After breakfast, Jiang Qinyu handed Shufan and Pan'er over to Uncle Chen and then went out with Lu Yanzheng.

It takes about 45 minutes to get from the general's mansion to the military camp, but this time Lu Yanzheng did not take Jiang Qinyu to the military camp. Instead, he went to the wasteland that the military camp had reclaimed.

As Lu Yanzheng drove, he told Jiang Qinyu about the specific situation in the border town.

"Most of the people in the border town today are family members of soldiers. In the past, when the drought first started three years ago, the people of the border town fled to other places or went to stay with relatives."

"Originally, the imperial court did not allow family members to accompany soldiers. It was Marshal Qin who negotiated with the late emperor to make it possible, which was considered a benefit for the soldiers."

Hearing this, Jiang Qinyu was a little puzzled, "In that case, wouldn't the imperial court lose its leverage to restrain the generals on the border?"

Lu Yanzheng sneered, "The emperor is not stupid. Ordinary soldiers' families can accompany the army, but generals of the fifth rank and above must leave their wives and children in the capital."

Marshal Qin was bound in this way and unable to move, which led to him being framed and killed.

Jiang Qinyu sighed, "Being the wife and son of a general on the frontier is truly miserable!"

She paused after speaking, her lips twitching involuntarily. It seemed, it appeared, it was as if... she was now the principal wife of the border general?

Lu Yanzheng also thought of this, chuckled, and then said, "I am different from the others. I was not sent by the court, nor was I inherited from a family. Moreover, I lost my previous memories before, and the court did not deliberately target you, so you are all safe for the time being."

"What if they suddenly remember and take my parents and me to the capital?" Jiang Qinyu felt terrible at the thought.

With the Great Yue court in such a sorry state, it's no wonder it's prone to rebellion! The capital will be the most dangerous place then; she'd have to be a fool to go there.

Lu Yanzheng shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I was appointed in a time of crisis. They may take back this title at any time, or send a new general to the border."

In fact, he felt that neither of these possibilities was very likely. After all, in the last battle, he quickly recaptured the border city that had been breached and led his troops to seize the granary of the Western Qiang. The emperor would never easily take back such merits unless he didn't want anyone to risk their lives for him.

The imperial court will not send a new general for two reasons. First, the various factions within the court are currently embroiled in disputes, and in order to maintain balance, no one dares to touch the defenses of the border city. Second, before Marshal Qin, six hereditary military generals had already sacrificed their lives, and now the military families in the capital dare not easily take over the border city.

"I see." After listening to Lu Yanzheng's analysis, Jiang Qinyu felt a little relieved, but still emphasized, "If the court wants me to go to the capital, we might as well get a divorce."

Lu Yanzheng's eyes darkened, and he tightened his grip on the riding whip. After a long while, he replied softly, "Okay."

After saying that, Jiang Qinyu realized that it was inappropriate, but she really didn't want to get involved in any court disputes. She just wanted to stay quietly in Dingshui Village and peacefully get through the famine and chaos.

As for getting rich, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

But since Lu Yanzheng had already agreed, she couldn't say anything more.

The two didn't speak again on the way, but Lu Yanzheng drove the carriage a little faster.

When they arrived at the field, Qin Shen was already there with his men, waiting for them.

"Greetings, General; greetings, Madam," Qin Shen said, bowing to the two.

Lu Yanzheng nodded and said, "No need for formalities. Is everyone here?"

“There’s one more person who hasn’t arrived yet.” Qin Shen glanced at Jiang Qinyu, looking a little embarrassed, but he still said, “That person is the most skilled farmer in the entire border town. I heard that the lady is here to teach everyone about breeding, so he…”

Jiang Qinyu raised an eyebrow, understanding now; she'd run into an old-fashioned man who looked down on women.

Lu Yanzheng frowned and said, "We're not waiting anymore. If he doesn't come, we'll find someone else to replace him."

"Yes, General." Qin Shen felt a little regretful, but he also felt that the man was ungrateful. The General had arranged this, and the Madam had come all this way to help. It would be his loss if he didn't come.

Jiang Qinyu looked around and chose an open space, inviting everyone to come over.

Qin Shen had already brought over several large bags of sweet potatoes and placed them by the edge of the field.

Jiang Qinyu said to Lu Yanzheng, "Take a few sweet potatoes, cut them into small pieces, and share them with everyone to try."

"No need, right? Wouldn't it be a waste to eat it?" Lu Yanzheng didn't quite agree.

Knowing that sweet potatoes were so productive, he only ate two or three at home and didn't dare to eat more.

Jiang Qinyu smiled and said, "It's okay, I can't eat much."

Although he didn't know what Jiang Qinyu was going to do, Lu Yanzheng still obediently took a few sweet potatoes, cut them into small pieces, and distributed them to the farmers.

"This is sweet potato, the food that everyone will be planting for the next year, or even several years. Try it first and see if it's suitable as a staple food," Jiang Qinyu said after everyone had received theirs.

These farmers are all honest and hardworking. When they heard that the general needed people who knew how to farm, they came on their own initiative. Now that they can get some grain, even if it's just a mouthful, they are happy.

Everyone carefully ate the sweet potatoes.

"Huh? This stuff is sweet?"

"It's only mildly sweet, not cloying, and tastes good!"

"I think this is fine as a staple food; eating just one small piece per meal should keep me from getting hungry..."

As they ate, the group began to discuss the matter.

Jiang Qinyu just smiled upon hearing this and did not speak.

After they finished eating, an old man hesitantly asked, "Madam, how do you use this to make seeds?"

Jiang Qinyu smiled faintly and said, "This is a good question, sir. That's why I came all the way from Yongshan County to teach you about breeding."

She picked up a sweet potato and pointed to the tiny roots on it, saying, "There are many ways to breed sweet potatoes, but we need to get to spring planting right now, so I'll teach you the hydroponic method first."

"What is hydroponics?" Qin Shen couldn't help but ask curiously.

Jiang Qinyu smiled and said, "It's just using water to cultivate seedlings."

“Qin Shen,” Lu Yanzheng glanced at him lightly, “Shut up and listen to what Madam has to say.”

This was the first time he had ever heard of such a breeding method.

Jiang Qinyu had already prepared a wooden sink and two narrow planks.

She placed a wooden board on the sink, arranged the sweet potatoes of similar size in a row, connected them with thin thread, and then used the wooden board to secure the sweet potatoes, so that each sweet potato was a certain distance from the bottom of the sink.

"After that, add an appropriate amount of water to the water tank, and spray some water on the surface of the sweet potatoes. In about seven days, the sweet potatoes will take root and sprout."

After Jiang Qinyu finished, she stood up and poured the water from her water bag into the pot. "You can see that, with ten sweet potatoes in a row like this, the amount of water used is not large. The water output of our border town's wells can temporarily meet the needs of breeding."

Lu Yanzheng frowned slightly, "After the sweet potato breeding is successful, how should it be irrigated?"

Isn't water what they lack most?