Chapter 221: So Delicious

The hall was completely silent.

Everyone’s expression was… one of sudden realization.

They were all masters of boasting, the pot calling the kettle black. Besides, even though this Fang Jifan was shameless, if one were to really nitpick, who hadn’t exaggerated their achievements before?

At this moment, Emperor Hongzhi frowned.

When he first heard “thirty dan,” he was overjoyed, but as soon as he heard the words “Auspicious Omen,” his heart sank.

What was an Auspicious Omen? It was something that didn’t happen often.

But even as an Auspicious Omen, a yield of thirty dan per mu was shocking enough.

Emperor Hongzhi glanced at his ministers but said nothing.

They, in turn, looked at Emperor Hongzhi behind the throne with strange, complicated expressions, as if to say, “Your Majesty, it’s up to you.”

After a moment of silence, Emperor Hongzhi spoke. “Whose idea was this? Who mentioned a yield of thirty dan per mu?”

“…”

“The Military Agricultural Colony is simply too reckless. Do I need such an Auspicious Omen?”

“…”

By this time, Duke of Ying, Zhang Mao, was already trembling.

This was suicidal.

His own son was the Deputy Hundred-Household Commander at the Military Agricultural Colony. By reporting an Auspicious Omen, Fang Jifan had essentially dragged his son down with him.

So irresponsible, so unreliable—trying to claim merit through an Auspicious Omen. You, Fang Jifan, were already an Earl; you could live happily with your thick skin. But what about my son? With such a stain on his reputation, it would be humiliating if it got out.

Zhang Mao had already begun making arrangements behind the scenes. Though he was deeply disappointed in Zhang Xin, blood was thicker than water. After all, he was still his son.

He hoped to have his son transferred to Nanjing through the Imperial Forest Guard, doing his best to keep him from getting tangled up with Fang Jifan. In Nanjing, even a post as an ordinary Qianhu Officer at a guard station would be acceptable.

But now… it was over…

He felt as if struck by lightning.

Even if they were going to report an Auspicious Omen, there was no need to make it so obviously fake. Such a crude false report meant that none of the military officers in the entire Tuntian Hundred-Household Office could escape responsibility.

“Your Majesty!”

Zhang Mao stepped forward, determined to express his stance quickly. “This so-called Auspicious Omen is ninety percent likely a false report. I believe the Imperial Forest Guard should never have been involved in Military Farming matters in the first place. The Imperial Forest Guard is an Imperial Guard—why should they engage in Military Farming? Your Majesty should reprimand Fang Jifan and disband the Tuntian Hundred-Household Office…”

Sooner or later, they would be impeached and become notorious. Better to take the initiative himself. By starting this, at least he could prevent the Censors from making a bigger issue out of it.

Emperor Hongzhi looked deeply at Zhang Mao, somewhat surprised. He suddenly remembered that Zhang Mao’s son was also in the Tuntian Hundred-Household Office.

Another trouble-making son.

Emperor Hongzhi shook his head. He had some impression of Zhang Xin and suddenly felt a sense of shared sympathy with Zhang Mao and Fang Jinglong.

At such a critical moment, Fang Jifan stirring up this kind of trouble was really going too far!

After a brief moment of thought, Emperor Hongzhi said, “Then I command you to go to the Western Hills to verify this first. I grant you full authority to act as you see fit!”

With these words, the matter of this Auspicious Omen was settled.

Let Zhang Mao handle it. After all, Zhang Mao had ties with the Fang Family, and the Duke of Yingguo hated evil. Naturally, Fang Jifan and your son would get a beating, but presumably, after disciplining them, you, Zhang Mao, would show some leniency.

Hearing this, Zhang Mao felt reassured. His Majesty was showing a protective attitude. If someone else handled this, the outcome would be unpredictable. But with him in charge, he could go there, first give Fang Jifan and his own useless son a thorough beating, half to death, and then the rest would be easier to manage.

“I obey your command.”

Zhang Mao hurriedly took his leave. He was seething with anger the entire way, pondering whether to break Fang Jifan’s left leg or right leg. He knew Zhang Xin’s nature all too well—he was always the one being fooled. If Fang Jifan wasn’t the mastermind behind this, then who was?

Once out of the palace, Zhang Mao didn’t take his sedan chair. Instead, he had someone bring him a horse and galloped off, arriving at the Western Hills Baihu Station in no time.

Zhang Mao was wearing his Court Attire. As a Duke, first rank, he wore the bright, imperially bestowed Python Robe. The commandants here knew their stuff. As soon as they saw Zhang Mao, they realized a VIP had arrived. The Chief Banner Officer, frightened, shouted from a distance toward the Baihu Station, “Everyone, come out, come out! Line up, line up! His Majesty has sent someone to inspect us. Brothers, His Majesty has seen our good work with the Military Farming—most likely, rewards are coming! Quick, quick…”

The Chief Banner Officer smiled cheerfully, feeling gratified. News had already come from the Southern Foothills that the old ginseng had been successfully cultivated.

He also heard that someone had gone to the Capital to report the good news. Now, suddenly, such a big shot had arrived. Naturally… good days were coming.

Zhang Mao arrived like a whirlwind, reining in his horse nearby. There were over thirty officers and soldiers in the Baihu Station; the others were out on duty. These thirty-plus men were disheveled, covered in mud, and dressed in rags, looking exactly like a group of old farmers. Yet, under the Chief Banner Officer’s spirited urging, they suddenly recalled the glorious days when they, too, wore fine clothes and rode proud horses, standing guard imposingly in the palace. And so, they all straightened their backs.

Before the Chief Banner Officer could step forward to speak, Zhang Mao’s whip came down first.

The Chief Banner Officer broke out in a cold sweat, barely dodging it, and said with a frightened expression, “Wh-what are you hitting me for…”

“Where are those two little brats, Fang Jifan and Zhang Xin?” Zhang Mao had his own imposing presence. Sitting high on his horse, he shouted with a murderous aura.

The Chief Banner Officer was terrified. With a thud, his knees went weak, and he knelt directly. “At… at the Southern Foothills…”

Zhang Mao just sneered, tugged the reins, and was off.

…

At the Southern Foothills, someone had already brought carts and horses, planning to transport the thirty dan of sweet potatoes back.

There was no hurry with the other sweet potatoes. Hadn’t the frost not come yet? Let them grow a bit more; it wouldn’t hurt.

Fang Jifan felt delighted. After his bout of grief, Zhang Xin remembered his duties and began recording the size, weight, and skin characteristics of the sweet potatoes from each vine.

In his view, all these records had reference value. Different sweet potatoes must be related to their growing environment.

He held a bamboo slip, lying prone on the ground, his buttocks in the air—a most undignified posture.

Fang Jifan stared wide-eyed, finally realizing why this guy’s wife had run off with someone else.

Of course, that matter was also based on rumors. At first, it was said his wife had returned to her parents’ home. Then, as the story spread, it became that his wife didn’t want to stay with him and left on her own. Later, it got even more absurd, saying she ran off with another man. Finally, it became detailed, claiming she ran off with a sedan carrier from the estate—a strong fellow, probably… had good kidneys.

Fang Jifan thought those spreading such rumors were really unkind. But even though he felt that way, every time he looked at Zhang Xin afterward, he still felt a bit strange inside.

“Bai Hu, someone’s coming… Ah! He’s reining his horse and trampling our sweet potato field!”

Instantly, the commandants and Enlisted Soldiers were in an uproar. These were grown through great effort! Who dared to do this?

But Fang Jifan, watching from afar, felt a chill down his spine. A moment later, Zhang Mao leaped from his horse with a swift, graceful motion, landing directly in front of Fang Jifan.

His eyes, wide as copper bells, glared murderously at Fang Jifan.

“Where is Zhang Xin?”

Faced with Zhang Mao’s furious expression, Fang Jifan immediately pointed without hesitation at Zhang Xin, who was still lying on the ground, clutching his bamboo slip and brush.

Zhang Xin heard the commotion and, maintaining his prone position, turned his head to look.

Father and son met again. From the look in his father’s eyes, Zhang Xin could almost be certain that the next step would involve looking for something to hit him with.

“Audacious, Fang Jifan! What kind of Auspicious Omen did you report?”

Zhang Mao then turned his gaze back to Fang Jifan’s face, his eyes clearly blazing with anger.

This intimidating aura was a bit frightening, but…

“Auspicious Omen…” Fang Jifan was stunned. “No… I didn’t report an Auspicious Omen. I reported good news.”

“Good news… What good news?”

Fang Jifan quickly explained, “Thirty dan per mu…”

Zhang Mao’s body trembled. In his heart, ten thousand grass-mud horses probably galloped past. Reporting an Auspicious Omen could be excused as a rare occurrence. But reporting good news meant that Fang Jifan claimed he could make all fields yield thirty dan of grain.

“You… you…” Zhang Mao’s old face turned crimson. On his way here, he had been thinking about which leg to break. But now, he changed his mind—better to break both. At least… it wouldn’t require much thought.

“Uncle, look, the grain… it’s right here…”

Fang Jifan swiftly pointed toward the large cart. Only then did Zhang Mao instinctively look in the direction Fang Jifan pointed.

There, the mountain of sweet potatoes was finally revealed before his eyes.

This… is…

Seeing the astonishment on Zhang Mao’s face, Fang Jifan finally smiled and said, “Through my unremitting efforts—and of course, your son also contributed greatly—it was the result of the collective efforts of our entire Baihu Station. Look, these aren’t old ginseng. I call them sweet potatoes. All of these were harvested from this one mu of land. Zhang Xin and I have already weighed them. Thirty dan, absolutely no shortage. I can guarantee it with my character.”

Suddenly, Zhang Mao had no time for anger or frustration over his son’s failures. His eyes were fixed solely on the mountainous pile of tubers.

If one said they amounted to thirty dan, it actually… seemed plausible.

But… were they really harvested from just this one mu of land?

He turned and looked at the messy plot of land. It was indeed about one mu in size, and the other plots clearly showed no signs of disturbance.

He couldn’t help but laugh and stepped forward. “This thing… is it edible?”

“How about… Uncle, you try one…”

Fang Jifan didn’t stand on ceremony. He directly picked up a sweet potato, then took out a small knife from his waist, peeled off most of the skin, and handed it to Zhang Mao.

Zhang Mao hesitated, suspecting Fang Jifan meant to harm him. Was this thing non-toxic?

But if he didn’t dare to eat it, he would be laughed at. So many eyes were watching!

He steeled himself and finally… crunch… took a very unrefined bite.

So delicious!