Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 1048: Chapter 959: Official of the First Rank

After a winter of training, spring planting soon arrived. The various young animals Murong Shuangshuang had ordered in advance gradually arrived, and the large farm that was established could house many animals.

Murong Shuangshuang had already found women in the village who were skilled in raising poultry and livestock, offering them generous wages. She personally administered Chinese medicine-based vaccines to these young animals on schedule to prevent diseases and avian flu. Lime was spread throughout the farm, with constant cleaning to ensure maximum cleanliness.

During the winter, Murong Shuangshuang experimented with methods of composting and burning fertilizer. At that time, people were not familiar with composting, and non-composted fertilizer was not very effective.

Although Yu Family Village also experienced cold winters, it was not so cold that everything withered. At least cabbages could still be planted, and these cabbages were what kept households from freezing or starving during the winter.

Murong Shuangshuang originally intended to use the composted and burnt plant fertilizers for her own family and, after seeing the results, to encourage villagers to follow suit.

However, Murong Shuangshuang underestimated the villagers’ trust in her. Since they did not have to pay taxes and were not worried about going hungry during the winter, everyone blindly followed Murong Shuangshuang in composting and burning fertilizers for farming.

When winter passed and the fields were lush and green, increasing production by at least a third, the villagers of Yu Family Village were either silent or stunned. Once they regained their senses, they were ecstatic.

An increase of a third in production, what did it mean? It meant that after three years of tax reduction, they could sustain themselves after paying taxes and not suffer from hunger as before!

After repeatedly thanking her, the villagers began to celebrate wildly. Murong Shuangshuang felt a bit helpless. She did not want to shatter their innocent thoughts and decided to let them enjoy a few days of happiness. In the future, the court’s taxes would be heavier, and when chaos breaks out, forced conscription would begin, turning the land into a real hell where even a bountiful year would see barren fields and starvation everywhere.

The villagers, unaware of Murong Shuangshuang’s worries, held on to hope and started spring planting. This year, every household had horses. One horse replaced the labor of many workers, making spring planting the easiest and quickest it had ever been.

While farming, they also trained. Murong Shuangshuang pressed the villagers in a rush, seizing the last few moments of relative peace for intense training. Fortunately, there was no shortage of meat, and everyone’s physical condition could withstand it.

By the end of the year, as expected, the increase in field yields was at least a third more. Some households even had higher increases. Joyfully harvesting the crops, the village held a harvest festival once more.

This time, Murong Shuangshuang was pushed onto the altar by all the villagers to officiate the harvest festival. This was a position only the most esteemed elders could occupy, symbolizing the villagers’ recognition and obedience, and it represented Murong Shuangshuang’s top position in Yu Family Village.

This year Murong Shuangshuang became the leader of Yu Family Village. Even the village chief and the elders subconsciously waited for her orders and opinions when making decisions.

This was also the year the villagers were the happiest. Every household lived in harmony, and there were many plump babies in the village. Villagers who once bore grim expressions now had smiles. In this chaotic era, Murong Shuangshuang was their god, providing a peaceful haven, and all the villagers of Yu Family Village were deeply grateful to her.

The only ones who did not share the villagers’ contentment and gratitude were Fang Keixin’s family. They had conflicts all year long despite good times, as Fang Keixin clashed with relatives and caused turmoil.

Now that they had enough food and drink, villagers found leisure in watching the dramatic antics of the Fang family for entertainment, passing their time with the chaos in the Fang household.

Fang Keixin was not afraid of being embarrassed, revealing all of her family’s matters. Throughout the year, Fang Keixin, along with her parents, engaged in business, relentlessly striving and actually earning money. Despite inevitable setbacks and being bullied, they managed to earn four or five hundred taels of silver, making them quite wealthy landlords in the village.

Of course, Fang Keixin did not plan on purchasing land. In this chaotic world, in case the dynasty changed and the new Emperor did not recognize land deeds from the previous dynasty, Fang Keixin intended to save money and continue making money through business.

However, with Fang Keixin having money, the family’s interest in it was high. Partial grandparents, greedy uncles, and relatives were numerous. Fang Keixin, not one to suffer losses, naturally quarreled daily until a complete break occurred. With her parents, Fang Keixin severed family ties and voluntarily gave up the clan, settling in town never to return to the Fang family.

After Fang Keixin left, the Fang family’s reputation was ruined. Although some villagers felt that Fang Keixin’s actions were not filial, ultimately Old Sir Fang and Mrs. Tian were too biased, tilting toward favored sons while relentlessly oppressing the unfavored ones. What kind of parenting was that?

Murong Shuangshuang paid little attention to Fang Keixin’s departure. She remembered past life memories and knew Fang Keixin would soon face her greatest crisis and encounter her greatest supporter, Luo Yunchuan.

However, Murong Shuangshuang did not concern herself with these events, instead focusing on incorporating two neighboring villages related to Yu Family Village, struggling due to taxes, into Yu Family Village.

In truth, the reasons these villages wanted to merge with Yu Family Village were simple. In this small place, the County Magistrate was like the sole authority, and it was no secret he had exempted Yu Family Village from taxes for three years.

The aim of these villages was to merge with Yu Family Village and benefit from the tax exemption. Murong Shuangshuang was not opposed, although merging villages was no easy task.

This matter had to be passed through the County Magistrate openly. Otherwise, if he perceived it as exploiting his promise, it could bring disaster to Yu Family Village.

To persuade the County Magistrate to turn a blind eye to the matter, Murong Shuangshuang was diligently crafting a birthday gift for him: a person-tall jade carving.

This jade carving depicted the scenery of the Immortal Palace, its splendid towers and buildings breathtakingly beautiful, and an immortal standing atop the mountain, sculpted to resemble the County Magistrate. Indeed, this jade carving made the County Magistrate adore it, his face lit with surprise and delight.

Because he was so fond of the jade carving, the County Magistrate not only allowed Yu Family Village to merge with surrounding villages without tax but also rewarded Murong Shuangshuang with a thousand taels of silver.

Of course, in this era of extravagant wealth, such a fine jade carving could sell for several thousand or even ten thousand taels of silver. The County Magistrate’s reward was little, but given Murong Shuangshuang’s request and the fact that he rewarded her, she was very satisfied. In this uncertain world, silver notes were unreliable, so Murong Shuangshuang, relying on her skill and courage, directly brought back a thousand taels of silver.