The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

When the steward from Guantian saw Zhang Ping'an coming, he immediately stepped forward and kowtowed, saying, "I pay my respects to Master Zhang!"

"Get up," Zhang Ping'an said, waving his hand. He then inquired about the arrangements for the autumn harvest and asked, "Do you have enough manpower on the farm?"

"My lord, we have enough manpower on the farm and everything has been arranged in advance. We have also asked the experienced old masters to check the weather and it will be ready for harvest in about ten days. Please rest assured," the steward replied with his head down.

"Well, that's right. Remember to pack and mark the grain collected this time according to the different experimental fields, so as not to mix them up," said Zhang Pingan.

"I understand," the manager nodded and bowed in reply.

At this time, people in the experimental field not far away were busy. When they saw Zhang Pingan coming, they all knelt down and kowtowed to him.

Zhang Ping'an waved his hand, signaling everyone to stand up.

Then he took the manager and the field official to the fourth experimental field planted by Su Erleng.

Pointing to the mung beans in the field, he continued, "You are all veterans of the official fields. You should be able to see that the rice stalks in Su Erlang's field are obviously thicker and stronger, and the rice ears are fuller. The final harvest will definitely be higher than the previous fields. Aside from the difference in seeds, the biggest difference is the mung beans Su Erlang planted in his field. The two things are mixed together, and in the end, they grow better. In my opinion, this planting method is worth promoting. What do you think?"

The agricultural official was primarily responsible for recording all matters related to the fields. He was most familiar with Su Erlang's planting methods and processes. Upon hearing this, he replied, "Your Excellency, I also think this method can be tried on a small scale first. If it proves effective, we can report it to the court and promote it on a large scale throughout the south. This would benefit the country and the people, and would also relieve His Majesty's worries!"

The steward also echoed, "I think it's feasible too! Your Excellency is always concerned about the people. Increasing grain production will benefit the people. I'm sure the court will reward you when the time comes!"

This flattery is almost making Zhang Ping'an a living Bodhisattva who saves people from suffering!

Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but twitch his lips, then he said, "After this autumn harvest, I'll bring you a new kind of seed. I asked someone to bring it back from overseas. It's said to be very high-yielding and matures quickly. When the time comes, combine it with this mung bean hybrid method and try it out to see how effective it is!"

"Okay, okay," the manager quickly responded with a smile.

After inspecting the entire experimental field in the suburbs, it was noon.

The sun was shining brightly and the heat was rolling. You would sweat profusely after taking just two steps.

Zhang Ping'an didn't stay for dinner and took Zhang Laoer back directly.

Zhang Laoer was still a little reluctant. The closer it got to the harvest, the more he wanted to stay in the fields and watch over them.

But the weather was too hot, and Zhang Ping'an was afraid that his father would get heatstroke, so he persuaded him to go back.

The weather in July is like a child’s face, changing at any time, and everyone is worried.

At this time, farming means relying on God for your livelihood.

As long as the rice is not harvested and brought home, I cannot relax for a moment.

When it comes to predicting the weather, Zhang Ping'an is not as good as those experienced farmers.

But he also had his own method, and he didn't remember when or where he had read about the impact of weather changes on table salt.

In dry weather, table salt will remain dry. However, when the weather is about to change, the humidity in the air increases and the salt absorbs moisture in the air, becoming damp and even clumping. The closer it is to rain, the more severe the clumping will be.

So recently, Zhang Ping'an would put a jar of salt on the table every day and look at it from time to time.

He also instructed County Magistrate Yang to always pay attention to weather changes. If there are any signs of rain, such as ants moving, swallows flying low, frogs croaking, stove ash clumping, or moisture at the bottom of pillars, they must notify Lieutenant General Zhou in time.

This was something Zhang Ping'an and Lieutenant General Zhou had discussed in advance as preparation for the autumn harvest. If necessary, Lieutenant General Zhou would send people on fast horses to notify the villages and towns about the rush harvest, and Lieutenant General Zhou must cooperate!

This is the advantage of having troops stationed nearby. There are enough people and everything is convenient.

Moreover, Zhang Ping'an could vaguely feel from the words and attitude of Lieutenant General Zhou that the court attached great importance to this autumn harvest and might want to stockpile food and fodder in preparation for the next campaign.

Chen Jianqiu and Fang Ziqi, as Zhang Ping'an's right-hand men, were sent by him to the two counties that had been merged to take charge and act in the same way to ensure a smooth autumn harvest.

Seven or eight days passed in a flash!

Some areas where the fruits mature early have already started harvesting.

Whenever harvesting began in each place, someone would be sent to report to the county government office according to Zhang Ping'an's instructions. Zhang Ping'an would mark the place on the map and then focus on other unharvested areas.

By the tenth day, half of the area had been harvested, including the experimental fields, which had all been harvested, threshed, dried, and stored in warehouses.

Zhang Pingan breathed a sigh of relief temporarily.

When he finished dinner in the evening and went to the study to work, Zhang Ping'an habitually looked at the salt jar first. He was shocked to see that the surface of the salt grains inside were faintly clumping.

He quickly ordered his servants to find County Magistrate Yang, then turned around and ordered another servant to take the map to the suburban camp to find Lieutenant General Zhou, and ask him to send people to the villages and towns to notify them to harvest the crops overnight.

The two servants were both from Heifengdu, and were brought up by Zhang Ping'an. They were completely trustworthy and worked very efficiently, so they left quickly.

After a while, County Magistrate Yang came hurriedly over. As soon as he entered the room, he bowed and said, "Sir, I see something amiss in the sky. I've sent someone to the suburban camp to inform Lieutenant General Zhou!"

"Yeah," Zhang Ping'an nodded, his expression serious. "I just realized something was wrong. I've already sent someone to the suburban camp with a map of the county to find Lieutenant General Zhou. If we rush to harvest early, we'll only lose a little of the harvest. If it really rains, we'll have nothing to harvest!"

"Yes," County Magistrate Yang replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Have all the drainage ditches inside and outside the city been checked?" Zhang Ping'an asked.

"Everything has been checked, don't worry, sir," replied County Magistrate Yang.

Zhang Ping'an is careful in his work and has a good memory. When County Magistrate Yang works under him, he is really focused and dares not be careless at all.

An order was given a dozen days ago to inspect and repair the drainage channels and breakwaters, and County Magistrate Yang had already arranged personnel to reinforce them.

"That's good. You and I will go to the seaside pier and breakwater together. First, we can inspect them again to see if there are any omissions. Second, if the weather changes and the waves are very obvious, we can also send people to notify the people living near the sea in advance so that they can be prepared," Zhang Pingan said as he stood up.