232 Cherishing Talent
Looking at the two small children, Song Renying couldn't help but feel curious. He raised his hand, beckoning the sword-carrying bodyguard to come down. "Don't scare them," he said.
Then he smiled at Zhao Zhitong and the other child, asking, "Oh, do you have something for me?"
Qiao Muchen quickly replied, "Yes, my lord. We have written a method for dealing with locust plagues."
As he spoke, he held up the envelope in his hand. "Please, my lord, take a look."
A very cultured man beside Song Renying stepped forward, took the envelope from Qiao Muchen's hand, and handed it to Song Renying.
Song Renying didn't have high expectations for the content of the envelope, but as he read on, his expression became more and more shocked.
The handwriting on the paper was very immature, clearly that of children. But could the content really have been written by these two?
Song Renying looked at Qiao Muchen and Zhao Zhitong with an inquisitive expression. "Did you two write all of this?" he asked.
Qiao Muchen glanced at Zhao Zhitong and replied, "My friends and I summarized these methods from books recording how our ancestors handled locust plagues."
"But the last two methods were thought of by my good friend, Tongtong, based on common sense."
Song Renying couldn't help but step down from his sedan chair. He was very interested in the two children. He asked further, "How did you come up with the idea to look in books for solutions, and then decide to intercept my sedan chair?"
Qiao Muchen instinctively looked at Zhao Zhitong and whispered, "Tongtong, you tell him."
Zhao Zhitong blinked and said softly, "You tell."
Qiao Muchen insisted, "No, you."
The interaction between the two children did not escape Song Renying's notice. His face maintained a gentle smile, and he didn't rush them, just watched them.
After a moment, the two seemed to have reached an agreement. Zhao Zhitong began, "In response to your question, my lord, our Teacher once taught us in the classroom, 'When the world is in chaos, every commoner has a responsibility.'"
"Upon hearing of the terrible locust plague and worrying that the villagers might go hungry, we wanted to do our part, so we looked in books for solutions."
"But as children, our abilities are limited. We wanted to present the methods we summarized to you, my lord, so that you could save the people."
As Song Renying listened, he couldn't help but nod. "Good children, good children," he said.
He waved to the other official beside him and said, "Li Yu, bring them to my room."
A man in a red official's robe, who had been following Song Renying all this time, bowed respectfully. "Yes, Master," he said.
Then, he approached the two little ones.
***
Zhao Zhitong and Qiao Muchen followed Li Yu back into the County Government Office, this time directly to Song Renying's room.
It wasn't long before Song Renying walked in.
With a smile on his face, he saw Zhao Zhitong and the other child about to salute and waved his hand, stopping them.
Afterward, he asked amiably, "Please don't be nervous. I don't bite. What are your names, where are you from, and how old are you?"
Zhao Zhitong answered first, "My lord, my name is Zhao Zhitong, and I live in Zhao Village. I am six years old this year."
Qiao Muchen immediately followed, "My lord, my name is Qiao Muchen. I live in Xiaoyi Village, and I am eight years old this year."
Song Renying smiled and nodded. "Good. Are you both currently studying under a Teacher?"
The two children nodded.
Song Renying was still somewhat surprised by Zhao Zhitong, as it was quite rare for a girl from a rural area to be literate.
However, from the young girl's responses outside the County Government Office, it was clear she was quite clever.
Following further conversation, he kept marveling at the intelligence of these two children.
Especially the girl; she was not at all inferior to the boy. In fact, her insights were so profound they startled him.
They were both remarkable children! If cultivated well, they will surely achieve great things in the future!
It's just a pity that one of them is a girl, he thought, somewhat regretfully.
Song Renying cherished talent greatly, so he couldn't help but feel a growing admiration for these two clever children.
"You are very talented. The methods you have summarized are excellent and useful," Song Renying first affirmed, referring to their suggestions. "Methods like the trench burial method, the cloth barrier method, the bag-catching method, and the sole-crushing method are all measures we currently use to deal with locusts."
Qiao Muchen exclaimed, "Wow, my lord! You also use these methods to fight locusts?"
Song Renying laughed. "Yes, they are all inherited from our ancestors. However, the 'biological control' and the 'luring and burning' methods you proposed at the end are quite novel. I've never heard of them before. Tell me more about them in detail."
Qiao Muchen looked at Zhao Zhitong and said to Song Renying, "My lord, these two methods were thought of by Tongtong. She understands them better, so let her explain them to you."
Song Renying nodded, looking kindly at Zhao Zhitong. "Come on, young girl, tell me in detail."
Although Zhao Zhitong was young, she had strong verbal expression skills. She explained the ideas, principles, and implementation methods to Song Renying in detail.
In the end, she curiously asked, "My lord, will you use the methods we provided?"
Without hesitation, Song Renying affirmed, "Yes, of course."
Zhao Zhitong looked at Song Renying in astonishment. "Why? Don't you think we're just children messing around?"
Song Renying answered seriously, "I will try any viable method to combat the locust plague. Even if there's only a glimmer of hope to save the food supply for thousands of people, it's worth trying. Don't you agree?"
Zhao Zhitong and Qiao Muchen exchanged glances and nodded their heads vigorously in agreement.
For some reason, they both felt that this Censor was truly great.
At this point, Song Renying had already begun giving orders to Li Yu, instructing him to contact the County Magistrates of various counties and call upon the public to donate their chickens, ducks, and geese.
He also instructed his subordinates to prepare large quantities of tinder and firewood.
Zhao Zhitong and Qiao Muchen stood by, watching Song Renying efficiently issue various commands, their eyes practically sparkling with admiration.
After everything was arranged, Song Renying spoke to the two children for a while, and then called for his servants to send them home.
As the servants led Zhao Zhitong and Qiao Muchen out, they happened to run into the County Magistrate, who was hurrying out with Li Yu.
When the County Magistrate saw the two children, he was taken aback and blurted out, "Why are you two still here?"
Li Yu couldn't help but look at the County Magistrate and ask, "You know these two children as well?"
The County Magistrate ignored the word 'also' in Li Yu's question and said with a laugh, "These two children are from Zhao Village and Xiaoyi Village. I had contact with them during Lord Fang's case."
After speaking, he told Zhao Zhitong and Qiao Muchen to hurry home, saying that the County Government Office was very busy and they shouldn't cause any trouble.
Li Yu looked at the County Magistrate with curiosity. He had heard that the County Magistrate of Anyang County had exposed the various oppressive acts committed by Lord Fang of Anyang County, eliminating a scourge for the common people and winning their deep affection.
Logically, this meant the County Magistrate of Anyang County was not foolish and was, in fact, a good official. So why did today's encounter not quite match the rumors?