The Empress traveled through time and space, and she fought for supremacy in the troubled times

Chapter 276 Sweet Potato Planting

By the end of March, the more diligent people in Pingyao County had already finished planting spring wheat.

Pingyao County has many hills and not many farmlands. If the land is divided equally, each person will have less than one mu of land, and the amount of paddy fields is even less, at only three mu per person.

This situation resulted in the people of Pingyao County not being able to grow enough rice to eat, and they had to use the land to grow wheat.

But the wheat yield was really not high. The wheat and rice harvested in a year were not enough for the family to eat. They could only go hungry one day and barely avoid starvation.

Therefore, there is no surplus food at all. If we encounter any natural disasters or man-made disasters, we will starve to death.

However, compared with the previous exploitation of landlords and high taxes from the imperial court, life is much better now.

At least in the absence of natural disasters or man-made calamities, as long as they work hard and eat frugally, they can still make ends meet.

Tian Fu's family is just one of the many people in Pingyao County.

No one in their family was selected by the factory, and they didn't have any skills. They were just honest farmers.

That day, Tian Fu and his wife Liu Cui'e were sitting on the edge of a field, looking at the wheat they had just planted.

Tian Fu wiped the sweat from his forehead. They finally finished planting the wheat today.

"I hope the wheat yield will be higher this year." Tian Fu muttered to himself as he looked at the land in front of him.

Liu Cui'e sighed. "Unless the yield triples, we still won't be able to eat our fill every day. I really envy the people down south. I heard they have abundant water resources and many paddy fields, so they never have to worry about food every year and even have surplus. We're not that lucky. I just hope this year's wheat will grow and mature smoothly."

Tian Fu patted her shoulder and said, "Wife, let's not compare ourselves with others. When you become a person from the south, you will wish you were a commoner in the imperial city. Let's just live in the present and compare ourselves with the past."

"It was really hard before. We were hungry all year round. Many of us died then. Now, things are much better, and it will get better and better. We must trust His Majesty and trust An Guo."

Liu Cui'e nodded, stood up and patted the dirt behind her. "That's right. At least we're not starving now, and we see hope. Hurry up and go home to eat. There are other things to do later."

Tian Fu responded and stood up as well. The two walked home side by side.

When I walked to the village road, I happened to meet the village chief. The village chief had a smile on his face at that time, and I don’t know what good news had happened to him.

Tian Fu asked curiously, "Village Chief, you look so happy, what's the good news?"

The village chief raised his head, looked at the couple, and said with a smile: "It's a good thing to see you here. I won't have to go to your house later. Remember to come to the big drying dam in our village at the time of Xu. There will be great things coming to our county."

Seeing that the village chief was so mysterious, Tian Fu and Liu Cui'e were even more curious, but the village chief didn't say anything more. He waved his hand, hummed a little tune and left.

In the evening, before the hour of Xu, a group of curious villagers rushed to the drying dam. Everyone was whispering to each other, wondering what could have made the village chief so happy.

When the time came, the village chief cleared his throat and said loudly, "Fellow villagers, be quiet! News has come from the county government that the imperial court will promote a new crop in our county called sweet potatoes. They are said to have been brought back from the overseas country of Turan. They have a high yield and are easy to grow. If we can grow them well, we won't have to go hungry anymore!"

When the villagers heard this, they were immediately in an uproar.

Is it true that as the village chief said, once it is planted, we won’t have to go hungry anymore?

If this is true, many villagers became red-eyed at the thought of this possibility.

Tian Fu couldn't help but ask, "Village Chief, are these sweet potatoes really that good?"

The village chief nodded and said, "That's what the people from the county government said. We won't know the specifics until we plant it, but this is promoted by the imperial court, so it shouldn't be wrong."

"How much does it cost to grow sweet potatoes? Will it be very expensive?" a villager asked anxiously.

Such a good thing wouldn’t be so expensive that they couldn’t afford it, after all, it was imported from overseas countries.

Seeing the villagers' nervous expressions, the village chief smiled and said, "Don't worry, the imperial court has taken our situation into consideration. We don't need to spend money to buy the sweet potatoes. We just need to hand over 10% of the harvest to the imperial court after they mature. In case we don't know how to grow them, they will send someone to guide us in planting."

When the villagers heard this, they immediately showed a look of surprise on their faces.

"Really? That's great! After deducting 20% ​​in taxes, we can get 70%."

"The court really cares about us ordinary people!"

"Now there's hope for the future!"

There was an excited discussion among the crowd, and some villagers were so excited that they even knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the imperial city.

He muttered words of thanks loudly.

Tian Fu also said excitedly: "Then we must plant well and not let down the court and His Majesty's kindness."

Liu Cui'e nodded and said, "Yes, this is a rare opportunity."

They don't have to pay anything, just labor, which is the least valuable thing in the eyes of the people. For them, this is a great joy.

The village chief continued, "Everyone, go back and get ready. The county government will be sending sweet potatoes and technicians in a few days. We must seize this opportunity to make our lives better and better!"

"Okay!" the villagers responded in unison, their eyes full of hope and expectation.

Next, Pingyao County began a sweet potato planting craze.

The people of Pingyao County became more motivated when they thought that if they planted well, they would not have to go hungry this year.

After the sweet potatoes were successfully planted in the soil, His Majesty would go to the soil to check on the situation every day. He would be happy for a long time every time the sweet potato seedlings grew taller.

When the autumn harvest came and he saw so many sweet potatoes, he was so moved that he burst into tears and knelt on the ground, muttering to himself, "Thank goodness, God has blessed us with such a kind emperor and court."

The entire Pingyao County is immersed in the joy of harvest, and every household is busy storing sweet potatoes in preparation for a winter without hunger.

Of course, these are all for later.

On the other hand, the people from the Turan Empire have been in Anguo for two months, and His Royal Highness the Prince has been having so much fun that he doesn't want to leave.

That day, he received a piece of news that was like a bolt from the blue.

"What? Going back?"