“This…” Yun Dazheng looked somewhat embarrassed.
"What? Is it inconvenient to talk about it?" Cao Limin remained friendly, but before Yun Dazheng could speak, he continued, "Uncle Yun, I didn't mean to covet your family's farming methods. My main point is..."
"Hey, Uncle Yun, your family is doing well now. But you were born into poverty and know how hard it is to go hungry."
"To be honest, as the county head, I feel terrible every year when it's time to harvest the autumn and summer grains. The people are still hungry, but we have to collect such heavy taxes... I really wish we could collect less so that everyone could have more grain in their hands and more meals."
"But there's nothing we can do... Our country's finances are in dire straits right now. The debts we have to repay every year are astronomical figures. It's not just the common people; even the King himself has to tighten his belt and live frugally."
"Your rice harvest this year may seem like it's only increased by a little over 200 jin, but if you calculate the actual increase, it's actually 50%!"
"If this method of planting can be promoted, even if a family harvests 50% more rice, or even just 20% or 10% more, it would allow many people to have a few more full meals and avoid going hungry for a couple of days."
"Uncle Yun, Brother Yun... I, Cao, solemnly request you here. For the sake of the millions of people in our country who work hard to farm but still can't get enough to eat, please publish your farming methods."
"Don't worry, I, Cao, will definitely not let you publish this method for nothing. You will get all the credit you deserve. I will also do my best to apply for the rewards and compensation you are entitled to. I can guarantee that the benefits you receive will be much greater than the value of any extra grain you could produce if you kept the method in your hands and farmed for a lifetime or two."
"No, County Chief, you've misunderstood." Yun Dazheng was somewhat amused and exasperated as he looked at Cao Limin and said, "It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, but my method of growing crops is really... I've been growing crops for decades, and this is the first time I've encountered something like this."
"You don't know, I'm old and frail now and can't do heavy work. Duo'er is so filial and doesn't want me to work hard, so all the land in my house is leased to Lu Laogen in the village, and we ask him to help us cultivate it."
“Lu Laogen?” Cao Limin turned to look at Lu Zhimin, who had been standing beside him, and asked, “What’s going on? Why didn’t you report it?”
Lu Zhimin quickly spoke up: "County Magistrate, you've really wronged me. That Lu Laogen is my cousin, and I know his abilities. The high yield of rice in Uncle Yun's family has nothing to do with him. After all... his own land is actually the same as in previous years, with a yield of just over 500 jin per mu."
"He couldn't possibly put extra effort into growing grain for Uncle Yun's family or grow it exceptionally well... At most, he would just treat Uncle Yun's land as if it were his own and cultivate it carefully. Anything else... that's really impossible."
Cao Limin didn't believe in superstitions. Well... to be precise, he didn't want to miss any opportunity to 'find out' the reason for the high grain yield. He immediately said, "Whether it's possible or not, I'll ask first. Call him over, and I'll ask him."
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