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墨書 Inktalez
"Absurd!" the County Magistrate suddenly interrupted sharply. "As the 'Wang Zhen Nong Shu' states, beans and wheat cannot be sown together!" His mangled right hand clenched tightly around a handful of bean sprouts, the veins bulging like worms.
Lin Dahe's heart skipped a beat. The authoritative tone reminded him of last year's investigation into the glass case by Shiye. Just as he hesitated to bring up the ancient texts provided by the system as false evidence, Cui Xiaoman suddenly exclaimed, "Watch out, my lord!"
She dashed forward and swatted the bean sprouts from the County Magistrate's hand. "These sprouts have just been treated with chemicals!"
The County Magistrate recoiled as if burned, while Cui Xiaoman quickly fetched some clean water. Taking advantage of the moment to wash, Lin Dahe caught a glimpse of her discreetly crushing a few root nodules in the County Magistrate's sleeve—milky fluid seeped into the satin fabric, quickly turning a light brown, resembling a stain from medicine.
"What kind of medicine?" the County Magistrate sniffed suspiciously at his sleeve.
"Realgar mixed with mugwort juice," Lin Dahe quickly interjected. "It's specifically to prevent root-eating pests."
The County Magistrate's expression gradually softened. He walked over to inspect the partition markers Lin Dahe had set up—those wooden signs marked with charcoal symbols were actually simplified experimental records. Just as he bent down for a closer look, a heart-wrenching scream erupted from the soybean field.
"Snake! There's a snake demon!"
Aunt Ma tumbled out of Field Ridge in a panic, her silver chopsticks skewed in her hair. She waved a three-foot-long "green snake," which glimmered strangely under the sunlight.
The crowd parted in a wide circle. Lin Dahe squinted and nearly laughed out loud—it was clearly an ordinary grass snake that someone had dyed green with indigo. Two fingerprints were still visible at the seven-inch mark on its head, indicating someone had just pinched it there for a photo op.
"My lord, save me!" Aunt Ma collapsed at the County Magistrate's feet. "This demon snake crawled out from among the bean plants..."
"Wait." Lin Dahe pulled out a coarse cloth bag from his waist. "Take a look at this."
He spread open the bag to reveal dried realgar powder mixed with sulfur, exactly what he had sprinkled along the field edge that morning as an insect repellent. As the dyed grass snake approached the powder, it began to thrash violently, causing Aunt Ma to drop it in fright. Instead of fleeing, the snake writhed painfully on the ground.
"Strange," Lin Dahe said as he used a stick to poke at the snake's corpse. "Why would a real snake fear realgar? Unless..." He suddenly tore open its belly, and several yellow beans spilled out—revealing it was stuffed with beans!
Aunt Ma's face turned greener than the snake itself. The County Magistrate sneered coldly, his severed finger tracing along her trembling temple. "According to Article 320 of 'Da Ming Lu,' false accusations will lead to countercharges."
"My lord, allow me to explain!" Aunt Ma suddenly pointed at Lin Dahe. "There is something strange going on in his field! Last night I saw with my own eyes..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed Cui Xiaoman playing with one of her silver chopsticks—having somehow pilfered it from her hair.
After an awkward silence, Shiye suddenly pointed at the field ridge. "My lord, look!"
Everyone turned to see several clusters of tender shoots emerging from the soil next to the partition sign. These were neither soybeans nor wheat; their leaves were uniquely pinnate and their stems tinged with light purple—exactly what Lin Dahe had secretly experimented with: a hybrid variety.
"What is this?" The County Magistrate squinted.
"Ziyunying," Huo Lang Zhang interjected unexpectedly. "It's used by people from Nanyang to feed livestock."
Lin Dahe secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This was indeed a leguminous plant, but it was a product of hybridizing purple-flowered alfalfa provided by the system with local wild peas. The County Magistrate crouched down and snapped off a tender leaf; milky juice immediately oozed from where it broke.
"The 'Emergency Herbal Compendium' states..." The County Magistrate's tone suddenly shifted oddly. "'Ziyunying' can indeed stave off hunger."
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