jdhmnovel Chapter 159 Will They Sell Me Out?
Chapter 159 Will They Sell Me Out?
When the three of them walked out of the massage parlor, Gu Yin asked with a smile: "How is it? Do you feel comfortable now?"
The two looked at Gu Yin silently. Ye Ningxin looked aggrieved and complained, "Is this what you mean by not hurting?"
Gu Yin touched his nose and said, "Hey, don't worry about the details... just enjoy the results."
The two of them did not agree. It was like the first time they met Gu Yin. They did not expect that she could even fool her own sisters.
Gu Yin returned home feeling relaxed, and as soon as she entered the living room, she saw her father there leisurely blowing on the teacup.
"Dad, you're back?" He's not usually back so early.
Gu Huaiyi took a sip and nodded slightly.
"Dad, how are things at school going now?" Gu Yin asked casually.
Gu Huaiyi glanced at his daughter helplessly. He had just sat down and had been idle for less than a quarter of an hour. "Recently, everyone in the county government has been so busy that they really can't spare anyone to arrange this matter."
"Is that so..." Gu Yin lowered his head and began to think.
Gu Huaiyi did not respond, but just sipped his tea, but his eyes would occasionally glance at Gu Yin.
Sure enough, after a while, he saw his daughter looking at him with shining eyes.
"Dad, if the county government really doesn't have time to do this, why not outsource it?"
"Contract?" Gu Huaiyi put down the teacup and raised his eyebrows.
"That's right." Gu Yin clasped her hands together and said briskly, "Fortunately the county government is not short of money now, so why not just spread the news that the county government is going to build a school? Whoever is responsible for building it can get a portion of the subsidy."
"In short, it's about spending money to get things done. Although it costs more money than if the county government were to do it itself, it will save the county government a lot of trouble, right?"
"When you outsource a project, you only need to send someone to supervise it during the process and then inspect it at the end."
"How is it? Is this method feasible?"
Gu Yin blinked at her father, waiting for his answer.
Gu Huaiyi pointed at Gu Yin and said, "You, why didn't you tell me earlier if you had this idea?"
Gu Yin shrank her neck guiltily and glanced at Gu Huaiyi: "I just thought of this..."
Gu Huaiyi had nothing to say about this, but at least there was one less thing to worry about: "We will arrange this matter after the planting competition is announced tomorrow."
"Are all the preparations for the planting competition ready?" Gu Yin asked in surprise.
Although it sounds like just a competition, and all you have to do is give orders, in reality you have to first investigate and research each village and work out a complete plan.
Gu Huaiyi saw his daughter's excitement and couldn't bear to dampen her mood, so he explained, "Well, I've already notified everyone that the village heads and representative villagers will gather at the South Gate tomorrow."
The next day, at the South City Gate.
Villagers from various villages came to the city gate one after another, standing consciously in the designated area of their village, and asking for news from the people around them.
"I wonder why the county government called us here this time?"
"I don't know. My land is not cultivated yet. If my neighbors hadn't chosen me as a representative, I wouldn't have come."
"Me too. We are all busy these days. If the county government calls us here, it will delay our farming."
A small number of villagers were somewhat dissatisfied, but some people, although doubtful about the county government's approach, remained on the sidelines.
"Our county magistrate is not the kind of person who would ignore the people. Maybe there really is something wrong."
"Yeah, yeah, you'll know what's going on soon. Last time you came, you asked us to pave the way for you. We made some money, too. Don't forget it so quickly."
When they heard someone mention the road construction, the originally restless crowd gradually quieted down.
After everyone arrived, Gu Huaiyi stood on the stage and began to announce to the crowd: "Dear villagers, thank you for taking the time to come here during this busy day. Then I will make it short so that everyone can go home earlier. In order to encourage everyone to grow higher-yield crops, the county government plans to hold a planting competition in the first half of this year."
As soon as Gu Huaiyi finished speaking, the people below immediately started discussing.
"Planting competition? What is that?"
"I don't know. Is there a competition for growing crops?"
"Unheard of!"
"That's right, how can we compete in planting crops? Are we going to see who can plant rice faster?"
"Hahaha, or who has cultivated more land?"
"Look, the county magistrate asked everyone to be quiet. Let's listen to what he says first." Someone saw the gesture made by Gu Huaiyi.
The scene fell silent again, and Gu Huaiyi continued to explain: "Fellow villagers, please listen to my explanation patiently. This time we will use rice and sweet potatoes for the competition. The competition is divided into two tracks, one is the competition between villages, and the other is the competition within each village. In the end, we will not only select three excellent villages from the ten villages, but also select three best planting experts in each village. The selected villages and farmers will receive plaques and bonuses awarded by the county government."
Gu Huaiyi paused and added: "The standard of the competition is based on the per-acre yield. The one with the highest per-acre yield wins. If you have any questions, you can ask them on the spot. There is a yamen runner arranged in front of each village to give you detailed answers. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."
This was the first time that the villagers had heard of such a novel competition. The scene fell silent for a moment, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Well, is this true?" Someone broke the silence and asked his companion.
"Yes, it's actually a competition to grow crops..."
"How can we increase the yield per mu if we plant the same crops every year?" Some people have already thought about management issues.
"The county magistrate didn't say anything, so it all depends on your ability."
"That sweet potato...have you heard of it?" Seeing that everyone was discussing rice, someone finally couldn't hold it in any longer.
Some people were confused: "Sweet potatoes? Did the magistrate mention sweet potatoes? What is that?"
"Yes, I heard it clearly." A tall and thin man said firmly.
"Sir, what are sweet potatoes?" Seeing that they couldn't come up with anything on their own, someone finally thought of the yamen runner assigned to their village.
The person being asked happened to be Gao Fei. He straightened his back, cleared his throat and said, "Sweet potatoes are something that can be eaten just like rice. If you grow them well, you won't have to worry about not having enough to eat in the future."
"Really? Can it fill our stomachs?" Everyone couldn't believe it. Their eyes widened and their faces flushed with excitement as they confirmed with Gao Fei.
"Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, you should at least believe the county magistrate and the county lady, right? This is the crop they have obtained with great difficulty, and now you are the only ones who have the opportunity to plant it. Don't forget to cherish it." Gao Fei snorted in dissatisfaction.
"Well, well, how do we plant sweet potatoes? Where are the seeds?" When they heard that only Ning County had them, someone immediately asked.
Gao Fei then explained the planting method in detail to the villagers. They had been trained in the county government before coming here. As for the seeds: "The ones used to plant sweet potatoes are vine-shaped seedlings. After a while, the county government will send someone to notify you to come and pick them up. Before that, just dig the ground. Although sweet potatoes do not require fertile soil, you still need to spend more time if you want to win the competition."
Originally, Gu Huaiyi planned to distribute a portion of sweet potatoes directly to each village and let them grow their own seedlings. However, after discussing with everyone in the county government, he was worried that the villagers would grow bad sweet potatoes or that someone would steal them privately, so he finally decided to have the county government raise the seedlings in a unified manner. Even if it was a bit troublesome, it was at least safer.
When the competition was mentioned, the villagers came back to their senses from their excitement: "Oh, right, sweet potatoes are also involved in the competition, how do we compete?"
"Just like rice, the yield is calculated based on per mu." Gao Fei answered without thinking.
"So if a family has the highest per-acre yield of both rice and sweet potatoes, will they get one award or two?"
"Of course it's two! Sweet potatoes and rice are compared separately, so there is no conflict."
"Wow... this is great!" I didn't expect the county government to be so generous. "Sir, I wonder how much the prize money is for the winner of the competition?"
Gao Fei was immediately interested when he heard this question. He bowed his head and asked the villagers to gather around. When everyone gathered in a circle, Gao Fei said mysteriously: "The prize money... the first prize is five taels of silver, the second prize is three taels, and the third prize is one tael. Think about it, if the rice and sweet potatoes are planted well, you can get ten taels of silver at once!"
"Ten taels!" Everyone's eyes lit up. If they could get this silver, the whole family would have more than enough to spend in a year.
The villagers actively asked about various details, which made Gao Fei's mouth dry. The situations of the other yamen runners were not much different from Gao Fei's.
Only then did they understand why the county magistrate only gave a general outline on the stage instead of explaining the whole thing.
"By the way, remember to inform other neighbors who didn't come when you go back. If the county government finds out that someone hasn't been informed, the entire village will be disqualified from the competition!" Gao Fei finally gave the warning in a hoarse voice, in order to prevent anyone from sabotaging the competition in order to win.
The villagers shook their heads and said no.
The villagers came with doubts and dissatisfaction, but finally went back with good news, and their morale was high.
They originally made a living by farming. Now the county government not only gave them another crop to fill their stomachs, but they could even get extra rewards if they grew it well. It was simply pie in the sky.
Everything that happened at the city gate naturally fell into the eyes of Gu Yin and the other two who were watching the fun in the teahouse.
After Song Ruorou understood the situation, she was a little worried: "Ayin, you said that sweet potatoes can also fill the stomach. The county government will directly give them those sweet potato seedlings. Will they sell them?"
Now that the whole Ning County knows about the existence of sweet potatoes, it is inevitable that some people will go and buy them at high prices.
"It's their own choice whether they sell it or not. Anyway, the county government only gives each household a certain amount, and they won't get any compensation even if they sell it." Everyone must be responsible for their own choices, and when you see others harvesting large quantities of sweet potatoes, just don't think of doing anything bad.
Otherwise, the county government has plenty of ways to punish them.