LIGHTNOVELONLINE
Chapter 45
Jiang Wenyuan was grateful for their kindness and openly promised to give each person an extra one or two silver coins as a bonus, in addition to their promised wages after the autumn harvest.
In the future, if anyone wanted to buy grain seeds to plant in their own good fields, they could come to him.
Of course, if anyone engaged in deceit and fraud, they wouldn't even have the chance to talk about buying grain seeds; they would be directly dealt with for the crime of fraud.
The county prison provided meals and accommodations, along with a night-time wake-up service courtesy of rats and cockroaches, ensuring your satisfaction.
Since Jiang Wenyuan didn't keep it a secret, it didn't take long for almost half of Qingzhou to know that in the manor bestowed upon the county magistrate by the emperor, there grew high-yielding rice that had grain ears three times the length of ordinary rice.
While people were aware of it and enjoyed watching the spectacle, no one dared to steal it.
The four characters "Imperial Gift" alone were intimidating enough.
There were also the Feather Forest Guards who rotated every twelve hours to protect it, as well as the periodic check-ins by the court's agricultural officials and the county yamen's clerks.
In addition, the hired laborers at Jiang's home provided automatic and vigilant protection, making it impossible for outsiders to steal a thing.
August eighth, great luck and prosperity.
In the eyes of countless people in Qingzhou, Jiang's manor began to reap the harvest they had been eagerly anticipating.
The laborers were divided into three groups. One group was responsible for harvesting.
Another group was in charge of bundling the harvested grain into large baskets and threshing it.
The third group loaded the threshed grain into baskets and used horse-drawn carriages to transport it back to Xijin Ferry for drying.
After drying, the chaff was blown away, and the yield was measured using scales.
To ensure fairness and avoid complications when reporting the yield, Jiang Wenyuan entrusted this matter to two agricultural officials, leaving himself out of it.
Jiang Yuqing also arrived.
She enjoyed the bustling scene of a bountiful harvest, but she had some objections to the large basket used for threshing.
It was quite primitive and time-consuming.
In her previous life, the welfare institute where she grew up also had a few acres of rice fields. Whenever it was time to harvest, the headmistress would bring some of the older children to help, both as assistance and to teach them survival skills in disguise.
At that time, they used a foot-powered threshing machine.
Several boards were assembled into a semi-open wooden box structure, with a large rolling drum in the middle covered in V-shaped teeth.
The two ends were connected by gears, with a larger one and a smaller one interlocking, driven by a foot pedal in the front.
The design wasn't complicated. With the productivity of this era, it could easily be achieved.
After watching for a while, she climbed back into the carriage and took out pen and paper from the Lingjing, quickly sketching a diagram, not worrying about the exact measurements.
Her father was exceptionally intelligent, and she believed that as long as he got a rough idea, he would understand almost everything.
Her dumpling-making skills were not very good, and the lines were crooked and twisted, but you could still make out the general idea.
But her father had complete trust in his daughter, believing that anything she gave him was good.
He looked at this piece of paper, covered in childlike scribbles, and examined it horizontally and vertically several times, and he truly understood.
This was clearly a new type of threshing machine, and if it were really built, the efficiency of threshing would increase several times over.
Jiang Wenyuan gave a firm kiss on his beloved daughter's head and happily went off with the drawing paper to find the agricultural officials.
And so, everyone watched as these three officials, lacking any sense of dignity, sat on a pile of freshly harvested straw, gesturing excitedly around a small piece of paper. Their enthusiasm was palpable.
After a while, one of the agricultural officials swiftly ran off with the drawing paper, as if he were heading to see his sweetheart.
After promising a substantial sum of money at the county office, it took only three days for the prototype of the threshing machine to be made.
Jiang Wenyuan had the contraption transported to the field and rolled up his pant legs to personally give it a try. Oh my, it worked like a charm!
With a slight push of the foot, the rolling drum spun vigorously, and as soon as the stalks touched it, there was a crisp sound followed by the grain falling down.
With a quick flick of the hand, the stalks were flipped, and once again, there was a "swish" sound, leaving the grain on the stalks completely clean, with only straw remaining.
In short, this machine not only cleaned the grain thoroughly but also worked swiftly without tiring anyone.
Such a marvelous invention naturally needed to be widely promoted.
Therefore, Jiang Wenyuan immediately placed an order for ten threshing machines.
Although they wouldn't be used much this year, there was always next year, and they would be used every year.
The weather was favorable during the autumn harvest, with clear and crisp days. Five days after the rice in the village was harvested, it had dried and the chaff was blown away. All that remained was to weigh and store it.
The three agricultural officials personally supervised the weighing process, tallying every load. It took them a full two days to finish.
In the end, after the calculations, they found that the 1,076 mu of farmland had yielded 847,888 jin of rice, with an average of 788 jin per mu.
Compared to the hybrid rice yields of my previous life, this yield was hardly worth mentioning. Even compared to ordinary conventional rice, it fell short.
However, this was ancient times, without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, only basic farm manure. Given these circumstances, this yield was considered quite remarkable.
Fortunately, the genetic stability of this rice variety allowed for self-preservation of the seeds.
In Jiang Yuqing's eyes, this yield could only be considered passable, but to these ancient people, it was beyond their wildest dreams.
Ordinary fertile land yielded just over 300 jin per mu, yet the county magistrate managed to achieve a yield of 788 jin per mu, more than doubling it. The townspeople were in awe.
Once the news got out, the townspeople went crazy, surrounding the county office in a frenzy, eager to purchase the high-yielding rice seeds.
At this point, these newly harvested grains were beyond his control.
However, the official document was still on its way to the capital, and he had no good solution. But if he didn't come up with a plan, he would have a hard time explaining to the townspeople.
Jiang Wenyuan had no choice but to take action without authorization. On that very day, he posted a notice outside the county office, expressing his willingness to sell the high-yielding rice seeds at a fair price to the townspeople.
As for how and when to sell them, he would announce it separately. Subsequently, Jiang Wenyuan reviewed the total acreage of the county's farmland and roughly estimated the amount.
After seeking the opinions and advice of several agricultural officials, he decided to reserve enough seed quantity for the entire county's acreage and distribute the rest evenly among the neighboring counties.
It wouldn't be right for him to feast while his colleagues couldn't even have a taste of the soup. That would surely invite resentment.
In Qingzhou, the price of high-yield grain seeds was 30 wen per catty, and the amount of seeds used per mu ranged from 6 to 8 catties.
The village heads and village elders, together with the county archives, were responsible for tallying the number of acres in each village that needed to purchase high-yield grain seeds. Once the household's registered acres were verified without errors, they could proceed to the county government to make a unified purchase.
During this process, the transfer or resale of seeds was strictly prohibited. If any such activity was discovered, the entire village would lose its eligibility to purchase the seeds.
This measure aimed to prevent wealthy landlords, merchants, or influential families from employing underhanded tactics or taking advantage of loopholes.
Jiang Wenyuan had no intention of being a pawn for those opportunistic individuals.
After finalizing the detailed regulations, Jiang Wenyuan wrote a report on this matter and expedited its delivery to the capital city.
The capital city. Ever since the sweet potato incident last year, Qingzhou had become the Emperor's focal point of attention. Jiang Wenyuan, the county magistrate of Qingzhou, was granted special permission for his report to bypass the provincial government and be delivered directly to the Emperor.
Especially after the arrival of autumn, when rice crops in the southern regions were being harvested, Emperor Xia Jingdi would inquire almost daily whether there were any reports from Qingzhou.
It wasn't until after the Mid-Autumn Festival, at the end of August, that the long-awaited messenger from Qingzhou finally reached the capital.
Without delay, the letters were presented to the Emperor. Coincidentally, it was during a grand court assembly, and upon hearing that the report from Qingzhou had arrived, the ministers craned their necks to catch a glimpse.
Although mentally prepared, Emperor Xia Jingdi couldn't help but exclaim with delight upon seeing the report stating a yield of 788 catties per mu for the new grain variety.
"Excellent, excellent! This Jiang Wenyuan is truly a fortunate star for Our dynasty. A yield of 788 catties per mu of rice can only be achieved by the Great Xia. Hahaha!"
The ministers, witnessing the Emperor's enthusiasm, couldn't help but join in the congratulations, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on obtaining such excellent crops."
Of course, this time no one dared to question the authenticity of Jiang Wenyuan's achievements.
Do you think the three agricultural officials sent by His Majesty were mere decorations? Haven't you noticed the three bright red fingerprints on the report?
In addition, the agricultural officials also brought two drawings and a delicate little object along with the report.
After reading the letters, Emperor Xia Jingdi learned that it was a model of a new type of threshing machine.
This seemingly uncomplicated contraption could double the efficiency of harvesting rice.
In other words, with the same amount of land and the same type of rice, the time required for harvesting would be reduced by half or even less.
The agricultural officials suggested that it could be promoted nationwide starting from next year.
And surprisingly, the one who came up with this idea was a two-and-a-half-year-old child, Jiang Wenyuan's youngest daughter.
It was said that while observing the threshing process, she suddenly sketched the design of the threshing machine. After completing her drawing, she showed it to her father, Jiang Wenyuan.
Upon seeing it, Jiang Wenyuan deemed it highly feasible and collaborated with others to refine and detail the design. After several trials, they finally produced a highly functional prototype.
After the morning court session, Emperor Xia Jingdi held the paper, which was no larger than his palm but roughly folded into a semblance of a blueprint. He carefully examined it.
The lines on the paper were crooked and seemed to have been drawn with charcoal or something similar. The strokes were incredibly immature.
Considering the age of the artist, it was remarkable that she could produce something like this.
Emperor Xia Jingdi asked Li Deshun, "Is that little maid really so clever?"
Li Deshun, with an inscrutable demeanor, replied, "Your Majesty, I cannot say for certain. However, I have heard that earlier this year, Doctor Qiu took her as a closed-door disciple."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia Jingdi pondered.
The name of Doctor Qiu was known throughout the entire Da Xia Dynasty. Even the current head of the Imperial Medical Bureau was his disciple, and at least half of the bureau's members were from Bianque Valley, his school.
He was truly a master among masters. Such an extraordinary person had actually accepted a two-year-old girl as a closed-door disciple, which demonstrated her exceptional talent.
Who wouldn't want a high-yield crop that produced three times the average yield?
Just as the courtiers were secretly considering their own thoughts, Jiang Wenyuan delivered another memorial to the palace.
After reading it, Emperor Xia Jingdi put a large "approved" stamp with his vermilion pen and added a few lines of small characters in the blank space.
"The matter of high-yield crop and sweet potatoes is of national importance. Qingzhou's county magistrate, Jiang Wenyuan, is entrusted with full authority to handle it. Anyone who dares to interfere will be executed without reporting first."
After affixing the stamp, he ordered someone to bring his personal sword and immediately dispatched the memorial on a fast horse to Qingzhou.
Upon seeing this, the previously restless forces immediately ceased their activities.
If even the Emperor bestowed his personal sword, it would be foolish rather than courageous to challenge him.
Now, let's talk about Jiang Wenyuan's reaction after receiving the Emperor's approval and being bestowed with the Emperor's personal sword. He was overwhelmed with gratitude and wished he could dedicate his life to the Emperor.
With the sword in his hands, he faced the direction of the imperial palace, shouting "Long live the Emperor" and kowtowing in gratitude.
Jiang Wenyuan, who had only been in office for a little over a year, not only received a noble title but also received the Emperor's personal sword, granting him the authority to execute without reporting first, a privilege only bestowed upon imperial envoys who patrolled the four corners of the empire.
As the news spread, the officials of Lingzhou Prefecture were filled with envy and jealousy, but that was the extent of it.
To earn such trust from the Emperor, Jiang Wenyuan felt deeply moved but also felt immense pressure.
Fortunately, with power in his hands now, he no longer needed to be cautious and could focus on his work, which undoubtedly brought more benefits than drawbacks.
Time quickly passed amidst various speculations, and October arrived. It was the harvest season for the sweet potatoes they had planted this year.
With each family's bountiful harvest of sweet potatoes, Xijin Ferry and Xiushui Bay resounded with laughter and joy.
For those who tended their sweet potatoes well, the high-yielding ones produced around 5,000 catties, while the lower-yielding ones yielded around 4,120 catties.
Except for the 100 catties of seeds allowed to be kept by each family, the rest were sold to the county government at a rate of 5 wen per catty. Just from one acre of land, they earned more than 20 taels of silver, lifting themselves out of poverty and becoming prosperous.
Every household that planted sweet potatoes couldn't help but smile.
After tallying up the harvested sweet potatoes, a total of 144 acres yielded 626,400 catties, excluding the 23 acres planted by the Jiang family after harvesting watermelons.
When the memorial arrived in the capital, it caused another major uproar.
Emperor Xia Jingdi, filled with joy, issued an edict to confer upon Jiang Wenyuan the title of "Lord of Qingzhou," hereditary for three generations, with a thousand households as his fiefdom.
His daughter, Jiang Yuqing, who had made significant contributions in designing new farming tools such as the rice threshing machine, was granted the title of "Lady of the Village" and bestowed the honorary title of "Linghui."
While the officials envied and begrudged Jiang Wenyuan for receiving the Emperor's favor, they couldn't help but admire him. After all, he truly had the ability, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was a modern "Shennong," the legendary divine farmer.