Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

Tang Susu listened to Lu Hao's words and nodded with a smile: "Your father is indeed a rare good official. He cares about the people and is honest and upright. It is a blessing for us ordinary people to have such a good official."

Lu Hao's eyes lit up, and he immediately seized the opportunity to probe: "Sister Su, what do you think of my dad...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Gousheng rushed over, covered his mouth, dragged him aside, and hissed angrily, "Lu Hao, don't talk nonsense! If you dare to say another word, I won't let you off!"

Seeing this, Yang Xiaobao quickly stepped forward to smooth things over for Tang Susu, scratching his head and laughing, "Sister Susu, don't mind them, they're just discussing the braised meat business!"

After saying that, fearing further questioning, he turned and ran after Yang Gousheng and Lu Hao.

Old Mrs. Yang was so angry that she stomped her feet and rolled up her sleeves, ready to teach Lu Hao a lesson: "That brat, he has no manners at all, daring to talk nonsense! I'll give him a good beating!"

Tang Susu quickly stopped her, smiling as she said, "Auntie, don't take it to heart. He was just saying it casually, he didn't mean any harm. The most important thing right now is building the house. The workers are still resting. Go and call them back to continue making the bricks. Don't delay the construction and waste their wages."

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Yang, knowing the gravity of the situation, nodded and said, "You're right, business is more important!" With that, she turned to call the workers in the corner.

Upon hearing this, the workers immediately stepped forward, picked up their tools, and threw themselves back into their work. They carried soil, mixed mud, made adobe bricks, and dried them in the sun. Their movements were swift and efficient, and the courtyard was once again bustling with activity, with busy figures everywhere.

Meanwhile, Lord Lu and his entourage hurried back to the county government office. They had just sat down in the study and taken a sip of tea when Registrar Yan rushed in and bowed to report: "Your Excellency, the three county magistrates from Qianjiang, Qintang, and Jiangtou towns have come to visit and are waiting in the front hall."

Lord Lu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Oh? They've arrived quickly. Please invite them in."

The three county magistrates entered the study, exchanged pleasantries, and then directly stated their purpose.

Magistrate Song spoke first, his tone urgent: "Lord Lu, we have heard that a new type of threshing tool has appeared in Wunan County. It is extremely efficient and can save the people a lot of work. We came here specifically to learn about it. If it is feasible, we will promote it in our county to benefit the people."

The other two county magistrates echoed this sentiment, their eyes filled with anticipation—the autumn harvest had just ended, and threshing grain was time-consuming and laborious. If there were new tools, it would undoubtedly be a great help to the people and would also elevate their political achievements.

Lord Lu smiled and waved his hand mysteriously: "Gentlemen, the new threshing tools are just a small matter. I have something else here that can increase grain production and benefit all people, a hundred times more important than the threshing tools."

Upon hearing this, the three county magistrates were immediately drawn in, leaning forward eagerly and asking, "Lord Lu, what important matter is it? Tell us quickly!"

Lord Lu cleared his throat and spoke slowly, his tone tinged with pride: "Do you all remember that during the autumn harvest, I instructed you not to rush to plow the fields after harvesting the rice, but to leave the rice stubble?"

Upon hearing this, the three men looked somewhat embarrassed. Magistrate Song spoke first, "Lord Lu, to be honest, at the time we thought leaving rice stubble was troublesome and took up land, so we didn't pay much attention to it. Only about 80% of the land had rice stubble left. Now that I think about it, I really regret it!"

The other two county magistrates nodded in agreement, their faces full of regret.

"Hahaha," Lord Lu chuckled, "Do you know what surprises await you if you leave the rice stubble?" He paused, then explained in detail, "If the rice stubble is left tall enough and receives sufficient water and fertilizer, it will turn green again, grow axillary buds, and then split into stalks and produce ears of grain, resulting in another crop of rice—that's a second crop of rice!"

Upon hearing this, the three county magistrates were utterly shocked, their eyes widening in disbelief: "What? Rice stubble can produce more grain? This is unheard of!"

Lord Lu, beaming with pride, continued to boast about his achievements: "That's right! In our Wunan County, all the rice stubble has now turned green again. It is estimated that the yield of the second crop of rice is nearly 200 jin per mu, and the total yield of the two seasons is nearly 400 jin. In a bumper year, the yield can reach 500 jin!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving the three county magistrates dumbfounded, their faces filled with envy and shock.

Magistrate Song couldn't help but say, "Lord Lu, you've done a great service! If this second crop of rice is widely adopted, the people will never have to worry about not having enough food again!"

"That's right," Lord Lu nodded solemnly. "I plan to immediately write a memorial to the Prefect to report the good news and earnestly request that the second crop of rice be promoted throughout the prefecture so that all the people can benefit."

The three county magistrates echoed this sentiment, both envying Lord Lu's good fortune and regretting that they hadn't heeded his advice and missed out on such a political achievement.

Afterwards, Lord Lu closed his doors to visitors and devoted himself to writing a memorial in his study. The memorial, which was over a thousand words long, detailed the autumn harvest and tax payment situation in Wunan County this year, as well as the various policies he had implemented to benefit the people. It was well-organized and sincere.

To help the prefect understand the second crop of rice more intuitively, he personally drew a diagram of the growth of rice stubble and axillary buds, with detailed annotations explaining the growth principles and management methods of the second crop of rice in a way that was easy to understand.

When writing about the merits, Lord Lu did not take credit for himself, but recorded the facts as they were: Tang Susu accidentally discovered that the rice stubble was turning green again and proposed the idea of ​​a second crop of rice.

Tang Chengyu, drawing on his expertise, provided management and maintenance strategies;

Following Lu Hao's instructions, Jin Huihuang commissioned the manufacture of a new type of stone roller, which improved the efficiency of threshing grains.

When mentioning his son Lu Hao, he also praised him, briefly recounting Lu Hao's achievements in improving the stone roller, leading students to work, and purchasing writing implements for the village children. However, fearing that too much text would offend his superiors, he only touched on the details and did not elaborate further.

Meanwhile, on his way back from the county government office, Song County Magistrate was filled with disappointment.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt: Lu Hao was originally a notorious unruly young master, but after a period of training in Yangqu Village, he was able to make contributions and be written into the memorials of Lord Lu. On the other hand, his own son, Song Zhifeng, was a top student in Chongwen Hall, with his essays ranking at the top, but he had no real achievements and would find it difficult to establish himself in the future.

After much deliberation, Magistrate Song made up his mind that in order to pave the way for his son, he had to send him to Yangqu Village to gain experience.

He drove directly to Chongwen Hall, found Song Zhifeng who was studying there, and sternly ordered, "Zhifeng, stop studying immediately, pack your things, I'm sending you to Yangqu Village to learn and gain experience under Tang Chengyu and Lu Hao. No arguing!"

Upon hearing this, Song Zhifeng was stunned. His face was full of indignation as he stood up and retorted, "Father, I won't go! I study at Chongwen Hall, and my essays are always among the best. The provincial examination is coming up soon, and I'm very confident I'll win first place. Why should I go to that small village to gain experience?"

"So what if you win first place?" Magistrate Song glared at him, his tone icy. "You only know how to study by rote, you don't understand practical matters concerning people's livelihoods. Even if you achieve fame and fortune in the future, you won't be a good official! Lu Hao is unruly and incorrigible, yet he still managed to achieve merit. If you don't go and gain experience, you won't even be as good as him in the future! My mind is made up, you must go!"

Song Zhifeng wanted to argue, but was stopped by the stern look in Magistrate Song's eyes. He could only lower his head and silently pack his things, feeling resentful.

Just then, Jin Huihuang passed by the entrance of Chongwen Hall and overheard people discussing the stone roller's meritorious service and its inclusion in the memorial to the throne. He immediately flew into a rage, stormed into the courtyard, and shouted, "Nonsense! That new-style stone roller was meticulously crafted by someone at Young Master Lu's request. It took a lot of effort. How can the credit be entirely attributed to someone else? Clearly, someone stole my credit!"

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Song and Song Zhifeng both looked over.

County Magistrate Song was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that Lu Hao had indeed asked Jin Huihuang to make stone rollers. After inquiring carefully, he confirmed that Jin Huihuang had indeed made a great contribution to the making of the stone rollers, and he was immediately surprised.

Song Zhifeng frowned, his face full of confusion, and muttered to himself, "It's just a stone tool, why all the fuss? It's even enough to alarm the prefect and prompt him to ask for credit?"

"What do you know!" Magistrate Song reprimanded sternly. "This stone roller may seem ordinary, but it saves the people time and effort in threshing grain, benefiting everyone. This is true practical service for the people's livelihood, the foundation of being an official! You only know how to recite the classics, but you don't understand these things. No wonder you have no real achievements!"

Song Zhifeng was speechless after being reprimanded. He lowered his head, still unconvinced, but dared not argue back. He was just wondering what kind of magic this small stone roller had that made everyone take it so seriously.