Hearing this, the old man and his family were delighted and thanked her profusely, thinking to themselves, "This eldest child's mother is so generous! We must be on good terms with her from now on!"
Nearby, men and women working in the fields heard their conversation and hurriedly put down the rice they were carrying, calling out, "Big Brother's mother, my family also needs to buy some rice seeds, is that alright?"
"And my family needs some too. Your rice is growing incredibly well!"
"My family wants some too!"
"My family can't be left out either..."
Looking at the farmers before her, their faces smeared with sweat, Qin Sanniang finally understood what it meant to be "every grain of rice is the result of hard work." Naturally, she readily agreed, knowing that as long as they could have a better harvest, she wouldn't lose anything...
Upon receiving her affirmative reply, everyone was overjoyed and said they would help her family harvest the grain once they finished their own work.
After making her way around, Qin San Niang unexpectedly gained a lot of helpers. Once everyone had finished their work in their own fields, each family with more labor sent one person to help at Qin's house.
Firstly, they wanted to thank Da Wa's mother for generously selling the seeds; secondly, they wanted to see just how much the Qin family's rice yield per mu could reach...
Here, Qin San Niang brought over the oxcart and tied it to a big tree by the field. The strong and chubby girl ran over and helped carry the oxcart to an open space in the field, where they could harvest the grain soon.
Seeing so many helpers suddenly appear in the field, Wu Chunhua and the others were stunned and completely baffled! What happened? They exchanged a glance with Gu Qingshan, who also shook his head in confusion, not to mention Liao Hongying and her husband who were working in a more distant place.
After learning their purpose, Wu Chunhua no longer stood on ceremony. In fact, she also wanted to know how much the yield per mu of her land was. Moreover, with so many men helping, it was indeed much easier.
Seeing this, Qin San Niang thought she couldn't let everyone's efforts go to waste, so she quickly went home to get some mung bean water to quench everyone's thirst. The mung bean water had ice and plenty of rock sugar added, and the mung beans were cooked until they were soft and slightly grainy. It tasted icy cold and very refreshing.
The men who came to help each finished a bowl of mung bean soup. Ah, it was so delicious! Compared to this, their own well water was nothing! But such delicious mung bean soup must have used a lot of mung beans and sugar, which their family was reluctant to part with!
Before long, a group of people walked along the ridge of the field. Those who were taking turns to rest and drink water saw him and were surprised to find that it was their village headman. Why was he bowing and scraping? They also wondered who the young man in the long gown in front was. But he didn't look like he was wearing an official robe.
Upon closer inspection, Qin San Niang knew that the young man in front of Chen Sheng was definitely not a simple person.
Just by looking at his long black robe, the matching gold-embroidered belt around his waist, and the jade crown on his head that gleamed in the blazing sun, it was clear that this was no cheap outfit! Not to mention that even the village head, who usually walked with a measured gait, was looking cautious, it was obvious that this person was no ordinary individual.
When Qi Yuchen first arrived, he was assigned to this prosperous area in Jiangnan. Although it was just a small county town, he felt that this place was not bad, based on his belief that he should start from the bottom!
After spending a month in the yamen, feeling utterly bored, I realized that there was nothing fun about it. Being an official was indeed tedious!
His official position was Minister of Agriculture, in charge of all matters, big and small, related to agriculture. Of course, before he arrived, these matters were handled by the Registrar!
But ever since he arrived, the clerk has used the excuse of being very busy to assign these tasks to him again.
Well, let a scion of a prominent family learn farming? Oh no! Managing farming is really a bit too much for him! If Qi Yuchen hadn't known beforehand that her family and the Qi family were old friends, she would have almost thought that Chief Clerk Qi had done this on purpose!
Qi Zhubu: You almost gave in! I did it on purpose!
Nowadays, wars are frequent. Although Jiangzhou is still relatively peaceful, since the emperor moved south, it has accepted the advice to recuperate and rebuild. Farmers have been able to farm with peace of mind since this year. However, the tax burden is still relatively high, and every time taxes are collected, it is a painful experience! Not only the farmers, but even he, the clerk, is suffering greatly.
Why? Because collecting grain taxes was difficult! Although under his diligent governance, many minor officials no longer dared to engage in such shady practices, even so, those families with little land still had not enough left to survive after paying their grain taxes. They had to supplement their diet with coarse grains and wild vegetables to make it to the following autumn harvest, and the cycle repeated itself the next autumn…
Qi Zhubo felt inexplicably sad. This cycle of events, repeating itself endlessly, made him wonder what the court was planning to do.
As a lowly official with little influence, he knew he couldn't possibly care about everything, especially considering the large family behind him! Now, with the Great Sheng Dynasty teetering on the brink of collapse, he felt utterly lost, unsure of the people's future or even his own. Thus, he began to contemplate escaping, wanting to let this fearless, privileged young man experience what it was like to be alone.
"Minister Qi, among the scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, agriculture holds a prominent position, needless to say. I hope you will strive diligently in your position and become a role model for our generation." Magistrate Jia knew that the Qi family was large and powerful, and although it was Chief Clerk Qi's idea to arrange this newcomer's position, he himself felt it was a good one. He had been struggling with this for a long time before, and it seemed to offer both prestige and minimal risk. The position of Minister of Agriculture was indeed excellent!
Although Qi Yuchen is a playboy, he is not a good-for-nothing! On the contrary, he has been well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and has the ambition to bring peace and prosperity to the country!
When he first heard that he was to become the Minister of Agriculture, he was somewhat unhappy! He would much rather be the prestigious County Commandant. What was so good about the Minister of Agriculture? Managing agriculture was not as interesting as fighting wars, and it was not easy to achieve merit.
Qi Yuchen had a headache. When would he be able to be transferred back to the capital?
However, since we're already here, we might as well make the best of it!
Remembering his father's instructions before he took office, telling him to be careful with his words and actions in He County, Qi Yuchen was not discouraged. The next day, he took office in high spirits!
What does the Minister of Agriculture do? Qi Yuchen naturally didn't know either, but just because he didn't know didn't mean others didn't know.
Cai Bo, the bodyguard and steward by her side, was an expert in this field. Cai Bo was originally a servant of Qi Yuchen's father. Back then, the head of the Qi family also came from humble beginnings, starting from a minor official position, and had even served as the Minister of Agriculture! Therefore, Cai Bo knew the responsibilities of this job better than anyone!
Besides, Cai Bo also knew what the young master was thinking; he simply wanted to make a name for himself.
So he told him that there are many talented people among the common people. If he could find good ideas in agriculture and sericulture, whether it was about farming tools or methods to increase yield per acre, he could write them down in a report and submit them to the emperor. Wouldn't that bring him merit?
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