Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 702 - 359 - : Emerging_2

"Yes, I wrote it. Please, sir, give me your guidance," Wu Lang bowed again to Official Li.

For an ordinary tenant farmer’s family to produce a young girl who faced the gentry without humility or arrogance and handled herself with ease was no small feat, let alone a young scholar, not yet of age, who understood how to outline the sequence of events and their method of cultivating sweet potatoes in writing for submission. This was truly astonishing.

"Such a child can be taught... the youth to be feared..." Official Li said with a smile, stroking his beard.

"Sir, in my opinion, this matter must be reported to the Imperial Court without delay... Although Fujian has already begun cultivation, we here have not heard of it, and moreover, this is the first case in our prefecture..." Official Li thus bowed to Shen Liu and suggested.

The other officials around them also echoed their agreement.

"This is a matter under the jurisdiction of the locale. It’s not my place to interfere. It’s up to the Prefectural Magistrate and Official Li," Shen Liu said.

The Magistrate and Official Li both busily demurred.

"This matter was reported to the Sixth Master by the people, and it was the Sixth Master who discovered it because of the corn issue, so it is only right for the Sixth Master to report it. We dare not claim the credit," they said.

Lian Manman didn’t continue to listen, instead, she ran off to help gather the sweet potatoes. She didn’t need to listen to know what the outcome would be.

Naturally, Shen Liu would lead, and the other officials would benefit.

As Shen Liu was leaving, he had a tray of silver brought to Lian Shouxin and had two baskets of sweet potatoes carried over before getting into his carriage. After sitting down in the carriage, Shen Liu seemed to think of something. He had the carriage curtain lifted and called Lian Shouxin, Lian Manman, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi to the front.

"Does the Sixth Master have any commands?" Lian Shouxin asked respectfully.

"Hmm." Shen Liu’s gaze swept over them, pausing briefly on Lian Manman’s face, then he raised his right hand and lightly twirled the white jade thumb ring on his left thumb.

"Let’s be on our way," Shen Liu ultimately said nothing more and gave the order to depart.

Lian Manman and the others quickly stepped back as the carriage curtain fell, hiding Shen Liu’s slightly profound gaze.

As Shen Liu’s caravan left, Lian Manman’s family hurriedly transported the sweet potatoes home. Before they had even finished bringing them all inside, people bearing silver arrived at their doorstep.

The first to come was Scholar Wang—indeed, Scholar Wang himself—wanting to buy sweet potatoes.

This put Lian Shouxin in a bit of a predicament. Refusing to sell to him would be awkward, but deciding if they should sell, and for how much, posed a difficulty.

"Graduate Master, we’re fellow villagers, and my parents often speak of the Graduate Master’s kindness and the care you provide for the villagers. If these sweet potatoes can be sold, naturally you should have the first pick, no doubt about it," Lian Manman, coming out to serve tea, said with a smile. "It’s just that whether these sweet potatoes can be sold, and how to sell them, we need some time to draw up some Rules and Regulations."

Scholar Wang, having heard from his nephew Wang Youheng and the Steward and servants of his family about the clever and capable Lian Manman of the Lian Family, was seeing her in person for what was essentially the first time. Finding the young girl to be as intelligent and efficient as the rumors suggested, her words reasonable and showing him great respect, while expressing warmth, made for a pleasant conversation.

"Alright then," Scholar Wang said as he got up to take his leave, but he left his silver behind.

Lian Shouxin naturally refused to accept it at first, causing some back and forth until Scholar Wang insisted on not taking the silver back. After some thought, Lian Manman decided to keep it, and only then did Scholar Wang depart, satisfied.

"Manman, when the Sixth Master left, he didn’t leave a word. Can we sell the sweet potatoes? It’s not very appropriate to keep Scholar Wang’s silver," Lian Shouxin said. As an honest man, keeping Scholar Wang’s silver and then potentially failing to sell the sweet potatoes to him would be very unsettling.

"We can," Lian Manman nodded assertively. If Shen Liu had any plans for the sweet potatoes they collected, he would have given a sign before leaving. Since Shen Liu didn’t say anything, it meant that they could decide for themselves.

These sweet potatoes might be unique in Liaodong Prefecture, but in the Prefecture of Fuzhou, there was likely already mass cultivation. To promote sweet potatoes in Liaodong Prefecture, relying solely on their family’s harvest from little more than a mu of land was insufficient; more would definitely need to be brought in from elsewhere.

If they could decide for themselves how to manage these sweet potatoes, then firstly, they mustn’t forget the Wang Family. Due to Wang Youheng’s involvement, if Scholar Wang’s Family wanted to buy sweet potatoes, they would clearly be given priority.

As for the appropriate price to sell the sweet potatoes, an idea came to Lian Manman’s mind as she glanced towards the silver that Shen Liu had given.

"Father, Mother, let’s see how much this silver is worth first," she suggested.

"The silver isn’t going anywhere, we should discuss the sweet potatoes first," Lian Shouxin replied.

"Father, without looking at this silver, we can’t decide about the sweet potatoes," Lian Manman insisted.

"What else is there in the silver?" Lian Shouxin asked in surprise.

Zhang Shi and Lian Shouxin brought the silver over, placed it on the kang, and allowed Lian Manman to count it once through. Shen Liu had left them six packets of silver, each containing two large silver ingots, with one silver ingot weighing ten taels.

"That makes a total of one hundred and twenty taels of silver. How much do our two baskets of sweet potatoes weigh?" she asked.

"One basket can weigh about sixty jin, so two baskets together should only weigh around one hundred and thirty-four jin," Lian Shouxin estimated.

"Let’s calculate it as one hundred and twenty jin," Lian Manman considered and said, "One hundred and twenty taels of silver for one hundred and twenty jin of sweet potatoes."

"So the sweet potatoes are priced at one tael of silver per jin?" Lian Shouxin’s voice changed with the question.

Lian Manman coughed twice. In her previous life, sweet potatoes weren’t originally worth much, but their price rose as whole grains increased in value, though this also involved inflation. Still, a price of one tael of silver per jin of sweet potatoes was rather exorbitant.

The money given by Shen Liu wasn’t for a purchase; it included a reward for their merit.

So what would be a suitable price for the sweet potatoes?

***......***

Here’s the first update. On the last day of November, I very much need your pink support. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets, and your support, which is my greatest motivation.)