Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Planting mulberry seedlings?"

Old Man Nie, who had spent his entire life only knowing how to grow grain, was completely dumbfounded when he heard this news.

"Why are you planting mulberry seedlings? Are you not planning to grow grain anymore?"

Erlaizi was overjoyed upon hearing this: "My dear brother, you're the best in every way!"

"You're just too inexperienced. Haven't you heard about the recent decree from the Prince's Palace to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields?"

Old Man Nie shook his head: "What does this have to do with us?"

"Well, it's a very important relationship."

Erlaizi took a sip of wine, leaned close to him, and began to speak.

"Have you heard of Jinling City? That's where the emperor lives. It's incredibly wealthy. Even the roads you walk on are paved with gold."

"What does that have to do with us? We're just farmers, we can't go to those places where rich and powerful people stay."

"Oh, Brother Nie, don't be in such a hurry, I haven't finished yet. The noblemen in Jinling City like our Shu silk brocade."

Even those in the palace are making large-scale purchases; silk workshops across the country are currently frantically waiting to receive raw silk.

Silkworm farmers are just waiting for the fresh mulberry leaves to hit the market and be bought up. How could you not know such big news? Brother, you really should go out more and see the world; you shouldn't be so ignorant.

Old Man Nie was still completely bewildered. What did the silkworm farmers' harvest of mulberry leaves have to do with him, a peasant?

Erlaizi continued to explain: "Let me tell you, with your dozen or so acres of land, even if you grow 30 or 40 shi of grain a year, you'd be lucky, right?"

Even if your fields are free from disasters and damage, forty bushels of millet should be more than enough. After paying four bushels of land tax, you'd still have thirty-six bushels left.

"Right now, grain merchants are buying grain at one tael of silver for four shi (a unit of dry measure). Even if you sell every single grain, you'll only have nine taels of silver. Is that how it works?"

Old Man Nie gave a bitter smile: "Where would we get forty shi? Even after a year of hard work, we only get about thirty shi in harvest."

"I'm quite content with keeping enough food for my family and having three or four taels of silver from selling the grain."

“That’s right,” Erlaizi immediately said. “Brother, think about it yourself. How much money can you make from this kind of grain? You work hard all year round and that’s all you earn.”

But planting mulberry seedlings is different; the profits would be at least several times higher than now. Why not plant mulberry seedlings?

Old Man Nie: "But if we plant mulberry seedlings, my whole family will have no food to eat. What are we going to do?"

"Oh, my brother, why can't you understand? You silly boy!" Erlaizi took a sip of wine, his face full of exasperation. "Why don't you sell the mulberry leaves, and then buy grain with the money you've earned?"

"By then, will you still care about not having enough food? Brother, this opportunity is extremely rare; if you miss it, you'll never have another chance."

"But I don't know how to plant mulberry seedlings."

Old Man Nie was still hesitant. It was understandable that an honest and simple farmer would feel anxious if he suddenly had to give up planting familiar grains and switch to cash crops.

"Never mind that. I'm just asking you, are you willing to play with me? This is such a great opportunity to make money, don't miss it and regret it to the core."

Erlaizi threw a piece of pickled cucumber into his mouth, then took a small sip of wine and said, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"Anyway, if you're not going to play, then I'll play by myself. I don't want to miss out on this incredible windfall."

Planting mulberry seedlings for one year is equivalent to planting grain for three to five years. This year, I also plan to renovate this house and replace all the roof tiles with bricks and tiles.

Upon hearing this, Old Man Nie was immediately tempted.

He also wanted to renovate his yard, and with a new baby coming into the family this year, it was a time when he would need to spend money.

So he cautiously asked, "Hey Erlaizi, give me the honest answer, is this really a reliable thing?"

Erlaizi hurriedly said, "Brother, don't you trust me? Let's not talk about our relationship. If you really want to switch to planting mulberry seedlings, I'll take care of everything."

While the weather is still warm, quickly plant mulberry seedlings. After two or three months, when the mulberry leaves appear, harvest them and sell them to silk merchants.

Cash on delivery, guaranteed to be better than you working yourself to the bone for a year.

Looking at Er Laizi's determined expression, and then at the rice and meat in front of him, Old Man Nie finally made up his mind.

"Okay, I'll play along with you."

"That's right, come on, let's have a drink together."

Erlaizi picked up his wine bowl and clinked it against Old Man Nie's.

"Brother, just wait to get rich. If you plant mulberry trees with me, you're guaranteed to enjoy a life of luxury."

"Then I'll lend you some good advice."

Old Man Nie took a big gulp of wine and made up his mind to plant mulberry seedlings.

That evening, when he returned home, Old Man Nie told his family about his idea of ​​switching to planting mulberry seedlings.

Wang couldn't help but ask, "Husband, is this really reliable? We've never planted mulberry seedlings before. What if they don't grow well?"

His son also looked worried: "Dad, Mom is right. We've never planted mulberry seedlings before. If something goes wrong, our whole family will be finished."

That scoundrel Erlaizi is completely unreliable; don't listen to his nonsense.

Old Man Nie, puffing on his pipe, listened to the mother and daughter finish speaking, then exhaled a smoke ring.

"Erlaizi said that mulberry seedlings are being planted everywhere in Sichuan. Other families can plant them, but we can't."

This is a chance to improve our family's living conditions. If we miss it, who knows when the next opportunity will come? My daughter-in-law is due to give birth in the second half of the year, and I was planning to buy some baby formula to nourish the baby.

Wang: "Husband, we're all peasants, generations of us have only ever grown grain. We know absolutely nothing about how to plant mulberry seedlings."

Your desire to improve your family's situation is good, but if something goes wrong, it will be troublesome. Life is tough right now, but at least we have enough to eat, right?

I think we should stay out of this and just focus on farming our own land.

Old Man Nie: "You woman, you're all talk and no action. Do you know what Erlaizi said to me today? He said he plans to replace his house with bricks and tiles before the New Year."

I've always been one step ahead of that scoundrel. If he surpasses me now, how will I ever hold my head up in the village again?

You know, we have twelve mu of land, while that lazy bum only has five mu. If he were to live a better life than us first, where would I put my face?

In short, in Old Man Nie's mind, he had to be superior to Er Laizi and absolutely could not be outdone.

"Alright, that's settled then. We'll turn the land over again tomorrow."

Erlaizi and I went to town to buy some mulberry seedlings. This year, we'll try our best to get our old Nie family a renovated house.

Old Man Nie was, after all, the head of the family, and his words were tantamount to a final decision.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade her otherwise, Wang stopped pursuing the question of what to plant, but asked anxiously, "Even if we switch to planting mulberry seedlings, where will the money for buying them come from?"

Old Man Nie asked, "How much savings do we have at home?"

Upon hearing this, Wang immediately got up and took out a small package filled with pudding from the cabinet beside the bed.

Spread out on the table was a pile of loose silver and copper coins, which represented nearly three years' worth of savings for Old Man Nie's family.

"There are six taels of silver here, and more than two hundred coins. I don't know if that's enough."

"Give them all to me, and I'll figure out what to do if it's not enough."

Old Man Nie packed the package into his pocket, having already made up his mind that even if he didn't have enough money, he would ask which loan shark tomorrow to borrow some, and he must plant the mulberry seedlings before the end of next month.

"Honey, have you thought this through?"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Just remember to tell the village head that we'll have to return the ox we borrowed a few days later. Alright, everyone go back and rest. Our Nie family's luck is about to change."

After saying that, Old Man Nie dismissed the others, then lay comfortably on the bed with Wang Shi, and, fueled by the alcohol, quickly fell asleep.

He had a dream that night.

In his dream, Old Man Nie built a big house, and he wore brand-new linen clothes without any pudding. He set up a banquet in the village, and the local gentry, village chief, and village head all came to congratulate him.

What a beautiful dream.