In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 659 The Shock of 800 Per Mu!

After the banquet, Zheng Qing instructed the butler to arrange guest rooms for Li Mingyuan and his companion, allowing them to stay at the mansion for the time being.

As for when the two would leave and where they would go next, Zheng Qing didn't ask, and Li Mingyuan didn't tell him either.

However, judging from Li Mingyuan's words, he will likely stay in Qingzhou for a long time, which is naturally something that Zheng Qing is happy to see.

…………

…………

The next day.

After a night's rest, Li Mingyuan and his companion, having recovered from the fatigue of their journey, woke up to find Zheng Qing already at the county government office. Therefore, it was Zheng Qiuyan who was in charge of receiving Li Mingyuan and his companion.

"Squeak!"

The guest room door opened, and Zheng Qiuyan, who was waiting outside Li Mingyuan's door, immediately bowed and said, "Grandmaster, Father asked me to entertain you two."

"No need to be so polite, just call me Old Li from now on."

Li Mingyuan said with a smile, "Then why don't you show me and Li Qiao around the city?"

"Yes, Mr. Li!"

So Zheng Qiuyan led Li Mingyuan and the other man out of the Zheng residence and wandered around the city.

Walking down the street, Li Mingyuan looked at the people coming and going and nodded with satisfaction, saying, "Little Zheng has indeed governed Taicang County quite well."

In terms of prosperity and wealth, Taicang County is certainly far inferior to the capital, but compared to Liangzhou, where Li Mingyuan was before, the people of Taicang County are undoubtedly happier.

When Li Mingyuan was in Liangzhou, he saw mostly emaciated people. Although there were also emaciated people in Taicang County, they were much less numerous.

In addition, the people passing by often had smiles on their faces, clearly satisfied with their current living conditions.

"Old Li, this is Zheng Baolou of my Zheng family."

At this moment, Zheng Qiuyan spoke up to remind Li Mingyuan. It turned out that she had brought Li Mingyuan and the other person to Zheng Baolou in the county town without them noticing.

Upon hearing the sound, Li Mingyuan looked up and saw Zheng Baolou, a three-story building with a huge floor area, come into view.

Zheng Bao Lou is located in the most prosperous area of ​​the county town, so there are many people here. A large number of guests come and go in Zheng Bao Lou, giving people the feeling of a bustling market.

"I've heard that Zheng Bao Lou is full of wonders. Is that true?"

Li Mingyuan asked with curiosity, as he had heard of Zheng Baolou's reputation even in Liangzhou.

According to rumors, Zheng Baolou was a man of extraordinary talent, selling everything imaginable; there was nothing he wouldn't sell.

"The saying 'anything goes' is a bit of an exaggeration!"

Zheng Qiuyan replied, "However, Zheng Baolou does sell a wide variety of goods. Why don't you go in and take a look, Elder Li?"

"Alright!"

So the three of them entered the Zheng Bao Lou building.

Upon entering Zheng Bao Lou, a cacophony of noise greeted them. Inside, numerous shelves were neatly arranged, displaying a dazzling array of goods. Many customers were browsing and selecting the items they wanted.

Some customers were also asking Zheng Baolou's staff about prices.

These guests were not all wealthy; some wore hemp clothes, others silk, and all sorts of people gathered on the first floor, creating a lively scene.

Looking at the scene full of local flavor, Li Mingyuan couldn't help but nod. It was quite rare that Zheng Baolou not only sold high-profit medicinal herbs and rare treasures, but also sold rice, flour and cooking oil that ordinary people needed.

In addition, Li Mingyuan also noticed that the grain prices on the shelves were quite cheap. Although they were not as good as in peaceful years, they were still much lower than the grain prices in Liangzhou.

"Little Goose".

Li Mingyuan turned to Zheng Qiuyan and asked, "Why is the grain in Qingzhou so cheap?"

When Li Mingyuan was in Liangzhou, the price of grain in Liangzhou... Taking wheat flour as an example, the price of one jin of wheat flour was about fifteen wen, while at this time, the price of wheat flour in Zheng Baolou was only ten wen per jin, which was five wen cheaper than in Liangzhou.

"Because the crops in Taicang County have been harvested quite well recently!"

Zheng Qiuyan explained with a smile, "This autumn harvest, all three counties in Taicang Prefecture have had a bumper harvest, so grain prices have also dropped a bit."

"I see."

Li Mingyuan suddenly realized, and then he remembered the scene he had seen in the farmland outside the city when he entered the city. He frowned and said, "When I entered the city yesterday, I seemed to see newly planted wheat in the farmland outside the city. Now that the effects of the cold disaster have not yet faded, will this wheat be able to grow?"

"Ordinary wheat won't grow, but the wheat grown in the farmland outside the city is a special kind."

Zheng Qiuyan explained, "That's wheat seed that Chenjia Village obtained from the Cangmang Mountains. It's called ice wheat. It's said that it can not only grow in the snow and ice, but also has a very high yield per mu, with more than a thousand jin per mu!"

"A thousand jin???"

Li Mingyuan's eyes widened. He was not the kind of muddle-headed official who knew nothing about farming. In fact, Li Mingyuan's understanding of farming was in no way inferior to that of an ordinary old farmer.

It was precisely because he understood farming that he knew how incredible a yield of 1,000 jin per mu was!

In the Xia Kingdom, a wheat yield of 300 jin per mu is considered high, while a yield of 1,000 jin per mu...

Li Mingyuan had never heard of such a thing before, and even suspected that Zheng Qiuyan was joking with him.

"Niece Zheng, you must be kidding us!"

Li Qiao also widened his eyes and said, "Where in this world can you find wheat that yields a thousand catties per mu?"

“I know it’s hard to believe, but this wheat is real.”

Zheng Qiuyan said seriously, "As early as the first half of the year, Chenjia Village had already grown wheat with a yield of 800 jin per mu. This shows that high-yield wheat varieties do exist. So, although the claim of 1,000 jin per mu is a bit exaggerated, I don't think Chenjia Village would fabricate anything."

Yield of 800 jin per mu!

Li Mingyuan couldn't help but gasp.

What does a yield of 800 jin per mu mean?

The vast majority of grain varieties in Xia Kingdom have a yield of less than 300 catties per mu, while the yield of 800 catties per mu means that if all the people of Jiuzhou planted the wheat varieties of Chenjia Village, the total yield per mu would reach about three times that of the past!

Just thinking about the figure of three times the yield per mu made Li Mingyuan's body tremble with excitement.

If all the land in the world could yield 800 catties per mu, then probably no one in the world would go hungry anymore.

"Little Goose".

Li Mingyuan excitedly grabbed Zheng Qiuyan's wrist and pressed her for an answer: "Did you see that wheat yield of 800 jin per mu with your own eyes?"

"no!"

Zheng Qiuyan shook her head, and Li Mingyuan immediately looked disappointed. In his opinion, such a miracle of 800 jin per mu was probably mostly hearsay unless he had seen it with his own eyes.

However, before Li Mingyuan could speak, Zheng Qiuyan continued, "But Father saw it."