Chapter 246 A Bountiful Harvest
This day will be remembered by all the people of Nanjiang City.
Clumps of rice were harvested, the stalks were immediately removed, and the rice was placed in sacks and carried to the roadside. After one mu (unit of land area) was harvested, about ten sacks of rice were neatly arranged by the roadside. There were about ten sacks per mu, which was more than they had for three mu before!
The sun was blazing today, and people were sweating profusely from early morning. Magistrate Nie left the city with his officials as soon as it was light. He thought he had arrived early enough, but he was surprised to find that the Zhao couple and Prince An Ding were even earlier than him. He learned from them that the Zhao couple had stayed in the village the night before.
Magistrate Nie thought to himself, "Does he have to go to such lengths?" But his face was full of sincerity. He wasn't wearing his official robes today, but his everyday clothes. His attendants and officials went to help in the fields. Li Changyi was wearing a white robe, looking aloof and detached from the world. He was no longer as gentle as before, and stood there with a stern face. No one dared to approach within three meters.
Zhao Yunjing and Zhou Mujiao were beaming with joy. They had a good idea of this season's yield. In addition, Zhou Mujiao had visited every village in the last ten days or so, and she had personally prepared the fertilizer for the villagers. She didn't want to rely on metaphysics to build her business, but the people of Nanjiang City had just experienced a natural disaster and they desperately needed a bumper harvest to boost their spirits. Similarly, the Great Liang Kingdom also needed one, so she went with the flow and used metaphysics.
Besides, her constitution might disappear at any time, so she might as well use it. Every time she uses it, it's one less time available, which is only natural. She wouldn't regret using it all up, but if she let it go without ever using it, she would regret it a hundred years later.
"Sir, this is all the millet from Fang Lizheng's one mu of land!"
Magistrate Nie personally weighed the bags, while Hu Peiran kept count, recording each bag as it was weighed. A circle of townspeople surrounded them, and those closest to Magistrate Nie started counting before Hu Peiran even finished recording. After all thirteen bags were weighed, before Hu Peiran could even ask for the sum, someone had already set up the abacus and shouted, "One thousand catties! One thousand catties per mu!"
A thousand catties! They didn't even get this much from five mu of land before!
Even after drying and hulling, there are still at least 700 catties of rice left. Moreover, rice bran is also useful. In years of famine, a household that can afford to eat bran cakes is considered wealthy!
The surrounding area was bustling with noise. It took Fang Bo a while to react. He looked at Hu Peiran's notebook with trembling hands. Thanks to the promotion team, these poor people had been able to barely recognize a few words in the past few months.
Hu Peiran wrote down the quantity: Fang Bo of Fangjia Village, yielding ten shi per mu.
"Lord Hu, does my family's one mu of land truly yield ten shi of millet?"
“The millet is all laid out here, would I lie to you? Come, two people, weigh it again for Fang Lizheng.”
Fang Bo stared wide-eyed as he re-weighed his family's rice, carefully counting the grains. In the end, he calculated that it was ten shi plus about ten jin!
"Dad! Mom! We had a bumper harvest! Waaaaah..."
Fang Bo buried his head and wept bitterly. People in the city thought he was crying tears of joy, but the people of Fangjia Village knew that he was crying tears of sorrow.
The family has enough food, but no one in the family is left? How can this not be tragic?
However, Fang Bo didn't cry much; he knew his limits.
Today is a great day of harvest, a day worth celebrating with a feast. Everyone is in high spirits on such a good day, but he is holding a funeral. Who wouldn't say it's bad luck?
Screams echoed from Fangjia Village, and the same scene was playing out in Nanfeng Village, a few miles away.
When Zhao Yunjing and Zhou Mujiao arrived, it was past noon, the time when the sun was at its strongest. Usually at this time, most people would be lying at home or enjoying the cool shade under the trees. Even on busy farming days, people would take a break at this time. But today, the villagers seemed to have taken a super tonic, and they were all tireless, sweating profusely in the fields, with laughter and chatter filling the air. Someone started singing a harvest folk song passed down from ancient times, and once the song began, everyone joined in.
The favorable weather and peace described in books probably refer to the current situation.
However, there are exceptions, such as Hu Quan.
His rice paddies had been destroyed once, and although they grew normally after being repaired, they were still lagging behind others in terms of harvest time. While others were enjoying a bumper harvest, his two mu of land were still green. Although the remaining three mu of rice were so plentiful that the drying yard couldn't hold them all, people still strive to prove themselves, right? Old Wang next door got 600 shi from his five mu of land, so his five mu of land must have yielded at least half a jin more than him!
But now...
Hu Quan sighed, then looked up and saw Zhao Yunjing and Zhou Mujiao. He was immediately energized, as if he had seen a savior, and he ran over from the field, shouting, "Lord Zhao, Doctor Zhou!"
Zhou Mujiao looked at him and smiled: "Everyone is singing, why are you looking so gloomy? Are you afraid your harvest won't be as good as others? Or are you afraid that those two acres of late rice will fail?"
Hu Quan felt a little embarrassed after his thoughts were exposed, but he didn't deny it: "Dr. Zhou, I'm feeling uneasy."
He could have shared the joy of the harvest with everyone, but a few 'fools' ruined his journey, leaving him alone, filled with anxiety and uncertainty. Those who haven't experienced it can't understand this feeling.
"Don't worry, you may see them happy today, but in another month, you'll see how envious they are of you."
"Doctor Zhou means that my two acres of late-season rice will yield more than theirs?"
"Whether it's possible or not, we'll know in another month." Zhou Mujiao smiled faintly. "I came here today not only to reassure you, but also to say goodbye to everyone. Everyone had a bumper harvest this season, which shows that our promotion team's work has been very effective. We have to go to the next stop."
"You're leaving so soon?"
Naturally, they were going to leave. Their goal was to join forces in Lingnan and transform Lingnan, which had always been known as a wild and uncivilized place, into a true land of plenty.
Hu Quan immediately felt sad.
For the past few months, Zhao Yunjing and his team have spent almost every day with the people, sometimes even eating and living with them. They are very approachable and close, just like family. He thought they would stay in Nanjiang City for a long time, so when he suddenly heard that they were leaving, his nose immediately felt sore, and he didn't know what to say.
"I will come with my fellow villagers to see you off first thing tomorrow morning."
"Let's not spoil everyone's fun. You can keep this to yourself. By the way, those 'idiots' will be sent to the army, but their families will be released before the New Year."
“I understand, and I will not cause them any more trouble.”
Zhou Mujiao didn't mean it that way, but then she thought there was no need to explain. Hu Quan was an open-minded person, and if he was willing to let it go, it wouldn't be bad for the neighbors to get along amicably in the future.
Hu Quan then asked, "Lord Zhao, Doctor Zhou, will you come back?"
"After we complete the task given by the Emperor, he may come or he may not. But regardless of whether we come or not, I hope that three years from now, there will be no more hunger in Nanjiang City, Nanhua City, and even the entire Jiangnan region, and everyone will be able to live and work in peace and contentment."
Hu Quan burst into tears on the spot. The next day, before dawn, he went to the city gate to see Zhao Yunjing and Zhou Mujiao off, but when the city gate opened, no one was there. Later, the guards told him that Zhao Yunjing and his party had left in the middle of the night.
Hu Quan could only offer his silent blessings, wishing Zhao Yunjing and Zhou Mujiao a safe and successful trip.
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