Chapter 387 Sweet Potato Harvest

On the other hand, Wei Chengyi was not idle either. After getting the list from Xie Yanzhi, he personally arranged people to arrest the four major grain merchants and all the wealthy households. The action was very swift and did not give them any chance to escape. Most of the wealthy households in Chenzhou who could be named were shot, and their homes were surrounded by soldiers, as if they were waiting to be confiscated at any time. The wealthy households who had escaped by chance were trembling in fear. They were not stupid and knew that the military and political authorities were preparing to liquidate them.

The next morning, Xie Yanzhi opened the court to try the case. Wei Chengyi attended the trial as a representative of the military. It was a foregone conclusion that the four major grain merchants had harmed the government. As for other wealthy families who had not participated in it, it was fine. As long as they had not committed murder, they would be beaten with a stick and some of their property would be confiscated before being let go. All those who participated in harming the government, men would be executed, women would be made official slaves, and all their property would be confiscated.

They did not carry out this matter secretly, but handled it openly. Not long after Xie Yanzhi's verdict came out, the news spread throughout the city and soon reached all the counties. For a while, the rich families who had escaped the disaster were all terrified, while the common people applauded. There was nothing they could do. Most of the rich families took advantage of their power to bully others, and the common people had been oppressed by them for too long. How could they not be happy to see them suffer?
The wealth of the four major grain merchants and those wealthy families was very rich, far exceeding Wei Chengyi's estimation. The money and grain were respectively supplied to the military camps and the government offices, while the land was distributed to the landless people by the government, which led the people to admire the government even more and their trust in the government was infinitely increased.

"What a great harvest!"

At the end of August, Yuan Xiu rushed into the main hall somewhat out of control. Shen Xiangwan, who was teasing the little girl, looked up in surprise: "What great harvest makes you so happy?"

"Madam, the sweet potato harvest is great again. The people will not be short of food this year."

Running to her, Yuan Xiu said excitedly that in order to plant cabbage, they harvested sweet potatoes in advance. They thought the yield would be slightly reduced, but unexpectedly, the yield per mu still reached about 6,000 kilograms. Today he went to see it in person, and the sweet potatoes in people's homes were piled up like mountains. So far, they have completely defeated the drought.

"Isn't this expected?"

Blinking, Shen Xiangwan was a little unable to understand his excitement, but Yun Mengyi beside him smiled and said, "Seeing that you are so happy, the yield per mu should still be around 6,000 to 7,000 kilograms, right?"

"Well, the lowest ones are 6,000 kilograms, and some are even close to 7,000 kilograms."

Ignoring Shen Xiangwan, Yuan Xiu was still excited. Although the sweet potatoes they planted yielded 7,000 kilograms per mu last year, the drought this year was even worse, and they harvested it a few days earlier. He thought the yield would be reduced and 4,000 kilograms would be enough, but he didn't expect that the minimum yield would be 6,000 kilograms. How could he not be excited?
"Really? That's something to be happy about."

Yun Mengyi's smile couldn't help but become even brighter. With so much food, they could settle more refugees, which would somewhat ease the burden on Wanwan and Chengyi. She felt sad seeing how busy the couple had been these days, especially Wanwan. She was a woman who ran around outside all day and was really worried about the people. If anyone slandered them in the future, she would be the first one to not forgive him. They had done enough.

"Isn't it?"

Glancing at Shen Xiangwan, who had remained calm from beginning to end, Yuan Xiu couldn't help but shake his head: "Almost all the people have harvested the second crop of grain. They are willing to listen to the government and plant another crop of cabbage. They are working hard to plow the land."

"Well, have each county keep a close eye on it and make sure that the planting is completed in the shortest possible time."

September is coming soon. If they don't hurry up and wait for the cold wave to hit, their losses will be huge. "I know. I'll go back first if it's okay."

As Yuan Xiu was about to leave, Shen Xiangwan hurriedly said, "If possible, remind the people to exchange potatoes or sweet potatoes for some money to buy a few more large-capacity earthenware jars. They will be needed when making pickles. Start buying them one by one from now on so that you won't be unable to buy them when everyone needs them in the future."

Chinese cabbage can only be preserved for a long time if it is pickled into kimchi, so the container is also crucial. By then, large-capacity earthenware jars will be in short supply. If people cannot buy them in time, the cabbage will probably go bad.

"Okay, I'll remind Lao Fu and the others."

Nodding, Yuan Xiu turned around and strode away. Soon, the sound of a car engine starting was heard outside. Ever since he rode an off-road vehicle once, he had been eager to learn how to drive. Ji Shaohan and others did the same as him. After they learned how to drive, Shen Xiangwan was not stingy and gave each of them an off-road vehicle, including Zhou Changqing and his wife, Yue Ruyan and others who had also learned how to drive.

"No wonder you asked Yuanyue to remind the cooperating kiln factories to make more large clay pots. It turns out they are for pickling kimchi."

"It is very difficult for people to have vegetables in winter. With kimchi, they can live more comfortably this winter."

Reaching out and holding the awake little boy in her arms, Shen Xiangwan kissed his fair and tender face as she spoke. They had not told anyone about the snowstorm this year, but had done their best to make adequate preparations for the coming of the snowstorm. As far as she knew, coal mining was also continuing, and they had accumulated a lot of inventory.

In order to deal with the four major grain merchants and wealthy families who were harming the government, as well as the refugee resettlement issues, Wei Chengyi has been staying in the provincial capital during this period of time, and only returns to the space to meet Shen Xiangwan at night. The calendar has officially entered September, and people in various counties are still harvesting potatoes and rushing to plant cabbages. There is no way, some people plant potatoes later in the second season, and the harvest time is relatively later, especially for those refugees who were resettled at the beginning.

There was a bumper grain harvest in the second quarter, and the government collected a large amount of taxes, including confiscating the harvest from the land of wealthy grain merchants. Huge amounts of grain were sent to the government office in an endless stream, all of which would be used to accommodate the increasing number of refugees.

"All those who are unwilling to go will be expelled from Chenzhou."

In the back hall of the government office, Wei Chengyi put down his tea bowl with an indifferent expression. In order to accommodate more refugees, they could only place them in Daping County, Dalin County and Dafeng County on the border. There was no problem a few days ago, but in the past two days, some people have become picky and would rather block outside the government city to receive daily porridge than go to the three counties. Some people even took the lead in making trouble, saying that the government was sending them to their deaths. Regardless of whether those troublemakers were instructed by others, he would not tolerate them. He was willing to do his best to treat the people well, but he would not let them have whatever they wanted.

"Ah."

Xie Yanzhi's face was not looking good either. When they interrogated the four major grain merchants and the wealthy families, they learned that the reason why they harmed the government was not only to control them, but there seemed to be the shadow of the dog emperor behind them. Now that they had just dealt with those people, the refugees started to make trouble again. It is obvious that there must be someone behind the scenes directing them. The purpose is nothing more than to find trouble for them, to make them restless, and even to lose the support of the people.

【End of this chapter】