Chapter 1415 – The Thousand-Character Text
Ever since his surrender, Huang Song had become a total hermit, barely stepping out of his house for over half a year. It was like he was on a mission to get forgotten by the world. Finally, he mustered the courage to venture out every now and then, but let’s be real—there wasn’t much fun to be had. Just meandering around, listening to tales, and watching plays to fill the time.
His lazy lifestyle had its obvious side effects—he had puffed up like a marshmallow, and his face was rounder than ever! His once six-pack abs were now a cozy, single fluffball. The armor that used to fit like a glove now required him to inhale deeply and suck in his gut just to squeeze into it.
With all this free time on his hands, Huang Song dragged along the equally idle Feng Jue to listen to a new story, sipping on some wine, munching on snacks, and tossing in their two cents about the plot or the outside world—life was pretty cozy!
“Hey, that person looks familiar,” Huang Song said while lounging by the window, casually glancing at the bustling street below when he noticed a familiar figure.
As he intently stared, the figure seemed to sense his gaze and turned around.
Huang Song’s eyes went wide as he recognized her—it was none other than Liu Xi!
“What in the world? Where did she crawl back from?”
Here was a renowned warlord, dressed in drab brown, with a rag tied around her head, and her pant legs rolled high. Her straw sandals were caked in mud, and her calves looked like they’d been caught in a dirt storm… Honestly, if he didn’t know better, he’d think she was just some farmhand.
Jiang Ji also spotted Huang Song leaning by the second-floor window and, taking a second thought, turned to enter a teahouse.
“Looks like you’ve been living the easy life, huh, Huang Song?” Jiang Ji commented as she approached the second floor, almost getting blocked by the waiter.
Seeing Huang Song’s aristocratic attire and noting he had put on a bit of weight from their last meeting made her feel a twinge of jealousy.
As she drew closer, a strange odor wafted her way, prompting Huang Song to pinch his nose and exclaim, “Lan Ting! Did you fall into a dung pit?”
Feng Jue frowned, obviously offended by the lingering smell.
“No dung pits here! Sure, I might have a bit of an odor, but it’s not that bad!” Jiang Ji retorted.
Huang Song pressed on, “What’s with the getup?”
“I just got back from the fields! Those useless good-for-nothings insisted I consult some old farmer with extensive experience. So, I trekked all the way to the mountains to ask every possible question, only to find that their so-called wisdom is just common knowledge! What a waste of a day!” Jiang Ji huffed, hands on her hips.
Huang Song was left scratching his head. He got every word she was saying, but he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it.
What makes a warlord go visit old farmers for wisdom?
Was she planning to ditch the throne to become a farmer?
He casually asked a couple of questions, to which Jiang Ji responded, “This year, everything’s been going smoothly with the weather, but the harvest is worse than before! At first, I thought someone was skimming off the top, but turns out the soil’s nutrients are insufficient, leading to a drop in yield.”
Huang Song’s mouth twitched, “You never ordered a fallow period, so of course the soil’s tired.”
To anyone else, what Jiang Ji was doing was akin to draining a swamp for a couple of fish.
Every year spent farming without allowing the land to rest, and no matter how fertile it might be, it won’t survive such exploitation for long.
Eventually, those lands would turn into barren wastelands!
“A year of rest would lead to an unimaginable food shortage!” Jiang Ji claimed. “Resting the land is just a last resort.”
Huang Song asked her, “So what do you think the best solution is?”
Jiang Ji replied, “Of course, ensuring the soil’s nutrients remain intact and continuous farming every year!”
In this chaotic era, with food supplies already tight, taking a fallow period would be like asking for a death wish!
Even though Huang Song didn’t know much about farming, he realized Jiang Ji’s thoughts were far too naïve. Does she really think something this good could happen?
“Got any clues now?”
