Chapter 528 Invitation
Li Erlang immediately asked, "What do you mean?"
Bai Shanbao thought about it and felt that this was not a bad thing, so he told the story of how Yang Heshu, after becoming the county magistrate, first paid out of his own pocket to buy cows and sell them on credit, and then paid out of his own pocket to buy seeds and farm tools and distributed them to the farmers.
County Magistrate Yang is wealthy and powerful, which is the common perception of all the people in Luojiang County today.
Although he was impeached in the food price war two years ago, he won in the end.
Bai Shanbao and Manbao got along well with him, so there were some things he couldn't tell the people in the county government office. Wantian was a servant, so he would tell them when he met them.
In the end, he won the dispute over food prices.
Although he was reported, Yang Heshu was not the county magistrate Fu who had no foundation. He was not afraid of reports at all, so after receiving the official documents, he wrote his defense as usual and continued to sell grain in the small house next to the county government office.
The debate went up and down, and a month passed. Then there was more participation and more debate, and two or three months passed.
The grain merchants in the county were so annoyed that they lost their temper. In the end, they had no choice but to lower the price of grain and give in. Only then was the matter over.
Because it is said that County Magistrate Yang, who had just collected the autumn tax, had already submitted a petition to the emperor, wanting to keep some of the autumn grain to enrich the treasury in preparation for future natural disasters.
When the grain merchants and gentry learned the news through various channels, they were terrified, fearing that he would sell all the grain. If that happened, they would have no business for the next six months.
Forced into a corner, they had no choice but to give in.
Yang Heshu was very proud when talking about this, and Bai Shanbao and the others also felt very relieved.
But the three of them knew in their hearts that not everyone had the confidence and ability to do so.
Even Li Erlang didn't expect that Yang Heshu would do this in Luojiang County, and he couldn't help laughing.
Manbao took the opportunity to ask, "Mr. Li Er, since you know Lord Yang, why don't you stop by Luojiang County to visit your old friend?"
Li Erlang laughed and said, "Now I regret it a little. I should have gone to Luojiang County instead. Hahahaha..."
Li Erlang was very interested in farming. Seeing that the three of them were very knowledgeable about farming and were not like ordinary farmers who could only talk about it, they would discuss with him how to grow crops better and how to promote various methods, so he started talking about farming with them.
Mr. Zhuang did not restrain them. He looked at them and smiled slightly, then continued to drink his tea and tap his beat.
It was rare for Li Erlang to talk so enthusiastically. He talked with the three people until late at night. Because the three people were young and yawned repeatedly, he stopped talking and wanted to go to bed.
Li Erlang returned to his seat with a feeling of unfulfilled desire, and closed his eyes to rest.
The next day, as soon as Manbao woke up, he started looking for water to wash up, then ran into the main hall, found a cushion to sit on, and followed the Taoist priest inside to do morning lessons.
Taoists: ...
After finishing her morning prayers, Manbao knelt respectfully in front of the Great Pure Land Virtue Heavenly Venerable and kowtowed. The Taoist priest beside her waited until she finished and stood up before asking, "Young laywoman, why are you here to burn incense so early in the morning?"
"I'm not here to burn incense. I stayed in the quiet room last night, so I came here early this morning to thank the Heavenly Venerable. I saw you doing morning prayers, so I joined in."
Taoist priest: "Young layman, can you recite the Tao Te Ching?"
"My mother particularly likes Tianzun Laoye, so I read it to her and she memorized it after reading it for a while."
The Taoist couldn't help but stroke his beard and smiled, "Not bad, not bad. Now that you've read the Tao Te Ching, you can take a look at the Zhuangzi Classic."
When Li Erlang, holding his waist, walked into the hall with others to visit, he saw Man Bao discussing scriptures with a Taoist priest, and they were talking with great interest.
Zhou Silang came to find her when he saw she hadn't returned for a long time. He was very friendly to the statue of Taishang Laojun and the Taoist priests. Although this hall looked more impressive than the Taoist temple on the mountain, he still knelt down and kowtowed to Laojun first before standing up and saying to Manbao, "You said you came here to kowtow, but you were just gossiping here."
He apologized to the Taoist priest, "Master, my youngest sister is sorry to bother you."
"Wulian Tianzun, you are too polite. You did not disturb us at all. On the contrary, we benefited a lot from talking to you."
Li Erlang knew last night that Manbao had read the "Tao Te Ching". After all, when he was testing Bai Shan, he remembered it through her hint.
He walked up to her with a smile and asked, "Do you like Lao Zhuang very much?"
"Yes, my mother said that I was in poor health when I was a child, and that I was able to survive partly because of the blessing of the Lord Tianzun."
Li Erlang burst into laughter and nodded, saying, "Sincere heart will bring success."
Bai Shanbao called out to them from outside, announcing their departure.
The brother and sister immediately said goodbye to the Taoist priest and Li Erlang. Li Erlang didn't expect them to leave so soon and couldn't help but said, "We are both going to Yizhou. Why don't we go together?"
Manbao shook his head. "Our husband chose the road. We don't know where we'll go next. Aren't you going to do business? It would be bad to be delayed."
Li Erlang: ...I should have found an excuse to travel earlier.
Manbao didn't want to be with them. He didn't know whether they were good people or bad people. They were not honest and lied as soon as they met. So it was enough to just talk to them when they met casually, and there was no need to make close friends with them.
Manbao told Mr. Zhuang about this, and he praised her, "Well done. When you're out in the world, you shouldn't have the intention to harm others, but you should always be on guard against them, and don't expect anything to fall from the sky."
Manbao nodded in agreement, "My mother said, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If it does, it might be poisoned and we can't take it. As a person, we must keep our feet on the ground and move forward. That's the only way to be stable."
Bai Shanbao whispered, "I suspect he's some kind of imperial censor on a secret visit, inspecting the officials."
Mr. Zhuang said, "No matter who they are, you are still children. Don't get involved in official affairs. Do your job and participate in politics when you grow up."
The three of them agreed together, and Zhou Silang and Daji drove the carriage into the city together. They had breakfast in the city, bought lunch, and then continued on their journey.
They did not take to heart what they had taught the farmers last night. Most of the farmers who stayed in the quiet room last night just took the three children's words as a joke, but some took them to heart and began to inquire about the new wheat seeds.
Li Erlang was equally impressed. He turned to his followers and said, "Yang Changbo wrote a letter earlier saying he had discovered new wheat seeds and new plowing tools. I thought this child of the Yang family was too eager to take credit, but now it seems that compromise is the truth."
Changbo is the pen name of Yang Heshu.
The attendant lowered his head and said, "Erlang, what the third kid said may not be true. The wheat yield of five stone per mu is too high."
Li Erlang laughed and said, "Yang Changbo didn't say the yield was five dan per mu. He only said that some varieties could yield four dan per mu, and some could yield three and a half dan per mu. However, it is better than the current wheat varieties."
He thought for a moment and said, "I have some doubts in my heart. When we return, we will go to Luojiang County to take a look."
"yes."
"Have you written down the names of the children? You may see them again in the future."
The attendant smiled and said, "I've made a note of it."
Good night!
(End of this chapter)
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