Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1277 Promotion
The weather has improved recently, and the sun has been diligently shining in the sky for ten days now. On the estate of the Wan family outside the city, drying poles are laid out everywhere, with a dense array of long, light gray lines hanging from them.

"You can put it away now." Shi Jia checked the condition of the sweet potato flour.

"If kept dry, it might actually last for more than a year," an old man said after carefully observing the condition of the sweet potato starch.

"Really?" Prefect Wan was overjoyed.

"Yes."

"In that case, the people might have a bumper harvest this year!" The yield of sweet potatoes is twice that of rice, which is seven or eight hundred shi per mu, but it has not been widely planted. Besides being high in fiber and not very tasty, it is also because it is not easy to preserve, and the government does not require the people to grow sweet potatoes.

If the government were to promote it, the situation would be completely different.

Prefect Wan said, "With surplus grain, we can send it to the front lines! Once the soldiers are well-fed, there will be no worries about supplies on the battlefield..."

As Prefect Wan spoke, he couldn't help but start to daydream. Those around him, listening, couldn't help but join in the daydreaming.

"Ahem!" Shi Jia was somewhat surprised to see Prefect Wan so unsteady for the first time, but also touched. This was an official who truly cared about the people. But the sweet potatoes hadn't even been planted yet; wasn't it too early to be dreaming?
Prefect Wan and the others suddenly realized what was happening. "Ahem, quickly collect the sweet potato starch, divide it into three portions, send one portion to the front lines, one portion to Yujing, and let everyone have a taste of the remaining portion."

"Master Li, I'm entrusting this to you." Prefect Wan smiled at Shi Jia.

"Yes, my lord."

"How is it?" Behind the large desk, Prefect Wan looked down at the official documents, his brows furrowed.

"Your Honor, three households in Dahe Village are willing to grow sweet potatoes," the constable standing below said, bowing. "One household in Xiahe Village, and two households in Dashan Village..."

"Have you mentioned the sweet potato starch thing?"

"As I've said, most of the sweet potatoes in people's homes have rotted this year, so no one wants to grow more sweet potatoes. They also say that although sweet potatoes are sweet, they have a lot of fibrous material and are not very tasty. Growing some to eat as candy is fine, but growing more is absolutely not advisable. It would be better to grow more rice, so that you can sell it and buy more coarse grains."

To be honest, growing sweet potatoes is actually quite simple. Unlike rice, they don't require the same meticulous care, and the vines can be used to feed livestock and be eaten as vegetables – it's a win-win situation. But this year's grain disaster has truly terrified the people. To lose such a good harvest is a heart-wrenching pain.

Prefect Wan stopped reading the official document, waved his hand, and said, "Go on with your work."

"Yes!"

After finishing his urgent official duties, Prefect Wan summoned his trusted confidants to discuss the matter.

"Sir, this matter is actually easy to resolve; a single official document will suffice," the advisor said.

Prefect Wan nodded. "Then let's do it this way." It was getting late, and any further delay would jeopardize the sweet potato harvest. As for promotion, once the sweet potatoes were harvested and sweet potato flour was made, the people would naturally start planting them.

"Let the people cultivate in dry land or reclaim wasteland; they must not occupy fertile land," Prefect Wan said to the clerk next to him who was responsible for writing official documents.

"Yes."

Prefect Wan was worried that even if the people planted sweet potatoes according to the prefectural government's orders, they would not take good care of them, so he added, "Tell the people to take good care of them. If the sweet potatoes are plentiful, the household with the largest harvest in each village will be exempt from this year's taxes."

The government may be short of funds, but it can still make empty promises. Although the annual tax revenue is not much, it could be a matter of life and death for the common people.

"My lord, the matter of taxes is of utmost importance!" Lu Yang and the others exclaimed. Taxes are related to the foundation of the country, and a prefect of a prefecture does not have the power to exempt taxes.

"Don't worry, if the sweet potato harvest is bountiful, the tax burden will naturally be taken care of," said Prefect Wan. In these government-issued planting tasks, the government usually takes half the harvest. With that half the harvest, how could it not be enough to cover the taxes?

Everyone suddenly realized, "Your Excellency is wise."

Prefect Wan waved his hand, "Just picking up scraps from others." The crowd was taken aback, and before they could ask anything, Prefect Wan dismissed them and told them to get back to their work. Realizing they had a lot of things to do, they didn't want to linger and could only take their leave one by one.

In Dashan Village, Village Chief Li explained the official document from the government to everyone. The villagers showed resistance on their faces. One of them said, "Uncle, all my fields are planted with grain. Where can I find land to plant sweet potatoes? They're not worth much and they don't keep well."

"Yes, all the fields in my family's yard are planted with grain."

The others quickly echoed, and finally the person standing at the front said, "Village chief, all the fields in our village have been planted with grain."

Village Chief Li made a stop gesture. "The government's orders must be carried out. It has been said that anyone who disobeys will be punished with three months of hard labor."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, their faces showing fear.

"The government said that if there is no land, we should reclaim wasteland, with each household required to cultivate at least two mu (approximately 0.33 acres)," said Village Chief Li. "The family that harvests the most at that time will be exempt from taxes this year."

"What!" The villagers were shocked and skeptical. "Village chief, is this true? You're not kidding us, are you?"

Village Chief Li wanted to roll his eyes. "The official documents from the government are right here. Take a look for yourselves." He took out a neatly folded piece of paper, and several people immediately went to look at it.

"Hiss, it's true."

"Village chief, I want to grow sweet potatoes. Is it possible to clear land on the south side of the village?" someone asked.

"Each family should plant at least two mu (0.16 acres). My family is quite large, so planting two more mu won't be a problem. Besides, sweet potatoes are easy to manage."

"Yes!"

Soon, the land reclamation in Dashan Village began in full swing. Shi Jia also received a letter from the village chief, asking Wang Tieshan to take leave and go back to handle the matter.

Because of the move to the prefectural city, the fields they had previously purchased were rented out to others to cultivate during the New Year. The task of planting sweet potatoes was assigned to each household, so Shi Jia sent Wang Tieshan back to find people to plant them. After deducting the portion to be handed over to the government, the rest of the harvest would belong entirely to the person who planted it.

In addition, Shi Jia gave the family money for clearing the land, effectively buying out the ownership of the land. In other words, the cleared land belonged to Shi Jia.

With the chores done, Shi Jia's days returned to normal. However, besides cooking, reading, and teaching Wang Tiehua to read, she began to think about what else she could do for the world.

For example, improving the grain varieties.

The idea of ​​improving grain varieties was first brought up by Prefect Wan. He said that sweet potatoes had too much residue, and it would be better if they had less residue. He asked Shi Jia if he had any ideas.

If Shi Jia were just an ordinary cook, she definitely wouldn't have any solutions. Well, although she's currently helpless, she knows what the best-tasting sweet potatoes look like! She knows that sweet potato varieties can be improved.

So, although she didn't know, she still answered with a guilty conscience. Since then, Shi Jia has tried her best to dig into the sealed memories whenever she has free time, attempting to find even the slightest clue.

I've been daydreaming for over a month, but nothing has come of it.

"Sigh, how come there's not a single one?" Shi Jia smacked her head.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Wang Tiehua was very worried about her sister-in-law.

"I'm thinking about how to grow sweet potatoes so that they have less fiber."

"Oh? What fiber? Is your sister-in-law going to plant sweet potatoes? I can help."

"Plant? Right, I can try planting one first."