A gentle breeze and pleasant weather.
After a satisfying meal, the sunlight overhead made me feel a little drowsy.
Fortunately, the occasional spring breeze carries the fragrance of wild grasses and flowers, preventing one from becoming drowsy.
Both of them were in good spirits, chatting about what they had just seen and heard, and strolling through this rural village had its own unique charm.
"You didn't see it today. How many ladies were rushing to place orders? If they were willing to open shops in the county, they might attract people from the prefectural city as well."
Madam Lin kept praising it, still amazed when she recalled the hairpin she had seen earlier.
Lin Pei's expression was gentle, and his eyes were full of tenderness as he looked at his wife.
"If that's what you're saying, Madam, it must be truly amazing. Have you placed an order yet? If not, I'll definitely order some for you."
Madam Lin chuckled. If a county magistrate like him were to place the order, wouldn't he become a laughingstock?
"It's booked."
"Xu Ming also sent some white jade cake for us to try. I knew as soon as I tasted it that my wife would like it. Unfortunately, his family said that white jade cake is very troublesome to make, so they are not planning to open a shop for the time being."
Lin Pei was quite disappointed, as the white jade cake was indeed extremely delicious.
"As for the tea, you can buy some milk and try making it a few times. It tastes better than the perilla tea."
"Mmm, it smells wonderful, with the sweetness of tea and the rich aroma of milk."
"The Li family is indeed remarkable, very ingenious. Just think about it, so many novel things have come from the Li family recently."
Tofu, kang (a type of heated brick bed), bean sprouts, nowadays tea drinks, white jade cake, and then there are tofu workshops and tofu banquets, along with the hairpins his wife mentioned.
Each and every one of these events demonstrates the Li family's uniqueness.
Lin Pei wasn't unaware of the situation, but the Li family was currently more of a benefit than a drawback to him. Moreover, no matter how much trouble the Li family caused, they couldn't really cause any real harm, so he chose to selectively ignore it. If it posed a threat to the imperial court or even Shao County, Lin Pei could easily destroy everything the Li family owned.
Class is an insurmountable chasm; those who cannot cross it must be used by it.
Lin Pei was still lost in his thoughts when he was suddenly pulled back to reality by a few exclamations.
"What are you yelling about!"
The exclamation came from several guards behind him. Lin Pei was annoyed, turned his head, and froze.
A county magistrate is appointed to govern households with more than 10,000 households. His duties include maintaining local stability and ensuring the peace and tranquility of the people in Shao County.
He had to handle everything from judging cases and collecting taxes to agriculture and educating the local people. He was not someone who would sit idly by and do nothing. Therefore, he knew very well how different this farmland was!
"Whose farmland is this? Go and fetch the person here immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
Lin Pei was overwhelmed with excitement. What was this? A treasure!
At this moment, Lin Pei could see nothing but the thriving rice seedlings in front of him. At the same time, he had a vague premonition that this might be related to the Li family.
Soon, a man was brought to the edge of the field, and Lin Pei's suspicions came true; he was indeed a member of the Li family.
When Li Xuhai heard someone asking about the rice, he thought something had happened to it, so he hurriedly ran over with the guards. Fortunately, at first glance, the rice looked quite good.
"I am Li Xuhai, and I greet Your Excellency, the County Magistrate."
"Please get up. Is this farmland yours?"
While the guards went to fetch someone, Lin Pei had already inspected the nearby paddy fields, and unsurprisingly, they were all rice seedlings with ears of grain. It was truly strange.
The planted rice seedlings are also very beautiful, arranged neatly in rows and columns, with some fish swimming among them underwater, looking quite content.
"Your Excellency, these are farmlands that were jointly developed by our Li family members."
"So, this rice was indeed planted by you?"
"That's right, sir."
"How did you plant them? They've already started to head at this time of year!"
Lin Pei was already impatient. It's no wonder he was in such a hurry. You see, if they could harvest the grain early, they might be able to save time to plant again. After all, other people's seedlings are still just saplings.
"To be honest, sir, we bred rice seeds before planting them. Do you know what sprouts are?"
"Bean sprouts? Yes, yes! Bean sprouts, I never thought of that."
Lin Pei felt a little regretful, but mostly excited.
Soybeans can sprout earlier in warm places. If rice seeds can sprout earlier and then be planted, wouldn't that be twice as effective?
"You are very good, the Li family is very good, this matter is of great significance to our dynasty."
"My lord, please don't be impatient. Our Li family is also experimenting with breeding. We should wait until we have a harvest before discussing anything else. If we start breeding prematurely, it will affect the harvest, which would be doing more harm than good."
"You are right."
"Nowadays, some families in our village have also started breeding rice varieties like us. Please wait, adults. If our Li family can harvest early without affecting the overall yield, the clan will definitely report it to the county magistrate."
"Alright, go ahead and try. If you need any help, just let me know!"
Lin Pei made a bold claim: if the Li family succeeded, he, as the magistrate of Shao County, would reap the greatest benefits, which would be entirely advantageous to his official career.
"Thank you, sir!"
Li Xuhai was also very happy, as this meant he had been given a clear path in front of the boss.
"These rice seedlings are growing so uniformly. Were they planted in this pattern after breeding, or were they transplanted later? And why were they planted this way?"
Lin Pei turned into a walking encyclopedia of questions, constantly throwing out inquiries. Fortunately, Li Xuhai was already used to explaining things to the villagers, and now he could answer these questions with ease.
"Sir, after the rice seed breeding is successful, we first spread it in the field. The germination rate of the bred seeds is indeed much higher than that of the previous methods. Let them grow slowly in the ground. When the seedlings grow to about three inches, we can choose a sunny day to transplant them."
There are several reasons why the rice seedlings were transplanted this way: firstly, to give them enough space to grow, and secondly, to make it easier for them to absorb nutrients…
Lin Pei nodded repeatedly, his smile never fading. He felt he hadn't met the Li family sooner, but if he had, the Li family might not have needed to farm.
Everything has a reason; let nature take its course.
"I just saw fish in these few acres of fields, but not in another acre. Is there any explanation for this?"
"Your Excellency, because we haven't piled up enough fertilizer, the clan is thinking that if we could raise some fish in it, the fish excrement would be a natural source of nutrients."
"I see. Your Li family is truly remarkable; you even came up with this method."
"You flatter me, sir. It's just a matter of pooling our wisdom and efforts. Anyway, this planting method is just an experiment, so let's give it a try."
"Very good, keep it up. If you have any questions about the fields, feel free to come to me anytime. When it's time to harvest the crops, please let me know, and I'll definitely come to see it in person!"
The harvest is still a long way off, but Lin Pei is already impatient.
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