Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!-Chapter 206 - 205: Vision and Perspective

The couple finished their pancakes, settled the bill, and led the horse toward the inn.

Once the horse and carriage were settled at the inn, Liu Ji saw that no one was around and then told Qin Yao about his discovery at the exam.

"So, you’re sure to be on the list this time?" Qin Yao was a bit surprised. Who could be so generous?

But this was not something a commoner like her could know, the key now was whether Liu Ji would be on the list after retaking the exam.

Actually, before the list was released, Liu Ji couldn’t be entirely confident about the results. Only after the list was out would they know.

"When will the list be released?" Qin Yao asked.

That would be soon. Liu Ji said, "The exam is today, and the list will be out the day after tomorrow."

Qin Yao glanced at the bustling inn hall, "Then let’s wait for two more days."

Liu Ji thought the same, to save himself from running back and forth later.

"So, will you be staying here for the next few days?" Liu Ji pointed to the carriage, thinking of suggesting that she get a room so he could also enjoy it.

Unfortunately, Qin Yao had no such plans, "The carriage is fine."

Liu Ji had to put away his little thoughts and instead asked about the Divine Power Book Box she was selling, "Did you come up with another money-making invention?"

Qin Yao gave him an annoyed glance, "I told you, you don’t need to worry about the household matters. You won’t lack food and clothing anyway."

Liu Ji smiled flatteringly, "I’m just concerned about you. You’ve been so busy running around. It’s been hard, hasn’t it? How about we go for a walk outside the city to relax these two days?"

Qin Yao frowned, "Are you asking me out?"

Liu Ji was taken aback, asking what? But he instinctively went along with her, "Yes, I’m asking you out for a walk."

Qin Yao snorted disdainfully, "Get lost!"

"Then where are you going?" Liu Ji not only didn’t leave but followed her as she went to unload the carriage.

With no money in his hands now, if he wanted to enjoy good food and drinks, he could only cling to the opportunity at hand.

Qin Yao instructed the kitchen apprentice to keep an eye on the carriage for her and led the horse out through the back door of the inn, "Going to check the suburbs."

Liu Ji was delighted, "Isn’t this going for a walk? It’s a great time when everything is awakening."

But Qin Yao turned around coldly, "You know nothing about the pest issues this year, do you?"

Liu Ji asked blankly, "What pest issues?"

Qin Yao tilted her chin, and Liu Ji obediently climbed onto the horse, sitting in front, gripping the reins, feeling a little excited and nervous.

The person behind swiftly mounted and sat steadily behind him.

A hand tapped his back, "Get down!" blocking her view.

"Oh." Liu Ji was already used to it, obediently bending down and hugging the horse’s neck.

Qin Yao squeezed the horse’s abdomen, and Old Huang carried them out of the city gates, arriving at the village outside.

Outside Kaiyang County, along the official road, there were farmlands everywhere.

At this point, the wheat harvest was almost over, and all they could see was a stretch of black and gray, the trace left by tenant farmers burning the wheat stalks.

When the horse slowed down, Liu Ji dared to raise his head.

When he came, sitting in the carriage, focused entirely on retaking the exam, he really hadn’t noticed the situation of this year’s wheat harvest.

Now looking at it, even with his lack of experience in farming, he could tell something was wrong. "Why burn so many wheat stalks?"

Wouldn’t it be better to keep them as fuel at home?

He remembered that in previous years, residual stacks were burned to fertilize the fields and make plowing smoother for spring farming.

Qin Yao dismounted, and Liu Ji hurriedly slid off the horse, following her to the nearest acre of wheat field.

Qin Yao squatted down, picked up a handful of unburned wheat stalks, where the wheat ears were clearly visible.

With original farming methods and no pesticides for pest control, the only way farmers could think of was to burn the infested land to kill the pests.

Even the ears were burned, showing that the wheat in this acre had almost no yield and had suffered severe pest issues.

Liu Ji was taken aback, looking at the vast stretch of black and gray wheat fields, all burned. Didn’t this mean not a bit of grain was harvested from these fields?

Because there was a bumper harvest last fall, tenants also wanted to nurture the land, not planting all the land with wheat. The gray-black color was scattered around the farm, and it didn’t look as shocking from afar as it did up close.

But if this season’s wheat had no yield, tenants might struggle to make it to the next autumn harvest.

Liu Ji suddenly remembered Old Liu’s previous worries, and timidly poked Qin Yao’s arm, "Do you think there will be a locust plague this year?"

Qin Yao was resolute, "There won’t be one here."

The tenant farmers around Kaiyang County dealt with pest issues more promptly and thoroughly, willing to burn everything if necessary; thus, the situation was controllable.

Although there would be a small wave of famine in May and June, sufficient grain should be available for disaster relief in Kaiyang County.

By mid-July, after the autumn harvest, the food crisis would be resolved.

But such matters could never be completely predicted. A mild situation here didn’t mean it was mild in Lin County.

Qin Yao dusted off her hands and stood up, saying to Liu Ji, "Thank Princess Huixiang. Without the Commandery Princess’s marriage alliance, and if the war continued, Zijing Mansion’s stored grain wouldn’t be preserved."

Liu Ji habitually replied, "Yes, yes, yes."

But after responding, he couldn’t help but mutter, "My fellow scholars all say that only a weak nation agrees to such humiliating marriage alliances."

Qin Yao’s slightly relaxed brow immediately furrowed deeply, glancing back at Liu Ji, "That’s what your fellow scholars say?"

Liu Ji wasn’t sure of her stance and quickly separated himself, "That’s what they say. I never said such a thing."

After speaking, he saw a sneer on her face that seemed either disdainful or something else, "It seems you scholars have filled your readings with nonsense!"

Liu Ji scarcely protested, "Can’t you drop the ’you’? I never said it, okay..."

"If you didn’t agree, you wouldn’t have said what you just did," Qin Yao coldly snorted, "You scholars, your vision and perspective are shockingly narrow."

Feeling aggrieved, Liu Ji bowed to Qin Yao with a challenging tone, "Please, enlighten me, my lady!"

He really wanted to hear how broad her vision and perspective could be.

Qin Yao originally didn’t want to waste words with a fool like him. However, thinking that he might enter the imperial examination and government service, it was necessary to develop his political sensitivity. Taking a deep breath, suppressing her annoyance, she signaled him to lead the horse and spoke as they walked toward the county:

"If you were the one in the Capital’s position, having just ended decades of turmoil and established a unified nation, what do you think should be the next step?"

Liu Ji didn’t answer because his answer would have been to gather all the beauties of the world in his palace and enjoy the pleasures of life.

Saying such a thing would be the end of him today, so it was better to act like he was attentively listening.

Seeing his eyes shift, Qin Yao knew he wasn’t thinking good thoughts and gave him a sidelong glance before continuing:

"To know what the next step should be, you must first recall why the past chaos occurred."

This line of thinking was somewhat new to Liu Ji, and he genuinely started pondering what had happened in recent years.

Unfortunately, it was a recent event not yet chronicled by historians, and teachers hadn’t taught about it, so he didn’t know where to start thinking about it.