Union

Chapter 118 I'll reward you first

Yunying made up her mind to focus her efforts on the textile industry in the future.

But textiles were an industry she had never worked in before; she was a complete novice. She inevitably had to go back and consult books and learn about skilled craftsmen in the field, making thorough preparations before starting work.

Before things are clear, it's best not to tell Second Master.

She had told her second master that she wanted to get tea cakes and tea bricks, and even planned how to sell them to the northwestern border towns. But then a gold mine came along, and all her plans fell through.

This time, Yunying learned her lesson; she wouldn't tell anyone again until she was absolutely certain of the situation.

Yunying looked out the car window, estimated the time, and felt that she shouldn't be far from the first terraced field she had built. The surrounding scenery was also becoming familiar, so she should be arriving at her destination soon.

Yunying was about to tell the Second Master about this when she suddenly saw a somewhat familiar figure.

She couldn't help but let out a soft "Eh," tugging at the Second Master's sleeve to make him look in her direction.

"What?" The Second Master's breath was close to her ear, and the faint scent of paper and ink, along with the cool fragrance of sandalwood, wafted over. Yun Ying's heart skipped a beat, her ears twitched, and she slightly moved away.

"Second Master, do you think that person is Li Dazhu?"

"Li Dazhu?"

"You've forgotten Li Dazhu, the victim in the donkey theft case who sued Pershing?"

Second Master naturally hadn't forgotten him, but he had to meet many people and handle many things every day, and many things weighed on his mind. Li Dazhu wasn't a very important person, so Second Master didn't think of him immediately.

However, after Yunying mentioned it, the Second Master recognized the person.

He nodded slightly. "It's Li Dazhu."

"What are they doing up in the mountains? I saw they were carrying plows and rakes. Could they be thinking of building terraced fields too?"

"It's possible."

“But this mountain isn’t suitable. It’s too steep, and if there’s heavy rain, it could easily cause landslides and soil erosion.”

Second Master said, "Let's go take a look."

Hearing their conversation, the driver drove the carriage to the foot of the mountain.

Meanwhile, Li Dazhu's family also saw the carriage approaching them, and they all stopped what they were doing and looked over.

After Second Master and Yunying got off the carriage one after the other, Li Dazhu recognized one of them as the county magistrate. He quickly threw the rake in his hand to the ground and ran down with his two sons.

Upon arrival, the father and his two sons hurriedly exchanged greetings.

The second uncle woke them up and asked, "Are you working on terraced fields?"

Li Dazhu replied tremblingly, "Yes."

Li Dazhu's youngest son was relatively clever, so he added, "It's not just us; many people around here are doing it too. The terraced fields that Miss Yunying built are producing very good dry rice. If nothing unexpected happens, there will definitely be a big harvest this year. The old farmers in the village said that it will yield more than the harvest from barren land."

Wasteland is hard to cultivate. The main problem is that since the county magistrate issued the decree for wasteland reclamation before the new year, all the good locations have already been cleared. What's left are small plots, or plots that are too remote, or too far from home or water sources.

Clearing such wasteland, upon careful calculation, is not as cost-effective as building terraced fields on barren mountains.

Buying barren mountains certainly requires money, but not much, and even if one cannot come up with that amount of money, a portion of the annual harvest can be used to pay off the debt.

The key point is that the preferential treatment for barren mountains is even greater than that for wasteland. The government exempts taxes for the first five years, while wasteland only receives a three-year exemption.

So, after much discussion, the family decided to buy the barren mountain and build terraced fields on it.

“But these barren mountains are too steep. After all the hard work, the area that can be cultivated will be limited, and the work will be very difficult. Moreover, once there is a heavy rain, the soil erosion will be severe, so it is not worth it.”

Li Dazhu recognized the fairy-like figure before him as Yunying, the girl who first built the terraced fields.

He scratched his head and said sheepishly, "I've heard people say that too, but my wife won't give up and insists that I try it."

Yunying chuckled, "Isn't your family a family of carpenters? Is carpentry work hard these days?" Otherwise, why don't you stick to making doors, windows, chests, and stools for people, and instead come here to build terraced fields?

Li Dazhu said, "Okay, easy to do. But..."

The problem is that everyone else is buying barren mountains. If they don't buy them, they feel like everyone else is getting a good deal while they aren't, and they feel like they're missing out.

So, even though they knew the barren mountain was unsuitable for building terraced fields, they still gritted their teeth and bought it, and now the whole family has gone to work on the barren mountain.

Yunying understood what Li Dazhu meant and was immediately at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

This is truly... speechless.

But these are the people under the Second Master's rule. No matter how many bad habits they have, she can't just watch them invest so much energy and effort in vain, only to end up with nothing.

Yunying thought for a moment and said, "This hillside is indeed not suitable for building terraces, but since you have already started, then continue. However, it is not suitable for growing dry rice or paddy rice. If you trust me, you can plant tea trees on the mountain."

The three scholars looked at each other, puzzled. "Is it alright to plant tea trees?"

"Yes, it's possible. As far as I know, only tea trees can survive on steep slopes. As for the rest, no matter how much effort is put in, I'm afraid there won't be much of a harvest."

"Okay, okay, let's go home and discuss it."

After bidding farewell to Li Dazhu's family, Yunying boarded the carriage and asked the Second Master, "How many barren mountains has the county government sold recently?"

This question really stumped Second Master. These days he'd been so busy with the gold mine that he hadn't really paid any attention to these worthless things like the barren mountains.

Second Master said, "I'll ask Suiyun later and then I'll tell you."

"I'm afraid that everything that could be sold on these surrounding barren mountains has already been sold, right? Look over there, aren't there people working on the mountain?"

The second master took one look and exclaimed, "It really is!"

The two were very close, but at that moment, neither of them had any other thoughts on their minds. Because if this matter wasn't handled properly, it could cause public resentment.

Although Yunying had told everyone long ago that the slope of the barren mountain where terraces were built should not be too steep, who knows how her words were distorted as they were passed around.

Yunying looked at the Second Master and said, "Have someone make a special trip later to talk to these people. Building terraced fields is fine, but they can't grow dry rice or paddy rice. If they want to grow rice, they should grow tea trees. I'll collect their tea leaves."

Seeing Yunying's gritted teeth, the second master teased her, "Are you determined to fight with tea leaves?"

Yun Ying glanced at the Second Master with a cold look, "How dare you say that? Who am I doing all this for?"

The moment those words were spoken, the air fell silent.

Yunying's heart was pounding. She turned her head away embarrassedly, secretly annoyed that her mouth was faster than her brain.

She should keep her mouth shut, otherwise she'll blurt out whatever she's thinking.

Doesn't she have any pride? She gets embarrassed too, you know?

The second master's throat tightened slightly, and his gaze as he looked at her was deep and unfathomable, as if a beast capable of devouring people was hidden within it.

Second Master reached out and grabbed Yunying's wrist. "Yunying..."

"Is that Miss Yunying? Oh dear, it's so hot today, why did Miss Yunying come here?" Yunying was startled, her hand trembled, and she flung the Second Master's hand aside.

She couldn't wait to stand up, lift the curtain, and stand on the carriage shaft.

The person under the carriage was none other than the minor official in charge of agricultural affairs in the county government.
He was initially reluctant to be sent by the county magistrate to help Yunying build terraced fields. He thought the young girl probably couldn't even distinguish between chives and rice seedlings, so what was the point of building terraced fields? It was just a bunch of nonsense.

But who could blame the county magistrate for being blinded by a beauty?

He didn't want to anger the county magistrate, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and become Yunying's assistant.

After several encounters with Yunying, the minor official's opinion of her changed considerably.

Having carefully considered the possibility of terraced fields, the official felt that it was worth trying.

As the terraced fields gradually took shape, the minor official visited them even more frequently. He even stopped going to the county office often, spending all his time wandering around the many terraced fields.

Record the germination of seedlings, the advantages and disadvantages of each terrace, consider areas for improvement, and compare which type of terrace model is optimal.

The official realized that these terraced fields were truly a boon to the people. If the terraced fields yielded a good harvest, Miss Yunying would likely be remembered for eternity.

As the person who assisted Yunying in transforming the terraced fields, he will surely be recorded in the county annals so that future generations can admire and respect him.

The minor official now held Yunying in high esteem. Whenever he saw the blue-curtained carriage that Yunying used to ride in, he instinctively felt that Yunying must be coming.

As expected, Yunying quickly lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out.

But whether it was the official's imagination or not, he felt that Yunying was too tense and her expression was somewhat dazed, as if she had done something wrong and was facing a great danger.

Could it be that Miss Yunying is too worried about the growth of the dry rice on the terraced fields, which is why she is so alarmed?

But why was he so guilty?
Before the official could figure it out, the carriage curtain in front of him was lifted again, and a man who looked all too familiar stepped out.

So noble and graceful, cold and dignified, he must be a county magistrate.

So, Yunying was in the carriage with the county magistrate just now?

Did he... ruin the magistrate's plans?

Looking at the magistrate's expression, although it remained calm and expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger, his slightly narrowed eyes and pursed lips hinted at an underlying hostility.

The clerk shrank back, took two steps back before stopping, and tremblingly greeted the Second Master.

Seeing the clerk's uneasy expression, Yunying glanced at the Second Master... Alright, the truth is out.

Her face flushed, and she wanted to tell Second Master not to scare her. But she couldn't help but recall her genuine emotions in the carriage just now, and how Second Master suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Yunying's mind was in turmoil, and her face grew even hotter.

She can't even save herself now, so there's no point in talking about saving others from dire straits.

Yunying was about to jump off the carriage, but the Second Master got off first and carried her down in his arms.

Yunying wanted to pat him on the shoulder to remind him that there were other people around. But her hand, which was raised high, was eventually lowered gently.

"What are you doing here? How is the dry rice growing on the terraced fields?"

It was Second Master who broke the awkward silence by questioning the clerk who was recording the condition of the terraced fields.

When the terraced fields were mentioned, the minor official forgot all his other thoughts.

He opened his mouth and started babbling on and on.

It turns out that someone has discovered a spring on this mountain.

With the spring, irrigating the entire terraced field became much simpler.

It is also because of the abundant water source, the addition of a lot of compost and silt dug from the river to the terraced fields, that is to say, the fertility is sufficient.

With ample water and fertilizer, and the caregivers being very attentive, the dry rice on these terraced fields is growing exceptionally well.

The official said, "The spring was discovered too late. If it had been discovered earlier, rice could have been grown on these terraced fields."

The dry rice seeds had already been sown when the spring was finally found. It wouldn't be appropriate to dig up the dry rice seeds again, so dry rice could only be planted this season. However, rice could be planted here next year.

The junior official led the way, guiding the Second Master and Yunying up the mountain.

Second Master walked ahead of Yunying, glancing back at her every now and then, keeping a close eye on her.

The second master even reached out his hand to help Yunying in a difficult place, but Yunying glared at him fiercely.

The second master was glared at, but instead of getting angry, his smile deepened.

The minor official was completely oblivious to the flirtatious banter between the two; his attention was entirely focused on the lush greenery covering the mountain.

Yunying also thought that the dry rice on the terraced fields was growing well.

Not only are the seedlings lush and green, but the roots and stems also look sturdy. If there is no extreme weather in the future, the dry rice on this terraced field is sure to have a bumper harvest.

Yunying seemed to already see the mountains covered in golden ears of grain a few months later. Her eyes narrowed, and she was filled with joy.

At this point, she could understand why the surrounding people had bought up barren mountains to build terraced fields.

This template is just too successful.

If they don't join in building terraced fields, it's like missing out on all the crops on these mountains. While others reap a bountiful harvest, they can only watch with envy. The thought of that is unbearable.

Therefore, while there is still time, we should quickly buy the mountain and build the terraced fields as soon as possible.

Looking at the lush greenery, the second master was extremely happy.

He had high hopes for the terraced fields, and now they are even more successful than he had imagined.

Each household can harvest at least several thousand kilograms more grain, so how can the famine not be resolved?
Second Master was already rubbing his hands together, planning in his mind to arrange for local gentry and elders from various towns and villages to visit the terraced fields.

No matter how much you say, they won't take it to heart, so it's all a waste of effort.

But the second master believed that if they saw this miraculous work of nature with their own eyes, they would not need him to push them forward anymore; they would call on all their relatives and friends to build the terraced fields themselves.

Second Master grabbed Yunying's hand and said, "If the terraced fields yield a good harvest, you will be credited for it."

Yunying tried to shake off Second Master's hand, but couldn't. She said, "I deserve the credit for building the terraced fields, but Second Master shouldn't forget the contributions of others either; we should reward them according to their merits."

"Alright, here's your reward!"

Yunying: "..."

Second update. There will only be one update tomorrow. I'm attending a banquet tomorrow, so I won't be able to update more than once.

(End of this chapter)