Chapter 274: Does Ruoruo Have a Solution?

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Translator: 549690339

“Mother, please speak.” Wei Ruo vaguely had an inkling of what was to come.

“This is the situation. Recently, Taizhou prefecture and even all of Jiangzhe have been hit by a sudden drop in temperature. Many crops have frozen to death.” Madame Yun sighed as worry clouded over her face.

“I have heard some news about that.” Replied Wei Ruo.

“Yes, you have always been concerned with agricultural matters, so it’s expected that you would know about these incidents.”

Madame Yun agreed.

Wei Ruo didn’t respond, waiting for Madame Yun to continue speaking.

Looking at Wei Ruo, after a moment of contemplation, Madame Yun continued: “The two estates owned by our family in Taizhou prefecture, one in Xingshan County, you know, I planted sweet potatoes on the mountainside there, and the other is the farmland purchased after we moved to the government city, are now somewhat affected, suffering losses of 30% each.”

Whether it was due to Madame Yun’s ineffective management or for whatever other reason, the damage to the crops on the Wei Family’s fields was greater than that on Wei Ruo’s farm.

This didn’t surprise Wei Ruo. After this cold snap, it could be considered a favorable outcome in Taizhou Prefecture to be able to save up to 70% of the crops.

Then Madame Yun turned to Wei Ruo: “Ruo, do you have a way to acquire more rice seedlings now?”

It turns out she was here to discuss seedlings. Wei Ruo hadn’t guessed wrong.

“Mother, at this time, I can’t find a place for you to get more seedlings. Any untransplanted seedlings that are available now are likely to have been impacted by the frost,” answered Wei Ruo.

Indeed, she didn’t have any extra seedlings. The batch planted on the farm, located in the city was the last, it was planted so late just to wait for the wheat harvest.

Even for her own fields, that batch was insufficient, let alone enough to share with others.

Wei Ruo did have some rice seeds, but since Madame Yun didn’t ask her for the seeds, Wei Ruo didn’t mention them.

A hint of disappointment flickered in Madame Yun’s eyes upon hearing Wei Ruo’s answer.

“Alas, there’s just no way out of this situation.” Madame Yun sighed.

“Hmm.”

Madame Yun continued: “Ruo, do you know if there is any remedial measure for those sweet potatoes? Is it too late to plant stems now?”

Sweet potatoes, unlike rice, don’t need to be cultivated into seedlings in advance. Simply inserting the vine into the soil makes them grow. And sweet potatoes don’t lack vines. Madame Yun knew that the first families who planted sweet potatoes in Xingshan County often cut off the vines to sell, which proved that cutting some vines doesn’t significantly affect the growth of the sweet potatoes.

However, it’s unclear whether the planting of new vines can produce the same results as when it was done earlier.

“There should be no problem with proper management.” Wei Ruo replied.

The sweet potatoes she planted on Xiaoyang Mountain and the sandy soil near Stone Village also suffered losses. The reason it didn’t become an issue was because Wei Ruo knew how to fix it.

With Wei Ruo’s remedial measures, as long as the subsequent weather remains normal, it basically won’t have a significant impact on the yield of sweet potatoes.

Upon hearing Wei Ruo’s definite answer, Madame Yun was slightly relieved. She confessed to Wei Ruo: “Ruo, the recent cold snap has had a major impact on Taizhou Prefecture and all of Jiangzhe. The court is taking this very seriously. I heard that an imperial envoy was dispatched purposely to inspect the situation.”

“Hmmm,” Wei Ruo responded simply and calmly.

“Given this situation, I’m really worried that this year’s food production won’t be better than that of last year. If there’s a shortfall, it may cause unrest,” Madame Yun said with a worried expression on her face.

One side was the possibility of war at any time, and the other was the unpredictable weather.

If this continues, it’s not just the common people who can’t endure it. Even families like theirs will be heavily affected.

“Hmm.”

Of course, Wei Ruo knew of these situations that Madame Yun mentioned. Last year, the unfavorable weather affected food production due to low temperatures, lack of sunlight, irregular winds, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather only emerged after the autumn harvest.

However, this year, extreme conditions appeared just after the Dragon Boat Festival, directly causing significant damage to agriculture. This wasn’t a good sign.

But in response to Madame Yun, Wei Ruo didn’t give much explanation.

Looking at the calm and composed face of Wei Ruo, Madame Yun asked: “Ruo, you are always full of ideas in this aspect. Do you have a good plan to help everyone to increase grain production?”

“What I know is not much. There aren’t particularly good solutions for now,” Wei Ruo responded diplomatically.

“Indeed, this is a natural disaster. Even the government can’t solve such a big problem. I can’t expect a woman like you to sort it out. Maybe I’m thinking too much,” said Madame Yun, feeling disappointed but also reasonable. It was already quite fortunate that her eldest daughter could improve the soil and garner praise from the Seventh Prince. One can’t possibly have solutions for everything.

With that thought in mind, Madame Yun didn’t hold Wei Ruo back any longer, “That’s enough. Your mother will figure out this matter by herself. I think you must be tired after coming back from class. Go back to Tingsong Garden and rest first. Come back for dinner later.”

“Hmm.”

Having left Cangyun Garden, Wei Ruo walked briskly back to Tingsong Garden.

As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, Wei Ruo instructed Xiumei: “Meimei, tomorrow morning, could you please ask for leave from Mr. Wang on my behalf? I plan to purchase another farm.”

“Miss, are you going to buy another farm?” Xiumei asked.

“Yes. Over the past few months, the Four Treasure House, marinated food stalls, grain shops, and my collaboration with the Zuixian Residence made me a lot of silver. It’s enough for me to buy another farm,” answered Wei Ruo.

With the one thousand taels she had saved up, Wei Ruo planned to convert it into land for additional crop production.

One reason was that it’s easier to buy farmland at this time. The other was that buying farmland now still presented an opportunity to increase the production of grain. In times when the weather prognosis is poor, Wei Ruo felt it was even more necessary to come up with ways to produce more food. This is not only about money, but also life!

“Miss, you can buy a farm, but I’m just worried that you won’t be able to manage it. Mr. Yu is already taking care of two thousand acres, and the nurse and Uncle Xu also have a lot on their hands. If there’s more, you will have to find someone new,” Xiumei said.

“For this farm, we don’t need to hire long-term workers. Like most other farms, we will use tenants and collect rent,” Wei Ruo said.

Hiring long-term workers entails a relatively complicated management, but Wei Ruo can freely change the crops planted, making it convenient for her to trial and experiment on the farm.

Collecting rent is relatively simpler and easier to manage. Many large households with a lot of land adopt the same method.

“That’s good, as long as it doesn’t tire you, Miss, it will work out whatever way we choose,” Xiumei has always trusted Wei Ruo’s decisions. Her only concern was that Wei Ruo might overwork herself.

“Don’t worry, your young lady here loves money, but values her life even more. I must treasure my life in order to enjoy spending money. The greatest tragedy in life is when people die and the money is still there. I am not that foolish,” Wei Ruo said.

“That’s good!” Xiumei grinned.

In the evening, after checking all the account books of the past few days, Wei Ruo stretched, and as she looked towards the dimly lit lamp at the corner of the table, the image of Wei Jinyi suddenly appeared before her eyes.

His handsome, stunning face, indifferent and distant expressions, yet with a pair of gentle eyes.

Sister Ruo wondered, how is Brother Wei doing now?

After contemplating for a moment, Wei Ruo pulled out some writing paper and began to write a letter..