Cultivation is just so scientific! Chapter 2 Red Beans

Li Shiming maintained a relaxed pace as he strolled down the garden path. Though he felt the urge to hurry, he remained uncertain if Chief Escort Wang was observing him from the shadows. To put the man's mind at ease, he had to project an air of total calmness.

It was only after he moved beyond the garden and reached the familiar sight of his own courtyard that his anxiety finally began to fade.

He was now at a crossroads with two potential paths. The first was to inform his father. His sire, Li Wenyuan, served as the Magistrate of Nanling Prefecture. Despite holding only a fourth-rank position, he was the undisputed authority in the region.

Given the influence Li Wenyuan wielded, gathering a group of experts to eliminate Chief Escort Wang was well within his capabilities.

The second path was to follow Chief Escort Wang’s instructions and prepare the medicine as dictated by the prescription.

"I will pacify him for the time being. If I can't find another way to settle this mess, I'll have my father intervene!" he mused.

Because Chief Escort Wang required his assistance for a specific task, he was safe from immediate harm. Furthermore, with the Three-day Soul-breaking Pills ensuring his compliance, Chief Escort Wang likely wouldn't be overly suspicious of him.

As he stepped into the courtyard, his personal maid, Si Qin, noticed him. She hurriedly hid something behind her back, though she quickly recovered with a smile and a respectful curtsy.

Si Qin was his primary attendant. Under her, five other maids handled the heavier chores, while two nannies were tasked with his personal care.

However, Li Shiming preferred a quiet environment. Aside from Si Qin, the rest of the staff resided in the servants' quarters and only appeared when summoned.

"What are you concealing there?" Li Shiming asked, his curiosity piqued by her shy demeanor.

"Just some trinkets from Nanny Wang. I thought they looked lovely, so I asked for a few!" Si Qin replied, opening her palms to show him several red beans.

Li Shiming could only shake his head. It was no wonder she was blushing; these were love beans. It appeared that Si Qin was reaching an age where her heart was turning toward romance.

He was about to send her on a task when he took a closer look at the beans.

The tips of these particular beans were stained black. He recognized them as 'Mother Hen Beads,' a variety of love bean that was extremely poisonous. Consuming even a few could prove fatal.

Naturally, knowledge of this toxin was rare, as these plants originated in the deep south. Most people were ignorant of their lethal nature and couldn't tell a Mother Hen Bead from a harmless love bean.

"Si Qin, go back to Nanny Wang and find out how many of these black-tipped beans she has. Collect every single one, even those she gave to others. Tell them I require them, and give me the ones you’re holding as well!" Li Shiming commanded with sudden gravity.

"Yes, Young Master!" Si Qin pouted, clearly a bit annoyed, but she didn't dare disobey and handed the beans over.

"And fetch Mo Yan for me!" Li Shiming added as she turned to depart.

Once inside his study, Li Shiming began copying the prescription Chief Escort Wang had provided, though he only noted the specific quantities of each medicinal herb.

Having integrated the memories of the body's previous owner, his skill with a brush was more than adequate.

This world shared many traits with his former life, yet it was distinctly different. He lived in the Country of Xia, where the written word consisted of Chinese characters and the Confucian classics were studied. These parallels suggested a deep connection to his past world.

He knew the classics were identical because he had read them in both his lives.

In his previous life, he had spent many hours in university libraries reading ancient literature. While he wasn't a deep scholar of the Confucian classics then, he was certainly familiar with them.

In this life, he had been immersed in those same texts since childhood, and he had already attained the rank of Scholar.

He hadn't relied on his father's status as Magistrate to gain this title; he had earned it through his own academic merit and the examinations.

While becoming a Scholar at fifteen was a rare feat for most, it was a natural progression for someone born into a family with such a strong academic pedigree.

While he hadn't used his father's political weight, the educational environment and resources he enjoyed were far beyond what a commoner could dream of.

So long as one wasn't dim-witted or lazy, achieving success in the imperial examinations was simply a matter of time given such advantages.

The geography, however, was entirely unfamiliar. Nanling Prefecture, for instance, had no equivalent in the history books of his old world.

Situated in the south of Xia, Nanling was linked to the Central Capital and Guanhai Prefecture to the north via the Immortal Cutting Canal. Along with four other major regions, it stood as one of the seven pillars of the country.

While Li Shiming was lost in thought, the voices of Si Qin and the servant Mo Yan echoed from outside.

Mo Yan entered the room, struggling under the weight of a wooden crate, which he set down carefully before his master.

"Young Master, everything has been crafted exactly according to your designs. Please see if it meets your approval, and I will have any adjustments made at once!" Mo Yan said, his face full of eager subservience.

A surge of excitement hit Li Shiming. Controlling his breathing, he reached out and opened the crate.

Inside were the components for a generator, all built to his specifications.

Only three days after his transmigration, he had begun applying his knowledge of physics to create a steady source of power. Drawing on his memories, he had drafted the blueprints and tasked Mo Yan with their construction. Now, they were here.

He had managed his expectations before seeing the parts, figuring he could manually fix any minor flaws.

However, the quality of the craftsmanship left him stunned.

Ignoring the wooden frame for a moment, he inspected the iron gears. It was hard to believe these precise, intricate parts had been forged in an ancient society. They looked as though they had been turned on a modern lathe.

The gears weren't even the most impressive feat. The real challenge had been the magnets and the copper wiring.

He lifted a magnet, noting its perfect dimensions.

"Young Master, that magnet was produced by the local compass shop. We secured their finest quality for you!" Mo Yan explained.

Since compass makers already shaped magnets for their trade, adapting their methods to Li Shiming's design hadn't been overly difficult.

Li Shiming smiled, nodding in satisfaction as he reached for the copper wire.

To be honest, the wire had been his greatest worry, as it required the most delicate hand to produce.

The wire he held was thin, flexible, and coated in a smooth layer of lacquer. Even by the standards of his previous world, this was high-quality copper wire.

"I had the Wu family's jewelry shop handle the wire. When they heard it was for you, their master craftsmen worked through the night to finish it!" Mo Yan added, desperate to claim credit.

"Excellent work. Si Qin, give Mo Yan two taels of silver," Li Shiming said, pleased with the results and happy to reward the servant's diligence.

Si Qin obeyed, handing the coins to a beaming Mo Yan.

"Mo Yan, keep your mouth shut about this. Ensure the Young Master's business remains private!" Si Qin warned him gently.

She didn't know what Li Shiming was building, but with the Imperial Examinations looming, any distraction from his studies would cause an uproar if his father found out.

"Mo Yan, take this prescription. Purchase these ingredients immediately. Also, bring me the case files regarding the incident at Tianxiang Building!" Li Shiming said, his focus shifting back to the urgent matters at hand as he gave the order with a stern expression.

Eager to complete his new task and with silver in his pocket, Mo Yan hurried out of the room.