Daily life of farming and supporting a family on the ancient Loess Plateau

When Ji Yongling found Ji Mantun and his two sons, he couldn't help but sigh when he saw their dejected appearance.

She said slowly, "Second Uncle, Yonghua, Yongbai, the past is the past! Although your second aunt always hoped that her family would live well, she would never want you to live poorly. So you must look forward and live your lives well. Your second aunt will be happy to see you from heaven!"

Ji Mantun sighed with a furrowed brow and said, "Child, you don't understand. How can my son and I continue to work in the paper mill now? I even feel ashamed to face you!"

Ji Yongling shook her head and said, "Second Uncle, what are you saying! I am your own niece, what can't you see? Although there are some things I don't understand, I know that for a workshop to survive and make money in the long run, it certainly can't rely on just one thing or one skill."

Innovation and development are the only true principles! Take caustic soda for example; the formula itself isn't particularly unique. Even if my aunt doesn't tell anyone, other people know we've been buying soda ash, so they can buy some and try it themselves. With enough experimentation, they can figure it out; it's just a matter of time.

Only by understanding how to innovate and seize opportunities, doing better, earlier, and more innovatively than others, can one firmly grasp the market. What others don't have, I have; what others have, I do better; what others do well, I do uniquely; what others do uniquely, I specialize in. Weren't you trying to make a new type of paper recently?

Look, we have so many medicinal herbs in Northwest China. As long as we keep experimenting and try different kinds, we'll definitely be able to make paper of all colors. Even if someone else can make the same white paper as our Ningping Paper Mill right now, what are you afraid of? If we can maintain this momentum of innovation and development, our Ningping Paper Mill can become stronger and bigger!

"New, Excellent, Specialized! To become stronger and bigger!"

Ji Yongling's words gave Ji Mantun and his son a boost of confidence, and they quickly emerged from the shadow of Zhao Yunxia's passing, throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the production of new paper at the paper mill.

They boiled mica powder with Atractylodes lancea, ginger, and rush pith to make a powdery liquid, creating five-colored patterned paper; they also boiled turmeric to make a juice, mixed it with Bletilla striata water to make a powder, and used it to print paper... In short, they explored all sorts of creative ways to make traditional paper. Some precious papers, even those sold for gold and silver, were even exported to the capital.

……

Another Dragon Boat Festival has arrived, the wheat has turned yellow, and it will soon be time to harvest.

On the road from the capital to Qingzhou Prefecture, a young man in a blue robe rode a tall, chestnut-red horse at breakneck speed, the sound of its hooves crisp and rapid, raising a trail of dust.

The wind brushed past his ears, tossing his dark hair and fluttering his clothes, making him seem to merge with the heavens and earth. He gripped the reins tightly, his eyes blazing as he gazed straight ahead, a faint smile playing on his lips.

At this moment, Lin Shengwen was finally able to set foot on the official road to the Northwest once again. Everything else was irrelevant to him. He rode alone across the vast wheat fields under the intense sunset! He hoped to go faster, even faster.

He missed her in the Northwest and couldn't wait to see her, immediately.

He imagined she would be standing on the loess slope of Niujiazhuang, waiting for him as he traveled there, weary from his journey.

At that moment, he had to tell him how much he missed him.

Ever since that parting in the Northwest, Lin Shengwen has constantly thought back to the time he spent in Ningping County, in Niujiazhuang. Those earthen cave dwellings, the azure sky, the warm sun, and the dry northwest wind. Life was poor, but simple, pure, and beautiful. Those times seemed etched in his heart, becoming memories he pondered daily, memories he could never let go of.

When his grandmother fell seriously ill, a letter arrived from home urging him to return immediately. He hastily bid farewell to Niujiazhuang and Ji Yongling, and embarked on his journey back to Beijing.

After returning to Beijing, my grandmother indeed fell ill and was bedridden, coughing day and night, wheezing night after night. Eventually, she could no longer breathe and became delirious. The doctors in Beijing all said that my grandmother had caught a cold, and because of her advanced age, her condition was very serious, and the medicine was not very effective. They even hinted to the family to prepare for my grandmother's funeral in advance.

Lin Shengwen stayed by his grandmother's bedside, taking meticulous care of her.

He recalled the love his grandmother had for him when he was a child, how she would hold him in her arms and tell him stories of his father and grandfather's heroic battles. Back then, his grandmother was healthy and often took him to visit other people's homes. But now, his beloved grandmother lay on her sickbed, her breath weak, as if she might leave him at any moment.

His heart was filled with helplessness and grief. Was his grandmother about to pass away, and was his father also going home for mourning?

Just as he was preparing his coffin at home, he suddenly remembered the medicine Ji Yongling had given him when he left Ningping County. He remembered that one of the medicines was called allicin, and Ji Yongling had repeatedly told him that he could take it if he was injured or had a fever or chills.

Without much thought, he carefully took out his treasured garlic extract and gave it to his grandmother. Unexpectedly, after only three days, his grandmother felt much better and was able to get out of bed. The whole family was overjoyed, saying it was a miracle from their ancestors and the blessings of the Bodhisattva. But only he knew that it was Ji Yongling's medicine that had such a miraculous effect.

However, this was a secret between him and Ji Yongling, so there was no need to tell anyone else.

Life after returning to Beijing was just as dull as before.

Surrounded by a group of people every day, reading books, meeting friends, calling on companions, cockfighting, and dog racing, Lin Shengwen felt it was all rather boring.

People would occasionally ask him about his time in the Northwest. He would talk about how rugged and desolate the Northwest was, but he would always think of Ji Yongling, her deep and unfathomable eyes, and her lovely face when she treated him with a blank expression.

For some reason, after returning to Beijing, he often thought of the first time Ji Yongling treated him. Although so much time had passed, he would still blush unconsciously whenever he recalled it.

He thought to himself that if he had been nicer to Ji Yongling back then, he would have been better off not screaming like that when Ji Yongling was cutting him.

I wonder how Ji Yongling viewed him. Did she think he was too delicate back then? I wonder if Ji Yongling blushed with embarrassment? Probably she did! After all, he was a man…

However, he still thought that if he saw Ji Yongling again, he must ask her in person.

After his grandmother recovered from her illness, he mentioned several times that he wanted to go back to the Northwest, but his mother and grandmother refused each time, saying they couldn't bear to see him suffer again.

But he didn't find it too bitter! The world there was vast and free, and being with... Ji Yongling was quite interesting. He wondered if Ji Yongling ever thought of him.

Sigh, he really wants to go to the Northwest again.

This spring, his father sent a letter saying that thanks to the grass seeds that a girl from Ningping County had given them, they had a peaceful winter last year.

It is said that feeding livestock with the grass grown from those seeds, alternating with other grasses, was fine, but feeding livestock with only this grass would lead to the death of many animals.

They knew that, according to the Tatars' custom, each tribe's cattle, horses, and sheep would migrate to different pastures each season. So, taking advantage of this characteristic of the Tatars, they made preparations in advance. In the end, after the migration, the Tatar tribes suffered heavy losses, with all their sheep, horses, and camels dying, greatly weakening their fighting strength.

In the past, when the Tartars ran out of food and fodder in the cold winter, they would go south to raid for grain and grass. This year, too many of their cattle and horses died, so they did not invade southward. Instead, they wrote to the court to request peace.