Qi Sheng didn't wake up until the next morning, and after he finished washing, his wife arranged for the servant girl to serve the dishes.
Coming to the main hall, looking at the family members of the Qi family who had been waiting here, Qi Sheng sat at the head of the hall, and several people took their seats just now.
The Qi family doesn't have the rule of not talking when eating or sleeping, but maybe because Qi Sheng just got angry yesterday, everyone at the dinner table is very quiet at the moment.
Qi Sheng looked at the royal family Wang around him, this is the wife the original owner married when he was a scholar in his early years.
The father-in-law Wang's family was originally from Juren, and because they opened a family book school in the town, the family resources are not bad in the town. The Qi family said that it is a farming and studying family, but in fact it is an out-and-out farmer. At the beginning, the daughter of the Wang family would marry into the Qi family, but the father-in-law valued Qi Sheng's ability to be admitted as a scholar at the age of sixteen.
In this way, Qi Sheng's ability to be on the list at the age of twenty-five is also due to the existence of smoke from the Qi family's ancestral grave.
Most of the fees for Qi Sheng to go to Beijing to catch the exams were paid by the Wang family. Unfortunately, after Qi Sheng got on the list and was assigned to Baiyuan County as the county magistrate, he half pushed and half accepted the daughter of a small wealthy businessman in the county as his concubine...
Fortunately, Qi Sheng respected the Wang family these years, and although the Liu family was beautiful, she did not do anything foolish, and the Qi family's backyard was relatively peaceful.
Qi Sheng twitched the corner of his mouth, and found that the original owner really had a personality that was hard to sum up in one sentence.
Let's say he is an official fan, he will not do anything about corruption, bullying the local people, and he will not even bow down to his boss to please his superiors. But let's say he is upright, he readily agrees to his boss's desire to marry, and he will also tacitly accept Liu's family's support secretly, and even provide some convenience to the Liu family at the convenience.
He has two sons and one daughter, the elder son and daughter are both from the royal family. His daughter, Qi □□, is seventeen years old, married last year, and is now pregnant. With a reputation as a scholar, it is not a problem to pass the exam after two years, but it is a bit difficult to go up.
The youngest son, Qi Xiuli, is from the Liu family. He is ten years old this year. Although he is not as good at reading as the eldest son, he is also a smart and precocious child. The original owner has also put a lot of effort into him, but the youngest son is still young and Tongsheng has not yet taken the exam. However, the original owner's main energy is still on the eldest son.
It may be because he grew up under sticks since he was a child, Qi Xiuli is also very in awe of Qi Sheng, and his elder brother just got punished yesterday, today he looks extraordinarily well-behaved, he doesn't even dare to take food far away.
Qi Sheng looked funny, but because of the serious and serious image of the original owner, he didn't make unnecessary movements.
The meal was unusually quiet, Qi Sheng was worried about his eldest son after eating, so he came to Wenqing Court alone, at this time his daughter-in-law was still serving by Wang's side, Qi Sheng went straight to the bedroom, and saw his eldest son lying on the bed Reading with a book on the bed.
Qi Sheng sighed in his heart, look what he has forced the child into!
Going forward, he took the book out of the eldest son's hand, Qi Sheng flipped through it, it was a commentary on "The Book of Songs", and there was also Mr. Zhang's experience in it.
Mr. Zhang is indeed a great talent, if not for the ups and downs he experienced in the early years, and his hometown is in Yuping County, it would be really difficult for Qi Sheng to hire such a learned gentleman for Qi Xiuwen.
Qi Sheng closed the book in his hand and put it on the bedside table. He lifted the quilt and looked at the injury behind the eldest son. Fortunately, the wound had healed, so he said: "Take a good rest for the next two days, and wait for the injury to heal." Read on."
Ever since Qi Sheng came in, Qi Xiuwen raised his head in surprise when he heard Qi Sheng's words, but Qi Sheng's expression remained the same, with a straight face, making it impossible to see his happiness or anger. Qi Xiuwen didn't dare to ask more questions , obediently nodded and said yes, until he felt the heat of the palm on his head, which made him raise his head again to look at Qi Sheng.
"father!"
"Well, take a good rest."
Qi Sheng didn't say any more, he patted his eldest son on the head lightly before turning around and leaving.
Tuliu hadn't recovered yet and Qi Xiuwen was staring at the "Annotation to the Book of Songs" in a daze.
**
Qi Sheng spent the whole day in his study sorting out documents, listing the population, land, taxation, education level, etc. of Yuping County in recent years.
Yuping County experienced a severe drought five years ago, and now people's lives have improved slightly. The original owner was not a harsh magistrate. He served here for four years and gave Yuping County enough time to recuperate. Now Qi Sheng There is also some foundation for improving the conditions in the county.
Most of the people in Yuping County grow wheat and soybeans, and the two crops are planted alternately. Although the land is not idle, but because the current mu yield is too low, every household can barely eat enough to eat after deducting taxes.
Qi Sheng thought about it, and now corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes have not been passed on yet, and these are good things that can satisfy hunger with large yields.
Qi Sheng took a look at the seeds stored in the soul space. Fortunately, he planned ahead and knew that anything would happen in the world he traveled through. He had prepared a lot of these crops, but it was too strange to take them out rashly. Qi Sheng planned to send people around to investigate first. Down.
If he could find these in this world, it would be more convenient than taking them out of space.
As for the population problem, once the food and clothing problems of the common people can be solved, the population will naturally increase gradually. This era has always been about having more children and more blessings. If it is not for the lack of food and clothing, the population may have exploded already.
Not to mention the issue of education, for those who are about to have enough to eat, it is not easy to live, and how can they have enough money to support their children to study, not to mention, in today's era, supporting a scholar is simply bankrupt for a farmer Rhythm.
Sure enough, no matter when and where, the saying that the economic base determines the superstructure always fits the situation.
On the second day, Qi Sheng took six of his trustworthy subordinates to the nearest and relatively prosperous Xuzhou Prefecture. Compared with the Jizhou Prefecture under Yuping County, both agriculture and economy here are far superior.
The horse rode on the road quickly without stopping, and still arrived at the beginning of the next day, Xu Dong was very puzzled, and the master didn't say anything, leaving the official duties to the county magistrate and the master, and brought them all the way to Xuzhou The mansion, the rushing scene made them think that something big had happened!
But since he came to Xuzhou Mansion, the grandpa of his own county has become more leisurely. He either went to the East Street or West Street to have a look.
The six yamen servants followed their county magistrate in a daze, not understanding that they drove so fast for two days just to go shopping!
Qi Sheng had a general understanding of the types of business in Xuzhou Mansion, and he specially set aside a day to go to the largest trading market here. Looking around, he really gained a lot. It's not that he bought the crops he needs most now. Instead, I met many caravans who went to the border to purchase.
Qi Sheng asked them a lot about the border trade situation, and specially asked several caravans to pay attention to some food crops that were different from the Dasheng Dynasty.
Several caravans saw that he was very knowledgeable and knew some things about the border very well, and it was considered a good relationship, and they promised to pay attention to him if they encountered him.
Fortunately, the Dasheng Dynasty is now developing trade with small border countries, and it is not too eye-catching to inquire about some strange things.
Coincidentally, when Qi Sheng was about to leave, he really encountered something that made him very excited.
Two roughly dressed men, guarding two pots of ordinary-looking "flowers", squatted listlessly in a small corner of the market.
If Qi Sheng hadn't looked carefully, he really couldn't see these two pots of "flowers" hiding in the corner.
Qi Sheng stepped forward and asked, "What is this?"
Those two people saw that someone finally paid attention to them, so you started to introduce Qi Sheng with each other. Although the flowers are inconspicuous, the red fruit is definitely very ornamental. Another added that this kind of "flower" is rare and rare, and it will definitely attract dignitaries to collect it...
Qi Sheng listened to their flickering with a calm expression, and felt like he was about to lose recognition of this thing!
Isn't this just chili? Although the poor little white flowers are not beautiful now, when the fruit is ripe, it will definitely whet your appetite!
Qi Sheng didn't expect such a reward from this trip, how could he have forgotten, and now the chili has not been passed on!
As an indispensable condiment on the gourmet list, even if the people in the north are not as acceptable as Sichuan and other places, chili peppers are still rare nowadays. When they are planted, they can bring some extra income to Yuping County in the early stage .
Qi Sheng showed disgust on his face: "It's strange what you said, but since it's rare, it's absolutely difficult to grow it, and it may have died in my hands before I saw the red fruit you mentioned! Besides, I also I have never seen something like yours, who knows if it will really grow beautiful fruits!"
The two had also heard something similar to Qi Sheng's words this day, and not only felt a little disappointed, but they also got it from a caravan that had just been looted by bandits, and the two of them saved them with the few pieces of dry food they brought. There are no more valuable things, so I finally gave them these two pots of "flowers"
At that time, a foreigner in the caravan also said that the fruit produced by this "flower" was called pepper, which had a unique taste, and it would definitely be worth some money if it was taken out and sold to wealthy gentry!
The two of them were naturally full of doubts about things they didn't know at all, and they didn't dare to believe what the foreigner said.
So even though they had heard that the fruit of this "flower" could be eaten, they didn't dare to say it, they just fooled the people who came to ask the price that it was a rare flower.
It's a pity that the leaves of peppers are ordinary in appearance, and the small flowers that bloom are even more insipid, which is really hard to appreciate, and I have never heard of any flowers that appreciate fruits!
Seeing that the two were silent, Qi Sheng felt a little helpless, no wonder it hasn't been sold yet! With such eloquence in business, how can others pay for it!
Qi Sheng fiddled with the leaf twice, and began to ask: "Then where did you get it?"
The two were more honest, and when they told about the experience of the caravan, Qi Sheng felt that it was a trick of good fortune. If there hadn't been this robbery, maybe the pepper plant would have been introduced to the Dasheng Dynasty soon.
Qi Sheng questioned him many times before he let the two people say what the foreigner said.
Qi Sheng pretended to ask: "Is this chili really edible?"
The taller of the two said nervously: "The man did say that, but we haven't seen it before, so we dare not guarantee it. My lord, if you are interested in buying it back as a rare thing, you can go and see it." Forget it, as for eating, who knows if that foreigner hates me for stealing from them!"
Qi Sheng looked carefully again, and continued to ask: "Did the foreigner say how to eat it?"
The tall man didn't want to say it at first, but the shorter one next to him couldn't wait, ignored the tall man's tugging, and said, "Master, the man said that this chili can be eaten directly by cooking, and it seems that it can be dried and preserved. Let it go a little later, the man said, this time the caravan also brought dried peppers, but unfortunately they were all snatched away by the bandits, leaving only these pots of colorless flowers. If you are really interested, how about Buy it back and see if it's fresh!"
Qi Sheng ignored the petty actions of the two of them. They persisted in the market for so long without revealing that the fruit was edible, which was enough to show that the two of them were not overly greedy for money. Just told the truth.
Qi Sheng originally wanted to let the people around him know how to use chili through their mouths, but now that the situation is almost the same, he directly bought it at a price of twenty taels per pot.
The two of them exchanged a few pieces of bread for forty taels of silver. Naturally, they were overjoyed. They told Qi Sheng many times not to eat casually, and happily packed their bags and prepared to leave.
Qi Sheng distributed the two pots of peppers to his subordinates to hold them, and decided to go home satisfied.
At this moment, the six yamen servants who followed Qi Sheng were so confused that they hurried to Xuzhou Mansion to buy these two pots of "flowers"? The yamen servants never knew that their county magistrate still had a hobby of collecting and cherishing flowers, but this "flower" obviously has no sense of beauty. Confused, the two yamen servants carefully picked up the two flower pots.
Because there were two pots of peppers growing, they slowed down and did not return to Qi Mansion until noon on the third day.
Qi Sheng checked the peppers carefully, and found that although they were a little dying, they were still vigorous.
First, I handed over the peppers to Madam Zhang in the vegetable garden to take care of them, and told her a few things to take care of before going back to the room to freshen up.
**
"Master, why are you away from home for so many days this time?" Mrs. Wang asked while serving Qi Sheng for dinner.
Qi Sheng swallowed the food in his mouth, and replied: "Our Yuping County is too poor, so I went to Xuzhou Mansion to find out if there is any way to increase the harvest."
Mrs. Wang ordered some more dishes for Qi Sheng, then stopped and said: "Xuzhou Prefecture is indeed prosperous, and it is also a place where the canal passes. Speaking of which, our Jeju Prefecture is also on the side of the canal. Unfortunately, Yuping County is too far away from Jeju. It's remote, but the master has found a feasible method?"
Mrs. Wang has already studied and followed him for many years, and she has some knowledge. The people depend on the sky for their food, and the cities by the canal depend on water for their food. Their land is not fertile enough, and they are far away from the canal. Even if there is no natural disaster, It can only become a small county with general taxation.
Qi Sheng nodded: "There are some, but we are still figuring it out." The things have not been settled yet, and Qi Sheng didn't say much.
Mrs. Wang just thought that the master hadn't found a feasible method, so she didn't ask any more questions, but asked in confusion, "Why did the master suddenly think of this?"
The husband and wife have lived together for more than 20 years. She also knows what kind of person Qi Sheng is. When he was assigned to a small and remote county like Yuping County, Mrs. Wang sensed his dissatisfaction. He can only resign himself to reducing taxes to let the people live, but it also prevents his political achievements from being seen by his superiors. Now he suddenly needs to find a new way to increase taxes. Is this unwilling to stay here forever
Qi Sheng glanced at Mrs. Wang, thought for a while and said, "I'm in my prime now, so I should work harder. If I can go up further, I can give the children more support in the future. Besides, Yuping County It has almost recovered now, and now I think about it, even if the life of the taxpayers returns to normal, they will not be sad."
Wang was surprised, the master only placed his hopes on his son in the past, but now? "Master, after Wen'er recovered, he studied harder these days. A few days ago, Mr. Zhang praised his progress in writing. Do you want to go and see it?"
Qi Sheng nodded: "I have to take a look."
After Qi Sheng finished his meal and left, Mrs. Wang looked at the back of her master turning away and shook her head. Did she think too much just now? The master is not disappointed with his son
When Qi Sheng came to the study, he saw that Qi Xiuwen had already prepared the article he wrote a few days ago and was waiting here.
Qi Sheng took over the article presented by his eldest son and read it carefully, and he almost knew it in his heart, his son's writing was really beautiful.
"What did Mr. Zhang say?"
Qi Xiuwen bowed and replied: "Back to father, sir... he said my diction is gorgeous, but... the content is a bit dull."
Qi Xiuwen was a little nervous. Mr. Qi did praise him for his progress in this article, but fundamentally, he hadn’t changed much. He had been under strict supervision by his father since he was a child, and he was out of touch with the common world. Like talking on paper.
Qi Sheng nodded: "Well, Mr. Zhang said that before, what do you think?"
Qi Xiuwen lifted up his robe and knelt down, biting the bullet and said: "My son's talent is dull, and now his writing progress is slow, and he has failed his father's expectations. My son is not filial. I beg... I beg my father to allow my son to travel in this Jeju government."
After Qi Xiuwen finished speaking, he felt that he was going crazy and looking for death today. The last time he made this request to his father, he got a meal in exchange for it. Now he has raised this idea within a few days after going out privately. !
The kindness of his father when he visited him that day flashed through his mind, and Qi Xiuwen felt that it was because of his father's behavior that day that he dared to "make progress" like today.
Qi Sheng saw that his son's nervousness was funny, but he still frowned and asked, "Are you going out alone? How many days do you plan to go?"
Qi Xiuwen didn't feel that his father would let him go out at the moment, he only felt that his father was interrogating his plan, but the honest boy Qi Xiuwen didn't dare to hide anything from Qi Sheng, and replied truthfully: "Going back to the father, the son is not alone, the son is traveling together There are also Xu Jingyuan from Jiaping County, Wang Zhiran from Heping County, and Sun Yuxing from Jezhou Prefecture. The original plan was three months, but now they have set off to the nearby Shangping County."
Qi Sheng understood, it turned out that his son had already rejected it once, and this time it seemed that he really wanted to go out and practice for a while, "Get up first, come and see these."
Qi Xiuwen got up in surprise, he couldn't imagine that his father hadn't called the family law until now, and he couldn't help being happy, could it be that his father agreed with him to go out this time!
Qi Sheng gave his son the general situation of Yuping County that he sorted out some time ago, and said, "See if you have any ideas?"
Qi Xiuwen took it with both hands and read it carefully. While taking notes, he couldn't help being excited that his father actually started to let him get in touch with official duties. However, after checking the actual situation in Yuping County, he couldn't help frowning. It's better, but it can't make every family full.
"Since the severe drought five years ago, Yuping County has been reducing taxes for the past few years, but it's time to restore normal taxes this year, otherwise it will be difficult for the higher authorities."
Qi Xiuwen frowned. The five-year tax reduction is indeed a great gift to the people of Yuping County, but according to the actual situation of the people, the restoration of taxes will squeeze their living space in disguise, and the people's livelihood will complain. , not enough to eat, even if the increase in taxes did not help his father's political achievements.
Qi Sheng said: "This time when you are traveling, you just happen to have a look around and think about how the people of Yuping County can get out of this predicament."
Qi Xiuwen bowed his head to take the order, and the joy of being able to travel abroad also faded a little. He only thought about being able to go out and investigate the people's livelihood, but he ignored the most urgent livelihood issues that needed to be solved.
When he returned to Wenqing Academy, he was still thinking about the solution to the poverty in Yuping County.
"Brother Wen, why are you not happy that father allowed you to go out this time?" Mrs. Lin looked at the frowning Qi Xiuwen in a strange way.
Qi Xiuwen shook his head and said with a wry smile: "It's useless for me to boast of being smart, but I don't know how to solve the problems in front of me, and I've been thinking about exploring outside!"
Lin was puzzled: "What problem is there?"
Qi Xiuwen replied to her: "I have always wanted to travel, but I just wanted to learn more about people's sentiments. It's funny to say that I was born in a farming family when I was young. Although my father hadn't made the list at that time, he was already famous. My father was very special. I value my studies, so since I was born, I have never been to the ground. Either I stayed with my father to read and read or was sent to a school. Apart from studying, I have never visited the surrounding customs and customs, and now I am even more obsessed with it, and I have to go outside to find out what the people's customs are!"
Mrs. Lin thought about it carefully, and felt that Xianggong was on the edge of his head for a while. The Qi family's hometown is in Anzhou Prefecture. Anzhou's land is fertile. It is a port city with canals and the only way for caravans to and from it. Children need to go to work in the fields, and besides, the father-in-law was already famous at that time, so the Qi family naturally wanted to support one more scholar. Now that the father-in-law is a young man, in the eyes of most people, the Qi family has already been glorious.
Lin persuaded: "Yuping County is located in a remote place, and after natural disasters, it is normal to be poor now. You don't have to worry too much about it. I will ask my father to help you with your high school rankings in the future. If you can get a little rich place, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Changing the economic situation of a county is not an easy task even in later generations, let alone in the ancient times where everything is backward, so Lin's idea is also right. Qi Sheng was assigned to a remote village, not because there was no one behind him. Well, but now Lin's father has some foundation in the court, and he is also capable of helping his son-in-law make a living.
Qi Xiuwen shook his head, disagreed with his wife's words, hugged his baby son who was toddling, and said with a smile: "Parents and parents are just to ask for orders for the people to solve their problems. If you can find a solution when you go out this time , it is worth the expense of traveling."
The child in his arms couldn't understand what the adults said, so he laughed after seeing his father's smiling face: "Daddy."
Qi Xiuwen teased his son dotingly, and then looked at his wife: "I'm going out this time, and I'm going to ask you to be filial at the knees of my parents. Hua'er is still young, so I have to take care of you."
Lin was reluctant, but she also knew that her husband's ambitions were all over the place. Now that she finally had the opportunity to go out, she didn't want to let their mother and child become a burden, so she said: "I know your ambitions, you just go, and I will take care of you at home." , will never let you down."