Chapter 458 - 458 She was the petty one
458 She was the petty one
Shi Qingluo had roughly calculated how many catties would be produced before she came, so she had asked Xiao Hanzheng to bring a lot of sacks along.
Then, they put the potatoes into sacks and the county government’s people loaded them onto the carriage.
The chief and the villagers all stared at the carriage as if they were looking at some beauty.
Shi Qingluo laughed at the sight. “We are going to the capital to present these potatoes to the emperor. Then, we will ask for his permission to leave some behind in Heyang County for planting.
“When the time comes, we’ll try to give each village some of the crops, so your village will have a chance too.
“I have more corn seeds this year.” she added after some thought. “So, every village will be able to plant some corn.
The emperor gave her the ownership of all the corn planted at the Taoist temple in Nanxi County this year.
She had also planted many of them in her manor in the capital.
However, they were all planted in spring, so they would only be harvested two months later.
The previous arrangement was that the chief and the others from Nanxi County would help to send it to the capital.
Then, when the people from the capital came to Heyang County, they would bring it back.
She was going to plant corn, potatoes, and chili in Heyang County.
When the chief and the others heard her words, they were all extremely excited.
“On behalf of everyone in the village, thank you Madam.”
The chief even wanted to kneel down to thank him but was stopped by Shi Qingluo.
Shi Qingluo smiled, “My husband is the magistrate of Heyang County. It is only right for him to serve the people. You’re welcome.
Even though she said that, everyone was still very grateful.
Especially when compared to the previous two county magistrates, they felt that they were better.
Because of this, Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo had a good reputation in Heyang County and were highly respected by the people.
It was getting late.
Xiao Hanzheng said goodbye to the chief and returned to the city with a group of people pulling the potatoes.
The chief and the villagers saw them off at the entrance of the village and only returned to the village after seeing them leave.
If they could really grow high-yield crops like potatoes and corn, they would not have to go hungry in the future.
Madam was a little fairy, sent by the old immortal to save everyone from the fire and water.
The goose King was the guardian pet of the entire Heyang County.
In the hearts of the villagers, Shi Qingluo and Dumby’s status had risen to a very high level.
The news of the high-yield crops had already spread throughout the county.
When Xiao Hanzheng and the others returned, many people were waiting at the entrance of the county office to join in the fun.
When they got off the carriage, someone immediately looked at Xiao Hanzheng and his wife and asked, “Mr Xiao, Madam, I heard that you’ve found high-yield crops, is that true?”
“I heard that it was Dumby who found it,” the person next to him said with a smile.
Xiao Hanzheng smiled and nodded at everyone. “Yes, Dummy accidentally found a plant called potato in the mountains.
“Then my wife’s master told her in her dreams that this is a high-yield crop.
“We’ve tried it personally. It’s definitely edible.
“We also went to that mountain again today and found a potato vine that could grow a bunch of potatoes. We dug up all the potatoes and brought them back.
“We’ve also calculated that the yield of potatoes per mu should be around 3000 to 5000 catties. It’s confirmed to be a very high-yield grain.
The onlookers’ eyes widened. “What? It can actually produce a few thousand catties per mu.”
“Oh my God, this is too scary.”
“To have such a high-yield crop, the heavens must be blessing Daliang!”
“Dumby is too powerful. As expected of the goose king.”
‘Madam is indeed the old immortal’s disciple. He immediately appeared in her dreams after getting the potato.”
“The old immortal must not want everyone to go hungry again, so he sent Madam and Dumby to help everyone.”
“That must be the case. No wonder I don’t think Dumby is an ordinary goose. Which goose can be so smart and human? I can’t find one.”
“I think Madam also looks like a little fairy.”
Everyone was full of praise and also felt that Dumby, the goose king, was sent by the old immortal to protect Shi Qingluo.
Shi Qingluo was also shrouded in a mysterious veil because of her dream appearance.
Then, the bailiffs carried the bags of potatoes back to the county government office.
Zhuo Zheng and Liang Mingyu also rushed over.
Zhuo Zheng was filled with regret.
He shouldn’t have pretended to have a stomachache yesterday and not followed Shi Qingluo to that village.
Today, the more he should follow them.
This crop could produce over a thousand catties.
If he followed them, he might even be thick-skinned enough to ask for some from Shi Qingluo.
In his heart, he cursed Liang Mingmin several times.
If this woman had not insisted on having dinner with him and delayed his trip to the county government office today, he would also be the one to witness the discovery of such a high-yield food.
Now, his resentment towards Liang Mingmin was even deeper, and not just an ordinary hatred.
Liang Mingyu, on the other hand, saw the benefits of the potatoes.
So he took the initiative to find Xiao Hanzheng and his wife.
He didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, “Mr Xiao, what are you going to do with these potatoes?”
“Send them to the capital, of course,” Xiao Hanzheng replied.
“This is a high-yield grain found in the northern border, ” Liang Mingyu said with a smile. I think it’s better to promote it there first.
“Why don’t you send it to Prince Jin’s residence and let my father send his people to plant it at the northern border?”
If the potatoes could be promoted by Prince Jin’s residence, then it would be able to suppress the emperor’s previous reputation of getting corn seeds.
It meant that his father was also the chosen one, and the yield of potatoes per mu was higher than that of corn.
In addition to boosting his reputation, if such high-yield crops were planted in the northern border, the private army raised by Prince Jin’s residence would not have to worry about food.
Therefore, no matter what, these potato seeds had to be planted in the northern border.
Before Xiao Hanzheng could answer, Shi Qingluo shook her head. “No, I still have to send it to the capital.”
Liang Mingyu didn’t expect her to reply. “Why? Isn’t it a good thing to let the people in the northern border grow crops first?”
Shi Qingluo replied, “It’s indeed a good thing. However, my goose was the one who went to find these potatoes. He wants to send them to the capital. I can’t go against his wishes.”
Liang Mingyu was speechless. This excuse is really fresh and refined.
He asked with a bad expression, “How did you know that Dumby wanted to send it to the capital?” Why did it have to be sent to the capital?”
Shi Qingluo raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that obvious? ”
Liang Mingyu was a little confused. ???
Shi Qingluo quickly answered the question in his heart, “Princess Zhen from your residence wanted to kill my goose and asked me to wait for her next move. Do you think my goose would still give Prince Jin’s residence potato seeds?
“My goose is very narrow-minded. He won’t be so generous to people who want to kill and stew him.”
“Princess Zhen is definitely thinking about killing me and her family. My goose is very afraid.”
Dummy stood beside her and called out to Liang Mingyu a few times as if she was very much in agreement.
It seemed to be saying, that ugly woman wants to stew me. I’d be a fool to give the potatoes to her.
Liang Mingyu uttered under his breath, so the root of the problem is Liang Mingmin.
He looked at Shi Qingluo’s self-righteous appearance and thought that it was probably her who was petty, not Dumby.