12dz Chapter 349
Chapter 349
Old Man Zhang's expression changed. This young man looked just like him, someone who made a living digging in the dirt. Hearing the meaning behind his words, someone living in the countryside could immediately guess the gist of it. "Young man, which village are you from? Who wants to buy your seeds?"The government had explicitly stated that these seeds belonged to whichever family they were given to. Private trading was forbidden; that was a severe crime.
Even exchanging them among themselves was not allowed. The grain seeds had a fixed quota and were all registered in official ledgers. There could be no messing around with them.
The man lowered his head, his hands anxiously rubbing the corner of his clothes. "I... I don't dare to say."
The old man in the scholar's robe rolled his eyes in thought. Thinking of his relative who worked in the government office, he reassuringly patted the man's slightly trembling shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid, young man. The government has clearly stipulated that the private sale of good seeds is prohibited. No matter who said what to your family before, you don't need to be afraid. The county magistrate will naturally seek justice for you."
The man looked up. "But, but how could a lowly person like me meet a high-ranking official like the county magistrate? Besides..."
He swallowed hard. "Besides, the one who wants to buy the seeds is... is a relative of the Master Registrar."
Hearing that it involved a relative of the Master Registrar, the old scholar was not afraid; instead, his eyes instantly lit up. His relative was a jail warden who had always wanted to maneuver his way into the Master Registrar's position. However, the current Master Registrar had a strong family background and had been building his influence for years, so his relative had never been able to achieve his wish.
Now, if they could catch the Master Registrar making a mistake, the opportunity would arrive. One must know that in the Great Yan Dynasty, the most important matter right now was these grain seeds.
He looked around vigilantly, his voice even lower than the man's. "Young man, are you sure that person is a relative of the Master Registrar?"
The man nodded affirmatively. "Everyone in our village knows that the Village Head's youngest daughter became a concubine to the Master Registrar's son, and she is highly favored."
Therefore, even though they were routinely exploited by the Village Head and bullied by his sons, they didn't dare to say anything.
The old scholar knew what to do. He pulled the man up and said, "Young man, come with me. Today, I will definitely make sure you see the county magistrate. Buying and selling grain seeds is a major crime!"
Even if it was just spoken about verbally right now, it was still unacceptable.
At this time, the three people present did not yet know that a casual chat would bring to light a case, sparing families in situations like the man's from a disaster.
In the Great Yan Dynasty, similar conversations, whether joyful or anxious, were constantly playing out everywhere, centered around the capital city of Shangjing.
Half a month later, this kind of news had crossed the national borders and flowed into the territories of various countries along with the merchant caravans.
The high-ranking officials of various countries, who had already received the news through various channels long ago, still chose to play deaf and dumb when the common people constantly asked them when they, too, could plant such divine grain. They even claimed that this news was untrue, making the people mistakenly believe they were just rumors.
Some people believed the royal courts' words, but even more people chose to believe the rumors.
More and more people chose to secretly worship the goddess statue of Yue Fuguang in their homes.
By the time the high-ranking officials of the various countries noticed it later, this trend had already taken shape in the other countries, aside from Dongyi, and was difficult to suppress.
Coupled with the later news that after the common people of Great Yan personally planted them, the yield of potatoes and sweet potatoes was over four to five thousand catties, and corn was also seven to eight hundred catties.
Worshipping the goddess was brought out into the open, reaching a point where even the royal courts could not stop the trend.
These are all stories for later.
Currently, the common people in Shangjing, as the hometown folks of the goddess, offered her more than just three sticks of incense a day.
They would silently and spontaneously deliver vegetables, eggs, and live chickens and ducks to the front gate of the Yu Manor.
The common people's way of expressing gratitude was simple and unadorned. As long as they thought something was delicious or valuable, they would send it to the Yu Manor's gate.
The gatekeeping servants of the Yu Manor couldn't even catch up to them, and they refused to accept any money. Every day, countless scenes of chasing and fleeing played out, which almost became a scenic sight in Shangjing.
On this day, Yue Fuguang was taking a nap under the corridor when she heard He Jin report, "My Lady, word has come from the kitchen that someone was found mixing poison into the food given by the common people."
Poisoning again!
Yue Fuguang was a bit speechless. Could the people of the six countries and those few noble families not come up with something new for an assassination?
How many times was this now?
"Have you found out who poisoned it?"
"We already have clues. My father and Aunt Luo have gone with Lord Dai Yuxing to catch the culprit."
Yue Fuguang nodded. "Once you and Shen Dong finish your work these next two days, spend more time with your parents. It's rare for them to visit."
"I will listen to My Lady."
She said this, but ever since the matter of the divine grain spread, Shangjing had gathered spies from the six countries, and the outside of the Yu Manor was not peaceful. How could they dare to truly rest?
Even if My Lady had the Divine Artifact Lord by her side, as well as antidote pills, they still did not dare to relax for a moment.
Because protecting My Lady had nothing to do with her own strength or whether she could protect herself. Keeping My Lady safe and sound was their duty as guards.
As the saying goes, to eat the ruler's salary is to be loyal to the ruler's affairs. It was no wonder.
"He Jin, release this news to the common people again. This way, in order to prevent bad people from taking advantage of loopholes, they will stop sending things to the manor."
"My Lady, this is a good idea. You don't know how much effort the Master and Madam of the manor have wasted trying not to accept these things, yet they still couldn't stop it."
What Yue Fuguang didn't say was that this would inevitably arouse the vigilance of the common people. Perhaps, unintentionally, those people would accidentally fall into the vast ocean of the common people's war.
All the people in Great Yan whose hearts turned toward her would become her ears and eyes. When that time really came, it would be fun!
Not long after He Jin left, the two sisters, Yu Ningxuan and Yu Ningxin, arrived.
Fourteen-year-old Yu Ningxuan, who had just entered the courtyard gate, ran toward Yue Fuguang under the corridor in a manner extremely inconsistent with the teachings of a noble lady, shouting, "Seventh Sister, Second Brother just sent word. Those people took the bait!"
Yue Fuguang removed the book covering her face to block the light, looked up at the sweating Yu Ningxuan, and pointed to the teacup on the table. "Have a cup of tea, sit down, and speak slowly."
The two sisters sat down as instructed and poured themselves a cup of tea. After taking a small sip, Yu Ningxuan continued excitedly, "Second Brother said that the cotton will be completely harvested in two days. The first batch of picked cotton balls has already been shipped out today. If all goes smoothly, it will reach Shangjing in half a month.
And those people clearly didn't care about the cotton; they are only fixated on the harvested rice."
Yue Fuguang nodded. The cotton in the Sancha fields was harvested on the same day as the sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes.
The rice was a few days later, and after half a month, it should indeed be finished.
As for her special rice, the yield per mu was even higher than the corn that had drunk spiritual spring water.
A rice yield of one thousand eight hundred catties per mu was truly a miracle and an auspicious sign in this world. It was impossible for those people not to be jealous and not to take risks for it.
Taking the bait was something expected all along.
However, it was understandable for Yu Ningxuan to be so excited. After all, it was her first time participating in this kind of thing, and having a sense of accomplishment was beyond reproach. Even the usually gentle Yu Ningxin seemed to be smiling with her eyes.
These siblings of the Yu family were increasingly to her liking. When she set this plan, they fully supported and actively cooperated from the very beginning. No one questioned the cruelty of the plan or spouted nonsense about heaven caring for every living thing.
"Tell Second Brother and the others to be careful. Don't let them cast the hook only to be eaten as bait themselves."