Seeing that the crowd was getting more and more noisy, the main bookkeeper Pei Gou was almost unable to suppress it, and Gu Yunji on the side was not good to watch from the wall again, so he had to clap his hands to quiet everyone down, cleared his throat and said, "Everyone, can you listen to me first?" ”

Gu Yunji didn't wear an official uniform today, although he said that his general bearing was extraordinary, he looked like a young junior, and he was even a little younger than Chen Peishi. Chen Zongmin was accustomed to putting on the old qualifications, so he immediately stomped on his crutches and said dissatisfiedly: "Which family are you a descendant?" It's also your turn to interject here! ”

Chen Peishi was so frightened that he was incoherent, and waved his hand again and again: "...... No, no, no, no, fifth uncle, don't be so rude! ”

Pei Gou was tired of dealing with all kinds of questions from the elders before, and he hadn't noticed that Gu Yunji was coming, so he was surprised for a moment, and respectfully greeted him and saluted: "Pei Gou, the chief bookkeeper of Yibin County, has seen Lord Tongju. ”

"Lord Judge?!" Chen Zongmin was taken aback, and his confident appearance instantly deflated, and he honestly shrank into a quail.

These elders are old, and at most they dare to take Naqiao in front of Pei Gou, the chief bookkeeper who is still young, but as long as Yue Zhuo is here, they don't dare to be presumptuous, let alone the general judgment of the Xuzhou Mansion, which is a "big official" that they can't get in touch with on weekdays, how dare they make a mistake in front of Gu Yunji.

For a while, dozens of lieutenants shut up in unison, and the living room was silent.

Pei Gou was finally relieved, and after silently breathing a sigh of relief, he hurriedly invited Gu Yunji to the top position and gave him control.

Gu Yunji was still standing, his gaze slowly swept over the people in the hall, and he said in a deep voice: "Since everyone can't understand what Master Pei said, then it's up to me to speak, and please listen carefully and carefully, and if you have any questions, you can ask them later, and I will answer them when the time comes." ”

As he spoke, Gu Yunji picked up a potato and showed it in front of everyone: "This thing is called artichoke, which is a grain crop native to America on the other side of the ocean, which is characterized by being cool-loving, drought-tolerant, and adaptable, especially high yield. If you plant 300 catties of seeds, you can harvest about 1,500 to 2,000 catties of artichoke, which is a full increase of five or six times. ”

"With such crops, the problem of food and clothing for the people can be solved to a large extent, so as to avoid starvation, which is why the government wants to vigorously promote the cultivation of it. It may be hard for everyone to believe that there is such a high yield, but this is the truth, it is through our experiments, and the artichoke can indeed reach a yield of 1,000 catties per mu. ”

Gu Yunji put down the artichoke and sat back on the chair: "The government spent a lot of money and transported it from America thousands of miles away, not to let everyone quarrel here. A considerable part of the artichoke seeds have already begun to germinate, and if they are delayed, they will rot, and time is of the essence. ”

"You are shouldering the important task of promoting artichokes, and we are going to give everyone one hundred and fifty catties of artichokes, and if nothing else, we will harvest about nine hundred catties in a few months. You need to distribute the 900 catties of harvest to the villagers as second-generation seeds for the next round of planting, so that the artichoke can be quickly expanded to the entire Xuzhou Mansion. ”

Gu Yunji considered that these elders were old and might not understand the official language, so he asked Chen Peishi to speak again in the local dialect, and at the end he added: "What is the artichoke, and the next tasks of you, I have already finished speaking, as for the specific planting method, there will be a detailed explanation later, and if you have anything unclear at that time, you can also come to the county government at any time to ask." ”

"Okay, I'm done with what I'm going to say, if you have any questions, you can raise them now."

As soon as Gu Yunji's words fell, someone couldn't wait to say immediately: "Not to mention whether the yield per mu is true or false, according to your meaning, my lord, after we have worked hard to grow the artichoke, we still have to give it to others without leaving any land?" Why? Since ancient times, there has been no reason to give away your own food! ”

These words just entered the hearts of everyone, and they echoed them:

"Yes, yes, why should we give the food we have worked so hard to grow to others?"

"It's a rare farming season, when people either go to the dock to do odd jobs to earn money, or sleep at home, but we still have to work hard to grow any Rausch potatoes. What is the reason that what is planted is planted, and what is planted has to be given to others?! ”

Someone's face turned red and said emotionally: "My father used to be the chief, and after he died the year before last, he had to let me take over, I didn't want to be the one in the first place!" Since I became the lieutenant chief, I haven't reaped the benefits, and there have been a lot of things! Every day, the east and west families don't talk about the short evaluation, and they have to collect taxes, and they are so busy that their feet don't touch the ground. ”

"Now I have come up with some strange artichokes, let me plant them myself, and then share the things I have planted with others, why?!"

"With you being the lieutenant governor, this is your responsibility and obligation!" Gu Yunji's face became more and more gloomy, and he slammed the table and shook the person who spoke.

Gu Yunji looked around at everyone with a cold look, and a faint coercion spread: "Although the chief is not an official of the imperial court, he has also made a register and registered it in the book, and is in charge of the tax and education of a village, and enjoys the power, so he naturally has to bear the corresponding obligations." ”

"You don't have to cry with the official here, first of all, the government doesn't let you do things in vain, you have a supply of rice every year, don't say how righteous and selfless you are. Secondly, how many small actions have you made in your daily official duties such as collecting taxes, and do you really not know that you are the officials? ”

Gu Yunji's voice was cold: "The tax of twenty percent of the imperial court has become thirty percent and forty percent when it falls into your mouth, and you have collected 1,000 catties of rice grain from the villagers, and only 800 catties are left when you hand it over to the government." Most of the people are illiterate, and you take advantage of your position to deceive your superiors and subordinates, and run rampant in the township, and the government and county government know it clearly! ”

"If we don't say it, it doesn't mean we don't know, and it doesn't mean that we don't pursue it, the government is all in the books! When the government doesn't want to turn a blind eye, a warrant will arrest you in the yamen, and then the dethronement and imprisonment will be light! ”

In fact, Gu Yunji didn't know what they had done, but with a little use of his brain, he could imagine that there were still various village bullies and evil forces in his previous life, not to mention the contemporary era where information is more closed and the people have a lower level of education.

The times are developing, and society is progressing, but people's hearts have been the same since ancient times.

Sure enough, after listening to Gu Yunji's words, all the elders showed varying degrees of weakness. Some even turned pale and sweated like rain, making people wonder if he would faint in the next second.

Gu Yunji retracted his gaze and sneered: "Don't forget, the government is not discussing with you today, but informing you!" Whether you believe in the high yield of artichoke or not, whether you want to plant it or not, in short, you have to go back to planting, and you have to send the second-generation seeds planted to the villagers, and you can't make any mistakes. ”

"If anyone doesn't want to do it, you can, and you don't want to do it!"

Complaining is complaining, but how much oil and water is in the position of the governor, everyone is clear, and they only promise for a while, and they dare not refute a word.