Starting from the world of Joy of Life

Chapter 98 Yuan Hongdao: I obey the orders of the eldest princess, not your master!
"Old man, how was the harvest last year?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm a new judge, I'm running errands for him, asking about our crops."

"Yigong? You look delicate and thin, you don't look like a local, and you don't speak with a local accent. Well, what's there to ask? Go back and tell your master that Jiangnan is a good place, and the grain yield is better than other places, one mu of land is five shi."

"Old man, don't lie to me. My master said that the best paddy fields outside Kyoto are 2.7 dan per mu. Is the land in the south of the Yangtze River so fertile?"

"You little brat, I taught you to reply like this, and you replied like this, and you're still arguing with me!"

"Hey, Old Sun, why are you lying to me? Kid, Old Sun is right. Here, the weather is good and the harvest is good. The yield per mu is 2 to 3 dan."

"Hmph, you understand, don't you? I told you to stop focusing on the yield per mu and also look at the tax. One stone is taxed at three dou. Who can afford it?"

"Okay, old man, I'll make a note of it."

"... "

The further Ye Zheng inspected, the more people responded with one question: tax.

In other places, one dou of rice is produced for every shi, but in Jiangnan, one dou of rice is produced for every shi.

It is a bit cruel, but it is true that the climate in the south of the Yangtze River is good and there are no natural disasters.

Ye Zheng is afraid that he cannot change this for the time being.

However, if the overall yield per mu is increased, it would be like getting three bushels of water for every stone, and farmers would be willing to do so.

As for whether Lao Deng will be so mad as to raise taxes again after the per-acre yield increases... wouldn't it be just right to lose the support of the people?
After returning to the government office, he first dealt with the accumulated official business, such as the documents for the procuratorate and the prison decisions.

Then he went to check what he had asked the servants to do.

Maybe it was money that paved the way, or maybe the people in the government office didn't think of squeezing him out for the time being, so the five servants fulfilled his request 100% without any discount.

He immediately sent these laborers to the nearest villages to the experimental fields and informed the village heads to send three people from each village, regardless of whether they were farmers or farm women, to learn the new methods of raising seedlings and planting rice.

March and April are the busy farming seasons, and what is needed during this period is strong labor, so he added the condition that the worker must be nearby, regardless of whether he is a farmer or a farm wife.

In fact, the basic township officials such as the village head, household head, and township clerk did not have a good reputation. He wanted to help with farming, but he only asked these people to come and observe and learn, but he was afraid that their good intentions would lead to bad results.

"This is the busy farming season."

"My Lord, will this cause resentment among the people?"

"Let him do what he wants. He is in charge of the farm work. It is his business how he messes around. If he really causes public outrage, he can just go back to Kyoto."

"... "

Ye Zheng had no idea what these people in the government office were thinking. He cared more about the thoughts of the common people who came here.

"Hey...why is it you, kid?"

"Old man! What are you pointing at? The lord is Lord Ye, the new magistrate of Hangzhou."

"What? I saw him a few days ago."

"... "

Coincidentally, several village heads brought over many old men who had met or chatted with Ye Zheng.

There was no need to explain too much. Even though he looked a little immature, his previous behavior only made these old men realize how much he valued farming.

"The method I teach is to save water and raise rice seedlings during drought."

"Crops are the hardest to fool. How you take care of them is how they reward you."

"And look carefully."

Instruct the servants to drain the water from the fields until only a little water is left, and then evenly spread the fermented fertilizer into the fields, and then teach the servants...

"That's it. After another three to five days of drying, you can sow the seeds. You are all farmers from the nearby villages. If you have time in the next three to five days, you can come and take a look."

After hearing Ye Zheng's words, the old men all shook their heads.

“Please come again on the day of sowing seeds.”

After hearing Ye Zheng's words, they all frowned again.

"Everyone gets a pancake before leaving."

After hearing the following words, they all laughed like chrysanthemums.

...

Five days later
There are more people leading the group in each village, and most of them are children.

Ye Zheng smiled speechlessly.

During these five days, in addition to handling official business, he often came to this field to inspect.

The day before, he had instructed the servant Ding to trim the seedbed and water it.

After briefly explaining the details of the previous day and the seed preparation techniques, Ye Zheng directed the servants to start the work.

"The seeds should be sown evenly to prevent them from clumping. The elders are all experienced and should understand this." "After sowing, press lightly with a wooden board. It doesn't need to be too deep. Just press the seeds into the seedbed."

"Mix the soil with plant ash, cover it, and then pour manure water on it."

"This is how we can save water and grow rice seedlings in drought-resistant conditions."

After Ye Zheng finished speaking, the elders began to discuss.

"It is indeed fine, but I don't know what the results are."

"I don't think it's very good. It's very troublesome. Building the seedbed, drying it, watering it, and drying and soaking the seeds. It's very troublesome!"

"... "

"Where are the pancakes?"

Someone mentioned this and everyone immediately looked at Ye Zheng.

Ye Zheng waved his hand and someone immediately brought the pancakes over.

"Master Xiaoye, how long will it take to grow the seedlings?"

Finally, an old man who was grateful for what he had received spoke up.

"After a month, we can transplant them." Ye Zheng said.

"January."

"My rice seedlings have grown."

"No, no."

"... "

The farmers took the happy children who had received the pancakes and went home. The village head had no time to stop them, so he had to apologize to Ye Zheng himself.

Ye Zheng waved his hand, his gaze fell on the experimental field again, his eyes lost in thought.

In such a world where all great power belongs to one person, the people are like leeks and no one cares about them.

Can…

The people are also human beings.

The five servants standing by looked at Ye Zheng from time to time, each with their own thoughts in their minds.

One of them gritted his teeth, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Sir, if you go through so much trouble and things go against your wishes, I'm afraid it will damage your reputation."

"Hey, my reputation was destroyed by my uncle a long time ago and became a joke." Ye Zheng said nonchalantly.

Among the other four servants, one seemed to be thinking about something.

……

Xushizhengke (late start)

South City, Ye's House

Ye Zheng came home after working overtime again, and Fan Ruoruo stood up and helped him take off his official uniform.

"Will you be able to relax more in the next month?" Her expression was as bright as ever, and just looking at her made people feel happy and relaxed.

"Of course, madam, you have worked hard recently. I would like to thank you very much tonight." Ye Zheng gently put his arm around her slender shoulders and said.

Fan Ruoruo's cheeks flushed, her face was flushed with shame, and she gave him a cold look. She was clearly talking to him seriously.

"After finishing farm work, there is still water conservancy, river and sea defense, and prison litigation. There is no way to finish the affairs of the government." Ye Zheng sighed.

"Be careful." Fan Ruoruo helped him change his clothes and said with a smile, "Let's eat first."

"it is good."

……

Josai
An alley near the pier

"Sir, that's it."

The candlelight revealed a face, which was one of the five servants commanded by Ye Zheng.

"Sir, do we need to destroy the rice field?"

The man asked again.

Yuan Hongdao chuckled and said in a gentle tone, "Then why don't you help him?"

"He is so enthusiastic about the people's support that we will wait for a month to transplant the rice seedlings and see the results."

The man looked a little hesitant, "Sir, my master..."

"I am following the order of the eldest princess, not your master." Yuan Hongdao narrowed his eyes, his tone was not much colder, but it frightened the servant Ding Li so much that he bowed his hands and lowered his head.

(End of this chapter)