Chapter 338: Ning Leshu Returns Home, the Crown Prince's Concubine Bribes the Servants
"My Lords, why don't we talk while we walk? Most of the land in Yingfeng Village is planted with potatoes this season."
Chen Jie smiled confidently. If you asked him about these things in the fields, he would know them all.
"Okay."
Shi Haoyan nodded. They came here just to see it with their own eyes.
"This way, please, my lords."
Chen Jie smiled respectfully, but neither servile nor overbearing, and talked about the potatoes in Yingfeng Village as they walked.
Yingfeng Village planted nearly 600 acres of potatoes in the past two seasons.
The reason for so many potatoes is that, firstly, almost all the villagers have replaced their crops with potatoes, and secondly, it happened to be the time for the resettlement of disaster victims, and every household of the new victims also planted several acres of crops.
"However, only a little over 300 acres were planted at the end of August or early September, so they can be dug up by the end of the year."
"Of course, some people plan to dig again after the New Year, hoping that it will grow bigger."
"The remaining two to three hundred mu will have to wait until the end of February or early March, when it will be just in time for rice planting."
"Although potatoes have a high yield, people still prefer to eat white rice. There's no need to eat potatoes every meal, right?"
He thought that the two men were simply here to investigate, and didn't know that the imperial court had already set its sights on potatoes and wanted to use them as military rations.
Shi Haoyan and the other person looked at each other from time to time. Chen Jie's statement matched Ning Yuanze's, so it seemed that Ning Yuanze did not lie.
"Then in your opinion, if we harvest at the end of the year, what is the yield per mu?" Shi Haoyan asked casually.
Chen Jie thought for a moment before saying, "I estimate it will be at most 6,000 kilograms. If we wait until after the New Year to harvest, we might be able to get 6,500 kilograms."
They both showed joy. One acre can produce 500 more catties. Wouldn't 300 acres mean 150,000 more catties?
Shi Haoyan hurriedly said, "You must wait until after the New Year to dig. No, you must wait until the court sends people over again."
"Why is that?"
Chen Jie was puzzled. It was just to harvest potatoes, so why did the court send people over?
Xiao Ying smiled and reminded: "We should just do what the adults say."
"Yes, yes, I spoke too much."
Chen Jie's heart shuddered, and he finally realized that something was wrong. He didn't dare to ask any more questions and became more cautious.
When passing by a few acres of fields, Xiao Ying suggested digging out one or two plants to take a look.
Shi Haoyan and the other man naturally had no objection, as they really wanted to see with their own eyes how potatoes grew.
However, after watching it, he buried most of the potatoes again and only picked up a few potatoes that were accidentally dropped, intending to take them home to cook dinner.
After seeing it with their own eyes, the two of them felt relieved.
These potatoes are big and firm, no wonder the yield per mu is so high, they are really treasures!
It was not until the hour of You that Ning Yuanze brought two officials back to the county, and Chen Jie immediately went to find Xiao Ying.
"Madam Xiao, why did the court suddenly send someone to check on the potatoes? Could something have happened?"
"The Jing Kingdom in the north was invaded, and the court may be short of food, so they thought of potatoes."
Xiao Ying did not hide it from him. This matter would soon spread throughout Yue Country, so it would be better to let Chen Jie have some idea about it.
"What? The traitors from Jing State have invaded?!"
Chen Jie suddenly exclaimed, his face changed, and he couldn't believe it.
He did not ask how Xiao Ying knew it. Madam Xiao was very powerful and must have her own way.
He was just anxious in his heart. Would the invasion of Jing State affect Yingfeng Village?
Fortunately, Xiao Ying quickly reassured him.
"Well, but don't worry too much. We are far away from the north and will not be affected at the moment."
"But the potatoes from these past two seasons will definitely not sell for a good price. I think they will be requisitioned as military rations."
Chen Jie relaxed a lot and breathed a sigh of relief.
"It's good that we are not affected by the war. As for potatoes, we can still grow them and sell them later."
Xiao Ying smiled approvingly: "I'm glad you think so. You'll need to come forward to appease the villagers when the time comes. I hope everyone can understand."
Chen Jie said sternly, "Don't worry, Madam Xiao. This is all for our Yue Nation. Everyone will understand. If the soldiers at the border have no food, how can they protect the people?"
"Even if it's free, I believe everyone won't complain."
A look of relief flashed across Xiao Ying's face. The people's awareness was probably even higher than she had imagined.
"But it's not free, but the price will definitely not be high."
Chen Jie smiled and said, "And we can make money? Then everyone will definitely have no complaints."
Xiao Ying thought to himself that the emperor was not so poor as to resort to robbing, and that he would definitely give them the money. This could be considered as doing business with the imperial court.
At this moment, she couldn't help but think of Ning Leshu, and wondered if her mother had returned home.
If they knew that war had broken out again in the north, they would definitely be worried.
Ning Leshu, whom she was talking about, returned to Shangjing two days later.
The journey was tiring, and the weather was freezing cold, so it was really hard.
Fortunately, Ning Leshu had been well taken care of by her some time ago, and she also carried a bottle of Peiyuan Dan. Whenever he felt unwell, he would take one and he would recover quickly.
Before arriving in Shangjing, the aunt and nephew's convoys separated. Ning Yuanchen went ahead, while Ning Leshu went to the farm and returned to the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion the next day.
On the night Ning Leshu arrived at Zhuangzi, Crown Princess Xu Xuan received the news, which was both unexpected and not so unexpected.
"Oh, she finally decided to come back. It's almost Chinese New Year. She's quite comfortable being a mother-in-law, not asking about anything."
Xu Xuan snorted lightly. She hasn't been very happy lately.
Because she had not received a reply from Wang Gui since the last letter, she couldn't help but have a bad feeling.
Now that Ning Leshu has returned, she has not received Wang Gui's letter yet. She doesn't know what her good mother-in-law did in Yun'an County, which makes her a little uneasy.
"Mammy, do you think Wang Gui will be safe?"
She frowned slightly. This was not the first time she had such thoughts recently.
The nanny consoled him, "Perhaps he was delayed by something and didn't have time to write the letter, or perhaps something happened to the people at the post station and they didn't deliver the letter in time. Madam, please don't overthink it."
Xu Xuan said unhappily, "Humph, I praised him for his ability to do things before, but I didn't expect him to disappoint me so much this time. You don't need to reuse him when he comes back."
"Madam, calm down. There's no need to get so upset over a servant that you ruin your health."
The nanny mourned for Wang Gui in her heart, but Wang Gui did something wrong this time, so she couldn't say anything.
Xu Xuan calmed down a little after hearing this, and then an idea came to her mind, and a happy arc appeared at the corner of her lips.
"I'm really blinded by one thing. My good mother-in-law has returned, so why am I still waiting for Wang Gui's letter?"
"What does Madam mean?" The nanny's heart moved.
Xu Xuan smiled and said, "The old lady brought quite a few servants with her to Yun'an County this time, right? I don't believe they're all so tight-lipped."
"Pick someone who is easy to bribe and pry their mouths open!"
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