Chapter 210: Suspicion

Chapter 210: Chapter 210: Suspicion

"That’s right! Grandpa, you know how to carve animals on wood, don’t you? You can just carve a simple design of fish and lotus leaves on the wooden boxes. I guarantee it’ll look great." Gu Nuan Nuan immediately pictured the simplest possible pattern in her mind.

Zhang Dazhuang was speechless. ’Even the simplest design of fish and lotus leaves can’t be finished in a single day. If it takes a whole day to carve one box, how are we supposed to run a business?’

But before he could voice his unspoken complaint, Zhang Wei Qiang chimed in, "That’s why I was thinking, as soon as the land permit comes through, we’ll hire people to start digging the pond immediately. For the first year, besides buying fish fry, we’ll also need to buy some fully grown fish to raise. That way, we won’t have to use fish from the Fish Spring for our fish buns. We can just catch all the fish from the spring, take them home, and dry them. They’ll keep for at least a year or two without spoiling, so what do we have to worry about?"

"Carving the boxes won’t be that fast," Zhang Dazhuang finally said, frowning.

"Grandpa, you only need to carve one box as a prototype. We can have the rest mass-produced at a woodcarving factory," Gu Nuan Nuan said. Seeing her grandfather’s worried face, she couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

"If we have them carved by an outside factory, what’s to stop other people from using our packaging to sell regular fish and ruin our brand?" Zhang Dazhuang asked, his initial surprise turning to worry.

"I know the juices of two plants that, when mixed, create a very unique and long-lasting scent. We can carve a special mark on the boxes and apply the mixture to it as a safeguard... Oh no!" Gu Nuan Nuan stopped mid-sentence and cried out in dismay. "How could I forget to pick the Perilla?!"

"What Perilla?" Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Wei Qiang asked, confused for a moment. Then they both said at once, "Oh, you mean those purple plants you wanted to run over and pick earlier?"

"That’s the one! It’s not just some ordinary plant. Its leaves are amazing for cooking with fish," Gu Nuan Nuan was still lamenting.

"It’s okay, don’t worry about it. We have to come back this way anyway, don’t we? If you like it so much, we can dig some up by the roots on our way back and plant them at home," Zhang Dazhuang comforted her.

"How do you seem to know so much about plants?" Zhang Wei Qiang asked, puzzled.

"Because a good friend from school has a book about plants at her house, with lots of pictures. She secretly brought it to school for me to see once, and I liked it so much that I memorized a lot of it. Unfortunately, she was worried I’d lose it and her parents would get mad at her, so she wouldn’t let me take it home to read." Gu Nuan Nuan sighed with practiced regret; she had been preparing this excuse for a long time. "The book was beautifully made and very expensive. I’ve looked for it in the town bookstore, but I couldn’t find anything like it."

"Don’t worry. If you like it that much, I’ll send a telegram as soon as I get back and have someone in Beijing look for it. We’ll definitely be able to find it there. Then we’ll buy our own copy, and you can read it whenever you want." Zhang Wei Qiang’s heart immediately went out to her.

"Uncle, you don’t need to send a telegram. A letter is fine, there’s no rush. Really, it’s okay even if you can’t find it. The truth is, I remembered all the plants after seeing them just once. I could even draw them myself." Gu Nuan Nuan stuck out her tongue playfully. ’She actually wasn’t sure if a plant encyclopedia with photographs, like the one she described, even existed in this era.’

"That’s amazing! You can remember everything after seeing it just once?" Both Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Wei Qiang were astonished.

"Yep. I really love books about plants. I find them fascinating, and after I read them, it’s like the information is etched into my brain. It’s hard to forget even if I try." ’This was the perfect opportunity to signal her natural interest in botany to them. That way, she’d have a good excuse if she revealed any other unusual knowledge in the future.’

"No wonder you know so much. Qiangzi, you’re getting help from Mr. Mu’s grandson, right? In that case, have him buy every book he can find about flowers and plants for us."

Zhang Dazhuang said magnanimously, "Qiangzi, mail him the money in advance and tell him not to worry about the cost. I’ll give you the cash when we get back. Nuannuan, your grandpa’s paying for these books."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Gu Nuan Nuan accepted happily. ’It was a kind gesture from her grandfather, so how could she refuse? Besides, she knew books weren’t expensive these days. A complete set of classic novels only cost three or four yuan, so books about plants should be even cheaper, right? Even for several volumes, it would be ten or twenty yuan at the very most.’

"Alright, if you want to pay, you can pay," Zhang Wei Qiang said with a smile, seeing how happy his father was.

With Cao Cao secretly guiding her, Gu Nuan Nuan chose the path closest to the Fish Spring at every fork. Even when her grandfather and uncle disagreed with her choice, all it took was a little persistence and some cute whining for the two of them to surrender. Before they knew it, they had arrived near the Fish Spring in what felt like no time at all.

"Looks like Nuannuan is pretty good at finding her way in the mountains," Zhang Dazhuang remarked with surprise.

"You bet! Grandpa, let me lead on the way back, too. Maybe we can save even more time with me as the guide," Gu Nuan Nuan suggested enthusiastically, puffing out her chest with pride. ’If she led the way, Cao Cao had said they could cut the travel time by at least two-thirds. That meant the trip from Lihua Village to the Fish Spring would only take two or three hours.’

"I don’t mind you leading the way, but don’t forget we still need to pass by that patch of Perilla," Zhang Wei Qiang reminded her. ’For some reason, he had a nagging feeling of strangeness. It was as if Nuannuan had known the route all along, intentionally picking shortcuts to lead them here.’

’That should be impossible.’

Zhang Wei Qiang shook his head, forcing himself to suppress his doubts. ’Maybe Nuannuan just has a naturally good sense of direction...’ But as he thought that, a new question popped into his head. ’If her sense of direction is innate, how do you explain the fact that she’s never shown this talent before?’

’It seems my niece has quite a few secrets, doesn’t she?’

Zhang Wei Qiang cast a thoughtful glance at Gu Nuan Nuan and fell into contemplation. But he didn’t dwell on it for long before shaking his head again. ’So what if she has secrets? Who in this world doesn’t have a few of their own? Why does everything have to be investigated to the last detail? It’s just like how I learned martial arts from my uncle when I was a kid and never told anyone either...’

Gu Nuan Nuan was unaware of her uncle’s inner thoughts. She sent her consciousness into her space to check the time and saw that it was already past 3:40 in the afternoon. As soon as they reached the Fish Spring, she held up the storage bag and reminded Zhang Dazhuang and Zhang Wei Qiang, "Grandpa, Uncle, in a moment, let’s all hurry up and bind these to ourselves with a drop of blood. That way, we won’t even need to take the bags out. We can just hide them on our person, think about storing something, and it will be collected from a distance. The best part is, you can’t lose the bag either."