Master of Strange Dao

What's it called again? Oh, right, the trial field. The first year's harvest, there's no need to pay the grain tax, it's directly waived.

In their first year, they don't have to pay the grain tax, and the harvest is more than in previous years. What they get in hand suddenly triples or doubles—are you jealous?

Heh, it serves you right.

Told you to listen and learn from the Jade Tablet properly, this Magical Treasure is pretty valuable.

I shamelessly begged at the County Magistrate's place for three days just to borrow one for our village.

Nowadays, His Majesty is enlightened, and the administration is progressive, that's why I dared to go.

If this were twenty or thirty years ago, I wouldn't have dared to stretch my hand out at the County Magistrate's Office.

Why are you all making it difficult for Brother Wang? Have a few good days gone to your head?

You dare to mess with the government office now?

Everybody, get lost."

The village chief shouted at the top of his lungs, spraying saliva in all directions, scaring a group of old ladies into silence.

A group of old ladies dejectedly walked away.

Only then did the village chief squeeze out a smile and sidled over.

"Brother Wang, you weren't frightened, were you? These old ladies are ignorant—don't take it to heart.

Actually, to tell the truth, Brother Wang, you're actually one of our own, a bit too enthusiastic, but don't mind it."

"No problem, no problem..." the young man shook his head, he was used to it from daily village visits.

"Then Brother, about the fertilizer for this year, can our village get a bit more?

You've seen it—the land here is poor, the yield isn't even half of the neighboring village.

In recent years, we've had a lot of new babies in the village, all kids who can't work yet, needing someone to take care of them, and that's one less laborer.

Now there are more mouths to feed and fewer hands to work.

If this year's harvest isn't good, we won't be able to survive.

I, an old man, now eat porridge twice a day to save, and you see how thin I've become."

The young man's features almost furrowed together as he forced a bitter smile.

"All of this is predetermined—how much land to plow, the soil fertility, and then how much each gets—it's all calculated in advance.

I dare not casually change it; that would be a grave taboo.

Although His Majesty is open-minded and takes care of us at the lower levels, if I practice favoritism and violate the law, I will lose the position I finally acquired."

"You misunderstand, Brother, I meant, could you perhaps reflect the situation to the higher-ups once you get back?

You've seen it yourself, the village is full of naked toddlers who can't work."

"Alright, I'll speak to the superior when I'm back."

The Brother continued to distribute the fertilizer. When he was done, he took out the Paper Crane and glanced at it, then kicked it back into his bag, gathered his Qi, and sprinted on his legs toward the next village.

Afterward, that village began organizing people to fertilize while continuing with their profanity-laden scolding.

"Erwa's mother, are you stupid or what? How many times have I told you, it's about the right amount, the right amount!

You listen to the Jade Tablet every day—are you hearing it with a dog's belly?

More is not necessarily better; it could be worse. Only the most suitable amount will yield the best growth."

"Dog child, have you gone stupid too? Do you need to taste the poop to tell if it's salty or not? What are you doing, sneaking it back home to compare with your family's privy?"

"Whose brat is this? Dammit, can't you teach them anything? They're even daring to pull out the seedlings now."

As the village spoke up, an aggressive woman burst out, grabbed the toddler, and started beating him fiercely.

The surrounding villagers laughed heartily, adding fuel to the fire.

"Beat him senseless, whip his butt raw! He's four years old and still hasn't learned his lesson—beat him senseless."

In the fields, there was a busy and noisy commotion.

Yu Ziqing and his companions concealed their figures, looking at all this with Yu Ziqing's mouth curving in a smile.

"We'll keep moving, and don't forget to prepare the Artifact embryos later; these are clearly not enough."

In the most remote villages, each has a Jade Tablet available to listen to every day.

There's also better fertilizer to use.

Everything seems to be developing well; it's already remarkable to have come this far in ten years.

Yu Ziqing passed through the village, taking a look around.

There were few old people in the village, but there were many children under the age of ten.

Those bare-bottomed kids ran around causing mayhem, looking robust and healthy.

This wasn't just about not starving anymore, but about having enough to eat.

And it's clear they are getting some nutrients.

Not starving anymore, these people dare to have children; with enough food, they dare to raise chickens and pigs.

Meat, eggs, milk—at the end of the day, it's all about the grain.

With meat in their diet, people grow stronger; this strength passes down generation to generation.

It forms the foundation for Body Refinement.

And for Body Refinement, the consumption of meat is even greater.

That's why Body Strengthening has not yet started to spread widely; the basic conditions aren't there yet.

Later on, the consumption of Spiritual Medicine will be even greater.

To grow Spiritual Medicine, one has to cultivate spirit fields and use resources to nurture them, which competes with food cultivation.

In the end, it's about upgrading agricultural techniques, conditions, and so on.

Only when grain yield is sufficient, can there be excess labor to engage in other industries and to develop other sectors.

If there isn't enough to eat, don't expect other developments.

The foundation of everything is the grain.

So, Yu Ziqing can neglect other things, but he must intervene here.

His involvement signifies importance, and others down the line will then pay more attention to this matter.

The agricultural channel opened by the Jade Tablet, to the filth bucket—all are related to agriculture.

When resources are abundant, when there's good food and strong bodies,

the base of Cultivators and the military will have enough to grow largley.

Only with a large enough base can there be more high-level experts, elite powerhouses.

Without creating the right conditions, like in the old days of Dadui, apart from those noble families, it was almost impossible for anyone outside to achieve the Ninth Tier.

Yu Ziqing traveled from the most isolated hamlets to the small towns.