The Daily Life of a Rich Peasant's Boy in the Imperial Examination

Sun Dali and the yamen runner Xiao Wuzi were in a place called Duanlongshan Town.

It is said that the name comes from the Duanlong Mountains within the town.

The mountain range was named "Duanlong Mountain" because of the legend that Guanyin of the South China Sea threw a pearl, which caused a golden dragon and a silver dragon to fight for it. The dragon vein was later cut off by the imperial court.

Just by listening to the name, you know that this place is extraordinary.

That’s right, this place is surrounded by mountains and is the poorest and most remote place in Yuanlu County.

Duanlongshan Town is next to Wuling Mountain. On the other side is Mayang County, which is under the jurisdiction of County Magistrate Shen.

The Miao people live in the mountains of Duanlongshan Town, where there are many Miao villages. These Miao people generally have no household registration and belong to neither Mayang County nor Yuanlu County.

Of course, to put it another way, it could also belong to Mayang County or Yuanlu County. As long as the local magistrate has the courage, he can "expand the territory" to the Miao stronghold.

Obviously, County Magistrate Shen does not have the courage to do so, and neither does Sun Shan for the time being.

Sun Dali and Xiao Wuzi lived in a place arranged by the village head. They couldn't help laughing when they saw the villagers of Da Niao Village transporting bird droppings to them in truckloads.

Xiao Wuzi was injured at work and had to rest for a long time. When he just started working, he was assigned to such a remote place.

I couldn't help but feel depressed: "Uncle Dali, why were we arranged here?"

This is the poorest place in Yuanlu County, bar none. Being stationed here is pure torture.

Not only did the village head provide a simple greenhouse for us, but the food was also not good enough.

Thinking about how I had good food and drink and was well served at home not long ago, I feel really uncomfortable when I suddenly come to a place like this.

Sun Dali patted Xiao Wuzi's shoulder and said unhappily, "We'll just follow the adults' instructions. It doesn't matter where we go, we're still in Yuanlu County."

Xiao Wuzi really wanted to refute it.

At this time, the village head came over and asked with a low voice, "Guard Sun, officer, I just counted in the greenhouse and found that a lot of fertilizer has been delivered. It should all be delivered tomorrow."

The head of Duanlong Mountain didn't want to serve Sun Dali and Xiao Wuzi either.

Doesn’t food cost money? Doesn’t the greenhouse need people to build it?

Oh, I don’t know what the magistrate is up to.

The village head would never believe that the ordinary fertilizer in front of him could double the yield.

Before the first "cadre" meeting in Yuanlu County, the village head had never heard of fertilizer.

After the meeting, they were given an inexplicable task, which was to sell so-called guano fertilizer to the villagers.

The village head had no intention of selling his land. He decided to farm the land whether he wanted to or not. His ancestors had been doing so for generations, so there was no need to use bird droppings as fertilizer.

When the villagers reported the number of acres of fertilizer they had purchased, the village head, like a dead pig, was not afraid of boiling water and simply reported a very small amount of fertilizer.

Before submitting the report, the village head was more cautious and asked the neighboring towns how much they needed to report.

I don't know if I don't ask, I'm startled when I ask.

Oh my god, why did the village head next door report so much? Looking at the few acres of land he has, is it because his family wants to avoid "zero" and temporarily report some, so that he can have an explanation?

The people in Duanlong Mountain were in a panic. What if the county magistrate saw that his report was so different from that of the neighboring town, wouldn't he be singled out?

Being called out is okay, you can get through it if you’re thick-skinned, but what if it’s a punishment?

Although he was a good citizen, he would be dismissed from his post in minutes if he did not give face to the county magistrate.

In a hurry, the head of the village immediately called a meeting with the village heads of Duanlongshan Town and issued a strict order that half of the farmland in a village must purchase guano fertilizer.

If it is not enough to buy, we will levy grain tax next time. Haha, you guys can do whatever you want.

The so-called "see what happens" means that for minor cases, the punishment will be severe, while for serious cases, dry fields will be turned into fertile fields and taxes will be increased.

Faced with such a blatant threat, what can the village chief do?

If it was just an order from the head of the village, he could still resist, but now it was an order from the county magistrate, so the village chief had no choice but to lay the matter bare and ask the villagers to buy fertilizer.

Fortunately, fertilizer can be bought on credit. If I had to pay upfront, I would have had to sell my children.

The village head looked at the piles of fertilizer again, curled his lips, and didn't know whether they were useful or not.

If there is nothing, it would be better. The most worrying thing is the backlash, which will kill the crops in the field.

The village head couldn't help but feel worried and asked again, "Guard Sun, can these fertilizers really increase the yield of crops?"

Sun Dali replied with absolute certainty: "Don't worry, headmaster. I guarantee you'll have a good harvest after using this."

Xiao Wuzi also said: "Yes, we can see with our own eyes that there is much more grain in the fields than before. If it were useless, the magistrate would not let everyone eat it."

Even so, the village head still didn't believe it. If it didn't work, he didn't know what to do.

The next day, the employees of the guano workshop finally delivered all the fertilizer.

The villager smiled and said, "Guard Sun, please count them and see if the number is correct."

It was so tiring to be busy and transporting fertilizer, but seeing piles of fertilizer made me feel a little better.

After transporting all the fertilizers, we can finally return to Big Bird Village.

Sun Dali, Xiao Wuzi and the village head counted again and again, and after confirming that the quantity was correct, they officially handed it over.

At this point, the workshop's mission is completed, and the rest is handed over to the heads of each town.

On the third day, the village head summoned the village heads and the village’s crop managers to the guano fertilizer station.

The village head pointed at Sun Dali and Xiao Wuzi and said, "Fellow villagers, these are Guard Sun and Xiao Wuzi, the officials assigned by the magistrate."

He pointed to the piles of bird droppings behind him and said, "These are guano fertilizers."

The village chief and the farmer looked around curiously, having many questions to ask but not daring to.

Sun Dali stood up, and Xiao Wuzi stood silently behind him. He was dressed in official clothes, representing the power of the government. All the villagers listened obediently.

Sun Dali said: "Dear fellow villagers, now allow me to introduce guano fertilizer..."

Sun Dali once again reiterated how useful guano fertilizer is and how to use it, as well as the before-and-after yield comparison of the city's rice experimental field base and vegetable experimental field base.

After hearing this, the villagers were stunned.

One of the skilled farmers couldn't help but ask, "Guardian Sun, is fertilizer really that effective?"

As soon as he heard this question, Sun Dali knew that the head of the village or the village chief had not done enough publicity.

Oh, really, fortunately Lord Sun had anticipated this and asked them to carefully, patiently, and repeatedly emphasize the effect of fertilizer.

The villagers must be made aware of the facts. Even if they are skeptical, they must tell the truth.

Sun Dali said confidently, "Old man, our fertilizer does have this effect. If it didn't, we wouldn't dare let you use it. Agriculture is the foundation of our country. If it weren't good, we wouldn't dare to arrange it this way."

"Old man, guano fertilizer is a gift from heaven to us in Yuanlu County, and we must make good use of it. Not only is it used in Duanlong Mountain, but other towns as well. Even the wealthy families in the county town use it. Don't worry, old man, you won't regret it after using it."