The Humble Family’s Daughter Has A Spatial Pocket!
Chapter 1236 - 1052, Drought Conditions

Chapter 1236: Chapter 1052, Drought Conditions

March, Xiliang.

The earth is warming up, and Daohua took Daozi and the twins to Daoxiang Village to inspect the spring plowing situation.

Daohua did not want to raise her three children to be lazy and ignorant, hoping that through contact with tenant farmers, they would understand the hardships of life.

After years of management, the barren wasteland around Daoxiang Village has been developed. With a large number of people migrating here, this area has now evolved into a small town called Daoxiang Town.

Once they arrived at the farm, after Daohua said they could move around freely, Daozi hurried off to find his friends, and of course, he didn’t forget his younger siblings.

With Daohua fostering intentionally or unintentionally, Daozi has now consciously taken on the role of a big brother, caring for his younger siblings wherever he goes.

After the children left, the farm head took the initiative to report this year’s spring plowing situation to Daohua and then expressed his worries.

"Princess Consort, this year’s weather is somewhat abnormal, logically speaking, even if we in Xiliang don’t wear cotton trousers in March, we should still wear a couple more coats."

"But this year, just entering March, I only need to wear a single layer of clothing when working in the fields."

"The weather this year is excessively hot, I am worried..."

Daohua frowned: "What are you worried about?"

Farm head: "I am worried that this year might face a water shortage compare to previous years, so, I think we should plant more drought-resistant crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn this year."

Daohua, recalling the heavy snow that hit Xiliang last year, heard that after a snow disaster, a drought often follows. Now hearing the farm head particularly mentioning it, she immediately took it seriously.

"Plant as you suggested, grow more drought-resistant crops."

The farm head nodded and noted it down.

After the farm head left, Daohua thought for a moment, then went to the fields to check on the sowing progress, and took the opportunity to chat with the elderly there.

Older people are always more sensitive to disasters; as soon as Daohua brought it up, the old folks started chattering away.

"Last year, the snow here was really heavy, and these past few years everyone’s livelihood improved slightly, reinforced housings, and stored some grain at home, so fewer people froze or starved to death."

"This spring, I sensed that the weather was off, there might well be another drought."

All the elders agreed and felt that there might be a drought this year.

Daohua deemed it important to stay in the farm for a day, then took Daozi and the twins back to the Prince Residence, as she needed to inform Xiao Yeyang about this as soon as possible.

If a drought might occur, preparations must be made early.

Not to mention, spring plowing has just begun, letting the people plant more drought-resistant crops would be beneficial.

...

On the day Daohua returned to the Prince Residence, Xiao Yeyang came back from Government Office, and Daohua immediately told him about the abnormal weather this year.

Xiao Yeyang showed no surprise upon hearing this; clearly, he was already aware of it and even told Daohua that some provinces hadn’t had rain since January.

Daohua’s expression changed: "Is there really going to be a drought disaster?"

Xiao Yeyang’s expression turned serious as he nodded: "Judging by the current situation, there are already signs of it, and we can only hope that the drought doesn’t cover too wide an area."

He said, pausing briefly.

"Do you remember the last Provincial Governor of Ning Lu, Mr. Wu?"

Daohua nodded: "How could I forget, he was a relative of Governor Wu, and when we first arrived in Xiliang, we even borrowed grain from him. Wasn’t he transferred back to Beijing a few years ago?"

Xiao Yeyang: "He was transferred back to Beijing, and his position was taken over by one of his good friends. This current Provincial Governor Chang, using the Wu family’s introduction letter, wrote me a letter yesterday asking for help."

Daohua raised an eyebrow: "Asking to borrow grain?"

Xiao Yeyang shook his head: "Not to borrow grain, but to borrow seed grains. The potential drought in other provinces was informed by him."

"Considering the Wu family’s sake, we must lend him some, but not too much."

"If a drought really occurs, the impact on Xiliang might not be too severe since the grain varieties we’ve promoted here are quite drought-resistant and won’t completely fail to produce crops. Other provinces, however, might not be so lucky."

"By then, the Imperial Uncle might even ask me for some grain seeds, so I need to reserve a batch in advance."

Daohua sighed, "Our high-yield grain varieties are still too few. I hope that one day, I can spread four-season crops throughout the entirety of Daxia."

Xiao Yeyang patted Daohua’s hand, "You have done very well already. Think about the past in Xiliang. Although the people there can’t be considered well-off, at least the situation of starving has significantly improved."

"Now, the granaries built by the Government Office almost never have empty stock. After each autumn harvest, what I love most is to inspect the granaries everywhere."

"Xiliang is vast with sparse population; once all the wastelands are utilized, Xiliang might even become the granary of our Daxia."

Daohua smiled, "If that really happens, it would be wonderful." After a pause, he added, "But we still have too few people in Xiliang."

Xiao Yeyang smiled, "We can’t rush this. Now that life has improved, the population will naturally increase."

Time slipped away bit by bit, and the drought situation became more and more apparent and severe.

...

Beijing, Imperial Palace.

The Emperor looked at the pile of memorials about the droughts all over the regions on his imperial desk, his expression extremely grave.

July is approaching, and the drought in provinces like Ning Lu, Fenjin, Qin’an continues, with some areas having not seen a drop of rain since the beginning of the year.

This drought is the most severe one since his ascension to the throne.

Soon, Grand Secretary Yang and the six Chief of Staffs, along with a few Crown Princes, arrived at the Council Hall.

Grand Secretary Yang was the first to speak, "Your Majesty, several provinces are affected by the drought, and disaster relief must be urgently scheduled."

The Emperor said, "I’ve called you here today to discuss this matter of disaster relief. Let’s hear everyone’s views."

The Crown Prince took the lead, "Father, areas like Ning Lu are experiencing drought. While it’s important to prepare relief supplies, in my humble opinion, the most crucial step is to transport drought-resistant grain varieties to these regions to truly help the people overcome the drought."

Seeing the Emperor nod in agreement, the Crown Prince was delighted and continued, "Father, Xiliang has been developing well these years. Although this year’s drought has also affected Xiliang, there hasn’t been a memorial submitted about it."

"The main reason is that the crops grown in Xiliang are drought-resistant."

"Father, I request permission to requisition drought-resistant grain seeds from Xiliang to alleviate the drought crisis in provinces like Ning Lu."

As these words were spoken, the ministers present couldn’t help but glance at the Crown Prince.

Everyone knows about the discord between the Crown Prince and the Prince’s residence; by suggesting a trip to Xiliang at this time, he seems to be trying to suppress Prince Wei Yuan."

Using someone else’s achievements to build his own reputation, and even eagerly stepping on others’ faces, the Crown Prince’s move is indeed ruthless."

The Emperor remained noncommittal and continued to seek the opinions of other ministers.

After all the ministers had expressed their views, a eunuch came into the hall holding a memorial, "Your Majesty, Prince Wei Yuan from Xiliang has just sent a memorial."

The Emperor took the memorial, read it through, then smiled and looked at the Crown Prince, "You don’t need to go to Xiliang. Yeyang has written in his memorial that the people of Xiliang are willing to donate a hundred thousand stone of grain seeds to the afflicted provinces."

The Crown Prince’s expression stiffened; to secure this assignment, he had lowered his status days ago to plead with his younger brothers not to compete with him, and he didn’t expect Xiao Yeyang to make this move!

Not only he hadn’t anticipated it, but neither had others."

Mainly because Xiliang started off so low, even though it has developed quite well these years, it still doesn’t compare to the wealthy provinces.

Who knew that Xiao Yeyang would offer such a large batch of grain seeds amid such severe drought conditions in the north."

Before people could recover from their surprise, the Emperor spoke again, "Yeyang also said that Xiliang is vast with a sparse population, so if Ning Lu among others cannot support their people, a group could be relocated to Xiliang."

As these words were spoken, Grand Secretary Yang couldn’t help himself, "Your Majesty, can Xiliang now support so many people?"

Thinking of the reports from the Jinling Guard, the Emperor’s brows also showed some surprise; Yeyang dares to relocate people during a drought year mainly because crops like potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes have such high yields."