The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 496 - 485: Advise on Farming and Mulberry Cultivation

Chapter 496: Chapter 485: Advise on Farming and Mulberry Cultivation

Half a year after Yang Heshu took office, he finally clashed with the local grain merchants and gentry.

Unlike Old Master Bai, most of the grain shops in Luojiang County were essentially run by local gentry or big gentry from the state capital.

When Old Master Bai moved to Luojiang County years ago and saw that the county grain shops were impenetrable, he didn’t get involved in that business and only bought a couple of stores in the county to conduct some small-scale transactions through his managers.

The grain shops he owned in the Mianzhou region were not vast either, just a few small ones that couldn’t even sell off his own surplus grain.

However, Old Master Bai didn’t like to sell his grain to Luojiang’s merchants. He had his specific partners, with Grain Merchant Wu being just one of them.

But the local grain merchants and gentry of Luojiang County were different; what Yang Heshu did was akin to snatching food from the jaws of a tiger. It’d be a wonder if they were pleased.

So, as soon as that small room next to the County Governmental Office opened, the entire gentry and grain merchant community of Luojiang County quieted down.

But that was the County Governmental Office, where they couldn’t employ the tactics used against their competitors.

Yet they weren’t without recourse.

Didn’t everyone have some backing?

Even if their connections were not as significant as Yang Heshu’s, they could still manage to impeach him at court.

After all, Yang Heshu was only a county magistrate, wasn’t he?

When the grain merchants finally managed to impeach Yang Heshu at court using their various connections, letters from home and inquiries from the Ministry of Personnel arrived one after another at Yang Heshu’s doorstep.

He read the letters and said to Wantian, speechlessly, "Do they think they’re fooling anyone? By just giving two or three more coins per dou of grain, or selling it for four or five less coins, they could have earned goodwill from the people and still made a profit. Instead, they insist on recklessly throwing hundreds or thousands of taels away just to impeach me at court."

Yang Heshu clicked his tongue and said, "Don’t they realize that most likely all it will take is a self-defence petition from me, and this matter will blow over? They’ll have simply wasted their money."

Wantian just stood there, silent.

Yang Heshu didn’t expect an answer and tossed the letters aside after reading them. He paced back and forth with his hands behind his back and asked, "How much grain do we have left from our collection?"

"Quite a lot."

Yang Heshu nodded, "Tell them to keep selling, maintaining the limits. Hmph, let’s ignore them for now. Have someone prepare a horse; we’re going down to the villages to take a look."

Upon stepping out, he happened to run into Principal Clerk Zhang who had just wandered into the governmental office.

Yang Heshu immediately waved him over and asked, "Has all the collected tax grain been properly stored?"

"Yes, we stored it in the granary as per your instructions, and the remainder is in the storage of the governmental office," Principal Clerk Zhang hesitated before asking, "Sir, when should we transport the tax grain that’s due?"

Yang Heshu replied, "No rush on that matter. We’ll discuss it after I return from the countryside."

"You’re going down to the villages?"

"Indeed, I was just about to discuss it with you. I’ve noticed that few people here raise silkworms or grow mulberries. It’s unfortunate that I arrived too late this year and missed out. Next year, I plan to have everyone try planting mulberry trees," he said.

Principal Clerk Zhang said, "...Sir, the villagers are crude and may not be adept at raising silkworms."

"What’s so difficult about it?" Yang Heshu dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand, "If they can grow grain and wheat, then they should be able to grow mulberries."

"But silkworms are delicate creatures, I fear the people might not be able to rear them successfully."

"Don’t worry, the mulberry trees will need a year or two to grow anyway," Yang Heshu confidently replied regarding his subjects, smiling, "By then, I’ll bring in some women skilled in sericulture from elsewhere to teach everyone. We’ll have people learn seriously."

Principal Clerk Zhang hadn’t expected Yang Heshu to have considered even this aspect and clearly had planned ahead, he couldn’t help but say, "But Sir, setting aside the matter of the mulberry trees, silkworms are valuable. I fear the villagers might not be willing to spend money to buy them."

Yang Heshu nodded, "I’ve thought of that too, so when the time comes, I’ll select a few families to receive some silkworms. Once they make money, I believe many more will be willing to buy them next year."

Yang Heshu wanted to give them out for free, but his father had just warned him against it, so he could only take a step back.

Principal Clerk Zhang: ... The troubles of a magistrate who is too generous with his wealth is a problem in itself.

A worried Principal Clerk Zhang watched as Yang Heshu strode away.

Yang Heshu mounted his horse, with an officer and Wantian tagging along.

Wantian and the officer both carried bundles on their backs, it was clear they weren’t planning on returning to the county town for the next few days. Principal Clerk Zhang sadly watched their disappearing figures.

Luojiang County wasn’t plagued by bandits or murder cases; it would be rare for such cases to occur even once in three to five years. Most of the crimes were theft, neighborhood disputes, or inter-village conflicts of a violent nature.

Most of these issues were taken directly to the county constable. Cases that required the magistrate’s judgment in court didn’t pile up to more than a few in a ten-day period, allowing Yang Heshu the flexibility to leave quite capriciously.

Especially since Yang Heshu’s speed at processing official documents was considerably faster than that of the former County Magistrate Fu.

Now that the villagers of each community were aware that Yang Heshu was their county magistrate, children would run to inform the village chief when they saw him riding into their village from afar.

Yang Heshu found a spot in the village and sat down with the village chief and some of the old folks for a chat.

This time he left not only to promote sericulture and the planting of mulberries, but also to encourage the locals to plant winter wheat.

"The winter wheat harvested this spring wasn’t bad, and it helped many people get through the toughest times. I inquired and found the yield to be substantial," Yang Heshu said. "Both the yield from the winter wheat and the rice planted afterwards were satisfactory."

An elder said, "That might be true, but we’re afraid repeatedly growing it might deplete the soil."

Yang Heshu quickly replied, "I’ve heard that Qili Village has an excellent method for composting; you could all learn from it."

Yang Heshu had taken note when Manbao spoke of soil fertility, knowing that their village had a composting method that was better and quicker than others, and he remembered it well.

When Yang Heshu finally made his way to Qili Village after wandering about for several days, many days had already passed.

Although Yang Heshu was willing to endure hardships, he wasn’t one to unnecessarily trouble himself. Thus, upon arriving in Qili Village, he cheerfully visited the Bai Family.

After bathing and dining at the Bai Family’s home, Yang Heshu sat refreshed in their pavilion, comfortably chatting with Old Master Bai over a bowl of tea.

"Where are Bai Shan and the others?"

Old Master Bai chuckled, "They’re at school. When they’re finished, I’ll have someone bring them over to greet you."

Yang Heshu nodded and asked with a smile, "Is Old Master Bai planning to plant winter wheat this year?"

Old Master Bai raised his eyebrows playfully, replying with a smile, "I am considering it."

He wanted to try out the new variety of wheat. Since he had missed out on both seasons this year, he was curious whether the wheat he would grow could be as good as that of his three children.

Yang Heshu was pleasantly surprised, "Are there any other families in the village planting winter wheat?"

After thinking for a moment, Old Master Bai replied, "I’ve occasionally overheard from my servants that indeed a few households have decided to plant it."