81 Chapter 81
◎End◎
Jiang Jingyun, who was planning to slack off and be lazy for a few days, encountered a difficult problem as soon as he returned to the county government office.
This problem also comes from the distant capital.
Jiang Jingyun felt a headache when he saw the document ordering him to build coastal defense and train militia. The manpower and material resources required to do this were not something that could be easily accomplished with just a few pieces of silver.
Sure enough, it is not so easy to fleece the government. I originally just wanted a ship, but now I have to return a sea to the court.
What a dark heart!
Loan sharks would retreat away when they see them, feeling ashamed of themselves.
Fortunately, the old emperor did not go completely crazy. In addition to granting him a ship and shipping qualifications, he also exempted Fu County from taxes for an additional three years to build a customs.
"Damn it, they just want to get something for nothing," Jiang Jingyun pounded the table angrily after reading the document. "The tax revenue from Fu County is not even enough to build a toilet."
Although he was angry, he could not disobey the emperor's order and could only swallow the loss.
Alas, working like an ox or a horse, no matter what era it is, it sounds like the life of an ox or a horse is very hard.
——
Three years later.
Just as Magistrate Jiang was about to go out, he heard from his servant that several businesses in Fu County had jointly submitted a visiting card, requesting to see him.
"I'm busy. Don't see you." Today, the merchant ship is returning. Jiang Jingyun is in a hurry to go to the dock to greet people. He refuses without even turning his head and says, "Let them stay where they want." In the past two years, he has taken the initiative to contact these merchants in order to seek development. As a result, they all hold their heads high and put on airs in front of him.
Now that there are signs of profitability, merchants are rushing over to get a piece of the pie.
Humph, you are ugly but have wishful thinking.
When the express horse arrived at Shihai Village, the huge sailboat had already docked at the shore.
Today's beach is no longer the desolate appearance it had a few years ago. It has been built into a solid harbor breakwater made of stones and cement. A tall watchtower stands beside it, providing a panoramic view of the sea situation within a hundred miles.
The harbor was a busy scene, with the ground piled with various wooden boxes and porters shuttling between the ships, carrying goods onto the ships in an orderly manner.
In the noisy crowd, Jiang Jingyun saw the figure he had been thinking about at a glance: "Xiao Muyan!"
The man who turned around was wearing a dark cotton shirt. He had a slender figure and a straight back. His handsome face was slightly darkened due to long-term exposure to wind and sun. He had sword-like eyebrows, star-like eyes, a high nose bridge, and slightly raised thin lips. He was looking at him with a smile on his face.
Jiang Jingyun smiled and rushed over, directly into Xiao Muyan's arms: "Why are you so fast today? I left home an hour earlier and still couldn't catch up."
"It happens to be a favorable wind on the way back, so the boat can sail faster, and..." Xiao Muyan hugged his waist tightly, feeling the warmth from his arms, and all the fatigue seemed to be swept away, "I miss you so much, and I look forward to seeing you sooner day and night."
"I miss you, too." Jiang Jingyun murmured softly.
One day without seeing you feels like three years; half a year without seeing you makes me miss you so much.
Since Xiao Muyan took on the task of training the militia, the two of them have been going out early and coming back late, each busy and often not seeing each other. After sea transportation began, it was rare for us to see each other for a year or two.
The two of them stayed together and talked about their feelings for a long time before Jiang Jingyun asked, "Did your trip go smoothly? What did you gain?"
Xiao Muyan nodded. There were many people at the harbor. He walked toward the shore and said, "Our products are very popular in the north. Every time they are shipped in, they will be sold out within half a month."
Halfway through the journey, they met the mute girl Sun, whom they hadn't seen for a long time. She stood there with a smile on her face and saluted to the two of them.
Just as he was about to step forward to say hello, the tall Xiao Muyan blocked him. He just nodded slightly and then quickly walked away pulling Jiang Jingyun.
Jiang Jingyun smiled and pinched the soft flesh on his waist: "What are you doing? This is so rude."
Xiao Muyan pursed his lips and looked at him with a look that was both aggrieved and pitiful.
Over the past three years, the county has promoted a number of policies, including building fish ponds in low-lying areas near water, using the excavated silt as the pond base to plant mulberry trees, forming a mulberry-based fish pond ecological model of "planting mulberry trees on the base, feeding silkworms with mulberry leaves, raising fish with silkworm feces, fertilizing the pond with fish manure, and mulberry trees with pond mud" [1]. This can not only prevent flooding during the rainy season, but also fatten the fish and fill their stomachs. The silk produced is white, soft and of high quality.
Sun, whom Jiang Jingyun had "extorted" back with a high medical fee, had a pair of deft hands. Not only was she an expert at weaving, she was also an expert at embroidery. Now, she is the owner of an embroidery workshop in the county, and many people are lining up to propose marriage to her.
But she was told that she had already sold herself to the county magistrate, who had shut out everyone else.
During that time, stories about the romantic affairs of talented men and beautiful women were circulating in the streets, which made Jiang Jingyun very jealous and tormented him over and over again.
I didn't expect that Xiao Muyan still remembered this after such a long time.
"It's all fabricated," Jiang Jingyun shook his sleeves, tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "You're the only one in my heart, no one else, please stop being jealous, okay?"
After much persuasion, I finally managed to coax the person into submission. Unexpectedly, after taking only a few steps, I ran into another acquaintance.
When the young man from Shihai Village saw Jiang Jingyun, his eyes lit up and he came up to him with a smile: "Sir, how come you have time to come here today? Are you here to check out the breeding farm?"
"No... I came to..." Jiang Jingyun refused.
But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the enthusiastic young man Shi: "Want to see artificially cultured pearls? Over here, let me lead the way for you." After saying that, he led the two of them to the beach without further ado.
Using cement, which is always successful in infrastructure construction, Jiang Jingyun built dikes and dams on the seashore to farm fish and shellfish, and then dried the seafood into easy-to-preserve dried goods, which can be used to make porridge or stews. The seafood is delicious, nutritious and full of flavor, and is very popular in inland areas.
The snail shells and seashells left over from taking the meat are not wasted. They are carved, hollowed out, and inlaid to create exquisite designs of landscapes, flowers, birds, and animals. Under the light, the mother-of-pearl sparkles with colorful luster, which is brilliant and dazzling.
Once the intricate and exquisite mother-of-pearl utensils were launched, they were immediately praised by the wealthy and nobles and became an indispensable luxury item for the upper class.
Having tasted the sweetness, Jiang Jingyun set his sights on another luxury item: pearls.
In ancient times, pearls could only be produced by natural clams, and they had to be collected by diving into the deep sea, which was very dangerous. Therefore, they were scarce and very precious.
But in modern times, pearls can be cultivated artificially.
The shells are ground into a ball shape and used as the pearl nucleus. They are implanted into the soft and plump, healthy pearl oysters, which are then cultured in net cages. After one to two years, the shells can be opened to obtain the pearls.
Calculating the time, now is the time to harvest the first batch. No wonder Brother Shi misunderstood and thought that Jiang Jingyun came specially to inspect the results.
Cultured pearls are large, round, and lustrous, and are obviously top quality at first glance.
The fishermen watching were amazed. Brother Shi approached Jiang Jingyun with a big face, his eyes flickering with desire for money: "Sir, this can be sold for a lot of silver, right?"
Jiang Jingyun nodded and asked someone to open all the shells. He then turned around and told Brother Shi: "Go to the harbor to find the Jiang family manager. Someone will come to buy them. The price is absolutely fair."
"Okay." Upon hearing that, Brother Shi happily ran towards the harbor.
"Remember to pay taxes on the remaining amount." Jiang Jingyun reminded worriedly.
"Don't worry, sir. We understand everything." The fishermen who stayed behind assured him again and again that the magistrate had done so much for the people, so they would naturally not make things difficult for him, and there were still many rules to follow.
After inspecting the tidal flat aquaculture situation, Jiang Jingyun got away from his official duties and went home with Xiao Muyan, carrying two bags of seafood that the fishermen had enthusiastically stuffed into his house.
The young people were all busy outside, leaving only the two elders of the Jiang family at home. Seeing the two return, Uncle Jiang waved happily, "You're back. Come and taste the fresh lychees I picked specially this morning. They're so sweet."
"Eat less and leave some for the children." Auntie slapped Uncle Jiang's hand holding the lychee away and yelled at him angrily, "One lychee is like three fires. You'll complain about toothache later."
"If you don't want to eat, then don't eat. Who cares?" Uncle Jiang muttered softly, and then poured himself a cup of tea, "Then I can drink the tea."
The tea is new tea that was harvested this year.
Fu County is mountainous and hilly, with a mild climate and deep and soft soil, which is most suitable for the growth of tea trees.
At the beginning, he coaxed the two elders to come and live in Fu County on the pretext of needing manpower. However, the two old people had done farm work all their lives and still preferred to be closer to the land under their feet. So Jiang Jingyun simply took out the little money that had been saved at home, bought two hills, and used them all to grow tea trees.
In order to make full use of the land, many common local fruit trees such as lychee and mango are planted on the mountain. The two old men have been guarding the two mountains and taking good care of them for three years. This year, they saw the first results, and Uncle Jiang couldn't help showing off.
Jiang Jingyun was a smart guy, so he naturally showed his support. He greeted him with a smile and said, "Uncle, pour me two cups to try, too."
"Hey, come quickly." Uncle Jiang said proudly as he poured the tea, "This black tea was made by the tea roaster according to the method you described. It was just delivered this morning. Please taste it carefully to see if it tastes like that."
Black tea is a fully fermented tea with a mellow and full taste and a light fruity aroma. Jiang Jingyun took a sip and praised it highly, "The tea grown at home is delicious. It has to be you, uncle. We don't have this ability."
Uncle Jiang was very happy, but he pretended to be modest, "It's just a farmer's trick, not worthy of being shown on the stage."
Jiang Jingyun smiled: "No way, this is a rare skill. If Fu County wants to promote tea planting in the future, I will need you to pass on your experience."
"Haha, no problem."
A series of flattery made Uncle Jiang feel happy and cheerful all day long.
At dinner time, all the family members who were busy outside came back. Jiang Jingfeng participated in the provincial examination in the provincial capital this year, and only a few of them came back. Now, Jiang Erge and Xiao Muyan are in charge of shipping, Jiang Jinglin stayed in Fu County to manage the cement workshop, and Jiang Qingrong jointly ran an embroidery workshop with Sun.
The Jiang brothers and sisters are vigorous and decisive businessmen outside, but when they come home, they close the door and sit around the table to eat, forming a happy family.
Just as the party was getting lively, a servant came to report: "A letter from the capital city, the third young master has won the first place in the provincial examination!"
When everyone heard this, they were all happy.
Before they could celebrate, there was another noise outside the door. It turned out to be an envoy from the capital, holding a golden imperial edict in his hand. He said solemnly, "Jiang Jingyun, the magistrate of Fu County, please come forward to receive the edict."
"Minister, I will obey your order."
(End of full text)
【Author’s words】
After many twists and turns, this ordinary story finally came to an end.
Thank you readers for your continued support and companionship. If I am lucky, I hope to meet you again in the next article.
After the completion, I will review and summarize, and let it settle for a while. I plan to write a new article in April or May, a modern farming article "After the Ancestral Farming Skills Go Wrong". Thank you everyone, muah
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