After Gu Yunji planted some of the sprouted potatoes in his back garden, he was ready to go to Yan Zhengqian to ask for a piece of land and plant the remaining potatoes.

In the prefect's official residence, Gu Yunji gushed about the benefits of potatoes to Yan Zhengqian: "...... Artichoke likes to be cold, does not need too much water during the growth period, can be matured and harvested in two or three months, and the yield per mu can reach at least 1,000 catties. ”

"Lord Yan, if this matter is feasible, not to mention what it is for you and me, this is a great achievement for the benefit of future generations!"

Yan Zhengqian smiled on his face, nodded again and again, and encouraged enthusiastically: "I see, Master Gu wants to ...... Artichoke is spread to the entire Xuzhou capital, right? Good idea, ambitious, Master Gu just do it, I support you! ”

Gu Yunji said with a smile: "If Lord Yan can support me, it is naturally the best, it just so happens that I need a little land now, plant the remaining artichoke to see the effect, it doesn't need too much, half an acre of land is enough." ”

Yan Zhengqian suddenly realized: "Oh-it's just a field, this is easy to do, compared to Master Gu's grand cause, half an acre of land is nothing." ”

Gu Yunji faintly heard something wrong in his tone, but still asked expectantly, "That...... When will it be given to me? ”

Yan Zhengqian avoided answering, and looked serious: "Lord Gu is young and enthusiastically wants the people of Xuzhou Mansion to live a good life, I must understand and am willing to support you." It's just that the finances of the Xuzhou Mansion are limited, and they all have to be used on the blade, and I have no problem here, but if you want to approve it as soon as possible, you still have to go to Lord Chen, who is in charge of land reclamation. ”

Speaking of which, don't you just don't want to put a cost on land? Still support, what kind of support is it that you don't give money and don't give money?

Gu Yunji politely greeted the eighteenth generation of Yan Zhengqian's ancestors in his heart, but his face was still polite, and he immediately stopped staying for a long time and left the prefect's official residence.

As soon as Gu Yunji left, the smile on Yan Zhengqian's face instantly fell, and he sneered: "It still yields 1,000 catties per mu, why don't you say that it produces 10,000 catties per mu?" Lao Tzu never dreamed of such a high yield! It's just a matter of tossing around by yourself, and you still want to get me involved, no way! ”

——

In the mansion of the same magistrate, Gu Yunji also told Chen Xunzhou about the benefits of potatoes in a flamboyant manner, and his mouth was dry, and in the end, he saw that Chen Xunzhou was a little absent-minded, so he had to ask patiently: "What do you think, Lord Chen?" ”

Chen Xunzhou tugged at the corners of his lips, and said with a smile: "I think it's good." It's just that this artichoke is something I haven't heard of after all, and it is not known whether it can achieve the high yield that Master Gu said, so it is not possible to promote planting rashly. ”

Gu Yunji said: "That's why I have to test." I would like to ask Mr. Chen to give me half an acre of dry land, and then two good ways to be familiar with crop work, plant them first, and then move on to the next step if they are successful. ”

Chen Xunzhou snorted lightly and said with a slight sarcasm: "Lord Gu doesn't know? In the public property of our Xuzhou capital, there are only silver taels and grain, and there is no land. However, the government encourages land reclamation, and if Lord Gu wants land, he can go to the mountains to open up a new piece of land, or rent land for farming. ”

Gu Yunji's face was a little unsightly, and he silently suppressed the anger in his heart, and said: "Whether it is clearing the wasteland or renting land, it takes time to prepare, but the artichoke I brought back by someone has already sprouted, I'm afraid it won't last a few days, I'm afraid it's too late." ”

Seeing that Chen Xunzhou was still unmoved, Gu Yunji simply said cheekily: "I heard that Lord Chen has a lot of fields under his name, can you lend me a piece first?" The tenants and long-term workers on your village are all accustomed to farm work, and I can rest assured that I can use them. ”

Chen Xunzhou lifted his eyelids and glanced at him, then retracted his gaze, and said calmly: "Master Gu, it's not that I don't want to borrow, it's just that it's spring sowing right now, and the tenants and long-term workers are very busy, and the fields are all to grow grain, and there is nothing spare to lend to you." ”

"If Lord Gu is in a hurry, let's go to the market to rent land and hire long-term workers, that is more efficient, and the government can reimburse you for the expenses."

Gu Yunji swallowed a breath of depression, held back the fire and said, "Then please Lord Chen give me the money first." ”

Chen Xunzhou said slowly: "Rent the land first, and then reimburse." And you have to wait until the potatoes planted by Lord Gu are harvested and the results are obtained, and after a comprehensive evaluation by the officials of the government office, you can give you the money. ”

"You ......" Gu Yunji was depressed and choked in his chest, choked with anger, and after looking at him angrily a few times, he still didn't say anything after all, and left sulking.

Looking at Gu Yunji's back, Chen Xunzhou sneered: "Last year, he took two hundred taels of silver from me, and more than a dozen long-term workers reclaimed fifty acres of land for free. ”

——

After leaving the Tongzhi Mansion, Gu Yunji was angry and a little powerless.

The fundamental reason why Yan Zhengqian and Chen Xunzhou are reluctant to support him is not that they do not want to invest in the cost of risk, but that they are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone to try something new, even if it can bring about earth-shaking changes.

For them, maintaining the status quo will not make progress, but it will not go wrong, and it is the safest option. As for what high-yield crops, potatoes that can feed everyone in Xuzhou Prefecture, they are too vain and unrealistic in their eyes, and it is not worth spending time and energy at all.

Without the support of Yan Zhengqian and Chen Xunzhou, there were many obstacles to trying to grow potatoes. Gu Yunji is not reluctant to rent land and hire long-term laborers, mainly because it will take a lot of time, and the potato seeds may be bad before he can rent the field.

Second, potato planting is still in the experimental stage, and it is not suitable to be extended to the private sector for the time being, and the less people know about it, the better. If the hired long-term worker is not right, let this matter go wrong, I am afraid that things will get worse

Gu Yunji was walking on the street with a heavy heart, and suddenly heard someone behind him calling him: "Master Gu!" ”

He turned around and found that it was Zhang Cuiying, who was wearing a brand new cotton dress, with a smile on his face, and his complexion was much better than a few months ago.

"The folk girl has seen Master Gu."

"Zhang Cuiying?"

Gu Yunji was also relieved to see her like this, and greeted: "How are you doing lately?" Are your husband and your daughter okay? Did you come to Fucheng to buy something? Or shopping? ”

Zhang Cuiying said with a smile: "Lord Lao Gu is worried, our family is fine." Isn't this spring sowing soon, I can't plant my family's fifty acres of land alone, so I came to Fucheng to prepare to pick a few long-term workers, but I didn't expect to meet you, Lord Gu. ”

Hearing this, Gu Yunji's heart suddenly moved: "Your family's land is still empty, and you haven't grown food?" ”

Zhang Cuiying nodded: "Yes, fifty acres of land are still empty, because it is a dry field, I can't grow rice, I am going to plant wheat." ”

It was really just a dozing off when someone sent a pillow, one moment Gu Yunji was worried that there was no land to grow potatoes, and the next moment he met Zhang Cuiying.

Gu Yunji knows Zhang Cuiying's family situation well, and the two have also established a deep trust through Xue Liu's case, and they can rest assured that they will hand over the potatoes to her. Moreover, Zhang Cuiying's family has 50 acres of land, and it is enough to expand the planting and breeding of potatoes in the future, which is simply the most suitable candidate.

Of course, as the first person to help him grow potatoes, he will naturally not treat Zhang Cuiying badly in the future.

Thinking like this, Gu Yunji told Zhang Cuiying everything about the potatoes, and expressed her willingness to borrow half an acre of land from her family to plant potatoes first.

After listening to Gu Yunji's story, Zhang Cuiying agreed very happily: "No problem!" Master Gu, you are the benefactor of our family, not to mention that you want to use half an acre of land, even twenty or thirty acres of land. What's more, as you said, this artichoke is a high-yield crop, and if it is successfully planted, it will be of great benefit to the entire Xuzhou capital, so what reason do I have to refuse? ”

A big stone in Gu Yunji's heart finally fell, and the matter of trying to plant potatoes was finalized.