Chapter 317 - Chapter 317: Chapter 304: Sweet Potato (1/2)
Chapter 317: Chapter 304: Sweet Potato
Translator: 549690339 |
Having spoken, the man at the front walked away briskly.
The other two quickly followed him.
After two more days of busy work, a breeze blew in the scorching dog days.
The wind brought no characteristic sense of stuffiness and suffocation as usual, but rather, a slight coolness that made people feel comfortable.
Zhuang Qingning, riding in the carriage at this moment, didn’t feel hot at all.
Ding Gaochang was also quite pleased with today’s coolness. After all, if it were hot and he would be sweaty, it would inevitably be awkward to share a carriage with Zhuang Qingning.
Luckily, the weather was cool, making it an ideal day for travelling.
Perhaps this could be called taking advantage of both the heaven and earth.
Ding Gaochang was in a good mood because of this, and his tone was slightly upbeat while talking to Zhuang Qingning.
“Since Miss Zhuang mentioned last time about adapting to local conditions, I returned to the County Government Office and ordered people to investigate what kind of crops the surrounding towns and villages mainly produce, and what the villagers are good at.”
“Our county is a small one. The peddlers, who often roam the streets and alleys, quickly figured out what was produced and what was made in each location. In this Miao Village, the nearby lands are sandy, where only sweet potatoes can thrive. But these sweet potatoes have black skin, and eating too much can cause acid reflux. Also, sweet potatoes are common produce, hard to sell, and cannot be exchanged for food crops. Consequently, farming here is the least profitable profession.”
“Because of this, most of the villagers find ways to do work outside to earn some silver to support their families. Those left behind in the village are the elderly, weak, women and children. They are so busy with the crop fields that they can only leave them fallow. But if the fields are not planted, this would be a waste of perfectly good land. Nowadays, the emperor emphasizes agriculture and the fields are the basis of the country’s stability. If this continues, with fields lying fallow and people all turning to business, it will be greatly inappropriate.”
“Also, the people of Zhangqiaozhuang mainly cultivate cotton. The cotton was previously sold to a cloth weaving workshop in a neighbouring village. The business of spinning thread and weaving cloth made fair progress. But the workshop has since closed down due to poor business, causing the trade of cotton in Zhangqiaozhuang to decline. Even though cotton is still being sold today, the price has dropped by a third, and it can no longer be sold at a high price.”
“Nowadays, many families have stopped growing this troublesome cotton and started planting corn. But the yield of corn is not good, either. These years, many people have been complaining about their conditions.”
“And there is Lijia Village, where people mostly grow watermelons. In Songjiazhuang, people mainly rely on the nearby bamboo forests for a living…” “In short, just saying these things might be a bit confusing, so I decided to take Miss Zhuang to take a look in person to evaluate the quality of these products and see what could be made of them.”
Zhuang Qingning listened to Ding Gaochang’s words and nodded slightly.
She had to admit that although Ding Gaochang was the county magistrate, overseeing security and criminal matters, he also deeply cared about the livelihood and prosperity of the common people. He had thoroughly investigated these matters over this period of time, and was able to present the findings fluently. It was clear that he had put in a lot of effort into the research.