"Ah?"
Although Liu Zhe'er was puzzled, she still nodded, "A little."
She scooped the soup and held it in her hands. "Don't look at me being young, but I've done almost all the farm work at home, and I've learned some from a very capable uncle."
Song Qingchao's eyes lit up after hearing this.
If she wanted to achieve great things, she had to re-establish a Song family army.
And raising an army required not only people and wealth, but most importantly, food.
In her previous life, she had spent a year with Feng Shaocheng in Mobei. It was freezing, and no crops could grow.
Moreover, the biggest headache for Feng Shaocheng back then was the problem of food and fodder.
She had also read the "Qi Min Yao Shu" back then.
But before she could achieve any results, she was sent to the Northern barbarians...
Now that she wanted to establish her base in Mobei,
The first hurdle to overcome was food.
But as a lady of an official family,
Whether in her past life or this one, she had never been involved in farm work.
Now, although Liu Zhe'er was young, if she were nurtured well on her existing foundation, she could become a great figure in agriculture.
Song Qingchao hurriedly reached out to hold Liu Zhe'er's hand,
But finding her hands full of soup, she withdrew and rested her hands on her own legs.
"Are you literate?"
Liu Zhe'er blushed, shook her head blankly, "No... not literate."
"Then do you want to be literate?"
Liu Zhe'er shook her head, then nodded again, and finally whispered, "Yes."
"If you want to, it's easy."
Song Qingchao revealed a smile that could be described as affectionate, "Mumu, here, you will be responsible for teaching Zhe'er to read and write from now on."
Song Qingmu frowned, picked up the book tucked in her arms, and glanced at it. "Agriculture?"
Song Qingchao nodded, "Yes, you can learn related agricultural knowledge while learning to recognize characters."
She rubbed Liu Zhe'er's head, "Zhe'er, can you do it?"
"Yes, sister."
Until the lunch break ended,
Song Qingchao was escorted back to the carriage. She still felt unreal, as if it were a dream.
Five years was enough time for her to prepare.
The carriage began to set off.
She wasn't seated properly and swayed again, falling backward and bumping into Bai Youan, who had lifted the curtain and entered.
He held half a fragrant roasted rabbit in his hands.
After sitting down, he placed it directly on the table without saying anything.
Song Qingchao glanced at him, then slowly adjusted her posture and sat up, speaking unnaturally, "You're back."
"Yes." Bai Youan nudged the rabbit forward again. "Eat it while it's hot."
Song Qingchao thought about it and then accepted it without politeness.
She would have to spend time with this man in the future, and it was too tiring to always be reserved.
She peeled off a few pieces of tender meat and placed them aside.
Bai Youan: "Ying Zhong roasted two, your stomachs need to adapt, this half is just right, you can't eat more."
Song Qingchao glanced at him and understood.
Mumu and the others must have eaten too.
As she ate, she thought about how to treat his eyes.
"Do you have a mask?"
"Yes." Bai Youan stopped pounding the medicine, bent down, and took out a slightly damaged mask from a nearby box, placing it on the table. Then he busied himself with his own affairs again.
Song Qingchao wiped her hands, then picked up the mask and examined it carefully.
Then she brought it back to her eyes.
She looked at Bai Youan, who sat opposite her with an air of tranquil composure.
So she stood up, wanting to try it on his face.
She was originally in a kneeling position, and to reach Bai Youan, more than half of her body was supported by the table.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm curing your eye disease."
Song Qingchao said it as a matter of course, pulling off his white veil again and leaning closer.
Close enough to smell the faint medicinal fragrance emanating from him.
She stared at Bai Youan's dark pupils within the mask, "So beautiful."
Before she could look closely,
The darn carriage bumped again.
To her misfortune, she directly knocked over the table and fell onto Bai Youan.
The white veil snagged on the hairpin on her head, and the other end was tangled around Bai Youan's little finger, which was against her waist.
The medicinal herbs spilled all over the floor, scattering on their entwined legs.
"Um..."
She was about to explain.
"Master! Are you alright?"
They both turned their heads and looked at the uninvited guest.
Ying Zhong blushed and quickly lowered the carriage curtain.
The second encounter.
Song Qingchao considered whether Bai Youan would agree to her eliminating him...
"Miss Song, what exactly are you trying to do?"
Song Qingchao turned her head to look at Bai Youan, who had a questioning look on his face.
Then she abruptly pushed his chest, trying to create distance between them.
But the white veil on her head pulled her back.
She found herself pinning Bai Youan against the table again.
"Don't move."
Bai Youan slowly sat up straight, his hand reaching for Song Qingchao's hairpin, trying to untangle the tangled white veil.
As he couldn't see clearly, he leaned forward again.
Song Qingchao held her breath, daring not to move, for fear that a slight mishap would cause her to be bumped into a kiss.
After all, they were too close.
Their noses were about to touch.
"It's done."
For the first time, Song Qingchao found Bai Youan's voice so pleasant.
She turned her face away, quickly pulled at the hem of her skirt, and got up, feigning indifference as she put the table back in place and picked up the scattered herbs.
Bai Youan stared at her, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.
He then mimicked Song Qingchao's earlier posture, leaning on the table and reaching towards her.
Without the obstruction of the white veil,
Although he couldn't see clearly, if he was close enough, it was possible.
"What? Weren't you vowing this morning that you wanted me?"
Song Qingchao's neck turned bright red, and she leaned back. "I didn't..."
"Didn't what?"
Bai Youan slowly leaned back.
He took out a fan and covered half of his face and his crimson earlobes.
"I wanted to learn medicine from you."
Song Qingchao coughed lightly, stole a glance at Bai Youan, "Don't move now, I'm going to cure your eye disease."
"You're welcome."
The voice, which was originally as gentle as flowing water, now sounded somewhat teasing in Song Qingchao's ears.
She picked up the fallen mask and took out a brush and ink.
This time, she had learned her lesson.
She knelt beside Bai Youan with a few items.
While comparing, she made marks on the mask.
After measuring everything, she returned to her original seat with the items.
In principle, the further apart they were, the better.
Then she began her meticulous creation.
The original mask was made of silver and was a half-face piece, exquisitely crafted, but it had darkened slightly with age.
"Do you have gold leaf?"
"No."
Bai Youan simply put down the herbs he was sorting, watched her cut two small holes in a dark strip of cloth and paste it into the original mask, and then, as if presenting a treasure, handed him this "piece of junk."
"Try it?"
Bai Youan looked at the mask and was silent for a moment, but he finally put it on.
He yearned to see the world clearly, even if only once.
When he opened his eyes.
Song Qingchao was lifting the curtain on the window.
Although it was still a bit blurry,
He had indeed seen it.
He grabbed Song Qingchao's arm, momentarily forgetting to control his strength.
Song Qingchao let out a hiss, "How is it? Not working?"