If she didn’t come, these seeds would have been given to Jiang Tan’er, who would name them “peanuts.”
Peanuts could be pressed for oil, used in cooking, and nourished the body. Jiang Tan’er made a fortune with these peanuts. In the capital, only wealthy families could afford them. The candied peanuts she produced were sold at an exorbitant price—one tael of silver could only buy about ten of them.
What mattered was not the money, but Qu Zhongjie himself.
In her previous life, Qu Zhongjie remembered Jiang Tan’er’s life-saving grace and treated her with respect and loyalty. Later, like his father, he went into business, exploring treasures and discovering items such as “potatoes” and “tomatoes.” Initially, these were controlled by the Seventh Prince and Jiang Tan’er’s estate, sold in limited quantities to earn vast sums of money, aiding the Seventh Prince in his bid for the throne.
It wasn’t until later, when a drought struck the Yiling region, leaving corpses strewn across the land and countless dead, that the two presented these items to the public. From then on, they gained fame overnight and won the people’s hearts.
[Ding! Obtained deviation from plot points: 10 points. Source: Low-level loyal dog. Cumulative points: 15.]
“Are you sure the calculation is correct? The things Qu Zhongjie found are crucial to the female lead and are closely tied to her career development. Are they really only worth ten points?” Songyin frowned.
[Because the female lead has gathered the fortune of the Pseudo World, she has deep opportunities. There are still other possibilities for her to obtain those crops. Of course, as someone who contributes to Jiang Tan’er, Qu Zhongjie himself possesses certain talent and luck in business and treasure hunting.] the system replied.
Songyin glanced sideways at Qu Zhongjie.
So, like her, this person’s existence was solely to allow the female lead to obtain the benefits she desired?
So-called talent and ability couldn’t bring prosperity to oneself, only shine for the female lead?
“If Jiang Tan’er loses a physician like me, will someone else step in to replace me?” Songyin asked again.
[Due to the female lead’s charm attraction principle, supporting characters with similar abilities may appear around her. However, as a high-level female supporting character in the original book, you, the host, are the highest-quality companion prepared for the female lead. Your qualifications and talents are irreplaceable.]
[The female lead, having traveled to the Pseudo World, can only attract talents here, not create them. Please rest assured on this point.]
Songyin breathed a sigh of relief. If Jiang Tan’er could possess everything she desired, she shouldn’t be called the female lead but rather the Creator.
Songyin didn’t dwell on it further and had the grandmother and grandson taken away together.
Xie Jiling, who had witnessed everything, clearly didn’t understand her actions.
Stealing things was one thing, but stealing people too!
The grandmother and grandson seemed like ordinary commoners and didn’t appear to be of any particular use. The old woman was somewhat steady, but the grandson was trembling with fear and showed no trust or gratitude toward Songyin as a lifesaver.
First, using pharmaceuticals to poison, and now leveraging favors for gain—she was indeed not simple.
“Where are you taking them?” Xie Jiling asked curiously in the carriage.
“To the Xie family’s estate. Brother, pick a good place and let them recuperate first. Also…” Songyin looked at the sack of peanut seeds at her feet. “Divide these seeds into five portions and select five experienced farmers to plant them. It’s best to plant them in loose, sandy soil. Reward the farmer with the highest yield generously.”
In her previous life, she had personally grown some peanuts to study their medicinal uses, so she was relatively familiar with them.
But as a supporting character, her luck was certainly not as good as the female lead’s.
So, she couldn’t put all her eggs in one basket.
“Also, please ask my brother to find a martial arts instructor to teach Qu Zhongjie some basic fighting skills. Give him opportunities to interact with merchants who travel far and wide, and cultivate his interest in this area. Once he has some self-defense abilities, give him some silver and let him cross mountains and seas to search for treasures,” Songyin added.
Xie Jiling looked at her in astonishment. “Are you planning to exile him?”
Just because Qu Zhongjie mistook his savior, she wanted to torment him like this?
“Not to mention that this person is extremely wary of you, even if he were grateful, he probably wouldn’t risk his life for such a small favor. Miss Songyin, your plan is a bit excessive,” Xie Jiling reminded her honestly.
“It is indeed difficult to make him obediently go out to search for treasures, but there are always things in this world that he cannot resist.”
She didn’t have Jiang Tan’er’s protagonist aura and couldn’t make Qu Zhongjie risk his life to repay her kindness.
After thinking for a moment, Songyin added, “Although the Xie family hasn’t achieved much, we’ve never made any demands of His Majesty. That goodwill still exists. Once the peanuts are grown, use the Xie family’s hands to present both the peanuts and this person to His Majesty. If Father exaggerates a bit in his memorial, it will be useful.”
Xie Jiling was almost amused by anger.
“Are you thinking too simply? Even if these peanuts you mentioned are beneficial to the people, His Majesty wouldn’t send Master Qu out to search for treasures just for this.”
“Brother, have you noticed? Qu Zhongjie is a filial son.”
“His father traveled thousands of miles to ‘find peanuts for His Majesty.’ He is a capable and virtuous man. Qu’s father’s greatest wish in life was to find more and more filling crops for His Majesty and the people, so that no one in the world would go hungry. Even though he was just a small traveling merchant, his heart was big and worthy of respect. Master Qu is the only son of the great virtuous man Qu and will surely inherit his father’s legacy…” As Songyin spoke, even her eyes showed a hint of admiration.
Xie Jiling was usually serious and unsmiling, but at this moment, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes and sigh.
This was utter nonsense!
If Qu’s father’s achievements were really exaggerated to this extent, then Qu Zhongjie, for the sake of this everlasting legacy… might indeed willingly go out to search for treasures.
But he didn’t understand—how could Songyin be so sure that Qu Zhongjie would actually find anything?!
“We can’t rely solely on Qu Zhongjie alone. Brother, you must also work hard to cultivate capable merchant teams,” Songyin added another sentence.
“What exactly are you trying to find? Did you insist on joining the Xie family just for this purpose?” Xie Jiling frowned, expressing his doubts.
Sensing Xie Jiling’s suspicion and confusion, Songyin thought for a moment and simply said, “I’ve known Jiang Tan’er for over a year. What I’ve seen most from her is miracles. She knows many rare things, and with these, she will undoubtedly walk a path of great honor in the future. As for the Xie family…”
“Based on my understanding of Jiang Tan’er, it will definitely be a fight to the death with the Xie family.”
“Impossible!” Xie Jiling immediately retorted. “It was just a minor quarrel between girls, how could it be so serious? Besides, Yingyue has already paid the price. Why would Miss Jiang still not let it go?”
“You don’t believe me?” Songyin was somewhat surprised. Was her brother really this naive?
Xie Jiling fell silent for a moment.
His impression of Jiang Tan’er was actually not very deep. They had met once before, merely bumping into each other by accident. But after Yingyue’s incident, he had made some inquiries about Jiang Tan’er’s character.
Just as Songyin had said, it was filled with miracles.
A peasant girl had saved the Seventh Prince of the court.
Now, in just three short months, she had won the favor of the Old Imperial Uncle. A few poems she wrote a couple of days ago had quickly spread throughout the capital, and she was already quietly gaining a reputation as a talented woman.