Chapter 445: Chapter 418: Abundant Harvest (Double-Length Chapter)_3
The gentleman truly gave birth to a good daughter, who else’s maiden can relieve her parents’ worries and contribute bricks and mortar to the family’s prosperity at such a young age?
Old Madame Yan saw that the two had finished speaking and smiled, “Girl, if your dad wants to bring people over for a tour, this place might need to be used to receive everyone.”
Daohua nodded, “No problem, but there’s not much stuff here, we’ll need to get some cups and utensils.”
Old Madame Yan smiled, “You don’t need to worry about this, your mother has prepared everything, and we’ll have it moved from the boat in a bit.”
Teacher Xiao stood up, “I’ll go take a look at the fields now.”
Old Madame Yan looked towards Yan Zhiqiang, and Yan Zhiqiang immediately took Teacher Xiao out.
“Come on, let’s go up the mountain and see your elder sister and your master.”
…
The day after Old Madame Yan arrived, Taohua Village began buzzing with activity, with people coming in waves and strolling around the fields where Daohua had planted yams, causing the tenant farmers to think there was a thief, patrolling and watching closely every day.
On the fifth day, Yan Zhigao led a group of people to Taohua Village in a grand manner.
There were officials, respected elders from all over the district, and quite a few seasoned farmers, as well as ordinary people following behind to watch.
In addition, many business-savvy merchants from Zhongzhou also arrived.
Merchants pursue profit; the sale of Xingzhou’s watermelon and grapes had made many a good sum of silver. Now that they heard Magistrate Yan was promoting a new product, they had to come and take a look.
Yan Zhigao knew that people would not believe in the yield per acre of yams unless they saw it with their own eyes, no matter how eloquently he spoke, “Little brother, start digging, and later on, Fan Tongzhi and I will come personally to weigh how much the yield per acre is.”
Yan Zhiqiang nodded, found a dozen farmers who excelled in their work, and began digging up yams.
“Everyone be careful when digging; don’t damage them, as it is not easy to preserve them if they are damaged.”
Seeing the harvested yams were three to four fingers wide, long and thick, everyone grew eager with excitement.
Soon, one acre of yams was harvested.
Yan Zhigao called the officials over to weigh them.
“Did you calculate it? How high is the yield per acre?”
An excited voice rose, “My lord, it is fifteen stones!”
Upon hearing this number, everyone became ecstatic.
Yan Zhigao saw the crowd’s enthusiasm and raised his hand to signal for quiet, “Our yams have a large yield because they were well-tended; others’ crops may not produce as much.”
Fan Tongzhi laughed, “Even if it is a little less, harvesting a mere ten stones per acre would still be considered high yield.”
One must know that the value of yams is much higher than ordinary crops.
Yan Zhigao smiled, “Now everyone has seen the yield of the yams, but we still don’t know how they taste. So, let’s do this, I will treat everyone to yam soup at noon today to sample the flavor.”
Fan Tongzhi immediately smiled, “Then we’re truly in for a treat.”
After tasting the yam soup, some merchants immediately expressed their willingness to purchase yams next year, and many officials also expressed their desire to plant yams in their own jurisdictions.
Yan Zhigao listened with a beaming smile on his face, making no immediate response.
After everyone had tasted the yam soup, Yan Zhigao took the group for a few more rounds in the field, then headed back to the Governor’s Office.
The next day, the Governor’s Office issued a notice stating that only residents with Sha County household registration were eligible to obtain yam seeds from the Governor’s Office.
Instantly, people who had moved away from Sha County began returning, while also, many landless vagabonds raced to register as residents in Sha County.
Seeing Yan Zhigao, whose smile never faded, Teacher Xiao laughed, “This should solve the vagabond problem completely.”
Yan Zhigao shook his head with a smile, “Completely solving it won’t be easy, but it is possible to solve the majority of the issue. Teacher Xiao, you’ll have to go to Sha County tomorrow yourself to supervise the County Magistrate in implementing the settlements for the vagabonds.”
“Everyone can see the profit from yams, even if they are planted only every two or three years, the income is significant. Those aristocratic families are probably already rushing over there; we must control this well.”
“Providing Sha County with yam seeds is meant to help the common people and the vagabonds; we can’t end up benefitting those aristocratic families in the end.”
Teacher Xiao nodded, “Rest assured, my lord, I will not fail to fulfill my duty.”
Yan Zhigao pondered for a moment, then added, “Take Wenxiu with you this time; after all, he’s a Juren now, and he should learn more about the hardships of the people.” With that, he looked at Teacher Xiao with a smile.
“I’ll need to ask Teacher Xiao to offer him more guidance.”
Teacher Xiao immediately said, “You’re too serious, my lord. Both your son and daughter are among the best of the best, and even without an outsider’s guidance, they could see the essence of various affairs.”
Seeing Teacher Xiao mention his two children, a smug look appeared on Yan Zhigao’s face, but he still modestly said, “Praise doesn’t do well for children; they still need Teacher Xiao to put in more effort.”
Teacher Xiao smiled and agreed.
…
Taohua Temple.
“What did the Emperor say?”
Seeing Xiao Yeyang silently holding the letter, Daohua couldn’t help but ask.
Xiao Yeyang put away the letter and laughed, “Uncle Emperor asked me to look for a gold mine in private, without causing any commotion. He also said, if you help find the gold mine, he will grant you the title of a county princess.”
“Really?!”
Daohua stood up excitedly.
Seeing her so joyfully happy, Old Mother Gu and Gu Jian exchanged silent glances, both with smiles in their eyes.
If Daohua became a county princess, then marrying Yangyang wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Xiao Yeyang smiled as he looked at Daohua, but his mind was pondering something else.
The Uncle Emperor knew the Jiang Family was looking for a gold mine and did nothing about it, advising him not to interfere either; what did this mean?
As an outside relative, the Jiang Family wielded significant power, and the Uncle Emperor’s wariness of them was something Xiao Yeyang had noticed since his childhood.
Thinking of the historical end of those related by marriage to the royal family, Xiao Yeyang’s heart skipped a beat.
Would there come a day when the Uncle Emperor would act against the Jiang Family?