novelraw Chapter 189
Chapter 189
Chapter 189: Expert Farmer
No matter what you say, to claim you can’t do it—that’s humble, at least you know how to farm, right?
Spending one’s whole life working the fields may sound unpleasant, unsuccessful, or too simple and unskilled, but that’s purely because of a lack of understanding.
Farming is not simple at all!
Especially if you want to farm well, to have your crops yield bumper harvests year after year—in this era, that could be regarded as a status akin to a great scholar.
It should be understood that since ancient times, there have always been people studying agriculture.
In ancient times there were farming families, now there is agricultural science.
Considering today’s low productivity, where people still starve daily due to food shortages, even if Wei Yu were a lazy person, he would want to find someone to improve agriculture and sericulture.
The people regard food as their heaven; no matter how well Wei Yu develops other areas, if food supply is inadequate, it’s all nonsense.
After hearing Zhu Sansheng’s words, Wei Yu thought about taking the grandfather and grandson back to farm. But he didn’t act rashly—first he asked what crops they could farm.
Zhu Sansheng thought carefully, his face slightly red, “Do millet, beans, and hemp count? Back when we still had fields, I farmed the same as the others in the village, nothing special.”
These are common grains grown by the masses.
For survival, the common folk plant almost exclusively staple grains that fill their bellies, and near their homes, in small private plots, grow some vegetables for additional meals.
Wei Yu wasn’t disappointed upon hearing this.
After all, you can’t expect every chance encounter to find a renowned agricultural expert.
Suddenly, Zhu Liang, who had been quietly listening beside them, spoke up.
“My grandfather knows how to graft!”
“Huh?”
Wei Yu was taken aback. “Graft?”
What is that?
Zhu Liang explained, “My grandfather knows grafting. Our family’s back mountain had a few wild loquat trees, but their fruit was sour and bitter. It was only after my grandfather grafted branches from the neighbor’s loquat that those wild loquats became sweet and large.”
That’s grafting indeed!
Wei Yu understood. He looked at a slightly embarrassed Zhu Sansheng and couldn’t help but nod in praise, “You’re impressive, you even graft fruit trees. How can this not be considered a skill?”
Grafting can be simple, or difficult, but in this age when anything technical is rarely passed on, the old man’s knowledge of grafting was already quite good.
“Is that considered a skill?” Zhu Sansheng’s face flushed with a bit of confusion. He smiled, then asked hesitantly, “Young master, if the grain I usually farm yields more than others, would that also be considered a skill?”
Wei Yu:?!
Looking at the sincerely inquiring old man, Wei Yu almost asked if he was showing off modestly.
If the grain you produce is more than others, wouldn’t that definitely count as a skill?
If you told Minister Qi at the Ministry of Revenue this, he’d probably come personally begging for help!
Wei Yu couldn’t help but ask again carefully, “Is it that your usual harvests are more than others all the time, or only occasionally?”
“Every harvest is like that,” the old man hesitated, “but the people in our village later got better too, so now it’s just a bit more than other villages’ yields.”
Wei Yu: “Did you teach the villagers how to farm?”
“Yes. The villagers didn’t choose good locations to farm, weren’t irrigating the seedlings correctly. Sometimes too much water would rot the roots, and the fertilizer, well, that can’t be used recklessly.”
Speaking about farming, Zhu Sansheng suddenly became talkative, his expression changing from uneasy to open, “Nowadays harvests are generally poor, and everyone is from the same village. I have this ability, so if it means everyone can eat their fill, I naturally want to teach them.”
Wei Yu looked steadily at the old man and felt some admiration.
They say when poor, focus on oneself; when successful, help the world. Some people can barely care for themselves, but if they have the strength, they’re willing to help others…
Perhaps that’s the result, though maybe not perfect.
Wei Yu pondered, hesitated, but felt he had a suspicion he needed to share with the old man.
“Old Master Zhu, have you ever thought that your farming skills might attract others’ envy?”
The grandfather and grandson both froze.
Zhu Liang’s brow slowly furrowed, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
Looking at the two, Wei Yu genuinely thought they were somewhat naive.
Not a criticism—just that they were purehearted, single-minded people uncorrupted by the outside world.
Because they didn’t understand how dark people’s hearts can be, they never thought they would be schemed against.
Wei Yu pursed his lips and asked, “Your Zhu family village is quite far from the county city, right?”
“How do you know that, young master!” Zhu Sansheng was very surprised.
Wei Yu didn’t answer, instead asked again, “Do the villagers rarely leave the Zhu family village?”
Their glances at Wei Yu became subtle.
Obviously, Wei Yu’s guess was correct.
Seeing this, Wei Yu asked again, “Before your son lost the land in a gamble, did any outsiders come to your village? Or did anyone from your village go out?”
Hearing mention of Dad, Zhu Liang enthusiastically nodded, “Yes! Before that, someone from our village went to the city to buy salt. Later, because the government sold cheap new white salt, many villagers went to the city, including my dad!”
As expected.
Everything fits.
Knowing all he asked was accurate, Wei Yu was about eighty percent sure of his suspicion.
He looked at the worried old man, who seemed to realize something, then explained, “You understand the hardships your villagers go through, so you surely also understand the sufferings of people elsewhere. A farming skill like yours is not common; many people, like those in your village, farm poorly and have bad harvests.”
“Your skill is rare in the world, like a child clutching gold. If a person with bad intentions sees it, they will surely want you to work for them—like… that wealthy man who took your land.”
Seeing the stunned grandfather and grandson, Wei Yu sighed softly, “In the past, you and your village people seldom went out, and harvests were similar. Without asking specifically, your farming skill was naturally unknown. But where there are no secrets, wind will find a way through…”
Those villagers who went to the city to buy salt, including Zhu Liang’s dad, among them someone must have revealed Zhu Sansheng’s skills—maybe to brag, or maybe just by a slip of the tongue. Regardless of how, the end result was that the wealthy man heard about it.
A peasant with no backing but exceptional farming skills.
If met with an honest person, maybe they would hire the farmer with silver to improve their harvests. But in this world, there are many who abuse power wantonly.
If a little trick can bring a big harvest, why pay someone year after year?