Sister Han is good at farming

The relief grain and silver from Jianghuai Prefecture disappeared.

A room full of food suddenly appeared in an inconspicuous small gambling house in Qingping Town, Qingshui County, Lulin Prefecture, and was snatched away by passing refugees.

As soon as these two pieces of news came out, they caused an uproar in the court.

"Investigate, investigate thoroughly for me! Who is so bold as to sneak into Chencang? Who is so cruel as to even take away the life-saving food of the disaster victims?" Murong Jinyang was furious.

For a while, all the southern officials were in danger.

Just as Chi Liehu predicted, half of Yunqing Kingdom's sky was broken. The officialdom in the south ushered in a major purge, and more than half of the officials were replaced.

The grievances of Zhao Siming, the prefect of Jianghuai Prefecture, who was originally to be executed along with his entire clan, were cleared. His entire clan was not to be executed, but because of the serious consequences of his negligence, his official position was demoted from a prefect of the fourth rank to a county magistrate of the seventh rank, and the place he was appointed to was, by chance, Qingshui County of Lulin Prefecture.

For the time being, these things have little to do with Ruan Qingqing and others in Zaozilin.

They are busy harvesting sesame at the moment.

People plant sesame because of drought and locust plague. In the past, because Zaoziling had abundant rain, the yield of sesame was not very good, so people were not very interested in planting it. Only a small number of families planted it and sold it to pastry shops to make sesame candy, sesame cakes and the like.

"Daya, we grow so many sesame seeds now, but we can't use so much even if we make sesame candy. Besides, with this year's harvest, we can't afford to make a lot of sesame candy to eat!"

After harvesting a pile of sesame seeds, Wang was very worried.

"Mom, sesame seeds can not only be used to make cakes, but also to press oil!" Ruan Qingqing didn't understand what Wang was worried about.

"What? Sesame can be used to produce oil? We have never heard of it!" Wang was stunned.

Ruan Qingqing nodded affirmatively, "Mom, sesame can indeed be used to extract oil, and the oil yield is 10% higher than that of rapeseed!"

"This, this..." Wang was dumbfounded, "Doesn't it mean that growing sesame is more cost-effective than growing rapeseed?"

"That's not the way to calculate it. The per-acre yield of rapeseed is almost twice that of sesame. In addition, sesame is afraid of waterlogging and heavy rain, so the yield has to be discounted further. All things considered, it is more cost-effective for us to grow rapeseed."

"Oh, so that's it! It seems that our ancestors have already seen all of this clearly!" Wang nodded in sudden enlightenment.

Ruan Wantie's mind became active, "Daya, what do you think about us collecting all the sesame seeds, pressing out sesame oil and selling it?"

Ruan Qingqing lowered her head and thought for a while, "This is a good idea. Some families don't grow much sesame seeds, and the amount is not enough for oil extraction, but they are reluctant to make sesame cakes. It would be perfect to exchange them for some money or food.

But if it doesn’t rain here, everyone will be living a tight life, and I don’t think anyone would be willing to spend money to buy these new sesame oils to try. Unless they want to ship them out to sell.”

When Ruan Wantie heard that he had to take it outside to sell, he immediately became discouraged.

"It's fine to sell it outside. But it's a mess out there now! If you really sell it outside, you'll lose both your life and your oil."

They didn't intend to collect the money, but the villagers didn't let them go.

"Ruan Laosi, you see, at the beginning, Lord Zhou called on everyone to plant sesame to prevent locusts. Now that the locusts are gone, what should we do with these sesame seeds? We can't eat so much, and it's not something that can fill us up. I want to sell it but no one wants it. This is really frustrating!"

"Yes! You are more familiar with Lord Zhou, can you help us ask? Think of a solution for us."

"It's not that I won't help, but Mr. Zhou went to the capital last month to do some work. You can find out the truth by asking around in the county government."

Ruan Wantie was also overwhelmed by the questions.

"And these ducks. Lord Zhou said he would send people to collect them in the fall, but it's almost October now and they haven't come yet. Not only are the ducks losing weight, but we also have to pay for their food. It's a big loss!"

"Yes! Ruan Laosi, you are at least a well-known official in Zaoziling. You were appointed by the emperor himself. You are well-known in the eyes of the emperor. Please think of a solution for us!"

"That's right! We are already experiencing a drought and everyone has very little food. We have to save some to feed the ducks sent by the government. Isn't this making life even more difficult for everyone?"

"Ruan Laosi, you are an official now. You have to be a little more respectful when you put on that coat. You can't act like a rogue or fool us like you did before!"

All of a sudden, there were people asking questions, requesting advice, and even making threats... one after another.

"I say, can everyone listen to me for a few words?" Ruan Wantie was really at a loss for words after being asked so many questions that he had to gather everyone under the big banyan tree.

"Ruan Laosi, you tell me! You'd better tell us the answer."

"Yes! How do we dispose of the sesame we harvested? How do we deal with the ducks we raise?"

"Everyone is having difficulties now. I understand and I am very anxious. But it is useless to just be anxious or angry."

"Brother Ruan, you are very useful to us."

Someone shouted from underground immediately.

"Isn't that what I'm thinking?"

"What's the difference between what you said and what you didn't say? Bullshit! The loss is not yours, so of course you are not in a hurry!"

"I farted? You still remember how I got this position? I got it by rushing to harvest and plant during the day, and then holding on to my tired body and swaying at night to talk to everyone about how to increase production. Now that everyone has eaten their fill, they have the energy to scold me!

I, Ruan Laosi, am an official, but my duty is to guide you in farming, not to help you sort out the sesame seeds, nor to manage the ducks you raise. Even if this matter is brought to the attention of the emperor, it will still be the same!

Let's talk about sesame and ducks. How much can you lose? The neighboring Jianghuai Prefecture and Jiangxia Prefecture don't have to worry about the disposal of sesame, nor do they have to worry about the ducks losing weight and saving food for them. But what kind of life do they live? They leave their homes and flee to other prefectures to make a living.

It takes two to three months or even half a year just to travel. If they encounter a black-hearted official who steals their relief grain, they have no place to cry. Have you all forgotten the turmoil in the Good Luck Casino a few days ago?

We are all trying to make sure that everyone can have enough food and survive this natural disaster without having to flee. You guys are so good that you don't want to suffer any loss. Mr. Zhou has gone to the capital to do business. Since he promised to take everyone's ducks, he will do so naturally. It's just a matter of time. Why are you in such a hurry?

Besides, I am really trying to help you guys find a solution. How about this! After the meeting, everyone take good care of the sesame seeds, dry them, and I will collect them. I warn you here that I will never collect the bad, unclean, or undried ones. No matter how much you make a fuss, it will be useless! I am helping you out of a favor, but I don’t owe you anything!”