Jinshan County of Yingtian Prefecture is surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack; Taohua Town and Taohuaji are located in a holy place with mountains behind and water in front, making it a garrison site.
In the morning, before the sun rose to the 3rd pole, the sound of horse hooves and cart rutting broke the tranquility of Taohua Town. One after another, horse-drawn carriages loaded with supplies passed through Taohua Town, rushing non-stop to Taohua Market outside the town.
"I heard the day before yesterday that a senior official was going to train troops and station troops in Taohuaji. What are these carriages carrying baggage?"
"Yes, that's right. Someone just came up and asked, and they are going to Taohua Market outside the town."
"Alas, things are unpredictable. I don't know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing for us to have troops stationed in Taohuaji."
"That's great news. Just now, those officials bought a whole pig from Zhang the butcher, 20 piglets from me, and 500 chicks and 500 ducklings from Grandma Lin. Grandma Lin found three families that hatch chickens and ducklings to get the money together. This is enough to earn at least half a year's worth of money."
"What? Are you blinded by such a small profit? These years, these soldiers have become more and more unreliable. Rather than being soldiers, they are more like thieves in disguise. They bully people and women, haven't they done enough? They have also done a lot of unscrupulous things like murder and arson..."
"It depends on who is leading the troops. I heard that the officer leading the troops is not bad. His name is Zhu something. He used to be the magistrate of Jingnan County. My second aunt is from Jingnan. She said that this Lord Zhu is a real parent official. He trains the troops and garrisons them, so he should be good."
"Hearing is believing, seeing is believing. We will know what kind of person this is in a while. Go home and wish for the best..."
The common people of Taohua Town looked at the horse-drawn carriages carrying baggage and started discussing with mixed emotions. They didn't know whether the garrison of Taohuaji was a blessing or a curse for them, and whether it would bring them fortune or misfortune.
Ten miles outside Taohua Town is Taohuaji.
Amid the discussions of the people in Taohua Town, the endless stream of baggage convoys were getting closer and closer to Taohua Market.
"Sir, Taohuaji is one mile ahead." Liu Mu rode his horse to a carriage and reported.
"Okay, tell everyone that after arriving at Taohuaji, we will rest for a while before setting up camp." Zhu Pingan replied.
"Yes, sir." Liu Mu went to pass on the order.
"The Peach Blossom Market is just ahead, but there's no peach tree to be seen." Upon hearing that the Peach Blossom Market was just ahead, Hua'er curiously lifted the curtains to observe the surroundings, and was surprised to find no peach tree.
"There are many peach trees planted on the mountain over there. By March or May next year, the whole mountain will be covered with peach blossoms."
Zhu Ping'an pointed to the hillside not far away and said to Hua'er.
"Okay? Let's go see the peach blossoms together then." Hua'er was as happy as a 90-pound child.
"Oh, what's so good about flowers? You can't eat them or drink from them. If you want to see them, you should wait until the branches are full of peaches."
The voice of the enchantress Ruonan came from the side.
"Of course flowers are beautiful. What girl doesn't like flowers..." Huaer retorted with a pout.
"I just don't like it." The demon woman Ruonan replied as a matter of course, and then said with a look of disgust, "Flowers are useless except for being beautiful. Not only can they not be eaten or drunk, but they are also picked by people, picked by bees, picked by butterflies, picked by moths, no matter what kind of thing they are... Flowers are weaklings who are bullied by others and can only please people with their color!"
"You think too much? Flowers are meant to be looked at..." Hua'er's chubby face wrinkled after hearing what the enchantress Ruonan said. Flowers are beautiful, who would think about these messy things
"You think too little..." The enchantress Ruonan glanced at Huaer and said slowly.
"You obviously think too much." Huaer said with puffed cheeks.
"Then tell me whether what I said is true or not. Can flowers be eaten? Can they be drunk? Have they been picked by humans? Have they been picked by bees? Have they been picked by butterflies? Have they been picked by moths?" The enchantress Ruonan blinked.
"... ... " Hua'er's cheeks puffed up very high, and she wanted to refute, but when she opened her mouth, she found that what she said was all true. Although she still felt that what she said was wrong, she couldn't react and didn't know how to refute, just like a teapot cooking dumplings but couldn't pour out the soup. In the end, she could only be angry... ...
"You see, that's why you think too little." The enchantress Ruonan said with a victorious smile.
Just when the demon girl Ruonan was feeling proud, Zhu Pingan turned around and looked at the demon girl Ruonan with a smile, and said with a look of evil interest, "Haha, actually you think too little."
"What?! I don't think enough?!" Hearing this, the demon girl Ruonan sneered and said, "I wonder if you, nerd, have any advice for me."
Zhu Pingan smiled and shook his head, "Do you think that flowers are weak and can be bullied just because they are picked by bees, butterflies, and moths?"
"What else?! If you are picked by someone, does that mean you become a strong person?" The enchanting woman Ruonan retorted with a sneer.
"So you think too little and your vision is too short-sighted." Zhu Ping'an said with a smile.
"You are short-sighted!" The demon girl Ruonan gritted her teeth and said, "If you don't explain the reason today, you will be in trouble."
"You think that flowers are the weak ones bullied by bees and butterflies because they are picked by them. You are wrong. Butterflies and bees are actually workers enslaved by flowers. Well, they just work."
Zhu Pingan said with a smile.
"Hehe, you scholars are such liars. The ones who pick the flowers are slaves, and the ones who are picked are the masters?! You can only fool Hua'er with these words..." The evil woman Ruonan rolled her eyes and sneered.
"Miss Ruonan, you know the principle of bearing fruit, right?" Zhu Ping'an still smiled.
"Of course I know." The enchantress Ruonan said calmly.
"To put it simply, humans are divided into male and female, and so are plants. Only when yin and yang combine can they reproduce. Flowers bloom in all colors, emitting all kinds of sweet and stimulating smells, attracting butterflies, bees, etc. Pollen is also spread to other flowers by butterflies and bees, completing the combination, and then bearing fruit, thus reproducing. So, it is the flowers that use bees and butterflies to spread pollen and reproduce."
Zhu Ping'an explained with a smile.
When the demon woman Ruonan heard this, her face turned red immediately. She frowned and gave Zhu Pingan a look, "Nonsense."
"That's true, isn't it?" Zhu Ping'an replied with a smile in the same tone as the enchanting woman Ruonan before.
"Bah! If you say so, then the flower wouldn't be, wouldn't be..." The enchantress Ruonan's face turned red and she couldn't continue.
"Yes, from this perspective, flowers are indeed the organs that plants use to reproduce." Zhu Ping'an shrugged.
"Shameless, dirty, obscene..." When the evil woman Ruonan heard this, she thought of the flowers as one by one... and suddenly she got goose bumps all over her body, and felt that she could never look directly at flowers again.