Chapter 445 - Fewer Birds In The Sky
Yi Shi wasn’t usually at the field but visited every year at this time to check the harvest. They weren’t having good harvests- if anyone attempted to cheat the numbers, life would be worse for them. However, he was here for another reason unrelated to his family— he took this as an opportunity to earn extra cash during harvest season.
His fast calculations were not something anyone could do. That was why after ‘accidentally’ helping his neighbour once, he became famous among landowners. During this time, landowners who couldn’t bother to check their own numbers would get him for help. He was fast, efficient and had almost a hundred percent accuracy rate. He just wanted a little compensation. This saved everyone time and caught any liars who manipulated the numbers as soon as possible. It was a win-win!
The money he earned every year from everyone was similar to the value of his own harvest.
That Mu lady was a landowner from nearby, one of his income streams. Soon after he left, another person came looking for Yi Shi. That was why he had a large table here like he was open for business. He was easy to spot, he could conveniently take jobs like that.
Ji Ju did not stay long at Yi Shi’s place. After checking the well, he went to other plots to ask a few questions. It was the same everywhere, the water levels in the wells were dropping yearly. If the current climate maintained, life was going to be difficult.
Right now, Yi Shi’s small plot of land with few wells was suffering but in one or two years, there would be more victims. Some people who thought they could save themselves with drought-resistant crops might not survive too– the root cause of the problem was worsening.
Ji Ju was very quiet on the way back and in a sour mood. The butler did not understand so Shao Xuan explained to him in a low voice.
“Thank you!” Shao Xuan left Yi Shi’s plot.
When Shao Xuan left, Yi Shi took out a piece of cloth and a brush dipped in pigment, then started writing.
If Shao Xuan was here, he’d realise Yi Shi was writing a few multiplication and division equations similar to his.
Although Yi Shi had seen him doing it upside down, Yi Shi was quick to write them down. The numbers and symbols were foreign to him, and the lines! However, the vertical calculations he wrote were all identical to Shao Xuan’s.
When he was done, Yi Shi stared at these symbols in deep thought, making annotations with symbols he was familiar with.
“Young Master, there’s someone from the An family looking for…” said a butler.
Yi Shi kept his cloth and gestured for him to bring the guy in. “After this, close the gates. We’re done for the day.”
“Huh?” The butler was still calculating how much he’d get from today’s payments.
“What about…. Tomorrow?” asked the butler.
“We’ll see.”
“Alright.”
Although it was a pity, the butler obeyed his instructions and hung a sign at the gates so other people could just go back. The Young Master was going to rest for the day but as for when the business would open again, he didn’t mention.