Chapter 239

Zhang Jian had long noticed that the people of Great Qian were not merely starving due to lack of land, but also because of the inefficient cultivation methods and breeding practices for various grain crops.

Even with good weather and fertile soil, the yield of mixed grains was at most three or four hundred jin.

If the family's fields were dry upland, the yield would be even lower.

Moreover, with insufficient land, they still had to pay poll tax, land tax, various corvée levies, and taxes, and able-bodied men were conscripted—how could they possibly feed so many mouths?

The people's suffering was inevitable.

Although Zhang Jian was now restricted by his authority and could not interfere in court affairs, if he could improve crop varieties and increase their yields, he could likewise save countless lives.

To him, this was no less than another source of fortune's favor.

……

The Ministry of Agriculture was located on the edge of the Palace Secretariat, here too with glazed green tiles and high palace walls, though the main hall was slightly lower than other offices, yet every official had a ruddy complexion—this was indeed a lucrative bureau.

In fact, the Ministry of Agriculture was far more than just a nominal agricultural office; although the Bureau of Household Registration under the Palace Secretariat had separately taken over grain storage, official salaries, and other major authorities, its control over grain warehouse transport, agricultural examinations nationwide, garrison farming, and military farming was enough to make this bureau rich and prosperous.

Zhang Jian, as the Minister of Agriculture, usually held only an empty title, spending most of his time studying the *Great Qian Compendium* at the Literary Arts Academy, while the Vice Minister of Agriculture typically managed daily operations.

At this moment, as Zhang Jian stepped into the main hall of the Ministry of Agriculture, Vice Minister Qian Pan hurried forward with his retinue to pay respects.

"Vice Minister Qian Pan pays his respects to the Minister of Agriculture!"

This Vice Minister wore a blue official robe, slightly distinct from those of other fifth-rank officials, with sleeves embroidered with several bundles of golden silk forming millet and rice stalks.

He appeared to be over forty, with a somewhat dark complexion, but his eyes gleamed with shrewdness.

Zhang Jian's face bore a smile as he waved his hand.

"I am merely strolling about at leisure; Vice Minister Qian, pay it no mind—you may go about your duties!"

Qian Pan heard this, slightly bowed his hands, and smiled.

"If the Minister of Agriculture has any orders, he may summon us at any time!"

Qian Pan remained consistently mild-mannered and respectful in attitude.

He was well aware that Zhang Jian differed from other officials—this superior, holding the title of Minister of Agriculture, possessed formidable seniority and court connections, and even the State Preceptor was a frequent guest at his residence; he had no confidence to contend with him, and instead feared being provoked and seized the opportunity to be removed from this lucrative post as Vice Minister of Agriculture.

Though worried in his heart, he dared not personally confront Zhang Jian, so he could only instruct those nearby to be observant and avoid offending this Minister of Agriculture.

Zhang Jian, meanwhile, headed straight for the storage house beside the Ministry of Agriculture.

Inside the storage house were piled many "high-yield" agricultural products sent from various localities of Great Qian.

There were plump, tender green cabbages, as well as many sunflowers, garlic chives, sorrel, leeks, and scallions.

Zhang Jian merely glanced at them and immediately shook his head—these vegetables were not only few in quantity, but also low-yielding crops.

Except for the radishes and cabbages.

Cabbage is precisely the same as cabbage.

Besides, many seeds were also stored nearby.

The clerk in charge of the storage stood to one side at this moment, respectful and attentive, merely seeing Zhang Jian's gaze sweep over, he felt a moment of doubt.

Noticing his expression, the clerk said in a low voice: "Is there nothing else in the storage but these things?"

Upon hearing this, the clerk named Zhou Song hurriedly replied.

"Reporting to the Minister of Agriculture, these are merely fruit and vegetable seeds sent from the capital region for planting; originally, they were prepared for trial cultivation by officials in the ministry!"

After a brief pause, seeing Zhang Jian's gaze turn toward him, he quickly added: "Furthermore, in several other storage rooms, there are also various fruit and vegetable seeds sent from different commanderies, but they are largely similar; I do not know what the Minister of Agriculture seeks, but this humble servant may perhaps be of assistance!"

"I have managed this storage for four or five years, and I know all the seeds inside it thoroughly!"

Zhang Jian nodded, then his gaze shifted, and he continued.

"I have heard that the storage also contains many foreign species offered by tributary small states—do such things exist here?"

At this moment, Zhang Jian furrowed his brow; having examined the seeds in the storage, he found most lacked significant potential for improvement, and even if altered, they might only increase scale marginally, while many either demanded overly strict soil conditions or could not serve as staple crops, making large-scale promotion impractical.

Zhou Song, hearing this, felt uneasy, and lowered his head to say.

"Reporting to the Minister of Agriculture, there is indeed a batch, but in recent years the storage suffered a rat infestation, and many seeds were gnawed and spoiled by rats—I hope the Minister of Agriculture will forgive this oversight!"

As he spoke, he could not help but kneel down.

Zhang Jian's expression darkened, and he rebuked: "How could you be so careless?!"

He had originally hoped to find a breakthrough among these foreign tribute seeds, but never imagined the matter would end before it even began.

"Please, Minister of Agriculture, forgive this oversight!"

Zhou Song was terrified, hastily kowtowing, and the nearby bailiffs around the storage, seeing this, also quickly lowered their heads.

Zhou Song struck his head against the floor with a thumping sound, and blood gradually appeared on his forehead.

After several breaths, Zhang Jian finally stopped him.

Zhang Jian glanced at him, coldly snorted, and demanded: "Tribute offerings should be carefully guarded—how could you be so negligent?"

Zhou Song hurriedly replied: "It is my dereliction of duty!"

He was genuinely worried—if the Minister of Agriculture intended to pursue this, he feared not only losing his official post, but possibly facing imprisonment as well.

Zhang Jian's expression then eased, and he merely gave a cold, light snort: "I do not tolerate negligence among my subordinates; if anything else is lost in the storage next time, you had better watch your official hat!"

Zhang Jian reprimanded Zhou Song, which also served as a warning to other officials.

He stepped out of the storage, knowing in his heart that resolving this would likely require consulting the Zhang and Qi families, or perhaps some fellow disciples within the sect, before any progress could be made.

After all, he was no ordinary official, limited by his narrow perspective, unable to break through the impasse.

In the coming period, Zhang Jian had his family pay attention to foreign merchants passing through Haojing City, as well as various strange and rare crops appearing in the market.

As a Yin God Venerable, if he were determined to improve crop yields and bring out their latent advantages, he still had certain methods at his disposal.

Not long after, his family indeed obtained something.

On this day, a young member of the Zhang family brought in several special items; Zhang Jian glanced at a few of them—nothing more than some uncommon melon and vegetable seeds.

Among them, a cluster of red fruits surprised Zhang Jian somewhat.

"Is this not wild small tomatoes? So tiny..."

Zhang Jian looked at the tomato the size of a thumb, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. In his previous life, he had read related articles; tomatoes themselves were indeed this small, and only through generations of sages' research and experiments were they gradually enlarged and increased in yield.

Just one glance, and Zhang Jian became interested; this thing did have considerable potential.

If it could be researched, it wouldn't be bad either.

"Where did this thing come from? Are there seeds?"

The young family member hurriedly said: "My lord, this item was picked by this humble servant near the Western Mountain Temple; that area beside the Western Mountain Temple has been planted with a large expanse by someone!"

"Western Mountain Temple?"

Zhang Jian held the small tomato in his hand, his eyes showing some surprise.

The Western Mountain Temple is near the outskirts of Haojing City, behind which lies a vast imperial garden, and further still are some imperial manors.

The Western Mountain Temple was originally a royal Daoist temple, and also a place where princesses and consorts of the Great Qian royal family took vows; some guilty consorts, or consorts who fell seriously ill and could not remain in the palace, would also come here to spend their old age and recuperate.

After those consorts entered this place, to a certain extent it was comparable to being sent to the cold palace.