Chapter 85 Want to Eat for Free [VIP]
After the wheat was harvested, only wheat stubble remained in the field.
The students first apologized to Chen Yao for being rude, and then in the face of Shen Yao's confusion.
The students rolled up their long gowns and tied them around their waists, and rolled up their sleeves to their arms, then took up their farm tools and went down to the fields.
Chen Yao followed behind them, pulling out the straw piles in the ground, shaking off the dirt on them and throwing them aside, occasionally looking up at the students in front of her.
It was just as they said, and the techniques of each of them were obviously those of people who often did farm work at home.
"There's some cold tea and hard-boiled eggs in the basket on the stalks of the field. If you're thirsty or hungry, you can go over there and rest for a while."
"I understand, Madam Shen." The boys replied without even raising their heads.
On this side, Li Menghong was quite surprised when he walked all the way to the field under the escort of the old official.
He vaguely remembered that there were not many acres of fertile land in Xiahe Village, but now, looking at the people plowing the fields and the crops growing around the fields, he couldn't help but bend down to take a look out of curiosity.
As he bent down, he nearly got hit.
Wu Guifen, the daughter-in-law of Zhou Dashun, had just finished using the toilet in her own edamame field. When she stood up, she saw two unfamiliar faces. She was so frightened that she waved her hands and screamed.
"Dad, someone is trying to steal our edamame. Come quickly."
"Who stole your soybeans? Our master was just curious and wanted to take a look. Don't talk nonsense, old woman." The old official saw that the vulgar woman was still adjusting the belt around her waist, and he knew what she was doing squatting on the ground.
Being called an old woman, Wu Guifen stiffened her neck and started to curse, spewing out whatever filthy words there were in the village, until the two old women in front of her were so badly scolded that their faces turned red.
"Bah! Do you think I'm a three-year-old kid who can be fooled? If you weren't trying to steal my edamame, why were you bending down?" Wu Guifen put her hands on her hips and suddenly thought of something. She picked up the straw sandals she was wearing and was about to hit the two of them.
"You two shameless old bastards, how dare you spy on me while I pee? I'll beat you to death."
Zhou Dashun came over from the field and heard what his wife was yelling. He picked up his hoe and rushed after them, wanting to beat the two men.
So in the fields of Xiahe Village, the scene of Zhou Dashun and his wife chasing Li Menghong and his servant appeared.
"Ayao, please help us stop these two old thieves." Zhou Dashun and his wife never thought that these two old guys could run so fast.
"Madam Shen, please hurry up and save us." The old official ran and waved to Shen Yao for help.
Chen Yao and the six students put down their farm work and walked towards the edge of the field when they heard the cry for help.
When I got closer, I saw an old man in gorgeous clothes running in front of me, sweating profusely, with his hair loose and a look of fear on his face.
"Sir Li, why are you here?" The students rushed forward to support the man and helped him block the aggressive Zhou Dashun and his wife.
Zhou Dashun and Wu Guifen looked at Chen Yao: "Ayao, who are these two old guys who stole the edamame from my field?"
Who was patrolling the village today? We had agreed not to let strangers in, so why did so many people suddenly show up today and were caught by the couple?
I'll have to talk about it later.
"Uncle and aunt are both students of Tongsheng, and are good friends with Brother Xiaofu. Is there any misunderstanding here?" Chen Yao stepped forward and grabbed the unyielding Wu Guifen, clamping her arm and moving her to the side.
Wu Guifen told Chen Yao what the two old men had done.
Li Menghong kept retorting from behind: "Shrew, what a shrew! I'm just curious about what crops you grow in your fields."
"Yes, I can prove it for my master." The old official ran slowly and was hit by Zhou Dashun with a clod of earth. His leg still hurts.
Wu Guifen was known in the village as a difficult person, but with Chen Yao by her side, her anger was immediately calmed down after hearing what she revealed.
"Ayao, what you said is true. Is he really our father and mother official?" Wu Guifen was pulled aside by Chen Yao, with her mouth wide open in disbelief.
Chen Yao nodded. Wu Guifen thought about what she had just done with her husband and was so scared that her legs went weak. She turned around and was about to pull the head of the household to kneel down in front of Li Menghong.
"Aunt, Lord Li doesn't want to publicize his visit, so just pretend you don't know anything about it. Go back with your uncle and turn the soil." Chen Yao held her arm to prevent her from kneeling.
Wu Guifen nodded, and walked back while muttering to herself, pulling her husband who was still looking for someone to settle the score.
The couple kept looking back as they walked along the ridge of the field. They were stared at by Li Menghong and his servant, and were so scared that they almost fell into the ditch next to them.
"Students pay their respects to Master Li." Without outsiders around, the students saluted Li Menghong again.
After this terrible thing happened, Li Menghong no longer cared about the false courtesy of these students. Since his identity was exposed, he simply told Chen Yao his purpose straight away.
"Sir, do you see the wheat stalks in my two acres of land?"
Li Mengyan, can winter wheat produce one dan of grain per mu?
"Teaching the people to grow winter wheat can indeed guarantee a yield of one dan per mu, assuming there are no natural disasters. If the land is fertile, the yield can even be higher."
Li looked at the woman in front of him, and his eyes fell on the wasteland covered with crops behind her. He narrowed his eyes and said, "You
Could it be that he has lost face and wants to cause trouble for them?
Chen Yao's heart skipped a beat. In the village, apart from her family who bought wasteland, the other villagers all reclaimed the wasteland on their own. They had no money to buy it, let alone report it.
Besides, the villagers didn’t reclaim much wasteland, they just dug along the way with their own hoes.
The old official beside Li Menghong had been working with his master for many years and could see the clues at a glance.
"How dare you open up wasteland without permission."
This scolding made Chen Yao's body tremble slightly. Fortunately, she quickly calmed herself down and spoke again, but she did not answer Li Menghong's question. Instead, she bravely questioned him.
"Sir, do you know why the villagers are reclaiming wasteland? Do you know what they plant on the wasteland?"
If he had not bent down to look at the crops in the field just now, Li Menghong really would not be able to answer the question Chen Yao was asking now.
"Of course I know about green jade beans. Everyone in the city loves to eat them these days."
Chen Yao asked again, "Sir, do you know that these green jade beans were originally picked when soybeans were immature? It was only because an old scholar in the city wrote a poem about it that it was served on the table. It was originally considered the lowest of the low in everyone's eyes."
Yeah?
He really didn't know this.
"Why are you telling me all this? This is not the reason why you did not report your land reclamation." Li Menghong said in a domineering tone.
"Sir, the villagers are being forced to open up wasteland and plant beans. They simply want to earn more money so they can pay the taxes after this year's autumn harvest. Do you know how much the taxes for Xiahe Village are this year?"
Li Menghong immediately looked at the old official beside him. The old official hesitated for a moment and was about to bow to reply, but Chen Yao answered first.
"Your Excellency, you love the people like your own children, but the Cui family is truly hateful. Originally, one acre of good farmland yielded two stone of grain, but now it has risen to three stone. If your Excellency looked through the past output of the fields, you would know that this is really forcing people to do what they want. They want to force the villagers to serve in the army and turn Xiahe Village into a deserted village." Chen Yao's face showed extreme misery when she thought of the hard labor in the quarry.
"Sir, if the winter wheat farming method can be implemented under your command, the villagers will no longer have to worry about not being able to pay taxes. The people will have surplus food, and the fertile fields will not be left uncultivated. If the emperor knew what you have done, he would certainly praise you highly."
These compliments made Li Menghong feel a little flattered.
The students also felt that Chen Yao was right. Besides, they had already read about the farming methods. Whether it was the investigation of the land in each village or the environment and climate, the records were very detailed.
They already have wheat seeds, so why can't they spread this method?
"If you don't believe me, you can send someone to our Xiahe Village to investigate this winter to see if it is really as I said. If you can promote this method, the people will surely sing your praises. It will truly benefit the country and the people." Chen Yao bowed deeply to him.
Before Li Menghong came, he thought that Yang Jizong deliberately said that this farming method was Chen Yao's idea in order to conceal the truth.
But after dealing with Shen Yao, he found that this matter was not as he had guessed.
"I will consider the winter wheat farming method, but it is wrong for you to open up wasteland without reporting it. After the autumn harvest, pay the taxes. I will send people to register and inspect the wasteland. If you open up wasteland recklessly again, I will punish you severely."
After Li Menghong's warning, Chen Yao naturally had no choice but to obey.
After all, he is an official and can decide their life or death with just one word.
In the fields, some villager leaked the news, letting Village Chief Xue know that Magistrate Li had come to the village.
Look, Mr. Xue picked up the hem of his clothes, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and ran from home to Li Menghong.
Village Chief Xue bowed to Li Menghong, his eyes constantly glancing at the two of them: "Sir, why didn't you tell us you were coming? What brings you here?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, Li Menghong immediately became displeased. The way a village head spoke was not even as pleasing as a peasant girl.
What did he mean by "ours"? Xiahe Village was under his jurisdiction, so he could go wherever he wanted. Why would he need to report to one of Cui's lackeys?
"What? Why does my master have to report to you, a mere head of the village, where he is going?" The old official rushed to Head of the Village Xue and shouted at him.
Village Chief Xue was also a shrewd man, with a smile on his face: "How dare I? Since you are here, why don't you come to my house for lunch at noon?"
Li Menghong shook his sleeves and looked sideways at Chen Yao, with deep meaning in his eyes.
Chen Yao was not stupid. After realizing what was happening, she immediately climbed up the pole. "Master Li and the other students are here for the village school. We have already agreed to have dinner at my house, so I won't bother the village head."
"Really? I saw your family had just harvested some wheat, so I decided to go and try some. After all, I'm also the head of the village, and I have something to report to Lord Li."
I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as this. He even wants to come to her house for a free meal.
Chen Yao said with a forced smile: "I was inconsiderate. Then please go ahead, sir and the village head."
Li Menghong, his servant, and Captain Xue turned around and left without any hesitation, feeling that it was reasonable.
Instead, the students in the field stayed where they were and shouted, "Madam Shen, we don't want to eat for free. Let's finish pulling out the wheat straw in the field before we go back."
Chen Yao turned around and smiled sincerely at these students. She told them that it didn't matter if they couldn't pull out all the mushrooms, so as not to miss lunch. Also, remember to finish the tea and eggs in the basket.
After saying this, he continued to bar his teeth at the backs of Li Menghong and Xue Lizhang, saying, "This meal will not be eaten in vain."
The family was reluctant to eat the food they had worked so hard to grow, so how could they let it end up in the stomachs of these two people? They would definitely make them vomit out as much as they ate.
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