Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

His mouth opened slightly, but in the end he only said, "Okay," and immediately picked up the money to buy a bottle of rouge.

When the husband returned, the wife also brought back a new belt.

The husband handed the rouge to his wife, and the wife then gave her belt to her husband.

"Can you still find the belt I gave you before?"

“I’ve been keeping it safe. I’ll go find it right now.”

"No need," his wife said, taking his hand. "You can stay here with me."

She opened the rouge powder and dressed herself up nicely.

"I'm already this old, am I going to look bad?"

"How could that be? You're just as beautiful as before, no... even more beautiful than before."

"Thank you for being by my side all these years. After I'm gone, go find a matchmaker and find me a good husband."

Having had you, how could I possibly be interested in anyone else?

"You have to help me watch our children grow up," his wife said, stroking his face.

The husband couldn't say another word; he just held his wife tightly.

On the fifth day, the woman visited her neighbors and went back to her parents' home, where she met with her family members and siblings.

In the dead of night, she got out of bed.

Actually, after she got home, she never felt sleepy again and didn't sleep for five days in a row.

She was careful not to make a sound. She looked at her husband's sleeping face, then went to the side room, looked at her child's sleeping face, and quietly left the room, going outside.

The Taoist boys and girls, dressed in their robes and wearing their crowns, were already waiting for her at the door.

The young Taoist looked at the small plants in the courtyard and asked, "When did Aunt plant them?"

The woman replied, "I contracted tuberculosis that year. After seeing a doctor, I found a traveling merchant from out of town in the North Market and bought seeds from him for five copper coins."

"The traveling merchant said that these flowers are lovely, and in his hometown they are used to pray for the sick."

“I’ve always loved flowers and plants, so I bought the seeds and planted them myself. It’s been more than four years now.”

"What does it look like when it blooms?" the young Taoist asked.

"They're so pretty, all in clusters, so soft and fluffy," the woman said with a smile. "Although they don't smell very fragrant, when I'm in a bad mood, just sitting in front of the door and looking at those clusters of white flowers makes me feel much happier."

"It's a pity that it won't bloom until June. We won't be able to see it bloom again. I didn't even hear what the traveling merchant said about the name of the flower."

As she spoke, the Taoist nun arrived at the patch of grass.

She reached out and gently brushed her hand across the green plants.

The young Taoist also took out a talisman, and with a wave of his hand, a beam of light illuminated the surroundings.

Those grass stalks that had just sprouted quickly branched out and spread their leaves.

Each year brings its own cycle of growth and decay, and the grass seems to have traversed time in an instant, blooming profusely with flowers.

“This is called cotton,” the young Taoist priest said.

The woman stared intently at the cluster of flowers, when a gentle evening breeze blew by, causing the cotton to tremble.

She squatted down, picked a cotton flower, and held it in her hand.

When she could still get out of bed and walk, she loved to crumple these flowers into a ball; it was the only pleasure she had as someone who was bedridden for many years.

"So it's called cotton."

The woman smiled.

"Having gone through this trip, is there anything you regret?"

"There are still many regrets," the woman said, "but I feel very happy."

"These have been the happiest few days of my life."

Chapter 139 Night Tour of Yidu

Zhuang Xing looked at the woman's face; her thin face was radiant.

She bent down, knelt before the blooming flowers, and kowtowed three times in reverence.

She didn't say a word, but her sincerity was more evident than any words could.

She stood up and said softly, "Let's go."

Zhuang Xing felt a pang of pity and asked, "Auntie, are you really not going to say goodbye to your family?"

The woman shook her head: "My daughter and son are still young. It's good to leave them something to remember me by."

"As for my husband and eldest son, this matter cannot be kept from them, so there is no need to say goodbye again."

"I need to trouble you two Taoist priests to pass on my message."

"Sigh..." Zhuang Xing sighed, "I understand, then please leave."

"Please leave," Yunling said.

The woman nodded, glanced back at the house one last time, and left with the two men.

It was late at night, and Zhuang Xing was carrying a lantern as he walked along the official road leading into the city.

The air was filled with the sounds of insects and frogs, and the moonlight shone on the road like a layer of white frost.

"Cotton can actually be spun into clothing and can also be used as stuffing in quilts to make warmer quilts than ordinary quilts."

"The world is freezing cold now, and there is a snow disaster in the south. Cotton can save many lives."

"It's a crop that should have been grown in the western frontier, or perhaps even further away, but I never thought I would find it at my aunt's house."

“Is that so?” the woman said. “I remember that the traveling merchant had a strange accent and looked very different from the people here. So he came from such a faraway place.”

"I will report the cotton matter truthfully to the prefect of Yidu. Although my aunt did it unintentionally, planting cotton is a great achievement."

The woman tossed her hair, looked up at the moon in the sky, and seemed lost in thought.

After walking for a while, the three arrived at the city gate.

The city gates of Yidu close at night and do not open until the next morning.

If someone does not enter the city before the city gates close, even if they live inside the city, the soldiers will not let them pass for any reason.

Usually, one can only stay overnight in an inn outside the city. There are many inns outside Yidu City. After all, this is a trading place. Even late at night, you can see one or two boats drifting in from the other side of the Songjiang River.

The woman stood by the canal, a damp river breeze blowing in her face. She gazed at the river and into the distance, and suddenly began to hum a folk song.

"Eels are plentiful with black fungus, and crabs are full of roe and fat."

"Exchange fragrant rice for fine wine~"

She hummed a tune, as if she had remembered something, her eyes filled with a nostalgic look.

"If Auntie wants to see more of Songjiang, she can find an inn outside the city to stay tonight," Zhuang Xing said.

The woman shook her head: "Please take me into the city."

Zhuang Xing then led her to the city gate. With the prefect's token, the gate was opened easily, and they entered Yidu.

The woman walked along the road, gazing at the ditches in the city and stopping to look at the boats moored at the ferry crossings for a long time.

"Would Auntie like to sit on the boat?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"Isn't this troublesome?" The woman turned around at the sound of her voice.

"Just tell the officials," Zhuang Xing said.

“Then…” the woman paused for a moment and said, “I’ll trouble you, Daoist Master.”

"I'll go and ask the officials to row our boat," Zhuang Xing said, about to leave.

“When my father was alive, he was a boatman in the city. When I was a child, I often traveled this waterway with my parents,” the woman said. “I think I should still remember how to use the oars.”

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Xing knew that she wanted to row the boat herself.

"Could you please give us a ride, Auntie?"

"If you two don't mind..."

"I'm overjoyed, how could I possibly complain?"

"Then please board the ship."

Zhuang Xing went to the official's office to borrow a small boat. The three of them boarded the boat, the official untied the rope, and the woman then began to row.

The sound of oars cutting through the water reached my ears, and the small boat creaked and groaned.

Zhuang Xing hung the lantern at the bow of the boat, and the firelight illuminated a very small area, spreading out in a halo. The boat looked like a cluster of tiny sparks rippling on the water.

The surroundings were quiet, the waterway was wide and there were no obstacles.

Even in Yidu, a city with thousands of households, everything remained quiet at this time.

Zhuang Xing felt as if there were only the three of them left in the world. The ship seemed to be heading towards the end of the world, where there was nothing and it was terrifyingly dark.

Neither he nor Yunling spoke, silently gazing at the bustling city.

The woman also looked at the city, the place where she was born and where she would die.

She felt a bit cold and seemed to lack the strength to propel the oars.

I have never seen this waterway so quiet in my memory. Back then, no matter where the boat went, there were many people talking, people everywhere, and boats everywhere.

Sometimes the waterways are crowded, and my father has to stop the boat and wait for the boat in front to pass.

She remembered her mother brewing tea for guests on the small boat, and at that time everything seemed so big.

When she stands on tiptoe to hand hot tea to guests, she often receives small gifts.

Sometimes it's candied fruit, sometimes it's fresh fruit.

Some taste very sweet, while others taste sour and astringent.

Some guests, seeing her pained expression, spat out the fruit and burst into laughter, as did her father and mother.

Looking back, she realized that she had always wanted to own her own boat.