Wei Tong put down his chopsticks when he heard this, "Grandfather, you are drunk." ”

King Gong smashed the wine glass with a snap and shouted loudly: "This king is not drunk, who said that this king is drunk." ”

His actions startled the people at the table, and Wei Zhi said apologetically: "My grandfather is drunk like this, please forgive Master Jiang." ”

Jiang Yucheng said that it was okay.

At this time, King Gong pointed at Wei Shan and said: "Your beast brother ruined a pair of legs of my grandson, if it weren't for the thin Wei family, I would have killed him with my own hands." ”

Wei Shan's face turned pale, and his palms were full of sweat. Seeing that his grandfather was becoming more and more disagreeable, Wei Tong summoned Mr. Jin and Jin Yi's grandson, and helped King Gong to the house where he used to live to rest.

Yan Niang said to Qi's family: "There is a sobering soup on the stove, you can send a bowl to the prince." ”

Qi Shi left in response.

After Wei Zhi thanked her, he went to comfort Wei Shan, "What grandfather said just now, don't forget in your heart, Wei Yan is Wei Yan, you are you, I won't confuse you." ”

Wei Shan nodded, and the fear in his heart slowly dissipated.

Since ancient times, there has been a custom of observing the Chinese New Year's Eve, and after the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, Jiang's mother is a little tired. Full of shouting to go to the yard to set off fireworks, Jiang's mother said to Yan Niang: "Send Wen Yan and Wen Bo to me, don't be scared." ”

Yan Niang responded. After Jiang's mother and the others left, Jiang Yucheng asked the stop rules to light the fireworks that had been prepared a long time ago. I only heard a "bang", and a cloud of colored light rushed into the sky, blooming into beautiful flowers in the air, and after the flowers stayed for a while, the petals slowly broke into shining points of light, and fell towards the ground.

This is followed by the second, third, and fourth......

The sound of fireworks shook the night sky, and after a while, the whole city began to sound loud, and the dark night sky was also lit up by brilliant and colorful fireworks, and the new year came quietly in the lively sound of fireworks.

Jiang Yucheng hugged his wife with one hand and his wife with the other, and couldn't help but think of last year. During the Chinese New Year last year, Yan Niang was still in confinement (forty days), and she couldn't celebrate the New Year with him at all, let alone watch the fireworks.

Since he was a child, he has been a rational and cold character, and before marrying Yan Niang, he was indifferent on the surface but always longed to climb up in his heart. But since marrying Yan Niang, the soft place in his heart has widened, and his life has changed immediately.

In the past, his weakness was his mother and cousin, but now he has Yan Niang and children, and if he makes a wrong step, his family will suffer, so he has to slow down and lay a solid foundation for the future.

After the Chinese New Year, King Gong stayed in Sui until the beginning of February, and returned to Beijing with Song Xiu, who was transporting golden potatoes. Wei Tong and Wei Shan still stayed in Quansui, and after King Gong left, they moved back to the county office.

Jiang Yu became a dedicated farmer, and he was busy day by day. The matter of teaching full reading was put on hold, and Yan Niang originally planned to invite a teacher to teach her daughter, but Wei Tong volunteered to take on this responsibility.

Yan Niang had some concerns, after all, she was a girl, and it was not a good thing to stay with Wei Tong every day. Wei Tong seemed to see it, and expressed his heart to Yan Niang: "Madame, don't worry, I have always treated Manman as my own sister, and I will never ruin her reputation because of this." ”

Looking at the beautiful young man in front of her, Yan Niang couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, did she think people too complicated?

After the first batch of golden potatoes were harvested, except for the part that Song Xiu transported back to the capital, Jiang Yucheng took the initiative to dig out the remaining golden potato seeds and dry them as seeds for spring sowing. The golden potato meat was boiled into porridge with rice, and a few cauldrons were placed at the entrance of the county government, as long as the people were exhausted, they could come here to serve porridge and drink.

The feeling of satiety of golden potato meat is particularly strong, and a bowl of golden potato porridge boiled with rice can be worth two bowls of steamed buns. If the golden potato is planted on a large scale in the territory of Quansui, then the people of Quansui will no longer have to go hungry.

Jiang Yucheng is a doer, he summoned all the experts who are good at planting crops in the area under his jurisdiction to the county government, told them the benefits of planting golden potatoes, and hoped that they would take the lead in planting.

An old farmer questioned: "If we all have less land to grow golden potatoes, won't there be no rice and wheat to harvest next year?" ”

Jiang Yucheng said: "No, this golden potato doesn't have to be planted in the farmland, as long as it is planted on the slope, it just needs to be put into some thought." ”

Hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but talk about it. Jiang Yucheng was not in a hurry, and listened to them with a smile.

After a long time, the old farmer who spoke before asked: "Dare to ask my lord, can this golden potato be used as tax grain?" ”

Jiang Yucheng replied: "This official has already reported to the imperial court, and it will take a few more days to determine." He glanced at the crop experts present and said, "Even if the golden potatoes cannot be used as tax grain, you will not suffer, after all, except for a small part of the golden potatoes planted and handed over to the county government, the rest can all go to the planters." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone began to talk again.

In the end, the old farmer took the lead, and the rest of the crop experts also agreed to this condition. Half a month later, the imperial court's approval came down, allowing the people to replace half of the tax grain with golden potatoes. It was Song Xiu, who returned to Beijing in early February, who came to Sui with an official document from the imperial court.

"Brother Song has been running all the way, and it has been really hard." Jiang Yucheng sighed: "Count the days, you just returned to the capital and came non-stop, and you must not even have time to rest." ”

Song Xiu smiled and said: "It's okay, it's boring to stay in the capital anyway, it's better to ask Ling to do things with you." ”

Jiang Yucheng asked about the entry of golden potatoes into Beijing again, and Song Xiu's interest soared: "It's strange to say, Huangzhuang on the outskirts of Beijing also planted a batch of golden potatoes, and the harvest is very good, but the taste is almost the same as that of Yunzeguo." On the contrary, the batch we planted was sweet and soft, and it was praised by the emperor. ”

"Maybe it's a warm climate and plenty of sunshine." Jiang Yucheng pondered.

Song Xiu clapped his palms and praised: "Brother Jiang is right, last year, there was little rain and plenty of sunshine, which made the golden potatoes here sweeter than those in Huangzhuang." After finishing speaking, he said: "I wonder if Brother Jiang has arranged this year's planting plan?" ”

Jiang Yucheng nodded and put forward his plan, Song Xiu pondered for a while and said: "I met an agricultural expert in Huangzhuang, and he personally demonstrated to me how to cut down the golden potato vines and plant them, or in a few days, the cut vines will take root in the soil, which is much better than sowing seeds." ”

Hearing this, Jiang Yucheng's eyes lit up, "Isn't that all the family can be planted?" ”

While Jiang Yucheng was busy developing and exhausting agricultural affairs, Yan Niang did not rest. A few years ago, she and Jiang Yucheng planned to promote the friendship between the Han people and the Yi people, so they came up with a way to let the two tribes intermarry.

In fact, there are very few intermarriages between the two ethnic groups. Yan Niang invited women of the two ethnic groups who intermarried with each other to her home as guests, and asked some taboos about intermarriage between the two ethnic groups. These women include Aunt Hu, the concubine of Master Jin Yu, and Mrs. Helian of Deng County.

Aunt Hu and Master Jin Yu are cousins, Aunt Hu's mother is of the Yi ethnic group, and she gave birth to Aunt Hu after marrying her father. When Aunt Hu was five years old, her father died of illness, and she remarried to a Yi clan with her mother, and was sold into Fengyue by her stepfather when she was six years old.

After Master Jin Yu made a fortune, he ransomed Aunt Hu out and accepted her as a concubine, Aunt Hu is a Han people, and Master Jin Yu is a Yi clan, no matter how many women Master Jin Yu has accepted for so many years, Aunt Hu has always been his favorite one.

Aunt Hu told Yan Niang that some men in the Yi tribe looked down on Han women very much, and her stepfather sold her despite her mother's pleas because she had Han blood.

Helian said: "The Yi men look down on the Han women because they feel that the Han women are scheming and love to make small sex, and marrying them will disturb the family, so it is not as good as the Yi women to be straightforward and generous." ”

As soon as she said this, several women who had married Yi men nodded one after another.

Yan Niang shook her head, "As long as it is a woman, whether it is a Yi girl or a Han girl, there will be times when she loses her temper and makes her petti, and we Han women also have gentle, virtuous, and housekeepers, and they can't be beaten to death with a stick." ”

Helian agreed, "What Mrs. said is that my eldest son got married in May, and the future daughter-in-law will be a Han girl." This girl has been docile and polite since she was a child, treats people kindly, and has a good embroiderer, and our family is very happy to marry her. ”

Yan Niang congratulated her with a smile, and Helian took the opportunity to invite her to drink the wedding wine, and Yan Niang responded happily.

Next, she gave the women present a task, trying to match young men and women of the two clans, and if they succeeded, they could come to the county government to receive a thank you gift of 20 copper coins.