The world of film and television starts from the flow of money

The autumn wind suddenly rose, making the rice ears rustle in the fields. The sky was azure blue, with a few thin white clouds floating slowly. The sun shone down, covering the earth with a layer of golden brilliance, not as hot as in summer, but with just the right warmth.

Yi Huawei and Hei Ren rode their horses slowly, their horses' hooves hitting the ground rhythmically, making a "clacking" sound.

Yi Huawei was dressed in a plain and elegant black robe, the corners of which swayed gently in the wind. He sat upright on the horse's back with a deep and restrained gaze, revealing a temperament of majesty without even being angry.

Hei Ren's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. He was always vigilantly observing his surroundings, and his only hand was firmly holding the reins.

The two of them headed towards the imperial farm outside Xiang County. Yi Huawei chatted with Hei Ren and listened to Hei Ren talking about the changes that had taken place in Changsha County over the past two years.

The biggest change is the sanitation. In addition to the public toilets built by the government, many private toilets have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. The owners of those toilets will hire people to clean them just to collect feces. The merchants in the county also use toilets or feces buckets. After defecation, they carry them out to the feces collectors the next morning. The feces are either used on public land or sold to farmers. Now this is considered a new business.

In addition, almost every river in the county now has waterwheels and other machines. Changsha people, whose lives are a little better than before, will take rice to the mill to grind it into powder and make rice noodles to eat. This has become a trend. Changsha County, which has a foundation of decades of development by the Chu State and has well-connected waterways, has now become a region with a well-developed agriculture. The annual grain output can be compared with those large counties in the Central Plains.

Yi Huawei looked in the direction that the black blade pointed, and saw the waterwheel on the river slowly turning under the impact of the water flow. The water wheel was also working non-stop, creating a busy scene.

In the fields, several farmers were busy, wearing coarse linen clothes. Some were waving sickles quickly to harvest rice, and the cut rice ears were neatly piled aside; some were bundling rice stalks with skillful techniques and quick movements, with beads of sweat on their foreheads and smiles in their eyes.

Hei Ren looked at Yi Huawei and pointed at the barn in the distance.
"The weather has been good over the past two years, Changsha County has had bumper harvests year after year, and the granaries are full."

Yi Huawei followed his gaze and saw a group of farmers busy moving grains in front of a barn not far away. They were shirtless, with beads of sweat glistening on their bronze skin. Some farmers carried baskets full of grains on poles and walked towards the barn steadily. With every step, the poles made a slight "creaking" sound; some farmers worked in pairs, carrying heavy sacks, shouting in unison, working together to move the grains to the designated location. The door of the barn was open, and it was filled with golden grains. From a distance, it looked like a golden hill.

"We transported a lot of cattle and horses from the north, and each village was given a few, so that every family could take turns to plow the land with cattle. The farm officials also taught the people how to make fertilizer and irrigate the land..."

Black Blade continued, "The farm officials worked tirelessly, guiding each household and passing on their experience. The people did not understand at first and thought that the farming methods of their ancestors were enough. But after trying the new methods, they found that the crops grew better. The people said that this was all thanks to the Prime Minister and His Majesty."

Yi Huawei smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise and cares about the people of the world. We, your subjects, should do our best to live up to your Majesty's trust and the people's expectations."

At this time, a melodious singing voice came from afar. It was a ballad sung while working, simple and cheerful, floating over the fields.

After stopping to watch for a while, Yi Huawei nodded and continued to move towards the imperial farm. The dust raised by the horse's hooves slowly fell behind him.

Soon, the two of them followed the path and arrived outside the imperial manor.

Nearly 1,000 mu of vast land is neatly divided, and the sugarcane fields are like a green ocean, gleaming with vitality under the September sun. The sugarcane is growing vigorously, with slender, thick and upright stems, and the nodes are closely connected. The sugarcane leaves rustle in the breeze, densely packed and orderly. The sunlight shines through the gaps between the sugarcane leaves, forming spots of light, outlining mottled light and shadows on the ground.

The ramie fields in the nearby orchards are equally impressive, with lush ramie plants and large, shiny green leaves swaying gracefully in the wind. The ramie stalks are tall and straight, some taller than a person, clustered together to form a unique green barrier.

Yi Huawei turned over and dismounted, and Hei Ren followed suit.

Yi Huawei walked towards the sugarcane field, and Hei Ren followed closely behind him, introducing as he walked: "Sir, the sugarcane is growing very well this year. The farmers have taken good care of it and irrigated it according to the method taught by the field officer, on time and in the right amount. As for insect prevention, insect-repellent flowers and plants are planted around the field, and there are special people to patrol every day, and any signs of insect infestation will be dealt with immediately. The guards will send people to patrol the surrounding area, and the farm itself has guards who are on duty day and night to ensure safety."

Sugarcane is an important source of sugar. Currently, there are nine imperial estates in the country that grow sugarcane, covering a planting area of ​​nearly 100,000 mu. One mu of sugarcane field can yield about seven tons of sugarcane, and each ton of sugarcane can produce about 120 kilograms of sugar. One mu of sugarcane can produce more than 800 kilograms of sugarcane, and the annual output is nearly 60,000 tons, one-tenth of which is used to make granulated sugar. One kilogram of sugarcane costs 30 cents, and the price of granulated sugar has increased tenfold, which is nearly 7 billion cents a year.

It's not that Yi Huawei doesn't want to grow more, but the purchasing power of the people is still limited. In other words, the people now have some spare money, and the price of sugar has dropped several times compared to before, so many people will buy a pound or a half a pound of sugar during festivals. The sales of white sugar are not a problem. The old Qin people, officials, gentry, merchants, and rich farmers all have it in their homes. Whether it is for making snacks or giving gifts, it is considered a presentable gift.

In the past few years, people didn't even want to eat candy. Unlike now, even if you don't have money to buy it, as long as there is a pregnant woman in the family, the government will give out ten kilograms of cane sugar, ten hens, and a hundred coins of "nutrition fee".

Because of this, the number of newborns increased by more than three million last year. For this reason alone, the national treasury has to spend nearly 200 million more each year, and the amount is increasing year by year.

However, Yi Huawei does not intend to cancel this benefit until the population reaches two billion.

Yi Huawei paused for a moment, then walked slowly along the ridges of the fields, where he saw many farmers working in the fields. Some were squatting on the ground weeding the sugarcane, carefully pulling out the weeds to avoid damaging the roots; others were using simple tools to check the growth of the sugarcane, measuring its thickness and height and recording them.

On the other side of the sugarcane field, a group of laborers were building a temporary shed to store the harvested sugarcane. Some of the laborers were carrying wood, and some were hammering nails. They were very busy. Their upper bodies were bare, their muscles were bronzed in the sun, and their hair and pants were soaked with sweat.

Yi Huawei asked, "How are the preparations for the harvest going?"

Black Blade replied: "The harvesting tools are ready, and the manpower is arranged. We just need to wait for the right time to start harvesting, and after the harvest, the sugarcane will be sent to the workshop in good condition. Sir, that is the ramie field!"

As Hei Ren spoke, he led Yi Huawei towards the ramie field.

The road was paved with dirt and gravel, rugged but solid. There were several deep ruts on the road, left by horse-drawn carts carrying farm tools and fertilizer. The roadside was covered with unknown weeds, some of which were trampled here and there by pedestrians.

Arriving at the ramie field, Yi Huawei asked, "What is the expected harvest of ramie?" Hei Ren came to the edge of the forest, stopped, and pointed to the ramie field. "There is old ramie here that was moved from other places. According to the craftsmen, the oldest perennial roots are over a hundred years old. This batch of ramie is almost ready to be harvested. This is the third batch this year. The ramie planted in these two manors in Xiang County can be used to weave as much as 1.4 million pieces of cloth after all the ramie is harvested and processed. If we wait until next year, when the ramie in the new ramie field grows up, the output can reach 2 million pieces."

Ramie is a crop that is full of treasures.

The cloth made of ramie is the best choice for summer clothing. This kind of clothing material is light in texture. After being made into clothes, you can hardly feel the weight when wearing them, just like wearing nothing. Its thickness is moderate, about the same as rice paper; its surface is flat and smooth, and its texture is delicate and exquisite, just like silk. As a summer clothing material, it is of the highest grade and extremely comfortable to wear. In addition, this kind of fabric has another feature, which is that it is not easy to be stained with dust. Among them, 10,000 pieces of the best quality parts are reserved every year and sent to the Xianyang Palace.

Ramie roots have a wide range of uses and can be used to make wine. Ramie roots and leaves have medicinal value, especially ramie leaves, which are a good medicine for stopping bleeding. When you are injured and bleeding, using ramie leaves to treat it can effectively stop bleeding. Ramie leaves can also be mixed with rice to make special delicacies. Those coarse ramie leaves can be processed into livestock feed. The feces produced by livestock after eating this feed can be used as fertilizer in the fields to nourish crops.

In addition to being used for medicine and clothing, the remaining skinless hemp stalks are also very useful. They are an important raw material for papermaking. After a series of processing, the hemp stalks can be used to obtain the materials needed for papermaking, and then various types of paper can be produced to meet the needs of writing and recording. In the production and life of Daqin, ramie, from roots to leaves, from stalks to skins, plays an indispensable role.

In this imperial farm, the personnel in charge of ramie-related affairs carefully inspect the growth of ramie every day. From whether the irrigation of the ramie fields is sufficient to whether there are pests and diseases, every link is taken seriously. At harvest time, all staff members go out to carefully harvest the ramie to ensure that its quality is not damaged. In the processing stage, whether it is weaving, pharmaceutical manufacturing or papermaking, there are special workshops and craftsmen who operate according to strict processes to maximize the value of ramie.

There were also officials in the imperial court who were responsible for managing the ramie industry. They were responsible for counting ramie production, allocating resources, and distributing ramie products to appropriate places according to local needs.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

A scolding broke the silence, the voice was alert and majestic.

Upon hearing the voice, Yi Huawei and Hei Ren immediately turned around and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a middle-aged man in plain clothes, about forty years old, striding towards them.

The man was of medium build, with a strong physique. Years of hard work had made his muscles tight and full of energy. He looked back and forth between Yi Huawei and Hei Ren with vigilance, not missing any details. He first stared at their faces, trying to find some clues from their expressions, then lowered his gaze to look at their clothes and the items they carried with them, and then looked at the horses they rode. After carefully examining them from top to bottom, he stood in front of the two and said:

"Who are you? Do you know where this is? This is the imperial estate, not a place you can just come here casually!" As he spoke, he frowned slightly and subconsciously clenched his hands into fists, as if he would immediately take action if the two of them made any abnormal move.

Yi Huawei looked calm and unhurried. He bowed to the man and said calmly, "I am from Nanjun and passed by here. I saw that the crops here were growing well and I was curious so I stayed for a while. Don't blame me, brother."

Yi Huawei's eyes were clear and frank, without any evasion, he looked directly into the other person's eyes, showing a sincerity.

Then, Yi Huawei asked again: "Brother, are you a tenant farmer in the village? What's your last name?"

"You're so polite! What's your last name?! Hehe!"

The middle-aged man glanced at Yi Huawei, his mouth corners slightly raised, his gaze stayed on Yi Huawei for a few seconds, smiled, and replied casually: "My last name is Chen, everyone calls me Chen Er. You can just take a look, but if you have dirty hands and feet, don't say I didn't warn you!"

Yi Huawei responded with a smile: "...Thank you, Brother Chen, for the reminder!"

As he spoke, he quickly stretched out his right hand, grabbed the angry Black Blade, and pulled him back a few steps. At the same time, he gave him a stern look.

Hei Ren frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but he held back when Yi Huawei's eyes stopped him.

Yi Huawei smiled and said, "Brother Chen, you seem to be quite familiar with this imperial farm. You have been here for quite a few years, right?"

Chen Er looked at Yi Huawei, nodded slightly, and said, "That's right. I have worked in this imperial manor for several years. I know everything about this imperial manor."

As he spoke, a hint of pride emerged on his face, his eyes became bright, and his chin was slightly raised, revealing a kind of confidence that he was familiar with the affairs of the imperial farm.

Yi Huawei became interested and continued to ask: "Then tell me, how is Xiang County now? I haven't been here for a long time, and I feel that it has changed a lot."

"Isn't the world the same? Where in Nanjun are you from? The manor in Zhonglu is better than here, right?"

As Chen Er spoke, he looked at Yi Huawei and the other man suspiciously, with a glimmer of doubt in his eyes. He unconsciously took a small step back, keeping a greater distance from Yi Huawei and the other man, with his feet slightly apart, in a defensive posture, as if ready to deal with any possible danger at any time. He also lowered his hands from his chest and hung them on both sides of his body.

"Haha, don't be alarmed, bro! Why are you so nervous?"

Yi Huawei laughed and said, "Are there still bandits in Changsha County now?"

"There are no bandits, but there are quite a few spies from South Vietnam!"

Chen Er stared at the two of them closely: "Where are your passes?!"

(End of this chapter)