bayedsolid Chapter 183 The County Magistrate Comes to See the Sweet Potatoes
Chapter 183 The County Magistrate Comes to See the Sweet Potatoes
"Your Excellency, the County Magistrate is too kind. If it weren't for your promotion, I, a humble girl, wouldn't be able to help so many people by myself. Moreover, after you took office, you helped the people to redress grievances and settle cases. How can a mere village girl like me compare to that?" Shen Wanning said modestly.
"Miss Shen is a person with a big heart. As for me, I am just doing my duty!" County Magistrate He sighed.
But then, he became happy again. The greater Shen Wanning's contribution, the better it would be for him. This would also be counted towards his political achievements. Three years later, why would he not be able to return to Beijing in glory?
He Zhenzhen couldn't sit still and twisted around, "Sister Shen, why can't I see Xiaohe? I was planning to find him to play together. Last time, he invited me to visit Daqing Village!"
It turned out that she was looking for Lin He. She wondered why He Zhenzhen would think of coming to the village to look at sweet potatoes.
"Xiaohe went to school with his brother and younger brother. There is no school in our Daqing Village, so they went to school in the neighboring Daxixi Village." Shen Wanning replied.
He Zhenzhen was a little discouraged. "Studying! Studying is the most boring thing. Xiaohe definitely doesn't like it."
Shen Wanning chuckled. This little girl really understood Lin He's thoughts.
County Magistrate He asked, "Oh? Then why doesn't your Daqing Village have a school? It's really not easy for your village to produce a top scholar without a school!"
Aunt Zhang sighed and replied, "It's not about money, but about not being able to find a teacher. If there's a teacher willing to come to the village, even if every household has to sell everything they have, we'll still be able to raise the tuition!"
"Then all the children in Daqing Village have to go to the next village to study?"
Aunt Zhang shook her head. "Not really. There's been a drought these past few years, so we don't have the money to send our children to school. There were some before, but they were rare, mainly because the next village is a bit far. Plus, some children don't like studying, so they can just stay home and be the labor force."
"It's thanks to my sister-in-law and elder brother that they are open-minded. They allowed Lin Jieyuan to continue studying under such circumstances. Otherwise, he wouldn't be the Jieyuan today." County Magistrate He praised.
Aunt Zhang rolled her eyes at Lin Dashan. "How could my old man think so far ahead? My father-in-law was a failed scholar who had some education. Before he died, he told us to send our children to school.
It is said that all things are inferior except for studying. It is a pity that my eldest and second sons are not good at studying, but fortunately my third son has made great efforts.
(This indirectly explains why the three Lin brothers had nice names, but not so nice in their generation. As for Lin Dashan, his name was given by his grandfather, so it is not nice either.)
Magistrate He nodded, but he was thinking about reporting this to the prefect. He had already heard about Lin Jingyou's actions in Fuzhou, and Huang Wei's closing of the city gates had already offended the prefect.
Therefore, the prefect is very likely to elevate the Lin family and compete with the governor.
Leading County Magistrate He to the sweet potato field, Shen Wanning picked up a piece of sweet potato seedlings and explained to him the method of growing seedlings.
At the same time, he also told County Magistrate He how to grow seedlings using sweet potatoes.
"I suggest that we start raising seedlings and planting in February next year. In this way, we can cut the sweet potato vines and plant another crop around May. In this way, we can harvest sweet potatoes twice a year." Shen Wanning suggested.
"Well, in my opinion, raising seedlings is not difficult. After I return, I will definitely ask people to learn how to do it. If there are any who don't know how to do it, I may send someone to Daqing Village to learn. I'll trouble Miss Shen then."
"Master He, you are too polite. It is my honor to be able to help the people."
"By the way, we harvested over 5,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes. I'd like to ask Miss Shen how much we can give to the government."
Shen Wanning thought for a moment and said, "The refugees have just been resettled in Daqing Village. I want to give them some supplies for the New Year. As for the supplies, I think these sweet potatoes are good. At least they won't have to worry about food next year."
County Magistrate He suddenly laughed. "You're quite clever. How about this? I'll leave you a thousand pounds, and I'll take the rest."
"Thank you, sir." Shen Wanning quickly knelt down and saluted.
"Don't worry, I won't take these things from you for nothing. How about eight cents per pound based on the price of coarse flour?" County Magistrate He continued to ask.
"Thank you, County Magistrate." Shen Wanning thanked him again.
"I know this is only the first year, and your Daqing Village is the only one with sweet potatoes on the market. If you really sell them, not only eight cents a pound, but even ten or twenty cents a pound will be sold. But Miss Shen, every loss must be rewarded. Don't worry, in the end, you will gain far more than money."
County Magistrate He said this to reassure Shen Wanning. Sooner or later, these achievements will fall on her head, and the emperor will reward her in the end.
"I don't dare to ask for anything more, I just hope that there will be no more hunger in the world." Shen Wanning said this very sincerely.
County Magistrate He ordered people to help move the sweet potatoes onto the horse-drawn carriage, and finally hired Tie Niu's family's ox cart to help move the sweet potatoes onto the ox cart and then transport them to the county town.
"Sir, it's almost time for lunch. Why don't you have lunch at home before leaving?" Aunt Zhang tried to persuade him to stay.
"Okay, then I'd rather obey than submit. Thank you for your help," County Magistrate He said politely.
At lunch, Shen Wanning asked Xu to steam some sweet potatoes, and asked Lin Dashan to call the village head to accompany them.
He Zhenzhen has always loved sweets, so she ate a lot of sweet potatoes for lunch. She even asked the cook to make her some steamed sweet potatoes when she got home that night.
After lunch, Shen Wanning escorted County Magistrate He out. He pointed at the cotton outside and asked, "What is this? I've walked around several villages, and I don't think I've seen this kind of crop before."
Shen Wanning stepped forward and said, "This is another crop I discovered, called cotton. As for the function of cotton, it is to keep people warm."
She looked at the cotton flowers. Some of them had already burst open, revealing the white cotton inside.
She walked into the cotton field, picked a few cotton flowers and held them in her hands.
"Adults can feel it. Cotton is very soft. It can be used not only as filling in quilts, but also as filling in cotton-padded jackets. It is very warm and light." Shen Wanning introduced.
County Magistrate He picked up the cotton and squeezed it. "It's indeed soft, but there are small particles inside. Will it be a little prickly?"
Shen Wanning smiled and said, "The small particles inside the cotton are seeds. When the cotton is mature, we can take out the seeds and plant them the following year after raising them into seedlings."
"Good, good! This is a good thing! When it matures, could you send some to the county government office?" County Magistrate He pinched it again. It was indeed soft and much more comfortable than willow catkins.