Chapter 114: A young boy with no respect for his elders

Chapter 114: A young boy with no respect for his elders

But after breakfast the next day, Shen Zhi came over to invite all the adults to plant potatoes together. The servant said that all the adults were exhausted from traveling all the way and were still recuperating and would not see outsiders for the time being.

This happened for two consecutive days.

Shen Zhi was furious and said directly to the servant: "Please tell your masters that potatoes can't be planted later than the beginning of spring. It's already two days late. Since you haven't recovered yet, you should continue to rest well. I will lead the people on the farm to plant potatoes tomorrow. Since the emperor has entrusted this matter to me, I can't miss the season and mess it up."

When Lord Sun heard about this from the servant, he was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. "This ignorant young boy has no respect for his elders and is simply lawless. A little girl doesn't want to embroider or sew clothes in the backyard, but wants to dig for food in the fields like a man. I want to see which blind man dares to marry her in the future, humph."

Zhan Xiao, who was far away in Haizhou, suddenly sneezed. Mr. Sun beside him hurriedly asked, "Did the general catch a cold?"

Zhan Xiao shook his head and said, "Maybe the sea breeze is too strong. Quick, the enemy has appeared."

Shen Zhi followed his words and led everyone to the sandy land beside the Dacao River early the next morning. The sandy land had already been turned over, and the 100 acres of sandy land was turned over in less than five days. It is true that competitiveness leads to efficiency. According to the agreement, Shen Zhi paid out of his own pocket to reward each member of the first-place team with half a tael of silver. Of course, Shen Zhi did not treat the others unfairly. On the day of completion, Shen Zhi went to the mountain in the village to hunt two wild boars and made a big meal for them as a reward.

Before planting potatoes today, Shen Zhi had already trained everyone on the method. First, dig deep trenches vertically in the sand and sprinkle a layer of wood ash in the trenches. Cut the sprouted potatoes into pieces, and keep the buds on each piece. Then apply wood ash on the cut surface of the potato pieces to prevent mold. Finally, plant the potatoes with the buds facing downwards, one foot apart, and cover them with soil. This time, they were not asked to compete in speed, but to be more careful and not to plant them upside down.

They were all farmers who were used to farm work. They understood immediately and carefully planted the seeds one by one in the soil according to Shen Zhi's instructions.

"Nonsense," came an angry voice.

When everyone looked back, they saw a group of men in official uniforms walking quickly towards them. The white-haired old man in the lead was particularly angry.

"Greetings, gentlemen." Shen Zhi bowed to them.

"Hmph, I can't bear it. Lord Yixiang is so arrogant that he didn't even inform us about such a big thing as planting. How can a girl know how to plant? Isn't this a bad thing?" Lord Sun was so angry that he waved his sleeves and snorted.

"I heard that you all have been working hard all the way and are exhausted. I am afraid of missing the sowing time, so I have to take people to plant first. I have no intention of looking down on you." Shen Zhi replied.

"Around the Qingming Festival, melons and beans are planted. It's ridiculous that you planted them just after the beginning of spring. I have been the Minister of Agriculture for so many years, and I have never seen any beans being cut before planting. The emperor attaches great importance to this matter and specially sent me here to consult. But you, a mere peasant girl, actually took the initiative to waste seeds. Wouldn't it be better for you to stay at home and take care of your husband and children when you get married?" Lord Sun taught.

Shen Zhi was furious. He patted the dust off his hands and said, "Sir, just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It only means that you are ignorant. You seem to have a deep prejudice against women. You keep talking about you, a peasant girl. What's wrong with being a peasant girl? Isn't your mother a woman? Isn't your wife a woman? Also, it's none of your business whether I waste seeds or not. Did you buy them with money? No way, these are all donated by me for free. Also, you said I was arrogant and didn't know you, didn't your servant tell you whether I asked to see you or not? The maids on the farm saw it all. I was turned away every day."

"You...you little brat," Lord Sun was so angry that he pointed at Shen Zhi and said tremblingly.

Shen Zhi ignored them and told everyone to continue working.

Lord Sun had never been ignored like this before, so he left angrily. The other four lords also left angrily.

Shen Zhi and his colleagues continued to work hard, as if this incident had never happened.

At night, Shen Zhi asked the village head to bring a few local dogs and tie them to a big tree next to the sand, so that they could guard the crops on the sand.

Although it was the beginning of spring, the weather was still cold. Shen Zhi cooked several large pots of steaming stew for everyone. There was a lot of pork in it, and it was paired with cabbage, radish and vermicelli. Shen Zhi let them eat as much as they wanted, and then she would go to the mountain to hunt after they finished. The staple food was three-grain steamed buns, which were soft and sweet. These people who worked hard were all big eaters, so Shen Zhi made enough.

After dinner, everyone washed up and rested.

In the middle of the night, a burst of dog barking resounded through the sky.

Shen Zhi raised a confident smile, finally taking the bait. Then she put on her clothes and rushed out.

Of course, the 120 men also heard it, and they all stood up, grabbed the weapons around them and rushed to the sand.

When Shen Zhi arrived at the sandy land, Lord Sun was leading the other lords to secretly dig up the potatoes that had just been planted that morning.

Shen Zhi's anger was rising. "What are you doing? Stop it now."

The group of people were frightened and immediately stopped what they were doing.

"Sir, can't you explain? You are destroying the land we worked so hard to grow." Shen Zhi asked.

Lord Sun snorted coldly, "It's just a few pieces of potato."

"Just a few pieces of potato? Do you know that this small piece of potato can grow into more than ten or twenty potatoes, which can feed many people?" After hearing what Mr. Sun said, Shen Zhi became angry again.

Unexpectedly, before Shen Zhi did anything, the other four adults began to defend him, "Why is Yixiang Jun so aggressive? Lord Sun is our Minister of Agriculture, who wouldn't give him some face?"

Shen Zhi couldn't help but roll her eyes, impatient to argue with them so late. She waved her hand to signal them to go back, "Yes, I'll give you face and not pursue Lord Sun's fault. You can go back quickly." After saying that, she turned around and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, the 120 men rushed over with weapons in hand. "Boss, we are here. Who is destroying the crops? Isn't this a slap in our face? We planted them during the day, and they were destroyed at night.

Lord Sun and his entourage were particularly embarrassed. They covered their faces with their sleeves and walked away dejectedly.

"It's okay, come and take a walk." Shen Zhi was too lazy to expose the instigator, so he asked them to go back and rest early. He stayed and replanted the damaged potatoes.