The autumn harvest is here in the blink of an eye. Every year, the people look forward to the autumn harvest the most. The autumn harvest represents the food supply for the year. This year's autumn harvest has brought only sorrow to the people.
Zhulan took her grandchildren to the farm to stay for a few days. When they arrived at the farm, they did not rest but went straight to the fields and stood on the ridges to watch the autumn harvest.
Ming Jing's fat hands couldn't keep idle, so she picked up the wheat ears and asked, "Grandma, why are there so many shrunken wheat ears?"
Zhulan took it and felt heavy in her heart, "This year's harvest is not good."
The land on their own farm is fertile, but the eldest son said that the yield has been reduced by a quarter, let alone in places with barren land.
Mingjing was very concerned about food, "Grandma, will there be enough food after paying taxes?"
Zhulan laughed, "Of course it's enough. We have a lot of land. After paying the tax, we can not only have enough food, but also sell some grain."
Mingjing was relieved, as long as there was enough food.
Changli came up from the field and said, "Mom, you just arrived at the farm, you can go back and rest first, I will take care of you here."
Zhu Lan shook her head, "My body is not that fragile, go and do your thing."
She was concerned about the harvest, so she wanted to come to the farm to take a look, and she brought her grandchildren with her to educate them.
Changli was in no hurry to go back, and sighed, "The harvest this year is not good."
Zhulan, "This year the people will have a hard time."
The war is not over yet, so the possibility of tax cuts this year is not high.
Qizhou. Chang Lian came back from several states that were not affected by the disaster. He was in a hurry and looked very tired.
The prefect saw Chang Lian's expression and felt heavy in his heart, "The harvest was not good?"
"Well, the harvest was bad this year, and the states that weren't affected by the disaster can't help us if they have to pay taxes."
The prefect pursed his lips and said, "The flood in our state has receded, but the fertile soil in some fields has been washed away by the flood. Some low-lying fields are full of silt. Even if they are cleaned up, it will affect the harvest. This year, the affected states have exempted taxes, but the people have to wait until the grain is ripe before they can have food. There is a shortage of food."
Qizhou grows two crops of rice. After the flood recedes, it is too late to plant late rice, so we still hope to get some food.
Chang Lian was also worried. The temperature was low this year and the late rice harvest would not be good. "There was really nothing I could do. I could only write a memorial to the capital."
They tried every possible method. In order to increase their income, the prefect even learned from other states to raise fish in rice fields, just hoping to supplement their food rations.
The prefect sighed. He had been out of the city a lot recently. The people from each village went up the mountain to find food. The wild vegetables on the roadside had been dug up and there was no trace of them. Both adults and children looked pale and thin. If the prefecture had not insisted on distributing some food to each village, life would have been even more difficult.
The prefect bent his back and said, "I'll go write the memorial."
Chang Lian came out of the government office and went home to see his wife reading the letter from the capital. "Is it the letter from mother?"
Mrs. Dong shook her head, "No, my sister-in-law replied to my letter."
"Do you have something to ask sister-in-law?"
Mrs. Dong nodded. "It's autumn harvest time now. I told my eldest sister-in-law and eldest brother that we won't sell the crops from our fields. I'll ask my eldest brother to deliver the crops here."
Chang Lian, "You want to donate food?"
Mrs. Dong, "I see you are worried about food. Although our family doesn't have much food, we can still contribute a little."
Chang Lian sat down and said, "Your idea is very good, but I can't be the first one to do it. There are many officials in Qizhou, many of whom are children of noble families. Noble families will not lack food. The people are the ones who really lack food. If everyone donates some, it can indeed solve a lot of problems, but I can't be the first one to do it."
Dong: "Why? Because of the prefect?"
Chang Lian shook his head. "The prefect is eager for someone to donate food. I am worried about my father. Our family is very eye-catching in the capital. I have already been in the spotlight during this flood. If I continue to be in the spotlight, I will be hated."
“Then should we still donate this food?”
"Donate. I need to think about it carefully and choose someone to take the lead. We can just follow behind."
At the Ministry of Revenue in the capital, Zhou Shuren, with his eyes closed, kept urging people to deliver grain and fodder. The table was filled with memorials urging them to deliver grain and fodder. The prepared grain and fodder were gone, and now they were waiting for the autumn harvest.
The grassland tribes were even more short of food and had already launched surprise attacks on several border states just to seize food.
Zhou Shuren heard footsteps and asked, "You are not very busy, why are you here?"
Rongchuan put the food box in his hand on the table, "This is the soup Xuehan made for you."
Zhou Shuren's stomach churned, "No, I don't need tonic soup."
The emperor was afraid that he would faint, so the Ministry of Revenue kitchen always had soup, but he didn't want to drink it at all.
Rong Chuan smiled and said, "I knew you couldn't drink it, so I drank it."
"You drink it."
Rongchuan sat down and really took it out and drank it. His wife seldom cooked, so even if his father didn't drink it, he would drink it all.
Zhou Shuren sighed, "It's still good to be young. It hasn't been long since I grew back flesh."
Rong Chuan thought that if he took supplements every day, he would grow faster. After drinking the soup, he asked, "Dad, did mom go to the farm?"
"Well, I've been staying at the Ministry of Revenue recently, and she wanted to go check on the harvest, so she took a few children with her to stay for a few days."
Rongchuan heard about the harvest, "I have been busy with the autumn harvest and grain transportation recently. The harvest this year is not good, and merchants from various countries have stopped selling grain."
Zhou Shuren stroked his beard and said, "Ah, it's time to pay salaries again."
Rongchuan felt that his father-in-law was the one who had the hardest time, "Dad, you should pay more attention to rest."
Zhou Shuren looked at Rongchuan and asked, "Can you ask for leave for me?"
Rongchuan: "... I don't think so."
Now everyone can take leave, except dad. Everyone depends on dad to get money and food!
The next day, Zhulan went to the orchard to pick fruits and came back. Qingxue said, "Second Master Liu went out hunting and happened to meet Miss Yudie and her friends who were picking wild vegetables. He came back with them."
Zhulan, "There's no chance in the capital. Let's go to the manor. Does the Liu family have a manor nearby?"
Qingxue replied, "No."
Zhulan laughed out loud, "This was chased from the capital."
Qingxue also wanted to laugh. The Second Young Master Liu was so miserable. After the eldest and second young ladies got engaged, the young masters did not stop the son-in-law from seeing them. The Second Young Master Liu could only see Miss Yudie once after visiting them several times, and he could only see her from a distance and could not even talk to her.
When Liu Yuanbo saw the old lady, he stood up and greeted her, "Hello, old lady."
Zhulan motioned the maid to put the fruit down, "This is fruit I just picked from the orchard. I'll bring it back to your mother for her to taste."
Liu Yuanbo blushed slightly. His little thoughts could not be hidden from the old lady. "Yes, thank you, old lady."
Zhulan glared at Mingjing and the others, and Mingjing and the others became cowardly.
Yudie's face turned red, and she was holding the ornament given by Liu Yuanbo in her hand. The ornament was in the shape of her zodiac sign, and she liked it very much.
Zhulan invited Liu Yuanbo to have lunch before Liu Yuanbo said goodbye and left.
On the way back to Beijing, Liu Yuanbo asked the servant beside him, "Today's excuse is hunting, what should I use as an excuse tomorrow?"
Servant, "I think you don't need to make excuses, sir."
Liu Yuanbo thought about the half-smiled expressions of his brothers-in-law. Today, he caught them off guard by surprise. If there is no reason tomorrow, he will definitely not be able to see Yudie. "Yes, the old lady gave my mother some fruit, and I asked my mother to return the gift, which is a good reason."
The servant said, "Sir."
"Um?"