44 Chapter 44
◎Each of them sticks to their own ambitions, and is ashamed to follow the dragon and tiger in their fight◎
Cheng Wei has conducted research on alfalfa breeding in space, but her main focus is on rice and wheat. She has only conducted intermittent research on alfalfa in the past two years.
In reality, alfalfa breeding is a lengthy process, involving selecting parents, planting and observing after hybridization, screening and identification, and then growing the screened seeds. This process takes many years, and it is not yet complete; it can only be considered a cycle. It takes at least three or four cycles for a new quality to emerge.
Ever since the horse farm started causing damage in Zhaojia Village, she has been seizing the time these days to breed in space.
Today, I discovered that the alfalfa plot they've planted at the stables is in a good location, with loose soil and good drainage. Although alfalfa can grow in adverse conditions, it certainly thrives in a favorable environment.
Land is limited. We need to grow both crops and livestock. Grabbing it is not a solution. Increasing production is the only right way.
County Magistrate Huang said that after he heard about the incident, he immediately wrote a letter to the Prince of Yanyun's Palace, stating the grain and fodder dispute in Shang'an Township. He only knew that the palace was collecting horses here, and he didn't know about the 500 war horses and military supply horses that Shangguan Duan mentioned.
In the past two years, King Yanyun has been rectifying the Yanbei bureaucracy, training troops, and stockpiling a large amount of war supplies. Everyone thought that he was doing this to guard the border, and no one thought that he was preparing to send troops to seize the throne.
If the palace knew that she could increase grain production, the people in the palace would definitely flock to her like flies smelling shit.
Bah, bah, they are flies, she is not shit.
Widow Xu had gone out that night and now had to come back to look for Cheng Mu. Seeing the light on in the house, she knocked on the door, "Madam Cheng? Are you asleep?"
Cheng Mu asked her to come in, and she said, "I just heard something from Wang San, and I wanted to tell you."
"What's up?"
"The owner of the horse farm sent someone to Yanyun City to ask the palace's chief steward to come over. A letter just arrived saying that the chief steward will come tomorrow."
"Master Lei Pingyou is coming in person?"
"That's what they say."
Shangguan Duan is really capable. He is unwilling to suffer any loss. Perhaps he is relying on the large amount of supply and is fearless.
The fact that Chief Steward Lei came in person shows that the palace attaches great importance to these military horses.
However, it is inevitable to meet with Manager Lei, and I am afraid that his eyes are too sharp.
County Magistrate Huang was originally going back to Puyang City early in the morning, but when he heard that the chief steward of the palace, Lei, was coming, he decided to meet him before leaving.
Yanyun City is not closer to here than Puyang City, and Chief Steward Lei arrived at noon.
Shangguan Duan sent someone to invite Cheng Mu, but Cheng Mu didn't want to meet with Manager Lei, so she made an excuse of being unwell and asked Mu Yun to go in her place.
After the last stitch was passed through the straw hat, Widow Xu stretched the thread, tied a knot, and bit the cotton thread with her teeth.
"Madam Cheng, this is the only way."
Widow Xu handed the hastily made veil hat to Cheng Mu.
The straw hat was woven by Mu Yun using dry grass. The brim was wide, and Widow Xu sewed a tie inside and a white gauze scarf around the edge.
Cheng Mi tried it on and fastened the strap under her chin.
Even with the scarf fully lowered, it didn't block her view much, allowing for a hazy view. It was shoulder-length, and she said, "It's okay."
In order to prevent the Thunder Chief from focusing on her appearance, a veil hat is the best choice.
After meeting with Chief Steward Lei, County Magistrate Huang came to say goodbye to Cheng Mu. Seeing that she was wearing a veil covering her face, he asked about her health. Cheng Mu only vaguely said that it was a woman's illness and she would be fine in two days.
"Shangguan Duan asked for Chief Steward Lei to come here. His intention is very clear. He wants her to arbitrate the dispute between you. Chief Steward Lei received the letter I wrote to the palace and just had a conversation with him. He is very interested in your grain seeds. He has kept Mu Yun to talk to him alone. He should be willing to purchase grain seeds from you."
Huang Xiancheng said, "You have breeding skills. If he needs something from you, he won't turn to Shangguan Duan. Feel free to ask him for anything you want."
The royal palace has tens of thousands of acres of arable land, plus hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivated land maintained by soldiers guarding the border. If the grain harvest can be doubled, the chances of Prince Yanyun winning the war will be even greater.
Especially in the context of the severe drought in the Central Plains.
Since Chief Steward Lei expressed this intention, Shangguan Duan should understand what she meant when she told him before, "Growing grain by the king's order."
"Thank you, Master Huang."
"If you have any difficulties in the future, feel free to come find me in Puyang City."
"must."
After seeing off County Magistrate Huang, Shangguan Duan saw Cheng Mu standing in the yard.
He stopped to look at Cheng Mu and said sarcastically, "What's wrong with Madam Cheng that she suddenly fell ill? Even the palace's chief steward Lei is not here. Do you need a doctor to take a look?"
Cheng Mu smiled, "Thank you, sir. My illness is a woman's disease. If you had invited me to Zhao Village the other day like you did to Steward Lei, I would have brought more gifts. Perhaps today would not be so awkward, and I could have gone out to see Steward Lei."
Cheng Xi's eyes fell on the luxurious accessory around his waist.
Shangguan Duan's clothes and accessories are all excellent. People respect clothes before people, so it is normal for him to pay attention to clothes and accessories.
What is abnormal is that this accessory appears on him.
Manager Lei should have noticed it as well.
"Master Shangguan's jade belt pendant is so exquisite."
"Madam Cheng has good eyesight. This is a celestial deer."
The Celestial Deer is a legendary one-horned mythical beast that can ward off disasters and bring eternal peace and prosperity. This is what most people think of when they see this pattern.
But this jade belt plate is not one, it is a pair. When the two are put together, the patterns of the first, third and fifth vines match up, and the other one is carved with a rabbit.
Cheng Mu found out about it through her original self, who accidentally learned about it when she was staying at Prince Yanyun's mansion.
Prince Yanyun and his two sons all had this pair of accessories.
The rabbit and the deer come from Li Bai's poem "Each of them sticks to the ambition of a rabbit and a deer, and is ashamed to follow the dragon and the tiger in the fight", which shows that King Yanyun does not fight for power.
This is the place where the thief King Yanyun is. There is also a saying that it is to chase the rabbit first and get it first, and to chase the deer in the Central Plains. The meaning is completely opposite. The rabbit and the deer can also show his ambition.
Now a deer has fallen into Shangguan Duan's hands, but he is completely unaware of it and is still wearing it to show off in front of Chief Steward Lei.
The Second Young Master Xu is on the run and his life or death is unknown. This accessory could only have come from the Second Young Master Xu.
Is Shangguan Duan related to the second son of the Xu family?
Cheng Mu asked, "Sir, where did this accessory come from?"
Just now, Chief Steward Lei had asked the same question. Shangguan Duan was no fool and noticed something was wrong. "Why do you ask that, Madam Cheng? This is naturally mine, not a gift from someone else."
This accessory is neither ordinary nor extraordinary. Jade belt plates are usually ornaments inlaid on belts to show the identity of official rank and title. Few people use them as pendants.
Cheng Xi stopped there, "I've seen it somewhere else, maybe I'm mistaken."
"Where have you seen Madam Cheng before?" Shangguan Duan asked. He was unsure because this was taken off a dead body by his men. Could it be that Madam Cheng knew the dead body?
"I can't remember it at the moment. When I do, I'll tell Master Shangguan. Perhaps you two have some connection. Do you have a good personal relationship with Chief Steward Lei?"
"Naturally make friends."
Cheng Mu said quietly, "After all, we haven't seen each other for a long time. Master Shangguan, please be attentive and treat Chief Steward Lei with all your eyes."
After Mu Yun came back, he reported to Cheng Mu about his meeting with the palace's chief steward.
"He first asked about the Mu family and my sister-in-law. I answered according to my sister-in-law's instructions. He didn't get suspicious and asked more detailed questions about land cleaning and land reclamation, grain planting, and the windmill for pumping water."
"He heard that the wheat we planted in Shang'an Township could yield nearly two dan per mu, regardless of the quality of the land. He asked us how much seed we had and how much we wanted. The price was one tael of silver per dan, and we would arrange for people to collect the seed on the beginning of autumn."
Manager Lei didn't know that because there was space, he could get as many Cheng Mu as he wanted.
But Cheng Mu also had to act according to the actual situation, and the amount she offered could not exceed the number that others could calculate.
Cheng Mu asked, "Did he only ask for wheat seeds?"
"The autumn harvest is almost here, and there's not much left to plant."
"Did you mention the alfalfa planting?"
"No. But he took the initiative to bring up what Ma Chang had done in Zhaojia Village, saying that Shangguan was acting arrogantly because of the support of the palace. He would make him apologize and told us to pack up and prepare to return to Zhaojia Village."
"He asked us to leave?" Cheng Xi's eyes turned, "Is he not leaving?"
Cheng Mu soon found out whether Chief Steward Lei was leaving or not. Not long after they finished talking, Shangguan Duan arrived with something.
"Here is thirty-four taels of silver, to compensate your village for the loss of one tael of silver per acre of land. Madam Cheng, please do it for me."
Shangguan Duan respectfully handed the silver to Cheng Mu and said, "I apologize for the poor hospitality we provided you these past two days. I hope you will forgive me. Madam Cheng, when you return to the village, I will send someone to escort you."
"How do we solve the problem of fodder for Master Shangguan?" He doesn't want to discuss this matter?
"To be honest, Madam Cheng, Chief Steward Lei has agreed to take charge of the fodder supply."
"Oh?" Cheng Mu was skeptical. Chief Lei dispatched? How?
Cheng Mu asked tentatively, "Is Chief Steward Lei leaving now?"
"We were about to leave, but Steward Lei changed his itinerary and will leave tomorrow. Since Steward Lei has already agreed to Young Master Mu Yun's request, I won't force you to stay. We'll see you later."
"Madam Cheng..." Widow Xu looked at her pleadingly. She also wanted to go back.
If Madam Cheng took her away on her own initiative, she would have said a few words for her when the clan used this matter to force her to hand over the land. Her face turned pale, her fingers twisted around her sleeves, and her watery eyes were filled with fear and pleading.
"I like Master Shangguan's maid very much. I wonder if you can give her up?"
"This person is originally from your Zhaojia Village. He can go back to where he came from."
Widow Xu hurriedly bowed to Cheng Mu and said, "Thank you, Madam Cheng." She then turned around and gave Shangguan Duan a perfunctory bow.
Cheng Mu didn't have much to pack, only Mu Yun had a bag slung over his shoulder.
The people from the stable brought two horses. Mu Yun and Cheng Mu rode one together, while the people from the stable took Widow Xu to ride the other.
Cheng Mu looked back at the burly owner of the horse farm standing there. Steward Lei had asked him to apologize with just a few words, but it was obvious that he had no intention of doing so. She was filled with speculation but could not express it. She only said, "Take care, Master Shangguan."
Mu Yun spurred his horse, and the horse galloped with all its hooves.
The horse farm covers a large area and it would take at least an hour to walk there. Cheng Mu looked into the distance and thought that the horse farm was a good place to go.
After leaving the horse farm, Mu Yun saw Qi Song and Sao Hu and slowly slowed down.
Qi Song was worried about their safety and had been guarding outside for the past two days. Now everyone is out safely.
"Madam Cheng, Master Yun."
Cheng Mu: "Qi Bo, you've worked hard. Let's go back."
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