"No money required?"
"No need." Meng Zhao shook her head firmly.
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Before they came, they had prepared themselves that this method, which could increase the grain yield by half, would cost a lot of money to learn. After all, it was a good method that even experienced farmers who had been farming for decades could not figure out. But who would have thought that Qing'an's wife would teach it to them for free?
Meng Zhao had already thought this through. The recipe for fermented fertilizer wasn't technically difficult. Once it was taught to a few people, it would spread sooner or later, and it couldn't be kept secret at all.
Rather than waiting until then, when the villagers hear about the recipe from others and praise its merits, she'd rather share it with everyone now.
After all, if she accepted money, the villagers would inevitably feel that they had paid for the service and that the favor was done, and they wouldn't owe her anything. But if she taught them for free, anyone with a conscience would know to be grateful, and they would be willing to help her if she encountered any difficulties in the future.
Moreover, this matter concerns increasing grain production, and it's not just about their village; it's about the livelihoods of millions of people. The reputation of merchants isn't exactly prestigious, and it would be a real shame not to take this opportunity to build up their reputation.
"Qing'an's wife, you are truly a lucky star in our village," an aunt said excitedly, her eyes full of gratitude.
"The Shen family is truly blessed to have married you," another uncle chimed in.
Upon hearing that Meng Zhao was going to teach everyone this recipe for free, people showered him with compliments as if they were free. Meng Zhao could tell that most of them were genuinely grateful.
Even though she was thick-skinned, she couldn't resist the praise from these people. Finally finding a moment to speak, Meng Zhao quickly interjected, "Uncles and aunts, the bride will be here soon, and the banquet will start almost here. Everyone, please go back to your tables and eat!"
Hearing this, the villagers reluctantly stopped talking and returned to their seats, but they were still discussing the fertile field.
Before long, the bride was carried over in a sedan chair. Meng Zhao also went over to see what was going on, but unfortunately, her veil covered her face, so he couldn't see her clearly.
After a while, some aunties came to help, carrying plates into the house one after another. It wasn't good for one adult and three children to take up a table, so Meng Zhao went out and called a few more aunties over to eat together.
"Liu Feng'e's feast is quite good, much better than the one I went to a few days ago. That place may have a lot of dishes, but it didn't have any substantial dishes."
Another auntie chimed in while eating the meat, "I wonder which chef they found. I'll ask them later. This meat is stewed until it's really tender."
Today's feast was the standard eight dishes and one soup. Although the number of dishes was the same as usual, Aunt Feng'e prepared plates that were all bigger than her head, and the dishes were piled up to the brim, so it was clear that she had spent a lot of money.
At this moment, the bride was sitting upright in the bridal chamber, her head covered with a bright red veil. The seventeen-year-old girl had suddenly arrived in a completely unfamiliar place. How could she not be afraid? She almost tore the handkerchief she was holding to shreds.
Her sister-in-law, who had come with her, noticed her little actions and quickly comforted her, "My silly girl, today is your big day. You must be happy and not let people think you don't want to marry into this family."
The bride wanted to say no, but remembering her family's instructions before she left home that she shouldn't speak before the veil was lifted, she could only gently shake her head.
Seeing this, the sister-in-law nodded slightly, "Don't worry about it. Everyone knows that your mother-in-law is a capable and good-money person with a straightforward personality. Ever since you got engaged, countless girls in the village have envied you for marrying into Shenjia Village."
That's true. A year ago, Liu Feng'e was a widow with two sons and debts. No girl would avoid her. But who would have thought that in just one year, with her family's land and jobs in the county, she could build a house and afford a dowry? Now she's the one choosing someone else.
Shenjia Village was originally one of the poorest villages, but now it has not only built workshops, but also benefited several surrounding villages. It has also opened a village school, with tuition fees of only 500 coins a year, which is much cheaper than other villages.
Now, young men and women from all around would love to marry a girl from Shenjia Village or a boy from Shenjia Village. They might even be willing to marry into Shenjia Village themselves.
These days, the people of Shenjia Village are really busy. They just finished harvesting wheat, and it's time to harvest potatoes in the fields too. However, many people in the village are working in workshops, and there are simply not enough people to help those with lots of land. But they are reluctant to hire people from outside.
What can we do? We just have to keep going, working from dawn till dusk, without even a moment to catch our breath.
Even Li Dayong, the village's notorious lazybones, was forced to carry a hoe and work in the fields every day. Under the scorching sun, he remembered how good it was when Li Yunxiang and Li Erya were around, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
When the village headman finished tallying the village's harvest for the year from house to house and went to the county to submit the summer tax book, he walked with a swagger.
The tax official took the booklet handed to him by the village head, flipped through it several times, and frowned more and more. He looked up and asked, "How many acres of wasteland did your village reclaim before the New Year?"
The village headman respectfully replied, "In response to your question, sir, it is a total of 207 mu."
"Two hundred and seventy mu? Not two hundred and seventy mu?" He shook his head after saying that. "That's not right. Even if it's two hundred and seventy mu, we can't collect that much tax!"
As a junior tax official, he dealt with farmers year-round and immediately noticed that there was a problem with the tax collection in Shenjia Village. Normally, the problems found would be those who had underpaid taxes, but this time, Shenjia Village not only did not underpay, but actually overpaid by a considerable amount.
He pointed to a name in the booklet and said, "If I remember correctly, this Shen Zhengtai is you, right?"
"Sir, you are not mistaken, I am Shen Zhengtai," the village head said with a smile.
The village headman said with a forced smile, "Your ten mu of land can yield thirty shi of wheat? Tell me honestly, did you misremember, or did you do it on purpose!"
The booklet shows that about a dozen households paid more taxes than in previous years. In particular, Shen Zhengtai paid four and a half shi of grain for ten mu of land. You should know that three mu of land can only produce about that much grain. If this gets out, people will think that the tax officials are not following the law and are overcharging farmers for grain taxes.
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