Chapter 183: A Pity He Didn’t Pursue a Career in Officialdom
Seeing that the topic was gradually being guided in this direction, Wen Xiuyi knew exactly what these two had come for today.
“Ha, that girl Yao’er. She mentioned last time that she wanted to bring the results to let Madam Xie have a look, but I didn’t expect you two would catch sight of them as well.” Wen Xiuyi wore a look of mild reproach on his face, yet the corners of his mouth were hooked with a smile, making it impossible to tell whether he was genuine or feigning.
Manager Qiu, however, chimed in with a question: “Bring the results to let Madam Xie have a look? What does that mean?”
“Ah? Yao’er didn’t tell you? These seeds were actually sourced by Madam Xie, but no one on her manor knew how to plant them, so she had Yao’er cart them back here.” Wen Xiuyi felt ten thousand times thankful in his heart that they had coordinated with Qiu Rongrong in advance. Otherwise, speaking a lie at this moment would definitely leave his confidence a bit lacking.
Manager Qiu and Divine Doctor Jin exchanged a glance.
“It’s quite a coincidence when you think about it. The Qiu family is in the trading business, and traveling extensively across the land makes it inevitable to come across a few rare, exotic things. Madam Xie happens to be the only daughter of the Qiu family, so whenever there’s something strange or unusual, they naturally think of sending some over to her. That time Yao’er went to play at her manor, she just happened to spot them, so she brought them back.” Wen Xiuyi rubbed his hands together as he explained the matter to the two men.
Out of the corner of his eye, he kept tabs on Li Fu, who was sitting nearby and hadn’t spoken much. Although this man appeared not to intervene in the conversation, his ears had been tuned in the entire time.
Who was Wen Xiuyi? He was a shrewd old fox who had lived through two lifetimes. This man’s background was definitely far from small, but he just didn’t know if these narratives would be enough to hoodwink him.
After hearing his explanation, Manager Qiu and Divine Doctor Jin understood clearly, and the parts that Manager Qiu hadn’t been able to figure out previously now seemed to make perfect sense.
“No wonder. To be entirely honest, Brother Wen, I also came across the description of this item in a travelogue during my earlier years. Seeing Yao’er bring it over that day, I felt it looked exactly identical to what was recorded in that book, which was why I thought to come ask you about it.” Manager Qiu clasped his hands toward Wen Xiuyi, apologizing for his presumptuousness.
Wen Xiuyi, however, burst into a hearty laugh, patting his shoulder. “Look at who we are to each other, you should have just said so earlier! Come, I’ll take you all to have a look. Let me tell you, this yield is truly massive. My father has farmed all his life, and even he never imagined this item could yield so much. A production of several thousand catties per mu is truly terrifyingly immense.”
As he spoke, he led the two men—with the tagalong Li Fu trailing behind—toward the storehouse.
Wen Xiuyi didn’t say anything about Li Fu following along. Since Divine Doctor Jin and Manager Qiu could bring the man here, it meant they also trusted this person’s character, so there was nothing to hide.
“Look, they’re all right here.” Wen Xiuyi opened the heavy doors of the storehouse. Instantly, a wave of earthy scent rushed over their faces, yet the three men completely ignored it. They stared in utter shock at the potatoes and sweet potatoes piled high throughout the storehouse, still coated in fresh soil. Every single one was larger than an adult’s fist, making for an absolutely spectacular scene.
“This…”
Wen Xiuyi introduced the crop to the three of them: “This is the yield from a single mu of land. Because the initial seed sprouts were scarce, my father and I allocated just one mu to plant both types. When we harvested them separately, we weighed the results. For the potatoes, a normal mu yields around three thousand five hundred catties. The sweet potatoes have a higher yield, roughly four thousand to five thousand catties per mu.”
The pupils of the three men shrank simultaneously. Li Fu’s hands, hidden inside his sleeves, abruptly tightened as his gaze burned intensely upon these potatoes and sweet potatoes, his thoughts unknown.
Manager Qiu, on the other hand, stepped forward slowly. Entirely unmindful of the dirt on the ground or the soil clinging to the tubers, he picked one up directly into his hands.
“If this item can be widely promoted, it will be a true blessing for millions of people,” Manager Qiu murmured under his breath.
His voice wasn’t soft, and everyone in the room heard it clearly.
Wen Xiuyi rubbed his nose. He naturally wanted to promote it as well, but how to promote it, and who would do the promoting—didn’t that need to be planned out slowly? They couldn’t just carry a few sweet potatoes out, hurl them at people, and say, “Plant this for me.”
That would be a surefire way to get beaten to death.
Yet Manager Qiu was entirely correct; if such things couldn’t be spread widely to benefit more people, it would truly be a tremendous pity.
Not only that, but they also had to find ways to change the yield of traditional grains. After all, these items could only serve as a temporary substitute for grain to help in emergencies. What truly needed to be altered was the yield of staple crops. Only when that yield increased could everyone eat their fill, and no longer fear going hungry.
Only when the people prospered would the nation grow powerful.
Wen Xiuyi knew what Manager Qiu was thinking. Stepping forward, he patted his shoulder and said, “This sort of thing cannot be rushed. Look, now that we’ve grown one harvest, we’ve only managed this much. Let’s take it step by step. Once the wheat is harvested, we can grow another round. By next spring, though we can’t guarantee other places, we can at least mobilize the people in our immediate vicinity first. One day, your vision will become reality.”
Manager Qiu pulled back his drifting thoughts and clasped his hands solemnly. “Brother Wen, I stand corrected.”
“I dare not accept such praise, dare not accept it. It’s just that I feel a certain saying is quite fitting: one cannot become a fat man with a single bite. If a nation wishes to be wealthy and strong, it must advance step by step with solid, down-to-earth strides. Only when the foundation is stable can no amount of future wind and rain shake its roots. This is the utmost priority.”
The livelihood of the people was the basic foundation of a country, and for the people to prosper, they first had to be able to eat their fill.
This was the very root.
Wen Xiuyi’s words plunged all three men into deep contemplation. Li Fu cast several glances at Wen Xiuyi before suddenly speaking: “This humble one harbors a doubt. Dare I ask Brother Wen, since you possess such talent and learning, why do you not pursue a career in officialdom to serve our Annan Kingdom?”
“Haha.” Wen Xiuyi offered an embarrassed laugh. He could hardly say he was too lazy to study those classical texts, so he could only fabricate a reason: “Brother Li praises me far too highly. As for me, it’s not that I don’t want to, but rather that I don’t have that kind of capability. I’ve ground to a halt at the rank of a mere xiucai; otherwise, I wouldn’t have failed the exams for so many years. Right now, staying at home to farm the land with my father suits me perfectly well.
“The tree desires stillness but the wind will not cease; the child wishes to provide support but the parents are no longer there. Right now, I only wish to stay by my parents’ side, tend to this modest plot of land, raise my three children to adulthood, and watch them start their own families and careers. That will be enough, more than enough.”
Although being an official in this era was prestigious, wouldn’t one still have to bow and scrape to even greater officials? It truly wasn’t as free and easy as being a small farmer.
“What a brilliant line: ‘The tree desires stillness but the wind will not cease; the child wishes to provide support but the parents are no longer there.’ It was this Li who was presumptuous.” Li Fu clasped his hands, offering an apology for his thoughtless words just now.
“Brother Li must not praise me any further. If you keep on praising, this old face of mine won’t be able to hold it anymore. Now that the inspection is complete, why don’t we go sit outside? There isn’t even a place to rest our feet here, is there?” Wen Xiuyi spread his hands helplessly.
Only then did Manager Qiu toss the potato in his hand back into the pile. As a result, it accidentally jostled the ones underneath, causing the potatoes on top to go rolling down with a series of soft thuds. Startled, the four men scrambled out of the storehouse in a flurry of hands and feet, slamming the doors shut behind them.
Once they stood firmly outside, they could still hear the shifting thuds inside the room. The four of them looked at one another, and suddenly burst into a collective, booming roar of laughter.
