They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 223 The Glory of the Whole Village
As for whose land to go to—of course, it's Xu Zhichun's land!

As for cooking, it's all done at Liang Lizheng's house.

Aunt Zhu'er was in charge of cooking, and several families sent one or two women to help out.

Xu Zhichun had no objections; this was for the best. She hadn't originally intended to hog the limelight. After all, wouldn't the village help out when needed?
The best outcome is when the whole village is united as one.

Finally, the day arrived, and the whole village eagerly awaited it early in the morning, filled with excitement.

Those who had never been to the city in their lives were especially excited and talked about it endlessly.

Despite Liang Lizheng's repeated warnings to the villagers to keep the news of the county magistrate's arrival a secret, it was eventually spread rapidly to the surrounding villages.

The surrounding villages and towns were in an uproar.

Not only the people of Liangjia Village were waiting for this day, but the people from all the surrounding villages were also waiting.

Good heavens! When this day arrived, the county magistrate and his men hadn't even come yet, but countless people from all the surrounding villages and towns had flocked to see what was going on.

Liang Lizheng: "."

Which bastard leaked this?!

Magistrate Lu was very concerned about this matter. He set off from the county office early in the morning with a group of nearly twenty people. The group moved slowly in two carriages, with the yamen runners following on foot.

Around 10 a.m., the group arrived at Liangjia Village.

"He's here! The magistrate is here!"

"Wow, it really is the county magistrate! Liangjia Village didn't lie!"

"Don't push, don't push, let me see!"

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency! I saw Your Excellency today!"

"Shh, all of you keep your voices down, don't disturb the magistrate!"

"People from other villages, step back, step back. Don't rush around or shout, or you'll lose your relatives and friends."

At Xu Zhichun's suggestion, the temporary order maintenance team in Liangjia Village kept shouting and driving away the crowds that were trying to push forward.

Magistrate Lu and his men were astonished.

The crowds were enormous.
County Magistrate Zhao was also dumbfounded: "So many people in Liangjia Village!"

Master Shao laughed heartily: "I'm afraid most of them are from other villages who came to watch the excitement. After all, there aren't many officials like our magistrate and the county magistrate who care so much about the people's affairs."

Magistrate Lu and Assistant Magistrate Zhao both laughed.

In the other carriage, Lu Xiaoyue, who had specially taken leave from the county school, was still dressed as a man. She kept lifting the curtain to look out, but Granny Ji quickly stopped her, saying, "My dear, please don't! There are too many people on the road!"

Magistrate Lu was actually quite pleased. "It's good that so many people are here. They've all seen the yield of sweet potatoes and potatoes, so I don't need to promote it anymore. It's a good thing, a good thing!"

When the magistrate and his entourage arrived from afar, the villagers cheered, excited, and made a great commotion. But when the magistrate and his entourage actually came into view, out of their innate fear of imperial officials, they all became nervous.

The villagers of Liangjia Village, who were maintaining order, shooed people back, and everyone obediently retreated, craning their necks to look at the carriage, mouths slightly open, eyes wide open, not daring to smile exaggeratedly, let alone make a fuss.

Children seem to be born with a fear of the guards with swords at their waists, clinging tightly to their parents' legs and hiding behind them while peeking curiously with wide eyes.

Liang Lizheng, along with the village elders and Xu Zhichun, greeted them at the village entrance. Magistrate Lu and his entourage disembarked from their carriage.

Liang, the village head, bowed respectfully: "This humble subject greets Your Excellency the County Magistrate, Your Excellency the County Assistant, and Master Shao!"

Fourth Aunt and the others beamed with smiles, their movements stiff and nervous as they hurriedly imitated him, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency! Greetings, Your Excellency! Your Assistant!" "Haha, greetings, Your Excellency! Greetings, Your Assistant!" "Greetings, Your Excellency!" Magistrate Lu, never one for formalities, knew the villagers had never seen him, their local official, and were understandably nervous and fearful. He didn't mind the chaotic greetings, laughing heartily and raising his hand, "Fellow villagers, no need for formalities. You all know why I've come to your village today. Enough with the small talk, let's go to the fields, shall we?"

"Good good!"

"What you say is all true!"

"You're such a good official, sir! Haha!"

Everyone was even more excited and emboldened by the unexpected magistrate's amiable manner. They eagerly answered, thinking that they could boast about having spoken with the magistrate in the future – it was quite a thrill!

County Magistrate Zhao felt slightly uncomfortable and frowned slightly, but seeing that his superior didn't seem to mind, he also showed a gentle smile and followed behind County Magistrate Lu.

Liang Lizheng hurriedly said with a smile, "Sir, the sweet potatoes and potatoes in our village were all planted by us using seeds obtained from the Xu family. The Xu family's land is the closest, and the potatoes grown there are the best. How about you come to the Xu family's land to dig up some sweet potatoes and potatoes?"

Magistrate Lu glanced at Xu Zhichun and nodded: "Alright."

Xu Zhichun bowed slightly. "Please, sir."

Magistrate Lu glanced around. Although countless villagers followed and surrounded them, there was clearly a group of people maintaining order, which was undoubtedly arranged by Liangjia Village.

The village head is thorough and a good person.

Everyone soon arrived at Xu Zhichun's house.

Liang, the village head, quickly ordered people to guard the edge of the field: "Everyone, please make way! Don't go any further, or you'll trample the crops! You can check the sweet potatoes and potatoes later!"

With Magistrate Lu and his entourage present, even if the large groups from other villages were dissatisfied, they dared not cause trouble. They were blocked outside and dared not push or shove, so they could only crane their necks to watch.

When they arrived at the field, Liang, the village head, was about to start working himself, but Magistrate Lu took the hoe and said, "Let me give it a try."

Everyone was astonished, and even Liang, the village head, stammered, "Yes, yes, sir, please. This, this is the sweet potato. Just dig it up in the ground."

Although Magistrate Lu had never farmed before, he had grown flowers. The difference between this large hoe and the small flower hoe was quite significant, and his digging movements were a bit awkward. However, Xu Zhichun's land was well-fertilized and watered, and the soil was loose, so Magistrate Lu dug up a sapling smoothly.

Liang Li was busy leading people to pick out all the dug-up sweet potatoes and put them into baskets one by one.

This sweet potato plant produced eight fruits. The two smallest ones were not much bigger than two fingers put together, but the three largest ones were over 15 centimeters long and over 5 centimeters in diameter at their widest point. They were truly giants.

"Wow, there are so many!"

"These sweet potatoes are really high-yielding."

"Look at these fruits, how delightful they are!"

"It must weigh at least five pounds, right?"

"Even if it doesn't weigh five pounds, it's still worth it."

"Yes."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and they began to whisper among themselves.

County Magistrate Zhao and his advisor Shao were also dumbfounded.

Magistrate Lu was also surprised and hurriedly asked, "This one plant can make such a small half-basket? Village Head Liang, how much can one mu (unit of land area) produce?"

Magistrate Lu's question stumped Liang, the village head, who was also filled with excitement and couldn't stop smiling. He replied eagerly, "Your Honor, I don't know either, but it's definitely a lot. Once I've measured one acre of land, I'll collect it and report back to you."

Xu Zhichun didn't want things to drag on and wanted to make the most of it, so he interjected, "Village head, we can measure out a small plot of land and start harvesting now. We can harvest a small plot of land very quickly."

(End of this chapter)