tied hair became a tangled mess, her clean clothes were stained with ink, and even her skin bore ink stains. Yet, she paid no mind to her appearance. Zhenzhu struggled to resolve a flaw, finding the complexity of formation creation immensely challenging. Adjusting one point affected others due to their interconnectedness. Ah, it was exceedingly difficult. "Ah, this spot can’t have the wood element," she muttered, crumpling another poor piece of paper. "This can’t have too much water element." "The light must shine here, this direction would be better." She had no idea how long it had been, finally, she dropped the brush then lay sprawled amid the crumpled paper. Why creating a formation was so arduous? Tired and with a headache, she closed her eyes to rest, inadvertently falling asleep. "Zhu’er, can mother come in?" Her mother’s voice from outside woke her. It was dark inside the room. Is it already evening? "Come in, mother," she managed to say, trying to stretch her tired body. Upon entering with a lantern, her mother was shocked by the room’s state and her daughter’s appearance. After returning from collecting Erdan mushrooms and realizing it was late with no sign of her second daughter at dinner, and Zhenzhu did not light the lantern in her room so she had come to check. Why was everything so messy? “Zhu’er, why has it come to this?" "Uh, so, I was practicing drawing characters, mother. I got a bit too absorbed and fell asleep unintentionally." "Oh dear, don’t overdo it. Go have a bath, change your clothes, and then come eat," Miss Wang cooed affectionately. She looked disheartenedly at the pile of papers. She had been drawing all day yet without success. Perhaps tomorrow she would continue, or if it really didn’t work out, she might have to ask Master Monk Xin Gong for help. But she wanted to try with her own capabilities first. "Mother, did you manage to collect a lot of mushrooms?" "We got several baskets full. Your father also dug up quite a lot of Cheng Jiao Shu saplings. We’ll plant them in the ground tomorrow." Seeing their effort in collecting mushrooms and digging up so many Cheng Jiao Shu saplings, she would feel guilty if she didn’t succeed. She had to make it work. Renewed with determination, Zhenzhu hurried to bathe and eat before securing her room for the night. She cleaned the old papers from her room and started anew with a fresh sheet, focusing intently on her task of creating a formation. "Here needs the wood element, here gold. Ah, this direction is not suitable because the North Star is here." Baihu lay indifferently on its backless chair. Stuck on a problem, the little girl became frustrated. "Baihu, you’re utterly useless, aren’t you? Not helping me think at all. Forget about having spiced roast beef tomorrow." Baihu, having been lying down, couldn’t possibly miss out on roast beef. It got up from its bed, stepped into the ink palette, and began to tread messily over the paper Zhenzhu had laid out, then gave her a haughty look. It wasn’t telepathically communicating, but she felt as if it was rebuking her. "Are you rebuking me, Baihu?" Yet, when she looked at the paper where she had left off, she was astonished. The messy footprints unexpectedly marked the elements and directions perfectly. How could this be? This was the final piece to the puzzle she couldn’t solve. Any element she added didn’t fit, and after countless adjustments, she felt disheartened. A single step from Baihu illuminated everything. Zhenzhu stared at the paper as if it was gold. She joyously hugged Baihu. "Baihu, Baihu, my good friend, how many pieces of beef do you want tomorrow?" But its emerald eyes looked back at her as if looking at a fool. Such an incomparable fool. It wasn’t really rebuking, but she felt it all the same. Read ‘Rebirth: This Farmgirl Has Spirit Fish Scales’ before anyone else with more Chapters at https://www.jinovel.com/en