Chapter 95: Looking at the Land

"Thank you, sir, the county magistrate. You are fair and just, honest and dedicated to your work, and you have made the people rich."

Li Baisong kowtowed, and Qin Fangci and the rest of the Li family followed suit, saying, "Your Excellency is fair and just, honest and dedicated to public service. You are truly a blessing to the people."

Among them, those who spoke vaguely, such as Li Lao Da, Li Lao Er, Li Lao San, Wang and Yuan, were ignored.

Deng Wenyan looked at the group of people from Old Li's family, smiled silently, and his eyes fell on Li Baisong.

"Everyone, please stand up. This is not the county government office. There is no need for such formalities."

Li Baisong helped Qin Fangci to stand up, and the other members of the Li family followed suit and stood up trembling, their backs still hunched, not daring to straighten up.

"What's your name?"

"My Lord, my surname is Li, my name is Baisong, I am the fourth child in my family, and this is my mother, Qin from the Li family." Li Baisong replied clearly, neither humble nor arrogant.

"You have been educated." It is an affirmation rather than a question.

"Yes, I studied in school for a period of time." Li Baisong did not say more specifically. What happened in Hedong Town was not the focus of today.

Deng Wenyan smiled. "Since you are well-educated and sensible, you should know the priorities. Come on, take me to see what's going on with your farm."

This sentence made people's hearts surge, as if it was biased towards the Li family but also seemed not to be.

"Please come this way, sir." Li Baisong bent down and made a gesture of invitation, humble but not servile.

Xu Jiahuai looked at the county magistrate and then at the Li family members, vaguely sensing that something was wrong.

But how was that possible? Only half a day had passed.

The idea in his mind gradually became firm. When passing by Li Yulan, Xu Jiahuai whispered, "Yulan, don't be afraid. Just be good. I will plead for you in front of the county magistrate later."

Li Yulan didn't even bother to glance at Xu Jiahuai, "Get lost!"

You scholar, you don’t understand what people say, you are worse than a dog!

Xu Jiahuai's strong psychological suggestion was shattered when he saw the two acres of green rice fields of Lao Li's family.

The two largest rice fields connected together were lush green, and the seedlings were more than five inches long. They were twisting in the wind, slapping Xu Jiahuai in the face.

Zhang Lizheng also rubbed his eyes, suspecting that he was hallucinating because of his old age.

"What's going on?" Li Zheng Zhang pinched Xu Jiahuai's arm, and his low voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.

"This is impossible." Xu Jiahuai murmured incoherently.

"Impossible, how can it be impossible? You're going to kill me!" Village Chief Zhang shook off Xu Jiahuai's arm, wiped the sweat off his face, and grabbed Hu Shikuan. "What's going on? What's going on with this guy from your village?"

The old village chief wanted to snort in front of the village head, but the village head might not be replaced yet, and they still had to make a living under him. People under the eaves had to bow their heads. The old village chief retracted the snort on the tip of his tongue and said, "Even if we learned the rice planting method outside, we don't know it. The county magistrate has seen a lot and may have heard of it."

The old village chief looked at Xu Jiahuai again and winked at Zhang Lizheng, and everything was said without words.

Go settle accounts with whoever asked you to get involved in this mess.

So what if they are golden nuggets? They are not as delicious as tofu and do not require much chewing.

The old village chief smiled and took two trembling steps forward.

Li Baisong was pointing at the rice fields and introducing them to Deng Wenyan. "Look, sir. These are the rice seedlings we've just planted. We raised them in dry land ahead of time. This way, the rice seeds are less likely to be eaten by birds, and the germination rate is better. I heard that some people out there plant rice this way."

Deng Wenyan nodded, "It's true that some places raise seedlings this way before planting, but this method hasn't become widespread yet and has some problems and shortcomings."

"Sir, we have a large family. At this rate, we should be able to finish planting all the rice paddies by tomorrow. In this way, we won't miss the farming season, right?"

Xu Jiahuai and Zhang Lizheng swallowed nervously together, then heard Deng Wenyan utter two words faintly, "Not counted."

"Sir, our land has been fully planted. Three acres are planted with vegetables, and four acres are sown with wheat seeds. We are thinking that if the new method outside can produce more food, we can increase our income and benefit the whole village at the same time. If not, the vegetables and wheat seeds can also provide food for this year. We can do some small business on weekdays, so that we will not be late when the autumn tax comes. We have considered all aspects."

"Sir, please look at our rice paddy. During the seedling raising season, my family has already harrowed the fields four times and spread manure twice in advance. This is proof of our love for the land. The land is the foundation of the people. Our ancestors have all been honest farmers. The land is more important than our lives. Even if we become wealthy in the future, we will work there ourselves and live up to the land that has nurtured us."

Deng Wenyan then grabbed a handful of mud from the rice field. He couldn't tell the difference before, but in recent months he has visited some villages, especially the bad ones, so he can still tell the good from the bad.

This rice field has indeed been carefully maintained as Li Baisong said.

Changquan took out a clean handkerchief and Deng Wenyan took it and wiped his hands.

Li Laoer, who was about to find water for the county magistrate, silently stood back in the Li family team.

Yuan helped her husband and told him not to cause trouble in front of the county magistrate. Even if he wanted to file a complaint, he should wait until the county magistrate said that their family was fine.

Li Lao Er, who understood half of Yuan's meaning: "..."

"Take me to see your rice nursery." Deng Wenyan said.

Li Baisong had no choice but to continue leading the way.

They soon arrived at the bamboo garden. On the way, they passed by their two vegetable plots and one wheat field, and Li Baisong pointed at them.

The vegetable fields are neatly planted in rows, the seedlings are lush green, and there is not a single weed. It is just as Li Baisong said, it was grown with great care.

The wheat seedlings looked like newly grown grass, but Deng Wenyan had not yet learned to distinguish them, so he called the clerk in charge of farm affairs and nodded after getting a positive answer.

The further he followed, the more sweat appeared on Xu Jiahuai's forehead. Several times he tried to find an opportunity to speak, but was blocked.

"Sir, please look, this is our rice nursery."

Deng Wenyan squatted down and pinched the soil with his hands. The soil was very fine.

Looking more closely at the seedlings, they all seem to be growing well.

“Why did you make a bamboo fence specifically?”

Li Baisong took a step back, and Qin Fangci stepped forward. "My Lord, the bamboo fence is to prevent wind. When we were growing rice seedlings, the weather was still cold, so we used thatch to keep the rice seeds warm. We carefully checked the condition of the rice seeds every day..."

Qin Fangci explained very carefully. After talking about protecting the seedlings and germinating them, she went back to talk about breaking up the soil, applying fertilizer and preventing insects.

"Fertilizer should be spread in advance to prevent burning of seedlings. We also fertilize our rice fields in advance. Only when the soil is fertile can the crops grow well. Unfortunately, we don't have enough fertilizer at home. I wonder if you know any way to compost it? Scholars are not ashamed to ask questions, and I, an old woman, am not afraid of shame and love to ask more questions. Please don't blame me, sir."

The people following behind: "..."

You are really shameless. Have you ever seen a village woman chasing the county magistrate to ask how to make compost?

Is that reasonable?