Everyone in the family, young and old, understood the message at this family meeting and knew which direction they should strive towards in the future.
Therefore, everyone was full of enthusiasm.
Li Lanzhen could have kept these issues, which the whole family was discussing, from her and made the decisions herself.
However, children and grandchildren should take responsibility for themselves. He or she wanted to take on everything and pave a smooth road for them.
I don't want to be a domineering patriarch.
If that's the case, then she'll truly become an "extreme" wicked mother-in-law!
The autumn grasses on the eastern hills of West Mountain turn yellow in autumn.
All agricultural activities in Peach Blossom Spring have basically come to an end.
Two officials from the Ministry of Revenue of the Imperial Court were also about to return to the capital to report back.
At this moment, they are gathered in Xuan Shen's courtyard.
The Crown Prince sat at the head of the main hall.
Du Yanqing, the Vice Minister, and Pang Pang greeted the Crown Prince and stood respectfully in the center of the ground.
"Minister Du, I have already reviewed the materials you have compiled."
It is very detailed, well summarized, and highly practical.
The advanced agricultural machinery blueprints you took out, as well as the planting methods for sweet potatoes and potatoes, must not be left to any particular minister or aristocratic family.
These things must be placed in your Ministry of Revenue, planted on the imperial farmland, and then quickly promoted.
"Yes, Your Highness, I understand."
Du Yanqing replied to the Crown Prince's words, opening his mouth several times, but then remained silent.
The prince glanced at him, knowing he wanted to ask about sweet potato and potato seeds.
"As for the sweet potato and potato seeds, you don't need to worry, Aunt Lanzhen has already agreed."
Ten thousand catties each of sweet potatoes and potatoes were donated to the imperial court as seeds.
Ten thousand jin sounds like a lot, but if it's distributed across various prefectures and counties, it's still a bit small.
Therefore, it depends on how the Ministry of Revenue makes reasonable arrangements.
These seeds and advanced farming tools should be handed over to officials who are dedicated to serving the people.
We must prevent any instances of embezzlement or misappropriation.
You must remember this!
When Du Yanqing and Pang Pangzi heard that Li Lanzhen could give them 10,000 jin each of sweet potato and potato seeds, they were so happy that they immediately knelt down.
"Your Highness, I will remember this!"
"Get up, and make preparations. You will leave in three days."
After glancing at them, the Crown Prince spoke again.
"I have submitted a memorial to the Emperor regarding everything that is happening here."
You can report everything to the Emperor in great detail, but as for inquiries from others, you know what you should and shouldn't say.
"This humble official understands!"
Li Lanzhen was unaware of what they were saying here; she was busy right now.
She, Han Shunde, and the village committee members were discussing donating sweet potatoes and potatoes to the imperial court.
"...
So here's what happened, and I'd like to tell you all about it. Before Li Lanzhen started talking about it, she felt a little uneasy.
She knew that this group of people had experienced hunger, that some of their relatives had starved to death, and that she had witnessed how many people had starved to death on their way to escape famine!
So, having enough to eat and food is their obsession!
After she finished speaking, she waited to see everyone's reaction.
"I agree! We can eat our fill in Peach Blossom Spring now, and our granaries have enough grain to last until next autumn's harvest." Han Shun was the first to speak, agreeing with Li Lanzhen's words.
Zhang Deshui also said, "Agreed! Agreed! There are still many people in our Great Li Dynasty who don't have enough to eat. Now that we can have enough to eat, let's teach everyone this good stuff."
Sweet potatoes and potatoes don't need much soil; just water them properly and take good care of them, and they'll grow big.
As long as you take good care of them, they won't have to worry about food!
Li Lanzhen wasn't particularly surprised that Han Shunde agreed with her.
She had already figured it out: ever since they returned to Forget-Worry Valley together, they had brought Aunt Huaihua and Han Shunkui's family over.
From that time on, Han Shunde became exceptionally proactive and listened to her every word. Sometimes, he would feel lost without her.
To Li Lanzhen's surprise, Zhang Deshui, who cherished the land and valued the grain, readily agreed.
He also said some very touching words.
"Yes, we've all eaten our fill, but there are still many people in our Great Li Dynasty who aren't getting enough to eat. I agree!"
Then, one by one, the members of the village committee echoed what they said.
Looking at their serious expressions, without any pretense or concern, Li Lanzhen felt reassured.
"Okay, Li Lanzhen thanks everyone here."
Xue Laohu said, "No need to thank everyone, all this grain is yours."
"You introduced us to sweet potatoes and potatoes, and taught us how to grow them, which allowed us to have enough to eat and live a peaceful life."
At this moment, Han Dazhong said something.
"Sister Lanzhen, this area is under the jurisdiction of Youzhou City."
Should we send a batch of sweet potatoes and potatoes to the Youzhou city government?
otherwise……"
Li Lanzhen nodded; she knew what Han Dazhong meant by "otherwise".
Their household registration was in Youzhou City, but now they've handed over such good grain to the imperial court, bypassing the Youzhou Prefecture government.
The prefect of Youzhou City will definitely be unhappy.
Li Lanzhen smiled and said, "You've forgotten, the taxes are due soon."
I plan to pay all of my taxes, including 5,000 catties each of sweet potatoes and potatoes.
I wonder what the tax rates are for paddy fields and dry land?
Han Shunde quickly replied, "I do know that; I asked the clerk at the yamen."
One mu of paddy field yields one dan of rice per year, while dry land yields one hundred jin of corn, based on the weight after threshing.
The imperial court levied taxes on farmers based on the weight of their grain.
If the harvest is not good that year, the grain can be converted into silver and handed over to the imperial court according to the grain price of that year.
A load of rice weighs about 200 jin (100 kg), and after threshing, it yields about 160 jin (80 kg) of rice.
Based on the price of the grain we purchased this year, the calculation is as follows.
The tax revenue from one mu of land per year is around nine hundred coins…
Zhang Deshui added further.
“Our household registrations are all in Lishu Village. Lishu Village is all dry land, there are no paddy fields, and the pears produced by the pear trees on the mountain can also be used to pay a portion of the grain tax.”
Han Dazhong tapped the table and said, "In that case, using 5,000 jin of sweet potatoes and 5,000 jin of potatoes as tax grain is no more than that!"
Seeing that everyone had already come up with a solution, Li Lanzhen stopped talking and said to Shunde.
"Village chief, I estimate that the two officials from the Ministry of Revenue will be leaving in the next couple of days."
We packed up the sweet potatoes and potatoes and sent them off first, then we'll prepare the grain for this year's tax revenue.
"Okay, I'll take care of those."
Three days later, Manager Hua led five large ships to dock at the Eleven Trees Wharf.
Adults and children alike from Peach Blossom Spring went to watch the excitement.
Because the ship that came this time was a bit bigger than the large ship that Manager Hua usually brought.
The next morning, Du Yanqing and his group were to return to the capital.
I came to Li Lanzhen's courtyard in the evening to say goodbye.
They brought in three boxes when they arrived.
Du Yanqing and Pang Pangzi stood in the main room and bowed deeply to Li Lanzhen.
"Aunt Lanzhen, we're sorry to bother you, and thank you for coming here."
We're heading back to Beijing tomorrow.
We will take away the blueprints for the iron plowshare, rice transplanter, rice thresher, crusher, and juicer.
It is believed that these agricultural tools will bring about changes to the agricultural development of the Le Dynasty.
Thank you again for donating 10,000 catties each of sweet potatoes and potatoes to the imperial court.
Li Lanzhen invited them to sit down.
"Minister Du, there's no need to be so polite."
These are things I should do. By chance, I obtained sweet potatoes and potatoes as food.
Moreover, once the cultivation is successful in this Peach Blossom Spring, it should naturally be donated to the imperial court so that sweet potatoes and potatoes can be planted throughout our Great Li Dynasty.
"So that the people of the Le Dynasty can all have enough to eat."
They didn't stay long; they expressed their gratitude and left.
Li Lanzhen only discovered this after the person left and opened the boxes.
There were two boxes filled with coarse cotton cloth and several bolts of maroon silk.
There was also a box full of fine writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, and a few boxes of pastries.
Since it had been delivered, Li Lanzhen no longer hesitated to refuse and accepted it with a smile.
They distributed the items among the children and sent some to Li Erhan's family.
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