Xiao Rui said solemnly, "Yes, the high-yield crops of Dingshui Village are important crops that saved the people of Dayue from famine. After I return to the palace, I will inform my father and hope that these crops can be promoted throughout Dayue."
He had been observing the situation from the sidelines for the past two days. Although Jiang Qinyu didn't concern herself with village affairs, all the changes in Dingshui Village were due to her, including the cultivation of several high-yield crops, which was also thanks to her in terms of technology.
Since these crops are to be promoted in Da Yue, someone needs to pass on the planting techniques. This is much faster than taking the information to those arrogant old men in the Ministry of Revenue to study.
“I would be happy to help everyone have enough to eat, but what does Your Highness want me to do?” Jiang Qinyu did not refuse outright, but wanted to hear the Seventh Prince’s thoughts first.
Xiao Rui looked at her apologetically, "I want to select people from all over the country to go to the capital. My wife will come with me to the capital and teach them at the same time."
Upon hearing his words, Jiang Qinyu knew that this was another prince who had never been involved in farm work and was unaware of the true situation of ordinary people.
But this Seventh Prince is a rare prince who wants to do something for the people, and for that reason alone, Jiang Qinyu will be more patient with him.
“Your Highness, if it’s about teaching people how to plant, I’m not actually the most suitable person, and the capital city isn’t the most suitable location either,” Jiang Qinyu said earnestly.
Xiao Rui didn't really know much about farming, but he wasn't stupid, and he genuinely wanted to do something practical for the people. Hearing Jiang Qinyu say that, he immediately realized, "Madam wants someone to come to Dingshui Village and teach them here?"
Jiang Qinyu nodded, "Yes, in Dingshui Village, I'm not the only one who knows how to plant these crops. In fact, I don't know much about farming. The village chief and the others are more skilled and better suited to teach people."
However, the villagers are not well-educated, so they need to be in the fields with real objects and on-site teaching to achieve the best results.
“Sending people to Dingshui Village isn’t difficult,” Xiao Rui pondered, “but do you have that many grain seeds?”
Jiang Qinyu smiled and said, "This is the second thing I want to talk about, concerning the issue of grain seeds. Your Highness wants to promote high-yield crops nationwide, which is a good thing, and Dingshui Village will fully support it. However, we cannot be too hasty; everything should be done step by step."
For a leader who genuinely cares about the people, high grain yields are certainly important, but even if they are important, they have to take it one step at a time. They can't just buy countless grain seeds at will; it would take several years just to store enough grain seeds to supply the entire country's land.
Jiang Qinyu explained the issues to Xiao Rui in detail.
"I see, thank you for telling me all this, Madam." Xiao Rui bowed and thanked her, his heart filled with emotion.
He was favored by his father, the emperor, from a young age. Although he was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see anyone suffer, he was so well protected that he lost the opportunity to understand the lives of ordinary people.
He was able to come out with Liu Ruyi this time because the emperor felt there was no danger and was therefore willing to let him out.
Seeing that he did not insist on his own ideas, Jiang Qinyu gained a deeper understanding of him.
“In that case,” Xiao Rui quickly added, “I will have my father send people to Dingshui Village to learn. We will send a group of people every year. Once you have set aside the seeds for the second year, the people who came to learn in the first year can plant the seeds.”
That's fine, of course, but Jiang Qinyu isn't the type to suffer losses for no reason, especially since the other party is royalty; there's no reason for her to suffer a loss then.
“Your Highness, teaching them is no problem, and leaving them seeds is no problem either, but…” Jiang Qinyu looked troubled, as if she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Xiao Rui quickly asked, "What concerns does Madam have? Please speak freely."
“If we want to quickly promote these high-yield crops across the country, we must reserve the vast majority for grain seed. In that case, the villagers’ food supply will become a problem. Moreover, sweet potatoes, winter wheat and high-yield rice are not ordinary crops. My general previously bought up our village’s surplus sweet potatoes at a high price. Your Highness, what do you think…” Jiang Qinyu looked up at him, as if she wanted him to make the decision.
But what she implied was that if they were to be expected to dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the people of the whole country, then the food rations of Dingshui Village must be guaranteed, and the portion used for seed production would not be given away for free but would have to be purchased with silver. She even used Lu Yanzheng as a comparison.
The border troops are poor enough, aren't they? Even the border troops are willing to buy this high-yield grain at a high price. Do you, a prince, think you can get something for nothing?
Xiao Rui couldn't help but laugh when he saw her feigned worry, though the glint in her eyes was fleeting. "Madam's concerns are valid. Don't worry, I won't take anything from the villagers for nothing, and the imperial court won't let you down."
Hearing this, Jiang Qinyu felt relieved and said with a smile, "Of course I believe in Your Highness's character. How could the court possibly mistreat ordinary people like us?"
She said she believed him, but her tone kept subtly contradicting her, as if she was afraid Xiao Rui would renege on his promise.
Xiao Rui looked at her with amusement, "The imperial court isn't so poor that it doesn't even have the silver for this little bit of grain seeds."
At worst, he can use his own private assets to subsidize it; it's not a big deal.
"Hehe, I don't know if the imperial court has any money, but the border troops haven't received any rations or pay for almost a year," Jiang Qinyu said with a forced smile.
Upon hearing her mention the border troops, Xiao Rui's smile immediately faded. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke, "I've heard about the border troops, but I can't interfere with Father's decision. Besides, Prime Minister Su is interfering, so..."
Although he was the emperor's most favored prince, he did not hold any official position and was not qualified to attend court meetings. In private, the emperor was most reluctant to have anyone mention court affairs in front of him. Unless he wanted to lose the emperor's favor, he would not easily do anything to anger the emperor.
In fact, it wasn't just the border troops who weren't receiving their provisions; the situation was similar in other places as well, and Prime Minister Su was behind it all.
Since the matter involved court intrigues, Xiao Rui was unwilling to say more and quickly changed the subject.
Jiang Qinyu looked at his young and innocent face and felt a pang of sadness.
This seventh prince does indeed appear to be a kind and approachable prince, but no matter how good he is, he knows how to seek advantage and avoid harm, and will not directly confront the emperor.
Xiao Rui stayed in Dingshui Village for three days. During those three days, he followed the villagers' routines, going out to the fields when it wasn't so hot at night and staying at home to cool off during the day.
That evening, Jiang Qinyu had just finished delivering dinner to Xiao Rui when she came out and saw Liu Yazi running towards her.
"Sister-in-law Lu, I saw a carriage coming from outside the village. There were two children on the carriage, and they looked like your Shufan and Pan'er..."
Jiang Qinyu was slightly taken aback. Shufan and Pan'er were back?
Just then, a horse-drawn carriage entered the village, and the driver was none other than Uncle Chen.
"Madam?" Uncle Chen jumped out of the carriage and saw Jiang Qinyu. He quickly stepped forward to greet her, "This old servant is so glad to see you!"
Behind him, Shufan and Pan'er were also carried down by Yunzhu, Hupo, and Aping who followed.
"Uncle Chen, what happened? Why did you bring Shufan and Pan'er back?" Jiang Qinyu asked anxiously.
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