novelaction Chapter 205 Visit (2)
Chapter 205 Visit (2)
Although Si Nong's rank was not high and his official position was the lowest of the lowest, his memorials could reach the emperor directly.
Unlike Xie Tingwen's memorials, those related to litigation had to be submitted to the Ministry of Justice, and those related to people's livelihood had to be submitted to the Ministry of Revenue. If there were any major construction projects, they had to be reported to the Ministry of Works.
Even the expansion of the city wall of Laigu County required documents from the Ministry of Works to determine the size of the wall before Xie Tingwen dared to arrange for people to start construction.
Otherwise, if he is impeached by someone with ulterior motives, he might be charged with "rebellion against the city", a crime that would involve the entire nine generations of his family being impeached.
Now, Xie Tingwen intends to test Chen Ping, just to make Chen Ping turn a blind eye and not plant the land. If the government knows about it, it will be no small matter.
However, if any other county magistrate had mentioned this, Chen Ping would have retorted. The purpose of the position of Minister of Agriculture he had taken over was to study grain and increase production.
After seeing the sweet potatoes and rice seeds provided by Xie Tingwen, Chen Ping was extremely willing. He also wanted to see the results of these things.
"Your Excellency is right. If we plant the inferior fields as well, the yield will not be enough. Not only will we have wasted our efforts, but we will also have wasted the seeds. I agree with your Excellency." Chen Ping stroked his hand and said.
Xie Tingwen patted Chen Ping's hand with a smile, then looked at Lin You and said, "Li Zheng Lin, please tell the people what I just said. We will try our best to maintain 80% of the production."
"As you command," Lin You leaned over and responded.
"Master Sun."
"I'm here." Sun Cheng responded.
"How much silver will the first well cost now?"
Sun Cheng thought about it for a moment, stroked his hand and said, "Reporting to the Lord! About thirty strings of cash."
"Okay!~"
Xie Tingwen said "good", and then said in a clear voice: "Go to the household office as soon as possible to withdraw money, and make sure to dig four more wells near this piece of fertile land to ensure the subsequent use."
"Yes!" Sun Cheng leaned over and responded.
In the past, people had many complaints about digging wells, but as time went on, people began to speculate about the control of the weather.
I'm afraid that there will be a severe drought this year.
After explaining the matter clearly, Chen Ping took Xie Tingwen to see the condition of the fertile fields and began to explain.
Although Xie Tingwen had no experience in farming, he felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw the fertile fields that were originally paddy fields had now become dry fields.
"Master Chen."
"I'm here." Chen Ping responded.
"Where are the sweet potatoes that Wang Lang brought back? Take me to see them."
"Yes!~"
Chen Ping responded and hurried forward to lead the way, saying as he walked: "Sir! The people brought back by Wang Lang gave some guidance, but only a few trees were hit, which can be regarded as an example for everyone."
"Did they say when the sweet potatoes will be planted?" Xie Tingwen asked.
"Your Excellency! The people Wang Lang brought back said that this plant is also grown in foreign countries in March."
Chen Ping paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "But I have learned from what those people said that if we want to plant in Laigu County, we will have to wait until after Grain Rain."
"Oh!~"
Xie Tingwen looked puzzled and asked, "What does this mean?"
"My Lord."
Chen Ping nodded slightly and said, "The weather in the foreign countries starts to get hot half a month after planting, and after Grain Rain comes the Summer Solstice. I think the cold weather may not be conducive to growth."
"Yeah!~"
Xie Tingwen nodded in agreement. He really knew nothing about agriculture, so he did not interrupt.
Soon, they arrived at the nursery. Looking at the green leaves that exuded vitality, Xie Tingwen seemed to be thinking about something.
He looked at the roots beneath the green leaves, as if he saw the grand scene of a future harvest on this land.
"Master Chen! These seedlings seem to be growing well. You should assign more people to study them carefully so that we can have a good harvest when we sow them. Whether Laigu County can avoid this disaster depends on you." Xie Tingwen instructed.
"Your humble servant is terrified." Chen Ping said repeatedly.
"Master Chen! This is your contribution. I entrust the lives of the twelve thousand people in Laigu County to you."
Xie Tingwen patted Chen Ping's hand to encourage him, then looked at the sweet potato seedlings and said softly, "Master Chen! How do you grow this?"
Originally staying for the seedling training, Chen Ping squatted casually on the ground, pinched a young shoot and said, "Sir! Just plant this tender seedling directly."
Xie Tingwen was stunned when he saw Chen Ping's operation. This was much simpler than he had originally imagined.
"I'll try."
As Xie Tingwen spoke, he followed Chen Ping's example, carefully pinched a young sprout, dug a hole with his hands, placed the sweet potato seedling in, and gently filled the hole with soil.
Watching Xie Tingwen's accurate demonstration, Chen Ping smiled and said, "Sir! This plant is easy to plant and doesn't take much time. It just likes water in the early stages. Once the roots grow out, just keep the soil moist."
"Yeah!~"
Xie Tingwen nodded, took the handkerchief handed to him by Uncle Qin, wiped his hands and said: "It seems that farming is simple, but it actually takes a lot of effort."
"Of all things in the world, farming is the simplest." Chen Ping laughed out loud.
When he laughed, Xie Tingwen also laughed.
The two people seemed to be communicating with each other, but they actually had different opinions in each other's hearts, and other people naturally did not understand the deeper meaning.
"By the way, Lord Chen, I heard from Shu Ting that the stems and leaves of this thing can also be eaten?" Xie Tingwen asked with a suspicious look on his face.
"Yeah!~"
Chen Ping nodded, and pinched another young bud and said, "Though those people Wang Lang brought back didn't say anything, I have tried it, and it tastes pretty good."
Xie Tingwen took half of the tender sprout and put it into his mouth with a suspicious look on his face. This action scared the yamen runners behind him.
Fortunately, after Xie Tingwen refused for a while, he did not feel uncomfortable, and everyone's nervous hearts were slightly calmed down.
Uncle Qin moved a few steps closer to Xie Tingwen, fearing that Xie Tingwen might do something surprising and cause an accident.
Xie Tingwen swallowed the sweet potato seedlings and said while swallowing his saliva: "The taste is not bad, the people should be able to accept it."
Chen Ping thought to himself, "How can this be summed up with the word 'accept'?"
If it really is a year of great disaster, don't say that this thing tastes bad, as long as it won't kill people, people will rush to eat it.
Chen Ping had never seen the practice of eating one's own children, and only saw a few references to it in history books.
But he had seen people eating Guanyin soil, and that scene still lingers in his mind.
Therefore, Chen Ping studied hard, and after passing the imperial examination and entering the officialdom, he directly applied for the official position of Si Nong, a ninth-rank official.
Logically speaking, since Chen Ping was a fellow Jinshi, he should have been able to get an eighth-rank chief clerk position. However, he was demoted to a distant post and demoted by two ranks.
Xie Tingwen also inquired about Chen Ping's life. Knowing everything, he naturally understood that Chen Ping was also a good official who was dedicated to the people, and he admired him a little bit in his heart.