Chapter 72: Various Ways for a Cow to Die

"And this Watchtower, why does it look more and more like it's for going into battle?"

Ji Heming felt that they were most likely planning a rebellion.

Yan Ning was afraid of startling the old man, and she was also unsure of her grandfather's thoughts.

Yan Ning did not tell them about the rebellion, only saying, "Grandfather, please don't misunderstand. The Watchtower here was built because the Third Prince once sent people to assassinate us."

"As for building a large ship... Grandfather, you may not know, but I just heard there are Japanese pirates here, so I thought of building a ship to fend them off."

Ji Heming was somewhat suspicious.

However, he eventually believed it; after all, relying on just these hundred or so people to rebel would certainly not work.

The army stationed in Haicheng alone had 2,000 men, who could easily crush them.

It was not that Ji Heming did not support a rebellion, but he could not afford the cost of rebelling, nor did he wish for his daughter to suffer.

Within two days, their wounds began to scab over, thanks to the abundance of Golden Sore Medicine that had been prepared well in advance; it could be stored for a long time anyway.

Yan Ning used the Golden Sore Medicine on them as if it cost nothing. Qian Ruofang said, "The others are fine; eating some good food later will be enough. Your Third Uncle needs to drink more medicine. I will write a prescription; it would be better to make it into Medicinal Cuisine."

Ji Yunzhang's condition was indeed poor and required Medicinal Cuisine.

In the morning, Ji Yunzhang woke for a moment, then drifted back into a drowsy sleep; he appeared to be slowly improving.

Yan Ning looked at her Third Uncle with sympathy. How unlucky; the Medicinal Cuisine was very bitter, but for the sake of his health, she still had to force her Third Uncle to eat the good food.

Yan Ning asked, "How long does he need to take this medicine?"

Qian Ruofang thought for a moment, "Until he is fully recovered."

That meant he would have to eat it for many days.

Yan Ning asked, "Can you make the Medicinal Cuisine taste a bit better?"

Qian Ruofang shook her head, "I would like to, but there is no way. It is already good that he can wake up and eat the Medicinal Cuisine. When he first arrived, Ji Yunzhang's injuries could be described as a brush with death. Now that his exterior has recovered, his internal constitution is depleted and needs much nourishment."

Seeing that her Third Uncle had recovered, Yan Ning felt temporarily at ease.

Yan Ning strolled home and smelled a particularly rich aroma of food.

It was marinated seafood and roast chicken!

Outside, there were ten newly made Eight Immortals Tables, all rushed to completion in the last two days, just for fear that they would have nowhere to eat.

Having eaten thin porridge for three days and been exiled along the way, the dozens of people from the Ji Family stared eagerly, and some children even had drool running down.

Li Dachu was most skilled at handling seafood, and when the dishes were brought out, there was a chorus of "Wow."

They had not eaten meat for a long time.

Moreover, there was beef inside!

Tomato Beef Brisket, Beef Soup, Cumin Beef, Beef with Scrambled Eggs...

In short, not a bit of this cow was wasted; all ten tables had plenty of beef on them.

Ji Heming looked at the beef with some worry, "This, eating beef casually will land one in jail."

Yan Ning said with a smile, "I know one cannot eat beef casually, but the cow died by accident, and we shouldn't waste it."

Ji Heming:...

A miscalculation; he had forgotten that when they were in the Capital, whenever Yan Ning wanted to eat beef, a cow would die inexplicably every so often.

Some died from falling, some from overeating, and some from hitting a wall...

Yan Ning smiled and picked up a piece of Tomato Beef Brisket.

This tasted really good.

Ji Heming wanted to say something but stopped, and in the end, he said nothing and began to bury his head in eating the beef.

Yan Ning knew that her grandfather followed the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues; even though he was exiled, he still held some awe for the Emperor and the law, and he would never do anything illegal.

Yan Ning thought that if they were to rebel in the future, she would have to slowly change his mind during this time.

Having finally eaten such a delicious meal after a long time, everyone in the Ji Family, no matter how anxious they were, was very refined while dining.

After the meal, they went about their business.

It was only then that Ji Heming saw Chen Yuan.

The two of them did not get along well at Court, and every time they argued, it gave the Emperor a headache.

Yet, he never expected that they would be exiled to the same place in their later years.

Ji Heming said with a smile, "You are here too?"

The two had fought tooth and nail at Court, but now that both were exiled, their attitudes had changed somewhat.

Chen Yuan also beamed, "Yes, thanks to your son-in-law."

Ji Heming looked at the black boards inside and the rows of wooden desks, and he couldn't help but ask, "You are... even after coming to Lingnan, you haven't forgotten to teach people to read!"

Chen Yuan said with a smile, "Indeed. Since I'm idle anyway, I might as well teach them to read, and there are actually a few good seeds among the children here."

As the two talked, they sat down to play chess, battling back and forth.

Both were quite skilled at chess, and after playing for so long, there was still no winner.

Ji Heming held a chess piece and said with a smile, "Do you have many students here? I would like to teach them as well."

Chen Yuan said, "Good, that would save me quite a bit of trouble."

Both men were old and not as nimble as they once were; under these circumstances, having so many students in the Private School was a bit much to handle. With Ji Heming arriving, Chen Yuan could finally take a rest.

In just two or three days, it had spread throughout the nearby villages: another big shot had gone to the Private School to teach.

The villagers were curious, who exactly was this big shot?

Er Gouzi, who often went to Yan Ning's place, said, "That is the young lady's grandfather, the Prime Minister."

Good heavens, a Grand Tutor and a Prime Minister, actually coming to the village to teach their children to read!

Some people were reluctant to spend money, as they had to pay tuition and buy brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. But hearing that two big shots were teaching, these people hesitated.

They simply let two or three people from their families go help build houses, and the children's tuition and stationery would be earned.

Furthermore, if the children study, even if they cannot pass the imperial examinations in the future, they can still go to town to work as accountants.

Most people have gone from initial hesitation and stinginess to now being determined to let their children study.

There are also a small number of families who, seeing that everyone else is going while they are not, always feel like they have missed out on a bargain.

In just a few short days, the classroom for the children who came to enroll is already full.

The two old men were a bit overwhelmed, so Ji Heming grabbed his eldest son to come and teach as well.

For several days in a row, Yan Ning went to the pier to watch the shipwrights work; the two men moved the wood over, and soon there were carpenters shaping it into the desired forms.

After more than ten days of rushing the work, Yan Ning could see the general frame; this ship is not too large and can fit right at the pier.

At this moment, two shipwrights saw Yan Ning.

The two exchanged a look, and finally gathered the courage to go find Yan Ning.

The shipwright asked somewhat bashfully, "Will you still need to have ships made in the future?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment, "I suppose so, why do you ask?"

The shipwright said somewhat bashfully, "I heard there are very capable teachers here, and I would like to let my children come here to study."

"It doesn't have to be just making ships; we can do other woodwork too."

So that was it.

Yan Ning said, "You can do other woodwork? We still have many things here that haven't been made yet."

The alcove bed she wants hasn't even started being made yet.