amaotonovel Chapter 322 Sending Gold Rice to the County Government
Chapter 322 Sending Gold Rice to the County Government
Mrs. Xu took the corn carefully, afraid that it would fall to the ground and break. "Okay, then I'll take it. Thank you, Wan Ning."
"Sister Xu, please put these golden rice back first. I'll trouble you to run over and bring a basket later so I can break off some more and take them back."
"Okay, I'll go back first." As she said that, Mrs. Xu took a few corns and trotted towards the yard.
Shen Wanning was breaking corn as she walked. Some of the corn was already old, so she left it on the stalks and would use it as seeds later.
When Mrs. Xu came back with a bamboo basket on her back, she already had quite a bit of corn in her hands. She put the corn into the basket and continued to pick it as she walked.
"These corns are ripe, and I'm afraid some uninformed villagers will come and pick them. Let's find two people to guard them at night to prevent them from picking them." Shen Wanning said as he put the last corn into the bamboo basket.
"Okay, okay. Dashun and I are watching here on weekdays! No villagers dare to approach here during the day. They basically know that this is the county lady's farm, and they are afraid of offending you!" Mrs. Xu wiped the sweat from her forehead and said.
"Well, we should send someone to guard it! This corn is for seed. If it's stolen, there won't be enough seeds for next year."
"Okay, I'll tell He Zhao and the others later. Let Shunzi and the others take turns to keep watch." Mrs. Xu replied.
After returning to the yard, Shen Wanning left three corns and carried the rest away on her back. Before leaving, she told Mrs. Xu that she would come back to harvest the corn when it was fully ripe.
After returning to the county town, Shen Wanning first carried the corn to Lin's house. Before returning to Lin's house, she quietly took out twenty corns from the express delivery station and put them in the basket.
Finally, he took out six more corns and two bottles of shampoo and prepared to go to the county government office.
"I haven't seen you for a long time. You're so lucky to come to the county government office today." The two men were already familiar with each other, and County Magistrate He's tone was very familiar.
"There are so many things going on at home recently that I'm almost overwhelmed. I haven't been to the county town for a long time. I just came to the county town and I came to see Brother He. How are sister-in-law and Zhenzhen doing recently?" Shen Wanning asked with a smile.
"They're both pretty good, but they haven't seen you in a while and they keep thinking about you! Especially Zhenzhen. She said she went to Mingyue Tower recently and didn't see you, so she missed you a lot."
"I'm going to visit my sister-in-law later, and I have some gifts for them both."
County Magistrate He shook his head. "You won't be able to see them right now. My wife's sister is celebrating the birth of a baby boy, and she's taken Zhenzhen to attend the baby's full-moon celebration. I don't think she'll be back for a few days."
If it weren't for the fact that there was so much work at the county government office and he couldn't leave, he would have followed them.
"In that case, I'd like to trouble Brother He to pass on the gifts for sister-in-law and Zhenzhen."
"Wan Ning, you're too polite. But I guess Wan Ning didn't come here just to give gifts today, right? Let me guess, is it a good harvest of cotton and sweet potatoes?" County Magistrate He rubbed his chin a few times and guessed.
"That's not the case. It will take another half a month for the sweet potatoes and cotton to mature. I came here today to give Brother He some golden rice. It's a new crop produced on my farm, and I brought it specially for Brother He to try." Shen Wanning lifted the cloth on the bamboo basket so that County Magistrate He could see it more clearly.
County Magistrate He walked forward and picked up a corn. "Why is this called golden rice? Is it meant to be eaten directly?"
"Peel off the skin and take a look, Brother He. Doesn't it look like grains of golden rice? Only it's much bigger than rice grains." Shen Wanning also picked up a corn from the bamboo basket, peeled off the skin, and showed it to County Magistrate He.
"It really looks like golden rice, no wonder it's called golden rice. But how do you eat it? Can it be eaten raw?" County Magistrate He took the corn from Shen Wanning's hand and smelled it a few times.
Shen Wanning nodded. "This is fruit golden rice. It can be eaten raw and tastes sweet and delicious. However, some people don't like to eat it raw. This golden rice can be steamed and eaten in half an incense stick. In addition, the golden rice can be peeled and used in stir-fries. There are also many people who like to eat it, whether sweet or savory."
County Magistrate He tried to pull it out a few times and pulled out a few corn kernels, revealing the corn cob inside.
"This golden rice core cannot be eaten. Only the rice grains on top can be eaten. It can be eaten raw, steamed, boiled, or fried." Shen Wanning said, pointing to the corn cob.
Magistrate He put a few kernels of corn into his mouth and chewed them for a few times. After savoring them carefully, he said, "It is indeed sweet and juicy. It tastes quite good when eaten raw. I'll have someone steam some at noon to try."
After saying this, thinking of his wife and daughter who would not be home for a few days, County Magistrate He asked again, "How long can this golden rice be stored? Will it go bad?"
"If you want to preserve it, Brother He has to store it in the cellar. But the golden rice tastes best when it's fresh. If you keep it for too long, the rice grains may shrink and not be as sweet as fresh."
County Magistrate He sighed, "Then I'll keep it in the cellar and let them taste it when they come back."
"That's not necessary. I'll send some more when they come back."
County Magistrate He shook his head. "What you grow is always unusual. This is your first year, so you probably haven't planted much on your farm. I guess you're saving these for next year's seeds! We can plant more next year, and then we can try them. The sooner these things become commonplace, the less hungry the people will be."
"Brother He cares about the people, which is really admirable. But Brother He, don't worry too much. I will send fewer over then, it won't be a problem." Shen Wanning sat back in the chair.
County Magistrate He simply sat down at the table next to Shen Wanning and started chatting with her.
"How is the yield of this golden rice? Can it be as much as sweet potatoes?"
Shen Wanning smiled and shook her head. "Having such a high yield of sweet potatoes is already a blessing from heaven. How could I dare ask for more? Although the yield of golden rice per mu may not be as high as that of sweet potatoes, it is much higher than that of rice, reaching up to a thousand kilograms per mu. We will have to wait until the harvest to know the specifics."
"How amazing! Wan Ning always finds so many high-yield crops. When sweet potatoes and golden rice become widely planted, everyone in our Great Xia Dynasty will be able to have enough to eat!" County Magistrate He sighed.
"I was just lucky and happened to come across these plants." Shen Wanning said modestly.
Then, she took out two bottles of shampoo and handed them to County Magistrate He. "Oh, this is a gift for my sister-in-law and Zhenzhen. You can use the shampoo to wash your hair. Wet your hair first, then wash it with shampoo, and finally rinse it with clean water."