Chapter 420 - Female Official? (1/2)
In a corner of the capital, at a small teahouse…
“Did you hear about the news? A father and daughter pair from a fishing village were summoned to see the emperor because they are good at growing crops and were even awarded with an official’s position!” The person who was speaking was a man around the age of forty. He was dressed in homespun clothes that had patches on it, and his feet were crusted over with yellow mud. He was a sturdy fellow with a full beard on his face.
“What? Someone can become an official from planting fields? Don’t take everyone for a fool! Who doesn’t know that if you want to become an official you need to spend decades studying your pants off and slowly test your way up? Even during the most disorderly times of the past dynasty, you needed a lot of money in order to become even a lowly official.” This person looked like a county official who had fallen on hard times. He was dressed in a long robe that was going white from being washed and he had a thin figure. His whole head had gone white with age and the look he gave the peasant farmer was full of disdain.
“County Official Suan, did you just come to the capital ah? The whole capital has heard about this, so who wouldn’t know? It’s said that the Yu Family is truly spectacular. The winter wheat they grew yielded up to five to six hundred catties per mu, which is multitudes higher than what other people have done! If this type of wheat can be disseminated throughout the country, we would all be able to eat white flour every day and then eat some meat every few days…” The peasant farmer who had mud on his feet had a face full of longing. Becoming an official was a goal that was too far away for him. His true desire was to be able to eat until he was full and allow his wife and children to eat some delicious foods.
“Older Brother Zhang, my youngest brother-in-law’s second aunt’s cousin works at the yamen. I heard that the imperial court will set aside a portion of these high-yielding seeds to be sold at a fair price. The seeds sold will be the wheat seeds that they got from the Yu Family as well as last year’s seeds, which were from some kind of new plant that can yield a thousand catties per mu. I asked my youngest brother-in-law’s relatives to help with keeping an eye on things. As soon as news gets out, we can rush over to stand in line to buy some…”
The person who just spoke was a man who was a bit younger than the other peasant farmer. He had tanned skin and the corners of his eyes had some faint wrinkles. His clothes had a few patches in them and he had rolled up his pant legs high. He had one foot on the bench and when he spoke, his voice sounded like thunder as it was quite loud.
County Official Suan snorted sardonically and shook his head with disdain, “Can such a good thing actually fall upon lowly people like you? Who doesn’t want to get their hands on high-yielding seeds? I’m afraid that, as soon as word gets out, all of the wealthier families will buy them out!”
The younger man who had patches on his clothing glanced at him and noticed that the man surnamed Zhang was now worried. He hurriedly reassured him, “Older Brother Zhang, don’t panic. My youngest brother-in-law’s family said that the emperor sent Royal Prince Yang to oversee the seeds. Have you heard of Royal Prince Yang yet? All of the members of the imperial family and the high-ranking officials’ families have to tread softly around him. Even the officials at court are afraid of offending him. With Royal Prince Yang in charge, none of those noble and wealthy people will try to hoard the seeds without thinking about the consequences. Our village isn’t very far from the capital. If we come here as soon as the news gets out, we can probably buy some before it runs out.”
The man surnamed Zhang let out a sigh of relief, “If it’s truly like that, then we will soon have better lives! Let’s not talk about the grain that can yield a thousand catties per mu, even the Yu Family’s winter wheat could help us better our situations if we plant a few mu with those seeds. If this can allow us peasant farmers to live a life where we can get enough to eat and not freeze to death, I have no objections to the Yu Family’s father and daughter becoming officials, no matter how high ranked they are!”
“What nonsense! People who plant crops well can also become officials? Then where does that place us scholars? It’s truly too scandalous to even think about! Doesn’t that mean Zhang so-and-so who raises pigs well and Li so-and-so who raises cows well can also become officials too?” County Official Suan thought about how hard he had studied for fifteen years and he had only passed the county level exams after all that work. The fact that someone else could become an official simply from planting crops well was too unfair!
The farmer named Zhang had long gotten annoyed with this haughty scholar’s demeanor and couldn’t help but interject, “What’s the point of becoming an official from studying alone if you can’t help the common people better their lives? The emperor himself has said that the commoners are the backbone of our country. The country will only be stable and prosperous once everyone has enough to eat and enough to wear! Can raising pigs and cows well help us commoners eat to our fill and not freeze to death? The Yu Family’s father and daughter are just this skilled, so their official titles were also given to them on basis of their hard work. There’s no point in being angry about this!”
County Official Suan sneered. People who walked different paths couldn’t see eye to eye. It was useless for him to argue with these coarse people who couldn’t read a single word! He picked up his teacup and drank a mouthful of bitter tea. Although his heart was full of disdain, he didn’t say anything else.
The younger man dressed in clothes full of patches started talking again, “I heard that the Yu Family’s daughter is only around twelve to thirteen years of age but she had also been given the title of a sixth rank official under the Ministry of Revenue. I’ve only heard of women becoming officials in plays and stories. Whether in the previous dynasty or this one, this is the first time I’ve heard of a female becoming an official!”
When he heard this, County Official Suan, who had originally planned on staying silent, couldn’t hold himself back. He slapped the table and raised his voice, “This is a woman who usurps authority and is turning society upside down! Can a twelve to thirteen year old girl plow the land or turn dirt? Yet she was given a sixth rank official title?? How can this be so?!”
“Are you questioning the emperor’s wise decision?” The younger man wasn’t very impressed by this county official who only knew how to make acerbic and stinging remarks. He snorted and said, “My youngest brother-in-law’s relatives also said that although this Miss Yu is young, she’s very clever and hardworking. The minister from the Ministry of Revenue looks highly upon her. Last year, they were only able to nurture that new grain to produce a thousand catties per mu because Miss Yu had gone over and helped them plant. That’s the only reason why they had such a great harvest! Also, she’s the one who came up with the pesticide that helped the Yu Family’s winter wheat get yields higher than the Imperial Plantation can get!”