Chapter 327: The Two of Us Almost Got Collected as Alms
This trip took the group most of the day, and even as darkness fell, there was still no sign of anyone returning. Just as Wen Yao planned to have Xun Feng go take a look, she heard the sound of a horse carriage outside the gate.
Stepping out to see, she found Magistrate Chen and Wen Xiuyi, with Nanny Shi following close behind as they descended from the carriage.
“Nanny, I was just about to have Xun Feng go pick you up.” Wen Yao let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t worried about her father or Magistrate Chen—those two were going to the yamen, and they had Mu Li following by their side. However, Nanny Shi’s absence for a whole day made it hard not to worry.
Seeing her return together with her dad, Wen Yao felt at ease.
Nanny Shi hastily curtsied: “Making Miss worry is this old servant’s fault.”
Wen Xiuyi took over the conversation: “The two of us saw Nanny walking back this way on our way back, so we came back together. Is dinner ready yet? I’m starving to death.”
Saying that, Wen Xiuyi walked into the house with Magistrate Chen.
Seeing the two like this, Wen Yao asked, “What’s wrong? Dad, didn’t you two go to beg for alms? You couldn’t even beg a single meal?”
Wen Xiuyi let out a sigh: “Sigh, don’t bring it up.”
Magistrate Chen, on the other hand, grunted with a face puffing with anger: “Beg for alms, indeed! The two of us almost got collected as alms ourselves!”
“Ah?”
Under Magistrate Chen’s angry, rattling explanation, everyone finally understood what had happened.
As it turned out, Wen Xiuyi and Magistrate Chen had happily run off to the prefectural yamen specifically to see if they could get some funds allocated from the prefectural yamen to research rice. Yet the moment the two met Lu Ning, before they could even begin crying poverty, Lu Ning started crying poverty to them first.
Ever since Yunwu Town began trial-planting the new high-yield crops, surrounding towns large and small had been eyeing the matter continuously. However, Magistrate Chen was extremely crafty, keeping it under tight wraps. County magistrates from other places had all sought him out, only to be blocked and turned back by Magistrate Chen.
As for these new crop seeds, when he said no, he meant no.
Having no choice, those county magistrates could only come seek out Lu Ning, the prefectural governor, wanting the prefectural yamen to exert pressure on the Yunwu Town yamen so they would spit out some of the new crop seeds.
Yet how many heads did Lu Ning have? His Majesty had issued an imperial decree with great fanfare precisely to let Yunwu Town cultivate enough new crops within two years for nationwide promotion. Never mind that he couldn’t control Magistrate Chen and Wen Xiuyi right now; even if he could, as long as the two of them uttered the single phrase that this was His Majesty’s decree, he would be completely out of moves.
With Wen Xiuyi and Magistrate Chen entirely impenetrable, those people could only come to wear him down. Wearing him down wasn’t even the end of it; recently, several prominent and wealthy families had been exerting pressure on his side through indirect channels, saying that Magistrate Chen and Wen Xiuyi were engaging in some new reforms again, and if not stopped soon, it would bring ruin to the country and misery to the people.
How was he supposed to know what new tricks these two were up to? He had originally planned to pick a time to go take a look, yet before he could go, Magistrate Chen and Wen Xiuyi sought him out on their own.
Speaking up to this point, Magistrate Chen felt deeply displeased, fuming, “We don’t even have enough for our own use! Two years! His Majesty gave us merely two years! Within these two years, we have to prepare the new crop seeds in abundance, guarantee that the yield can keep up, and ensure the quality as well! Share with them? Why on earth should I share with them?
“When they see benefits, they cling to us eagerly wanting a share of the pie, yet whenever they have good things of their own, I don’t see them bringing them out to share with us! At any rate, I won’t give them a single grain. Before His Majesty issues an imperial decree for nationwide promotion, no matter who comes, I won’t give them any!”
Wen Yao hurriedly poured a glass of water and handed it over: “Uncle Chen, don’t be angry! Drink some water, drink some water.”
Magistrate Chen felt the teacup—the temperature was just right—and threw his head back to gulp the water down entirely before continuing, “That Lu Ning even wanted to use money to threaten me!”
Wen Yao, Qiu Rongrong, and the others looked at him like curious babies, asking, “How did he threaten you?”
“He said as long as we share a portion of the new crop seeds with other counties, he will allocate funds to us for researching rice!” Saying this, Magistrate Chen let out another grunt: “Don’t think I don’t know what he’s thinking! He simply feels that our desire to research rice is sheer nonsense—what is there to research about a stalk of rice? Could one possibly crossbreed rice or something? He just thinks we’re trying to get money to do something else!”
Wen Xiuyi and Wen Yao: “Erm…“
Failing to notice the expressions of the father and daughter, Magistrate Chen continued, “He even said he wanted to host a banquet at the restaurant today to entertain me and your dad! How is that hosting a meal? It’s clearly a Banquet at Swan Goose Hall! We aren’t going, so we made up an excuse and slipped away.”
Having heard Magistrate Chen out, Wen Yao asked, “Uncle Chen, how do you know that’s what he was thinking?”
Magistrate Chen froze for a second, immediately covering his mouth to let out an embarrassed cough, saying, “Well… a guess, a guess!” He couldn’t very well admit that he had held the exact same thought previously, after all.
Tilting her head to look at him, Wen Yao suddenly said, “Uncle Chen, don’t tell me you thought it was impossible too?”
Magistrate Chen jumped up on the spot to prove his innocence: “Certainly not! Don’t talk nonsense—I have absolute faith in your dad!”
Wen Yao burst out laughing at once: “I was just teasing you! Let me tell you, this rice really can be crossbred! Hahaha, let’s go eat, let’s go eat.”
Watching this girl walk off merrily, the corners of Magistrate Chen’s mouth twitched. Nudging Wen Xiuyi beside him, he asked, “Is this girl spouting nonsense or is it real?”
Wen Xiuyi spoke up plainly, hiding his achievements and fame deep within: “Of course it’s real. Otherwise, why would I exert such great effort?”
With that, he walked off as well.
“Hey, these two—father and daughter—what is wrong with them!” Magistrate Chen complained under his breath, giving chase: “Wait for me! What delicious food did you make today?”
Although their attempt to beg for alms wasn’t very successful, since they had arrived anyway, Wen Xiuyi wanted to visit the villages he had previously guided to check on their situation. Although Magistrate Chen complained about him worrying all day long, he still obediently followed along, running back and forth with him.
Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong had come to the prefectural city this time specifically to open shops. Since they had already found a manager for the workshop, the two didn’t delay either, taking people along the next day to meet with Ruyun and look for a suitable place.
This workshop didn’t need to be large—so long as there was enough room for work and a few extra rooms to serve as storerooms, it would suffice. The two brought Ruyun to the agency introduced to them by Broker Deng.
Seeing Wen Yao, the manager of this agency was already well-acquainted with her—all being familiar acquaintances, he naturally entertained them in person.
The manager of the agency introduced by Broker Deng was named Wu. Living up to his name, he possessed a robust, muscular build, looking less like a businessman and more like a martial artist if he changed his attire.
However, Manager Wu was quite a decent person. Previously, when renting the courtyard for Wen Yao and the others, he had charged them less silver, proving himself a fair man—otherwise, Broker Deng wouldn’t have introduced them to him.
“Manager Wu, our requirements are simply like this. See if there’s any suitable place—it’s mainly for use as a workshop, so the house doesn’t need to be too fancy,” Wen Yao briefly outlined their requirements.
Flipping through the registry in his hand, Manager Wu finally said, “This… Miss Wen, to be frank with you, among the houses in my registry, the one I find most suitable is actually the small courtyard you’re staying in right now.
“Although that place is somewhat remote, its advantage lies in having no chaotic neighbors around, making it far more convenient for workshop labor. It’s just that with you all staying there right now, it wouldn’t be easy to arrange.”
