Chapter 161 How much did you say?
"You've all been here for over a year, aren't you planning to go back this year? You can take leave to visit your family," Ning Xuan asked.
“We want to go back too. We’ve wanted to go back for so long, but our families specifically told us not to go back yet, saying that things are getting tense lately.” Xu Jiajia’s face was full of worry.
Zhou Zhipeng quickly comforted her, "It's alright. The situation in Beijing is indeed quite tense right now. The family needs to focus on dealing with it, which is why they don't want us to go back, so as not to have to spare energy to look after us."
Hearing this, Ning Xuan roughly guessed that in addition to Liang Zhicheng's previous involvement in the Dite and child swapping, there was also the matter of Chino Yoshiko, who was arrested just a few days ago. Although this matter was not made public, it involved a wider range of people. People like Xu Jiajia, whose families were either in politics or the military, were at the center of the storm, so they naturally had to pay more attention.
Zhao Yulian also moved in with Xu Jiajia first. To be honest, Zhao Yulian's move in did have some impact.
The biggest expense is food; they have to be very careful with it, otherwise it's hard to explain.
Ning Xuan was starting to regret it, but it was indeed more inconvenient and unsafe for Zhao Yulian, a girl, to be alone at the educated youth settlement. After all, you can only know a person's face but not their heart. It would be better if she had a companion, but if she didn't, who knew if any of the male educated youths might suddenly have bad intentions? It would be too late if something happened then.
Regarding the meals, it was agreed upon when everyone decided to let Zhao Yulian move in that the food quality in the courtyard would be reduced during her stay. However, it would only mean that the frequency of eating meat would be reduced and that several dishes would not be cooked for each meal. They would still insist on eating refined grains.
None of them were used to eating coarse grains, and there was still more than a month until after the New Year. They simply couldn't bring themselves to eat coarse grains for so long just to accommodate Zhao Yulian.
Fortunately, Zhao Yulian was only staying temporarily, and things would be fine once the new batch of educated youth arrived. Moreover, she had her own room and could secretly have extra meals, so the impact on her was not actually that great.
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The corn that Wang Erya had planted on the estate finally produced ears of corn, still tender. She thought the tender corn was delicious, so she had it picked, cooked, and eaten with her daughter.
She also gave a few to Shen Mengyao.
Although Shen Mengyao was somewhat disappointed in her biological father, she was still filial. That very day, she ordered someone to cook it and sent two to her father to try.
Shen Mengyao thought this thing called corn was so delicious, it was fragrant and a little sweet.
Unlike Shen Mengyao, Shen Hongyu, as the governor of a city, saw something more important: the food problem of the Da Jin Dynasty.
He wanted to ask Wang Erya about the corn right away, but it was already late, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to go to a widow's house. Asking Wang Erya to come over so late at night wouldn't be proper either, so he could only wait until the next day to go see Wang Erya.
That night, Shen Hongyu couldn't sleep. His mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts. One moment he was thinking about national peace and prosperity and doing things for the people, and the next he was thinking about his own political achievements, imagining that he could make some progress, climb the ranks, be transferred back to the capital, join the cabinet, and so on. He had too many thoughts, and Prefect Shen couldn't sleep at all. He just kept thinking about these random things all night.
Before dawn, he had his servants help him get up and also sent someone to wake Shen Mengyao. After having breakfast early, he rushed to Wang Erya's house.
Although he was on official business, he went directly to Wang Erya's house to save time, and to avoid gossip, he brought Shen Mengyao along.
When they arrived at Wang Erya's house, Prefect Shen asked Shen Mengyao to tell Wang Erya that he wanted her to take them to her corn farm and asked if it was convenient for her.
The prefect had come directly to her doorstep, and even though Wang Erya was surprised, she didn't dare say it was inconvenient.
So, Magistrate Shen's carriage stopped in front of Wang Erya's house for less than a quarter of an hour, and then another carriage came out from Wang's house, and the group of people hurriedly headed to Wang Erya's estate.
Upon arriving at the village, Prefect Shen, without even taking a rest, ordered Wang Erya to take him directly to the fields, to which Wang Erya had no choice but to comply.
Shen Mengyao was still confused. "Dad, if you still want to eat corn, I can ask Aunt Wang to send us some more, or I can just buy some myself. Why did you come all the way here in person?"
Prefect Shen shook his head. "You don't understand. I need to see this corn with my own eyes to know what to do. Don't ask me anymore."
Shen Mengyao pouted, "It's always like this. You never tell me anything, so of course I don't understand."
"Father is talking about serious matters. Women are not allowed to interfere in politics. I'm telling you what I'm doing. Just follow along obediently. If you're afraid of getting tired, have your Aunt Wang find you a place to rest."
Shen Mengyao waved her hand, "No need then. I'm just curious about what you're going to do. Actually, I'm also curious about what the corn looks like before it's picked. I want to go too."
Wang Erya, on the other hand, hadn't wasted her time studying or farming these past few days. She probably guessed Prefect Shen's purpose in coming. "Prefect, are you here for the corn yield?"
"Indeed! Madam Wang, did you know?" Magistrate Shen asked in surprise.
As Wang Erya walked, she answered, "Then you've really come to the right person. Currently, I should be the only one in the entire Dajin Dynasty who knows the yield of this corn. The yield per mu is about 12 to 13 shi."
As soon as Wang Erya finished speaking, Prefect Shen slipped and almost fell, but luckily his servant caught him.
"How much did you say?" Magistrate Shen asked incredulously.
“Your Excellency, you heard me right. It’s 12 to 13 shi. Even in relatively barren land, the yield per mu can reach about 10 shi.” Wang Erya replied confidently. One shi in the Da Jin Dynasty was equivalent to about 120 in modern times.
Prefect Shen clutched his pounding chest, reminding himself to remain calm. "Seeing is believing. Please, Madam Wang, lead the way."
Fortunately, although the village was large, the cornfields were not far apart. After walking for another quarter of an hour, the group arrived at the cornfield.
The green corn is as tall as a person, with one or two ears of corn on each stalk.
“My lord, this is corn. That green stick is the corn cob. But the corn is still quite tender now, so it’s still small. When it’s ripe, the kernels will turn into hard, yellow kernels. Then you can steam or boil it directly, but that will require more firewood. The best way is to grind it into flour and make cornmeal, which can be eaten alone or mixed with other noodles.” Wang Erya explained to Shen Hongyu about the two-acre cornfield.
Shen Hongyu was still not quite convinced. "But each corn plant only produces one or two ears of corn, and there's such a wide distance between the two plants. How can the yield per acre be that high?"
Furthermore, the Great Jin Dynasty had never heard of corn. Where did Lady Wang obtain the corn seeds, and how did she know its yield?
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