8 Your sweet potato seeds are planted early
◎Don’t even give me two chickens that can lay eggs!◎
The city wall before him was magnificent, its walls clad in solid bluestone bricks, towering into the sky. A plaque above the city gate read three elegant characters: "Yuezhou City." A row of crimson flags fluttered in the wind from the wall.
It was already one quarter past noon, and the sun was shining fiercely on the earth. Perhaps for this reason, the line entering the city was not very long.
Ye Yunzhao dismounted from the donkey in a state of both embarrassment and joy. Her bottom, rocked all the way, felt like it was split in four pieces. Finally, she could rest. But as soon as her legs touched the ground, she felt a wave of weakness and exhaustion. Having never ridden a horse or donkey before, Ye Yunzhao's thighs ached, and she felt unspeakably miserable.
Ye Yunzhao was afraid that County Magistrate Han would laugh at him, and he grimaced in pain in his heart, but he pretended to walk forward quickly, lined up behind him, and moved forward in an orderly manner.
Unlike Lingnan County, where the gates were guarded by only a few people, Yuezhou had twelve guards at the gate. Each of them was tall and strong, wearing armor and holding spears. Four of them were responsible for exiting, four for entering, and the remaining four walked back and forth at the gate, looking for suspicious persons.
Ye Yunzhao was very surprised to see this scene. She had originally thought that Yuezhou was only slightly richer than Lingnan County, but now it seemed that was not entirely true...
But Yuezhou looks so rich, why is Lingnan County so poor?
The guard didn't give Ye Yunzhao time to think. He pointed at her and asked sternly, "What are you doing? Where is your past?"
Before Ye Yunzhao could say anything, Han Xiancheng, who had arrived before her, pulled out his own calendar from his pocket and handed it over, explaining, "This is the new county magistrate of Lingnan County. He came with me to apply for a calendar."
Ye Yunzhao knew that ordinary people needed to show their passes to cross the checkpoint, and public officials needed tokens. People like her who came here on their own initiative also needed a certificate.
Ye Yunzhao nodded. The guard next to her seemed to be familiar with Prime Minister Han. He waved his hand and let her enter the Yuezhou city gate.
It was not until he entered Yuezhou that Ye Yunzhao finally understood his original body's dissatisfaction with being transferred to Lingnan County.
This is too luxurious! A border city is so rich. Ye Yunzhao really can't imagine what the capital city looks like.
The streets were paved with bluestone slabs, flanked by endless expanses of stone bricks and gray tiles. The wooden shop signs were gleaming with moisture from the mountains and forests. Peddler hawked his wares, carrying loads on his shoulders and shaking rattles. Many shops had one or two waiters standing in front of them, smiling and welcoming customers to restaurants.
The most eye-catching restaurant is undoubtedly the Ruyi Tower mentioned by County Magistrate Han, which stands in the center of Yuezhou City. When Ye Yunzhao passed by, he glanced sideways and saw the noisy atmosphere inside where people were toasting and drinking.
Walk straight ahead for about an incense stick's time, and you will see an imposing gate with a plaque inscribed with the words "Fu Ya".
Ye Yunzhao understood that they had arrived at their destination.
She followed County Magistrate Han in and out of the government office several times, and after turning several times, she finally arrived in front of a small house with a small plaque that read "Grain Science Institute".
"Go get the coupons, I'll wait for you here." County Magistrate Han took the reins and said.
Ye Yunzhao nodded and walked in according to her vague memory. She seemed to have been here before.
In the center of the room stood a square wooden table, where an old man with gray hair was writing something. Hearing the noise, he looked up and said in a deep voice, "Is this the one who received the voucher? What's his official position?"
"That's right." Ye Yunzhao replied, "I am the magistrate of Lingnan County."
"I was wondering why you looked familiar. It turns out to be you." The old man stood up and looked for something on the bookshelf.
After a while, he pulled out a letter of appointment, which recorded Ye Yunzhao's appointment information in detail.
"Do you know me?" Ye Yunzhao was a little confused when she heard this. She did not find this person in her original body's memory.
"I don't know her, but I have heard something about a female official coming to Yuezhou." The old man picked up the pen and wrote a line on the appointment book.
"The magistrate of Lingnan County is an eighth-rank official with a monthly salary of 15 strings of cash and an annual bonus of 25 strings of cash. He is also entitled to three hectares of official land. Do you have any questions?" the old man asked, looking up.
"What is the addition?" Ye Yunzhao asked honestly.
"Tian Shi is a subsidy. If there's something going on at the government office, the travel expenses, meals, and so on of local officials come from here." As if afraid she didn't understand, the old man added, "Zhi Tian is the land given to you by the court. You can hire people to grow crops, and the profits don't have to be handed over; they are kept as subsidies."
Ye Yunzhao nodded: "I understand."
"Since there is no doubt, just sign your name here." The old man turned the book over and pointed to a blank space.
After signing, Ye Yunzhao received his own exclusive coupon calendar and went out with County Magistrate Han to the branch warehouse.
Along the way, Ye Yunzhao was carefully calculating in his mind. There were one thousand copper coins in one string of money, so she would have fifteen thousand copper coins a month. If the allowance was added, it would be even more.
If she calculated it carefully, she was fully capable of setting aside a portion of copper coins every month for the development of Lingnan County.
Han Xiancheng saw through her little tricks and poured a bucket of cold water on her: "You won't be able to be happy later."
Ye Yunzhao didn't expect that County Magistrate Han's words would come true so quickly.
When leaving the distribution warehouse, Ye Yunzhao's bamboo basket contained three pieces of linen, one piece of cotton, a ceramic jar of fine salt, a ceramic jar of honey, a small bag of tea, a cloth bag of refined rice, three dou of sesame oil, six dou of vinegar, and two chicks. He was told that he could also get some cotton, but he had to wait until the beginning of winter.
As for copper coins, I got a total of one and a half strings of coins.
The perfect plan she had carefully planned in her mind disappeared in an instant.
Ye Yunzhao complained in his heart: "They didn't even give me two chickens that can lay eggs. It's hard to tell whether I can raise such small chickens..."
She followed Han Xiancheng's example, tied the donkey to a wooden pole, held two chicks in her arms, and walked into another small room.
Upon entering, County Magistrate Han exchanged pleasantries with the man. After Ye Yunzhao nodded, the man pulled out a few sheets of paper from under the book, pointed at the words on them, and asked, "Could you discuss what kind of vegetables to plant this year?"
Ye Yunzhao leaned over to take a look. The list was densely covered with names such as radish, pumpkin, and cabbage, but many of the names were marked in red. Ye Yunzhao guessed that these vegetable varieties might have been taken.
"There are common vegetable seeds left over in Yuezhou." The man gestured on the paper, "For example, radish and radish..."
"By the way, there are still some seeds left from this year's tribute. Would you like some?" He turned the paper over and pointed to a few names.
Red potato, chrysanthemum, cold melon, potato...
"We want red potatoes and Chu Kui." While County Magistrate Han was still hesitating, Ye Yunzhao spoke first.
"I want some more radish, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin..." Ye Yunzhao listed more than a dozen kinds in a row.
Hearing this, County Magistrate Han waved at her, pulled her aside, and said in a low voice, "Last year, our county received some sweet potato seeds, but they didn't produce any fruit that year, so we dug them up..."
Isn't sweet potato just a sweet potato? How could it possibly fail to produce fruit? Moreover, sweet potatoes are heat-tolerant and light-loving. If the fields in the county were well-drained, the yield would definitely be high.
"When did you plant it?" Ye Yunzhao interrupted him.
"Early February." Han Xiancheng was afraid she might misunderstand. "Don't worry, we'll tell you the planting time when we receive the new vegetable seeds, and we'll definitely plant them strictly according to the instructions."
"It's too early to plant." Ye Yunzhao said softly.
"but……"
County Magistrate Han thought to himself that Ye Yunzhao's ability to make a three-legged plow showed that she was quite capable, but matters in the fields...
Can her words be trusted?
"If the crops fail to grow, I will use my annual salary to subsidize the people."
After hearing this, Han County Magistrate's worries disappeared by seven points. He just muttered, "With your meager salary..."
"What?" Ye Yunzhao thought he had something to say.
County Magistrate Han laughed and asked, "Do we want winter melon seeds?"
Ye Yunzhao frowned and thought for a moment, then shook his head.
The cold melon is what later generations called the watermelon. Watermelon is a crop native to the sandy lands of the north. It might grow well in Lingnan County, but it's not as good as sweet potatoes, and it's a staple food. Yams, while considered a semi-staple food, are not only difficult to grow but also prone to pests and diseases. They were the first option she discarded.
Seeing that they were hesitant, the person in charge of distributing the vegetable seeds said enthusiastically, "I'll give you a handful of winter melon seeds. There aren't many of them left, and keeping them will just take up space in the box."
"Well, we've got a good deal. When I come to pick up cotton at the beginning of winter, I'll definitely bring you some rare food."
Ye Yunzhao was not polite and happily took the dozen or so vegetable seeds that the man had packed and filled a cloth bag with them.
However, she paid close attention along the way and did not see the person who had put a knife to her neck in the government office.
Could it be that he is an official from the government office?
Ye Yunzhao couldn't figure it out so he simply gave up. Now as long as no one starved to death, that person would probably not come to warn him again.
When she followed County Magistrate Han back to Lingnan County, she could no longer ride the donkey.
The donkey was still small, but now it was carrying two large bamboo baskets full of things. Ye Yunzhao pulled the reins and led it home.
"County Magistrate Han, do you know where my official land is?" Ye Yunzhao was not in a position to speak when they were in the government office just now.
"This matter..." County Magistrate Han sighed.
"Originally you were going to inherit the land of the previous county magistrate, but he took bribes and embezzled half of it."
"This matter has already been signed, and it cannot be changed now."
One hectare of official land is one hundred mu of farmland, and three hectares is three hundred mu. Even if half of it is used up, there are still one hundred and fifty mu of farmland left. It can be made up, but this land... is not very good...
For this reason, County Magistrate Han was hesitant to speak. He knew the new magistrate wasn't interested in this position, having tried every possible means to transfer him since arriving. If he spoke now, he feared a repeat of the past, due to the various unfair treatments in Lingnan County...
"I can give you another 150 acres, but it's just wasteland or a small barren hill in the east township."
Han Xiancheng was afraid that she would be unhappy, so he said, "Don't worry about the land reclamation. When it is handed over to you, it will be at worst medium-sized farmland."
The matter was settled, and Ye Yunzhao led the donkey back to the backyard of the county office and would return it to County Magistrate Han tomorrow.
The trouble now was the chicks that had been chirping all the way. Although Ye Yunzhao had raised hens in the courtyard of the township government in her previous life, this was the first time she had raised chickens this young.
Ye Yunzhao knew that the chicks needed to be kept warm and could only be released into the yard to "evolve" into free-range chickens when they grew up a bit.
There was still a lot of straw left from what Cuihua and Dazhuang had brought to help her paste the wall two days ago.
She picked up a lot of thinner straw, folded it twice, stuffed it into a small bamboo basket, then raised her hand and grabbed the two little chicks in it.
Ye Yunzhao had chopped bamboo strips with the intention of building a fence in the yard and growing some vegetables inside. But now that he knew he had three hectares of official land, it seemed like a good deal.
She first used bamboo sticks to draw the general shape of the chicken coop in the yard, then used a blunt hoe to dig out a narrow trench bit by bit, crossed the bamboo sticks to support each other, inserted them firmly into the narrow trench, and then backfilled it with soil. After thoroughly compacting it, the fence of the chicken coop was barely completed.
Ye Yunzhao was working himself to death here, while trouble broke out on the dam over there...
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