Chapter 738: Collapsing from Sickness
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The batch of sweet potatoes planted around the Dragon Boat Festival was small in amount so there was not much to harvest.
When the vines were planted around the Dragon Boat Festival, it was around June and July. Only then were they planted on a large scale in all parts of the country. This was the largest batch planted.
Nanny Yue looked overjoyed. “The old farmers in the manor who know how to farm said that sweet potatoes are cheap. They can be planted and harvested at almost any time. You can still harvest them in November at the latest.” The old farmer in the manor had had such a guess before, but it had not been confirmed. Yu Youyao was still worried.
Now that her guess was confirmed, the huge stone in her heart was finally released.
Nanny Yue was also excited. “The earliest batch of sweet potatoes in our village was planted at the end of February. When the harvest came, the old farmer said that this batch was planted early and ripened early. They were harvested a month later. The August harvest is the most suitable.”
“For those planted before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, now is the best time to harvest them. Moreover, this batch has the highest production. It should be the best time to plant it.”
“However, the old farmers in the manor also said that the temperature differences cause the time for the sweet potatoes to ripen to be a little different. In the second half of the year in the north, the weather is dry and cold, and the time for the sweet potatoes to ripen is around August or September.”
“The temperature in the south is suitable. May and June are the best times to plant sweet potatoes, and October is the ripening period for sweet potatoes. There’s definitely no need to worry about harvesting sweet potatoes in Zhejiang.’!
Yu Youyao was very happy. “The production of sweet potatoes is high and they can fill stomachs. From February to October every year, the planting period is almost half a year. Moreover, it’s a cheap job. If we can promote planting of sweet potatoes throughout the country, most of the commoners will be able to fill their stomachs.’
Nanny Yue smiled. “The sweet potatoes have already been widely planted in the north and south regions. The range of planting sweet potatoes will definitely increase next year. In less than two years, the entire country will be able to plant them.”
Eldest Miss had relied on her own strength to turn the tide and resolve the famine problem of some of the refugees in Zhejiang during the flood and drought in the north.
In the future, when the range of planting of sweet potatoes expands, all the people in the world would also benefit from the sweet potatoes’ resistance to dry soil, low nourishment, poor conditions, indiscriminate areas and poor climate. The planting of sweet potatoes was cheap and could be done at a large scale. They would also fill stomachs and taste good.
At that time, Young Miss’s hard work would benefit generations to come.
Yu Youyao also smiled. “That’s great! With green vines all over the fields, there will be no famine in the world, and millions of people will be happy.”
If it were anyone else, they might think that Young Miss was spouting nonsense, but Nanny Yue knew that this was Young Miss’s wish, and she had been working hard for this wish.
She collected crops from all over the country and tested them.
As long as crops were planted in an area, that area would have one more crop, and the commoners’ families would have one more crop.
This was a matter of setting the foundation to benefit future generations.
Nanny Yue changed the topic. “Everything in the manor has been arranged. When do you plan to return to Quanzhou?”
Yu Youyao looked a little down. “At the very least, I have to wait until the fifth week after Grandmothers pa.s.sing. That day, Grandmother will definitely be on the Lookout Platform, waiting to see me one last time.”
On the fifth week, before the sun rose, the family of the Yu Residence set up a table at the main door for food. The family knelt around the table and cried.
This was the fifth week after Old Madam Yu’s death. On this day, the deceased would walk onto the Lookout Platform and look at their descendants for the last time. After that, they would really be separated by heaven and earth.
After the fifth week of Old Madam Yu’s death, it was late September.
The north wind howled through the night, and it was winter the next day.
The weather suddenly changed. Yu Youyao, who had just recuperated a little, suddenly fell sick.
Everyone in the capital knew that Eldest Miss Yu had fallen sick early in the morning. It was just that she had been busy managing Old Madam Yu’s funeral and forced herself to stay awake. Now that Old Madam Yu was buried, Eldest Miss Yu’s body had been stretched to the limit and she had fallen sick.
The next day, the current emperor praised in the royal court, “Old Madam Yu is loyal and devoted. County Head of Shaoyi did not let her down. She is filial and kind.’
Yu Zongzheng knelt and thanked her.
When the Empress Dowager in the palace found out that Yu Youyao was sick, she sent Auntie Shen to personally send over a lot of expensive medicinal herbs and supplements.
It was only September, but Yu Youyao was already wearing a weasel fur cloak. As soon as she entered the house, she took off the cloak on her body. Her face was pale and she looked sickly. The plain white clothes made her look thin and weak.
It was obvious that she had suffered a lot.
Auntie Shen held her hand and said a few words of concern before conveying the Empress Dowager’s words. “The Empress Dowager praises the County Head of Shaoyi for being pure and filial. She wants you to take care of yourself.”
Yu Youyao knelt on the ground and thanked her. She used all the a.s.sets that her grandmother had given to her as donations to the Imperial Court for the delayed drought.
There were more than 300,000 taels of silver.
Auntie Shen did not expect this. For a moment, she was stunned, not knowing if she should accept it.
Yu Youyao dragged her sickly body and knelt down to hold the box high. “Grandmother has always been worried about the drought in the north, but she left too suddenly and didn’t have time to explain many things. She has worshiped Bodhisattva for most of her life. Buddhists often say that the law of cause and effect in the world has its own prajna. This can be considered to have fulfilled her karma with Bodhisattva and resolved one of her worries.’
At this point, Auntie Shen had no choice but to answer. She only said, “The Imperial Court has received news that a crop called a sweet potato has been planted on a large scale in the north. This crop is edible, and the production is very high. The harvest in August and September has greatly alleviated the famine in the north. The Imperial Court is currently gathering food and medicine to prepare for disaster relief.”
She still did not say when the disaster relief would happen.
Many refugees were gathered outside the capital, let alone elsewhere.
It seemed that some remote and poor areas were already filled with hunger.
Yu Youyao lowered her eyes, but there was cold mockery in them. She did not mention that she was the one who had promoted the planting of the sweet potatoes. At the moment, the Imperial Court had only received news. As for the details, they would have to wait until the disaster relief officials arrived in the north to investigate the key role of the sweet potatoes in the drought and trace their source before going to the Imperial Court.
Only then would the Imperial Court react.
However, this was not the reason why the Imperial Court had repeatedly delayed disaster relief.
Originally, the drought in the north was handled by the Cabinet Grand Secretary, Yu Zongshen. The Ministry of Revenue had also been making preparations. However, because her grandmother had pa.s.sed away, Yu Zongshen was mourning at home. All the matters in the cabinet were coordinated by a few Deputy a.s.sistants. The more people in charge, the more voices there would be. With different opinions, there would be more matters to cover.
The cabinet was fighting openly and secretly. There were few people who were truly willing to serve the people. Yu Zongshen’s departure gave the court officials a chance to take over. The disaster relief that was originally scheduled for the end of August was repeatedly delayed.
It was also because most of the most remote and poor areas in the north were under King Yue Fei’s rule. The 500,000 You soldiers guarding the North were a deterrent and intimidating..