The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 402 - 391 Population

Chapter 402: Chapter 391 Population

Manbao said, "Let me do it!"

Bai Erlang then disdainfully tossed the leaf aside and shifted his buttocks to the side, grumpily saying, "Fine, you do it then."

Manbao reached out to fetch the leaf, and the tadpoles in the water that were already panicking scattered instantly, all hiding away.

Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang: ...

Both glared at Manbao, blaming her, "See, you can’t catch them, can you?"

"If they’re not here, they’ll be somewhere else!" Manbao had an air of determination, like if the mountain won’t come to her, she would go to the mountain, and she got up from the ground holding the leaf.

Yang Heshu peered over and asked, "Is that black thing a small fish? Can you eat it?"

The sudden sound startled the three children, and when they looked up, they realized that Old Master Bai, the Land Officer, and the village head were following Yang Heshu, all bending down at that moment and looking at them.

Behind them were a few officials Manbao and her friends had seen but were not familiar with.

Adults did not allow them near the water, let alone play in it.

Feeling guilty, the three children immediately dropped what they were holding in their hands and got ready to stand up, well, Bai Shanbao also tossed the bucket in his hand into the ditch.

The crowd: ...

Watching the bucket drift away in the ditch, about to float off, Bai Shanbao couldn’t help but call out, "Daji, quick, fish it out."

Daji, who had been quietly sitting to one side, picked up a stick and pushed the bucket back towards them, and the three kids breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the three of them standing up guiltily and twisting their fingers, Yang Heshu curiously asked, "What’s going on here?"

Old Master Bai glared at them before clearing his throat and saying, "What are you standing around for? Haven’t you seen the officials? Don’t you know to pay your respects?"

The three of them hurriedly paid their respects.

Yang Heshu then said with a smile, "It’s only been a short time since I last saw you, why have you three become so much more reserved? Old Master Bai, let me speak with them. There’s no need to be so formal."

Of course, Old Master Bai could only agree.

Yang Heshu did not like too many people crowding around. Mainly because with them there, Bai Shanbao and the others didn’t like to talk much, so he asked everyone else to disperse.

The officials accompanying the county magistrate to the countryside, receiving such an order for the first time: ...

Although they were reluctant to leave the county magistrate alone and didn’t know what else to do, the county magistrate had given the order, and everyone had to disperse, walking off to the side to talk.

Principal Clerk Zhang was quite familiar with Old Master Bai and glanced at the ditch before joking with Old Master Bai, "I didn’t expect Old Master Bai’s son and the county magistrate to become friends despite the age difference. Our new county magistrate comes from a distinguished family; your son has a promising future indeed."

Old Master Bai humbly said a few modest words. He knew what his children were really like, didn’t he?

Yang Heshu stood by the ditch talking to them, "Are you catching these fish to eat?"

Bai Shanbao, looking triumphantly at Manbao, said, "See, even Lord Yang says these are fish, right?"

Bai Erlang chimed in, "Exactly, exactly."

Manbao snorted, "Don’t believe it? Wait until we raise them, and then you’ll see."

"We shall raise them," Bai Shanbao and Yang Heshu said, "She says these aren’t fish but frogs. We’ll catch a few and raise them to see whether they’re fish or frogs."

Yang Heshu exclaimed "Oh?" and looked down at the tadpoles that had emerged again in the water, searching his mind and saying, "There seem to be a lot of these things in the water, but I don’t remember them resembling any large fish. Could it be they don’t grow big?"

Yang Heshu knew that some fish didn’t grow big.

When Manbao heard his words, she understood that he also doubted these were frogs.

Yang Heshu said with a smile, "You go ahead and raise them, see if you can manage it. By the way, I see most of the fields here are being plowed. Have you finished planting the beans?"

"We finished planting them yesterday," Manbao said, "We have three oxen and we hired many people, so the work was done very quickly."

Yang Heshu pointed to some women and asked, "What are they doing then?"

"They’re planting melons," Manbao replied, "Manor Head Bai said we need to plant some vegetables for the laborers to eat, and we also need them when we hire temporary workers, so we’re planting pumpkins, loofahs, winter melons—all sorts of melons."

Yang Heshu praised, "You’ve thought this out well. By the way, Manbao, how is your family’s ox? Is it useful?"

Manbao nodded emphatically, "Very useful!"

Yang Heshu then inquired about the plowing speed at her home, comparing it to previous years. His understanding of farming came only from writings in books and some knowledge before taking office.

He urgently needed some data for comparison.

The County Governmental Office could provide him with some data, but it was never very detailed. Asking the people who borrowed the oxen resulted in them being nervous; so, it would be better to ask Manbao.

Manbao actually knew quite a bit, mainly because Old Zhou was quite attentive to their small farm. Every evening after dinner, he would ask about it, and after asking, he would talk about his family’s matters. Manbao naturally remembered hearing about it.

"This year, my family plans to cultivate the land by the small hill thoroughly. As long as there’s no drought or flood, we can harvest a lot of grain from that field. There’s a kind of sour fruit on the small hill that becomes edible after Tomb-Sweeping Day. Lord Yang, when that time comes, you should visit, and I’ll treat you to some," Manbao offered.

Bai Erlang immediately added, "I know that one, called sour fruits; I like the red ones the most."

Bai Shanbao said, "The black ones are tastier."

Manbao also nodded, "The black ones are sweeter; the red ones are so sour."

The topic among the three children gradually shifted, musing over the wild fruits that grew all over the mountains.

Yang Heshu, finding the conversation amusing, asked, "Do you have a lot of wild fruits here?"

Bai Shanbao replied, "Quite a few, but they’re not very tasty."

Manbao said, "That’s why it’s better to grow your own."

"You’re planting fruit trees too?"

Manbao pointed towards her brother’s hill, "There, we just planted them recently. Give it two or three years, and we’ll have fruit to eat."

Bai Erlang himself was very picky, "That’s too long. I said we should just have my dad buy mature fruit trees and plant them. By fall, we’d have fruit to eat."

Bai Shanbao scorned his ignorance, "Such large trees are hard to survive. Isn’t it better to grow them from small? If you want fruit, buy it yourself."

"Besides, large fruit trees are expensive."

Yang Heshu sat down to one side, listening to their conversation, occasionally asking a few questions to steer the topic. It wasn’t long before he understood the situation of their farm clearly.

Last time he visited, he hadn’t paid much attention to this small farm. Only now did he realize that these hundred-plus acres of land had so many uses.

At the foot of the barren mountain, they had even cleared a space specifically to raise chickens.

Yang Heshu couldn’t help but ask, "You’re planting so many things and raising so much livestock; are three full-time laborers enough?"

"Not enough," Bai Shanbao said, "That’s why I’ve already discussed it with my grandmother. Once we’re through with this busy period, we’ll hire more people."

Manbao revealed a shrewdness akin to Old Zhou’s way of doing things and said, "Actually, if the long-term laborers got married, that would solve the issue. My dad said that if there aren’t enough people, getting them wives would do the trick."

Yang Heshu: ...

Bai Shanbao, however, thoughtfully considered, "But it seems like no one wants to marry them."

Yang Heshu, suddenly invigorated, knew that population was a crucial factor in the development of a county. He asked, "None of your three full-time laborers have wives?"