The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 226: Cooperation

Following the gift of congratulations from the Officer of the Department of Finance, several more officials arrived the next day. Since the Shen family’s residence was deep within the village and the visitors were in official attire, and with Chu Qichang’s earlier hint, everyone knew who the visitors were.

The likes of Old Man Chen, Mrs. Chen, Old Man Lu, and Mrs. Lu, who were traditional villagers, could hardly recognize the different ranks of officials. If Sang Luo hadn’t come to the village and started a business, they might have rarely gone to the county town themselves. In their lifetime, they had rarely encountered officials, with the most common being the village head before moving to Shezhou. Larger officials, like those collecting taxes, were imposing figures.

When the officials were heading towards the Shen family, all the villagers who had been working on their own land hurriedly gathered near the Shen family’s house. Even the heavily pregnant Feng Liuniang followed from a distance and joined the others near the Shen residence, though no one approached too closely, observing Shen Lie and Sang Luo’s reactions.

Seeing the officials talking at the Shen house for a while and then moving to the top of the Shen family’s hill before leaving amicably, the whole village was puzzled. When Shen Lie and Shopkeeper Xu sent the officials off, everyone gathered at the Shen house eagerly awaiting their return.

Mrs. Chen first scrutinized Sang Luo. Seeing her calm and unperturbed, she sighed in relief. Curiosity soon followed, and she asked, “Ah Luo, what officials were these? Why are there three different colors of official uniforms—red, green, and blue? Is this because Ah Lie passed the state exam?”

Old Man Chen shook his head, “No, they didn’t go to the Xu family and instead went up the mountain.”

Mrs. Chen considered that Chu Qichang had visited to guide Shen Lie and the family’s efforts in the mountains, but she kept this thought to herself.

Sang Luo smiled and explained that different ranks of officials had different uniform colors. Mrs. Chen’s curiosity was piqued: “Which official is the highest?”

“The Prefect,” replied Sang Luo.

“Is it the one in the green uniform?” She referred to the chief official, since they knew Chu Qichang, but the chief official looked older.

Sang Luo shook her head, “The one in the green uniform is the chief official; the Prefect is the one in deep crimson.”

Mrs. Lu exclaimed, “So young? Is he the highest official?”

Sang Luo smiled, noting that the Prefect’s background must be impressive to have married into the Fan family of Chenliu. Official rank is not always determined by age. She praised the Prefect for his youth and capability and then shifted the conversation to the main topic, saying, “The Prefect and chief official came today because they saw the seeds we prepared last night. They are interested in the method of seeds cultivation.”

She explained that the government might use grain to exchange for the seeds from each household.

No one was unhappy with this. Old Man Lu said, “Exchanging for grain is good; we’re more accustomed to eating grain.”

seeds do have a high yield, especially this year, as Sang Luo had improved the cultivation method, leading to a much higher harvest than the previous casual planting. This year, every household would plant seeds and wouldn’t plant less.

However, even with the increased yield, some of the stored seeds were still used as staple food. After eating seeds for several years, it wasn’t as satisfying as regular grain. If the government was willing to trade seeds for grain, they were happy to do so.

Mrs. Gan, being shrewd, asked, “Was there any mention of the terms of exchange?”

Sang Luo shook her head, “It’s being handled by Chu Qichang. We should receive news in a day or two. seeds were originally a medicinal ingredient, so their price was high. However, with large-scale cultivation, the price will drop, especially given the current high grain prices. We’ll have to wait and see what the official notice says.”

This was reasonable. The Gan family had also observed the high grain prices in the state city; even the prices for old rice and beans were quite steep. However, knowing that the matter was being handled by Chu Qichang reassured everyone. In their eyes, Chu Qichang was considered a very honest official. Aside from other matters, he had been very generous in rewarding the mountain people, paying a full seven and a half taels of silver, and providing ample rewards for the mountain land.

Understanding that having officials involved was a good and acceptable thing, the villagers dispersed to return to their work.

While the other families left, Mrs. Chen stayed behind.

“Ah Luo, how much of the seeds do you plan to give to the government? And how much will you keep for yourselves?”

Chen Dashan and Zhou Ge had told their families about the events of the previous night. Mrs. Chen had praised Chen Dashan extensively, believing that working with Sang Luo was better than being a low-ranking official. Even if Sang Luo was selling tofu and they were growing beans, Mrs. Chen felt reassured.

Now, she wanted to hear Sang Luo’s plans to understand how much they could allocate to the government and keep for themselves.

This year, Sang Luo had experimented with a small plot of land using improved planting methods. The yield was indeed high, but it required more seeds. Mrs. Chen recalled, “I remember you planted three acres of refined seeds this spring and harvested about 200 kilogram of seeds?”

When they fled into the mountains, they had scales at home, and these items were not cheap, so they brought them along. Of course, they only weighed the seeds roughly, relying mostly on estimation.

Sang Luo nodded, “Yes, this year was just a test. Next year, I plan to divide the land into several plots and experiment with different planting densities. However, given the current situation in Shezhou, the government is also having a hard time. I plan to give the four to five hundred kilogram of seeds I brought this time to the government and keep only the batch remaining in the mountains for ourselves.”

They had been in a hurry to leave, and with everyone busy opening up land and recruiting mountain people for the government, there were still many things left in the valley that hadn’t been taken out—grain, seeds, and sheep kept in the valley.

Mrs. Chen’s eyes widened, “Aren’t you still holding seven or eight hundred kilogram of seeds? Are you planning to use them all for seeds?”

And it sounded like Sang Luo was initially planning to use all 1200 to 1300 kilogram of seeds as seeds???

The old lady was quite shocked. Considering the rough planting and the refined three acres of land, everyone estimated that each mu yielded over 300 kilogram.

If she used over a thousand kilogram of seeds as seeds, Mrs. Chen found it hard to even calculate how much land could be planted and how many seeds could be harvested.

While she couldn’t compute 1200 or 1300 kilogram, she could manage with 700 or 800 kilogram. This year, Sang Luo used about 70 kilogram of seeds per mu, so 700 kilogram would be enough for ten mu, which means 3000 kilogram!!!

3000 kilogram!!!

Mrs. Chen imagined the scale and touched her rapidly beating chest: “How can you possibly eat that much? Even if you sell it, seeds can only be stored for up to six months. If they aren’t sold in time, they’ll spoil. Plus, everyone is growing seeds now; where will you sell them?”

The old lady was starting to worry. Knowing that Sang Luo was always methodical, she steadied herself and asked, “Ah Luo, do you have a stable method for selling these seeds, or a way to preserve them for longer?”

Sang Luo smiled. She had always been close with the Chen family, especially Mrs. Chen. She took her to the kitchen and said, “Grandmother, yesterday Brother Dashan mentioned that your mountain land is managed similarly to ours. Did he and Ah Ge tell you about it?”

“Yes, they did. This is a good approach. There’s nothing more reliable than working with you. Thank you for taking this on.”

Mrs. Chen knew that Brother Dashan and Shen Lie’s relationship played a part, but over the years, Ah Luo had always remembered the rice and sugar water they sent.

Sang Luo said, “Let’s not be polite. I’ve already told Brother Dashan and Sister-in-law that growing and raising things carries risks, and you’re aware of that.”

Mrs. Chen nodded, “Yes, I understand. Even with great wealth, the risks in farming and raising livestock are clear.”

By this point, they had reached the kitchen, and Sang Luo got straight to the point, “There’s something I wanted to discuss with you. I won’t hide it from you—seeds aren’t just for our current consumption. They can be processed into products that sell well.”

Mrs. Chen’s eyes brightened, “Tell me more.”

Sang Luo smiled and said, “seeds can be made into seeds flour and seeds noodles, whether fresh or dry noodles that can be stored for a longer time. However, we can’t do this yet as we need flour. I plan to rent a shop in the eastern market of the state city next year after the seeds harvest and run this business together. I will provide the recipe and the shop, and your family can make and sell the noodles. What do you think?”

“Partnering? You’ll teach us the recipe?” Mrs. Chen had thought it was good enough if they could sell the raw materials to Sang Luo. Now hearing that the recipe would be shared, she was stunned.

“Yes, as you know, our family is small, and making noodles requires a lot of effort. Neither I nor An Ning can do it every day. I have the recipe, and I trust your family to handle it. I believe our two families working together is the best approach. Thus, there’s no need to worry about having too many seeds; we can sell them. My main concern is flour, but it’s likely to be available by next winter. I also plan to grow some wheat on our thirty mu of land.”

In her own time, northern regions could only grow one crop of millet, while southern regions could grow two crops—one of rice and another of winter wheat. Although this method was uncommon here and most people alternated crops with beans, which was due to concerns about soil fertility, Sang Luo planned to give it a try.

They had arrived a bit late this year, and the land hadn’t been opened up in time.

Mrs. Chen was still in disbelief: “You really want us to partner up?”

The recipe—wasn’t that something to be kept a secret?

But she knew well that her family was trustworthy. Even Zhou Ge’s daughter-in-law was good-natured, and no one would harbor any bad intentions. With this in mind, she straightened up and patted her chest, “Ah Luo, don’t worry. You can trust us with the recipe. If we do partner up, we will make sure to keep it safe. If the partnership stops, we won’t take advantage.”

She then spat twice for emphasis: “What am I saying? Such a good business should not be abandoned. It should be run for a long time.”

Sang Luo smiled at this: “It’s not something we can be sure of. If a better opportunity arises in the future, it wouldn’t be a loss even if we stop then.”

These were comforting words, and Mrs. Chen’s face lit up with a smile: “In that case, should I plant more seeds this year? Our seeds won’t yield as much as yours, so we won’t have a lot to give to the government. At most, we could exchange about a hundred kilogram for food, and I wouldn’t want to give more than that.”

Sang Luo didn’t think much of it: “A hundred kilogram is already quite a lot. Besides, it’s not just our village; the mountain people we brought out also planted seeds. The government officials will see this when they go around. Most of these seeds are for people originally in the state city or other counties. It’s enough if each household contributes a little.”

Then, remembering something, she said to Mrs. Chen: “For the remaining mountain land, plant more mung beans.”

Mrs. Chen looked at her: “Can mung beans also be used to make food for sale?”

Sang Luo nodded: “Yes, they can. It’s similar to other foods. I’ll also teach your family how to process them. We can start as soon as we harvest the mung beans next fall.”

By the time Shen Lie returned from seeing someone off, Sang Luo had already finalized the partnership details with the Chen family. They just needed to discuss the division of profits and draft a formal agreement.

There was no rush; seeds and mung beans hadn’t been planted yet. Mrs. Chen didn’t have a concept of this yet. She thought of the partnership as just providing labor, and whatever Sang Luo decided was fine.

The old lady was delighted, already thinking about how to protect the recipe Sang Luo had given her. Remembering the large lock Sang Luo had installed on the back courtyard in Shili Village, she said, “Our family’s land is large. I won’t plant vegetables in the back anymore. We’ll plant everything on the mountain land next spring. Building a house can wait; we’ll first build a large courtyard. Ah Luo, please help us figure out how to set up the things you mentioned. Do we need to build any additional rooms? If so, you can draw a plan, and we’ll build according to it.”

Both the old and young women spoke with smiles on their faces.

Shen Lie only heard the latter part and asked, “What kind of rooms are you planning to build?”

Mrs. Chen cheerfully replied, “Ask Ah Luo about that. I need to get back to work on the mountain. We need to open up as much land as possible by next spring.”

She left with a smile and a brisk pace.