Chapter 60: Astonishing Yields per Mu

Yan Ning saw Er Gouzi coming over alone, his speech hesitant.

She could roughly guess why the villagers had come; it was mostly because of the three high-yield crops: Potato, Sweet Potato, and Corn.

Nowadays, most commoners could not get enough to eat or wear, and when starving, they would even trade children to eat; if there were such high-yield crops, many commoners could be fed.

Yan Ning then asked: "Are you here for the Seed of the Corn, Potato, and Sweet Potato?"

Er Gouzi nodded: "Yes, the yield is truly high; would it be alright if we bought them at a slightly higher price?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment, "How about this: I will give you the Seed to plant, and when it comes time to harvest the Seed, you give me ten percent of the crop."

Er Gouzi hurriedly said: "Good, I will go tell them right now."

Yan Ning told Er Gouzi not to rush off, and wrote down a list of things to note for planting the three crops for him.

Seeing that Yan Ning had written two copies, he asked: "Miss, does someone else want these too?"

Yan Ning shook her head: "Go deliver it to the County Magistrate; perhaps he will buy some too."

Er Gouzi was puzzled: "Such a treasure, and Miss is actually willing to give it to others."

Yan Ning smiled.

A large part of the reason she was willing to give it to others was that she wanted to keep a low profile; Glazed Glass, Gunpowder, and these three high-yield crops were simply too eye-catching, and the origin of the Seed could not withstand scrutiny.

Once these crops were planted on a large scale in Lingnan, they would not be so conspicuous.

Besides, these things would spread sooner or later and would likely be planted on a large scale anyway, so it was better to sell the Seed from the start and earn a good reputation.

Yan Ning acted as soon as she thought of it, and went to Shawan County that very afternoon.

As soon as County Magistrate Lin saw Yan Ning, his head began to ache.

Yan Ning revealed a brilliant smile: "I'm not here to bully you this time; I have a good thing."

County Magistrate Lin was vigilant: "What good thing?"

Yan Ning took out a hot corn cob and handed it over, along with a serving of Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes and a bowl of Sweet Potato porridge.

County Magistrate Lin looked at Yan Ning, feeling somewhat suspicious, and looked at the bowl in front of him, not daring to eat it.

He especially despised her smiling expression; he always felt she was up to something.

In the end, County Magistrate Lin ate it, and his eyes lit up: "What is this? It's so sweet and delicious."

Yan Ning explained to him: "This is porridge made from Sweet Potato; Sweet Potato is a newly discovered crop of ours, with a yield of about six thousand catties per mu, and it can be eaten as a staple food."

County Magistrate Lin widened his eyes: "What, how much did you say the yield per mu was?"

Yan Ning revealed a crafty smile: "Six thousand catties; Potato has a yield of three thousand catties per mu, and Corn is a bit less, at six hundred catties per mu."

County Magistrate Lin looked at the corn cob in his hand and took a bite; it was sticky and delicious. It was so tasty, and the yield was actually that high!

This area had poor soil, and the yield of Rice was less than three hundred catties per mu; yet the yield of this Corn, Sweet Potato, and Potato was actually so high!

County Magistrate Lin tasted a bite of the Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes; the flavor was exceptional.

How could there be such high-yield and delicious crops in the world!

Yan Ning watched him being shocked and was satisfied. Yan Ning: "Magistrate Lin, if these are given to the commoners to farm, this would be a deed that will go down in history."

County Magistrate Lin also felt this was a good thing.

However, facing Yan Ning, he was still somewhat cautious: "What do you need me to do?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment: "You can let the villagers buy the Seed, or you can buy the Seed from me to give to the villagers to plant, but the price of the Seed is not cheap."

County Magistrate Lin had earned quite a bit of money selling land recently; Yan Ning felt that the commoners would be reluctant to buy it, and sooner or later, County Magistrate Lin would be the one paying.

He had spent quite a lot of silver buying land back then, so County Magistrate Lin definitely had money.

County Magistrate Lin pondered for a moment and agreed quite readily; he didn't even haggle over the price Yan Ning set, directly buying more than half of her cornfield. The Potato and Sweet Potato yields were high, and if Yan Ning hadn't stopped him because she wanted to keep some for herself, County Magistrate Lin could have snatched them all away.

Early the next morning, County Magistrate Lin headed straight for the cornfield.

Yan Ning felt relaxed with over ten thousand taels of silver in her account, while County Magistrate Lin felt a bit of a sting.

Yan Ning saw his expression: "Is it worth it? It's just ten thousand taels of silver, isn't it? I didn't even overcharge. By the way, I've written down the sowing seasons and methods; please trouble Magistrate Lin to pass them on to the villagers in each village."

County Magistrate Lin took a look: the sowing time, what needed to be done in between, and a simple method for making Fertilizer.

Yan Ning reminded him: "Poor soil affects the yield per mu, but if Fertilizer can be used, the yield will be much higher; you must emphasize the importance of Fertilizer."

County Magistrate Lin noted it all down.

If he could really promote it successfully, he would likely be transferred back to the Capital.

Having bought the Seed, County Magistrate Lin wanted to mooch a meal; the Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes and Sweet Potato porridge he ate last time were truly too delicious.

Yan Ning had earned ten thousand taels of silver, so she should at least prepare a table of good food to host him.

County Magistrate Lin rode his horse over slowly and saw two guards holding a long tube to their eyes, not knowing what they were doing.

He asked Yan Ning: "Miss Yan, what is this?"

Yan Ning thought he was asking about the Watchtower, so she said: "Previously, we were constantly being hunted by the Third Prince's men, and we were forced to come to this wasteland to build a house. With a sword constantly hanging over our heads, I thought we could build a few Watchtowers here, with the guards taking turns on duty."

Hearing that they were being hunted, County Magistrate Lin's eyelids twitched; how could anyone dare to kill a prince?

County Magistrate Lin hurriedly said: "These Watchtowers must indeed be built, and they must also be built by the fields, otherwise one would always worry about people coming to cause trouble."

County Magistrate Lin did not notice anything unusual, only feeling that these Watchtowers were built for self-preservation.

County Magistrate Lin asked: "Do you know who is hunting you? Let me see if I can help."

Yan Ning: "Of course I know; it's the Third Prince's men."

County Magistrate Lin understood; this was the princes fighting among themselves, and the First Prince, who had been exiled to Lingnan, had been dragged into it.

It really was bad luck.

He couldn't help with anything anyway.

Over these past few days, County Magistrate Lin began to have his subordinates teach the farmers how to cultivate the Seed, and he was so busy he didn't know which way was up.

It was also at this time that County Magistrate Lin received news that the nine generations of Wan Hongzhe's family had all been exiled to Lingnan and would soon arrive in Shawan County.

He thought he should tell Yan Ning about this.

The County Magistrate could not get away, so he let his subordinate go and speak.

Yan Ning had been waiting for this day, and she shouted loudly: "Er Gouzi!"

Er Gouzi hurriedly trotted over, "Miss, what are your orders?"

Yan Ning gritted her back teeth, "Quick, find me a dozen people, bring rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves, and come with me to throw them; the reward is one tael of silver."

Er Gouzi's eyes lit up, and he immediately went to find people.

This was one tael of silver!

As it turned out, the villagers of Taohua Village were too excited and all brought rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs over.

Yan Ning looked at the situation, "Let's go, we are going to Shawan County immediately, follow me and throw the rotten vegetable leaves!"

One hour later, Yan Ning was waiting at the city gate of Shawan County, and before long, Wan Hongzhe and his group had already arrived at the city gate of Lingnan.

Yan Ning shouted, "It's this wretched old man in front, throw everything at him!"