Chapter 14: Saving Grain Seeds

Some people said, “It won’t be long before we can harvest the crops in our own fields. Let’s eat those first!”

Another chimed in, “Exactly! We used to think we needed to save more seeds, but now that we’ve got such good seeds, we won’t have to reserve as much from the new harvest.”

Someone then raised the key question, “But we don’t know the germination rate of these yet.”

Qin Ying stepped forward and said, “Fellow villagers, Ninth Uncle gave us a bit more grain. We’ll be the ones to test the germination rate.”

Nowadays, even a single grain of food was precious in the eyes of the villagers. Who could bear to set some aside just for testing?

With Qin Ying stepping up, the villagers were both full of admiration and relief.

After all, sprouted potatoes, millet seedlings, and corn shoots weren’t edible!

Uncle Chen Jiu gave Qin Ying high praise and repeatedly reminded the villagers to keep things confidential.

Then someone asked, “Uncle Jiu, after the autumn harvest, are we still going to farm together?”

Without a second thought, Uncle Chen replied, “Of course! Even if our village is barely getting by now, the nearby villages are still struggling.

“I’m not saying we have to be noble or anything, but we do have to be on guard against troublemakers. So we still need to organize daily patrols to the fields.

“Our labor force is limited—at best, only half of us can really contribute. What could we achieve if we worked separately?

“And after the autumn harvest, the only thing we can really plant is wheat. I don’t believe some of you haven’t secretly eaten your wheat stores. There can’t be much seed grain left in each household, right?

“It takes about twenty-five catties of wheat seed per mu of land. Can our whole village even plant four mu?”

After a long silence, one villager raised his hand. “Ninth Master, we haven’t touched any of our wheat.”

Others slowly raised their hands too.

Qin Ying also raised her hand in cooperation. “Ninth Master, we’ve kept our wheat as well.”

Uncle Chen Jiu’s eyes turned red. Looking around, he realized most villagers had refrained from eating their wheat. That was truly rare and commendable.

“Alright then,” when he spoke again, his voice was slightly choked, “You’re all wise people. You understand the difference between being full once and being full long-term.

“So it’s settled. After the autumn harvest, we’ll prepare eight mu of land and plant wheat together.

“We’ll assign people to patrol the fields daily to prevent any sabotage.”

Everything was arranged by the time dawn was breaking.

Uncle Chen Jiu picked a few people to help carry the grain back home with him.

Zhou Yu and Xu Xia were already up, doing morning exercises in the yard. When they saw Uncle Chen Jiu leading people carrying baskets back, they quickly came over to help.

Uncle Chen Jiu had his share of the grain moved into his bedroom, then sent everyone else home to rest.

He then closed the courtyard gate and said to Zhou Yu, “Lord Magistrate, this grain was discovered by the villagers purely by chance.

“By rights, we should hand it all over.

“But these aren’t peaceful times. The villagers trust this old man and have asked me to take charge. So I must shoulder this responsibility.

“I can’t manage others, but I must ensure that our own villagers can survive.

“So we’ve taken the liberty of dividing the grain among ourselves. We plan to use it as seed grain.

“This portion is surplus. I know Your Lordship is a good man, truly working for us commoners.

“Grain is as precious as gold now, and you folks hardly get enough to eat. This old man has noticed.

“Please take this as your rations. Eat well and continue to speak up for us common people.”

Zhou Yu roughly estimated the grain gifted to him—around fifty catties total, including both dried and fresh vegetables weighing about ten catties. It was clear that Uncle Chen Jiu hadn’t kept much for himself.

Feeling quite emotional, he said quickly, “Elder, please don’t worry.

“There are over ten thousand people still living in Qin County. Even if all your grain were given to me, it wouldn’t be enough for each citizen to have a bite.

“So it’s better to follow your plan—use it as seed grain. If there’s a good harvest next year, you might even be able to help nearby villages.”

Uncle Chen Jiu finally relaxed and let out a silent sigh of relief. Only a few people in the village knew Zhou Yu’s true identity, and they had been asked to keep it a secret. Every time he spoke to Zhou Yu, Uncle Chen Jiu acted composed on the outside, but his palms were sweaty.

The county magistrate held life-and-death authority. As a humble commoner, how could he speak so boldly?

If Zhou Yu hadn’t truly cared about the people, how could he have tolerated Uncle Chen Jiu’s frankness?

Zhou Yu didn’t accept the grain Uncle Chen Jiu gave him. “Please take it back and use it all as seed grain. From what I see, it’s even better than the best grain stock in past years.

“Such quality grain will surely yield a great harvest.

“If possible, after next year’s harvest, I’d like to make a deal with you—to buy a batch of seeds from Tongshu Village.

“Don’t worry, it won’t affect your consumption or farming.

“Even if we can’t go by market prices, I’ll make sure you won’t be at a loss.”

Uncle Chen Jiu didn’t even dare to think about selling at market price. Nowadays, grain was more valuable than gold—and you couldn’t even buy it if you wanted to!

“The Lord has spoken—how could a humble man like me not agree?” Uncle Chen Jiu said hastily. “Besides, we’re not heartless. Once we’re able to survive, we can’t just sit by and watch others die.

“Don’t talk about the future—even after this autumn harvest, we can already spare you some seed grain!”

Zhou Yu was deeply moved. “Good. I’ll also send people to help with patrols to guard against sabotage.”

Later, Zhou Yu continued visiting homes in the village.

This time, it was the Zhao family’s turn. Actually, it was their third attempt—the first two times, no one was home.

When they arrived, Zhou Yu signaled Xu Xia to knock on the door.

Zhou Yu stood back, observing the Zhao family’s courtyard over the low wall.

Half the courtyard had been turned into a vegetable garden. The amaranth leaves were big and thick, the beans were growing densely, the bok choy was vibrant green, and the chives were over a foot tall…

All the vegetables were growing better than those in other households.

Zhao Hu came out wiping his mouth. Upon seeing them, his face turned sour. “What do you want? We’re eating!”

Xu Xia had a round baby face that made people feel at ease. When he smiled, two deep dimples appeared, immediately bridging the gap with others. He raised the basket he was holding and spoke softly, “Brother Hu, right? You’ve probably heard—we’re from the county office and are visiting the village these days.

“If we happen to arrive at mealtime, we’ll just borrow your stove for a bit. Any firewood or water we use will be repaid later.”

The basket contained a finger-length strip of cured meat, one egg, a bowl of brown rice, and a small bundle of wild vegetables.

Zhou Yu also showed Zhao Hu the bowl and chopsticks he was holding.

Zhao Hu scratched his head. “Wait here. I’ll ask my mom.”

An’an had finished half a bowl of millet porridge and had gone to sleep early.

Qin Ying ate slowly, so she carried her portion back to the east room.

Aunt Zhao and Zhao Hu quickly finished their meal and welcomed Zhou Yu into the main room.

Xu Xia went to the outdoor kitchen to prepare the food.