Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 34

Volume 02 Chapter 34: Don't Declare That Young People Are Incompetent

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan rode the horse far ahead of the carriages chasing from behind. The horse could take shortcuts, but the carriages could not, so it was impossible for the carriages to catch up.

After riding for more than two hours, Zhang Xiao'bao finally stopped at a place near a depression that collected rainwater. The horse was able to drink some water and eat the nearby grass.

While the horse was eating and drinking on its own, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan started to pop their blisters. Even though it was just around two hours, the two of them had to coordinate themselves with the movement of the horse and properly control their posting1 in order to achieve the unity of man and horse. Blisters formed on both of their legs from all of the rubbing. They took the needle out of the sleeves and gently popped the raised blisters. After the fluid inside flowed out, they ripped off the small patch of white skin, exposing the pink flesh underneath.

"Xiao'bao, it really hurts." Wang Juan pursed her lips and complained while looking at the raw flesh on her legs.

"Yes, it really hurts, but what could be done? Wait, let me look around. This era is good; many wild things have been preserved and aren't destroyed. Like this, this is a giant puffball mushroom2, it's also called horse dung ball or ash ball. Spray this on."

Zhang Xiao'bao wandered around the area, and he actually managed to find a really good item. Originally, he planned to apply some wild vegetable juice to the wound. Things like dandelion, which was also called Grandma Ding, were slightly effective. He didn't expect to find a plant that could stop bleeding: horse dung puff.

He used a needle to poke a small hole in the mushroom and he squeezed it against the wound on Wang Juan's leg. A puff of powder sprayed out. This thing not only stops bleeding, but it is also an antiseptic. Wang Juan gritted her teeth from the pain and sweat dripped down her forehead. She pinched the flesh around the torn skin to ease the pain.

After waiting for a moment, the two of them got on the horse again, and the moment they began riding the horse, both of their complexions changed. The area where they had just finished applying the medicine was painful. It took them a few seconds to get used to it, and then the two of them urged the horse to run faster. They also bounced up and down with the horse.

It took three quarters of an hour before the horse-drawn carriage reached the area Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan rested at before. This area was right next to the road. Li Cheng didn't know how to check their tracks, and his carriage directly passed by the area. Shortly after, Shi'liu arrived at that place too. The servant who was a hunter called out for the carriage to stop, and he got out to have a look.

He returned back onto the carriage and they continued forward again. He hesitated momentarily before he spoke to Shi'liu, "The Young Master and Young Miss stopped here for a while to let the horse eat grass and drink water, and treat the wounds on their bodies"

"Wounds? What wounds? The Young Master and Young Miss were injured? Who did it?" When Shi'liu heard this man's words, she was frightened and thought they had encountered bad people.

The man shook his head. "The wounds weren't caused by a person, it was caused by riding the horse. The skin on their legs are chafed, and they treated it with horse dung puff. That's amazing. They really do know how to survive in the wild."

"Huh? There weren't any bad guys? But they're still injured. Oh no. Tell me. You're the knowledgeable one. Are their injuries serious?" When Shi'liu heard that her little masters' legs were chafed, she reacted like she was the one who was injured instead. Her eyes immediately turned red and teary, and she grabbed the person next to her as she asked.

"It hurts, and it's not a normal type of pain. It feels burning hot, and after popping the blisters, it would hurt even more, but popping it will prevent the blisters from expanding outward. Horse dung puff can be used to stop the bleeding. Judging by that horse's excrement, the Young Master and Young Miss are faster than us by at least an hour. Compared with the Young Master and Young Miss, those other children who participated in the survival training are nothing...

In the past, I only knew that the Young Master and Young Miss were smart, but now I understand that the little masters are strong-willed. This kind of injury and this kind of pain are not something children can tolerate, and they even continued to ride on the horse. "

The hunter sighed as he spoke. He really admired them. It was hard to tell that those two children could endure that much pain and know how to treat their wounds.

"Why is it better to pop the blisters than leaving it be? It must be very very painful. And the wounds will still be rubbed against. Why? Couldn't they have just waited to ride a carriage?" The more Shi'liu thought about it, the more painful she felt that it was, and she couldn't help crying.

The male servant had to explain to her, "If you don't pop it open, then the fluid inside the blister will push against the edges of the blister when the blister is pressed against. This will cause the blister to become even bigger, and more fluid will build up inside. It might even burst by itself too. As to why they're in such a rush to go home, I don't know."

"Oh, then hurry up. When I get back, I need to properly treat their wounds. If only I can be injured in their place; I'm not afraid of the pain." Shi'liu wiped her tears and urged the coachman again. She also told him that if the horse died from exhaustion, they will compensate him after they get back.

He was worried that the people in his family might feel that they were on close terms with the people at the San'shui County administrative office and would take all of the 5,000 mu of land in one go and write it down on paper. Doing so would give other people an opportunity to attack them. He absolutely could not allow the situation to grow out of his control because this was his safe haven.

He had to go back and make sure that they only claimed 4,000 mu and not be greedy for the remaining 1,000 mu, as it was a ticking time bomb.

"Xiao'bao, don't worry, it won't happen that fast. I think everyone is still celebrating right now. Things will be fine once we get back. Those hills are good, we can make use of it. Have you decided what to do?"

Wang Juan hugged Zhang Xiao'bao from behind and comforted him with her words. In fact, she was also worried herself. That Imperial kid kept hovering on the side like a tiger with its vicious mouth wide open, waiting to eat them. If it weren't for the occurrence of the auspicious omens, the Prefecture would have sent people to give them the farmland and restaurant a long time ago.

If that happens, the only solution was to go to the Capital to let the Emperor know. Emperor Li Long'ji was now getting ready to properly govern the country, so he would absolutely not allow something like that to exist. However, even then, the loss would still be great. Although the land and restaurant would be given back, who would be held accountable for the time wasted?

"I prepared a long time ago. Later, we can cut down those trees that have no production value, and replace them with fruit trees. We will do this section by section, and the cut trees can be burned into charcoal and be sold for money. The charcoal could be used for either burning or as a dehumidifier. The land can be used for terrace farming, but I'm scared that when there's too much rain water, the mud and rocks on it will wash down."

Zhang Xiao'bao also tried his best to suppress the irritation he felt in his mind. He was not worried about the people in his family, but he worried about Wang Juan's father. When doing things, her father did not think much. In the midst of being happy, he might take the land. This will give others something to threaten him with and that would be troublesome.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. If we can't plant crops, then we can plant fruit trees. We can grow a variety of fruits and we will still be able to earn money. This land was granted to us so we don't need to pay taxes for the land and we can grow whatever we want. I heard that watermelons and cabbage can be grown at this time, but I haven't seen it here yet. Let's get someone to go look for it.

The taste of watermelon seeds is good, and cabbages can be stored for a long time in the winter. Let's make some sauerkraut too, and use it to make stew by cooking it with large chunks of fatty meat. When we go back, we will get them to take exactly 4,000 mu of land---no more, no less. Who can find fault in us then?"

Wang Juan agreed with him, and at the same time, she thought about planting watermelons and cabbage, and then she thought about looking for these plants. This would resolve a lot of problems in winter. Cabbage also contains some sugar, so if they didn't eat any staple foods and only ate cabbage, they could last for months without starving to death.

Watermelon tastes sweet and they could try to make sugar from it. It would be fine even if they grow it just for its watermelon seeds. They can make this into another snack by adding aniseed and Zhang Xiao'bao's thirteen spices mix, and then roasting it with sugar and salt.

Zhang Xiao'bao let the horse run up a small path, and said to Wang Juan, "Who said that I won't take that remaining 1,000 mu? On the surface, it looks like we're taking just 4,000 mu, but the remaining 1,000 mu will be ours too. When I have my hands on something, I won't let it escape out of my grasp. It's also a good chance for me to set up a trap for those that want to mess with us, and we will see who will fall for it."

"I knew that you had malicious intentions. Tell me, how will you claim that extra land?" Once Wang Juan heard what Zhang Xiao'bao said, that bit of reluctance she had in her heart disappeared. She believed that since Zhang Xiao'bao dared to say it, he would be able to do it.

"Secret. I can't tell you now. You will understand when we take the land."

After rushing the entire way, Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan finally rode the horse into the outskirts of Tu'qiao Village at four quarters after the Wu hour3. They rode past the Ge Manor, and then they rode across the small bridge under the surprised gazes of the Ge Manor's residents.

Even until now, the sound of firecrackers have never stopped. From time to time, the cracking sound can be heard from random places. All of the manors' residents have left their own houses and were eating and drinking in the front yard of the two master houses. It was obvious to Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan that the two master families were holding a dinner party. The families have been granted honorary titles, so of course they had to celebrate.

When the residents saw Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan, they stood up and took turns greeting the two. Now their two little masters were even more powerful with officials in their family. One was a proper seventh rank and the other was a sub seventh rank. Even the magistrate of the San'shui County was just a proper seventh rank official.

What's more was that they had a fiefdom with five-hundred households, so they didn't have to worry about paying rent. Since the master family no longer needed to pay grains to the government, a good master family like them would definitely reduce the rent if the harvest was bad. The only concern right now was to fill up the place with five hundred people. Even if both of the master families brought in people from other places, there would only be just over four hundred by the end of this year.

Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan slowed down and greeted the residents with a smile. When the horse came to the yard and stopped, they remained seated on the horse and looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to go down because it was too painful. It was not easy to get off the horse.

"What should we do?" Wang Juan asked Zhang Xiao'bao while she pressed down on the horse's back with her hands, trying to reduce the weight on her thighs.

"It's easy. Watch me. Somebody, come carry us down." Zhang Xiao'bao shouted to the people next to him just when Wang Juan thought he would go down first.

Naturally, the residents came over. They all felt that it was an honor to be able to hold their two little masters. By the time they got off the horse and squatted on the ground, their families arrived in a hurry.

"Father, have you chosen the land?" Zhang Xiao'bao asked his father.

"Not yet, it's being selected right now." Father Zhang knew that his son had plans when he came back.

"That's good, let's go in and talk. Father, carry me in." Zhang Xiao'bao opened his arms after he let out a sigh of relief.

Translator's Notes

1. Posting

Posting is the action of one's legs to rise out of the saddle as the horse runs. Proper coordination of the horse rider and the horse makes the horse riding experience more smooth and this makes it more comfortable for the rider and horse.

2. Puffball mushroom

This is the common name of the mushroom Calvatia gigantea. When immature, the mushroom is edible and it also has medical use. It is a known styptic (an antihemorrhagic agent/ substance that promotes blood clotting) and its powdered form or slices can be used to dress wounds.

3. Four quarters after the Wu hour

This is 12:00 pm.