Armed with a machete and a gun, armed with a system, they fled the famine.

Chapter 436 Following Orders

Hearing the little girl's incomplete and childlike babbling, Yu Hao immediately laughed and patted her on the head.

"Okay, okay, Uncle is doing very well, and you're doing well too, Little Fu Niu."

Zhao Yan picked up Xiao Fubao and smiled slightly at Yu Hao and Zhang Liang.

"You're here. Have you eaten yet? Would you like Sanlang to take you to get something to eat first?"

Remembering the Emperor's instructions, Zhang Liang immediately shook his head and said, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, we ate on the way."

Then, as if remembering something, he said to Zhao Yan, "If you're not busy, would you like to listen to what we have to say?"

Yu Hao chimed in, "Yes, sister-in-law, come and listen too. Leave Xiao Fu Bao and Xiao Fu Niu to me, and I'll look after them for you."

Anyway, with Brother Zhang around, he can take care of the two little ones.

Zhao Yan glanced at Yang Sanlang and saw him nod at her. Without hesitation, she reached out and put Xiao Fubao into Yu Hao's arms.

"Okay, you keep an eye on them for me for now."

Little Fu Bao can already say some simple words. He was just ruthlessly shoved into Yu Hao's arms by his own mother, and he called out "Mother" uneasily.

Zhao Yan quickly gave him a sweet smile and comforted him, "Little Fu Bao, be good, how about you go play with Uncle for a while? Your second sister will be with you, right?"

Little Fu Niu immediately raised her head and said, "Yes, yes, I'm here for you, little brother. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid."

Yu Hao also assured him, "Little Fu Bao, don't be afraid. How about Uncle takes you flying high?"

As he spoke, he immediately picked up Xiao Fubao and lifted him above his head.

What child doesn't love being lifted up high?

Little Fu Bao naturally liked it too, and was quickly influenced by Yu Hao.

Zhao Yan quickly gave Yang Sanlang and Zhang Liang a wink, and the three of them hurried to the study.

After everyone had taken their seats, Zhang Liang said, "Brother Yang, sister-in-law, the batch of sweet potatoes you sent to the capital has yielded a bumper harvest. The Emperor is overjoyed and ordered Yu Hao and me to come and see you, and to ask how many sweet potatoes you still have, as he wants to buy them at a high price."

Zhao Yan and Yang Sanlang didn't need to guess what Dou Qingran wanted to do with it; they knew she definitely wanted to expand the planting area and popularize sweet potatoes as soon as possible.

Zhao Yan was naturally happy to see this happen.

Her system shop had all kinds of sweet potatoes; she could satisfy Dou Qingran's every whim.

However, this matter cannot be done openly, since she only has two acres of sweet potatoes, and Yuanbo and the others know what the harvest is like.

But when she thought about how many sweet potatoes the villagers in Huaihua Village across the street had planted in the second half of the year, she felt a little more at ease.

She looked up at Zhang Liang and said, "We only planted two mu of sweet potatoes this year, and the yield is only three or four thousand jin. Brother Dou, if you want them, you can take them all."

"But don't worry, we don't grow many here, but the villagers in Huaihua Village across the street grow a lot. Wait for me to go and talk to Uncle Zhou and the others, and I guarantee they'll bring you back a lot of sweet potatoes."

"However, before I ask, could you tell me what price Brother Dou is willing to offer for the sweet potatoes?"

Zhang Liang was slightly surprised, but quickly replied, "His Majesty's intention is to price it at twenty coins per pound of sweet potatoes. Sister-in-law, do you think this price is acceptable?"

A pound of sweet potato costs twenty coins, and the average yield of sweet potatoes per acre is currently up to two thousand pounds. That means that you can earn about forty taels of silver by planting one acre of sweet potatoes.

Zhao Yan thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, this price is acceptable."

Forty taels of silver is already considered a high price.

Of course, this is only the price for the first year. When the sweet potato production increases next year, the price will be different.

However, it would be foolish not to make money when there is opportunity. I'm sure Uncle Zhou and his men would be happy to sell the sweet potatoes to the imperial court.

Zhao Yan immediately stood up.

“Brother Zhang, come with me, I’ll take you to find Uncle Zhou.”

"Okay, thank you very much, sister-in-law and Brother Yang."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liang excitedly stood up and followed Zhao Yan and Yang Sanlang outside.

Yu Hao was holding Xiao Fubao high in the air when he saw the three of them come out and hurried over to greet them.

Zhao Yan took Xiao Fubao from his arms and then had Yang Sanlang hold Xiao Funiu. The two of them, each holding a child, led a group of soldiers with broadswords at their waists and headed towards Huaihua Village on the other side.

The villagers gathered together and started chatting again, but when they saw the scene on the other side, they were so frightened that they wanted to run away again.

Qiu Zhen spotted Zhao Yan and Yang Sanlang walking in the middle of the crowd and immediately left the other women to greet them.

"Xiao Zhao, what are you guys trying to do?"

Zhao Yan stopped and smiled at Qiu Zhen and the villagers of Huaihua Village in the distance, saying, "Don't be afraid, everyone. General Zhang and his men are here to collect sweet potatoes on the Emperor's orders. They will calculate the price per pound of sweet potatoes. Everyone should go back and ask their families if anyone is willing to sell sweet potatoes. Come to General Zhang and General Yu and report the number. Once the number is tallied, they will go door-to-door to collect the sweet potatoes."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Zhen and the others immediately began to discuss it.

"The Emperor wants to buy sweet potatoes? Twenty coins per pound, that price can buy more than a pound of white rice."

"Yes, the Emperor offered a very high price. To be honest, we have so many sweet potatoes at home that we can hardly store them all. We can't eat them all ourselves, so I really want to sell some."

Once someone said that, others naturally had the same idea.

After hearing this, Qiu Zhen immediately expressed her desire to sell sweet potatoes.

"Xiao Zhao, I'm selling sweet potatoes. My family planted a lot this year, and I can sell 5,000 jin of sweet potatoes."

After hearing this, Zhao Yan smiled and said to Zhang Liang behind her, "General Zhang, please have someone write this down."

"Okay, thank you, sister-in-law."

Zhang Liang clasped his hands in thanks to Zhao Yan and quickly sent his men to register.

With Qiu Zhen taking the lead, the other villagers who were capable of making decisions immediately went to the bookkeeper to register.

"Aunt Zhou, could you please inform Uncle Zhou? We won't go far; we'll wait right in front of your house."

"Sure, sure, you wait here, I'll go get help right away."

Qiu Zhen smiled and waved her hand, then strode towards her brother-in-law's house.

When Uncle Zhou rushed over with Qiu Zhen, he found that the whole village had gathered in front of Qiu Zhen's house.

People crowded the road, making it completely impassable.

"Make way, make way, the village head is here."

Qiu Zhen pushed and pushed her way forward with all her might, and finally managed to make a path through the crowd.

Zhou Hu seized the opportunity to slip inside, walked up to Zhao Yan, and bowed to her.

"Little Zhao, I heard the imperial court has sent people to collect sweet potatoes?"

Zhao Yan pointed to Zhang Liang and Yu Hao.

"Yes, Uncle Zhou, these are General Zhang and General Yu."

She then introduced Zhou Hu to Zhang Liang and Yu Hao.

"This is Zhou Hu, the village head of Huaihua Village."

Zhang Liang and Yu Hao exchanged a glance, and then immediately clasped their hands in a fist salute to Zhou Hu.

"We are acting under orders. We wonder if Village Chief Zhou is willing?"