Chapter 1559: Message Delivery

Zu An looked depressed. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Wait a minute, that 'Brother Xiu' sounded so familiar. Could it be...?"

Just as the two swords were about to strike him, a hoe suddenly appeared beside them. With a casual flick, it sent both women flying.

Then, a man who looked like an old farmer from the Loess Plateau blocked the women. "Nonsense!"

"Mr. Qi... Mr. Qi," the two young girls murmured, becoming as quiet as cicadas in winter after seeing the man.

Chu Chuyan's eyes lit up. "Mr. Qi?"

"That must be Wang Shuyang, the seventh disciple of the Grand Master. My father used to speak of him with immense admiration, for he truly devoted himself to the welfare of all people."

Chu Chuyan had heard many legends about him and felt genuine admiration for a person of such noble character.

She hadn't expected Mr. Qi to resemble an old farmer so much, completely lacking the demeanor of a distinguished expert.

But she quickly realized that this was precisely the image that suited him best.

Wang Shuyang earnestly lectured the two girls for a few moments, but he didn't make things difficult for them and simply let them go.

Zu An cupped his hands in thanks and then introduced Chu Chuyan.

Wang Shuyang offered a simple smile. "Miss Chu is indeed very beautiful."

Although he said this, his gaze remained calm, as if even a peerless beauty held less appeal for him than the rice plant he held in his hand.

"Mr. Qi, what exactly were they arguing about?" Chu Chuyan couldn't help but ask out of curiosity after returning his greeting. She felt a slight smile as she recalled how she had just suspected they were fighting over Zu An.

"It seems a student in the academy is very popular. I don't know the specifics; I never pay attention to such things," Wang Shuyang replied casually. Then, he enthusiastically pulled Zu An aside. "Mr. Zu, the concept of hybrid rice you mentioned last time has truly enlightened me. In the time since, I've traveled far and wide and found the male sterile plants you described, successfully creating hybrid rice. However, the offspring of these hybrid rice plants quickly revert to normal rice, making mass production impossible..."

Chu Chuyan's eyes widened as she watched him respectfully consult Zu An. In her impression, Wang Shuyang was arguably the top authority in agriculture, perhaps even more knowledgeable than the Grand Master himself in this field.

Such a figure was actually asking Zu An for advice.

"Wait, does Zu An know about these things?"

She believed she knew Zu An thoroughly and had never heard of him possessing such talents before. She worried that his uninhibited nature might have led him to boast to Wang Shuyang in the past and impress him with exaggerated claims.

She mused to herself that she should have a serious private talk with Ah Zu later. A person like Wang Shuyang, whose work affected the welfare of the common people and who was known for his noble character, should not be deceived.

She also worried that if Zu An couldn't answer Wang Shuyang's current questions, his deceit would be exposed, which would be a huge blow to his reputation.

To her surprise, Zu An spoke with earnestness: "This is simple. There's something called the 'three-line system.' The male sterile plant you found will be the female parent. You then need to find two 'partners' for it: one called the maintainer line and another called the restorer line."

"The first partner looks extremely similar to the female parent but has healthy pollen and developed stigmas. When its pollen fertilizes the female parent, the offspring will be 'daughters' — they will look exactly like the mother, with small, degenerated stamens, shriveled and deformed anthers, and no fertility, thus remaining a female parent."

"The other partner looks entirely different from the female parent, usually taller than it, and also has healthy pollen and developed stigmas. When its pollen fertilizes the female parent, the offspring will be 'sons' — they will grow more robustly than both the father and the mother."

"Then, you separate them and plant them in a breeding field and a seed production field. The breeding field will cultivate the sterile line and the maintainer line..."

As Zu An explained the details, Chu Chuyan's face was utterly blank. She considered herself quite intelligent, yet while she recognized every single word Zu An spoke, she couldn't understand what he meant when they were strung together.

Could he be deceiving Wang Shuyang?

However, when she noticed the shock, delight, and admiration on Wang Shuyang's face, she felt a bit unsettled. Had she somehow perceived the world incorrectly today? Did Ah Zu truly understand these things?

And he even earned genuine respect from Wang Shuyang, the foremost agricultural expert in the world?

At this moment, Wang Shuyang grabbed Zu An's hand and exclaimed excitedly, "Mr. Zu, you are truly a genius! My decades of learning are far surpassed by just these few pointers from you."

Zu An said, somewhat embarrassed, "Mr. Wang, you are the true expert. I'm just standing on the shoulders of giants, merely talking about it in theory."

He was speaking the truth. These were merely superficial details he had learned from documentaries in his previous life. He could talk about them broadly, but if he were actually to implement them, he would be completely lost.

Wang Shuyang, naturally unaware, replied, "Sir, you are indeed humble. If the students in the academy possessed even one percent, no, one ten-thousandth of your knowledge and character, it would be a blessing for the academy."

Hearing Wang Shuyang's sincere praise, the usually composed Chu Chuyan's jaw dropped in astonishment.

Even after Wang Shuyang excitedly left to test Zu An's methods, Chu Chuyan still hadn't fully recovered, her eyes occasionally fixed on Zu An.

Zu An couldn't help but touch his face. "What's wrong? Do I have something on my face?"

Chu Chuyan sighed. "I realize I actually don't know you at all."

"Haha, there's a lot you don't know," Zu An said smugly. "Your man is a thick book that you'll need to slowly read and study."

Seeing his familiar mischievous nature from the past, a relaxed smile appeared on Chu Chuyan's face. "Hmph, you're truly shameless."

The two continued walking up the mountain, with Zu An introducing the territory of each teacher along the way. Having been there several times, he was quite familiar with the area.

He felt a slight regret, as it seemed Jiang Luofu was not at the academy.

"That's where Black-and-White resides, and Xie Xiu is his disciple," Zu An said, then suddenly froze. He saw a group of female students outside the courtyard. "What's going on? Is Black-and-White taking female disciples now?" Zu An wondered. They walked closer and then saw what was happening.

It turned out Black-and-White was disciplining Xie Xiu.

Outside, the group of female disciples were chattering, seemingly discussing Xie Xiu, who was undergoing punishment inside.

Some female disciples thought Xie Xiu deserved his fate, but they were immediately attacked by another group of female disciples:

"As a neutral bystander, I don't think it's right for you all to criticize such a cheerful young man."

"I wasn't interested initially, but seeing so many people in the academy badmouthing him, I looked into it and ended up becoming a fan of this young man."

"If you don't love him, don't hurt him. Also, those who like Brother Xiu, don't argue with others; just enjoy him within your own circle."

"The one we love has sparkling eyes and a bright, sunny smile..."

"This old man is too much! What did Brother Xiu do wrong to be punished like this?!"

"Are you crazy? Black-and-White has such high status in the academy. One word from him can prevent you from graduating."

"Should we just stand by and watch him bully Brother Xiu? No, I'm going to report him to the authorities."

"Right, report him to the academy administration! If that doesn't work, go to the Grand Master!"

The women grew more and more agitated. Zu An and Chu Chuyan exchanged bewildered glances. "What is going on?"

Just then, Xie Xiu, who was being punished inside, suddenly spotted him, as if he had seen a savior. "Help!"

At that moment, Black-and-White also saw him and was delighted. He instantly appeared outside the courtyard. "Brother Zu, you've come at just the right time! I've finally found a way to break your unbeatable strategy for the Gomoku game you invented. Quick, quick, let's play a round!"

Chu Chuyan was even more surprised. Black-and-White was renowned for his unparalleled chess skills, yet his tone suggested he had lost to Zu An before and was still not convinced.

Zu An gave a wry smile. "My Gomoku was originally just a clever trick; of course, it couldn't fool a true master like you. Since you've broken it, it must be broken. There's no need to play again."

"Winning is winning, losing is losing. How can it be broken just because I say so? Come on, let's try! Xiu'er, quickly set up the board!" Black-and-White held onto him, an eager look on his face.

Seeing that his master wasn't scolding him, Xie Xiu was overjoyed and eagerly trotted over, carrying a chessboard.

"But I still need to accompany my wife to see the Grand Master," Zu An said, feeling a headache.

"Seeing the Grand Master is nowhere near as interesting as playing chess! I'll just get someone to take her there," Black-and-White said, waving his hand dismissively and assigning someone.

Chu Chuyan let out a silent laugh and said to Zu An, "You go ahead and play chess with him. My sect also specifically instructed me to deliver a message to the Grand Master in private anyway."

Zu An was momentarily stunned, very curious about what Bai Yujing wanted to tell the Grand Master.