The Litchi Road Episode 16 Recap
> The Litchi Road Recap
In February, Chang'an was bitterly cold. The three old friends Li Shande, Han Shisi, and Du Fu were drinking and talking by the Ba Bridge. With the help of alcohol, Du Fu recounted meeting an old soldier guarding a grave. The old soldier told him the story of surviving death on the battlefield. Both Han Shisi and Li Shande sighed deeply. Zhao Xinmin sent Commander Yang to assassinate Yan Yazhuang.
They set up a tripwire halfway, and Yan Yazhuang fell off his horse. Just as they were about to kill him, Lin Yinu and others arrived in time. They rescued Yan Yazhuang. Yan Yazhuang ignored his injuries; he didn't want to delay the experiment, so he asked Lin Yinu to check on the lychees. Without a word, Lin Yinu picked up a basket of lychees and ran. Lan Ge arrived later, not daring to delay, and continued riding forward.
Lan Ge and Lin Yinu returned to Xiaodongmen one after the other. Li Shande was frantic when he learned that Yan Yazhuang's horse had died. A Tong and the Dong people volunteered to take turns running the city circuit to ensure the experiment was completed. Commander Yang adamantly refused and demanded that Xiaodongmen be unsealed so he could go back and report. Li Shande argued strongly with Commander Yang.
A Mita arrived in time to deliver a horse to Li Shande, intentionally using He Youguang's name, and even volunteered to be a rider. Li Shande was deeply grateful to A Mita. He deliberately leaned in front of Commander Yang and loudly announced that the experiment would continue. When He Youguang learned of this, he thought A Mita was acting against him because of the dagger incident. Lan Yu tried her best to explain for A Mita.
A Mita was certain that Li Shande's experiment would not succeed, but she still used He Youguang's name to send Li Shande a horse and a rider. He Youguang decided to go to Xiaodongmen to see for himself. A Mita and Yan Yazhuang ran the city circuit together. Zhao Xinmin couldn't lay a hand on Yan Yazhuang for the time being, so he had to report back to He Youguang.
On the fifth day of the experiment, it started pouring rain. Li Shande refused to leave even half a step. The common people and foreign merchants all stayed by Xiaodongmen in the rain. He Youguang arrived in the rain, followed shortly by A Mita and Yan Yazhuang returning to Xiaodongmen. Three baskets of the lychees they transported had started to rot; only one basket was completely intact.
Li Shande was ecstatic, because the lychees matured at different times, as long as one basket was successful, the experiment could continue. Lan Ge slung that basket of lychees onto his horse and left. Lan Ge rode through the mountains and ridges. The rain grew heavier and heavier. Rocks rolled down from the mountaintop, causing a landslide. Lan Ge rode through without hesitation.
He finally returned to Xiaodongmen after much difficulty and told Li Shande about the road being blocked by the landslide. Li Shande checked the lychees, which were still very fresh. He sent A Tong with people to repair the road. He had Lan Ge ride the horse with the lychees to the point where the road was broken, while A Mita waited on the other side.
He sent Lin Yinu to carry that basket of lychees across that section of the road. Everyone acted separately. Lan Ge sped to the appointed location, and Lin Yinu arrived on time. He shouldered the lychees and set off. A Tong led people in urgent repairs. Everyone worked together. Lin Yinu struggled to move forward among the rocks. After much effort, he finally handed the lychees to A Mita.
A Mita dared not delay and immediately leaped onto her horse and rushed towards Xiaodongmen. Lan Ge waited at Xiaodongmen. He would then take the lychees to the broken road section where Lin Yinu was already waiting. Lin Yinu would carry the lychees through the congested section and hand them back to A Mita. With the unremitting efforts of A Tong and the Dong people, that section of the road was finally repaired, and the experiment could continue.
In the blink of an eye, it was the seventh day. Li Shande opened the double-layered jar and tasted a lychee. He remained silent for a long time. Everyone held their breath, waiting for Li Shande's answer. Li Shande climbed the ladder with all his might, stamped the blueprint, and announced the end of the experiment. He Youguang concluded that Li Shande's experiment had failed and advised everyone to disperse.
Li Shande publicly announced the results of the experiment, but before he finished speaking, he fainted to the ground. Li Shande woke up dazedly and found everyone quietly packing things up. Lan Ge said goodbye to Li Shande. A Tong also came to bid farewell to Li Shande. Li Shande suddenly heard a little girl singing a nursery rhyme.
On the day of the experiment, she had picked a bunch of lychees with a branch and planted them in a flower pot. The lychees were still very fresh. Li Shande immediately tasted a lychee that the little girl had picked with the branch. He was ecstatic; as long as the lychees were not picked off the branch, their freshness could be extended. A Mita convened an emergency meeting and rejected Su Liang's suggestion to invest in Li Shande.
Li Shande rushed over. He handed the revived irises and the girl's lychee plant to A Mita, clearly stating that he could preserve the lychees for eleven days using the little girl's method. Zheng Pingan also thought Li Shande's method was feasible. Someone heard that the fastest route for transporting lychees was experiencing flooding, and detouring would add two extra days. Li Shande was instantly dumbfounded.
A Mita appreciated Li Shande's dedication to his work, but she couldn't engage in a losing business. Hady made sarcastic remarks on the side. Li Shande was unwilling to give up just like that and wanted to save two days from the Five Ridges route. As soon as he was assigned the task of transporting lychees, he knew it was an impossible, doomed task. But he had come this far through his efforts.
However, the foreign merchants dared not take the risk. Su Liang stepped forward to support Li Shande. He firmly believed that Li Shande could come up with a better solution and was willing to stake his entire fortune to support Li Shande. The foreign merchants discussed amongst themselves. Zheng Pingan also spoke favorably for Li Shande, hoping the foreign merchants would trust Li Shande. Li Shande was extremely grateful to Su Liang. He publicly stated that he would go all out and would never let down everyone's trust, and urged A Mita to let the foreign merchants vote.
