CHAPTER 154: 154 IS A GOOD OFFICIAL

Under Lord Xie’s leadership, the constables collecting the grain tax came and went in a hurry.

Jiang Hu’s family was visited by Lord Xie personally, making the experience more cordial and polite.

For other families, constables and Lord Xie’s guards went together, and although it wasn’t exactly coercion, their attitude certainly wasn’t pleasant.

The guards put on airs, and with the title of the Minister of Agriculture, hardly anyone dared to refuse.

Fortunately, with Lord Xie’s instructions, the prices were fair, offering ten percent more than the grain depots, and each household retained enough grain for their own consumption.

The Jiang family cooked extra for lunch, including for Lord Xie and the seven or eight constables and guards.

Not to mention having a meal, even eating for a whole day might not finish it all, as there was plenty of food, with ample dishes, and the Jiang’s had the most children.

So the workers had the good fortune to enjoy a meal, leaving enough for themselves, and the rest was sent to the workers.

"Jiang Hu, I regret it now," Liu Zhi said with a face full of remorse.

Jiang Hu: "..."

Regret is too late.

"Never mind, next year you can grow your own. Didn’t Lord Xie leave you seeds?"

Liu Zhi accused him, "Don’t think you can fool me because I haven’t been in your village long. Even if the seeds are the same, the ones grown in your family taste different!"

After Liu Zhi finished his meal, he took back the dishes he brought over earlier and squatted under the Jiang’s eaves for a respite.

Today’s dishes were all cooked by the second wife; she’s been more liberal with her cooking the past couple of years, generously using spices and frequently cooking meat, so naturally, the flavor was exceptional.

Most importantly, this morning, Xiao Mi added Spiritual Spring water to the water tank.

Xiao Mi didn’t have as many opportunities with the workers, concerned that the taste of the water varied daily and might be discovered, so she didn’t add Spiritual Spring water to their tank.

Thus, when Liu Zhi and the others tasted the second wife’s cooking, they were instantly captivated and deeply regretful.

Regretting giving away the grain from Jiang Hu’s family meant they wouldn’t enjoy it this year.

Of course, it’s just talk.

Jiang Hu realized it too and smiled, "There’s nothing I can do, Brother Liu, you know, if it wasn’t for Xiao Ze, I would’ve almost missed out on my family’s grain."

Liu Zhi rolled his eyes and muttered a couple of curses, likely about Lord Xie’s greed.

But after complaining, he shifted the topic back to praise.

"However, to be fair, this Lord Xie is indeed good; he gave a fair price and didn’t shortchange you with Silver Coins."

Liu Zhi had also heard about purchasing two thousand jin of grain at cost price at the grain depot.

Jiang Hu didn’t deny this fact, "Indeed a good official. With this lord around, in a few years, the whole Cheng County won’t have to worry about going hungry."

Once the grain yield increases, what’s there to fear about hunger?

"Not just Cheng County, perhaps the whole Xuyu Dynasty’s people will be grateful to you, Brother Jiang Hu!"

Jiang Hu waved his hands repeatedly, telling him not to say such things, it was quite alarming.

Liu Zhi chuckled twice and didn’t bring it up again, as the topic seemed too distant.

However, without talking about it, Liu Zhi turned to another matter.

"Brother, I’d like to buy some of your eggs, the fertilized ones, the big kind."

Fertilized eggs are those that can hatch chicks. Farmers don’t know what fertilization is, but they know which eggs can hatch chicks and which ones can’t.

Jiang Hu: "You want to hatch chicks at home?"

Liu Zhi nodded, "Yes, I notice your chickens are much larger than average chickens. Even their eggs are bigger. Just yesterday, my mother said our hens were brooding."

Brooding is when a hen stops laying eggs, her feathers become fluffy, as if she’s gained weight, and she sits on the eggs, wanting to hatch chicks.

It typically lasts twenty days to a month, which is about the time for eggs to hatch.

Originally, there was no such idea, but last night seeing his own chickens, and remembering Jiang Hu’s chickens, the size difference was clearly several rounds larger.

So he thought of buying a few fertilized eggs to let his hens at home hatch chicks.

Jiang Hu didn’t refuse, "No problem. I collected more than a dozen this morning, I’ll pick some for you."

Saying this, he patted his backside and stood up to head into the kitchen.

The second wife and the children were all taking a nap in their rooms, just he and Liu Zhi were talking under the eaves.

The method for distinguishing fertilized eggs is quite simple; light an oil lamp, then hold the egg in one hand and half cover it with the other hand to look at it under the lamp.

If there’s a black line inside the egg, it’s a fertilized egg which can hatch chicks; if not, it won’t hatch.

Hens have a limited number of eggs they can brood, and the eggs from Jiang Hu’s chickens were also several rounds larger, so Liu Ze only asked for ten.

He initially offered to pay, with the standard price of one copper coin per egg, but Jiang Hu didn’t take it.

Liu Zhi patted Jiang Hu on the shoulder, "Thank you, brother. When I have time, I’ll treat you to a meal."

"I’m the one who should thank you, Brother Liu. Our new house owes a lot to your efforts."

With the eggs in hand, Liu Zhi left, telling Jiang Hu to rest for a while.

But Jiang Hu hadn’t even managed to return inside before someone wearing a straw hat came running over.

"Brother Jiang! Great, I thought you hadn’t woken up yet."

Oh, it’s Liu Yang.

He thought Jiang Hu standing at the door meant he had just woken up from a nap?

Jiang Hu didn’t offer an explanation, but instead turned his steps towards the kitchen.

The kitchen has tables and chairs, and tea, and it’s further from the bedrooms, so it won’t disturb his wife’s and children’s rest.

"In this hot weather, what brings you over? Aren’t you afraid of getting sunburned?"

Even though it’s close to September, the lingering heat of autumn is not to be underestimated, only slightly cooler early morning and late evening.

"Well, it’s just that those officials are buying grain today, so I wanted to ask, Brother Jiang, do you know what’s going on?"

Those people were domineering, and everyone was somewhat fearful, although they did explain roughly what they were doing with the grain.

However, folks naturally fear officials, feeling uncertain and uneasy.

Coincidentally, Lord Xie’s carriage arrived in the village looking very pleased when meeting with others, which Liu Yang noticed.

So after Liu Yang ate and rested for a bit, he couldn’t stay still and went to find Jiang Hu.

Seeing Lord Xie with a big smile and clearly successful haul, Liu Yang couldn’t help but feel concerned.

"Brother Jiang, surely they didn’t leave you without any grain, did they?"

Seeing Liu Yang misunderstood, Jiang Hu quickly waved his hand, "Not at all, not at all. Lord Xie is very good, he left us enough to eat, and you all don’t need to worry, Lord Xie truly means no harm."