Su Yong's mind was in a mess, but after hearing this, it immediately captured all his attention.

"Um?"

He felt it was necessary to visit the rural towns.

Shortly after, the doorman came to announce the news.

"Sir, the village chief from Qingxia Village has brought his son to request an audience."

Su Yong nodded.

What are these two doing here?

Before long, Chen Gui led Chen Qingshan to kneel directly in the main hall.

"This humble citizen, Chen Gui, also known as Chen Qingshan, greets Your Excellency."

Su Yong nodded, gesturing for them to stand up.

Chen Gui carefully considered his words before speaking cautiously.

"I have discovered a small number of locusts in Qingxia Village. They may cause a large-scale locust plague in the next month or two. I have come to ask you, Master Xie, to take precautions in advance."

Um?

Su Yong was taken aback and looked at Uncle Fu.

After a moment's thought, it seemed that these two were from the same village as Brother Chen.

Su Yong asked with a serious expression, "This matter is of great importance. Are you sure there might really be a locust plague? If it is serious, I will report it to the court."

Chen Gui said in a trembling voice, "In previous years, locusts have flown into the village, but they have never caused a locust plague. I am not sure. I implore the magistrate to allow me to lead the villagers of Qingxia Village to harvest the wheat ahead of schedule."

Su Yong frowned; harvesting ahead of schedule meant a decrease in yield.

In previous years, the grain tax was collected based on the average yield of the local area.

It's not harvest time yet; it's the crucial stage where wheat is growing rapidly. If we harvest this wheat ahead of schedule, the grain yield will definitely decrease significantly, and the corresponding grain tax may also decrease.

Su Yong looked troubled.

Master Li stood aside and whispered, "Master, let's find a field first and see if there are many locusts before making a decision."

Su Yong nodded.

Before long, Su Yong arrived with several people, including the young master of the Su family, to take a look.

The nearest town to Lushang County, Su Yong looked around in the fields and indeed saw quite a few insects.

My scalp tingled instantly.

Su Yong said in a deep voice, "I want to write a memorial and send it to Yingzhou Prefecture so that the prefectural government can forward it to the imperial court."

Chen Qingshan tentatively asked, "Sir, after we get back, I'm planning to mobilize the villagers to start harvesting wheat?"

Su Yong ignored him.

He wanted to ask again.

"My lord, I have decided to harvest the wheat ahead of schedule. Is that alright?"

At that opportune moment, Chen Gui shouted loudly, "This humble subject takes his leave."

On the way back, Chen Qingshan asked in confusion, "Dad, why didn't you let me ask you clearly?"

Chen Gui scolded, "It usually takes more than ten days for the county magistrate to contact the imperial court. If we rush to harvest grain, the county magistrate can pretend not to know. If someone reports us, we can make an excuse that we didn't know, and the county magistrate can be exempted from punishment. But if you beg the magistrate, word will get out. We don't know if there are any gossipy people in the county magistrate's household. If they say that the county magistrate allowed it, we will be guilty of knowingly breaking the law and implicating others. Do you understand?"

Chen Qingshan sighed, "People say that old people are shrewd and horses are slippery, but Dad, you're still the best."

Chen Gui: "Why do I feel like you're insulting your father?"

"I wouldn't dare, how could I? I always did it behind your back...hehe."

the next day.

While Magistrate Lu was repairing the city wall outside, he suddenly received news: "Sir, the magistrate has issued a memorial, which roughly means that a locust plague may occur, and that we should start harvesting the wheat ahead of schedule."

County Magistrate Lu calmly said, "Old Su, where did you get this information? There hasn't been a locust plague in many years. Now is the grain-filling stage, which is the critical period for the rapid growth of wheat ears. If we harvest early, the yield will probably be reduced significantly."

His tone was subtly sarcastic.

He initially thought that after several years in the position of county assistant, he had long considered the position of county magistrate to be his for the taking. Unexpectedly, a year ago, the imperial court sent someone to parachute in.

It's frustrating.

Hearing Su Yong do this, he scoffed.

He's probably an idiot.