Fortunate Life of the Rural Beauty
Chapter 272 - 271: Bountiful Harvest

Chapter 272: Chapter 271: Bountiful Harvest

Even though Sasa looked fierce and kept adults at a distance, it was particularly fond of children, and its eyes softened significantly when it saw them. Gradually, the children also ceased to fear it. Especially Chu Hanyan who liked it very much, as its fur was white, soft and beautiful. She would often hold its chubby body and rub her small face against its back when she had nothing to do.

At the end of July, Jin Yanzi still flew out every day, taking advantage of the time to play in the woods. But it returned almost daily to accompany Dabao and Chu Hanyan, because they too were reluctant to part with it.

As it had to return daily, it only took Qi Qi and Hui Hui out, not Zhui Feng and Sasa. Although dogs could run fast, it was too burdensome for them to commute over such a long distance.

During these days Chu Lingxuan hadn’t returned home even for his rest days; he was away on official duties.

Chen Ming also became busy, as it was nearly time to harvest the rice. He and Mr. Zeng needed to go to Laohuai Village in Zhongning County. The seeds used in the two hundred acres of field there were all superior seeds that had been stored in the space. However, the old farmers there did not heed Chen Afu’s advice to soak the seeds. Even so, the rice there was thriving; it was said that the rate of empty grains was very low, the hulls were few, the rice grains were full, weighing down the rice stalks, which delighted the tenants immensely.

Before Chen Ming left, Chen Afu reminded him that Chen Shiying was the official in charge of the region, and the condition of the rice there was much better than other rice fields; he and the county magistrate, as well as the officials in charge of agricultural affairs were bound to go for an inspection.

Hearing that he would meet not only Chen Shiying, but perhaps also the county magistrate and other officials, Chen Ming was somewhat scared. Chen Afu told him not to be afraid, and let Mr. Zeng answer most of their queries.

On the second day of August, Mr. Lin and his son from Wangshan Village arrived and brought a basket of tender corn cobs. He was so pleased that his mouth was curved up to his ears. He said, "Miss, this is the corn grown from the seeds you gave me. My god, the cobs are long and large, and some even have two ears. I estimate that each acre of that hundred acres of land could yield over 400 Jin."

Here, the general yield per acre of corn was over 200 Jin, and less than 200 Jin for the poor areas in the mountains. If it could truly yield over 400 Jin per acre, it could be seen as benefiting the people.

Chen Afu was also very pleased and asked Auntie Zeng to cook the corn. She was curious about the taste.

After the corn was cooked, it did not taste as good as Chen Afu expected. It was not very sweet and had little moisture. Chen Afu was somewhat disappointed, thinking that perhaps the corn seeds should have been stored for a few more days, and that not storing them for long enough may have affected the taste.

After pondering for a while, she understood. In this age when many people cannot even eat their fill, the emphasis is on filling the stomach rather than the taste. As long as the yield is high, the expected goal is achieved.

With this understanding, she became cheerful again. She asked for Mrs. Wang and Alu to be invited over for midday meal, and sent some to Manager Luo’s house.

For ancient people, fresh corn was also considered a rare food. Besides the extremely rich, common people seldom ate fresh corn, considering it a waste of grain. Farmers waited until the corn was old before picking it, and the corn meal sold in grain shops was also made from old corn.

Chen Afu also kept a few ears of corn, thinking that Jin Yanzi, Qi Qi, Hui Hui and the other birds must love it.

August fifth arrived. On this day, Jin Yanzi had to go into the space again. It didn’t go to play in the woods, staying with Ms. Chu during the day, and with Chen Dabao when he returned at night.

Chu Hanyan was happily, foolishly content, full of pride. She told Chen Afu, "Auntie, Jin Bao was so well-behaved today, it played with me the whole time and didn’t even go to the woods."

Dabao was much quicker on the uptake. Seeing Jin Yanzi listless and seemingly saddened, he grew worried and asked Chen Afu, "Mother, is Jin Bao about to head south? It must be so, look, it can’t bear to leave me."

Chen Afu sighed without a word. Whether it wanted to leave or not was one thing; with Jin Bao outside, she had more energy to do things. However, once Jin Bao entered, she became somewhat worried. Especially after learning the truth about Dabao’s identity, she was even more afraid of any unforeseen accidents.

Nearing midnight, Jin Yanzi entered the space, and Chen Afu accompanied it. At first, Jin Yanzi seemed somewhat dejected, but as soon as it held Jin Bei, it brightened significantly.

Suddenly, it said to Chen Afu, "Mommy, look quickly. Do you see a change in baby? I feel that its colour isn’t as transparent as before."

"Really?" Chen Afu also leaned in to take a closer look and felt that the colour seemed a bit darker and wasn’t as crystal clear as before. It seemed to be turning into old beeswax. She said incredulously, "Yes, it is!"

Jin Yanzi was all smiles, and it couldn’t get enough of playing with "baby". Chen Afu then exited the space.

Early the next morning, Dabao got up and went outside leaning on his crutch, not even bothering to put on his coat and wearing only his undergarments. This scared Qiu Yue into taking his clothes and running after him.

He first went to the ear room to look around and saw only Qi Qi and Hui Hui in the basket. He came out and checked the birdcages under the porch one by one, but found nothing. Then he looked up at the tree, still not seeing a trace of Jin Yanzi. He knew then that Jin Yanzi had gone south.

With his head hanging low, he went back to the main room and said to Chen Afu, "Mother, Jin Bao is gone. It’s returned to the south."

Chen Afu acted surprised and said, "Really? It’s left today?" She then hugged Chen Dabao and said, "My son, don’t be sad. It’ll fly back next spring."

"Our place is tens of thousands of kilometers away from the south, unlike the nearby mountains. What if it can’t find its way back?" This was the problem Dabao was most worried about.

"It won’t happen. Jin Bao is very clever. Didn’t it find its way back this past spring?" said Chen Afu.

After the meal, she sent the despondent Dabao out.

Chu Hanyan was much slower in her reaction. She waited for Jin Yanzi for a long time, and was very disappointed when it did not show up. It wasn’t until midday, when Dabao came over for lunch and mentioned that Jin Yanzi may have already flown south, that she burst into tears.

The little girl made a fuss for half a day, and Chen Afu had to spend all that time comforting her. It was not until evening that the little girl calmed down somewhat.

In mid-August, after the rice was harvested, Chen Ming and Mr. Zeng returned from Laohuai Village. From their contented, beaming expressions, one could tell that the rice harvest had been bountiful.

They said that the yield of rice reached over 500 jin per acre. Moreover, the rice grains were slender, greasy, and more fragrant than ordinary rice, only slightly inferior to Japonica rice.

The governor and the officials of the Prefectural Department of Agriculture from the capital city, along with the county magistrate and county chief, were all extremely pleased to see such good rice. They even commended Chen Ming and the tenant farmers who had planted this rice, asking them to keep good seeds for future widespread promotion of this kind of rice in this region. If it can be successfully grown in this area, it would be promoted nationwide...

Because of the direct involvement of the governor and the powerful support of the Chu family, the big rice traders and grain merchants who knew about the news couldn’t get in; and the merchants with stronger backgrounds didn’t know about this news. Therefore, these rice crops, including the seeds, were directly sold by Fuyunlai Trading Company and Chen Er Grain Shop.