Chapter 242 Food is the most important

"Miss, you're back? Master Rong is still at the foot of the north courtyard wall, working on the thresher. It seems there's been some new progress." Luo Kui saw Xiao Jiuyue coming back and immediately reported, "Young Master Jiayuan and Young Master Jiachen are both over there, saying they're entertaining guests."

"Well, is there any new progress?" Xiao Jiuyue turned around and asked Lianxin to send the herbs she brought back to the yard, and she went to find Ai Qiushi. The midday sun was scorching. Rong Xun, Qiu Dong and Ai Qiushi continued the discussion they had just had in the field. At this time, Ai Qiushi and Qiu Dong were working on the thresher!

Rong Xun was cutting wire on the side. He didn't look like a county magistrate at all. Instead, his skillful movements made him look like a skilled craftsman.

The brothers Xiao Jiayuan and Xiao Jiachen said they were there to keep the children company, but in reality, they were holding books and reciting them, shaking their heads and looking particularly adorable.

"Big sister." Xiao Jiachen noticed Xiao Jiuyue the first time and bowed to her and greeted her.

"Sister." Xiao Jiayuan came forward.

"You guys go and memorize your lessons. The sunlight is too bright and it hurts your eyes." After Xiao Jiuyue settled the two little guys, she saw the improved thresher.

Xiao Jiuyue immediately noticed that there was an extra gear: "Gear, is there an extra one?"

"Miss, the gears have been added, so it's much easier to pedal!" Ai Qiushi's face was covered in sawdust and sweat, but he didn't care at all. He said, "Brother Qiu and I are discussing how to rearrange this triangular wire and see if we can save on wire while still threshing the rice cleanly."

"Miss Xiao, do you still have the book you read before?" Rong Xun was nailing triangular wire on the wooden board. When he saw Xiao Jiuyue coming, he asked hurriedly.

"Sorry, I was looking at it in Shengjing, and now I don't know where it is." Xiao Jiuyue replied with regret, and said, "Lord Rong, what do you think of the thresher?"

"That's great! I just came back from the fields. Using strong men to thresh the grain versus using a thresher, if you can do it quickly, one person can do the work of four, and it's much easier!"

Rong Xun presented a wealth of information. He not only visited the Xiao family's thresher, but also the thresher that Shi Lizheng and his team had hastily built the previous night. He said, "This thresher is easy to use. Even someone who doesn't know how to use it can quickly figure it out. If it can be widely used, it will surely allow the people to complete their autumn harvest faster than ever before!"

"Miss Xiao, I'm going to submit a memorial to the court, along with a diagram of a thresher, and send a thresher to Shengjing. The emperor will surely reward the Xiao family then!" Rong Xun's excited words were interrupted by Xiao Jiuyue.

"Lord Rong, let's not mention the Xiao family for now." Xiao Jiuyue reminded.

"Miss Xiao, if you present such a good thing as the thresher to the court, you will definitely be rewarded." Rong Xun said.

"A thresher can only save people time and effort, but it cannot produce more grain." Xiao Jiuyue knew very well that a thresher would not change anything at all and would expose the Xiao family to everyone.

She said, "Lord Rong, the current Xiao family does not need any rewards, they just need to keep a low profile."

Rong Xun pondered for a while, then looked at Xiao Jiuyue with clear eyes and asked, "Miss Xiao, are you sure you don't want this reward?"

"No." Xiao Jiuyue refused with certainty, saying, "If Lord Rong is so inclined, why not have everyone rotate radishes and cabbages in the fields this year? That way, in Lancang County, we can harvest plenty of radishes and cabbages this winter. Next year, we can use the Xiao family's method to compost and plant crops!"

"Miss Xiao, I heard that the best harvest in the village this year is 620 kilograms per mu?" When Rong Xun heard about composting for farming, he thought of the bumper harvest of grain in Fu'an Village.

You have to know that when he was in Xunzhou, the grain in the fields could produce 300 kilograms per acre. It was a blessing from God and a bumper harvest!

"Yes." Xiao Jiuyue nodded affirmatively. "However, from tilling the soil and composting to raising seedlings, there are methods."

"It's great that Miss Xiao is willing to make this method public. I will convince other gentry and landlords in Lancang County!" Rong Xun said firmly.

"Okay." Xiao Jiuyue listened to Rong Xun's words and inexplicably felt convinced.

She didn't stay long. After returning to the house, she asked Lianxin to grind ink, and she began to write about the benefits of crop rotation. At the same time, according to the climatic characteristics of Lancang County, she wrote everything clearly, from turning the base fertilizer to composting and raising seedlings!

She finished it in one go, and when she looked up, she realized the sun had already set. She looked at the desk piled high with papers drying, and couldn't help but exclaim, "I actually wrote so many papers!"

"Miss, there's more." Lian Xin chuckled and gestured for her to look at the ground, which was covered with papers. She said, "Miss, you are so engrossed in writing. I have arranged them one by one for you in order!"

"No wonder my hands feel sore." Xiao Jiuyue put down the brush. No wonder her wrists felt so sore. At this moment, she felt like she was back to writing her thesis.

"Miss, can these be put away?" Lianxin asked. Without getting Jiuyue's affirmative answer, Lianxin directly picked up the dried papers one by one in order and piled them on the table again.

Xiao Jiuyue picked up a pen and manually added footers at the end of each piece of paper, using Arabic numerals to directly number 1, 2, 3, 4...

When he reached the 28th page, Xiao Jiuyue heaved a sigh of relief: "Press these papers. Let Jiayuan copy them tonight."

"Yes." Lianxin said, and immediately pressed the paper. She asked, "Miss, should I ask Luokui to bring dinner to the room?"

"No need, I'll go see grandma." Xiao Jiuyue stood up and walked quickly towards the main courtyard. In order to prevent grandma from being lonely, people from the first, second and third rooms would take turns to accompany grandma for dinner every seven days.

Today, it is the eldest wife's turn.

When Xiao Jiuyue arrived, Meiren Niang was persuading her grandmother to eat first. Old Madam Xiao said, "Look, I told you Yue'er would be here soon."

"Yu'er, come here." Old Madam Xiao looked at Xiao Jiuyue with a smile and patted the seat beside her.

"Grandma, mother, I'm sorry. I was just writing something and came late." Xiao Jiuyue said apologetically. She sat next to Old Madam Xiao and said, "Grandma, today I told Lord Rong about donating the thresher to the court, and asked Lord Rong to conceal the fact that it was from the Xiao family."

The beautiful lady Su handed the bird's nest to Xiao Jiuyue. Although there was confusion in her eyes, she did not ask.

Madam Xiao asked, "Why?"

"Grandma, a thresher is not enough to prove anything. I want to improve breeding and strive to achieve a rice yield of 700 kilograms per mu next year!" When Xiao Jiuyue talked about the yield of 700 kilograms per mu, her eyes sparkled with confidence, making people unable to take their eyes off her.

Xiao Jiuyue's eyes were blazing: "Food is the most important thing for the people. Increasing grain production is the more important factor!"