The old man said at that time, "Well, the potatoes are growing very well. If you dig one out, there will be several inside."
Xu Qing didn't need to be excited after hearing this. He was very worried before, but now it seems that it is really a double happiness.
Then Xu Qing pulled the old man's leg and said, "Quick, take him to have a look."
"Okay, sir, just follow him." The old man nodded and said to Xu Qing.
As he spoke, he walked aside.
Then everyone made way and followed Xu Qing.
At that time, Li Ming crossed his legs and said to Liang Cheng, "Senior Liang, he also went to take a look."
"Go, go." Liang Cheng mistakenly waved his legs and said.
After everyone left, Liang Cheng turned around and walked towards his small tent.
He had not had a good night's sleep those days. Now that the dam was completed, he could finally have a good night's sleep.
Xu Qing followed the old man to their farm. The old man smiled and said to Xu Qing, "Master Xu, we are here."
As he said that, the old man walked into the field, bent down and pulled out a potato vine. When it was all unearthed, he saw five or six bowl-sized potatoes hanging from the roots of the potato vine.
Then the old man walked up to Xu Qing and said, "Sir, let me see."
"Okay, okay." Xu Qing pulled a potato from the east, put the potato in his lap, and couldn't help but cheered.
The people behind him also started talking at that time, "The potatoes in his field are also that big."
"His family is not that big, but there are quite a lot of potatoes stuck in the dough."
Xu Qing then turned around and said to the villagers behind him, "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to him first."
Seeing the crowd coming quietly, Xu Qingna asked, "Have all the potatoes in our fields grown?"
"All grown up, my lord."
"His home feels a little small, and he must be begging for a few more days."
"Okay, now that they are almost grown, they will start digging slowly now. The weather will get colder, and it will not rain even from the east. Then digging will become very difficult." Xu Qing said at that time. With.
Then an aunt stood up and asked Xu Qing, "Mr. Xu, what should I do after the potatoes are dug out?"
"Don't worry about that. When the time comes, everyone will gather the potatoes together, and he will ask people to take them outside to sell or exchange for some things needed in the winter." Xu Qing then said again.
As soon as Xu Qing finished speaking, people in Gaodong began to discuss, listening to Xu Qing's words, whether he would let everyone's potatoes be sold together.
Xu Qing naturally knew that some people were unwilling, but every household went to sell potatoes. Not to mention the long way outside, what should some people who had lost their labor force do
Yu Fou and Xu Qing said at that time, "The capital will be flooded next year, but the people standing there will not escape death. They are lucky and have great fortunes. Jie Donglai is looking for a way to survive the winter, but they don't even have anything to survive the winter." "
Xu Qing frowned slightly as he spoke, and then continued, "He knows that everyone wants to sell their own, but have you ever thought about what to do with those families who have lost their labor force in the floods?"
"Sir, how should we divide the things we exchanged for potatoes?" A voice came from the crowd at that time.
At that time, Xu Qing said, "Don't worry, everyone. In exchange for the things and the money sold, he will pay them according to the head of each family. Now that they have escaped the flood and plague, they can't starve to death in the winter when they come from the east." Death, so what everyone wants to do is to work together to get through that winter."
"Master Xu is right. We all want to work together to get over that winter. At his age, he has escaped floods and plagues. It will be fine if he comes from the east to get over that hurdle. We are all fellow villagers. Yes, don’t worry about those things." An elderly man said loudly.
As soon as the old man finished speaking, someone in the crowd said, "Since the old man has agreed, they have something to say. Mr. Xu is such a good official who only cares about the people. He listens to Mr. Xu."
"He also listens to Master Xu..."
"He also listens to Master Xu..."
Everyone in the crowd nodded and said.
Seeing that everyone relented, Xu Qingna nodded with satisfaction, then stretched out his legs to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said, "Since everyone agrees, well, they will start working and dig potatoes at midnight on the bright moon, how about it?"
"Everything must be obeyed by Mr. Xu!" the villagers all said together.
Then Xu Qing said to everyone, "Okay, people in each village will start digging from the east, and everyone will divide the work one by one. Then he will ask people to hire carriages and transport the potatoes in batches to the capital city. The towns are going to sell, and each village can elect a representative to go with them.”
"Okay." Everyone nodded in response.
Xu Qing said at this time, "In that case, everyone should go back quickly and get it done early. Everyone's confinement will be easier next winter."
Then everyone started to disperse.
When everyone was almost gone, Xu Qing turned to Li Ming and said, "Come on, they should go back and get ready." "
"No, sir." Li Mingguo showed off his legs, then followed Xu Qing back to the government office.
Government office.
After being disturbed by several people, the scene outside the government office has returned to its previous appearance.
However, the furnishings outside the house are extremely poor.
When Zheng Qiu and others saw Xu Qing coming back, they saluted him, "Master Xu."
"Let's avoid those false etiquette in the future. Although he is no longer the magistrate, we are still his good brothers." Xu Qing said to several people at that time.
Several people nodded after hearing this.
Xu Qing then walked to the chair and said to several people, "Now the villagers have begun to dig potatoes. They must not be idle. Who among us is willing to go to several towns near Jiandu to sell them? Who is willing to leave the potatoes?" Come and gather the potatoes dug by the villagers?"
Several people looked at each other, and then Zheng Qiu stood up and said, "Sir, he is willing to go to the towns near the capital. He is familiar with it."
"Then he will follow Brother Zheng and help together." Zhao Po, the guard who came from the imperial city at that time, said.
At this time, Su Tong glanced at Zhao Po and then said, "Then he will go too."
Before they came to build the capital, Su Tong and Zhao Po regarded each other as brothers and did everything together. Originally, it was arranged for Zhao Po to come to build the capital this time. Later, Su Tong asked his superiors for orders. Then he also joined the team escorting Xu Qing.
"Well, Li Ming and a few of us will stay in Jiandu. Gathering all the potatoes together will save a lot of time." Xu Qing nodded at that time and then said.
After several people heard this, they crossed their legs and responded, "Zuo Ming!" "
"Let's all go now, remember to hire a few more carriages." Xu Qing then warned.
Then several people responded and walked outside.
Xu Qing stood up at that time and couldn't help but look outside. Now all their hopes were placed on those potatoes. If they sold well, the people would not have to worry about their livelihood that winter.
Thinking of that, Xu Qing couldn't help but pray silently in his heart, hoping that God would open his eyes. Those people have already suffered too much next year, and they should not be allowed to suffer anymore.
At dawn.
After Xiao Mu and others had breakfast, they said goodbye to General Li. The group of people rode on horses and walked towards Suizhou, the nearest city to the capital.
A few people decided to check it out first. If it was not available in Suizhou, they would look elsewhere.
One day passed in the blink of an eye.
Early in the morning, Li Ming and others gathered the potatoes dug by the villagers last month and brought them to the gate of the government office.
Fully loaded with ten carriages!
Xu Qing came out at that time and saw the potatoes being loaded in the carriage. He couldn't help but feel happy. He saw that the potatoes were big and round, and they would definitely sell for a good price.
At this time, the elected representatives of each village gathered at the gate of the government office.
Xu Qing turned to those people and said, "Everyone is here, so he will give you a few more words. Please be extra careful when escorting potatoes. Don't make your own decisions when encountering problems. Please obey Manager Zheng in everything." .”
"Don't worry, sir, they have remembered it." Several people nodded in response.
Immediately, under the leadership of Zheng Qiu, the carriage pulling Tudou began to walk towards Suizhou, the nearest capital.
Suizhou City.
As the time of Shen approached, Xiao Mu and his entourage rode at full speed and arrived at Suizhou City.
As soon as we entered the city, we heard the sound of people selling goods on the street.
Xiao Mu and his party then decided to live in the east.
It was still early, so Xiao Mu asked two people to follow him out and go to the grain store first to check the situation.
Then several people walked out of the inn.
After asking around for a while, they first came to the largest grain store in Suizhou.
Xiao Mu looked up at this time and saw the signboard of the store saying 'Food is the first priority for the people'.
Then several people walked into the grain store.
The grain shop looked deserted at this time. The shopkeeper who was walking inside the counter saw Xiao Mu and others walking in. He then raised his head and glanced at them, and then continued to calculate the accounts, "Let's wait for something."
"Okay." Xiao Mu nodded in agreement.
After a cup of tea, I saw that the shopkeeper was looking down and calculating the accounts, as if he had forgotten them.
At that time, the two people who followed Xiao Mu could not help but frown. They glanced at each other, then walked to the counter, put the sword in their legs hard on the counter, and then looked at the shopkeeper and said, " He said, "What do I mean? I won't be able to do that business?"
"Master, please be patient. Now that the accounts have been settled, he will be here soon." The shopkeeper raised his head and said to the two of them with a smile on his face.
Then he walked out of the counter, walked to Xiao Mu, showed off his legs and said, "Young Master, I really can't make a mistake."
"No problem, how many stones of rice are there in our grain shop?" Xiao Mu said at that time, and then asked the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper frowned slightly at this moment, and then asked Xiao Mu, "I wonder how much the young master needs?"
"One hundred stones." Xiao Mu then said to the shopkeeper.
After hearing this, the shopkeeper frowned and said with an apologetic smile, "I'm really sorry, sir, they don't have that many grain shops."
"Aren't you saying that our place is the largest grain store in Suizhou? Why doesn't it only have a hundred stones?" The shopkeeper just finished speaking, and Rui Yi next to him said.