Chapter 36: Oblivious to Having Given the Game Away
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After the cement had dried, Fang Ning asked Si Yuheng to try kicking the wall.
Si Yuheng tested it without using his inner strength and found that the wall was indeed much harder than an ordinary one.
Fang Ning then had Jiang San spread the remaining cement evenly over the ground.
“Ningning, what are you doing this for?”
“Building a road.”
“This stuff can be used to build roads too?”
“You’ll find out once it dries.”
Fang Ning had not mixed much cement—just enough to lay a thin strip three meters long.
Jiang San had never even heard of cement before and was intensely curious.
Si Yuheng’s expression remained calm, but inwardly he was deeply shaken.
He had always been skeptical of Fang Ning’s claims. Only after seeing the cement with his own eyes did he finally believe that the soul trapped inside the body of this ten-year-old child might truly belong to another world.
After all, even by the time he died in his previous life, the Great Liang Empire had never seen the appearance of cement.
As for Fang Ning’s claim that rice yields could be increased, he had begun to look forward to seeing that as well.
“This cement won’t dry so quickly. Uncle Jiang San, go back and have breakfast first. It probably won’t be completely dry until tomorrow.” Fang Ning did not want to wait there. When she had left home, she had seen her mother making shepherd’s-purse dumplings, and she wanted to go back and eat them.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. You go back first. I’ll stay here and wait.” Jiang San waved his hand, afraid that he might miss the drying process.
Seeing that she could not persuade him, Fang Ning let the matter drop.
“Young Master, let’s go back. My father still has to give you acupuncture later.” Fang Ning looked toward Si Yuheng, who had remained silent the entire time.
Si Yuheng nodded.
On the way back, he could not help asking Fang Ning, “What method did you say could increase rice yields?”
“Crossbreeding different varieties of rice.”
“Crossbreeding?”
“That’s right.”
Using the simplest language she could, Fang Ning explained the principle of hybrid rice to Si Yuheng.
Si Yuheng was utterly astonished.
“That can really work?”
“Of course. At present, the highest yield is only three or four hundred jin per mu, isn’t it? Where I come from, the yield has already reached nearly three thousand jin per mu. We’ve long since escaped hunger, and rice is served at all three meals every day.”
Si Yuheng found it difficult to imagine such a world.
“What kind of age of peace and prosperity is that?” he murmured.
“My country is indeed living in an age of peace and prosperity, but the world as a whole is still plagued by constant warfare. Of course, my country is powerful enough that foreign enemies dare not invade lightly. Can you imagine that we can travel through the sky, beneath the earth, and across the sea? That wars can be directed from a command camp without sending troops into battle?”
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“How is that possible? Are you immortals?”
Si Yuheng had lived through two lifetimes, yet he had never heard of anything like this.
“We’re ordinary people, just like you. We simply possess a technological civilization far beyond anything you can imagine.”
“Will you tell me about your world?” Si Yuheng was extraordinarily curious about the world he could not even begin to picture.
“You can really fly through the sky? And travel across the sea?”
“Yes. What’s more, getting around is extremely convenient for us. How far is the capital from here? How many days would it take to reach it?”
“About two thousand three hundred li. Ten days if you travel quickly, a month if you travel slowly.”
“Oh. We would only need one hour to get there—two at most if we took our time.”
Si Yuheng was filled with wonder.
“If there were a war at the frontier, wouldn’t your reinforcements arrive incredibly quickly?”
Speed is of the essence in war.
“We don’t fight wars, and neighboring countries don’t dare invade us.”
Fang Ning thought of the peaceful and prosperous age from her previous life. The Great Liang Empire truly could not compare with it.
Of course, the two dynasties had developed in entirely different eras. How could a thousand years ago be compared with a thousand years later?
No one knew what the Great Liang Empire would become a thousand years from now. It might even grow more powerful than her country.
“Young Master, there’s no need to envy us. Our ancestors also paid a terrible price before they won the strength we possess today.” Fang Ning let out a soft sigh and told him about the history of her country’s invasion and suffering.
Although those events had taken place more than three hundred years before her era, her people had never forgotten that history.
Si Yuheng fell silent for a moment after hearing her words.
“I, too, have witnessed our territory fall into enemy hands.” His expression turned cold. “The people were reduced to living in misery, and our citizens became slaves to foreign barbarians.”
Unfortunately, he had been powerless to turn the tide.
Because he was already dead.
Fang Ning patted him on the shoulder. “It’s all right. Such a history will never happen again. Young Master, we’re in the same boat now!”
Si Yuheng looked at Fang Ning. Though his face was still childlike, his eyes held a reassuring strength.
“I won’t allow such a thing to happen again,” he said calmly.
“I believe you, Young Master.” A flicker of amusement passed through Fang Ning’s eyes.
This cautious young man seemed not to have realized that he had given himself away.
The heir apparent?
She had truly decided that he was the crown prince who had fallen into obscurity among the common people.
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Perhaps in his previous life, he had died without even knowing his true identity, used by others until he met a miserable end!
“The cement formula is yours. Naturally, I won’t take credit for increasing the rice yield from you either. But I have plenty of other things that can give you enough recognition to ensure that no one will be able to ignore your existence.”
“I don’t need that.”
Si Yuheng rejected Fang Ning.
“What I want, I’ll obtain for myself.”
If he took Fang Ning’s inventions and falsely claimed the credit, how would that make him any different from the person who had used him?
“Young Master, you don’t have to refuse. This is a fair exchange between us.”
“It isn’t fair to you. Fang Ning, don’t let anyone easily take credit for what belongs to you, no matter what they promise you!”
“Young Master, I’m not a chil—”
“Ahem.”
Si Yuheng suddenly coughed, cutting her off.
Before long, villagers appeared ahead of them.
“My mother made shepherd’s-purse dumplings. Young Master, you absolutely must eat at least two more.” Fang Ning smoothly changed the subject.
Jiang San’s brick kiln was some distance from the village. By now, Fang Ning and Si Yuheng had already reached the village, and with so many people around, they certainly could not continue that conversation.
“Good morning, Uncle Zhao.” Fang Ning took the initiative to greet a villager walking toward them.
The man was Zhao Baoquan’s elder brother, Zhao Baoshu. He looked somewhat fierce, but was actually a very honest man.
Zhao Baoshu scratched his head and gave a simple-minded grin. “Not looking for anything today. Where are you two headed?”
“Oh, I asked Uncle Jiang San to fire something for me, so I’m going over to take a look.”
“Ah, I see.”
“You carry on with your work, Uncle Zhao. We’re going home for breakfast.”
“All right, all right.”
After Fang Ning had walked past, Zhao Baoshu turned around and watched her retreating figure.
The eldest branch of the Fang family really had changed, hadn’t it?
“The villagers still don’t seem to believe that you’ve turned over a new leaf,” Si Yuheng teased her.
Fang Ning gave him a sidelong glance. “Isn’t that normal? Even a prodigal who returns to the right path has to prove it before people will believe him. By the way, Young Master, since things aren’t too busy right now, how about we start looking for the male and female parent plants for the rice tomorrow?”
“I know nothing about this. I’ll do whatever you say. I can send people out to look.”
Once Si Yuheng chose to trust someone, he entrusted them with his faith completely.
“No, no. We’ll look together. I don’t entirely trust your subordinates—especially that coachman from last time.” Fang Ning’s brows lifted slightly. “He hadn’t even found out whether I was alive or dead before rushing over to offer his condolences.”
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