An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

The master and his servants chatted and laughed all the way, almost going around the whole village. They passed by the familiar courtyard, and although they did not see any familiar figures, they felt particularly happy.

They walked to the back of the village, where there was a small bamboo forest. From the bamboo forest came the sound of birds singing.

Jing Chunxi stopped, closed his eyes, and listened quietly to the wonderful sound, as if all his worries were taken away by the sound of nature.

"Where are they? Why can't I see any of them?" Jing Chunxi's mind became much clearer, and he felt a little confused at this time.

The soldiers who stayed behind in the village went up the mountain to collect tree sap, so it makes sense that they weren't in the village. But why didn't Xiaoman and the others come out with us? It seems... they weren't in the yard just now either.

Cuifang, who is lively and cheerful and likes to make noise whenever she has nothing to do, as well as Da Niu, Er Niu and A Kuan, no one knows where they have gone.

They hadn't been seen for the past two days, and only came to talk to her after dark.

Jing Chunxi frowned and asked in confusion, "Are they all so busy in the mountains that they don't even have time to come back for dinner?"

Xu Zize seemed quite busy, coming over for a look in the morning and again in the evening. After seeing that she had eaten and slept well, he hurried away again without telling her what he had done.

"Are they all going to collect the tree pulp?" Jing Chunxi asked again, and then walked straight to Chuntao and Hongfen with a serious face.

Chuntao and Hongfen looked at each other. Hongfen shook her head and said, "Miss, I don't know either. Maybe it's something important."

It wasn't surprising that he couldn't find his uncle. Gold mining had just begun in the mountains, so he'd definitely have to go check it out. Also, perhaps General Su hadn't set out yet. If he was still selecting elite troops in the mountains, he'd definitely have to go through his uncle.

Jing Chunxi sighed and said, "I hope they are all safe." She raised her head, looked at Shibaao in the distance, and prayed silently in her heart.

……

"Sister, sister, how did you walk so far?" When I heard the voice, I turned around and saw Cuifang was out of breath, her cheeks flushed red, and beads of sweat hanging on her forehead. Her hair was also soaked with sweat and stuck to her forehead.

Finally she arrived in front of the three people. She supported her knees with her hands, slightly bent her body, and gasped, "It took me a long time to find you!" There was a complaint in her tone, but even so, when she looked up at Jing Chunxi, her face was full of excited smiles, and there was no expression of anger because of the search.

"You're still talking about us! Where have you all been? Where are your brother and Daniu? Have you seen Xiaoman and the others?" Jing Chunxi's string of questions, like a machine gun, left Cuifang at a loss for words. She blinked, looking a little bewildered, but quickly regained her energy.

After taking a few more breaths, Cuifang straightened up. Her face was still flushed, and her forehead was covered with sweat, like crystal pearls. She ran over and hugged Jing Chunxi's arm tightly with both hands. There was a hint of coquettishness in her tone, "Brother Prince asked me to call you over. We are burning tree sap!"

She was excited and proud, her eyes sparkling, as if she was describing something extremely important, "We've been feverish for two days, just waiting for my sister."

"Where should it be burned?" Jing Chunxi finally understood and suddenly realized that this was the way it should be. Anyone could go up the mountain to collect sap, even his uncle, but Xu Zize going to collect sap—absolutely impossible.

"I'll take you there." Cuifang excitedly pulled Jing Chunxi up and ran away. She was still very strong, and it seemed like she was not the same person as the one who was panting just now.

Her steps were brisk, as if there was wind under her feet, and she pulled Jing Chunxi along for a jog, completely ignoring how tired she was just now.

"Over there in the drying yard!" Cuifang said as she ran, her voice still breathless but her tone still excited. Her braids swayed behind her, beating the rhythm of her running.

"No wonder, we were just walking in the opposite direction." Chuntao and Hongfen followed closely behind. Chuntao said as they ran, with a hint of helplessness in her tone, "If we had walked towards the drying yard just now, it would have been much closer than this way."

"Did the experiment succeed?" After walking for a while, Cuifang finally felt a little tired and slowed down. They ran for a while, then gradually broke into a brisk walk. Only then did Jing Chunxi ask the question. She felt a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. After all, the tree sap experiment was crucial to them.

"It's burned out, but it's still the same as before." Cuifang looked a little depressed when she said this, and a trace of sadness flashed across her originally excited face. "The prince said that it's not tough enough and it breaks when pulled. He said that nothing can be done like this." Her voice also lowered, her heart and eyes filled with disappointment.

Xu Zize looked at the pile of burnt tree pulp with a worried look on his face. His brows were tightly knitted together, and his eyes were full of anxiety.

They had been experimenting for two days, wasting more than a dozen bags of pulp, but all their efforts had been in vain. He stood there with his hands behind his back, sighing from time to time. All his previous hopes were extinguished by the failure before him.

When you burn the pulp into a ball or form it into a ball, it feels quite elastic. But once you try to stretch the glue hard or burn it into a thin sheet, it becomes very brittle. Although it can withstand gravity and be hammered, it cannot withstand pulling.

Xu Zize squatted down and gently fiddled with the burnt tree pulp with his hands. They shattered between his fingers, making a slight sound, as if mocking his failure.

Xu Zize looked tired. He looked at Jing Chunxi who was walking towards him, and his eyes had lost their former luster.

He seemed completely devastated by failure. "I have no resilience at all. It's hard to do anything with it." He said this with a somewhat deflated tone, his voice low and weak, as if he had lost all confidence. It was the first time Jing Chunxi had seen Xu Zize so dejected.

The craftsman was already trying to find a solution, and the person chosen for him by the general was the smartest and most clever, but that intelligence and cleverness were completely useless in the face of reality.

They gathered around the tree pulp, all with frowns on their faces. Some were discussing in low voices, while others were silently looking at the failed tree pulps, their eyes full of helplessness.

Jing Chunxi looked at the large group of people beside and behind Xu Zize. They all came with great ambitions, but now they were like eggplants hit by frost, with their heads drooping.

The once bustling drying yard was now filled with a dull atmosphere, with only the occasional sigh breaking the silence.

"What are you afraid of? There are always more solutions than problems." Jing Chunxi looked at the messy and black rubber scattered on the ground and smiled at everyone.

Her smile was as warm as the sunshine, instantly dispelling the gloom around her.