Chapter 520 This is Dahe Town
Once the seventh day of the Lunar New Year is over, the villagers get busy with their own things: some go to work, some go to the fields, and some receive tourists.
At the beginning of the first lunar month, the plum blossoms were in full bloom. Light snowflakes fell on the red plum blossoms, making them exceptionally beautiful. This attracted many literati and scholars from the city. These people came not only to admire the flowers, but also to visit the Dahe Academy and pay their respects to Headmaster Yu. Nowadays, everyone no longer calls him Master Yu, but respectfully addresses him as Headmaster Yu.
Under the leadership of Headmaster Yu, the newly built school gradually got on track.
Looking at the school rising from the ground in the distance, Cheng Wanwan thought of Tiezhu, the most literate person in Dahe Village, and the four children who couldn't even do addition within ten two years ago... She thought of all the hardships she had gone through, and her heart felt filled with something indescribable.
"Mom, what are you looking at!"
When Zhao Dashan returned from the fields, he saw Cheng Wanwan standing at the door, looking at something. He asked her curiously.
Cheng Wanwan looked away: "I wasn't looking at anything. How's the wheat growing in the field?"
"The snowfall this winter wasn't too heavy or too light, and the winter wheat is growing exceptionally well," Zhao Dashan said with a smile. "I've asked the farmhands to come and plow the fields in a few days when it gets warmer, in preparation for spring planting. Mother, we have several hundred acres of land, but only five acres are paddy fields. I'm thinking of converting fifty acres of paddy fields this year."
For farmers, the most important thing is food. It would be a real waste not to use so much land to grow rice.
He paused, then continued, "Ten farmhands are still too few; we need to hire at least ten more this year."
He was usually a man of few words, but when it came to matters in the fields, he became very knowledgeable and eloquent.
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "Just do it your way. This year, we'll still plant 200 mu of cotton, and we also need to plant some chili peppers. The Daheyan Restaurant needs them. You can do whatever you want with the remaining few hundred mu of land."
Zhao Dashan seemed to have a plan in mind: "Our family has more than ten acres of low-grade land. I've tried a lot of effort to compost it, but it's not working. I want to fence off this land and raise chickens there. Then, when we open another branch of Daheyan Restaurant, we won't need to buy chickens from other places."
"Since we're raising more chickens, we should also raise more ducks and geese," Cheng Wanwan said thoughtfully. "If we don't have enough land, we can buy some more..."
"That's enough!" Zhao Dashan scratched the back of his head. "Any more and we really won't be able to handle it all."
Cheng Wanwan chuckled. Their family owned nearly a thousand acres of land, which was indeed too much. Dashan was already busy managing it, and if they had any more, they would have to hire people to help manage it.
The mother and son were talking at the door of their house and were about to go inside when they saw several horse-drawn carriages appear on the village road.
Nowadays, the village's commercial tourism industry is gradually developing, so it is not unusual for horse-drawn carriages to come. However, everyone recognizes these carriages; they belong to the Shen family. In other words, it is Magistrate Shen who has arrived. Moreover, Magistrate Shen is followed by a motorcade, making it quite a grand affair.
The carriage stopped in front of Cheng Wanwan's house.
Cheng Wanwan stood at the bottom of the steps, greeting him with a smile: "What brings Lord Shen to Dahe Village today?"
Magistrate Shen alighted from his carriage, followed by several other carriages carrying five or six men in their thirties. The group walked straight toward them.
"I've met people from Sui'an!"
A group of people bowed in unison.
Cheng Wanwan raised her hand to help everyone up, paused for a moment, and said, "You all must have come about the cotton matter, right?"
The messenger who delivered the imperial edict before the New Year said that the court would send people to study cotton cultivation in the spring, and only after the study would a decision be made on whether to promote it nationwide.
"This is Commandant Zou, the Agricultural Commandant," Magistrate Shen introduced. "The others are Commandant Li, the Canal Plowing Official, and Commandant Yu, the Water Conservancy Commissioner..."
The Agricultural Commandant was a seventh-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of agricultural affairs. Officials such as the Canal Plowing Field Official and the Water Conservancy Chief were eighth- or ninth-rank officials under the Agricultural Commandant. They were all officials appointed for agricultural production in the Great Yu Dynasty and dealt directly with farmland and agricultural affairs. Although they were officials, they were not unfamiliar with agricultural production and were very down-to-earth.
"You've all come from afar, thank you for your hard work." Cheng Wanwan stepped aside. "Please come in first, have some tea and something to eat, and then we can talk business."
Commandant Zou coughed and said, "People of Sui'an, may we take a walk around the village first?"
They had heard of Dahe Village in the capital, but always thought the people were exaggerating. However, as soon as they entered the village, they realized that the rumors were not unfounded. This village was larger than any village they had ever seen... Size was secondary; the main thing was that it was very orderly. The fields were square, and the people worked in an orderly manner, without a trace of chaos.
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "Dashan, you are the host, please show us around. I'll go inside and prepare the meal."
Zhao Dashan immediately put down his farm tools and looked at the guests who had come from afar: "Gentlemen, this way please. Let's go and take a look at the wheat field first."
Barley can also be grown in the north, but the adults weren't very interested. Halfway there, they saw plum blossoms in full bloom in a flower garden and were drawn in. Once inside, they discovered that the flower garden had not only plum blossoms, but also chrysanthemums, peaches, jasmine, and flowers of every season, making it a picturesque scene all year round.
The flower garden was bustling with visitors, admiring the flowers, reciting poems, and enjoying the flowing water.
Lord Zou was extremely surprised. This did not resemble a lowly village at all; rather, it looked like a manor.
After leaving the flower nursery, we strolled around and finally headed to the market. The market had been developing for a whole year and was quite mature. A small section of the original street had been replaced by three new sections. Visually, the market didn't seem small at all, and it was bustling with people coming and going.
“Lord Shen, this is no ordinary village, it’s practically a town!” Lord Zou exclaimed. “If this market develops for another year, it will probably be even more bustling than Ping’an County.”
Magistrate Shen said, "I have discussed this matter with the Prefect. We will find an opportunity to merge Dahe Village with several nearby villages and directly change the village into a town. However, this involves a lot of work and cannot be done in a short time. We need to take it slowly."
The group walked around the village before returning to Anren's residence.
Zhao Dashan led the people into the flower hall, asked Granny Qi to serve tea, and quickly brought out snacks and fruits as well.
"Huh, what is this?"
Lord Yu took a sip of tea and suddenly noticed a red, pointed object hanging under the eaves. As an agricultural official whose job was to study various crop seeds, he was curious about something he had never seen before and immediately went over to it, picked it up and smelled it. The next moment, he sneezed violently.
"This is chili pepper," Zhao Dashan hurriedly said. "Lord Yu, please don't rub your eyes with the hand that touched the chili pepper. Go and wash it immediately."
Lord Zou asked in surprise, "What is chili pepper?"
“It’s a seasoning,” Zhao Dashan explained. “I heard that this chili pepper is a southern crop, but people there usually keep it as an ornamental plant in their homes. When my mother heard about it, she planted some, and she never expected that the fruit could be used as a seasoning. It’s spicier than dogwood and more suitable for cooking.”
Lord Zou sighed again: "Cotton is an ornamental plant in the south, called 'white cotton' by southerners. It was discovered by the people of Sui'an and then became known to the public. Now, chili peppers are also an ornamental plant in the south... What are the Grand Ministers of Agriculture of the southern provinces doing? How can they be so wasteful of such resources?"
Cheng Wanwan, who had just come from the backyard, couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
This can't be blamed on the Southern Grand Minister of Agriculture; it can only be blamed on the fact that she has a modern soul deep down.
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