Chapter 15: Ate a Lot of Cute Food
"Young girl, would you like to hear a story?"
"Hear a story? Oh, yes! Yes!" Zhao Zhitong, who loved listening to stories, instantly perked up.
"Hmm, alright. Today, I’ll tell you the story of ’Pulling Up Seedlings to Hasten Growth.’ Legend has it that in the Song Country, there was a farmer. He planted rice seedlings in his field but was always dissatisfied because they didn’t seem to grow tall enough. So, he came up with a plan. He went to the field and, one by one, pulled each seedling up a bit to make it taller... In the end, all the seedlings died."
When the story was finished, Grandpa Bai paused for a moment, then asked, "Young girl, tell me, what does this story teach us?"
Zhao Zhitong tilted her little head, her eyes sparkling as if full of stars. She said in a soft, sweet voice, "The farmer wanted his seedlings to grow very tall, so he helped them himself. But instead of growing taller, they all died. Hmm, that means... oh, I know! It means that farmer was a little fool! The method he used was wrong, because he didn’t have the spring water from Grandpa Bai’s house, right?"
Grandpa Bai’s hand paused as he was stroking his beard. "...Well, that interpretation is acceptable too."
"However, today, Grandpa Bai wants to teach you another lesson from this story, young girl. One must not be impatient in anything. We cannot violate the laws of how things develop and be too eager for success. In the end, it will backfire, and nothing will be achieved. The spring water in the space is like fertilizer for plants. After you fertilize the vegetables, you must wait for the plants to absorb it themselves before they can slowly grow taller."
Zhao Zhitong said, "Oh, I see. I don’t want my veggies to die. I’ll wait patiently then. I won’t be anxious anymore."
As evening approached, Zhao Dong, who had gone to the marketplace, returned.
When he left, the cart was laden with bamboo baskets. Upon his return, many were gone; it seemed he had sold quite a few.
"Yo, Brother Dong, back from the market?"