Hearing their doubts, Jiang Yimian remained calm and composed, without the slightest panic. She simply smiled and said, "Who said there are no people in the village who know about medicinal herbs? Coincidentally, I learned a little medicine from my grandfather and am quite familiar with medicinal herbs. You don't need to worry about that."
As for negotiating the price of medicinal herbs with Huichuntang, I will have the village chief lead a team then, so you can rest assured.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Wulai's mother and Chen Guixiang were both stunned, and the words they had prepared were nowhere to be uttered.
Just as the two were about to continue their unreasonable argument, they heard Li Yishi say coldly, "Jiang Yatou has made everything clear. She did this entirely because the villagers were struggling and she wanted to help them. She had no intention of making money off them."
Think about it honestly. Does Jiang girl need to cheat people out of money when she runs a workshop?
"Anyone else have any questions? Go ahead and ask. Jiang and I will answer them all. As for those who want to muddy the waters or cause trouble, get lost. Don't even think about getting involved in planting medicinal herbs."
The village chief's words were stern, silencing those in the crowd who shared Chen Guixiang's thoughts.
A young woman hesitated for a moment before quickly asking, "Jiang girl, village chief, can you guarantee the harvest of medicinal herbs planted in that wasteland?"
What if the harvest is as bad as before, wouldn't that mean all the villagers' efforts have been wasted?
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the two people standing in the center.
Jiang Yimian simply said, "Don't worry, I won't let everyone's efforts go to waste. We're sure to have a good harvest."
After clearing the more than 100 acres of land, she would have everyone do some more work, at least to pick out the stones and then spread fertile soil and manure from the mountains on top.
Doing these basic things can improve the barrenness of a lot of land.
Astragalus and Codonopsis are not very demanding in terms of soil quality, which is enough to ensure a good harvest.
Seeing that Jiang Yimian's tone was serious and not joking, those who were originally worried slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Li Yishi quickly said, "Those who want to plant medicinal herbs should register with Dazhu, and those who don't plan to plant them can go back."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Zhangshi hurriedly asked, "Village chief, when will my family start planting?"
Since it was Jiang Yatou's idea, she had to support it. Besides, it seemed to be a good thing for them, so there was no reason to refuse.
When Wen saw that Xiao Zhangshi agreed, her previously hesitant expression instantly turned anxious, and she quickly raised her hand and said, "Village Chief, my family will also grow it."
Although she had some doubts, it was Jiang Yatou's idea after all, and she believed that she would definitely be able to get some copper coins in the future.
Even if she didn't get a share, she might still be able to curry favor with Jiang Yatou so that the other party would think of her if there were any money-making opportunities.
After two families raised their hands, most people gradually agreed, and in the end, except for Chen Guixiang and Zhang Wulai's families, the whole village agreed to clear the land and plant medicinal herbs.
Seeing that everyone agreed, Chen Guixiang was even more furious. She glared at Jiang Yimian and said a few more sarcastic remarks before leaving.
She refused to believe it. If the wasteland that had been cleared before couldn't grow any crops, surely changing the medicinal herbs wouldn't make it grow. These people should just wait and see what happens.
Zhang Wulai's mother shared the same idea. However, she disagreed with planting medicinal herbs. Besides not being selected by Jiang Yimian for the workshop at first, the biggest reason was that she didn't want to contribute money or effort; she only wanted to get a share of the profits in the end.
Unfortunately, the village chief had said from the beginning that the money would be divided according to the amount of labor contributed, so she wouldn't get much. She muttered a few curses under her breath before leaving.
Deep down, I only had a dark hope that nothing could grow in the wasteland.
The others didn't have a good impression of the two, and seeing them leave didn't shake their decision; instead, they became even more enthusiastic.
Li Yishi hurriedly told everyone to register with Li Dazhu, ask about the labor force each family could provide, and also mentioned the matter of buying seeds.
Although everyone didn't have much money, they gave what they could. Many who couldn't afford even a penny simply put all the able-bodied people in their households into the list of those who could help with the land reclamation.
In less than an hour, the land reclamation project, which had not been well-received by everyone, was perfectly resolved. The village chief arranged for the people to go and reclaim the land, and then told everyone to go back and have dinner.
Jiang Yimian was also planning to go back, but the village chief stopped her.
"Jiang girl, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Come to my house to eat, and we can discuss buying seeds after we finish eating," Li Yishi said with a smile. With the heavy burden on his shoulders lifted, he felt much lighter.
Jiang Yimian simply waved her hand and said with a smile, "I've already eaten. Let's see how many copper coins we've collected first."
As he spoke, he walked straight toward Li Dazhu.
Seeing the two approach, Li Dazhu quickly handed over the money bag and register beside him, saying with some concern, "There are only about thirty households in the village, and they only managed to scrape together a little over nine hundred coins, which is about one tael of silver. That probably isn't enough to buy seeds."
Although everyone in the village had tried their best to contribute, a mere tael of silver was simply not enough to buy seeds for more than a hundred acres of land.
Not to mention the manure needed for the more than 100 mu of land. After spreading the manure in the village on their own fields and improving the more than 100 mu of wasteland, there is basically not much manure left. They will have to search for fertilizer from other villages for the subsequent benefits.
It's not too expensive, but it's still a sum of money.
Jiang Yimian glanced at the copper coins piled up in the wooden bucket and was about to speak when Li Yishi said, "I can take out three taels of silver. With this one tael, it should be enough to buy seeds and the manure needed later."
As he spoke, he took out three taels of silver from his pocket and placed them on the table.
Jiang Yimian was taken aback, somewhat surprised.
She never expected that the village chief would actually take out three taels of silver to buy medicinal herb seeds for the village.
If at first she only thought Li Yishi was a responsible and good village chief, now she sees him as someone who is wholeheartedly for the good of the village and willing to sacrifice himself.
Three taels of silver was enough for a family of three in a village to live on for three years by saving every penny. It was also the kind of silver that could be saved up over two or three years, or even several years, by scrimping and saving.
But the other party just took it out so casually, without any hesitation.
After the initial surprise, Li Dazhu was overjoyed and showed no reluctance whatsoever.
“Hey, Dad, where did you get the money? Why didn’t you say so earlier? I was worried we wouldn’t even have enough to buy seeds! Now that’s great, with this nearly four taels of silver, we have enough for seeds and manure.”
He picked up the loose silver on the table and quickly threw it into the wooden bucket next to him that held copper coins.
Jiang Yimian asked, "Won't it be registered in the register?"
Li Dazhu paused and looked at Li Yishi.
Li Yishi just smiled and scratched his head before saying, "No need to register. This money was given to me by Cijian and you."
It had been sitting untouched in my purse, waiting to be used for the villagers, and now it's finally come in handy.
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