After fleeing famine, I have thousands of acres of fertile land

Ye Qing had never seen charcoal burning before, as he had always bought ready-made charcoal before. He squatted at a place where he would not get in the way at the entrance of the cave, and watched intently.

Ye Lizheng came down from the mountain. Although he had burned charcoal many times before, the meaning of this time was different.

This was the first charcoal produced after the famine, and it was also the village’s hope for making money in the future.

"Ye Tao, go get a big scale and weigh the amount." The head of the village called to his youngest son.

Ye Tao took a few people and ran quickly to get it. Everyone wanted to know how much charcoal could be produced.

Everyone looked at the men carrying charcoal back and forth, their eyes full of excitement. The charcoal was of good quality, better than before the famine.

After all the wood was brought up, everyone helped to weigh it. After a series of operations, they concluded that 500 kilograms of charcoal were produced from 2,500 kilograms of firewood.

Everyone became happy and the charcoal yield increased a lot. In the past, it was considered good to yield 400 kilograms from so much firewood.

"Wen Ning will drive two trucks to the city tomorrow to check. If there are many orders, we will burn more." The head of the village instructed.

"Grandpa Lizheng, we should thank the county magistrate for letting us settle down here. Let my father go to the county government office tomorrow to deliver two cars, and then we can pay taxes to Wu'an City." Ye Qing actually went there to deliver his political achievements. It has been less than a year since he settled down, but he can already pay taxes. This is all thanks to the good leadership of the county magistrate.

The head of the village understood and pulled Ye Lao Da to explain it in a low voice for a while. Ye Lao Da nodded repeatedly and felt more confident.

Boss Ye arrived in Wu'an City when the government was in session, and with great fanfare he drove two carts of coal to the county government office.

Boss Ye found a familiar yamen runner and said, "Sir, we are from Kaoshan Village. Last time my family bought land, it was you who helped us measure it."

The yamen runner looked him up and down before he remembered him. "You came here today for something. You want to buy land again."

"We are not here to buy land. We have spent all the money at home. Winter is coming, so we thought of burning some charcoal and selling it to earn some money for the New Year." Boss Ye said respectfully.

"Why are you selling charcoal here in the government office?"

"We are here to thank the county magistrate. Thank you for taking us in." Boss Ye showed gratitude on his face.

"Wait for me to tell the Lord." The yamen runner's surname was Zhang, and he was the confidant of the county magistrate. He knew that the Lord had a headache these two days, and the year-end inspection was coming soon, and there was nothing to report about Wu'an City.

The county magistrate was delighted when he heard the news. This was like a blessing in disguise, coming at the perfect time.

"Quickly call the people from Kaoshan Village in." the county magistrate ordered.

Boss Ye came in, saluted the county magistrate first, and then told the purpose of his visit. "Sir, we are here to deliver coal to the government office today. Thank you for your help to our village. We were able to settle down so quickly."

The county magistrate's surname was Wu, and he was the youngest son of a royal merchant. The imperial court allowed merchants to study and take exams for imperial examinations. The Wu family was not short of money, but of achievements. With achievements, they could find someone to help them move up the career ladder.

Lord Wu smiled and said, "Get up quickly and tell me about the situation in the village."

Boss Ye did not dare to hide anything and described the situation in the village in detail.

Lord Wu nodded as he listened, very satisfied. "You guys should try out the composting method you mentioned, and report back if it works."

Boss Ye didn't expect that Lord Wu was so interested in the composting method, which made sense when he thought about it.

Wu'an City is vast and sparsely populated, and a lot of the land is uncultivated because it is not fertile enough.

"Sir, my eldest son has been keeping records since the beginning of composting. If there is any effect, please show the records to you." Boss Ye used to think it was troublesome for his daughter to ask his son to keep records, but now he is putting it to good use.

Lord Wu was very satisfied and asked, "You brought charcoal this time and burned it yourself."

Boss Ye replied cautiously, "Sir, we did it ourselves. We sent two truckloads of charcoal here to thank you. Our village plans to do charcoal business in the future. If the business is good, we will pay the tax at the end of the year."

Lord Wu was even more satisfied. This year's inspection could focus on settling the disaster victims, helping them rebuild their homes, and finding ways for them to make money.

"You guys do your job well. I'll take these two carts of charcoal and put them in the classroom so that we can all keep warm together. From now on, you will deliver 500 kilograms of charcoal every month, and the government will pay you." Lord Wu supported them with practical actions.

Boss Ye was so excited that he bowed and thanked him. He had come here today just to prevent the officials from causing trouble for him, but he didn't expect to get a business deal.

Boss Ye followed the yamen runners out, "Da Lang, quickly take the people to unload the coal into the coal shed."

Ye Dalang didn't say much. He led a few people to unload two carts of charcoal quickly. When he left, he cleaned the area around the charcoal shed and there was no trace of charcoal ash.

The bailiff looked at this scene and nodded with satisfaction.

"Brother Ye, thank you very much this time. If you have any problems in the future, come to me directly."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang. I'm here to thank the official. We'll leave first. We still need to look for more customers." Boss Ye and a few others drove away.

"Dad, has the county magistrate made things difficult for you?" Ye Dalang was a little worried.

"No, the master is very happy and has ordered 500 kilograms of charcoal every month." Boss Ye felt dizzy and it didn't seem real yet.

Everyone who came with him was very envious of Boss Ye for being able to meet the county magistrate.

Boss Ye took a few people and went straight to Fu'an Pavilion. He had delivered goods to Fu'an Pavilion so many times that he was very familiar with both sides.

Several people walked to the back door of Fu'an Pavilion as if they were familiar with the place, and it was Hu Zi who opened the door.

"Uncle, why are you here today? It's not time to deliver eggs." Hu Zi was a little surprised.

"I'm not here to deliver eggs today. I'm here to sell charcoal. Is the boss here?" Boss Ye said straight to the point.

Hu Zi's eyes flickered a little. He looked around to see that there was no one around, and whispered a few words to Boss Ye.

Boss Ye's expression was a little solemn, and he pulled Hu Zi to inquire.

"Huzi, you said the charcoal seller from another town came to talk to the shopkeeper. Has the shopkeeper decided?"

"The shopkeeper originally wanted to decide. Master Liu will take a look at your charcoal and then make a decision." Hu Zi usually receives a lot of things from Boss Ye, and is willing to reveal some small things.

"Do you know their prices?" Boss Ye still wanted to know more.

"It's still the same price as last year, 18 cents per pound." Hu Zi gestured the price with his hands.

Boss Ye understood what was going on and took his son into Fu'an Pavilion.

"Boss, I'm here to deliver the charcoal. Take a look at it. We burn it ourselves, so the quality is very good." Boss Ye started by praising his own charcoal.

The shopkeeper has been waiting for Boss Ye these days. "You are finally here. Bring it here and have a look."

Ye Dalang handed over the basket in his hand, which contained two large leaves so that the shopkeeper could feel it.

The shopkeeper weighed it and dropped it twice, and found that the quality was no worse than the one brought by the stranger.