The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 339: Just a Concubine (4)_1

Chapter 339: Chapter 339: Just a Concubine (4)_1

"We didn’t plant wheat at our house, but some of our beans have also toppled over."

Upon hearing this, Pei Qin got a jolt and sprang up, "Our beans toppled over?"

"Big sister, if you go out and see, lots of leaves and broken branches have been swept off the ground, and a good deal of wheat in the fields has fallen! Some of our beans did too, but not too many," Pei Wendong said.

Pei Qin quickly washed up, drank a bowl of tofu pudding, took a stuffed bun, and started eating it as she went out.

The streets were wet, strewn with fallen leaves and broken branches, a complete mess. Some people were sweeping the leaves and branches in front of their doors.

The air smelled fresh, but seeing the wheat lying in patches in the fields, Pei Qin’s mood was far from fresh.

Sun Quanliang and his family were at the end of the field, sighing, "The sweet potato vines might surge back in a few days, but this fallen wheat and beans can’t grow back."

"Pick up what has broken off, and leave the rest. If it can grow, let it grow; we’ll deal with the rest later," said Pei Qin as she strode into the fields.

Sun Quanliang quickly led his son to follow her.

After checking, Pei Qin picked up all the fallen whole beans, and the three of them bundled up three large sheaves.

The wheat in the adjacent field was better; not as much had fallen. Further on, there were numerous wheat fields flattened in patches.

There would definitely be a reduced harvest this year, yet the tax grain couldn’t be left unpaid.

People started coming to Pei Qin, expressing their wish to plant sweet potatoes.

At this time of year, the only option was to cut sweet potato vines in the fields to use as seedlings, but there were no sweet potatoes available to sell to them for propagation.

Pei Qin estimated that if the Wang family planted two hundred acres and Chang’s house planted two hundred acres, along with her own small Tian Zhuang, even if the sweet potatoes in her field were cut bare, it would still not suffice.

After some thought, Pei Qin gritted her teeth and took out two small jars of soy sauce from home. Carrying roasted peanuts, she then headed to the county town, visiting Landlord Chang’s house and the Wang family. She persuaded them not to plant summer sweet potatoes, suggesting they could plant autumn sweet potatoes instead, and after harvesting the sweet potatoes, they could leave the fields empty or scatter some rapeseed to sell as vegetable seedlings in the winter. Come next spring, they could plant spring soybeans, and she would buy all the spring soybeans they grew. She would provide the autumn sweet potato seedlings to them for free.

After some thought, Landlord Chang, looking at the blackish-red soy sauce in the dish, readily agreed. Just for her having successfully taught his grandson, it was just a matter of planting some spring soybeans, which was no loss to them.

The Wang family also agreed not to plant summer sweet potatoes, and to plant a large area of autumn sweet potatoes next year, along with spring soybeans, provided that Pei Qin sold the soy sauce to their grain and oil shop.

Pei Qin agreed straightaway; selling the soy sauce to the Wang family was still profitable for her, even if she let go of some profit, and it saved her the trouble of hustling for customers back and forth.

Back in town, when it was announced that the Wang family and Landlord Chang’s house were not going to plant their sweet potato seedlings anymore and were giving them to the villagers to plant, many people were immediately grateful.

Grandma Fang went around telling everyone, "If it weren’t for Qinqin taking gifts to negotiate, those already reserved sweet potato seedlings wouldn’t have just been given up for everyone to plant!"

Lady Yu from this side; Lady Ruan from that side; the Lizheng from Back Mountain Village; Fang Hui trying to sell favor, striving for a better relationship, naturally praised her too; there were even more from the town itself, and the word spread to the relatives, with praise for Pei Qin being heard in villages for miles around.

Lady Chen made a trip to her relatives, and even her home village was speaking highly of Pei Qin, expressing the desire to plant some sweet potatoes. She was so infuriated that when she got home, she told Lady Zhu, urging her to slander Pei Qin.

Old Pei pursed his lips and let out a breath. This was Fang Qian campaigning for them, brother and sister, once again!

Old Scholar Fang’s family also decided not to plant summer sweet potatoes, hurrying to plant before others. Their land wasn’t subject to the grain tax, and the grain they harvested was enough to eat.

As the days grew hotter, May came around quickly.

Shortly after the Dragon Boat Festival, the villagers started harvesting wheat; those who wanted to plant sweet potatoes had to plow and prepare the fields after the wheat harvest, which was a bit rushed for time.