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“And next year, I plan to research a higher-yielding variety of rice. By then, the per-acre yield should be able to increase by around five hundred catties. Brother Luo, if your uncles are willing, I hope they can allocate some paddy fields for me,” Wang Jinhe said earnestly, looking at Luo Su.
Luo Su, along with Qin Lang and others, looked at Wang Jinhe in shock. “Is what you’re saying all true?” he asked.
An increase in yield? Is this a joke?
Wang Jinhe nodded, “You didn’t hear it wrong; indeed, the yield can still be increased.”
Luo Su’s expression became serious, “I’ll go back now and talk to them.”
After saying that, he left, leaving Qin Lang behind, who looked at Wang Jinhe and said, “The purpose of my visit this time is for the watermelons and vegetables from your family.”
Wang Jinhe raised an eyebrow, looking at Qin Lang, “Since you came for my family’s fruits and vegetables, you should know how expensive they are. It’s not cost-effective to use them in the restaurant at all.”
Qin Lang had already asked Wang Jingyu before coming; their family’s fruits and vegetables could indeed help with body conditioning, but the one drawback was their high price.
In the capital, vegetables were sold for one or two silver coins per catty, and strawberries were even priced at twenty taels, a sky-high cost. Even if they were to offer a discount for Wang Jinhe, it would still be an unbearable price for them.
“We can allocate some of the village’s vegetables to your family. Although the vegetables they grow are different from the ones in our family that can nourish the body, they taste better than ordinary vegetables, and the price won’t be as exorbitant. Would that work for you?” Wang Jinhe considered and offered Qin Lang a solution.
Even the vegetables from the village could be sold for around twenty cents.
Qin Lang earnestly considered Wang Jinhe’s suggestion. They couldn’t afford to buy Wang Jinhe’s family vegetables at that price. However, if the village’s vegetables were truly better in taste than ordinary ones, it presented a potential opportunity for collaboration.
“If that’s the case, we can accept it. However, we still want to buy some vegetables from your family, not too much—just around four or five catties of each type. This way, we can pique the interest of wealthy customers,” Qin Lang proposed.
Wang Jinhe looked at Su Yu, silently seeking his opinion.
Su Yu nodded, “Okay, but even if it’s for Jingyu’s sake, the price won’t be less than three hundred cents per catty.”
Since they weren’t buying a large quantity, Su Yu could afford to allocate some without compromising Wang Jinhe’s efforts in vegetable cultivation.
Qin Lang agreed with a nod, “Good.”
“In that case, I’ll take you to see the village chief. Otherwise, they might not agree to sell to you,” Wang Jinhe said to Qin Lang.
“Thank you.”
Wang Jinhe and Su Yu led Qin Lang to find Xie Kui.
Upon hearing that someone wanted to buy their vegetables, Xie Kui was somewhat surprised. It was only after learning that the person was a fellow student of Wang Jingyu that he reluctantly agreed.
Seeing the village chief’s hesitant approval, Qin Lang understood the purpose behind Wang Jinhe bringing him here.
“Afterward, I’ll have my family members come to harvest. The price will be based on what Jinhe and his husband agreed upon. How does that sound?”
“Okay,” Xie Kui agreed after considering it for a moment.
After settling matters with Xie Kui, the group returned. It didn’t take long for Luo Su to bring Old man Luo and the others over.
Upon learning that Wang Jinhe’s family had successfully cultivated rice with a yield of one thousand catties per mu, and that they could produce the same yield with seeds, they couldn’t wait to come over, hoping to purchase some seeds from Wang Jinhe.
On the way, Luo Su mentioned that next year the yield could increase by another five hundred catties, but since Wang Jinhe didn’t have additional fields, they needed to allocate some from their side.
Over the past year, they had been consuming Wang Jinhe’s health-improving vegetables, and their health had improved significantly. Sacrificing one or two hundred mu of paddy fields wasn’t a significant loss for them.
They had known Wang Jinhe was highly capable, but they didn’t expect to benefit so quickly.
After the emperor and the local officials reserved their shares, how much would be left? Wang Jinhe would undoubtedly save some for those he was close to.
If it weren’t for Luo Su, they wouldn’t have received this news.
“You uncles don’t need to be in such a hurry,” Wang Jinhe couldn’t help but speak when he saw their eager expressions.
Luo Lao Ye chuckled, “How can we not be in a hurry? When A Su came, he already told us everything. I can allocate fifty mu of land for you. Mainly because my family’s land near your village is limited, and other areas are too far away.”
“We can allocate two hundred mu of land also near your village. It takes about half an hour by horse. All are excellent paddy fields,” the others spoke up.
With five people contributing two hundred mu and one person contributing fifty mu, they now had a total of one thousand and fifty mu of land, which was sufficient for the current stage.
“Thank you all so much,” Wang Jinhe expressed his gratitude.
“Don’t be polite with us. We’ve bought plenty of health-improving fruits and vegetables from you. We’re already grateful that you didn’t charge us high prices,” old man Luo said. With everyone in good health now, they were looking forward to expressing their gratitude to Wang Jinhe properly.
Who would have thought that the opportunity would come so quickly?
“Let’s make it clear then. Eight taels of silver for the top-quality paddy fields per mu. We’ll stick to this price,” Wang Jinhe didn’t want to take too much advantage, stating the price directly.
“A flat rate of six taels of silver per mu. Don’t negotiate with us. If you buy from us at eight taels of silver, how can we face you and buy health-improving fruits and vegetables from you at a low price in the future?” Luo Lao Ye directly spoke up.
Others nodded in agreement, “Old Luo is right. We’re counting on you to bring us along when you cultivate higher-yield rice in the future.”
With the large amount of grain they cultivated, it wasn’t a trivial matter to have several hundred or even thousand mu of land.
Wang Jinhe chuckled at their banter, nodding, “Alright, I won’t be polite with you all.”
Wang Jinhe brought over silver bills, and Old man Luo and others handed over the land deeds directly.
After finishing the formalities, Old man Luo cleared his throat and said, “Jinhe, my girl, A Su told me that the melons in your family are ripe. Can you sell us some?”
“Why do you need to spend money, uncles? Just pick a few to eat,” Wang Jinhe replied. They had just saved her a couple of thousand taels of silver; she couldn’t be stingy with a few watermelons.
However, Old man Luo helplessly said, “If we were only taking them for ourselves, we wouldn’t be polite with you, but we plan to give them to our customers. Naturally, we can’t take them for free from you. Just give us a bit of a discount.”
“Sure, how many do you need? We’re about to pick some to send to the capital,” Wang Jinhe agreed.
“We each need about fifty. We have quite a few recipients, and giving three to each person won’t be considered cheap,” Old man Luo explained.