Village Chief Li immediately turned to ask, "Ah Shao, have you figured it out yet?"
"Your Excellency, I have just calculated the yield of this rice." Chen Shao was a little nervous as this was his first time meeting an official in such a informal manner.
Wei Chengzong looked at him kindly and said, "Please speak freely."
He glanced around and saw that there were quite a few rice stalks piled up in the field. He couldn't tell if they came from this particular field or from the entire village.
The highest-yielding rice in Dayue today comes from the Jiangnan region, where the yield reaches 300 jin per mu, while other places generally only yield around 260 jin per mu.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, the rice harvest from Sister-in-law Lu's plot of land yielded a total of 1,532 catties of rice!" Chen Shao was extremely excited when he said this number, his eyes shining.
Wei Chengzong and the others from Dingshui Village were stunned when they heard this.
"How much did you say?" Wei Chengzong asked again.
Chen Shao's voice rose, "Reporting to Your Excellency, 1,532 catties!"
Village Chief Li snatched the small notebook from his hand in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at the data recorded on it.
“1,500 jin…1,500 jin…” Village Chief Li murmured, still in disbelief.
He had just felt that the yield of this acre of land would not be low, but at most he thought that 800 catties would be excellent.
Who would have thought it would reach an astonishing 1,532 jin!
Jiang Qinyu's eyes widened in surprise. There were so many?
Due to the drought, the land in Dingshui Village suffered greatly last year, and the land that Jiang Qinyu chose for rice paddies was not very fertile.
She was just casually testing the seeds provided by the system, and she never expected such a pleasant surprise.
If this is the harvest from such land, then with better fertile land and more meticulous cultivation, there would surely be even greater surprises.
The people of Dingshui Village cheered loudly, not caring that Wei Chengzong was there. Li Dachui and the others laughed and shouted, crying and laughing with joy.
"Is this really just the yield of one mu of land?" Confirming that he hadn't misheard, Wei Chengzong lost his composure, his hands trembling as he reached for the small notebook in Village Chief Li's hand.
Village Chief Li quickly let go and hurriedly replied, "Sir, there is indeed only one mu of land here, no more, no less."
Because water had just been drawn from an underground river, they were worried that there wouldn't be enough water for the rice paddies, so each family planted only about one acre of rice, no more, no less.
Wei Chengzong took a deep breath and asked, "How much rice is grown in the village?"
"Reporting to you, sir, it's exactly fifty mu. We just harvested this part today to check the yield. The others are in other fields. If you don't believe me, you can go and see for yourself." Village Chief Li grinned from ear to ear.
One mu of rice can yield 1,500 jin, which is enough to feed a whole family for a year!
Of course, it's not about eating only rice, but mixing it with other things; that way, you could definitely eat for a whole year.
Thinking of the previous bumper harvest of sweet potatoes and wheat, Village Chief Li's smile widened.
Wei Chengzong immediately had someone lead the way and personally went to check the rice fields of other people.
When he saw that the rice in all the fields was plump and heavy, he knew what was going on without having to look any further.
Wei Chengzong looked at Jiang Qinyu, cupped his hands and bowed deeply, "I urge Madam to promote this grain seed throughout Yongshan County. On behalf of the people of Yongshan County, I thank you, Madam!"
"Lord Wei, what are you doing?" Jiang Qinyu quickly stepped aside to avoid his bow. "Didn't we agree yesterday to promote sweet potatoes throughout the county?"
Wei Chengzong took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Yesterday we were talking about sweet potatoes, but seeing them today, I can't help but be greedy. I beg you, Madam, to grant my request!"
Jiang Qinyu frowned, looking troubled: "Lord Wei, you may take my rice if you want, but I can't make decisions about other people's rice. After all, you should know that there has been a drought in recent years, and everyone has no stored grain. If they use all their harvest for planting, how will they survive?"
"Madam, rest assured, I will not let the villagers of Dingshui Village suffer any losses. The county government is willing to offer a large sum of money to purchase sweet potatoes, wheat, and rice from Dingshui Village. Furthermore, if you cannot purchase the grain, I can also purchase it from other prefectures on your behalf. I will never let you go hungry," Wei Chengzhong said with utmost sincerity.
Since he said that, Jiang Qinyu couldn't refuse anymore. However, she couldn't directly agree on behalf of the villagers, so she looked at Village Chief Li and said, "Uncle Village Chief, why don't you talk to Lord Wei about this?"
Yesterday's talk about promoting sweet potato planting throughout the county was to prepare for the upcoming Liu Ruyi, but today's matter is a completely different story.
"Since the officials have offered such generous terms, I reckon everyone would be willing to sell their grain seeds to the government," Village Chief Li pondered.
Most of the sweet potatoes they had collected were given to Lu Yanzheng, but the families who had planted sweet potatoes kept some. If all of these were used as seeds, they could produce quite a lot. In less than two years, the entire Yongshan County would be able to grow sweet potatoes.
There were many more wheat seeds, many families were planting them, and not a large amount was sent to the border town.
Now that Magistrate Wei is willing to buy their grain at a high price and has promised to help them buy more so they won't go hungry, the villagers are overjoyed.
"In that case, the matter is settled." Wei Chengzong felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders, and he said this in a hurry, as if he was afraid that Village Chief Li and the others would change their minds.
As the county's top official, Wei Chengzong's greatest wish is for the people to have enough to eat and wear. Before coming to Yongshan County, he felt that the future was bleak and endless, but now he feels that the road ahead of him is full of sunshine and flowers.
Jiang Qinyu didn't say anything. If the villagers were unwilling to sell, she could provide some, but if the quantity was small, it wouldn't be able to be promoted quickly in Yongshan County.
Now that she's heard what Village Chief Li said, she can keep what she has for now and give it to Qi Wu to handle when she gets to the border town.
On this day, Wei Chengzong stayed in Dingshui Village and watched the villagers weigh the harvested rice.
The fifty mu of rice were harvested in one day, and the yield per mu was calculated overnight.
The minimum yield was 1,200 jin per mu, and the maximum yield was over 1,600 jin. This not only excited the people of Dingshui Village, but Wei Chengzong was also so excited that he couldn't keep his serious face straight and was smiling like Village Chief Li.
Wei Chengzhong did not leave until after 9 PM.
Before leaving, he asked Village Chief Li to pass on a message to Jiang Qinyu.
"Did Lord Wei really say this?" Jiang Qinyu asked, somewhat surprised.
Village Chief Li nodded. "That's what he said."
Wei Chengzong asked Village Chief Li to convey the message: Please make sure that Madam firmly holds the credit for the high-yield grain crop in her own hands.
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