Spring comes to the desperate place

After finishing his work, Song Chunlin felt he had forgotten something, so he took a few days off and spent his days at Zhu Xiang's milk tea shop. He had a private room there where he liked to drink milk tea and eat snacks, since his family didn't need him to earn money anyway.

Song Chunlin was lying on a chaise longue covered with cushions, reading an e-book. Suddenly, he sat up and slapped his head.

"Damn it, how could I forget about him!" Song Chunlin rushed to the post station and sent a letter to Wanshan.

After delivering the letter, Song Chunlin finally breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he had forgotten that Cai Sheng was still waiting for him in Wanshan to make arrangements. But it wasn't too late now.

Song Chunlin comforted himself and prayed that Cai Sheng and his apprentice wouldn't be so clever.

"Achoo!" Cai Sheng suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose, thinking that the weather wasn't too cold. Could it be that he caught a chill while sleeping at night?

His apprentice walked in from outside, carrying a tray with their dinner.

Cai Sheng took the tray. The dishes were decent. General Cheng hadn't neglected the two of them in this regard. However, after staying in a small courtyard for a long time without being able to go out for a stroll or visit others, he felt increasingly uncomfortable.

Faced with the delicious food, the two of them found it difficult to eat.

The young apprentice casually ate a couple of bites and couldn't help but sigh.

"Master, when can we leave? Has the Duke of Fuguo not settled things yet?"

Cai Sheng smiled wryly: "The person who could kidnap us is no small fry. I'm afraid even Young Master Song would have a hard time solving this. Let's just wait and see, it might be over soon."

The master and apprentice exchanged a glance, then sighed deeply and forced themselves to finish their meal. The younger apprentice went to return the bowls and chopsticks, and on his way back, he happened to meet the steward, who was beaming with joy. The younger apprentice also showed a hint of delight on his face. Seeing this, he quickly ran over and greeted the steward.

"Good evening, butler. Why are you here so late? Is there any progress on my master's matter?"

The butler smiled at him and immediately offered his congratulations.

"Congratulations, Lord Cai and Young Master. The Duke of Fuguo just sent a letter saying that our general will arrange for someone to send you back to the construction site immediately. Young Master, your master Cai Daruo has not yet rested, so hurry up and pack your luggage. The general's men will come to pick you up first thing tomorrow morning."

The young apprentice grinned from ear to ear. He quickly turned around and went inside to find Cai Sheng. The steward chuckled and repeated what he had just said to Cai Sheng.

After receiving confirmation, the master and apprentice barely slept a wink all night. As soon as dawn broke, they got up quickly, clutching their small bundles and eagerly awaiting their arrival.

General Cheng was very efficient. Before dawn, the escorts knocked on the courtyard gate, and Cai Sheng and his apprentice quickly followed them into the carriage, showing how eager they were to return home.

After resolving the matter concerning Cai Sheng and his apprentice, Song Chunlin finally had some time to check on the quinoa in the field. He had been away for over a month, and the quinoa had all grown to maturity. Calculating the days, it would be ready for harvest in a few more days.

Since it was Song Chunlin's first time growing quinoa, he had no experience and simply copied everything he had learned from books and computers. After the quinoa was harvested, the first thing Song Chunlin did was cook it for Gu Fengyue.

Gu Fengyue stared at the rice, which looked like it was covered in pockmarks, and hesitated to pick up her chopsticks.

Song Chunlin waited and waited, and finally decided to feed him himself. After feeding him, he looked at Gu Fengyue with expectant eyes and asked him if it tasted good.

Could Gu Fengyue say it wasn't delicious?

Of course not, but it wasn't exactly delicious either, because he couldn't taste anything at all.

Song Chunlin didn't believe it and took a bite himself. Indeed, it didn't have any particularly special taste.

"Then it seems we can only focus on its effects. We'll have people promote how good it is for health." Song Chunlin made the final decision on the direction of quinoa's promotion.

Gu Fengyue had no objection to this. After the quinoa harvest, it would be late autumn. Apart from the seed-keeping portion, Song Chunlin's first batch of quinoa could only be used to supply his own consumption. If he wanted to cultivate it on a large scale, it would take another two years. Once he had more experience, he could arrange for people to distribute it to others.

After late autumn comes winter, and the winters at the border are always cold. Song Chunlin had told his family this year that he would go home for the New Year, so before winter even arrived, the two of them began to prepare winter supplies. They arranged for people to assign their respective tasks, and then went to notify the Fang family in Baita City to pack up the things that were to be transported to the capital. Song Chunlin went over and put the things away.

Gu Fengyue was an official appointed by the imperial court, and Song Chunlin also held a noble title. The two of them had to submit a report in advance if they wanted to return to the capital. If it weren't for Gu Fengyun's help in the capital, their request would not have reached the emperor's desk so smoothly.

Upon hearing that the couple wanted to return to the capital for the New Year, the emperor found it absurd, but Song Chunlin's spiritual suggestion took effect at this moment, and despite the opposition of the officials, the leave request was miraculously approved.

The Song family was not surprised by this. A month before the end of the year, the Song family had already started cleaning and washing, cleaning the house inside and out. The workshop was also working non-stop, slaughtering pigs for the New Year, drying cured meat and making sausages. The whole family was in high spirits, eagerly waiting for Song Chunlin and Gu Fengyue to return.