In a small teahouse in a corner of the capital......

"Have you heard? A father and daughter from a fishing village were summoned by the emperor because of their good farming and were made officials! He spoke as a strong man of about forty years old, dressed in coarse cloth, with yellow mud on his feet, and a scruffy beard.

"What? Can you be an official after farming? Don't take the big guys for fools! Who doesn't know that if you want to become an official, you must first study hard for more than ten years and be admitted layer by layer. Even when the previous dynasty was at its most chaotic, it was necessary to take a large sum of money to donate to a petty official who was not in the stream. "This talented man who looked like a fallen man, with a white-washed robe, a thin body, and a weather-covered face, looked at the farmer with a look of disdain.

"I said Sour Xiucai, you're new to the city, right? This has spread all over the capital, who hasn't heard of it? It is said that the output of winter wheat has reached five or six hundred catties, which is twice as high as ordinary wheat! If I could grow such a yield, I wouldn't eat white noodles every day and eat meat every once in a while......" The cropper with yellow mud on his feet looked longing. Being an official or something, it's too far away from him, and it is the right thing to fill his stomach and let his mother-in-law and children eat something smooth.

"Brother Zhang, my brother-in-law's second aunt's cousin, works as an errand in the yamen. I have heard that the imperial court will sell some high-yield grain seeds at a flat price, such as wheat seeds purchased from the Yu family, and what kind of rice can be harvested last year. I asked my brother-in-law's relatives to help inquire, and as soon as the news came out, we rushed over and lined up to buy ......."

The man who spoke was younger than the farmer, with dark skin, fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, a few patches on his clothes, trousers rolled up high, one leg on the bench, and a thunderous voice when he spoke.

Sour Xiucai sneered sarcastically, shook his head disdainfully, and said, "Such a good thing, can it be your turn to be mud legs?" High-yielding seeds, who doesn't want them? I'm afraid that as soon as the seeds are dialed down, they will be rounded up by those official eunuchs! ”

The young man with patches on his clothes glanced at him, and saw that the big man surnamed Zhang was a little anxious, so he hurriedly said: "Brother Zhang, don't worry, my brother-in-law's relatives said that the emperor sent the king of Yangjun to supervise the seed." You've all heard of King Yangjun, right? Those royal relatives, high-ranking officials and ministers, which one of them didn't take a detour when he saw him? Even the big officials in the court didn't dare to offend him easily. With the king of Yangjun in charge, those who are officials do not dare to start easily. Our village is not far from the capital, so if we get the news, we will definitely be able to catch some of it. ”

When the big man surnamed Zhang heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If that's the case, our good days will come soon!" Not to mention the seeds that can produce more than 1,000 catties of grain, that is, the seeds of the winter wheat of the Yu family, which can be planted on a few acres, and our lives will not be worried. If we can let our Zhuang family live a well-fed and warmly clothed life, no matter how big the Yu family's father and daughter are, I will also support it! ”

"Nonsense! If you farm well, you can become an official? Where does that put the reader? It's really humiliating!! Is it true that Zhang San raises pigs well, and Li Si raises cattle well, and they can be mixed with officials? "Sour Xiucai thinks that he has been studying hard for fifteen years, and he is only a showman. It's so unfair that people can grow an official job by planting land!

The big man surnamed Zhang couldn't get used to his face for a long time, and couldn't help but spray him: "No matter how much you read, you can't work for the welfare of the people, and being an official is also in vain!" The emperor has said that the people are the foundation of the country, and only when the people are well fed, clothed and warmed can the country be stable! Can raising pigs and cattle feed the people or can they be warm? The father and daughter of the Yu family have this ability, and the officials of the family are also exchanged for their ability. Your eyes are also in vain! ”

Sour Xiucai pursed his lips, he didn't conspire with each other, and he was idle when he reasoned with these coarse people who didn't know a few big words! He picked up the big tea bowl, took a sip of bitter tea, and said no more with contempt.

The young man in the patched clothes spoke again: "It is said that the little girl of the Yu family, who was only twelve or thirteen years old, was made a six-rank official and worked as an errand in the household department. I've only heard of women as officials in the play, whether it's the past or the present, it's the first time! ”

Hearing this, Sour Xiucai, who had made up his mind not to speak, couldn't help it anymore, slapped the table, and shouted: "Chicken Sichen, it's out of character!" A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, can she turn the ground or pull a plow? Also sealed as a six-rank official?? Outrageous!! ”

"Are you questioning the emperor's wise decision?" The young man was very unimpressed by this sour-speaking and scathing Xiucai, and he snorted and said, "My brother-in-law's relatives said that although this girl Yu is young, she is a shrewd and capable person. The old man of the household department thinks highly of her. Last year, what kind of rice could have a high yield of more than 1,000 catties, and it was because I took Miss Yu over and helped breed that such a good yield could appear! There is also winter wheat planted by the rest of the family, and because of the potion she brewed, the yield is much higher than that of the Huangzhuang! ”

The young man took a breath and continued: "Besides, after the emperor ascended the throne, he repeatedly proposed to improve the status of women. Now women don't need to wear veils on the streets, and they abound. More and more women are coming out to do business. The girl of the Jiang family, the embroidery workshop she operated, and the queen concubines in the palace all asked her to make clothes. That girl from the Yu family, what's so strange about being named a petty official? ”

The man surnamed Zhang laughed and said: "If you can sell me a few acres of high-yield grain seeds, not to mention the six-grade official, no matter how high the official, I will not object!" Brother, you said that there must be a lot of seeds left in the father and daughter family of the Yu family, you have a wide range of doors, can you ......?"

The young man glared at him and said, "The father and daughter of the Yu family are from Tanggu, and they are not from our capital. No matter how wide the relatives of my brother-in-law's family are, they can't reach Tanggu! However, I vaguely heard that the Yu family had only handed over 800 acres of nearly 1,000 acres of land, and the grain of the other more than 100 acres of land, except for enough to be planted next year, was sold at a high price. It's five times more expensive than the market price! Are you willing to buy it? ”

"What? Five-fold? Doesn't that mean that a pound of seeds costs fifty wen? An acre of land alone costs a tael of silver? It's too expensive, right? The big man surnamed Zhang was dumbfounded, and immediately retreated. The five acres of land at home cost five taels of silver for seeds alone, and he couldn't make it up by smashing the pot and selling iron!

The young man shook his head and said with a smile: "Brother Zhang, I'm talking about the price of Tanggu. The Yu family sold all the gentry and wealthy businessmen, and they did not lack that bit of silver. Just seeing the high price of seeds, have you ever thought that the yield of 600 catties per mu of land is sold at the ordinary grain price, and you can earn three taels of silver per acre of land! You are stupid when you are a rich merchant and gentry, who will do the business at a loss? ”

"Yes...... Who in our village can scrape together a few taels of silver to buy seeds? Alas, it seems that this good thing is not our turn! The man surnamed Zhang sighed a little dejectedly.

The young man hurriedly said: "Brother Zhang doesn't know anything. The emperor loves the people like a son, and he will definitely not make the money of our poor people. I have heard that the seeds of high-yield grain are sold at the market price of grain seeds for 10 cents a catty. The seeds of Huangzhuang have begun to be sown, and if they are sold, it will only be a few days! ”

"What you said can produce more than 1,000 catties of grain, is it reliable?" The man surnamed Zhang hesitated.

"How can it be unreliable? I heard that it was ordered by the emperor to let the king of Yangjun go to the West to find it back. So what...... Oh! I remember, it's called corn!! The flour made of corn is carefully sifted, and the steamed bread made is golden and golden, with a fragrance, not to mention how delicious! The young man showed that he was well-informed, and his face was full of sorrow.

Sour Xiucai beat him back to his original form with one sentence: "Say it as if you've eaten it!" Scarcity is expensive, and the output is so high, the price will definitely not be expensive in the future. Besides, most of the people don't know the corn you are talking about, who dares to buy it? Don't plant it when the time comes, but you can't sell it, and you go out with seeds, fertilizer, and effort in vain! ”

"You have less crow's mouth!! Don't speak, no one will treat you as dumb!! My brother-in-law's relatives said that his top boss was fortunate enough to eat it at a friend's house once, and the cornmeal tortillas were fragrant and had a hint of sweetness, and the more you chewed it, the more fragrant it became!

Brother Zhang, think about it, there are more than 1,000 catties per mu of land, even if one catty is only sold at the price of coarse grain, it is still an income of three or four taels of silver! Anyway, our family has three acres of land, and we want to take out one acre to try to grow corn. Even if you can't sell it, you will be short of food for the next year!

I heard that the leaves and straw of corn can also be fed to pigs and livestock, and next year our family will catch two more pigs, not afraid of no feed to feed!! It's all energizing to think about it......" said the young man's eyes, as if good days were about to end.

The man surnamed Zhang hesitated for a moment, slapped the table, gritted his teeth and said, "Since my brother said so, my old Zhang will also get two acres of seeds back." It's all food, you can't sell it, you can eat it yourself! Two acres of land have more than 2,000 catties of grain, and our family will not have to go hungry for at least the next year! ”

The young man nodded vigorously in agreement. Sour Xiucai was still worried about the Yu family's official sealing, and said in a slightly unconvinced tone: "A little girl was named a six-rank official. What about her father? It won't be a three-product master, right? ”

A mud leg who can't read big words and can only farm the land, because he has grown over-produced grain, he has mixed into the official position of a third-grade master, can other officials in the DPRK and China be willing?

Unexpectedly, the young man sneered and said, "It's funny! This little girl from the Yu family got the position of the six-grade agricultural official of the household department, but her father only gave the seven-grade sesame petty official, and it is said that she still served in Tanggu, specializing in the fields on the fief of the king of Yangjun......"