Chapter 211: The grain seeds are lost
After the Double Ninth Festival, Daohua’s daily life has been enriched with another activity, which is riding horses in the suburbs of the city.
Sometimes she went with Zhou Jingwan, and sometimes she went alone.
Mrs. Li was worried about accidents, so every time she went out, Daohua had to be followed by not only Wang Man'er and Qin Xiaoliu, but also a maid and two servants.
The days became busy and time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was mid-October.
One day, Daohua came back from outside with Hongzao. When she returned to the main courtyard, she saw Madam Li sitting there with a sad face.
"Mom, what's wrong with you? Did someone make you angry?"
Madam Li glanced at her daughter, beckoned her to sit next to her, and then said with a smile: "With you here, who dares to bully me!"
Daohua smiled and said, "What's wrong with you?"
Madam Li sighed, "Your father just came back and said that the batch of grain seeds sent to Fenxi was lost!"
"What?!" Daohua's eyes widened in surprise. "How could it be lost? Aren't the grains supposed to be transported by the army? How could they be lost?"
Mrs. Li: "I heard they encountered robbers."
Daohua couldn't believe it: "Are robbers so powerful these days that they even dare to rob the army?"
Madam Li sighed and said, "It's all because of the severe drought in the north two years ago. Many people couldn't make ends meet, so they took to the mountains and became bandits. Although the harvest has improved slightly in the past two years, the land hasn't recovered yet, and the grain yield is low. We can't fill our stomachs, so the bandit problem is getting worse and worse."
Daohua frowned, "Don't those robbers know they're transporting grain that's about to be planted? If they rob them, how are we going to survive?"
Madam Li: "When bandits become bandits, can you still expect them to have a conscience and consider others? We should be thankful that bandits don't kill people indiscriminately."
Rice Flower looked worried. "What should we do now? Aren't the people in Fenxi dependent on this batch of winter wheat to plant so they can have food next year? Now that the grain is lost, won't there be another disaster?"
Madam Li shook her head. This was a matter concerning the people's livelihood, and it was not something that a mere woman in the harem could solve.
Rice Flower sighed, lamenting that life was very difficult for the people in ancient times.
Suddenly, Rice Flower raised her head and asked anxiously, "Mom, the grain seeds are lost. Will Dad be held responsible?"
Madam Li shook her head and soothed him, "No, your father handed the grain seeds over intact to Governor Guo. There are official documents for the handover. If the higher-ups want to blame someone, it's Governor Guo, not your father."
Only then did Daohua feel relieved.
In ancient times, people believed in collective responsibility. If something happened to their stepfather, none of their family would have an easy life.
Madam Li frowned: "But."
Daohuaxin asked, "But what?"
Madam Li sighed, "Your father had hoped to accumulate merit through the grain. If he had solved the problem of food and clothing for the people of Fenxi Province, even if your father wasn't an official there, he would have been credited for providing the grain. What a pity, now everything is gone."
Daohua nodded, then said with a worried look on her face, "Governor Guo is Xiao Yeyang's uncle. If he is punished, he will probably be worried."
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
The day after Daohua learned that the grain seeds were lost, Xiao Yeyang came to Yan's house.
At this time, Daohua was feeding red dates and fodder in the stable. She saw Butler Sun and Qin Wu and others hurriedly coming to the stable, leading the horses and about to leave.
If it were usual, when meeting Daohua, Butler Sun would have to say a few words of greeting, and Qin Wu would also touch the red dates, but this time, the two of them just greeted Daohua and left quickly.
"Has something happened? Butler Sun and the others look like they are going on a long journey." Daohua looked at the backs of the people leaving in confusion.
Qin Xiaoliu, who was standing by, was also puzzled and quickly said, "Miss, let me go and ask around."
Daohua nodded: "Go ahead."
After saying that, Qin Xiaoliu ran away.
After a while, Qin Xiaoliu came running back: "Miss, the master is back, and the little prince is also here. He is in the front yard now!"
Daohua quickly threw the fodder in her hand into the trough and frowned, "The academy doesn't have holiday until the end of the month. Why are they back now? Could it be about the grain?"
Daohua walked quickly towards the main courtyard. As soon as she reached the door, she saw Madam Li and Yan Wenxiu walking out in a hurry.
"Mom, brother, where are you going?"
Mrs. Li: "Your brother and I have some urgent matters to deal with right now. We'll talk to you when we're done." After saying this, the two of them left quickly.
Seeing this, Daohua was silent for a moment, then said to Wang Maner behind him, "Let's go to the front yard and take a look."
After exiting the Chuihua Gate, Daohua saw Xiao Yeyang sitting in the pavilion in the outer courtyard.
Different from his usual high-spirited self, this guy now looked a little worried, with a look of anxiety between his brows.
"What's wrong with you?"
Rice flowers walked into the pavilion.
Xiao Yeyang was worried about his uncle, Governor Guo. When he saw someone coming to disturb him, he was about to lose his temper. But when he looked up and saw it was Daohua, he immediately suppressed his anger and said gloomily, "Why are you here?"
"I should be the one asking you this." Daohua walked over and sat down opposite. Seeing Xiao Yeyang frowning, she asked, "Are you worried about your uncle?"
Xiao Yeyang looked at the rice flowers and nodded. "Due to the severe drought in the past two years, banditry has arisen in many parts of the north. My uncle was appointed governor to eradicate the banditry."
"Among them, Fenxi suffered the most severe disaster, so it also suffered the most banditry."
"The fundamental reason for the proliferation of banditry is a lack of food. Therefore, if we want to completely eliminate the bandit problem, we must find a solution to the root cause."
"Honestly, Lord Yan has developed a high-yield grain seed. Not only is the Emperor's uncle happy, but my uncle is also very happy. This way, he can solve the bandit problem sooner."
"But, at this very moment, the grain seeds were lost!"
If there is no harvest in Fenxi next year, the bandit problem will definitely become more and more serious. This will be a serious dereliction of duty for my uncle as the governor-general of the bandit suppression department. Even if there is a reason, my uncle will be punished.
"If a big mess happens, losing your job and title would be the least of your problems."
The Guo family also has many political enemies in the court. They will not miss such a good opportunity and will definitely severely injure the Guo family.
Hearing this, Daohua's heart also felt heavy.
If something really gets out of control, I'm afraid he'll be exiled and his property confiscated, right?
At this time, Yan Wenxiu walked over and looked at Xiao Yeyang: "Young Prince, my mother has sent people to various farms to collect the remaining grain seeds, but the quantity may not be large."
There was no way. The planting period of this batch of high-yield grain seeds was too short, and their family only harvested one season. In addition to keeping some for their own seeds, they also gave some to their friends, so they didn't save much.
Moreover, the timing of the loss of the seeds was so unfortunate. The Yan family had just planted the winter wheat seeds in their fields in early October.
(End of this chapter)
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