Chapter 462: Something was wrong with the seedlings (2)
A Blessed Daughter
Chapter 462: Something was wrong with the seedlings (2)
Translator : Virichime
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Wei Ruo thought to herself that this really couldn’t be blamed on her. She never intended to draw attention to herself—it was Wei Qingwan who had insisted on pushing her forward.
She might not be good at composing poetry, but reciting poetry was something she could manage and she just happened to know a few poems that none of them did.
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After resting for a while longer, the ladies set out for a nearby farmstead according to the Assistant Magistrate’s wife’s arrangements.
The farm had been prepared in advance by the Assistant Magistrate’s wife, with people already assigned to receive them.
On the way to the farm, they passed by a vast stretch of farmland belonging to the nearby villagers.
At this time, the farmers were busy in the fields—some transplanting seedlings, some pulling weeds, and others digging channels to bring in water.
The ladies walked and chatted, speaking of their hopes for this year’s autumn harvest.
Nearby were seedling paddies where the rice shoots had already been planted for some time. After last year’s poor harvest, many households had chosen to plant early-maturing rice this year, hoping to reap the grain sooner and secure an early supply of food.
Wei Ruo looked at the rice seedlings in the paddies, her brows knitting slightly.
The seedlings’ leaves and sheaths were a bit too long, their color slightly yellowed. The internodes were spaced wider than normal, and the nodes curved subtly, protruding from the sheaths.
None of these symptoms were very obvious. Someone who did not look closely, or who was unfamiliar with rice seedlings, would not notice anything wrong.
However, taken together, these signs closely matched a disease that was extremely harmful to seedlings.
If it truly was that disease, the seedlings would need to be replaced immediately—preferably with an entirely new batch grown from scratch.
Wei Ruo walked on a little further and discovered that several consecutive rice fields showed the same condition.
The disease itself was contagious, so large-scale infection was not unusual. But seeing the same issue across the fields of several neighboring households made the situation even more serious.
If they left it unchecked and waited until the seedlings fully deteriorated before hurriedly raising new ones, there might not be enough time.
Moreover, if they did not understand the cause of the problem, even newly grown seedlings could end up suffering from the same condition.
After some thought, Wei Ruo noticed an elderly man resting by the edge of a rice field. She stopped and took the initiative to speak with him.
Seeing her actions, Yun Shi and Wei Qingwan also halted.
“Mother, what is Elder Sister doing?” Wei Qingwan asked.
“Perhaps she has something to discuss with that old man,” Yun Shi replied, not entirely sure herself.
Several other ladies also noticed something unusual and stopped to watch.
Just as their curiosity grew, the old man suddenly began shouting angrily. His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Stop spouting nonsense! What do you know? Just look at how you’re dressed—you’re clearly a young lady who’s never worked a field in her life! If you don’t understand, then keep quiet! How dare you curse our crops! You’ve got ill intentions!”
The old man’s shouting drew over the villagers who were working in the fields.
They gathered around and asked what had happened.
The old man explained, “This young miss claims that the seedlings we planted are diseased and wants us to pull them all out and burn them, then replant everything!”
At his words, anger appeared on the villagers’ faces.
A middle-aged woman said to Wei Ruo, “Miss, even if you don’t understand our hardships, why must you curse us and harm us like this?”
A young man also spoke up, “What are you trying to do? Do you have any idea how hard we worked to plant all these seedlings? You say one word and expect us to pull everything out? You’re a pampered young lady from a wealthy household—what do you know about farming?”
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