"And then there's Wang Cuihua and Fang Guangzong. You two are shameless. If you had done fewer things that upset the Da Niu family, Da Niu would definitely have gotten along well with everyone."
"Back then, people grew high-yield potatoes from bean sprouts, and you all rushed to cultivate the land, and some even fought over it."
"Later, everyone's potato harvest was not as good as Douya's. You even made trouble for Douya. Douya only rented your land to keep things peaceful. After that, how did you treat her family? Behind her back, you all laughed at her for being a sucker."
"Now look what's happened! The sucker has grown a high-yield wheat himself, and we're too ashamed to ask him to sell us the wheat seeds!"
The village chief's words made some people blush and lower their heads in embarrassment.
Zhang pursed her lips.
“Every village has its share of friction. If Douya truly considered us fellow villagers, she wouldn’t hold grudges. I…”
"Shut up! You're the most shameless person to say such things. After you and Fang Guangzong were caught stealing cattle, according to our village rules, you should have had your hands broken and been kicked out of the village. It was only because Douya relented that you were allowed to say such things here. You should be grateful!"
Zhang was humiliated by what she was being said, but she resolutely refused to admit that she was wrong.
Looking at them one by one, the village chief knew that saying anything more would be useless.
Fang Daniu's family was still harvesting wheat. The large ears of barley passed by them and were transported to the drying ground, which made him even more heartbroken.
For generations, their grain production has been limited, so hunger was a frequent occurrence. Even in these good times, many families in the village still eat only one meal a day in order to save food.
Which farmer doesn't want plenty of grain at home, especially those who have suffered hardship and hunger?
He couldn't stand it anymore, so he turned around and went home.
Even though Fang Qing's yard was big enough, it couldn't hold all the grain after harvesting ten acres of land, so Fang Daniu had to ask the Zhou family grain station in the county town to come and collect the grain.
Having experience with potatoes, the Zhou family's grain collector was well-prepared. However, when he arrived at Fang Qing's house and saw the wheat piled up at the gate, he was still taken aback.
He thought all the wheat in Fangjia Village was piled up here, but when he asked, he found out it belonged to Fang Qing's family.
With a good wheat harvest, Fang Daniu and Zhao Shi, who had been on tenterhooks for months, finally relaxed and warmly greeted the Zhou family's manager.
"Your family farms over a hundred acres of land? The harvest isn't very good."
There were probably 20,000 jin piled up in the yard. For a hundred mu of land, that's not a lot.
"No, this is only ten mu of land. There are still more than one hundred mu waiting to be harvested."
Manager Zhou was stunned, staring at Fang Daniu in disbelief.
How much did you say?
How could ten acres be so much?
He thought Fang Daniu was lying to him, but when Fang Daniu took him to see a large field of wheat waiting to be harvested, and sacks piled up on the wheat drying ground, he was so shocked that he didn't speak for a long time.
"This, this is too much. I can't make a decision. No, I have to go home and ask my husband for instructions in person."
Based on this yield per mu, 120 mu of land would yield 180,000 jin.
Even if they dared to accept it, the county's official granaries couldn't hold that much grain!
Manager Zhou felt like he was dreaming. He took a carriage and returned to the county town as fast as he could to report the matter to Master Zhou.
After listening, Master Zhou thought he was talking nonsense.
"How is that possible? I've been buying grain for so many years, and this is the first time I've ever heard of wheat yielding 1,500 jin per mu. Farmers wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing. You haven't been scammed, have you?"
“How could I be fooled? I saw it with my own eyes. There was a stack of sacks as tall as a person piled up in the wheat drying yard, and there were still nearly 100 acres of unharvested land. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years.”
Shopkeeper Zhou was so excited that he could hardly speak.
Master Zhou didn't believe it and insisted on going to see for himself.
However, when he arrived at Fangjia Village and saw it with his own eyes, he still felt like he was dreaming.
Those who acted as grain merchants simply collected grain from ordinary people and then sold it to government officials or merchants, making a profit from the price difference.
In order to ensure that the national treasury is fuller, the imperial court assigns certain quotas to local governments every year, and the local governments then pass on these quotas to grain merchants. However, these quotas are not so easy to complete.
Every household is short of food, so who has extra to sell?
If they fail to complete their tasks, the county government will also impose fines on them.
So today, looking at this grain, his excitement was palpable.
If he accepted the grain from Fang Daniu's family, he would have completed the grain collection task assigned by the county government several years ahead of schedule, saving an unknown amount of money.
"Master Zhou, would you be willing to accept this grain from my family?"
"Yes, that's absolutely possible!"
Mr. Zhou excitedly grasped Fang Daniu's hand.
"Da Niu, you're truly a talent!"
Fang Daniu scratched his head sheepishly.
“This land belongs to my daughter, and she grew the wheat. I don’t have that ability.”
Mr. Zhou suddenly remembered the potatoes from last time and subconsciously looked for Fang Qing. At that moment, she was sitting on the edge of the ground sharing a melon with two little boys.
"Your bean sprouts are amazing, Da Niu. You have to promise me that you can only sell your grain to me."
Fang Daniu looked somewhat troubled.
"Uncle Zhou, it's not that I don't want to sell to you, it's just that my child said he wants to discuss a deal with you."
"Oh? What kind of business?"
Fang Daniu thought about what Fang Qing had told him last night. He originally wanted to tell it to Master Zhao, but he felt that he couldn't explain it clearly, so he quickly called Fang Qing over.
"Grandpa Zhou, I'm Bean Sprout, do you remember me?"
"Of course I remember. Your dad just told me you wanted to do business with me?"
Master Zhou's eyes were full of loving kindness.
This child is not only good-looking, but also incredibly clever. The Fang family must have accumulated a lot of good karma in their past life to have a child like Douya.
"Grandpa Zhou, this is not the place to talk. Come home with me and we'll talk this out properly."
Fang Qing invited Master Zhao home, made tea and poured water, which made Master Zhao very happy.
Zhou Dao's behavior this week doesn't seem like that of a seven-year-old child at all.
"Bean Sprout, what kind of business do you want to do with me?"
"It's about buying and selling grain seeds. You just saw my family's harvest. It's not enough for just my family to have such a good harvest. I want everyone to have such a good harvest so that everyone can have enough to eat."
Master Zhao hadn't expected her to have such lofty ambitions.
"But my abilities are limited, and I can't spread these grain seeds to other places, so I thought of you. You're in the grain business, going from street to street, you must have a lot of experience."
When Fang Qing finished speaking, Mr. Zhou knew what she wanted to collaborate on.
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