Regardless of his thoughts, he recounted everything he had seen and heard in Shiligou to Qi Zhubu in detail.
"You said that woman's surname is Qin?" Qi Zhubo pondered for a moment, recalling what Sili Ren had once told him, that his sworn sister was no ordinary person.
“I understand. Let’s go and report this to the magistrate together! Remember, don’t be arrogant in front of him. You are a member of the Qi family, and he won’t compete with you for credit.”
Qi Yuchen's expression was slightly unnatural for a moment, but he quickly reverted to his carefree playboy demeanor. He understood that the other party was doing it for his own good, but he always wore a sour face. Did he really think everyone could understand him?
"Understood, Your Excellency!"
Seemingly satisfied with his sensibility, and considering that this was indeed a serious matter, he took him along to report it.
Magistrate Jia Gaojie was just worried about not having any major achievements to show for his administration! When he heard about this, and that it could actually increase yield per mu, what was there to wait for? He ordered that they go to Shiligou immediately to check it out!
When the county magistrate travels, he must be accompanied by a full retinue, as he is the highest-ranking official in the county! A carriage is a must, and he is followed by more than a dozen constables with long knives at their waists.
He declined the magistrate's invitation to ride with him, and Qi Yuchen continued to ride his tall horse. Although he had gotten a bit tanned, his skin was naturally fair, so his elder brother always joked that he looked like a young lady. Taking this opportunity to sunbathe was not bad! If he could get a tan, he would look even more manly!
Of course, what Qi Yuchen really thought was that he disliked the magistrate's carriage.
I thought that since the county magistrate was an official, his carriage would be spacious and comfortable, but to my surprise, it was only the size of a lady's sedan chair, and the interior was not very nice! It would be more comfortable to ride a horse!
Villagers working in the fields glanced at the procession and saw what looked like the entourage of a county magistrate. Weren't there officials carrying signs saying "Silence, Avoidance" in front of them?
"Village head, village head, the county magistrate is here!"
Chen Sheng, who was about to take a nap, suddenly jumped up, not even bothering to put on his coat, and hurried outside, dragging his shoes along. "What? Who's here?"
The man who came to deliver the message was panting heavily, sweat dripping down his face. "It seems to be the magistrate! The magistrate is here!"
Oh my, what the eldest child's mother said was really true, the county magistrate really did come!
Yesterday, when the village head went to deliver a tael of silver, Qin Sanniang thought that the county magistrate would probably come to Shiligou to take a look. Otherwise, what use would he be if the rice in the paddy fields had already been harvested?
Chen Sheng had thought that the Minister of Agriculture was a very high-ranking official, but he hadn't expected that even the county magistrate would be alarmed! He was actually quite nervous and excited!
Magistrate Jia got out of the carriage and stood on the road. He saw Chen Sheng running towards him and knelt down with a thud. "Chen Sheng, the head of Shiligou, greets Your Excellency Magistrate!"
Everyone heard a thud and was really worried about whether the village head's kneecap could withstand it! Indeed, being a village head is quite difficult!
However, the sound also alerted the crowd, and instantly a large group of people knelt down. Since they didn't know what to say, they simply remained kneeling. Otherwise, the unevenness of their voices wouldn't sound good!
Chen Sheng frowned. He knew he would have to train the villagers in the future so that they would not only kneel before the county magistrate, but also say something to him!
Magistrate Jia naturally knew that it was good enough if peasants didn't faint when they saw an official. This Shiligou village was quite good; they knew to kneel down in unison before him. Just for that, they were much better than other villages!
"Get up, all of you!"
Upon hearing the magistrate tell them to get up, Chen Sheng quickly scrambled to his feet, gently patted his knees, and stood respectfully to the side.
"I heard from Magistrate Qi that your village has discovered a new method for growing rice that can significantly increase yield per mu. Is this true?" Magistrate Jia asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yes, sir, it is true! The seedling raising method can more than double the yield per mu. This year, three families in the village planted it this way, and the yield per mu was between two and a half and three shi. Da Wa's family even harvested more than three shi! Oh, we learned about the seedling raising method from Da Wa's mother," Chen Sheng replied.
He was furious. If he had known about this earlier, he would have made sure his family planted it too. He knew all too well what Qin San Niang was capable of.
This whole mess was caused by his simple-minded son. Chen Jincai had a good relationship with Gu Qingshan and the others, and he'd heard about their rice-growing methods before deciding. But his son was being cautious, wanting to wait until they figured it out. Besides, he was still skeptical; this was like child's play—could this really be more effective than his diligent fertilizing and daily weeding? And even if it increased the yield, how much more? At most a few dozen kilograms! Double the yield?!
So, he took it upon himself not to tell his father. By the time Chen Sheng found out, his family had already finished sowing the rice seeds!
As a result, Chen Jincai was often neglected at home.
Even his wife gave him a dirty look, and she almost said that if the family's land yielded no more than three bushels per mu, it was his problem!
Chen Jincai felt wronged, but dared not utter a sound. He thought to himself, "You didn't raise any objections back then, you clearly didn't believe me either!" Now he knew that if anything happened to Da Wa's family in the future, he would have to follow suit.
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Jia was even more delighted! It seemed that what Minister Qi said was quite credible.
Although he comes from a prominent family in Kyoto and seems somewhat spoiled, he's actually quite capable when it comes to getting things done.
Originally, he was thinking about how to properly serve the young master who had arrived, hoping he wouldn't cause him any trouble. Therefore, he found Qi Yuchen more and more pleasing to the eye! A smile involuntarily appeared on his face. Just as his wife had said, his promotion next year seemed promising!
“Very well, then let these families come to me with their reports,” Magistrate Jia said, then added after a moment’s thought, “Never mind, just take me there to have a look.”
Seeing is believing, hearing is deceiving. After so many years in officialdom, even what I see may not be true.
However, he wasn't worried that these farmers would try to fool him. He was an official, the highest-ranking official in the county! They were farmers who had made a living here for generations, and they would never do something so thankless.
Chen Sheng naturally wouldn't refuse his request, and besides, the Qin family's rice fields had basically been harvested, and their houses were newly built brick and tile houses, which looked quite impressive, didn't they?
Sure enough, when Jia Gaojie arrived at the location, he was quite surprised to find a row of large brick and tile houses.
Qi Yuchen thought he was being old-fashioned, probably because he thought commoners shouldn't use blue bricks, so she casually said, "Sir, these families are all relatives, and one of their men is the top scholar in Jingyuan, the northern region!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com