Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

Chen Xi weaved through the city streets until he arrived at a plot of farmland within the city. Well, it was called farmland, but in reality, it was just a cluster of hastily constructed large huts. These huts were fitted with numerous glass windows and housed several coal stoves inside.

”How’s the situation?” Chen Xi asked as he pushed open the door. A blast of warm air hit him, mixed with the acidic smell of coal fumes and a stifling sensation. ”What the—! Qu Hanmou, what are you doing?” Chen Xi grabbed the flushed-faced Qu Hanmou and dragged him out of the building.

”Zichuan, what are you doing!” Qu Qi angrily protested. ”I was in the middle of observing!”

”Observing what? If you keep ’observing,’ you’ll end up dead! Didn’t you notice that you’ve been feeling dizzy, with ringing in your ears and difficulty breathing?” Chen Xi scolded.

”Huh? How did you know that?” Qu Qi was taken aback. ”Though, I admit, getting some fresh air does help. What’s going on here? Hmm, it makes sense, though. This method does go against the natural cycle of spring planting, autumn harvesting, and winter storing. It’s only natural that there’s some danger since we don’t have the Emperor’s mandate to control the elements.”

Before Chen Xi could explain the concept of carbon monoxide poisoning, Qu Qi had already come up with his own explanation.

”Well, I guess your reasoning makes sense. It’s more or less the same idea. Now, did the vegetables I asked you to plant sprout yet?” Chen Xi had pulled Qu Qi out as soon as he entered, so he hadn’t had the chance to inspect the plants.

”The vegetables have sprouted, but those peach and apricot trees you had me transplant with their soil are acting strange. They bloom, but they don’t bear fruit!” Qu Qi said with a hint of panic. ”It doesn’t make any sense. It’s already shocking enough that they’re blooming at this time, but to bloom and not bear fruit?”

”Didn’t I tell you to manually pollinate them when they bloom? How could they not bear fruit? Even if you didn’t pollinate them, there should still be at least one or two fruits,” Chen Xi said, puzzled.

”Zichuan, do you think what we’re doing might be going against the will of the gods? Peach and apricot trees that only bloom but don’t bear fruit—is this the heavens warning us to stop?” Qu Qi said with reverence.Chen Xi rolled his eyes. What nonsense! But he had to admit that from an ancient perspective, it must indeed be quite frightening.

”Don’t worry about it. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take responsibility. Oh, and don’t let those other peach trees bloom—I need those petals for a flower petal rain at my wedding.” Chen Xi looked at Qu Qi with disdain. ”You were brave enough to suggest we camp out in front of the Shennong Temple a few days ago, and now you’re scared of this? Ancient people, tsk tsk…”

”You want peach blossoms just for a petal rain at your wedding? That’s extravagant! You built these ten or so large greenhouses and installed all that crystal glass, spending millions just to have a petal rain in winter? Are you insane? You could get married in spring with that kind of money!” Qu Qi exclaimed in shock.

”Get lost! Do you think a noble’s wedding date can be changed on a whim? I have to get married in an intercalary eleventh month. A good day like this that only occurs fifty times in five thousand years isn’t easy to come by,” Chen Xi firmly rejected Qu Qi’s suggestion. Besides, he hadn’t actually spent millions.

”I’ll never understand you rich people. Fine, let’s talk about what I’m good at,” Qu Qi said, his tone noticeably sour. It was frustrating to be outdone in his own area of expertise.

”Go ahead, I’m listening. But I still think you should follow my advice: open the windows every now and then to ventilate the place. Otherwise, one day you might just keel over and die,” Chen Xi warned, spreading his hands in exasperation, knowing that his words would probably scare Qu Qi.

”What the heck! I quit! If you want to challenge the natural order of life, why drag me into it? I’m out!” Qu Qi fumed. ”Why didn’t you tell me earlier that this could be life-threatening? Growing vegetables with the risk of death? What the hell!”

”I told you, as long as you follow my method, you’ll be fine. But clearly, you haven’t been ventilating the place properly!” Chen Xi grabbed Qu Qi by the collar. Lately, Chen Xi had been feeling less fatigued and no longer looked as perpetually exhausted as he had during the early days of Liu Bei’s rise.

”Explain to me what’s going on. And what are those black stones?” Qu Qi demanded, turning to face Chen Xi.

”Those black stones are also wood, but they’ve been buried for millions of years and compressed into what you see now, so they can burn. But since they contain other elements, if they don’t burn completely, they release a gas that can kill you,” Chen Xi explained as simply as he could, avoiding technical terms like ”carbon monoxide.”

”You should’ve just said that burning those stones can release some sort of vengeful spirit. I get it now,” Qu Qi concluded with a straightforward and brutal analysis.

”Sure, that works,” Chen Xi silently wiped sweat from his forehead.

”Now tell me why the peach blossoms bloomed but didn’t bear fruit, and why the seeds sprouted at this time of year?” Qu Qi asked.

”It’s because of the temperature and humidity. In spring, the temperature rises, which triggers the sprouting. What we’re doing here is simulating spring conditions to make them sprout. It’s like in the Jiangnan region, where they can grow vegetables even in winter.” This explanation was easy for Chen Xi to give and for Qu Qi to understand. ”As for the blooming without fruit, it’s because flowers also have male and female parts, just like people. Without bees and butterflies to pollinate them like in spring, we have to do it ourselves.”

”I see. So, even flowers need a matchmaker. A peach blossom requires all these considerations,” Qu Qi said, feeling like he finally understood. Although the explanation was somewhat illogical, it was enough to stop Qu Qi from digging deeper.

”How’s the bean sprout experiment going?” Chen Xi shifted the conversation to a safer topic. This was something that should’ve been done ages ago—no fresh vegetables? Well, bean sprouts are vegetables, right? Soybeans have been around forever, after all—they’re used to feed horses!

”No problem with that. I found a doctor who’s already sprouted plenty of them. But are you sure these things are edible? I recall reading in the Shennong Bencao Jing that they’re medicinal, used to replenish qi. You can’t just eat medicinal herbs carelessly.” Qu Qi found the task easy; he had enlisted an old doctor who had produced a full basin of black bean sprouts. As he spoke, he had someone bring them to Chen Xi.

”…” Chen Xi looked at the basin of black bean sprouts. They were small, but definitely free of any harmful chemicals. However, they had already sprouted roots and turned green, making them bitter and medicinal rather than edible.

”Forget it, just dry them out and use them for medicine. If you sprout yellow ones, bring them to me. And could you use your brain a bit? Radish seeds can sprout, mung beans can sprout, soybeans can sprout…” Chen Xi said, exasperated. ”Try sprouting some edible seeds and see which ones taste good.”

”Oh, right!” Qu Qi suddenly realized that he’d been so focused on sprouting black beans for two thousand years that he hadn’t considered sprouting anything else.

”What about the other things I asked you to plant? Like wood ear mushrooms and other fungi on rotten wood—any success?” Chen Xi asked curiously.

”I used that space to plant other crops. Mushrooms and wood ear fungi are everywhere in the mountains. You can buy them for a little money, so why bother with the hassle? I repurposed the land to study growing various out-of-season vegetables,” Qu Qi said with visible displeasure, clearly unhappy with what he saw as a waste.

”Do as you please, but if you fail to produce the crops I need, you’re in trouble. I’ll take back all the greenhouses I’ve given you,” Chen Xi retorted with a raised eyebrow. He wasn’t worried; even without Qu Qi, he could still manage. Besides, Qu Qi now had a bunch of students from Taishan.