The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 168

Xu Ran's favorite New Year's activity was wandering the streets. He also came up with a very good and acceptable justification for what he'd done, which was to study the people's predicament for King Yan. Xu Ran wasn't just strolling about aimlessly. 

He'd discovered a lot of information. He thought it was a lot of fun at first. However, as more people began to trust in him, it became a type of responsibility, and it also became a habit for Xu Ran.

After presenting the apricot to King Yan, Xu Ran did not give it much thought, but he did frequent regions with many apricot trees and saw many people gathering apricot flowers. Apricot blooms barely lasted about ten days until they bloomed. There was a lot to accomplish in these ten days, but it was evident that many of the people picking the flowers were not farmers. Xu Ran didn't pay attention since he assumed they were King Yan's men. He didn't stop wandering.

Tangtang and Guoguo did not attend the military training this year. Instead, they stayed at home and read literature in preparation for this year's Autumn Test.

In the previous year, they had not read any novels. It was vital for them to review it, no matter how many things they had previously learned. Xu Ran didn't have to be concerned because the two kids were focused on their objectives. 

The answer to the work that Xu Ran had assigned to them last year made him even happier. When Tangtang and Guoguo returned one day, they wrote down what they intended to say and then showed it to Xu Ran. Xu Ran commended the two children without hesitation after reading it.

Yan Zhou residents could not possibly be poor. Crops couldn't make them wealthy, but there was another option. Tangtang and Guoguo were both extremely aware of it, as evidenced by the theories Xu Ran proposed, and they also provided examples to demonstrate it.

 Because Yanzhou had a meadow, more grass may be available to raise more cows and sheep. In this area, there was also a large, long river. So raising some fish in it wasn't a problem, and there were plenty of deserted regions on the mountain and plants blooming in the mountains that might be put to good use.

The population of Yanzhou's capital was not great, but it was certainly not insignificant with the support of the 5,000 men. As a result, King Yan was unable to feed the entire population of Yanzhou on his own. 

More qualified men were needed to advise King Yan and figure out Yan Zhou's future together. They even considered education, which was a broad topic.

They put what they already knew together with what Xu Ran had told them and wrote it all down. Xu Ran felt quite proud after reading that, in addition to the smile on his face. He was the one who taught the two kids. How could he not be pleased with their intelligence and wit?

It was also the reason why Xu Ran walked the streets aimlessly. He needed to get close to people if he wanted to learn about their lives and thoughts. It might not work in Great Xia, but it might in Yanzhou. 

Yanzhou had the appearance of a caged beast. It must break out of the cage or it will be trapped for the rest of its life. Xu Ran, of course, wanted the Yanzhou to be the former. He wasn't just saying what he promised King Yan back then. Everything appears to be going fairly smoothly.

People started planting corn in the middle of April. In May, a significant quantity of potatoes were planted, and the mountain's ground was gradually regained. There was an unlimited life force yearning to take root and flourish beneath the revitalized earth. 

King Yan also reviewed the answers offered by Tangtang and Guoguo, selecting a few that were appropriate for the time being and enlisting the help of others to work on it, particularly the grassy area. In three years, he can grow a meadow, and in another three years, he can grow another.