Chapter 45 17 Years Old (1/2)

The grain seeds and iron thorns that Er Gouzi brought back from Dingjiazhuang grew very fast after being watered every day.

In just one month, the cat-tooth rice can be harvested.

He peeled a grain to taste it and found that it was more fragrant than the cat-tooth rice planted in Dingjiazhuang.

And the spiritual energy contained in the rice grains was a little more.

Especially after being stored in the gourd for three days, in addition to the better taste, the spiritual energy was also more concentrated.

It was much better than the ordinary rice he had planted before.

He planted all the rice from the cat-tooth rice again, adding up to about one mu of land.

In the future, he can harvest once a month, and he can harvest about four dou each time, which is enough for himself.

The iron thorns planted at the same time grew much slower, and they were only one foot high after growing for more than a month.

It is not known how long it will take for the iron thorns to bloom and produce seeds.

For Er Gouzi, it doesn’t matter whether the cat-tooth rice is eaten or not, but the iron thorns are very important to him.

He is eager to plant the iron thorns all over Shekou Mountain.

There is no point in being anxious. The iron thorns are already growing very hard. On the small branches, the barbed thorns have begun to show their sharpness.

This morning, Er Gouzi hadn't gotten up yet when he heard a big goose quacking outside.

When he walked out, he found that it was a goose that was caught by the iron thorns by the neck and was in a dilemma.

The mutated big goose was about the same strength as a human warrior, but it was caught by the thorns and could only tear off a piece of flesh and blood by struggling with brute force.

Er Gouzi helped for a long time, but in the end he could only tear off some flesh and blood to let the big goose get away.

It seems that some such iron thorns can be planted around the ginseng field in the future.

Er Gouzi fed the big goose some grass mixed with ginseng and added some water to the water tank.

The big goose's stomach was very good. It had laid more than 10 goose eggs for Er Gouzi, so naturally he had to let them eat better to replenish their bodies.

The surface of these eggshells are all with blood-red patterns, and it is unknown what they will look like when they hatch.

After feeding the geese, he practiced for two hours, then picked up a large basket of red dates, rode on the back of a goose, and flew down Shekou Mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, a group of stonemasons were hammering stones. Seeing Er Gouzi riding a big white goose from the sky, they were all amazed.

"The geese raised by the scholar are all swans."

"Master Zhang Xiucai may have become an immortal master."

"From the same village, there are two Zhang Xiucai masters, one is kind and righteous, and the other is mean."

"Shh, don't talk, if that person hears it, I will increase your rent next year..."

Er Gouzi walked to the construction site, and a group of stonemasons quickly stood up and bowed to him.

"Hello, Master Xiucai!"

"Everyone has worked hard, take a break and have some snacks."

Er Gouzi said, putting the big bamboo basket on a big stone.

The craftsmen thanked him again and again.

Some time ago, he asked Ah Hu to hire craftsmen to build a big house at the foot of the mountain for temporary residence and food storage.

If you want to build a good house, you have to lay a good foundation. There are many mountains and stones here, and most of them use regular large stones to build the foundation.

First, the stones must be chiseled into regular long strips, and then laid underground. The foundation will be solid and will not fall for hundreds of years.

So even the landlords who are usually very stingy dare not be mean to these craftsmen who are building houses and laying foundations.

The craftsmen will have a full meal every day, and they will also be sent tea and snacks once or twice in the middle.

Er Gouzi used local materials. There happened to be a lot of red dates on the mountain, which were sweet and very popular with the craftsmen.

Some people would secretly stuff a few red dates into their clothes and take them back to their children at home.

Er Gouzi pretended not to see it and simply gave each person another big bag.

These craftsmen were so happy to take the red dates that they couldn't stop smiling, and they told everyone about the kindness of this scholar.

Even when their children were eating red dates, they liked to tell other children about the kindness of the scholar.

Er Gouzi chatted with the craftsmen for a few words and then walked towards Shexi Village.

It was the end of the year again, and he still owed Huang Laocai 110 taels of silver.

Now Huang Laocai bowed and saluted repeatedly when he saw him, calling him the scholar.

But he took the big bag of silver that Er Gouzi sent over very neatly, and looked at it carefully piece by piece, and weighed it again with a scale.

"Has Mr. Zhang eaten? It's almost time for dinner. How about having lunch here?"

Er Gouzi looked at Huang Laocai's expression and nodded as if he had something to say.

Huang Laocai's wife heard this and took the concubines to the kitchen to prepare for a long time.

Finally, the food was served, a whole roast chicken, stewed pork, fried eggs, and a whole fish, a total of four dishes.

"Why are there so many dishes? Even during the Chinese New Year, there wasn't such a rich feast."

Er Gouzi looked at the large table of dishes and recalled the first meal he had at Huang Laocai's house that spring.

He still remembered that it was fried fat pork with dried radish, and he ate three bowls of rice that meal.

"We are a small family, and we don't have much good stuff. We just managed to put together a few decent dishes. I hope the scholar doesn't mind."

At this time, Huang Laocai looked at the dishes on the table, but still felt that they were a bit embarrassing.

Things have changed, and Er Gouzi is no longer the tattered boy back then.

During the meal, Huang Laocai also took out a jar of old wine that he had hidden for several years.

The moment the jar was opened, the whole house was filled with the aroma of wine.

However, Er Gouzi was not used to drinking. He had drunk with his master before and felt that drinking was simply asking for trouble. It was better to drink honey water.

He only drank a small sip of the big bowl of wine poured for him and stopped.

When the meal was almost finished, Huang Laocai seemed to have made psychological preparations for a long time and finally spoke.

"Master Zhang, I want to ask you for a favor."

"What is it?"

Er Gouzi had long guessed that Huang Laocai must have something to ask, so he didn't find it strange at this time.

"I want my little kid to learn martial arts. Can you help me recommend him to Zhengwu Hall?"

It turned out to be this matter. Er Gouzi thought about it. He is now a teacher at Zhengwu Hall and seems to have this qualification.

"I can't answer you about this matter now. Next time I go to Zhengwu Hall, I can ask Sima Hall Master for you."

Huang Laocai is a good person. He has helped Er Gouzi several times before. It's okay to do a favor now to repay him.

However, Er Gouzi felt that he was a person who was only paid for nothing. If he randomly recruited people, he would be a bit ungrateful.

At least he had to get Sima Hong's consent before he could recommend students.

"Thank you very much!"

"You are the great benefactor of our Huang family!"

"Mancang, come and kowtow to the master!"

Huang Laocai's wife, pulling Huang Mancang, hurried over to kowtow to Er Gouzi.

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Now that he has kowtowed, Er Gouzi can only be more careful and ask for help next time he goes to the city, but it should be after the New Year.

He borrowed so many books from Zhengwu Hall this time, enough for him to study for a long time...

………………

Four months later, it was spring again, and Ergouzi was 17 years old now.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

On the top of Shekou Mountain, Ergouzi danced with the 150-jin heavy sword in his hand lightly and erratically.

He mastered the "Wind Spirit Sword Technique" in just one month.

The book also said that if you want to master this skill, you must practice hard for more than ten years, which seems to be a bit exaggerated.

The book said that this sword technique takes the light route, and it is best to use a sword of three or five kilograms, which is easier to perform.

Ergouzi didn't have such a slender little sword in his hand, so he practiced with a 100-jin heavy sword. Anyway, he had brute force and didn't think it was that difficult.

After mastering the "Wind Spirit Sword Technique", he practiced a boxing technique in more than 20 days.

After that, he practiced other skills in less and less time.

From more than twenty days to more than ten days, to now, he only needs two or three days to master a martial arts secret book.

The amazing speed really scared Er Gouzi himself.

These skills are not common ones. As far as he knows, there are many people practicing in Zhengwu Hall, and they have practiced for several years or even ten years.

Er Gouzi thought about it and thought that it was probably because he had the foundation of the third level of Qi training, and it was not difficult to practice this kind of martial arts of ordinary warriors.

Moreover, with the blessing of immortal cultivation, these martial arts were used in his hands, and the power was doubled.

After he practiced all the borrowed skills, he gradually lost interest in these dazzling skills.

It is better to cut with a sword than to use so many tricks. It is simple and effective.

This may be what the book says about the simplicity of the great way.

So at the end of the practice, he still returned to the beginning of learning swordsmanship, and only practiced some basic movements every day, such as stabbing, slashing, and chopping...

Now he practices and reads books in addition to watering and farming every day.

This time, he borrowed more than a dozen books from the library of Zhengwu Hall, including six martial arts secrets.

The rest of the books are about agricultural economics, military tactics, medicine, etc.

Military tactics are a must for martial arts examinations, and as a real farmer, he has to learn books on agricultural economics.

He planted a mountain of medicinal herbs, and he will deal with these medicinal herbs in the future, so he still has to master the relevant medical knowledge in advance.

Moreover, medicine and martial arts have been inseparable since ancient times, and most martial artists know a little about medicine.

The two medical books he borrowed this time are "Compendium of Materia Medica" and "Shenghui Fang".

"Compendium of Materia Medica" records 800 kinds of medicinal herbs, including those flying in the sky, growing in the ground, and swimming in the water. As long as they can be used as medicine, they are almost all included.

The book has detailed records of the identification, medicinal properties, and growth or production environment of each medicinal herb.

In the last few pages of the book, there is a small category called spiritual medicine.

The book only records more than twenty kinds of spiritual medicines, and most of them are unheard of.

Only, for example, 100-year-old ginseng can be used as a spiritual medicine.

The book says that although ginseng under 100 years old also contains spiritual energy, it lacks spiritual power and can only be considered an ordinary product.

However, the spiritual energy of 100-year-old ginseng is rich, and it has undergone a qualitative change, and its medicinal power has been greatly improved, so it can be classified as a spiritual medicine.

As for ginseng with a longer age, 300 to 500 years, or even thousands of years, it only exists in legends and can be encountered but not sought.

In addition to ginseng, the spiritual medicine category also lists several common medicinal materials, such as Ganoderma lucidum, Polygonatum sibiricum, Polygonatum odoratum, Panax notoginseng, etc.

If these medicinal materials can grow for a hundred years, they can also undergo qualitative changes and become spiritual medicines.

As for the remaining twenty or so spiritual medicines, he had never even heard of them, let alone seen them.

In "Shenghui Fang", there are prescriptions for various medicinal materials, including more than 1,000 prescriptions.

According to the characteristics of each medicinal material, different combinations will produce various changes.

Some of them enhance the original medicinal properties, and some offset each other and eliminate the toxic side effects of the medicinal materials.

Some combinations completely reverse the medicinal properties, turning the originally toxic medicinal materials into tonic medicines, or turning the originally harmless medicines into highly toxic ones.

According to the formulas combined in different ways according to the medicinal properties, their effects are already ever-changing.

There are more than 1,000 prescriptions recorded in the book, including decoctions, wine soaks, pastes, powders, pills, etc.

However, most of them are for ordinary people to treat headaches, children's coughs, infertility and other diseases.

Only a few of them are suitable for warriors.

Including some injuries, strengthening tendons and bones, replenishing qi and blood, and strengthening the foundation.

He also found the recipe of Peiyuan Guben Pills in the book.

This kind of pill is only sold in Hong'an Hall in the county town, and the price is as high as ten taels of silver per pill, and it is still in short supply.

Peiyuan Guben Pill Recipe: 5 taels of ginseng over 50 years old, 4 taels of Ophiopogon japonicus, 2 taels of Schisandra chinensis, 2 taels of Cistanche deserticola, 8 taels of Rehmannia glutinosa...

Grind the herbs into very fine powder, sieve, and use refined honey to make thumb-sized pills.

Except for ginseng, which is a little difficult to find, the other herbs are not difficult to buy.

Er Gouzi plans to prepare these herbs next time he goes to the county town and make some Peiyuan Guben Pills for himself.

The ginseng in his hand is not old enough.

The earliest ginseng planted on Shekou Mountain has barely reached 30 years of medicinal age.

He had never dug much before, but recently he fed a lot of ginseng that was more than ten years old to thirteen geese.

In order to breed the geese, he could only feed a batch of ginseng to the geese every day to replenish the geese.

Now the geese have been laying eggs one after another.

The eggs laid are much larger than ordinary goose eggs, and there are red patterns on the eggshells.

A large number of ginsengs were used, and 31 eggs were accumulated in the goose house, and several female geese have begun to incubate them.

Several male geese stayed outside the goose house every day, not leaving.

Er Gouzi originally planned to go to the county town, return the book to Zhengwu Hall, and ask about Huang Laocai.

Seeing the geese so nervous, he simply stayed on the mountain to guard.

This time, it took two months to see the goose hatch, which is much longer than the time it takes for ordinary domestic geese to incubate eggs.

The newly born goslings are no different from normal goslings except that they are bigger in size. They are covered with yellow fluff and have yellow flat beaks.

There is just one thing that is not good. These goslings are picky eaters.

Ordinary tender leaves without spiritual energy are placed in front of them, but they don't even look at them. They would rather starve than eat a bite.

Er Gouzi can only succumb to the goslings and put the tender leaves into the gourd. After improving the spiritual energy, he feeds them to the goslings.

These goslings are picky eaters. They are served with good food and drink every day, but they grow very slowly. They don't grow taller just by eating.

Fortunately, although these goslings are small, they are quite flexible when running. Ordinary people can't catch them.

Seeing this, Er Gouzi was slightly relieved. He packed some things and quietly went down the mountain to the county town in the dark night.