Chapter 300: Chapter 300: All You Think About Is Eating
As soon as Qi Quanjin saw Hu Kaicheng, he quickly paid his respects.
Hu Kaicheng was irritated at heart, but he couldn’t show it on his face, so he quickly smiled and invited him to sit down.
"What brings you here at this time, Village Chief Qi?"
Hu Kaicheng inquired kindly, appearing to be a particularly considerate county magistrate.
Qi Quanjin bent his back slightly, smiling he said, "Sir, isn’t it that our village has been pondering some matters recently? I thought about when to come over and discuss it with you. It just so happens that I’m in the city right now, so I decided to come by. I hope I haven’t disturbed your work, sir?"
"No disturbance at all, go ahead, what is it?"
Even as he said this, Hu Kaicheng was pondering what trouble Yongping Village was going to stir up again.
Qi Quanjin didn’t hold back and directly recounted what had been discussed at home, not forgetting to show a grateful expression at the end, "It’s all thanks to your excellent leadership, sir, otherwise how could we ordinary folks have such good times?"
At this point, Hu Kaicheng was completely dumbfounded.
Did he hear it wrong just now?
Selling seeds and then additionally giving the county government a twenty percent share of the profits, besides that, they mentioned if there are plaques in the future, they would be displayed at the county government?
If someone else had said this, Hu Kaicheng would have thought they were dreaming, but coming from Qi Quanjin, there was actually a level of credibility to it.
After all, this is someone whose name has been recorded with the Holy Emperor!
But then Hu Kaicheng reconsidered, thinking he probably overthought it.
The Holy Emperor is extremely busy; how could he pay attention to an ordinary person from a small border town?
But... what if, just what if he does?
The Holy Emperor might not remember, but he has many capable people around him!
If one person remembers and casually mentions it later, wouldn’t the status of this village farmer before him...?
He can’t think of it; the more he thinks about it, the more hopeful it seems.
But can such matters be stopped from thinking about just by choice?
Hu Kaicheng’s hand within his sleeve was trembling uncontrollably.
If he could truly earn a commendation from the Holy Emperor, it would indeed be a political achievement for him.
Even if no such good fortune would come, just the twenty percent gain share was lucrative enough!
The money is said to be for the county government, but ultimately whose hands it ends up in is up to him.
As they say, three years as a clean magistrate yields a hundred thousand silver.
He’s just a small county magistrate now, he can’t imagine a hundred thousand, but... a hundred taels are something he can aim for!
The price of seeds is unlike other things; it requires real silver to purchase.
Especially those items developed by Yongping Village, even though they are not sold on the market now, he’s tasted them.
If they were publicly sold, Hu Kaicheng believed someone would buy them.
Even if no one does, he has ways to make them buy.
"Sir? Sir?"
Seeing the county magistrate remain unresponsive in a dazed state after his speech, Qi Quanjin called him a few more times.
Hu Kaicheng snapped back to reality, smiled, and said, "I was just thinking about the corn and other crops you grow. If they could be popularized, it would certainly be beneficial for the people."
"Yes, yes, that’s what I think too."
When it came to farming, Qi Quanjin obviously became excited, "Sir, to tell the truth, just the corn we grow can yield at least three to four hundred catties per mu, which is much higher than the yield of rice or other crops."
"Three, three to four hundred catties? Are you sure?"
Hu Kaicheng felt his breathing becoming difficult.
The land of Yongping Village was just cultivated in the last two years; it’s not even considered good land, nor medium quality.
This kind of inferior land yields such a harvest; what if it were medium or even superior land, wouldn’t the yields be even higher?
At this moment, Hu Kaicheng truly believed the matter of the Capital city commendation that the farmer in front of him just proposed was feasible.
And very feasible at that!
Hu Kaicheng even imagined his official position rising dramatically.
Forget about a hundred thousand silver; perhaps even a million could be possible!
Seeing that his words were made clear and the county magistrate’s reaction seemed joyful, Qi Quanjin did not linger and returned home after bidding farewell.
Hu Kaicheng was indeed excited for quite a while until rationality gradually returned, and then he later realized something was wrong.
The news from Yongping Village would certainly not be from just one or two days ago, yet they didn’t speak of it earlier or later, but chose such a critical time. It was obvious there was another motive.
As for what that purpose was, a now-calm Hu Kaicheng didn’t even need to think hard to know.
"That Qi Quanjin!"
Hu Kaicheng said with a grim face, slapping the table, causing him to grimace with pain.
Initially planning to handle the Weston Village matter lightly to avoid affecting his political achievements, now faced with such a great benefit, he had to choose between diminishing Weston’s influence or severely punishing them.
Hu Kaicheng understood that if he handled the Weston Village matter lightly, Yongping Village might be unable to do anything about him, but the subsequent seed yields and possible rewards from the Holy Emperor might be greatly reduced.
Even if he pressed Yongping Village as county magistrate to continue this, the difference between providing one catty of seeds and a hundred is significant, even Hu Kaicheng wouldn’t dare calculate it.
That night, Hu Kaicheng successfully suffered from insomnia.
By contrast, the Qi Family was cheerful and harmonious.
In the blink of an eye, it was noon the next day.
The Qi Family gathered together, discussing when to resume the restaurant business when there was a knock on the door.
Upon opening, they saw Liu Qinghe, dressed in a government officer’s uniform, standing outside.
"Brother Liu? Come in, come in."
The door was opened by Qi Dafu, who quickly and warmly invited Liu Qinghe inside.
Liu Qinghe waved his hand, "I won’t go in. I came to deliver news. Three mornings from now, Lord County Magistrate will personally try the family of Weston Village’s crimes. At noon, they are to be executed. If your family wants to know the specific details, you might want to go there. Will the people from your village go to the city to watch? If they want to, it’s best to relay the message early."
Qi Dafu quickly expressed his gratitude upon hearing this, and after seeing Liu Qinghe off, he hurried back inside to relay the news.
"Why has it been delayed by three more days?"
Wang Daya frowned upon hearing, "So, should we open the restaurant or not?"
Qu Laodi also wore an unhappy expression.
It’s already been stalled for several days; how much silver would that have earned!
Qi Manman, sitting beside her grandmother, heard this and said without hesitation, "Open it! Earn silver to buy Manbao candy!"
"All you think about is eating!"
Mrs. Qi chuckled and tapped her precious daughter’s nose.
