Chapter 259: Winter Wheat Harvest_l
She had agreed to Xu Zhengyong a few days ago to prepare some medicinal herbs for him, but in reality, apart from the Xingshan County herbs she and Xie Yingying grew on their shared field, there was no other source of herbs.
They only planted four kinds of scarce medicinal herbs on the field she and Xie Yingying managed, which were relatively easy to grow.
Xiumei nodded and said, “Guard Jing says so, and mentions that some herbs have already been stored for you, Miss.”
“That’s great!” Wei Ruo said, unable to contain her joy.
Xiumei was also very happy, “The second young master really is considerate. Even when he is not in Taizhou prefecture, he seems to intuitively understand Miss’s difficulties and helps to alleviate them.”
After thinking for a while, Wei Ruo instructed, “Go ask Guard Jing if he can deliver a letter for me to my second brother.”
“Alright, I’ll go find Guard Jing right away!”
Without waiting for further instructions, Xiumei promptly left.
Wei RUO then moved to her desk, picked up her pen and began to ponder on her return letter to Wei Jinyi.
Shortly after, Xiumei returned with a response from Jing Hu, “Guard Jing said that he can deliver the letter, but he’s not sure when it will reach the second
young master.”
“As long as it can be delivered, that’s fine.”
Wei Ruo did not have any pressing matters, and was not anxious about the letter’s arrival time.
Wei Ruo then sat at her desk and wrote for a while. Unlike Wei Jinyi’s brief communication, she had filled three pages in no time.
She wrote mostly about trivial matters, sharing with Wei Jinyi all the recent happenings, except the incident of being slapped – – Wei Ruo did not want Wei Jinyi to know about it.
After wrapping the completed letter in an envelope, Wei Ruo asked Xiumei to deliver it to Jing Hu.
###
The winter wheat planted at Wei Ruo’s farm in Government City was sown a few days later than that in Xingshan County, thus the harvest time was a little later.
The start of the harvest made the farm bustling with activity.
Working from dawn to dusk for several days, the previously empty granaries quickly got filled with wheat.
The joy of harvest permeated every person on the farm.
Naturally, Wei Ruo was also very happy, as she loved the feeling of full granaries.
No matter what the rice yield was in the coming year, with this batch of wheat, Wei Ruo’s farm could ensure they wouldn’t lack food until the end of the year.
The farm manager, Mr. Yu, reported with great excitement, “Miss, our wheat yield has reached a thousand jin per mu! I can hardly believe it, a mu of land actually produces a thousand jin of wheat!”
In previous years, although they primarily grew rice on the farm, they would also devote a small portion of the land to cultivating a small amount of wheat. The yield was usually around three to five hundred jin per mu. If a mu of land could yield five hundred jin, it was already considered a massive harvest.
But now, the per mu yield had reached a thousand jin directly! The people on the farm were astounded.
In fact, before the harvesting, everyone had predicted a good yield this year based on the plentiful and big grains of wheat they saw, but no one had expected a thousand jin per mu yield.
Wei Ruo smiled, “The wheat variety used was good as it was carefully cultivated and improved, so it does yield better than the one everyone used to plant.” This wheat was from her space, so its quality was naturally incomparable to the local varieties.
Mr. Yu was still hardly able to contain his excitement, “Miss, given this situation, even if the weather isn’t good this year as in previous ones, our farm won’t have to worry about running out of food! We can even earn a lot of silver coins!”
“Keep the wheat, we won’t sell it outside for now.” Wei Ruo instructed.
“Miss, rest assured, we won’t move the grain in the farm without your permission.” Mr. Yu assured her.
Wei Ruo nodded.
“Also, arrange for someone to plough the land immediately after the wheat is harvested, apply fertilizer, and transplant the seedlings, we have already cultivated in the nursery, to the paddy field.” Wei Ruo said.
“Miss, don’t worry, I have already arranged for this. We will not miss the rice planting time.” said Mr. Yu.
Mr. Yu was indeed reliable in managing matters. Even if Wei Ruo didn’t instruct him, he knew to tell his subordinates what they should be doing.
While Wei Ruo and Mr. Yu were talking, a servant reported that the boss of Zuixian Residence, Fan Chengxu had arrived.
“Did he come himself?” Wei Ruo asked.
“Yes, Boss Fan is just outside.” replied the servant.
Wei Ruo was slightly puzzled. Usually, Fan Chengxu would send someone to invite her to Zuixian Residence. Why had he come in person today?
After a moment of contemplation, Wei Ruo said, “Please let him in.
“Alright.”
With Wei Ruo’s approval, the servant went outside to invite Fan Chengxu in.
Wei Ruo received Fan Chengxu in the courtyard, “Mr. Fan, I apologize for the simple conditions here. Unfortunately, we’ll have to meet in this courtyard.” As she spoke, Wei Ruo invited Fan Chengxu to sit at the stone table and poured him a freshly brewed tea.
-I see nothing simple here, instead, I find it rather elegant.” Fan Chengxu said.
“It is incomparable to your Zuixian Residence.” Wei Ruo replied.
“I’ve heard that your farm has had a bountiful wheat harvest with a very high yield per mu.” Fan Chengxu said.
Wei Ruo smiled, “Mr. Fan, you are surprisingly well-informed. I’ve only just learned of the yield on my farm, and you’re already aware of it.”
“I don’t actually know the exact numbers, but nearby villagers have been spreading the word that your farm has heaps of harvested wheat making small hills, which is much higher than the yield of other households.” Fan Chengxu explained.
Wei Ruo grinned, essentially confirming the news.
After all, everyone had witnessed it. Not only could they not hide it, but there was also nothing to hide.
The smile on Fan Chengxu’s face intensified, “Miss Wei, what about the proposal I made last time? Have you considered it yet?”
Perhaps he couldn’t wait, or perhaps hearing about the bumper wheat harvest on Wei Ruo’s farm further convinced him of Wei Ruo’s ability to improve his tea plantation. And so, Fan Chengxu personally came to Wei Ruo’s farm to inquire about the matter.
■Tve been busy lately and haven’t had the chance to think about it in detail.”
Wei Ruo responded.
“Why not think about it now?” Fan Chengxu said with a smile.
“This matter is quite complicated, I’m afraid I won’t be able to fully understand it right now.” Wei Ruo said.
-In what way is it complicated?” Fan Chengxu asked.
“There are many factors affecting the taste of tea, and a multitude of aspects involved, such as the variety of tea, growth environment, that year’s climate and timing of harvesting. The aftermath handling of the tea, the roasting process, and storage conditions all play a part too. Mr. Fan, you mentioned that you wish for my assistance and cooperation, but I’m not clear about which aspect you specifically want to collaborate on?” Wei Ruo asked..