Going on patrol (part 1)

  In April, Jiangnan is in the plum rain season with abundant rainfall, but Taiwan is in the golden season with less rain, fewer typhoons and more sunshine. On such a pleasant day, Zheng Kezang began his first island-wide inspection tour. However, Zheng Kezang had no interest in wearing white dragon fish clothes, nor did he want to cause disturbances among the people, so although he traveled lightly, there were still unavoidable guards and accompanying officials by his side.

  "Director Liu, I've traveled this whole way and haven't seen any fields of corn. Is Taiwan still mainly planting rice and wheat?" Zheng Kezang asked while admiring the scenery outside the window of his four-wheeled carriage made by English craftsmen.

  "Shi Sun said it's not bad." Liu Chongxi, sitting across from Zheng Kecang, felt a bit nervous and uneasy. This wasn't because Zheng Kecang had much authority, but rather he thought that sitting face-to-face with him was somewhat presumptuous. However, this was what Zheng Kecang required, so even if he felt uncomfortable, he could only pretend to be calm. "Taiwan is humid, and the wheat has many diseases, so it's mainly planted in small quantities by each household, basically still focusing on rice and wheat rotation."

  Zheng Kezang nodded, which solved a puzzle, but he and Liu Chongxi did not know that a considerable part of the corn's disease and pest damage was caused by wheat fusarium head blight, and Taiwan's average relative humidity of 78% to 85% per year also contributed to the spread of the disease.

  "The climate in Taiwan is mild and rainy, not much different from Qionghai. Zheng Kezang paused for a moment before asking again. "Then why can Qionghai plant three seasons of rice, while it seems like Dongning has never heard of it?"

  "The yield of triple-crop rice seems to be more than that of wheat and barley, but the actual increase is limited." Liu Chongxi explained. "If we take the average yield of early rice as one, the second crop will be reduced by half, and the third crop will be reduced by another half compared to the second crop." Liu Chongxi seemed to feel that his explanation was not clear enough, so he continued to supplement it. "In Dongning, the annual yield per mu of wheat and barley is 2.5 dan of rice and 9 dou of flour, while the average annual yield per mu of triple-crop rice is only about 4 dan, which requires more labor and damages the land's fertility, so it was naturally abandoned."

  "Can Taiwan guarantee an annual yield of 2.5 shi of rice and 9 dou of flour per mu today?" What Liu Chongxi said was the weight of rice and flour, not grains, which means that the weight of bran has been removed, leaving only the net weight. Looking at China in this era, this yield is absolutely at a relatively high level. "Is this still an average yield? Did Mr. Liu say anything wrong?"

  Seeing Zheng Kezang seemingly not believing, Liu Chongxi patted his chest: "Shi Sun, the people of Dongning have been reclaiming wasteland for over a decade, and the land has long since become fertile. Not to mention other things, just looking at the official fields, the Ministry of Revenue has already received similar harvests for six consecutive years, so it shouldn't be much different. Of course, the newly settled people in Taiwan have only recently started farming, and it will take some time to reach this number."

  When he saw the other party, Zheng Kezang closed his eyes and calculated for a while. Taiwan currently has five taxes, with a total of 18,454 hectares (approximately 268,478 mu) of cultivated land before the actual tax. Even if the income from the camp fields (note: the land cultivated by the people, but all the benefits belong to the public) is added, the total tax revenue in Taiwan's farmland for one year is only about 1.5 million stones of rice and 550,000 stones of flour.

  "Governor Chen's governance is indeed not easy." Zheng Kezang sighed, thinking that if the Zheng army didn't have a large maritime trade fleet, it would be impossible to support tens of thousands of troops fighting abroad for years with such a weak economy. It was clear that his father-in-law had paid more than just sweat for this, and describing him as exhausting his mind and energy was not an exaggeration. "The common people are suffering too!"

  Jian Guo said. Liu Chongxi echoed, but his tone seemed to have a few strange undertones in Zheng Kezang's ears, apparently there were some inside information that Zheng Kezang didn't know or hadn't thought of. "The Taiwanese common people are still poor and suffering, but for the great cause of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, they can tighten their belts, cut back on food and endure hunger."

  "Yes, if our province doesn't attack first, the Tartars will surely come to us. My father has been fighting hard on the outside and also eating on the outside because of the enemy's grain." Zheng Kezang's words made Liu Chongsheng pause for a moment, he clearly felt that something was not quite right, but before he could figure out why Zheng Kezang's attitude had suddenly turned cold, he saw Zheng Kezang knock twice on the door and the carriage came to an abrupt stop. "Lord Liu, come down with me and take a walk, it's very stuffy here."

  What's going on? Liu Chongxi was pondering Zheng Kecang's words while hastily following him as he got off the carriage. The convoy stopped at a corner of the official road, which was just a wider dirt path due to Zhu Jin's western expedition and the abandonment of Taiwan's public works. Only a few sections had been paved with sand and gravel. Luckily, where Zheng Kecang stopped the car, there was a thatched rain shelter, and everyone headed in that direction. Once inside the pavilion, Zheng Kecang looked around and seemed to have found something, then walked over. Liu Chongxi and the guards didn't dare to slack off, except for a few who stayed behind, the rest followed closely.

  "What are you doing!" Just as Zheng Kezang was carefully examining a leaf at the head of the field, a loud shout rang out from not far away. The crowd looked up to see a middle-aged man with only his upper body exposed, wielding a pitchfork and rushing over while shouting. "You thieves over there, put down your tools and don't struggle!"

  However, the farmer's shouting soon came to an abrupt halt, apparently he had clearly seen the situation, with many people and not a few of them wearing swords and armor, obviously dressed as officials, definitely not someone that a commoner like him could order around. "That young master, I was rude."

  As the farmer awkwardly bowed to him, Zheng Kezang's face broke into a smile. He didn't mind the smell of the fields and stretched out his hand in invitation: "No need to apologize, brother. It's actually I who should be saying sorry for being so rash. But since you're here, please come over and let's chat. There are some things I'd like to ask your advice on."

  The farmer, scratching his head, was in a difficult situation. He thought for a moment and prepared to walk over, but saw the guards holding knives staring at him coldly. His subconscious footsteps stopped, and then he suddenly came to his senses, hastily dropping the farming tools in his hand, and only then was able to walk to Zheng Kezang's front, bowing his head again.

  "The little man has seen this young master," said the farmer, apparently taking Zheng Kezang for a rich and ignorant official. Although his attitude was humble, he was not afraid to speak up. "Please ask what you dare not ask, and I will answer truthfully."

  Zheng Kezang, who didn't know or care what he thought, pointed to the plant he had discovered: "Is this a sweet potato?"

  The farmer was confused by Zheng Kezang's words, he scratched his head and thought for a while before answering: "Gan, gan shu is what I don't know, this is the sweet potato that Zhang Chen Gong brought back from Lu Song, we all have it planted in our area."

  "Old Master!" Liu Chongxi used a term that wouldn't draw attention. "What is called sweet potato is actually the same as yam, and there are two theories about its origin: one from Fujian to China through Guangdong, and the other from Guangdong to China through Vietnam. According to the former theory, Chen Jinglun, also known as Chen Zhenlong, was the first to introduce yams to China, and then it was widely cultivated by Jin Gongxue, a former governor of Guangdong, who encouraged people to plant them, so some people call it 'Jin Yu'."

  "So it's actually the same thing." Zheng Kezang nodded in understanding of this difference in terminology. China has always been vast and diverse, with different sounds and customs every ten miles apart, which is quite normal. Now that he had clarified that it was just a difference in naming, Zheng Kezang continued to ask the farmer, "Brother, does this sweet potato taste good? How's the annual harvest? Do you usually use it as staple food or as an ingredient for dishes?"

  "As for what Master Gongzi said, sweet potatoes are indeed very sweet to eat. Usually, the aunties like to steam them and then dry them in slices, which can be served as a dish. We farmers can't afford sugar, so the young ones often take them with persimmon cakes as fruit. If the harvest is bad, they can also be chopped up and steamed with rice to save some grain.

  It's clear that this farmer still has his wits about him, as he can answer whatever Zheng Kechang asks him. He's not an ordinary fellow.

  Moreover, sweet potatoes yield a huge harvest when planted - one mu of land can produce seven or eight dan. It's just that the officials don't collect them, so we usually only plant them on the ridges between fields."

  "It's a lifesaver." Zheng Kezang sighed, actually knowing that the yield of sweet potatoes was high, but in the past it was just a concept. It wasn't until now that he realized how important this high-yielding crop was to the common people who only sought a warm and full stomach. "Do you know how to use sweet potato starch to make noodles?" The farmer shook his head, thinking that only wheat flour could be used to make noodles, and as for Zheng Kezang's mention of starch, he had no idea what it was. "Do you know that the tender leaves of sweet potatoes can be made into a dish?" The farmer shook his head again, and then Zheng Kezang turned to Liu Chongsheng. "It seems that we people from Dongning are unaware of the treasure in our own backyard." Liu Chongsheng didn't know what kind of trick Zheng Kezang was playing, so he could only smile awkwardly, and then heard Zheng Kezang ask again. "How many pigs, chickens, and oxen do you have at home?"

  Upon hearing this obviously official tone, the farmer became even more respectful: "At home we only have one pig, which was prepared for eating meat during the New Year's celebrations. There are over twenty chickens and ten ducks, and usually rely on eggs to exchange for oil, salt, needles, and thread. However, near where I live there is a small stream, and sometimes my children can catch some fish or shrimp, so we can occasionally see some meat. The only problem is that there are only six oxen in total, and during busy farming times we have to wait for other families to use them first before borrowing."

  "No oxen, big brother will have to work hard." Zheng Kezang's eyebrows furrowed, the shortage of oxen was a major problem for Taiwan's agriculture, but due to Lei Qiong's sudden change in circumstances, Zheng Kezang couldn't solve it immediately. "However, pigs should still be raised in large numbers, whether for personal consumption or selling for cloth and salt, it's all good." The farmer hesitated, but Zheng Kezang understood clearly. "Are you worried about not having enough pig feed?" The farmer nodded. "I'll tell you, the tender leaves of this sweet potato can be used as vegetables, while the rest of the leaves can be fed to pigs, and they will grow quickly."

  The farmer made a perfunctory appearance, but it was clear that he didn't believe Zheng Kezang's words. This was also because he had long regarded Zheng Kezang as an idle and extravagant young master, so how could he possibly believe that Zheng Kezang understood farming?

  Liu Chongxi obviously saw this too, and in order to flatter Zheng Kecang, no, it should be said that in order to maintain Zheng Kecang's dignity, Liu Chongxi immediately glared at him: "How dare you, would the young master deceive a humble commoner like you?"

  As soon as Liu Chongxi heard the words "descendant" from his mouth, the farmer was suddenly frightened. There are only a few people in Taiwan who can be called descendants, and there is only one Zheng Kechang. The farmer knew that he had offended a nobleman and immediately knelt down to the ground. Zheng Kechang looked at Liu Chongxi with a glance and personally helped the farmer up: "Don't be polite, if it weren't for your hard work, how could my father sleep peacefully on the mainland? As for what I said, if you don't believe it, you can try it when you go back."