Volume 1 Chapter 48 All Kinds of Soybeans

  "Third Uncle, just buy it! This place is close to Fa Jing Temple, with plenty of sunshine, and there's also a river that leads to Hangzhou's Grand Canal. It feels great living here!"

  Xie Wenjing said she wanted to buy it, and San Shu also didn't have much of a sense of value in his heart. His niece said to buy it, and besides, this place looked relatively quiet.

  Both parties efficiently completed the formalities, and Xie Wenjing paid with a silver note. At that moment, Li's family member almost popped out his eyeballs, realizing that after half a day of negotiating, the actual mastermind was this young girl?

  After the deal was made, Third Uncle and Third Aunt found some villagers to help repair the newly purchased courtyard with Xie Wenjing, ensuring it looked brand new and full of life. They agreed on a price of 80 taels, and after five days, they handed over the renovated courtyard for use.

  As for the 100 mu of wheat field, Xie Wenjing also took a look and it can be said that there is no harvest. Although it's not time to harvest yet, at least another half month, but Xie Wenjing doesn't think it's necessary to wait any longer.

  "Village chief, can you help us find someone to burn this hundred mu of wheat field into ashes?"

  Xie Wenjing consulted with Li Jiaci about the current village, and the newly renovated courtyard was also undertaken by him on behalf of the village. If Xie Wenjing needed anything, he would naturally have to find him.

  Li Jiaci's Li Village was shocked, although this year's snow disaster is extremely severe, but now it's not yet the harvest season, wait for a couple of months, no matter how much, even if only one or two tenths are left, it's better than being burned by a fire.

  "Miss, it's not that I'm talking too much, but this year's snow disaster is severe, and the wheat harvest has shrunk significantly. However, wait for another one or two months, no matter how little, even if it's only 1% or 0.5%, when the time comes to reap again, there will be some left."

  "If a fire burns it all up, then nothing will be left! You'd better think carefully about this!"

  Li Cunzi persuaded this young lady who didn't know anything about farming with a heart-aching face.

  Xie Wenjing smiled slightly, and in her heart, she had a good impression of this village chief.

  "Village chief, I think that these wheat crops can be considered as having no harvest. If we wait another two months, we will miss the planting time for other crops. It's better to change to other crops early on, perhaps there won't be any loss."

  Xie Wenjing thought of these when she bought one hundred mu of paddy fields.

  This year's snow disaster has just begun, and after two months, after the wheat harvest, it will be a sea of sorrow, and then the people will not be able to pay their rent, they will have no food, and they will start gathering crowds to besiege the government office, demanding disaster relief.

  The price of rice and flour is even more severe, with many businesses reluctant to sell, and the amount of rice and flour purchased every day not only decreasing but also becoming extremely expensive.

  To the point that farmers lost heart in production, the whole region of Jiangnan was in a state of panic, with rice prices soaring and other commodity prices also rising continuously.

  In Jiangnan, poor peasants suffered greatly, and there were even cases of starvation. The imperial court sent the Crown Prince to provide disaster relief.

  The crown prince then issued an oral decree, opening up all the grain reserves in the Jiangnan prefectures and letting farmers produce with peace of mind, ensuring they had enough to eat until next season.

  Thus, all the grain stored in the government offices of Jiangnan for nearly ten years was eaten by the people of Jiangnan with a single decree from the Crown Prince.

  Later on, the common people had food to eat. Those merchants who hoarded rice and flour went bankrupt because they had bought at high prices. The common people clapped their hands in joy.

  But for several years in a row, the price of grain in Jiangnan has remained high, and the scarce rice prices have also remained high. In large areas of Jiangnan, ordinary people have not been able to eat rice or noodles for several years, and can only eat sweet potatoes, corn and other high-yielding crops introduced by Taizi.

  In the years that followed, Jiangnan Fu Shuo disappeared, and prosperity seemed to retreat back to the post-war reconstruction era of over a decade ago.

  During this time, the crown prince became a savior-like existence in the eyes of the people in Jiangnan. The people were extremely supportive of the crown prince and trusted him.

  Knowing what was going to happen, Xie Wenjing did not plan to wait until the prince threw out low-priced grain for disaster relief. Now that her family had 100 mu of land, she couldn't just watch as the crops were destroyed and changed to soybeans, which could still be done in time.

  Xie Wenjing decided to plant soybeans, also because of her past life experience. At that time, many ordinary people in Jiangnan suffered from leg edema and weakness in the following years, and many people died one after another.

  But at first, the common people thought it was an incurable disease. Later, a royal doctor discovered that eating soybeans for a month could eliminate edema in the lower legs. For a time, soybeans were as valuable as gold beans.

  Ordinary people couldn't afford soybeans for a month, and when the prince found out, he spent his own money to buy soybeans for the people of Jiangnan. It's said that in the following years, both the prince and princess were so poor they had nothing left to wear. The Eastern Palace was even unable to support a few palace maids and eunuchs.

  Until his death in his previous life, the prince's reputation had become a god-like existence in the eyes of the people of Jiangnan.

  "If you've really decided on this, I'll get the villagers to burn it down for you. What were you planning on planting?"

  The village headman agreed and curiously asked.

  "Then plant soybeans!" Xie Wenjing smiled and replied.

  "Planting all 100 mu with soybeans?" The village chief sucked his teeth, looking incredulous.

  Soybeans are not a lucrative crop, they're just fodder for horses. Even when ground into tofu, it's not worth much money!

  Besides, villagers usually just plant some soybeans as vegetables to eat at home. It's hard to cultivate even a small piece of land, and it's not worth the money. Moreover, it can't be used as staple food. How could they possibly cultivate 100 mu? The village head couldn't understand this elegantly dressed young lady.

  But a family like this, once they take out their hands, it's more than 1,000 taels of silver, and it's still a young girl who takes it out, I think it won't be short of money, maybe it's just a kind of excitement.

  "Uh, all kinds, I don't know if the village chief can help me find someone to plant these 100 mu of soybeans, and pay them as usual." Xie Wenjing smiled, this place is far from Yangzhou, as long as Third Uncle and Third Aunt help keep it a secret, no one in the Xie family in Yangzhou will know that there are still family fields here.

  However, this piece of land is too insignificant compared to the vast estates of the Xie family in Guangling, Yangzhou. But it's also necessary to keep it confidential and not let them find out.

  This plot of land will serve as a retreat for the family in case the Xie family falls. Xie Wenjing can be certain that if the Xie family falls, her parents and three uncles and aunts will probably be kicked out by that old woman.

  They are all poor and have nothing to lose, she is probably too busy to care about her usual good reputation. At that time, in her eyes, there were only three nails in the rotten ship of the Xie family.

  It's better to give up the idea of getting anything from the declining Xie family. It's best to make plans early, as this village in Yangzhou is probably seen as a place that can't be any poorer by the Zhao family and others!

  "This doesn't cost anything, so don't pay the labor costs. The 80 taels you gave for repairing the house is already too much. I, an old man, will follow your words and burn down the hundred mu of wheat fields under your name."

  "The women in the village have been idle these days, so I'll bring them to your family's fields to scatter beans. It won't be a bother, but this hundred mu of land will need how many beans? I'm worried that all of Hangzhou's bean seeds won't be enough!"

  The village is very honest and also very worried.

  "In at most four days, I will send all the bean seeds here, and it's enough for the village to arrange people. Also, we can't bother the villagers for nothing. These twenty taels of silver are not considered labor costs, but rather my treat for the fellow villagers who helped me with farming to have a home-cooked meal."

  Xie Wenjing said as she took out twenty taels of silver and stuffed them into the old village chief's hands.

  The old village chief was enthusiastic and didn't want any wages, but Xie Wenjing felt embarrassed and gave him a lot more. If the labor cost were to be calculated, one woman's labor would be 20 cents per day, and for a hundred mu of land, it would be equivalent to 100 people working for two days, which would only be four taels of silver.

  However, 20 taels of silver is still considered small change for myself. Using this money to maintain good relations with the village will bring benefits and no harm.