Xia Yuanfang nodded and continued, "Secondly, give me some samples of your fertilizer mixtures. When I get back, I'll help you figure out the fixed formulas, so you can just mix the ingredients according to the recipe in the future. Oh, by the way, can you read? If not, I can teach you."
San Zong's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "San Zong has taught himself! San Zong knows a lot of words!"
Xia Yuanfang looked at him with pity and said, "So you taught yourself. Just knowing how to read isn't enough. How about this, I'll find you some technical books on farming when I get back, and see if you can understand them."
"Thank you, Female Sire Auntie! San Zong will definitely study hard!" San Zong really cried, wiping his tears as he said, "No one has ever thought of teaching San Zong to read!"
Xia Chujian: "..."
Although she knew she shouldn't overthink it, she still felt like she was being subtly mocked...
Sure enough, San Zong immediately said to her, "...San Zong isn't talking about Female Sire!"
Xia Chujian: ...
Thanks, no need to patch things up.
Xia Yuanfang smiled and continued, "San Zong, don't call Chujian 'Female Sire' anymore, you can just call her name."
"I wouldn't dare! San Zong would never call Female Sire's name! That's impolite!" San Zong said very seriously.
Xia Yuanfang was both annoyed and amused, and said, "Female Sire is also impolite."
"Why? When San Zong calls others 'Sire', they are all very happy..."
"Sire generally refers to males, while our Chujian is a female."
"So San Zong calls her Female Sire!"
"..."
Xia Yuanfang had a headache, and finally had to say, "If you must use an honorific, then call her Young Lord."
San Zong carefully considered it, and his eyes lit up: "The title Young Lord is good! San Zong likes it!"
He respectfully said to Xia Chujian, "Greetings, Young Lord!"
Xia Chujian breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to get rid of the awkward title of "Female Sire"...
Then San Zong started calling Xia Yuanfang "Young Lord Auntie". Xia Yuanfang refused, saying, "Don't call me that. You can just call me Xia Researcher. I'm just a technician."
San Zong saw that Xia Yuanfang didn't like it, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "Should San Zong call you Xia Madam? In the Plantation, everyone called the Director's wife 'Madam'."
This was the most honorable title San Zong knew, besides "Sire".
Of course, he also knew that the title "Madam" was for married women.
If you weren't married, you couldn't be called Madam.
Xia Yuanfang found it funny and said, "That still won't do. I'm not married yet, and even if I were, my husband probably wouldn't be surnamed Xia. Why would you call me Xia Madam? I'll teach you to read, so just call me Xia Teacher."
In the Beichen Empire, not just anyone could be called a teacher.
Teacher was a genuine honorific, and San Zong finally nodded in agreement.
Then he took a terracotta pot from the backyard, washed it clean with the Snow Water he had brought in, disinfected it in the kitchen, and then filled it with a little humus.
Next, he divided three sprouted Blood Kirin plants into the terracotta pot. As for the Kong Sang, because there was only one plant, San Zong hadn't cultivated any seedlings yet, so he said to Xia Yuanfang, "Xia Teacher, there is only one Kong Sang plant right now, and San Zong hasn't cultivated any seedlings yet. Should we transplant the Blood Kirin first, and then give Xia Teacher a plant after San Zong cultivates Kong Sang seedlings?"
Xia Yuanfang nodded regretfully, "Alright, let's do the Blood Kirin first."
Xia Chujian said from the side, "Auntie, don't be disappointed. We have Aunt Chen, so it's very convenient to come and go."
"Convenient for what? Aunt Chen is willing to help because she has good character, not for you to use her as transportation," Xia Yuanfang said with slight displeasure. "Whether they are Humanoids or humans, you must treat them equally and give them respect—unless they disrespect you first."
Xia Chujian nodded, satisfied, and said, "It's good that Auntie didn't teach me to respect everyone no matter what. If they respect me, I will definitely respect them. But if they're just asking for it, then they can't blame me..."
"I see, Young Lord, your Gunmanship is divine, so you just shoot down any injustice, right?" Xia Yuanfang teased with a smile.
Xia Chujian almost blurted out a "yes".
But with her understanding of Xia Yuanfang, she held back the words at the last moment.
Xia Yuanfang was clearly deliberately trying to trick her into "getting carried away" so she could properly educate her. She wouldn't fall for it! Xia Chujian's eyes sparkled, and she snuggled up to Xia Yuanfang, obediently saying, "When Auntie was sick, Chujian had to protect herself and Auntie like that. Now that Auntie is better, Chujian will listen to Auntie. If there's any injustice, I'll discuss it with Auntie first!"
"Good..." Xia Yuanfang smiled and touched her face, thinking that this child could now bend and stretch, and she also had to keep up with the times...
...
Xia Chujian and Xia Yuanfang transplanted the Blood Kirin into a terracotta pot together.
Small Dog Si Xi was beside them, shaking its head and wagging its tail, making trouble, occasionally reaching out its little paws to paw at the terracotta pot.
San Zong temporarily wove a cover out of grass rope and placed it on the terracotta pot.
It could both conceal the Blood Kirin and allow ventilation. Although it looked rough, it had a quaint charm.
Xia Chujian loved it so much that she wished San Zong would weave her a sun hat in the same style.
But then Aunt Chen knocked on the door, calling them to eat, saying that lunch was ready.
Xia Chujian and Xia Yuanfang opened the door and went out.
Behind them followed San Zong and Small Dog Si Xi, bouncing like a ball.
Aunt Chen had made home-style dishes today, but they were particularly delicious because the ingredients were very fresh, so the taste was natural. Although it couldn't compare to Xia Yuanfang's cooking skills, it was only slightly inferior to Xia Chujian's.
Xia Chujian ate three large bowls of Tantai Royal Field Rice and said, "San Zong, next time I come, I hope to eat our Dang Kang Zhu Yu Rice!"
Aunt Chen was stunned for a moment: "Dang Kang Zhu Yu Rice? What kind of grain is that?"
She cast a suspicious look back and forth between Xia Chujian and San Zong.
Xia Yuanfang explained, "I went to look at the backyard you built, and I think San Zong has a lot of ideas. I think the rice he grows this time will be even better than Tantai Royal Field Rice, so I suggested giving this rice a new name. Aunt Chen, do you think the name Dang Kang Zhu Yu Rice is appropriate?"
Aunt Chen was dazed for a moment, then said with a smile, "Appropriate, too appropriate! I'm also looking forward to it!"
Xia Chujian and Zhu Yingying smiled at each other.
Zhu Yingying scooped a spoonful of Danmu Grass Stewed Purple Salmon chunks that Aunt Chen had made for Xia Chujian, and said, "Chujian, try this dish. I think this fish is no worse than the Wild Rhinoceros Pig's front haunch!"
Xia Chujian took a bite, tasted it carefully, and said, "... Oh, this Purple Salmon has a fine texture, is very chewy, and it feels warm and comfortable in my chest after eating it!"
Aunt Chen said, "We can't catch Wild Rhinoceros Pigs now, so we chiseled open the ice in the nearby lake and caught several Purple Salmon. I brought them all back, killed one, and raised the rest in the water tank, so we can eat them slowly."
"Is there anything special about this Purple Salmon?" Xia Yuanfang also took a bite, and felt very comfortable in her heart after eating it.
Her feelings were even more obvious than Xia Chujian's, because the poison refined from the Wind-Dried Blood Kirin damaged her genes, and the heart was the most important organ in the human body after the brain, so it suffered the most damage.
She usually ate two Advanced Nutrient Solutions every day to nourish her body, but that kind of nourishment was a comprehensive repair, so progress was relatively slow.
And this Purple Salmon, specifically targeting the recovery of the heart, was really particularly suitable.
Aunt Chen said with a smile, "I saw that Xia Researcher's lips were still purple and her cheeks were dark red after she was discharged from the hospital, so there must still be a problem with her heart. Purple Salmon is very nourishing for the heart."
Xia Chujian was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Aunt Chen, how much Purple Salmon do you have? Can I buy a few more to take back? My aunt has just recovered from a serious illness and really needs such ingredients to nourish her."
Xia Yuanfang's eyes flickered slightly, and said, "Chujian, don't worry, let's eat first. After we finish eating, I still have business to discuss with your Aunt Chen."
Xia Chujian: "..."
She frowned and said, "Aunt, it's important to take care of your health. As for making money, I'm here. I have a lot of money now, enough for us to spend for several years."
Xia Yuanfang chuckled: "Don't worry, I will take care of my health, but it doesn't contradict me finding some business to do."
Xia Chujian looked at Xia Yuanfang. She was used to being managed by Xia Yuanfang, and she didn't dare to say no to her after all.
After the meal, Xia Chujian went to the kitchen to help Zhu Yingying clean up the dishes.
San Zong and Small Dog ran excitedly to the nearby lake to chisel ice, planning to catch some more Purple Salmon.
Now that the weather was freezing, the lake was frozen solid, and they had to use force to smash a hole in the lake surface to see the water below before they could catch Purple Salmon.
On the other side, Xia Yuanfang and Aunt Chen returned to the room where Aunt Chen and Zhu Yingying lived, and closed the door to talk about things.
Aunt Chen decorated this room exactly like Zhu Yingying's former bedroom.
But near the window, she added an extra sofa bed.
Usually it was folded up as a sofa, and at night it was unfolded as a bed.
Xia Yuanfang and Aunt Chen sat on the sofa, holding a cup of hot Ficus Pumila Tea in their hands, took a sip, and praised, "This is also a tea that is good for the heart, right?"
"Yes, I picked it myself and fried it myself, Xia Researcher, I have nothing else to thank you for. Please accept these Purple Salmon and Ficus Pumila Tea." Aunt Chen put her hands on her knees and said respectfully.
She was really very grateful to Xia Chujian and Xia Yuanfang, and felt that no matter what she did, she could not repay them.
Xia Yuanfang smiled and said, "Aunt Chen, you're being too polite. I know what kind of person you are after all these years. You also know what kind of people Chujian and I are. Let's skip the formalities. What I want to say is, are you willing to partner with me and do some business?"
Aunt Chen was surprised: "Xia Researcher? What ability do I have to partner with you in business? If you let me run errands for you, I would be eternally grateful... Please don't make fun of me..."
Xia Yuanfang's smile faded slightly, and she said seriously: "Aunt Chen, I'm serious. Since I brought it up, it must be because you have value worth cooperating with. As a descendant of the Divine Beast Fei Fei, don't you even have this much insight?"
Aunt Chen also said seriously: "Xia Researcher, are you serious? Yingying and I are just Humanoids. Although I have the attribute of stealth, I have never used this attribute to do bad things. I have always been honest and earned money with my own labor."
Xia Yuanfang nodded: "That's exactly why I think Aunt Chen is someone I can cooperate with."
This is the second update, there will be a new update at 12:05 tonight.
In the chapter before the last one, "Draining the pond to catch all the fish", I made some modifications. Darlings, you can go back and read it again.
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