"Old Zhao, you didn't deliberately find the best-growing piece of land to show Lord Song, did you?" said the village chief of Qingshan Village.
Because their village was the first to be inspected and they weren't prepared, they were severely scolded, which allowed Old Zhao to get away with it.
"That's not true." Zhao Yongkang glared at him. This bastard couldn't stand anyone being better than him. "My lord, you are wise. Our land has indeed grown well after being fertilized. But there are some families who don't have fertile land. You can look around and you'll see that I'm not lying."
Song Kangcheng seemed to have not expected Zhao Yongkang to be so frank. After all, when he came out on inspection, everyone naturally wanted to show him the good side in order to get a reward.
Zhao Yongkang gave Old Man Xu a wink, and Old Man Xu walked over awkwardly. "Lord Song, this is an old farmer from our village. He's the one who came up with this method of fertilizing the soil."
"By the way, he also made that waterwheel."
This was the first time Old Man Xu had stood face to face with the county magistrate. He was so nervous that he didn't know what to do, afraid that he might do something wrong and anger the magistrate.
"This humble subject, Xu Da, greets Your Excellency the County Magistrate." As he spoke, he was about to kneel down.
Song Kangcheng quickly raised his hand to help him up, "No need for formalities." Old Man Xu had not been able to kneel, so he had to stand up, his two hands awkwardly clasped together, not daring to even raise his head.
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Fortunately, Kang Cheng had seen this situation many times before and knew that the people feared officials, so he took the initiative to ask questions, mostly about the land. At first, Old Man Xu was uneasy, but after saying a few words, he felt relieved.
Fu Man'er ran up to him from behind without his knowledge. She was so small that she was almost invisible among the adults.
Seeing that Fu Man'er was getting closer and closer to the county magistrate, Wang Erni didn't dare to go forward. She could only follow behind, praying in her heart that Fu Man'er would sneak back quickly, or she would be scolded if she was discovered.
As it turned out, her worries were unnecessary. Fu Man'er obediently followed Old Man Xu's side, and when Old Man Xu couldn't explain something, she even helped him finish the sentence.
Upon hearing this, everyone realized something was wrong with the voice and looked towards Old Man Xu. They saw a little girl in a green dress standing next to him, looking adorable and quite endearing.
Song Kangcheng also looked over, and he didn't expect that the person who said those words was such a young girl. He was not a person who liked children, but for some reason, he felt happy when he saw Fu Man'er for the first time.
"Greetings, Lord Song." Fu Man'er was not intimidated by being discovered. She clasped her hands in a fist and bowed to Song Kangcheng.
Old Xu quickly explained, "Lord Song, this is my granddaughter, Fu Man'er, just now..."
He suddenly stopped talking when he got to the crucial point. His mind went blank, he couldn't remember anything, and his palms were sweating. Luckily, Man'er added a sentence from the side.
"It's alright." Song Kangcheng did not blame him, but looked at Fu Man'er instead, "Such a young girl knows these things. Your Dashi Village really has talented people."
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Of the four scholars he brought, one was from Dashi Village. I heard he was Old Man Xu's son. Now he has a granddaughter too. The Xu family really has some ability.
"Let's go, let's go see that rice-fish farming method you mentioned." As soon as Song Kangcheng spoke, Zhao Yongkang immediately led the way. In the entire village, only the Xu family did this, so naturally, we were going to see the Xu family.
The village chiefs who followed were also overjoyed to see the Xu family's rice paddies. Nowadays, many families can't even afford fine rice. If every family's rice grew as well as the Xu family's, then they would have nothing to worry about.
The fish in the rice paddies were swimming swiftly between the ditches, but after Fu Man'er squatted on the edge of the paddy field and put her hand into the water, quite a few of them swam towards her.
Fish swam past her hand as if playing with her. Fu Man'er herself was a koi fish, and these fish all liked her. As soon as her hand brushed across the fish, spiritual energy spread out.
She didn't intentionally disperse her spiritual energy. Perhaps it was because they were all of the same kind that she did so. Her spiritual energy could improve people's health, but it was unknown whether it would have any effect on these crops.
"The little girl is quite popular with the fish," someone said enviously. No wonder they didn't see any fish anywhere else; they all came to her.
Old Xu said with a smile, "Man'er caught these fish from the river when they were still very small. She would come over every few days to play with them, and it seems like the fish all know her."
As he spoke, a hint of pride crept onto his face. His little granddaughter was just that amazing; she could even tame fish.
Little did they know, these fish treated Fu Man'er like a VIP. To receive a VIP's touch made them happy, excited, and blissful! Their lives were worthwhile!
Discussion group
Song Kangcheng shifted his gaze from Fu Man'er to Zhao Yongkang, "Why is it that only the Xu family raises fish in their fields?"
After all, most families in the village have already used the method of fertilizing the soil, and this method of raising fish in rice paddies is a win-win situation. Shouldn't the whole village do it?
At this point, Zhao Yongkang's face showed a distressed expression. "My lord, you don't know, Old Xu and I went door to door to talk to them, but no one was willing."
"They were all afraid that these fish would ruin the rice, and in the end, they would have nothing left."
So that's how it is. Raising fish in rice paddies is not as effective as using fertile soil; the results aren't as quick, and by then it's too late to salvage the situation.
"Uncle Xu, how confident are you about this rice-fish farming method?" Song Kangcheng's question stumped Old Man Xu. He had never thought about this question before. Since it was Man'er's idea, it must be excellent.
They didn't know when it started, but Fu Man'er's words had become so important in the family. Her ideas were all considered excellent by everyone, without even a thought about what would happen if they didn't work.
But it won't fail, it's always worked, they just believe in Man'er.
"Lord Song." Fu Man'er stood up, her chubby little face unusually serious. It was clear that she really wanted to be serious, but unfortunately her face was too chubby, making people unable to resist touching her.
Song Kangcheng was startled by his own thoughts. He quickly put his hands behind his back, so no one could tell that anything was wrong.
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Standing behind him, Xie Ming couldn't help but whisper to Xu Genshu, "You must pinch our little niece's cheeks properly later." His hands were itching to do it.
Xu Genshu glared at him warningly, while Fu Man'er over there started to speak.
“My brother told me a story about Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs.”
"Shennong risked his life to taste all kinds of herbs. Before he ate the herbs, he did not know whether they were poisons that would kill people or antidotes that would save their lives."
She's loved this story ever since she was a wandering spirit. There are so many unknowns; you won't know until you try.
But if you try it, you have to be prepared for it to be either poison or antidote. She understands these principles, so how could the county magistrate not know them? How did he become the county magistrate?
Song Kangcheng wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he actually saw doubt in the little girl's eyes.
What was she questioning? Song Kangcheng wanted to take a closer look, but Fu Man'er returned to normal.
He certainly understood what Fu Man'er meant by those words, and Song Kangcheng had to think highly of Fu Man'er; this child knew so much.
"Lord Song," Old Xu bowed to him, "This is the first time our family has tried rice-fish farming. As it stands, the rice is indeed growing well, but we'll have to wait until the autumn harvest to see the results."
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Their whole family believed in Man'er unconditionally, but it was understandable that others didn't, since the crops were their lifeline.
Song Kangcheng nodded. Although he had never grown crops, he understood the principle. But as Fu Man'er had just said, how could one know whether something was poison or medicine without tasting it?
Before taking office, he had already investigated the area and found that the land was barren and the yield was extremely low. Even with so much land, the people here still lived in poverty.
Many people have already abandoned their land and gone out to make a living, which gives them a higher chance of survival.
If he can change these phenomena, it will greatly help his future career.
In a short while, Song Kangcheng had already made up his mind. He called the four scholars to his side and had already thought of the test questions.
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