The third morning, Fan Zehao rode his horse with Yu Meng, Xiao Ce with Xiao Junjun, and Deputy General Zhang Heng with Xue Yao, returning openly.
Upon entering the courtyard, Yu Meng immediately called out, "Mother, Mother, I'm back!"
"Auntie, Xue Yao is back."
"Mother, Junjun is back too!"
Of the three children, each was more eager than the last. Their first task upon returning to the manor was to find their mother, as if they were hungry students returning home from school and looking for their mother to feed them.
Zhao Jiaqi, supporting her pregnant belly, stood in the courtyard watching the three mischievous monkeys sprint towards her. Their happy, grinning faces lifted her spirits considerably.
"Look at you all, your faces were finally a bit fairer, and in just two days, they've turned so much darker!"
Seeing her children's faces nearly as black as charcoal, Zhao Jiaqi genuinely worried they wouldn't be able to marry later and would become old maids.
Yu Meng, holding her whip, grinned and showed off to Zhao Jiaqi, "Mother, I learned to ride a horse with Father. The horse runs so fast, and Father promised to find me a small pony to practice riding!"
Zhao Jiaqi chuckled. It wasn't that she looked down on Yu Meng, but looking at her legs, touching the horse's back was a luxury, let alone riding alone. And she still wanted to learn to ride? It was like talking to the wind.
Indeed, one dared to speak, and one dared to believe.
Not wanting to dampen her daughter's enthusiasm, she quickly suppressed the smile on her face and said, "I agree, but only if you diligently complete the lessons I've arranged for you. As for your other hobbies, I won't interfere with whatever you want to learn."
Yu Meng could hardly believe her ears and quickly asked, "Really? Is this true?"
Jun Jun also couldn't believe her mother would relax her discipline. She immediately echoed, "Mother, is it true? If I finish those lessons ahead of time, can we decide what to do with the remaining time?"
Among the three children, only Xue Yao was more sensible and didn't question if it was true, which brought Zhao Jiaqi some relief.
She affectionately rubbed Xue Yao's head and nodded heavily at the other two, "It's true. You need to be proficient in calligraphy, chess, painting, and calligraphy, poetry, songs, arithmetic, accounting, and household management. Even if you pass my tests, you must spend two hours each day reviewing these subjects as I mentioned. If you can do that, I will keep my promise."
The three somewhat bewildered children immediately expressed their commitment to try hard. As the saying goes, old ginger is spicier.
Arithmetic, accounting, household management... this was clearly a trap. It would take several years just to do the accounting properly, let alone learn how to manage the household.
With newfound hope, the children actively followed the governess to learn various skills. They even invited the manor's accountant to help them learn how to read account books quickly.
In the front hall of the Prince's manor.
Chen You placed the collected information on the octagonal table beside the Princess Consort. It was a thick stack of papers. She picked one up and scanned it; the number of people in each household, their names, and ages were all clearly written. The prefect had finally become resourceful.
"You've reviewed all of this, so tell me about the situation!"
He was prepared for this, having anticipated the Princess Consort's questions. He began to speak fluently, "The inner city prefecture governs nine counties: Xinyang County, Guangyuan County, Linyan County, Changhe County, Huajiang County, Pingxi County, Danfu County, Xing Tang County, and Jixian County. The total population is 15,220. The land planted with grain is 35,000 mu, with Linyan County alone cultivating 20,000 mu. It is a major grain-producing county and also a populous county in the entire prefecture."
Only a little over ten thousand people in a city? That was too few!
Even more absurd was that the total acreage planted with crops in Linyan County exceeded the combined acreage of the other eight counties!
"There is such a large disparity between the nine counties in one prefecture. Why haven't you, as prefect, intervened to coordinate and investigate the problems?"
Chen You was also full of grievances about this matter. He complained, "Your Highness, you have wrongly accused this humble servant. I once summoned the nine county magistrates and investigated this matter. The village chief of Xikou Village, Wei Damao, selflessly contributed his method for cultivating high-yield sweet potatoes. However, apart from Linyan County, the villages in other counties simply refused to plant them, and even if they did, it was in very small numbers! Not to mention reclaiming barren land into fertile fields."
Little fertile land and much barren land led to the current situation.
Chen You's words confused Zhao Jiaqi a little!
"Is it that the sweet potatoes planted in Xikou Village are not profitable? Is that why those villagers aren't planting them?"
Chen You shook his head, "No, the root of the problem is that the villagers unanimously believe that one county is already planting sweet potatoes in large quantities. If they were to plant them as well, the produce would be abundant, and they wouldn't be able to sell them at a good price, besides delaying the cultivation of other crops."
"Actually... actually, this humble servant feels this explanation is not reliable. Based on my observations, it's possible someone has misled the villagers, causing them not to plant sweet potatoes. I have investigated, but the villagers speak with one voice, so I am powerless to do anything about it."
He had built a ladder to wealth for the villagers, yet these people found the ladder inconvenient and didn't want to use it. It wasn't their fault they were poor.
"Since you've made an effort, you cannot be blamed for this matter!" Zhao Jiaqi sighed softly.
To abandon cultivation on such good land, in her opinion, was a terrible waste.
Since these common people were so hesitant, why not lease all the land herself and develop it into an agricultural industry?
Making a swift decision, the action-oriented she immediately instructed Chen You, "Prefect Chen, go back and investigate. Apart from Linyan County, report to me the annual net income per mu of land cultivated by villagers in other counties."
Chen You immediately replied, "The pure profit per mu of land is only one tael of silver per year, and that's assuming good weather. If there's a drought or flood, they'd be lucky not to sell their children."
Even with such low returns, the common people didn't dare to take a gamble and were still waiting and watching.
"Since that is the case, then summon the county magistrates. I will discuss the matter of leasing land from the common people with them. You will also attend."
Chen You looked at the Princess Consort in surprise, then lowered his head. He was still shocked by the Princess Consort's plan to lease land.
"Yes, I will send someone to notify them when I return. I will bring the county magistrates tomorrow!"
"Good, thank you for your hard work. You may go."
Chen You shed a tear of hardship. After working tirelessly for two days, he finally heard a word of acknowledgment from the Princess Consort. He bowed respectfully to the Princess Consort and then withdrew from the front hall.
On his way back, Chen You's steps were a little light, and his mood was beautiful!
In the afternoon, Fan Zehao was invited to the prefectural office by the prefect, while Zhao Jiaqi was writing a plan in the study. Pingting, who was by her side, watched her sister-in-law gesturing and sketching. She leaned in to see and discovered that she was planning to lease land.
She asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, our manor has no shortage of food or clothing. What are you going to do by leasing land?"