Chapter 418, Harvest (Two chapters in one)
Looking at Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai who were wolfing down their food, Daohua silently served them a bowl of soup: "Eat slowly, don't rush."
Yan Wenkai continued to scoop up rice and vegetables at a steady pace, puffing out his cheeks and saying, "Big sister, do you know how long it has been since we last had a meal?"
Without waiting for Daohua's response, Yan Wenkai continued with a sad face, "Since that day when we were knocked unconscious and thrown into the deep mountains and forests, we haven't had a proper meal since."
Daohua: "So what have you been eating these days?"
Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao paused as they were picking up the dishes. Both of them had strange looks on their faces and they lowered their heads to eat their rice without saying a word.
Daohua wanted to ask more questions when she saw Xiao Yeyang pulling his sleeves.
Daohua looked over, a puzzled look on her face.
Xiao Yeyang hooked his finger, motioning Daohua to come closer.
Daohua leaned over and Xiao Yeyang whispered, "In the deep mountains and old forests, without a fire stick, what can you eat?"
Daohua's eyes widened immediately, and after a while, she angrily said, "This is too much! How can you do this? Eating raw food will upset your stomach."
Before he could finish his words, Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao rushed out of the house. After a while, the sound of vomiting was heard in the yard.
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua with a smile: "Just now they smoked you out and made you vomit, now you've made them vomit, so we're even now."
Daohua rolled her eyes at Xiao Yeyang and glanced at the dishes on the table. "No wonder Third and Fourth Brothers didn't eat a single piece of meat." She said with a worried look on her face, "Do you think they'll have psychological trauma in the future?"
Xiao Yeyang smiled and said, "As long as you don't mention it in front of them too often, it should be fine after a while. There are many soldiers in the barracks who have eaten raw food."
Daohua was silent for a moment, then called Wang Maner over and said, "Go to the greenhouse and pick some tomatoes."
After Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao came back after vomiting, their appetites had obviously decreased a lot, and they stopped eating after eating two bites.
At this time, Wang Maner brought the washed tomatoes.
Daohua smiled and pushed the tomatoes in front of her two brothers: "Third brother, fourth brother, come and try it."
Yan Wenkai picked up a tomato and asked, "Eat it directly?"
Daohua nodded: "Yes." After that, she also took one and took a bite.
Only after seeing Daohua finish eating did Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao start eating. After taking a bite, they thought it was delicious and quickened their eating speed.
Seeing Xiao Yeyang sitting still, Daohua handed him one.
Xiao Yeyang took it with a smile, tasted it, and nodded: "I didn't expect this red fruit to be edible. It was such a waste to just use it for viewing. By the way, is this a kind of fruit?"
Daohua: "It's both a fruit and a vegetable. I'll make you scrambled eggs with tomatoes tonight."
Xiao Yeyang: "Okay, if it tastes good, I'll send some back to my uncle."
Daohua was silent for a moment. "I'm going to use the tomatoes I picked and planted in the greenhouse to keep for seeds this year. If you want to give them away, I can only give you two baskets at most."
Xiao Yeyang thought for a moment and said, "Give me a truckload. You'll definitely sell the tomatoes you pick next year. If the Emperor's uncle likes them, I guarantee your tomatoes will sell like hotcakes."
Daohua's eyes lit up. "Yes, what publicity can compare to the emperor's love? Okay, I'll give you a whole cart. I have many more recipes for tomatoes here, which I'll write down for you later. I guarantee the emperor will like it."
"The food that the emperor likes to eat will definitely be easy to promote."
Looking at Daohua's bright eyes, Xiao Yeyang smiled silently.
In a short while, the tomatoes picked by Wang Maner were eaten up.
Yan Wenkai looked at Daohua eagerly: "Big sister, I want to eat more."
Daohua refused directly: "Let's eat tomorrow. It's not good to eat too much of everything at once."
Yan Wenkai didn't continue to pester her, but instead asked, "Where are those gold thieves? Have they left?"
Xiao Yeyang glanced at Yan Wenkai and said, "It seems that you haven't learned enough from this lesson."
Yan Wenkai's face froze.
Yan Wentao asked, "Are they court officials?"
Daohua nodded: "Yeah."
Yan Wenkai immediately looked over with resentment: "Then why do you say they are bad people, big sister?" They were beaten so badly.
Daohua smiled awkwardly, pointed at Xiao Yeyang and said, "He was the one who misled me."
Xiao Yeyang glanced at the rice flowers and said nothing.
Yan Wentao looked at Xiao Yeyang solemnly: "Those people are looking for gold mines, are they okay?"
Xiao Yeyang shook his head and said, "It's okay, they are just following orders."
Daohua took over the conversation: "Now they seem to have been recruited again. The gold mine has not been found yet. Xiao Yeyang said that finding the gold mine is a great achievement. Third brother, fourth brother, we have to find a way to find the gold mine."
Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao's eyes lit up and they looked at Xiao Yeyang together.
Xiao Yeyang smiled and said, "We must find the gold mine, but I have to wait for the reply from the emperor's uncle before deciding what to do next."
He knew too little about the gold mine, and the Jiang family was also looking for it. If he really sent a large number of people out to look for it, he would most likely run into the Jiang family. He didn't know what the emperor's uncle meant yet, so he had to wait for orders.
Daohua: "Okay then, tell me when you get a letter. I've been out for a few days now, it's time to go back."
Xiao Yeyang looked at the rice flowers and felt a little regretful. He had only been together for two days and she had to leave again.
Originally, Daohua was planning to return to the Yan Mansion the next day, but that afternoon, Yan Zhiqiang came with Old Lady Yan, followed by Master Xiao.
Xiao Yeyang didn't want the Yan family to know that he had private interactions with Daohua. Yan Wenkai and Yan Wentao also didn't want their families to know that they hadn't been to the military camp during this period. The three of them looked at each other and quickly slipped away from the back door of the manor.
"Grandmother, Third Uncle, Master Xiao, why are you here?"
Daohua helped Old Lady Yan sit down and quickly poured a cup of tea for each of the three of them.
Yan Zhiqiang said excitedly, "During this period, the yams in the fields are ready to be harvested. A few days ago, I asked the tenants to harvest a few acres and found that the yield per acre was as high as more than ten stones, which is a very impressive output."
"I immediately told my eldest brother the news. He was very excited and discussed it with Master Xiao for a while. They decided to have all the officials from Ningmen Mansion come over to see it for themselves."
Master Xiao smiled and continued, "There's a lot of sandy soil in Ningmen Prefecture, most of it unused. It would be a waste not to plant it. Your Excellency wants to promote Chinese yam."
As he said this, he glanced at Yan Zhiqiang.
"The third master said that the yams in the eldest girl's farm are growing better, so he suggested that you come here. I came here to check it out today."
Daohua nodded, was silent for a moment, and then said, "Master Xiao, yam has a high yield, but it's not as easy to preserve as rice or wheat. So, after harvesting it, besides eating it at home, we have to sell it as soon as possible."
"If my father wants to promote yam, he has to solve this problem. Otherwise, if the people's hard-earned crops are left in their hands, it will be a disaster."
Master Xiao's expression straightened, and he took this question to heart, preparing to go back and tell Yan Zhigao. Then he smiled and said, "When we were in Xingzhou, the government had contact with merchants from all over the country because of the sales of watermelons and grapes. As long as the quality of the yams we grow is good enough, I think this problem should not be difficult to solve."
Rice Flower nodded and added, "Also, sandy loam soil is not very fertile, so yams can't be planted consecutively. This point must be made clear in advance."
Master Xiao nodded again: "Miss, is there anything else that needs attention?"
Rice Flower pondered for a moment and said, "This is my first time planting, so I've only thought of these. I'm afraid I'll only know about other issues after I've planted them."
Master Xiao smiled and said, "When promoting the cultivation of watermelons and grapes, Your Excellency also took a gradual approach. This time, he called the officials from Ningmen Prefecture over to observe. He didn't intend for everyone in the jurisdiction to plant them, but just wanted to let them know about it. Next year, only Sha County will encourage planting."
Daohua smiled and said, "Even if other counties want to plant it, they have to see if the soil is suitable. Besides, there are not many yam varieties."
Master Xiao smiled and nodded: "Indeed, when I was young, I also went to some places and saw others growing yams, but the yields were not very high."
Rice flowers lowered their eyes. The reason why the Yan family's yam had a high yield was because the yam tubers they planted all came from the space.
Then, Daohua pretended to sigh and said, "It seems that I won't be able to make any money this year. In order to support my father's work, I will have to donate the thousands of acres of yam I planted to him to use as seeds."
Master Xiao laughed and said, "That's not possible. Although the government office isn't wealthy, we can't just take things for free. But the young lady might have to earn less."
Daohua smiled cheerfully: "It doesn't matter if I earn less, as long as I don't lose money."
Master Xiao picked up the teacup with a smile and looked at the rice flowers deeply.
My Lord, you have truly given birth to a wonderful daughter. How many girls at such a young age can relieve their parents' worries and contribute to the prosperity of the family?
Seeing that the two had finished their conversation, Old Lady Yan smiled and said, "Girl, if your father wants to bring people over for a visit, I'm afraid you'll have to use this place to receive them."
Daohua nodded and said, "No problem, but we're a little short on supplies here. I need someone to buy some cups and utensils."
Old Lady Yan smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about that. Your mother has prepared everything and will send someone to the boat to move it later."
Master Xiao stood up and said, "I'll go take a look in the field now."
Old Lady Yan looked at Yan Zhiqiang, and Yan Zhiqiang immediately took Master Xiao out.
"Let's go to the mountain to see the elder sister and your master."
The day after Old Lady Yan arrived, Taohua Village became bustling with activity. People came one after another and wandered around the rice fields planted with yams. The tenants thought there were thieves, so they patrolled and kept a close watch every day.
On the fifth day, Yan Zhigao came to Taohua Village with a group of people.
There were officials, respected elders from all over the jurisdiction, many experienced farmers, and some ordinary people who followed behind to watch.
In addition, many well-informed merchants from various prefectures in Zhongzhou also came.
Merchants are profit-driven, and the sales of watermelons and grapes in Xingzhou have made many people rich. Now, when they hear that Prefect Yan is going to promote something new, they all want to come and take a look.
Yan Zhigao knew that if he didn't let people see the yam yield per mu with their own eyes, no one would believe him no matter how much he boasted. "Third brother, take the people to dig. Later, Fan Tongzhi and I will come and measure the yield per mu in person."
Yan Zhiqiang nodded and found a dozen tenants who were good at farming to start digging yams.
"Everyone, dig carefully and don't damage it. If it is damaged, it will be difficult to preserve it."
Seeing that the dug-out yams were three or four fingers wide, long and thick, everyone was excited.
In a short while, an acre of yam was dug up.
Yan Zhigao called the officials around him to come over and weigh the goods.
"Have you figured it out? What's the yield per mu?"
An excited voice rang out: "My Lord, there are fifteen stones!"
When they heard this number, everyone was excited.
Seeing everyone's excitement, Yan Zhigao raised his hand to signal for silence: "My family's yams are grown because we take good care of them. Others may not be able to achieve this yield."
Fan Tongzhi said with a smile: "Even if it's less, if we only get ten dan, that's still a high yield."
You know, yam is much more valuable than ordinary grains.
Yan Zhigao smiled and said, "Everyone has seen the yield of yam, but we don't know how it tastes. So, I will treat everyone to yam soup at noon today so you can taste it."
Fan Tongzhi immediately smiled and said, "Then we have something to say."
After eating the yam soup, some businessmen immediately expressed their willingness to purchase yams next year. At the same time, many officials also expressed their desire to pick and plant yams in their jurisdiction.
Yan Zhigao listened with a smile on his face and did not respond immediately.
After everyone tasted the yam soup, Yan Zhigao took everyone for a walk in the fields for a few rounds, and then returned to the city.
The next day, the government office issued a notice that only people with Sha County household registration could go to the government office to collect yam seeds.
For a time, those people who moved out of Sha County began to move back. At the same time, some refugees without household registration also rushed to settle in Sha County.
Looking at Yan Zhigao, who never stopped smiling, Master Xiao said with a smile, "This time we should be able to completely solve the refugee problem."
Yan Zhigao smiled and shook his head. "It's not that easy to completely solve the problem, but it's possible to solve most of it. Master Xiao, you will go to Sha County in person tomorrow to supervise the Sha County Magistrate in implementing the resettlement of refugees."
"Everyone can see the profit of yam. Even if we only grow one plant every two or three years, the income is still considerable. Those wealthy families may be flocking there. We must keep a close eye on it."
"Providing yam seeds to Sha County is to help the common people and refugees, but we don't want them to end up benefiting the wealthy families."
Master Xiao nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will definitely fulfill my mission."
Yan Zhigao pondered for a while, then said, "Let's take Wenxiu with us this time. After all, he is a juren now, and it's time for him to see more of the sufferings of the people." As he said this, he looked at Master Xiao with a smile.
"I'd like to ask Master to give my son some guidance when the time comes."
Master Xiao immediately said, "Your Excellency is exaggerating. The eldest son and the eldest daughter are both outstanding individuals. Even without guidance from outsiders, they can see through the essence of various mundane matters."
Seeing Master Xiao mention his two children, Yan Zhigao showed a somewhat complacent look on his face, but he still said modestly: "Children cannot help but be praised, and Master has to spend a lot of effort on them."
Master Xiao agreed with a smile.
Peach Blossom Temple.
"What does the Emperor say?"
Seeing Xiao Yeyang holding the letter in silence, Daohua couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Yeyang put away the letter and said with a smile: "My uncle the Emperor asked me to search for a gold mine in private and not to make any noise. He also said that if you help find the gold mine, he will grant you the title of county lord."
"real?!"
Daohua stood up excitedly.
Seeing her so happy, Grandma Gu and Gu Jian looked at each other silently, with smiles in their eyes.
Since Daohua became the county lady, there would not be any big problem for her to marry Yang'er.
Xiao Yeyang looked at the rice flowers with a smile, but he was thinking about something else in his heart.
The emperor's uncle knew that the Jiang family was looking for gold mines, but he ignored it and told him not to pay attention to it. What does this mean?
As the in-laws, the Jiang family held too much power. In fact, he had noticed the emperor's uncle's fear of the Jiang family since he was a child.
Thinking of the fate of foreign relatives in history, Xiao Yeyang's heart skipped a beat.
Will the Emperor's uncle also take action against the Jiang family one day?
The two chapters are put together!
(End of this chapter)
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