"Your Majesty, I dare not!"
"Your Majesty, I didn't mean that!"
"Hmph! Eunuch Cao, come and talk to them." Emperor Hui waved to Eunuch Cao.
"Yes, Your Majesty, last year County Magistrate Gao told me about potatoes, but they had not been planted on a large scale at that time. After getting Your Majesty's permission, I sent someone to investigate. It is true that potatoes can produce more than 5,000 kilograms per mu. As for rice, we changed the method this year and planted it twice a year. Each season can produce more than 1,000 kilograms per mu! It is indeed true!"
"Your Majesty! This is a great thing! If it is planted everywhere, the people will never lack food again!"
Emperor Hui looked at the Minister of Revenue below and nodded with satisfaction.
"This is indeed a great thing. Prime Minister Shen, tell Gao Zhuowen that if he can handle this matter well, I will transfer him back to the capital and forgive the previous things."
"Thank you, Your Majesty! I will tell him!"
"I have asked the imperial kitchen to prepare some potatoes. You will taste them with me later."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The Minister of Revenue stepped forward again and said, "Your Majesty, should we include potatoes in this year's tax?"
Emperor Hui pondered for a while, then waved his hand and said, "Add it!"
"Your Majesty, should we send a batch of potato tax from Yun'an County to the north for trial planting this year?"
"OK!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The palace servants placed many long tables in the main hall, brought the cooked potatoes on them, and cooked all the dishes according to the method provided by Lin Wanwan.
After Emperor Hui started eating, they all started tasting the food. They were amazed by the taste. They didn't expect it to be so delicious. Even though it was steamed or baked, it still tasted particularly sweet and soft.
Not long after, Emperor Hui issued an edict, ordering Magistrate Gao to increase the planting of high-yield rice and potatoes, and to include potatoes in the list of taxes, preparing to transport them to the northwest for trial planting.
Lin Bai has been studying very hard recently and told her that he will definitely be better than Chen Li in the future and that he will pass the imperial examination and come back to show her. Lin Wanwan thought to herself, it doesn’t matter if I fail, I can support you!
At the end of November, Lin Wanwan and her colleagues harvested the second batch of grain, and the yield was still gratifying. County Magistrate Gao came personally to collect taxes, and the collection was five or six times more than in previous years. How could they not be happy?
Years ago, Chen Li prepared to go to Beijing, waiting for the next spring examination.
Lin Wanwan picked out two clever young boys for him. Their ancestors were criminals and they had no chance to take the imperial examinations. It would be better for them to stay with him, as they would not be able to be without someone to take care of them when they were away from home. So Lin Wanwan gave them their indentures.
Shen Li looked at her deeply, said nothing more, and accepted it happily.
The business of the shop in Yongcheng was also very good, so she bought another shop and opened Baiweiju and Wanxiangge there. She selected some people who knew how to cook from the farm, trained them for more than a month, and let Zhaocai and Jinbao look after it.
They have been trained in Baiweiju for more than a year. They are good at speaking and doing things, and they can also do accounting. All they have to do is inspect the shop every month.
At the workshop, with Lin Dayong watching over it, there are no problems.
As the year was coming to an end, she was a little bored and wandered around the village. Many people called her Lin Xiaogu when they saw her, and it almost became a respectful title.
Fu Junyi returned to the capital early this year, and Hu Niu stayed in the shop every day, so she couldn't find anyone to play with.
As she was walking, she saw a man walking towards her from afar. Judging from his figure, he looked a bit like Shen Mo, so she took a few quick steps forward and took a closer look. It was indeed him.
Lin Wanwan waved at him.
Shen Mo walked up to her and saw that her nose was red from the cold, so he asked, "What are you doing here by yourself?"
"I was bored, so I came out for a walk. Everyone at home was busy, so there was no one to accompany me. Sigh..."
"It's so cold, go back first, be careful not to catch a cold."
Lin Wanwan saw that he seemed to have grown a little taller, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and he looked cold and outstanding. Tsk tsk, I wonder which girl will marry him.
Shen Mo felt a little uncomfortable when he saw her staring at him. He looked away and slowed down his pace.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
Lin Wanwan shook her head and couldn't help but praise: "No, I was just thinking that if you were in our place, there would definitely be a lot of girls chasing after you."
"Why are you chasing me? I didn't provoke them."
"No, no, no, I don't mean chasing, I just mean liking. There will be a lot of girls who like you."
Chen Li lowered his eyes to look at her and asked softly, "Does it include you?"
Lin Wanwan suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahaha, I didn't realize you're quite good at flirting! Well, I guess when you're in high school, there will definitely be a lot of girls around you!"
Shen Mo's hands gradually tightened and his jaw tightened. He wanted to say something, but gave up and just listened to her chattering.
"Hey, Shen Mo, tell me, when your brother goes to the capital, will he fall in love with those young ladies from official families?"
"No." He spat out two words coldly.
"What if?"
"Nothing will happen."
"How do you know? This man's heart is as deep as the sea. If a young lady from an official family is so beautiful, who wouldn't be moved when seeing her?"
Shen Mo glanced at her and ignored her.
"Hey, why are you silent? Do you think so too? I know it!"
"Well, that's true. Those young ladies are all talented in literature, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and they are also gentle and lovely, and have good family backgrounds..."
Veins on Shen Mo's forehead were throbbing, and he finally couldn't bear it anymore. He turned sideways and raised his hands to pinch her cheeks.
"Have you said enough?"
Lin Wanwan was pinched by him so hard that she couldn't speak and could only shake her head.
"My brother and I have no intention of discussing marriage, and he doesn't need to marry those people to pave the way for his career. Do you understand?"
Lin Wanwan nodded blankly.
Shen Mo withdrew his hand, let her go, and was about to leave when Lin Wanwan kicked him from behind.
"Who are you talking to? How can you talk to your aunt like that? You have no respect for your elders!"
Shen Mo touched his calf which was numb from being kicked and stared at Lin Wanwan with a rather ferocious expression.
"Lin Wanwan!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, Lin Wan quickly ran away without even looking back, for fear of being caught and beaten up.
She ran all the way home, panted and looked back at the door, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that no one had caught up with her.
I returned to the room leisurely, lay down and prepared to sleep. It turned out that complaining to someone actually helped. I was just a little tired from running.
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