Please read my translation only at Moonlight Teatime.
If you like our translation, please support us on Patreon or Ko-fi or donate
After a moment of hesitation, County Head Magistrate Qian reluctantly agreed, “That’s only right, only right. Whatever amount Miss Wei wishes to sell them for, I’ll buy them all.”
County Head Magistrate Qian felt apologetic toward Wei Ruo. After all, he had benefited from her efforts and shouldn’t let her bear the burden of contributing to his achievements.
Without wasting any more words, Wei Ruo named her price directly: “Two hundred taels of silver.”
“Two hundred taels?” County Head Magistrate Qian was visibly shocked by the price.
Charging two hundred taels for just a few carts of wheat seeds seemed a bit too much!
“If Lord Qian finds the price too high, you don’t have to buy them. But let me remind you, the optimal time for planting wheat has already passed. In addition, the weather is cold early, so planting this batch of wheat won’t be easy…..."
Wei Ruo left the rest of the sentence hanging, allowing County Head Magistrate Qian to fill in the blanks himself.
Upon hearing this, County Head Magistrate Qian’s heart sank.
If the wheat could be successfully planted, he could report back to his superiors by the middle of next year. On the other hand, if the wheat failed and the rice crop was also affected later, leading to a poor overall harvest, his chances of promotion would be dashed!
County Head Magistrate Qian quickly changed his tone, "Two hundred taels is not too expensive. I'll send someone back to fetch the silver right away!"
“I trust Lord Qian to be a man of his word. On behalf of the people of the south of the city, I thank you in advance. I’ll have the wheat seeds distributed now.” Wei Ruo said.
“Thank you for your hard work, Miss Wei.” County Head Magistrate Qian replied with a grateful smile.
Of course, the eldest daughter of the Wei family had no reason to worry about Magistrate Qian going back on his word, as the two hundred taels he paid wasn’t just for the grain seeds, but also for her expertise.
After Wei Ruo and her people left, County Head Magistrate Qian let out a long sigh, “Ah, I can’t blame Miss Wei for this. If I were her, I wouldn’t be happy either.”
But when it came to the situation with the higher-ups, he was completely confused—he had no idea what was really going on.
Wei Ruo, along with Xiumei, Agui, Xiaoba, and the others, distributed the wheat seeds to the people reclaiming land in the south of the city. She also instructed them on how to plant, specifically advising them to use the dibbling method*, focus on concentrated fertilization, and ensure consistent seeding depth.
*Dibbling is the process of placing the seeds in holes made in field and covering them. In this method, seeds are placed in holes made at definite depth at fixed spacing.
This method of planting required more labor, but it would help increase the yield.
The people of the south of the city took Wei Ruo’s advice to heart and dared not slack off, as their hope for a good harvest next year relied entirely on the eldest daughter of the Wei family! If she said to do something, they were sure it couldn’t be wrong.
Once Wei Ruo finished, she received the two hundred taels of silver from County Head Magistrate Qian.
After finishing the work in the south part of the city, Wei Ruo returned to the city. Seeing that it was still early, she decided to head to Sibaozhai.
The nanny presented her with a new account book and shared some good news.
Despite the fact that Wei Ruo had given out a lot of supplies to help the disaster-stricken people, they were still making a profit overall.
The goods she had purchased in advance specifically to sell to the nobles had sold for a good price, allowing Wei Ruo to make a hefty profit.
“Miss, this is the account book from Xuji Grain Shop. In recent days, the grain store’s business has been much better than that of Sibaozhai, particularly the sales of rice and charcoal. Except for the sweet potatoes that you took to help the disaster-stricken people and the part you requested to keep as reserve grain, the rest have been sold out.”
Given the current situation, even originally wealthy families had begun cutting back on expenses. It made perfect sense that the grain store’s business was better than Sibaozhai’s, as what the grain store sold was more practical.
Enjoyed this chapter?
Support Virichime to keep the translations coming!