The Lucky Farmgirl has a Pocket Dimension - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Plantago asiatica

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Sun Mei patted the dirt on Zhao Zhitong’s body and picked her up. Then, she quickly walked toward the school. “Girl, where did you go? You’re covered in dirt.”

Zhao Zhitong wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and answered truthfully, “I’m digging wild vegetables.”

Sun Mei asked. “What’s the point of digging those? Don’t we have vegetables in our vegetable garden now?”

Zhao Zhitong shook her head. “It’s different. That’s a treasure.”

Sun Mei laughed and did not think much of it. “What kind of treasure can wild vegetables be?”

Zhao Zhitong whispered into Sun Mei’s ear, “It’s a secret.”

Seeing how mysterious the little girl was, Sun Mei only laughed at her mischievousness and did not ask further. When they arrived at the school, she gave Zhao Zhitong a few instructions and went to look for Squire Wei.

In the school, the food provided by the kitchen to the children was handed over to the school every month by the parents of the students. The Wei family paid the bulk and would regularly hand over some meat to the kitchen to improve the children’s food.

Naturally, the school kitchen was also managed by the Wei family so that Sir would not be distracted by chores and could focus on teaching.

Sun Mei and the other old woman in the kitchen were also hired by Squire Wei’s family. They were paid by Squire Wei.

Recently, her family had been busy, so Zhao Zhitong might have to eat in school. Therefore, she had to inform the Wei family first and hand over the food.

After Sun Mei left, Zhao Zhitong was not in a hurry to go to the front yard as usual. Instead, she searched for Plantago asiatica by the road in the vegetable field.

The book said that the water from the wheel grass could clear the heat and brighten the eyes.

She had discovered it early this morning when she went to look for her father’s herbs.

Although she couldn’t find the herbs she wanted to give her father, she found a lot of Plantago asiatica.

Grandpa Bai said that the effect of the Plantago asiatica could clear the heat and brighten the eyes, so Zhao Zhitong noted it down and prepared to pick it for her teacher.

After Zhao Zhitong plucked a few herbs and felt that it was enough, she ran to the front yard with the wild vegetables in her arms.

As soon as she approached the front yard, the students’ loud voices could be heard.

As most of the students in the school were generally younger, they were still in the initiation stage. Today, Mr. Meng was teaching the Thousand Character Classics.

A few older children were reciting the arguments taught by the teacher.

Zhao Zhitong remembered that there were many words in the medical book that she did not recognize. She felt that she should learn more, so she ran quietly to the classroom and leaned against the first window. She raised her voice and read with the teacher in the room.

The teacher read, “The clouds soar to the rain, and the dew turns into frost.”

The students followed suit. “The clouds soar into the rain, and the dew turns into frost.”

Zhao Zhitong was studying very hard. She was almost shouting at the top of her lungs. Her voice was very loud, and it stood out among the students in the school.

Qiao Muchen, who was sitting in the first row, turned to look at her from time to time.

After the teacher read it a few times with the students, he began to explain the meaning of this sentence.

Just as he was explaining, he saw Qiao Muchen and Zhao Zhitong, who were leaning against the window and looking at each other. They were winking and grimacing. Their expressions were very rich.

“Ahem!” Meng Jiujiu coughed lightly and put down his book. “Qiao Muchen, tell me, what do you mean by that?”

Qiao Muchen immediately retracted his gaze and stood up with his chest puffed out.

After bowing to the teacher, he replied confidently, “Sir, this sentence is to explain the formation of the phenomenon of clouds, rain, frost, and dew. When the clouds rise and condenses, rain is produced. When dew meets the cold at night, it forms white frost.”

“Yes, yes.” Meng Jiushi stroked his beard and nodded in satisfaction. “Not bad, not bad. Sit down. You still have to focus in class.”

The son of the Qiao family, Qiao Muchen, was also a student that Meng Xuechu was satisfied with.

“Yes, sir. I’ll follow your instructions.” Qiao Muchen sat down proudly after receiving his master’s affirmation. He did not forget to look at Zhao Zhitong at the window with a smug look on his face.

However, Zhao Zhitong completely ignored him. At that moment, she was having a lively discussion with Grandpa Bai in the interspace.

Zhao Zhitong said, “Grandpa Bai, do you think Sir explained it wrongly? Sir is very powerful. Sir can’t be wrong. Qiao Jiaojiao must have said something wrong. Hmph.”

Grandpa Bai was speechless. This girl really had double standards.

Grandpa Bai slowly explained, “It’s true that Mr. Meng didn’t explain it. Qiao Muchen also explained it wrongly.”

“What I mean is that this sentence itself is a little wrong. Girl, the ancestors summarized their experiences and wrote it into a book. We juniors can obtain the experience and thoughts of our ancestors through reading, but not all the ancestors are right. We can’t lose our judgment at any time.”

“Oh.” Zhao Zhitong nodded her head.

Grandpa Bai explained, “The last sentence of these two sentences is debatable. Frost is an ice crystal formed by the condensation of water vapor in the air. Water vapor doesn’t first liquefy into dew before dew solidifies into frost.”

Zhao Zhitong didn’t seem to understand. She just didn’t understand. “Grandpa Bai, I don’t quite understand.”

Grandpa Bai stroked his beard and chuckled. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand now. When winter comes, you can personally go and test it out.”

Zhao Zhitong nodded happily and agreed. “Okay, okay.”

At this moment, Mr. Meng had already finished explaining. He let the students read for a while before announcing that they were leaving school.

When Meng Xuejiu walked out of the classroom to his residence, he saw the little girl standing outside his residence, holding a few wild vegetables in her hand and looking at him with sparkling eyes.

Seeing him walk over, the little girl handed the wild vegetables in her hand to him as if she was presenting a treasure. “Sir.”

Looking at the handful of wild vegetables, Meng Xuejiu was confused. “For me?”

“Yes.” Zhao Zhitong nodded heavily and said in a childish voice, “Yesterday, I saw that your eyes were red. Mother said that you were tired from reading. This is Plantago asiatica. It’s used to make tea for clarity.”

“Haha.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Xuejiu was instantly amused. He reached out to take the weeds. “Alright, I’ll accept them. Thank you, Miss.”

Zhao Zhitong was overjoyed when she saw that her teacher had accepted her wild vegetables and thanked her. She said happily, “Sir, let me make tea for you. I know how to make tea.”

Meng Xuejiu said, “Girl, these wild vegetables are still raw. We can’t make tea now. We have to dry them in the sun.”

Zhao Zhitong was puzzled. “Dry?”

Meng Xuejiu knew that Zhao Zhitong’s maternal grandfather’s family practiced medicine, so he was not surprised that Zhao Zhitong mentioned that the Plantago asiatica was used to make tea.

Seeing that the girl only knew how to pick herbs but did not know how to dry them, he knew that she had probably heard it by chance and remembered it.

Meng Xuejiu said, “That’s right. In medicine, it should be called concocting. The herbs in the pharmacy are only used after they are concocted.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Zhao Zhitong nodded. This was the first time she realized that herbs had to be concocted before they could be used.