Many people were grateful to Su Tai. If Su Tai hadn't suggested that everyone grow crops, they would probably be panicking by now.
Although the grain output this year is not high, it is still a bumper harvest compared to previous years. Even if the grain tax is increased, the remaining grain is enough for them to eat comfortably for a whole year with some surplus.
During the autumn harvest, the weather remained gloomy for another half a month, with a tendency to cool down early.
The villagers rushed to harvest the crops, as if they had gone back to the days when they could not get enough food.
Dong Feng came to help Shen Ying's family harvest, and mentioned the situation in Shenjiazhuang. "Uncle Wei's apples have borne fruit, but they are small, sour, and hard. They are not tasty at all. Uncle, do you think we can really make money by growing fruits?"
He had never eaten strawberry watermelon before, and no matter how good the description from others was, it was not as good as seeing it with his own eyes. Now that he had tasted the ringo himself, he was speechless.
Shen Ying took the time out of his busy schedule to look up, and couldn't help but feel confused, "How could this happen? Xiaotai clearly said that apples are fragrant, sweet, and crisp. Did they fail to grow them? I'll go ask them later."
This so-called moment was postponed until the end of the autumn harvest.
Su Tai was just settling the bill with Huang Xinghua and the others when the village chief came in happily.
Everyone hurried to greet him.
Shen Ying sat happily beside and watched Su Tai settle the bill and pay the money, without saying a word.
After Su Tai finished her work, he praised her, "In my entire life, I have never seen anyone who is more accurate in accounting than you. From now on, you will be the accountant of our village!"
"Hahahaha" Huang Xinghua and others were in a good mood after receiving the money and laughed out loud.
Su Tai was very embarrassed, "Village Chief, please stop teasing me. This is not a skill at all!"
Shen Ying said seriously, "Who said this is not a skill? Go to the town and look at the accountants. They are all over 30 years old. They have thinning hair and look serious. They are slow and procrastinating in calculating accounts. I asked the shopkeeper in the town, and he said that the accountants always calculate the accounts of the first day on the second day. It often takes most of the day, and sometimes they still don't match. Everyone is in the same situation, even the county government office is no exception."
"Village chief, stop bragging! The tax officials in the county government must be really capable, otherwise how could the county magistrate take a fancy to them!" Qian, Cao's daughter-in-law, didn't believe anything he said.
Shen Ying was anxious. "Why would an old man like me deceive you about this matter at such an old age? I don't even want to say that the officials who came to collect grain this year didn't even know how to calculate the quantity. They took seven days to complete a task that could have been completed in four days, and finally managed to get by.
I wonder how they will report to the county magistrate when they return!"
Shen Ying felt depressed when talking about this. Although taxes increased last year, it was not much. He had not realized that those officials were so bad at calculating. This year, the tax changes were a bit bigger, and they were exposed all at once.
Of course, these were what he saw and heard from the town officials. He had not originally intended to mention them, but it just happened that he happened to catch up with them!
The Qian family members were stunned when they heard this. They turned around and looked at Su Tai, showing her respect. "Xiao Tai, you are really amazing! If I can't settle the accounts in the future, I will definitely come to you."
"Yes, yes, that's right, it's the same in my family!" Huang Xinghua quickly agreed.
Su Tai: “.”
Worried that if she continued, they would have to ask her to take charge of the household, Su Tai quickly changed the subject, "Village Chief, what do you want me to do?"
Huang Xinghua knew at a glance that the village chief had something to do, so she tactfully led the others away.
Seeing the people leaving, Shen Ying asked anxiously, "Do you know about the fruit of the apple? Dongfeng came from Liujiazhuang and said that the apples were small, hard, and very sour, and not delicious at all. Do you think they were cheated?"
If that were the case, things would not end well.
Su Tai also found it strange, and asked Shen Ying to bring a few for her to see.
After seeing the fruit, Su Tai was a little confused, "Village Chief, this apple is not ripe yet!"
"That's not right! Dongfeng said some fruits have rotted in the ground." Shen Ying was confused.
At this time, Ma Xingteng and Bai suddenly came to visit anxiously. Seeing the apples on the table, the couple asked anxiously without bothering to greet each other: "Mrs. Shen, do you know what's wrong with the apples? Everyone's fruits are like this, which is completely different from what my father said. I asked my father, and he insisted that they were apples. What's the problem?"
Seeing Ma Xingteng's anxious look, Su Tai felt a little sympathetic towards him, "Master Ma, this is indeed a crabapple tree. Mr. Ma did not lie. I suspect that we have not taken good care of the fruit trees in the past two years and have allowed them to grow like wild fruits, resulting in insufficient fertility of the fruit trees.
Secondly, the climate this year is really bad. There are not many sunny days throughout the year, and the fruits have no sunlight. To make matters worse, there are signs of winter coming early. I am afraid that the fruit trees will sense the weather changes and cause the fruits to fall prematurely.
Of course, these are just my guesses. The specific reasons are not clear. You should explain it this way first and see what the climate is like next year. In addition, you should take good care of the fruit trees and see what the difference is between the fruits of the apple trees that have been taken care of and those that have not been taken care of. Only then will it be convincing. "
After this reminder, Ma Xingteng's mind became much clearer and he hurried to express his gratitude.
Mrs. Bai came forward and took Su Tai's hand affectionately, saying nice things all the time, "Sister is really smart. My husband and I don't know anything about farming, and now my father-in-law doesn't care about anything. He doesn't know anything when asked. We are really worried!"
"Mr. Ma hasn't recovered yet?" Su Tai asked with a raised eyebrow.
Mrs. Bai sighed and shook her head. "My brother-in-law has a knot in his heart after losing his father-in-law. I'm afraid he might be angry with us. But it doesn't matter. Anyway, my father-in-law can only rely on us now. Let him think whatever he wants. It's hard to explain to my mother's family."
Su Tai was a little surprised, "What do you mean?"
Bai now had a very good impression of Su Tai and wanted to make friends with her, so she told her the situation, "Outsiders envy me because I come from a wealthy family, but only I know the pain behind it.
After all, I was not born by my stepmother, so I have lived cautiously since I was a child. Fortunately, my father took care of me because of his relationship with my aunt, otherwise my life in the Bai Mansion would have been even more difficult.
For a marriage like the one with the Ma family, my aunt and I had to plan for a long time before my father agreed.
My father didn't let me marry into the Ma family to enjoy a good life. He hoped to expand the business to all parts of Lizhou, or get some benefits from my husband's family. We haven't brought any benefits to my mother's family over the years.
My father's attitude towards me is not as good as before. Since he knew that our family planted a lot of apples, my father came here for the first time ever, just to inquire about apples.
Now my father is waiting for news from us. If the ringola really bears delicious fruits, my father will definitely find my husband to discuss the sale. It may not be a good thing for us, but my husband's status in my father's heart will definitely rise.
In the future, I will be able to speak up for myself in front of my father, and even my stepmother will be more polite to me. If Ringo's business fails, my mother's family will probably laugh at me to death, and I'm afraid my father won't even let me in." (End of this chapter)
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