Chapter 122: Outsider [VIP]
When the officials came to Shahe Township, the villagers did not dare to approach their own fertile fields. They could only stand on the rural road, stretching their necks to look into the fields.
"It seems that our village is really going to waste wheat seeds to grow winter wheat this year." Someone in the crowd muttered in the back.
"Zhu Laosi, you're the most lazy and gluttonous person in the whole village. You even waste wheat seeds. You don't even own land. If it weren't for your three brothers supporting you, would you be alive today?"
"That's right, the officials have said that whoever has a good winter wheat harvest this year will be exempt from taxes for the entire next year. Don't be sour grapes."
Hey, my kindness was taken for granted.
Zhu Laosi, having been overheard, didn't hide his true intentions. He simply pushed his way through the crowd and stood at the front, pointing at the four people working in the fields: "You believe what the officials say, but do you see how those people work?"
The villagers looked in the direction of his finger and saw two yamen runners standing in the field with swords slung over their shoulders, looking around.
The other two people were one squatting and the other standing. The one squatting grabbed a handful of dirt, smelled and rubbed it, and said something to the village head Sun, while the other one was writing something with a pen.
Whose family works in the fields like this?
Zhu Laosi's instigation gradually took effect, and everyone began to doubt whether the two people who came could teach them how to grow winter wheat.
Don't waste their seeds, it's not worth it.
This person just followed the crowd, and within half a cup of tea, the discussion gradually became louder.
The villagers began to clamor for an explanation from the officials.
What explanation do you want?
We have to ensure that their wheat seeds are not wasted, and that the wheat seeds can survive the winter and have a harvest next spring.
In the fields, Yang Jizong, still under the instructions of Village Head Sun, continued to ask Zhao Xiaofu to register the soil fertility of each household, and if there was any deficiency, he would continue to apply fertilizer to maintain moisture.
"Young Master Yang, Mr. Zhao, do you want us to go over and suppress these people?" Li Xin held the sword at his waist and heard the shouting from the opposite side. The more he listened, the more he felt it was outrageous.
They actually questioned their identities.
Yang Jizong and Zhao Xiaofu naturally heard it, but it was already late, and they didn't plan to explain to their fellow villagers at this time.
So that night, the villagers knocked on the door of Village Head Sun one after another, wanting to know from him what these people were doing in the fields and whether they could guarantee that the winter wheat would survive after being planted.
Looking at the villagers who came to his house one after another, Village Chief Sun decided not to notify them to gather at the drying yard tomorrow. He could just notify each household that came at night.
The next morning, Village Chief Sun found the residence of the four people with dark circles under his eyes.
But he shouted several times outside, but all he heard was the impatient sound of the horse and the sound of the door opening next door.
"Head of the village, they went out early this morning and are not at home." Chen Liang, who lived next door, yawned three times in a row while wearing his clothes. "You didn't sleep well last night. Go home and take a nap."
It would be fine if I didn't mention this, but I get angry when I mention Village Chief Sun. He didn't sleep well because of the disturbance caused by the villagers.
Village Chief Sun found Yang Jizong and Zhao Xiaofu in the fields and told them the villagers' requests last night.
"Village Chief Sun, please go back first. We will teach everyone how to plant winter wheat at noon."
Village Chief Sun stood aside and refused to leave. To be honest, although he knew that the newly appointed Village Chief Shen of Xiahe Village had planted winter wheat last year, she did not come.
Who can guarantee that these two "scholars" in front of them can teach them how to grow winter wheat?
"Captain Sun, this mission was personally assigned to me by Lord Li. You don't trust us. Don't you trust Lord Li?"
Village Chief Sun waved his hands repeatedly to show that he didn't dare. "Then I'll have everyone gather in the drying yard. You two can come over as soon as you're done."
"Okay." Yang Jizong watched Village Chief Sun walk towards the village, taking one deep step and one shallow step in the mud.
After they confirmed the soil moisture and fertility of the last household in Shahe Township, they washed their hands at home and simply cooked a pot of noodles. The four of them ate it quickly and then hurried to the drying yard.
"Captain Sun, is everyone here?" Li Xin stood aside and looked at the group of men, women, young and old in front of him.
"Everyone's here." Village Chief Sun picked up the gong and struck it three times, signaling everyone to be quiet. "Alright, stop discussing this among yourselves. Since everyone wants a good harvest next year, you should listen carefully to what these two have to say today."
After saying this, Village Chief Sun handed the right to speak to Yang Jizong and Zhao Xiaofu.
Yang Jizong signaled Zhao Xiaofu to go forward and read out the names of the families whose land was lacking in fertilizer and moisture.
Being stared at by so many pairs of eyes, it would be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous. Zhao Xiaofu took his notebook and began to flip through the pages one by one.
"Chen Liang's land has too many weeds and needs to be weeded. It's not fertile enough, so we need to fertilize it twice before sowing."
The villagers' eyes quickly turned to the Chen family.
Chen Liang's face flushed as he stumbled over his argument: "How is that possible? My land is very good, there's no grass there. What do you, a scholar, know?"
"So what if I'm a scholar? Who says scholars can't farm? From yesterday afternoon until today, we've all recorded who's taking good care of their land and who's not, and we've all written it down here!"
Zhao Xiaofu held up the notebook in his hand and wrote on it for everyone.
"If anyone thinks what we say is wrong, they can go and verify it. We all make a living by renting the land, so no one should bully anyone else!"
Chen Liang was so angry that his face turned red. In order not to lose face, he went to check the field.
Behind them.
The result was naturally as Zhao Xiaofu said, Chen Liang came back in disgrace and stood behind his family.
Zhao Xiaofu continued, "Big Zhu, Second Zhu, and Third Zhu, these three families have taken good care of their farmland. Whether it's the moisture content, fertility, or weeds, there's nothing to complain about. If everyone follows their example and takes good care of their fields, the wheat seeds will sprout without a problem."
The three brothers who were praised felt a little embarrassed. There was nothing they could do. Their three families relied on this land to support their families, so they had no choice but to do their best.
Zhu Laosi, standing by, said proudly: "Did you all hear that? This kind of land still belongs to my Zhu family."
"Oh, Old Man Zhu, who was that person who was complaining about wasting wheat seeds yesterday? Now he's all fired up."
It looked like the crowd was about to start making noise again.
Before Sun, the village chief, could start beating the gongs and drums, Li Xin had already rushed over, beating them and shouting, "Shut up, everyone, and listen carefully. Whichever family Zhao Tongsheng tells you to do, do as he says. Stop giving me trouble. Do you still want to know how to grow winter wheat? Do you still want to be exempted from taxes for a good harvest, okay?"
Li Xin's roar accurately hit everyone's pain point, and everyone immediately stopped talking and listened attentively.
After Zhao Xiaofu pointed out the problems with each family's land one by one, he licked his dry lips, stuffed the notebook back into his school bag, and retreated behind Yang Jizong.
The next highlight was Yang Jizong’s explanation of how to breed winter wheat and the various things to pay attention to during breeding. He also gave a specific date for when to sow.
When the villagers heard that it would take more than half a month to plant, they became anxious: "Why can't we plant now? You've already told us the method. If we don't plant now, we're afraid we'll forget it by then."
"That's right. If we plant seeds now, we can harvest crops earlier."
Yang Jizong looked at Li Xin, and before he opened his mouth, Li Xin already understood what he meant.
clang clang clang!
The shrill sound of gongs and drums rang out again, and the villagers covered their ears and closed their mouths.
Yang Jizong waited until they were completely quiet before explaining, "If the villagers planted the seeds in the ground now, it would be like giving relief food to the pests hiding in the ground for the winter. No matter how well you cultivate the land, it would be useless."
Village Chief Sun couldn't stand it anymore and stood up and scolded, "You laymen, if you don't know how to grow winter wheat, don't take it for granted. Just do what Young Master Yang and Zhao Tongsheng teach you. If anything goes wrong, you will be responsible for it yourself. Don't blame others."
"Captain Sun, we're just asking. We definitely won't plant the seeds in advance. We're not stupid."
"That's right, we will definitely plant winter wheat according to the instructions of the two adults."
Yang Jizong told everyone not to worry about forgetting the sowing method. He would write down the method and give it to the village head Sun, who would then read it to everyone every day until the day of sowing.
"Oh, that's great! This way we can all remember it. You scholars are really smart."
The villagers showered them with praise.
Yang Jizong left the crowd and went back to his residence to write down the method, while Zhao Xiaofu was surrounded by the crowd and went to the fields.
Everyone wanted to take advantage of the fact that they were still in Shahe Township and let them watch them tending the fields with their own eyes. If there was anything wrong, they could point it out and ask them to correct it.
Just as Village Chief Sun said, they know how to farm, but this is their first time planting winter wheat, and they are unsure of the soil moisture and fertility, so they can only ask Zhao Xiaofu and Yang Jizong for help.
After five consecutive days, the promotion of winter wheat in Shahe Township progressed smoothly.
What surprised Yang Jizong during this period was that several tenant farmers were actually willing to use a small handful of wheat seeds to try breeding and sowing according to the method he taught.
They don't care whether the small handful of seeds they plant now can survive the winter. What they care about is whether they are doing the right thing. They would rather lose this little bit of seeds now than lose a large field of wheat in the future.
And it was precisely because of the practices of these tenant farmers that Yang Jizong had a new way to promote his products.
In the next Tucheng Village, Yang Jizong used a handful of wheat seeds to demonstrate to the villagers how to breed and sow seeds, teaching the tenant farmers how to sow winter wheat in the most direct way, and then left a written method, which would be more foolproof.
In half a month, the four had promoted this sowing method to countless villages and let the tenant farmers know about it.
On this day, the four arrived at Mengusi Village near Chengguan Town.
Li Xin and Liu Chuang borrowed a house from the village head, whom they were familiar with, to live in temporarily.
As soon as they settled down and before they had time to pack their bags, Yang Jizong and Zhao Xiaofu asked Li Xin and Liu Chuang to borrow horses so that they could go back home the next day.
As soon as this was mentioned, the two of them agreed immediately.
While promoting winter wheat planting in various villages along the way, the four of them had already formed a tacit understanding that they understood each other's intentions without saying much.
"Chengguan Town is far away from Xiahe Village. Please be careful when riding on the road." Liu Chuang said as he made the bed.
Li Xin handed his sword to Yang Jizong: "Take this sword with you. It can be used to ward off any dangers you encounter on the road."
Zhao Xiaofu, who had fetched water from outside to scrub the tables and chairs, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Brother Li, Brother Liu, there's no need to bring the knife. We haven't encountered any trouble along the way."
Yang Jizong reached out and took the knife.
Zhao Xiaofu pursed his lips upon seeing this, thinking that everyone was being too cautious.
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