Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

After hesitating for a while, just as everyone was trembling with fear, the county magistrate finally spoke slowly: "Anyone who participates in finding and teaching farmers how to grow potatoes will be rewarded thirty coins a day."

The village chief's eyes widened.

Oh my goodness, thirty cents a day, that's much more than what you can earn by carrying heavy bags outside. Farmers may not be able to find these thirty cents after working in the fields for half a month, so people will be scrambling to get this job.

Yun Zhenzhen had obviously thought of this as well, and spoke with a look of panic on her face.

"Sir, how can we accept this money? It is an honor for me to work for the government. Besides, if we don't find the potatoes by then, this money will be too much to bear."

The county magistrate looked at her with interest. He was afraid that she would be blamed if she didn't find the potatoes, so he was taking precautions in advance. However, if she could really solve this big problem, there would be no harm in following her instructions.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"If we can't find the potatoes, we won't be able to take the money. But if we do, you can reward us based on how well we solved the problem." Yun Zhenzhen smiled and looked at the county magistrate. "This way, we won't waste the government's money and we'll ensure that things get done effectively. What do you think, sir?"

The county magistrate sat upright on the chair and couldn't help but look at her twice. This woman had a novel idea. This way, she could also prevent people with ulterior motives from trying to make money.

Then he nodded calmly and said, "Let's do as you say. When the time comes, every village that grows potatoes will be rewarded with one or two taels of silver."

"Are you satisfied with this?"

After hearing this, the village chief was completely speechless.

One tael of silver! ?

A farmer's annual expenses are only one or two taels of silver.

If all the 36 villages in Yunding County were to be solved, that would be 36 taels of silver.

No matter how it is distributed, there will still be a lot left to be added to the public treasury, which will provide the starting money for forming a patrol team.

He was completely convinced by Qin Yun. Even if he couldn't find potatoes, he wouldn't be punished by the county magistrate. My God, his brain was so smart.

Yun Zhenzhen smiled. Since large areas of potatoes could be found in Mangshan, it meant that the climate in this area was suitable for growing potatoes, and it was likely that they would also be found in other villages within a county.

Even if potatoes cannot be found in half of the area, they can be transported there and planted.

The county magistrate looked at Yun Zhenzhen and said, "Aunt Qin looks so young, but I didn't expect she would give birth to such a smart child. She was able to discover potatoes. It's a blessing for Yunding County."

People in ancient times got married early, and if they took good care of themselves, it was normal to have a child of ten before the age of thirty.

"This child is not my biological child. I am her stepmother." Yun Zhenzhen continued, "It's also because her father taught her well. Every time he came back from the front, he would teach her many important lessons. It's a pity that he never returned."

The atmosphere in the yard suddenly became gloomy, and the county magistrate was also a little annoyed. He didn't expect that this woman was the widow of a martyr. It was all his fault for being too talkative.

No wonder she cared so much about money just now. As an orphan and a widow, life must have been very difficult. If she can really solve this big problem, it would not be a bad idea to give her extra money as a reward for her family's contribution to discovering the crops.

At this time, the village chief also reacted and joined in.

"The Qin Yun family is an orphan and a widow. It's really hard for one person to raise three children. Look at these houses. They are in tatters and there are holes in the roofs. If it rains, it will be a heavy downpour outside and a light downpour inside."

The county magistrate looked up and around, sighing helplessly. He had seen it before. Along the way just now, almost every household was like this.

He had just arrived at Yunding County and had not expected that the villages under his jurisdiction were so poor.

"Once the potato planting issue is resolved, I will reward your village with an additional 20 taels of silver and reward Qin Yun with another 5 taels of silver."

"!"

The village chief widened his eyes and just stood there in a daze.

Did he hear it correctly?

The county magistrate also had his own plans. As long as the food problem was solved, he would be able to collect taxes. Compared with the tax revenue of the entire Yunding County, this amount of silver was nothing.

After the agreement was reached, the village chief began to prepare to look for people in the village.

There was only Qin Li and his own son Qin Zheng, so there were not enough people. The village chief thought about it and called on a few of the most serious men in the patrol team.

After calling everyone, they met at the village entrance, and the aunt who was gossiping at the entrance immediately surrounded them.

"What are you doing? Why did the County Magistrate stay at Qin Yun's house for so long just now?"

"Is something serious going on?"

The village chief didn't want to pay attention to these chatterboxes, but he couldn't bear it any longer, so he just said, "The county magistrate is looking for someone to do some work. You have to leave immediately."

After saying that, he glanced at the woman and said, "Why, your husband wants to go too?"

"Is there any salary?" The aunt looked shrewd.

"Not necessarily. Whether it can be done or not is still uncertain." The village chief stroked his beard and said lightly.

After all, there is no 100% guarantee of finding potatoes.

When the aunt heard the village chief's uncertain tone, she felt that there was definitely no money.

"Well, my family won't go. We haven't finished the work in the fields yet, so we don't have time to work for nothing."

When the aunts around heard that they would not be paid, they immediately dispersed, fearing that they would be called back by the village chief.

The village chief did not explain much and agreed with the group to leave Qinjia Village tomorrow morning.

As soon as the county magistrate's carriage left Qinjia Village, a group of people instantly crowded in front of Yun Zhenzhen's house, pulling her aside and asking her all sorts of questions.

The county magistrate had been sitting in her house for a long time. It was said that Qin Yun could still answer questions fluently in front of the official, and the village chief didn't dare to speak. This really surprised the group of aunts.

"What did the county magistrate say to you?" an aunt squeezed to the front and asked.

"Nothing much." Yun Zhenzhen smiled and said, "The county magistrate is a fatherly official. He can't bear to see his people starving, so he wants Qin Li to bring people to help plant potatoes."

Someone in the crowd immediately raised an objection: "Our village discovered it first, so why should other people be allowed to plant it too?"

“Besides, not every village can grow it.”

"Yes."

A few people murmured in agreement.

Most people remained silent, and some looked at her as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

If we could bring back all the potatoes we found and plant them in our own village, we would have a bumper harvest and could even sell them for money. Life would be much better then.

Yun Zhenzhen pretended not to see what these people were thinking.