"Cough cough...cough..."
"Master Fu..."
Seeing Song Jingning coughing incessantly, Jiang Yu was somewhat worried about his health.
Song Jing removed his hands and looked at the refugees below the city, saying to the crowd, "In the face of natural disasters, human life is as insignificant as ants. However, as the governor of this prefecture, I cannot bear to see my people freeze to death on the ground. I know you are all kind-hearted people, but I will not force you to do so."
"Your Excellency is too kind. If we have the capacity, we will certainly do our best to share your burdens."
Upon hearing this, Song Jingning could only sigh, "I'm sure you all know that Yuyang has already rebelled, and you all have your own understanding of the national situation."
Everyone remained silent. Some said that Yuyang was overestimating his abilities, while others watched secretly.
Some people also knew that the situation was not good.
Seeing that everyone was talking nicely but unwilling to do anything, Lu Lingyun, a renowned scholar from Shangjun, said, "The people are suffering, and we are not cold-blooded people. My Lu family is willing to contribute five thousand taels of silver to help the Prefect settle the refugees."
The others looked at Lu Lingyun, each with their own thoughts.
The old man stood by, unmoved by the scene before him. However, when he saw the sickly Song Jingning and the boy beside him, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.
He smiled and said, "Although my Fan family is not as good as the Lu family, we are still willing to contribute five thousand taels of silver and one thousand catties of grain, to do our best."
Seeing the surprised looks on the other people's faces, he smiled and said, "As people get older, their hearts soften, and they can't bear to see these people displaced."
Who are you talking to about human rights? We know who you, Fan Gongming, are.
But they all praised him, saying, "Fan Gong is a man of great righteousness."
It's unclear what the Fan and Lu families are thinking; now they're in a difficult situation.
Although they are wealthy, this year's harvest is indeed poor, and given the current situation, this is only the beginning, so they don't want to put in this effort for nothing.
Song Jingning knew what the others were thinking.
He said, "When I was at the manor, I mentioned that my son had brought two rare items, and I thought that perhaps they could solve your current predicament."
"I wonder what rare item Your Excellency is referring to?"
Everyone was very curious about Song Jingning's words.
"Does anyone know how much grain can be grown per acre in the village?"
Although no one knew why Song Jingning asked this question, they thought about it for a while and gave their answers. Although some of them said less, they were all pretty much the same.
After all, Song Jingning was not someone who was lazy or ignorant of farming.
“Managing a hundred acres of land yields one and a half bushels of grain annually.”
"The harvest from a hundred acres is no more than twenty bushels."
"The vassal states along the Yellow River are merely small, insignificant kingdoms!"
...
Different crops, different soil types, and different climate conditions result in different grain harvests.
One shi (石) is equivalent to 100 jin (斤) of grain. If cultivated in ordinary way, one mu (亩) can yield about 150 jin (斤), but if cultivated in fertile soil after irrigation, the yield can be about 500 jin (斤) per mu.
Song Jingning asked, "Do any of you know of any crops that can yield more than a thousand catties per mu?"
Before anyone could speak, he glanced at Jiang Yu and continued, "These two items I have now are crops from foreign lands. They can yield at least a thousand catties per mu, and if managed properly, they can yield three times that amount."
This is a full ten times their grain harvest.
"Your Excellency, is this truly the truth?"
"nature."
They all knew Song Jingning's character and believed him to a great extent what he said.
If what Song Jingning described truly exists, then…
A burning passion filled everyone's hearts...
"Your Excellency, what does this thing look like?"
"How much did you bring, young master?"
...
When pressed by the crowd, Song Jingning did not answer. Instead, he said, "This matter is not urgent. Spring planting is still a long way off. The most important thing right now is to settle the refugees properly."
Upon hearing this, everyone's excited hearts were instantly cooled by a bucket of cold water.
They regained their composure and pondered Song Jingning's words.
He said that such a thing exists, which is true, but there probably isn't much of it, and whether it can really yield a thousand catties per mu as he said, nobody knows.
Song Jingning meant that he wanted to use this item to make an exchange with them.
They need to think carefully about whether this deal is worth doing and how much they should offer.
The group returned to the prefectural government.
The food and utensils were now ready.
Among them were dishes made by Qi Nuan using corn and potatoes.
The guests sat at three tables. Song Jingning sat at one table, Jiang Yu sat at another table, and Wang Bo and Zhang Liao sat at the third table.
Wealthy families in ancient times had already studied food, but it was hard to compare with the essence that has been refined over thousands of years.
Qi Nuan put a lot of effort into promoting potatoes and corn, using various cooking methods such as frying, stir-frying, steaming, and boiling.
The results were obvious, and Jiang Yu and the others smiled but remained silent in the face of the praise from others.
After the banquet, Song Jingning revealed that what they had eaten was the agricultural product he had mentioned.
It can be served as a staple food or as a side dish.
Song Jingning ordered his men to bring up the two items.
"This plant has been cultivated in greenhouses, and I dare not lie about what I have said. As for its taste, you gentlemen have already tasted it."
He hesitated slightly, then said, "I'm sure you've all guessed that I don't have much of this either."
"If any of you are planting these two items, please register them with the government office as soon as possible."
Old Master Fan still had a smiling expression on his face, and said, "I just wonder how the Prefect plans to distribute these seeds?"
This was exactly the question everyone else wanted to ask, and they all waited for Song Jingning's answer.
Song Jingning said, "All things in the world should be taken from the people and used for the people. This item was originally intended to be used to relieve disaster victims, but my son said that its significance in preserving seed is more important."
He sighed softly, "I almost caused a major disaster; I gained a little but lost a lot."
Song Jingning looked at the crowd and said, "Now that refugees are constantly pouring in, I cannot bear to see them freeze to death outside the city. If any of you have the means, I urge you to lend a helping hand."
After saying this, he bowed to the crowd.
Then he stood up and said, "As for this item, I will use it as a reward for you all."
He looked at everyone and said, "The one who contributes the most will receive 3,000 catties of potatoes and 1,000 catties of corn; the next two will receive 1,000 catties of potatoes and 500 catties of corn; the next five will receive 500 catties of potatoes and 300 catties of corn; and the remaining ten will each receive 300 catties of potatoes and 100 catties of corn."
Song Jingning smiled and said, "We can provide manpower, material resources, and financial resources. During the spring planting season, our prefecture will send someone to teach you the planting methods."
"Your Excellency is too kind. Even if you hadn't said so, we would not have abandoned the refugees. We would simply do our best."
Regardless of what others think, they say very nice things.
As for how to proceed, they still need to go back and discuss it.
Some people can see the value of this item, while others disdain it, and of course, there are those who want to profit from it.
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