Dressed as a top-notch girl, leading the whole village to become rich

It was at this time that the Grand Minister of Agriculture came to Changhua County.

He did not rush all the way to Yejia Village, but instead, as instructed by the Imperial Master, inspected the farming work along the way, including but not limited to the personnel, their skills, and the degree of implementation of agricultural policies.

Then, he almost couldn't go back.

After being in the imperial city for a long time, he was mainly responsible for the emperor's annual farming affairs and matters in the fields. If it weren't for the special attention of the imperial teacher, he would not have known as much as his assistants.

Unlike the local selected Si Nong who had professional skills, he was an official who came from the imperial examinations, and he did not get to his current position because of his good farming skills.

He became the Minister of Agriculture five years ago, but this was the first time he inspected the farming conditions outside the imperial city.

He believed that the four deputies around him were not much better than him.

Because at this moment, looking at the fields, where the yield of crops such as sweet potatoes and corn was obviously less than 30%, their expressions could only be described as sad.

The main reason is that the land is barren, and the root of the barrenness is that there have always been crops on the land.

In most places, the method of composting is simple and crude, and the effect is not guaranteed.

In some places, people don’t even know the correct way to compost fertilizer, and the only fertilizer used for irrigation is farmyard manure. Not to mention the various requirements for applying fertilizer on time and as needed.

And because farmland yields are low, people eat less, and because they eat less, they excrete less…it’s a vicious cycle.

Although Daqing has always attached great importance to farming, the upper class has always focused on only one thing: taxation.

As long as the grain tax is in place, there will be no problem. No one cares about the life and death of others.

Therefore, after all this journey, they finally understood what it meant: while the rich have wine and meat, there are people freezing to death on the streets.

The official in charge of farming in Daqing, even the Minister of Agriculture, was only a fourth-rank official. He was the kind of person who would not attend court from the beginning of the year to the end of the year and no one would pay attention to him.

The classification of grades was even simpler, with only three grades: the county-level official was called the agricultural official, or Tian Cao, and the prefecture-level official was called Si Nong.

We passed through several provincial capitals and more than a dozen counties along the way, and found that the positions of agricultural officials were basically vacant. There was a Minister of Agriculture, but he knew basically nothing when asked, and it was obvious that he got in through background connections.

"Since I took office, I thought I had been working diligently, but I never expected that... after returning to Beijing, I would write a memorial to apologize myself."

When they arrived in another county, they established the conditions and procedures for selecting agricultural officials, and also retained apprentices to assist and guide agricultural work.

Only then did he get back on the carriage and head to Yejia Village. It was at this time that the Minister of Agriculture Xu Jiahe said with a heavy face.

The four deputies looked at each other. One of them, the leanest, square-faced official in his early forties, Chen Mingdong, couldn't help but say, "Agriculture is part of local government affairs. If it weren't for the imperial master's order this time, how could it be so easy to get local officials to agree to select agricultural officials?"

"So, Grand Minister of Agriculture, you don't need to blame yourself too much about this matter."

Xu Jiahe shook his head and smiled bitterly, "How can we calculate it like that? The people in the imperial city have enough food to eat, so we think that the people in Daqing can also have enough food to eat. We are too short-sighted!"

"No wonder the national teacher doesn't care about anything except farming."

"But I still think I've done a good job."

But when he thought of the high hopes that the imperial master had placed on him before he left, he just couldn't bring himself to resign.

"Now that we have discovered the problem, we can only try to make up for it as quickly as possible. Along the way, the number of people we have brought has been decreasing, and this is not a solution."

"If Ye Xiangjun really grows autumn rice, the more people learn it, the better."

Zhang Yangping, another deputy of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, spoke up. He was born into a noble family, and when he was appointed as an official through the imperial examination, he volunteered to serve under the Grand Minister of Agriculture because he liked farming since he was young.

His words were direct and honest, and Xu Jiahe forgot his inner guilt for a moment.

"Yang Ping's words make sense. How about this, if we meet people who are proficient in farming on the way, we will invite them to be apprentices regardless of age. We will give them the same salary as the apprentices from the capital."

This suggestion received unanimous support from everyone. Therefore, when they arrived in Changhua, even though they were extremely anxious, they still went to the county government office as soon as possible, because they now had no less than fifty apprentices.

Although Magistrate Lu is a local official, in terms of rank, he is only a seventh-rank official.

But to be honest, if there hadn't been Xu Changqing's order, even if Xu Jiahe was a fourth-rank official, he wouldn't have been so easy to talk to. He would not only have arranged accommodation for these people, but also arranged for people to cook and wash clothes for them.

As for buying rice and vegetables... I'm sorry, I really can't take care of it.

I even heard that they were going to Yejia Village and the carriage was prepared in advance.

"The entry and exit control of Yejia Village is now quite strict, but don't worry, the people in charge of guarding the village are quite smart. As long as you explain your reason, I believe Ye Xiangjun will come out to greet you personally."

Before departure, County Magistrate Lu came in person to see him off and added a few more words after he finished speaking.

"It shouldn't be a problem for you guys to stay in Yejia Village. As for your apprentices, you should wait until you are settled down and go back the same day."

"Everything is up to you, Magistrate Lu." Xu Jiahe was just worrying about how to make a decision when he got some advice. He clasped his fists in gratitude.

Among all the officials they had met along the way, Magistrate Lu was the most easy to talk to and the most courteous to them. Now he even considered everything for them, truly a model of a caring official.

Xu Jiahe couldn't help but sigh: No wonder a small place like Changhua County could produce a great man like Ye Xiangjun.

When Ye Guo heard Uncle Anshun say that several farmers had come to the village, he was pruning peppers in the vegetable garden.

After listening to this, he hesitated for only two seconds before putting down the scissors in his hand, calling Boss Ye who had just returned from the fields, and planning to go to the village entrance to greet him.

Unexpectedly, before they reached the village entrance, they saw those people on the ridge of the field. They were said to be the Minister of Agriculture from the imperial city.

The leader looked to be in his early fifties, of medium build and thin face. His skin was darker than that of ordinary people due to long-term outdoor patrols.

He was not wearing official uniform or silk, but a grey cotton shorts embroidered with delicate auspicious cloud patterns, and a pair of ordinary black-soled cloth shoes, simple yet practical.

His square face made him look very dignified. But even though he was exhausted from the journey, the corners of his mouth were habitually raised, and it was obvious that he was usually smiling.

But at this moment, he was kneeling on one leg on the edge of the field, his hands seemed to want to touch the rice in the filling period, but he was afraid that his clumsy hands and feet would affect the growth of the rice, so he was so nervous that his body was shaking slightly.