"The harvest in the city will be finished today." Although he didn't know how to grow grain, Wu Yuan checked on the fields every day.
"You're not kidding me, are you? I don't believe you." When Chen Gu came out, the fields at home had just begun to be harvested.
Wu Yuan pointed to the rice paddies behind the county government office, "If Young Master Chen doesn't believe me, he can go and see for himself."
"Fine, I'll look."
After giving instructions to his entourage, Chen Gu went directly to check on the rice harvest.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed the threshing machine that the man was operating in the rice paddy. "What's that?" he asked.
“Oh, that’s a rice threshing machine invented by our city lord,” Wu Yuan said.
Chen Gu walked closer and took a look, then followed the man's example and picked up a small bundle of unthreshed rice, putting it into the threshing machine.
He started hitting and couldn't stop until his arm ached. Only then did he feel unsatisfied and roll up his sleeve to wipe his sweat.
"This machine is really great. The land is very fertile. The yield per acre must be quite high, right?" Chen Gu asked as he looked at the machine.
Speaking of yield per mu, Wu Yuan said with pride, "The old farmer calculated it yesterday, and the yield per mu is estimated to be 200 jin."
"Two hundred jin?"
Chen Gu was almost speechless with astonishment. There were so many? Even their most fertile fields could only produce a maximum of 180 catties.
"That's right. We'll know the exact number in the next couple of days once this little bit of rice dries."
"How can you grow such high yields?"
Wu Yuan proudly raised his face, "We also planted it according to the new method that the city lord mentioned."
Chen Gu fell silent. What new method was so good? It seemed he would have to ask the city lord about it later.
After watching for a while, he followed Wu Yuan back to the county government office.
Lin Yinan had already had the cooked mung bean soup cooled down, and Chen Gu drank five bowls in one go before stopping.
"Lord of the city, your rice threshing machine is so useful, could you sell us a few?"
Chen Gu plopped down and, without any regard for appearances, picked up a palm-leaf fan from the table to fan himself.
Lin Yinan sat upright, chin slightly raised, her expression calm and composed, and said in a light tone, "Not for sale."
“We’re old acquaintances, I’ll give you a higher price.”
Having already tried it and knowing that the threshing machine works very well, Chen Gu was a little anxious. If they had this machine, the farmers in the village would have much less trouble harvesting.
Lin Yinan shook her head and pointed to the two baskets of salt that had not yet been put away in the corner.
"Go and take a look at that."
Upon hearing this, Chen Gu stood up, frowned, glanced at the contents of the basket, and then picked up a bit and put it in his mouth.
"Salt?"
"That's right, this salt is produced by us. As for the threshing machine you've been eyeing, I'd like to cooperate with your Chen family to sell both of these products. What do you think, Young Master Chen?"
Lin Yinan nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips, her expression indifferent, but her words exploded in Chen Gu's mind like a thunderclap.
Chen Gu's mind went blank for a moment. He swallowed hard and asked dryly, "Do you have salt in Longtan?"
"That's right, it can produce about 200,000 jin per month."
After a brief moment of surprise, Chen Gu quickly regained his composure and bowed to Lin Yinan, saying, "This matter is of great importance. I need to go back and report to my father before making a decision. Lord City Lord, would you allow me to retrieve the salt and take it back with me?"
“No problem at all.” Lin Yinan turned to Lin Fu and said, “Afu, go and get two clean jars.”
Then he instructed Lin Yiheng, "Brother, have someone bring back a threshing machine and have Young Master Chen take it back."
The items were quickly prepared, and Chen Gu stood up to take his leave.
"Lord of the City, I will go back and report to my father immediately."
Lin Yinan nodded slightly to him, "I will wait here for good news."
Chen Gu had three horses harnessed to the carriage, and with several guards, he left Longtan County and sped back to Yongqing City.
Chen Gu returned to the Chen family in half the time it took to go there.
Chen Xianming was leisurely leaning back in his chair, drinking tea, listening to the steward talk about the harvest situation at the various estates.
This year is another bumper harvest, and he was so happy that he started humming a little tune.
"Master, the young master is back!" A servant rushed in to report.
He glanced at the servant, thinking he was just trying to amuse him, and didn't believe a word he said.
"Didn't the young master go to Longtan County? Why is he back so soon?"
The servant frowned anxiously, "It's true, he's directing people to carry something strange this way."
As they were talking, they saw Chen Gu being helped into the hall by servants, with guards carrying something behind him.
"What is that?" Chen Xianming quickly sat up straight and asked the servant.
"Young master didn't say, so this servant doesn't know," the servant said, stepping aside.
Chen Gu stepped into the hall, straightened up, and bowed to Chen Xianming, saying, "Father."
After bowing, he instructed the steward, "Steward, have someone bring in two bundles of unthreshed rice."
The butler walked out of the hall and gave orders, never asking any questions about the young master's instructions.
After traveling for a long time, Chen Gu was exhausted and thirsty. He didn't care about etiquette and grabbed his father's teapot to drink.
Chen Xianming squinted and looked Chen Gu up and down. He saw that Chen Gu was still wearing the same clothes he had worn before he set off. The hem of the clothes was covered in mud, the clothes were dirty and wrinkled, his shoes were covered in mud, his hair was disheveled, there were dark circles under his eyes, his beard was unkempt, and he smelled of a foul stench.
I really want to kick him out. Did his son get robbed on the way?
Chen Xianming covered his nose with his fan in disgust. "Gu'er, go downstairs to wash up and rest."
After pouring the whole pot of water in, Chen Gu let out a comfortable burp, completely ignoring his father's disgusted look, and plopped down next to him.
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