Governing the country, enriching the people, an unparalleled imperial tutor

Lin Xiaoya returned in the evening. She carried two bags of newly bought stationery when she entered. She took a little longer than usual to change her shoes, as if she paused after entering before looking up at him. She took two steps closer, her gaze slowly sweeping over him, as if confirming something, before finally stopping in front of him.

"You smell," she said. "It's not from laundry detergent, and it's not from our air freshener." She paused for a moment. "It's the smell of perfume."

Lin Yanzhou did not dodge.

"I can't quite describe the scent," Xiaoya said, her voice slower than usual, as if she were thinking as she spoke. "It's not the kind of fragrance that modern people could create. It's very faint, but I smelled it near your collar."

Lin Yanzhou was silent for a moment: "The perfume the women over there use is different from the one here. You have a very keen sense of smell."

"I don't have a keen sense of smell," Xiaoya said, looking at him. "I'm worried about you."

"If you have other women outside, don't come looking for me."

"I, Lin Yanzhou, swear that in this day and age, if I ever have another woman, may I be struck by lightning."

"I don't need you to swear; a woman's intuition is very accurate. If you have any doubts, just tell me, and I won't bother you."

"Xiaoya, I've sworn, please believe me, I will never like anyone else in this life." As he spoke, Lin Yanzhou hugged Xiaoya's slender waist from behind, thinking to himself: I will definitely not let Xiaoya down in this life, I'll treat this ancient world as my own game world.

The sunlight outside the window was slowly dimming, the light streaming in through the French windows transforming into a warm twilight. The two embraced and went to the bedroom. Another round of passionate lovemaking ensued. Lin Yanzhou even felt that some of his functions were much stronger than before—was it related to his dual-world travels?

"When I go to see Professor Wu the day after tomorrow, I will bring something with me." Lin Yanzhou took out the small tortoise-shaped seal from the hidden compartment and placed it on Xiaoya. "Let him see this."

Xiaoya glanced down at the bronze seal. She picked it up and examined it, gently pressing her finger on the seal script at the bottom: "You're going to show this to him? I can't recognize the characters on it."

"Precisely because it can't recognize it."

Xiaoya put down the small seal and didn't press it for its origin: "Don't forget, it's three o'clock the day after tomorrow. I've already confirmed with Professor Wu; he heard you're interested in the 'Xuan Shuo Dynasty,' so he specifically canceled all his other appointments." She paused, as if carefully choosing her words, "You have to live up to my trust in not asking any questions now."

She spoke calmly, but Lin Yanzhou saw something else deep in her eyes. He simply put the small seal back into his palm. "Xiaoya, when the time is right, I will tell you everything."

Outside the window, the osmanthus blossoms in the park were falling; a breeze blew, and the scattered petals rolled across the lawn before settling down. Dusk was slowly closing in, turning the distant artificial lake into a dark golden expanse, like a mirror gradually closing. Lin Yanzhou stood by the window, thinking about the person behind the appraiser, Professor Wu he was to meet the day after tomorrow, and the last thing Xiao Lan told him before leaving Xuan Shuo—that someone was moving around the Guandi Temple, dressed in the old uniform of the Grand Tutor's Mansion, with an old waist tag hanging from their waist. Three threads were pressing down on him simultaneously, and the clues he held were still too fragmented; he needed to piece together one complete piece before he could see the next step.

The only thing he was certain of now was that the four characters at the bottom of the small tortoise-shaped seal were the only thing in his possession that could be recognized by outsiders. If Wu Yuanqing could recognize those four characters, he could take another step forward on this path. If he couldn't—that meant this path was deeper and more worthwhile than he had thought.

The next day, Lin Yanzhou appeared at the agricultural machinery parts market in the east of the city. This area was different from the hardware and chemical market in the south of the city; the shops were larger, and pickup trucks and tricycles with trailers were parked in front. The smell in the air had changed from engine oil to cast iron and diesel. He walked along the street and found a spacious shop at the end of the street. Several rows of newly arrived plowshares and harrow teeth were displayed in good condition.

"Boss, do you sell the plowshare and plow blade separately? I don't need the whole set."

The shop owner, a middle-aged man in his forties, was squatting by the door unpacking a wooden crate. He looked up at him and asked, "How many do you want?"

"Forty plowshare blades, fifteen sets of plowshares, and thirty sets of harrow teeth."

The shop owner put down the crowbar and stood up: "This is a large quantity. From an agricultural cooperative?"

"I bought it for someone else; there's a piece of land in the countryside that needs improvement."

"Where is the land?"

"South, past the county road."

The shopkeeper glanced at him for a few seconds, then turned and walked towards the warehouse without asking any more questions: "We have the goods, but not all of them. There are only eight plowshares left; you'll have to wait two days for the rest."

"Eight sets are fine too. Send out the ones you already have first, and let me know when the other seven sets arrive."

"Full payment or deposit?"

"Full payment."

The shopkeeper paused, glanced back at him, clearly surprised by his quick agreement. The rest of the process went smoothly: order processing, payment, and a restocking appointment. By the time Lin Yanzhou loaded the eight plowshares and accessories onto the truck, his back was already soaked with sweat. He had folded the tarpaulin twice, securing the edges to prevent it from falling apart on the road.

The second stop was the agricultural supplies wholesale market on the outskirts of the city. This road was two blocks away from the parts market, but the smell was completely different. Bags of fertilizer were piled up on the roadside, and the air was filled with the smell of ammonia and fermenting humus.

He went into the seed shop first. The shop wasn't big, with various seed bags neatly arranged on the shelves and crop charts on the walls. An old man in his fifties was sitting behind the counter looking at his phone, only looking up when someone came in.

"Boss, do you have wheat seeds?"

"Yes. How much do you want?"

"One hundred jin (50 kg)".

The old man put down his phone: "How much land do you plant with 100 jin? You must have more than ten acres."

"The newly contracted land has a low germination rate on slopes, so you need to sow more seeds and save the rest for replanting."

The old man didn't ask any more questions, turned around and carried a 50-jin bag of wheat seeds from the inner room, placing it on the counter. Lin Yanzhou then said, "I also want corn seeds, 40 jin. And 40 jin of sorghum." Sorghum can be used to brew wine, you know. Ancient people had never tried high-proof pure grain liquor.

As the old man was unloading the goods, he said, "You grow so much grain, why don't you grow some vegetables for yourself?"

"Plant them," Lin Yanzhou said. "Two packs each of tomatoes, watermelons, and green beans."

The old man pulled out a few small paper bags from under the counter and placed them on the counter. He wrote the variety names on the bags with a pen: "The tomatoes are early-maturing, the watermelons are small to medium-sized, and the green beans are pole beans. It takes a bit of work to build trellises, but the yield is high." Then he glanced at Lin Yanzhou, "If you're planting a lot, do you want to buy fertilizer at the same time? It's not worth making a separate trip."

"Yes. I need some compound fertilizer, phosphate fertilizer, and urea. Can you deliver them to Emerald Garden?"

"Emerald Garden?" The old man glanced at him again. "That's the villa area."

"The workshop needs it, not the residence."

The old man didn't ask any more questions. He pressed a few buttons on his calculator and quoted a total price. Lin Yanzhou paid, left his address and phone number, and arranged for delivery the next morning. As the old man tore off the receipt and handed it to him, he said, "With so much stuff, you'd need a big yard to store it all."

Lin Yanzhou folded the receipt and put it in his pocket: "There's enough room. Just prepare the goods and deliver them."