Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

On several occasions, large convoys went to the deserted village and took away a lot of things, which not only attracted the attention of the town mayor, but also the county.

Magistrate Sun also had someone thoroughly investigate the deserted village. Although he had visited briefly last time, he had been preoccupied with family and official business lately and had completely forgotten about the regenerated rice.

He only remembered after hearing his subordinates' report, and it seemed that the regrowth rice had been successfully produced!

It seems necessary to go to the deserted village again!

At Zhang Xixi's house, Wang Daniu brought several people over to ask for leave to visit relatives.

There's nothing important to do in the fields right now, and they all want to go home, mainly to bring their children here to study.

They told Zhang Xixi and the others about it as soon as they met.

Zhang Xixi nodded in agreement to let them go home for five days this time, since it was something that had been agreed upon beforehand.

Seeing Wang Daniu's hesitant expression, the people next to him kept giving him meaningful glances.

What's going on!

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

The employer noticed and Wang Daniu scratched his head awkwardly, saying, "Employer, could we let the children eat in the kitchen with us? We pay for their meals every month."

Zhang Xixi glanced at them a few times and said, "Okay, you can pay 200 coins every month so that you can not only bring your children to eat in the canteen, but also live in the dormitory. However, it will still be four people to a room, and that can't be changed."

As long as the child can focus on their studies, this amount of money is nothing.

The group bowed and expressed their gratitude.

"Thank you, boss!"

"Thank you, boss!"

Zhang Xixi thought for a moment and then said again, "I have a suggestion for you. It would be best if the children lived together. That way, they wouldn't disturb each other, and they would study and write even harder."

"We'll consider it, boss!"

After saying goodbye, Wang Daniu and his group packed their things and went home. There were quite a few of them this time, and their family didn't have enough vehicles to take them, so they walked to town.

After lunch, Magistrate Sun and his entourage arrived at the deserted village.

This time, they directly identified themselves and went to Zhou Dashan's house.

Zhou Dashan respectfully introduced the current situation of the abandoned village to them and even took them to see the factory.

Of course, the chemicals used to improve the soil and accelerate growth were not mentioned.

The matter concerning Zhang Xixi's family was only briefly mentioned, without going into too much detail.

Magistrate Sun looked at the vermicelli factory, as if his wife had asked someone to help out at this factory in the desolate village.

But I doubt she knew it was a factory that produced new kinds of food!

"Zhou Dashan, I heard that your village sold a lot of grain. It seems the harvest was very good!"

"Your Excellency is too kind. We've only sold two batches of rice recently, all grown by the villagers themselves, and it wasn't much!"

Zhou Dashan was on guard. Would these adults ask them to teach about grain tax? They were acting in accordance with the law, and this was only the first year of land reclamation.

Thinking of the booklet in her sleeve, Zhang Xixi had told him to go to the county government office to present it to the officials. Why don't we take it out now?

He took out a booklet and handed it over, saying, "Sir, this is the planting method and precautions for ratooning rice."

Magistrate Sun glanced at Zhou Dashan, took the booklet, and flipped through it. It clearly stated when to fertilize and when to irrigate.

"What do you want?"

Zhou Dashan quickly waved his hand, "I wouldn't dare. I don't ask for anything. I just feel the pain. This method can help us harvest more grain so that more poor people can have enough to eat and won't have to flee their homes like we did."

Magistrate Sun said calmly, "Then I'll reward your village with one hundred taels of silver!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhou Dashan immediately knelt down to express his gratitude.

Wu Yong came over and helped Zhou Dashan up, handing him a silver note.

Afterwards, Zhou Dashan took Magistrate Sun and the others to inspect the farmland by the river.

What's planted in these fields?

"Reporting to Your Excellency, not yet. Sweet potatoes will be planted in a few days. It's just that the factory needs a lot of sweet potatoes, so the villagers plan to plant them all."

"How much do these sweet potatoes cost per pound in your village?"

Zhou Dashan immediately replied, "Two coins a pound."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Sun thought to himself that perhaps other villages could also cultivate land to grow sweet potatoes, thus increasing their food supply and potentially generating income through sales.

Do you buy sweet potatoes from other villages?

"We buy any good quality ones, and the price is currently two coins per pound."

Afterwards, Zhou Dashan took them to visit the school.

Magistrate Sun nodded in satisfaction. This abandoned village had developed quite well and could serve as a model for other villages.

He became the county magistrate so that he could do more practical things for the people. This was not only related to his political achievements, but also to his way of being an official.

After returning from the deserted village, Magistrate Sun told his wife about the village, emphasizing the vermicelli, and even asked the kitchen to cook the vermicelli they had brought back so that everyone could try it.

As for the ratooning rice, he has already reported it, hoping that the people of the world can get more food next year, because the Tianqi Dynasty is so short of food that there is no time to experiment again.

Of course, they also spread the word about the large-scale purchase of sweet potatoes from the deserted village, hoping that more people would come to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land.

Zhang Xixi and the others only learned that the county magistrate had come when they returned from the mountains. It was Zhou Dashan who specifically sent his granddaughter to tell them.

Zhou Fu asked worriedly, "Master, could this magistrate be up to no good?"

Zhang Xixi raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that!"

Is there some inside information that she doesn't know about?

“There is a county magistrate in my hometown who has a good reputation on the surface, but he always uses some underhanded tricks in private, which is very annoying. So I am a little worried that this county magistrate is not like what he seems on the surface.”

Hearing Zhou Fu's words, Zhang Xixi thought for a moment and felt that the county magistrate probably didn't need to ask, as his family's wealth was probably much greater than theirs.

Moreover, judging from Lord Sun's usual conduct, he is not that kind of person.

If they were really tricked, there was nothing they could do. They were unfamiliar with the place and had no other support, so they could only be manipulated by others.

If they really can't win, they can just leave.

With so much luck in the shop, I can finally take a flying vehicle and leave without worrying about being caught up.

"We can't worry about this right now, let's focus on what's in front of us!"

"Yes, boss!"

Hopefully he's just worrying unnecessarily!

This trip into the mountains was quite successful. With the help of Xiao Jin and his friends, they not only hunted a wild boar but also a wild deer.

"Come and help us deal with the wild boar and deer!"

Zhang Xixi helped Zhou Fu and his wife process the game, and with the addition of the animal pelts from this hunt, they now had quite a few pelts stored up at home.

Another day I should teach Sun Xiuxiu to make clothes and boots out of fur, so that we can make a complete outfit for everyone in the house from head to toe.