The Female Assistant of Wei Yuyan Shuangfei

The official land was the only property of the county magistrate besides his salary. Among the few salaries, the official land accounted for a large proportion.

Although the imperial decree clearly stipulated that the county magistrate's official land was five hectares, most officials still enclosed land under various pretexts to increase the amount of official land.

After all, the monthly salary of a county magistrate was only fifteen strings of cash, which was enough to provide food and drink for his family, but he could not help but have some special hobbies, such as antiques, calligraphy and paintings, listening to music in brothels, and so on.

These expenses are not low. Apart from accepting bribes secretly, the only way to increase the money is to make some money by making some moves in the job fields.

Now that he knew that Xie Tingwen wanted to help cultivate the official land, Chen Ping's eyes revealed a hint of confusion and uneasiness.

However, Xie Tingwen's eyes were fixed on the envelope, and he did not notice Chen Ping's strange look.

"Thank you, sir!" Chen Ping shouted tentatively.

Xie Tingwen suddenly came to his senses, put down the letter and said: "Master Chen! I would like to ask Master Chen to help plant this bag of rice seeds. I..."

"Thank you, sir!~"

Chen Ping interrupted Xie Tingwen repeatedly, and said with a puzzled look on his face: "Thank you, sir! I can take care of this generation of rice seeds for you, but the sweet potatoes haven't been harvested yet, and I'm afraid I can't take care of them."

Chen Ping's words all revealed a tone of rejection. Xie Tingwen asked with a little surprise: "Master Chen! What do you think of sweet potatoes?"

"Okay!~"

Chen Ping agreed, "I have discussed this with those people. If what they said is true, then Wang Lang, the sea merchant, has done a great deed."

"Haha!~"

Xie Tingwen laughed out loud as he pushed the rice seeds out, pointing and saying, "This may be as good as sweet potatoes... No, it should be better."

"really?"

Chen Ping walked forward slowly with doubt in his mind, grabbed a handful of rice seeds from the bag, and after a careful inspection, he couldn't help but shook his head and said, "There's nothing special about this. Apart from being full, I can't tell what else is going on."

"Haha!~"

Xie Tingwen handed the letter over with a big laugh, and said slowly, "Master Chen! You will understand after reading the letter."

It was not convenient for Chen Ping to read Xie Tingwen's letters, whether official documents or family letters. But Xie Tingwen's eyes told him that there was something wrong.

Chen Ping slowly took the letter, read it carefully, and then read it again without giving up. The words in the book had a great impact on him.

He looked at the rice in the bag uncertainly again, grabbed a handful and rubbed it carefully a few times, and his eyes changed from doubt to determination.

"Sir! Are you serious?" Chen Ping pointed at the letter and said.

"Yeah!~"

Xie Zhenghong nodded and said thoughtfully: "Although there is only the letter to prove it, what my daughter said has never been wrong. Maybe we can give it a try?"

"Try...must try."

As Chen Ping spoke, he gently folded the letter and placed it on his chest, then tied the cloth bag into a knot to ensure that not a single seed would be lost.

Seeing Chen Ping's caution, Xie Tingwen asked with a suspicious look on his face: "How many seeds can be planted in this generation?"

"According to the transplanting instructions in the letter, five hectares of land will be enough."

When Chen Ping said this, he looked at Xie Tingwen and said, "Sir! I would like to plant some other rice in the remaining fields, so that we can make comparisons when the harvest comes."

"Okay!" Xie Tingwen responded without hesitation.

No one in Laigu County knew more about farming than Chen Ping, so Xie Tingwen naturally readily agreed to his request.

Hearing Xie Tingwen agree so readily, Chen Ping said with embarrassment: "Thank you, sir! But...but..."

"Master Chen! If you have anything to say, please feel free to tell me."

Chen Ping was determined to hear this and said in a deep voice: "If the production of official land is reduced at that time, please don't ask me for money."

"Yeah!~"

Xie Shuting was stunned for a moment, then came back to her senses and laughed, "You! Don't worry, I will let Lord Chen do whatever he wants with the official land, but I won't ask Lord Chen for this little money."

"Then I will have nothing to worry about."

Chen Ping rubbed his hands in shame and said, "If Master Xie doesn't give any instructions, I will go back first."

"Master Chen, walk slowly."

As Xie Tingwen spoke, he stood up and said respectfully, Chen Ping turned around and bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir, you are very busy, please stay."

After seeing Chen Ping off, Xie Tingwen sat alone at his desk and took out dozens of letters from the drawer. Some of them had already turned yellow while others were still as new as ever.

"Money? When has the Xie family ever been short of money?"

Xie Tingwen couldn't help but smile bitterly and stroked Shu Xin one by one, saying, "You have kept it a secret from your father for so long. Do you not believe that your father can help you keep the secret, or do you think that your father will hold you back?"

As Xie Tingwen spoke, he unfolded one of the copies and looked at the lotus pattern at the end. He laughed and said, "Hey! You are under too much pressure."

Xie Tingwen's words were suggestive, indicating that Xie Shuting's identity was no longer a secret to him.

The eldest branch of the Xie family moved to the capital, and only Xie Tingwen and three generations of his family lived in Xunyang. Although it didn't cost much money, the second branch's stash was in his hands.

Over the years, all the calligraphy and paintings in Xie Zhenghong's study were from famous artists. There was even a copy of Wang Youjun's authentic calligraphy, which he had the honor of seeing in Xie Zhenghong's hands.

Xie Tingwen had already had his suspicions for several years, but due to Xie Shuting's age he didn't want to think the worst. However, things often develop in directions he could not predict.

He failed the imperial examination for several years, and Xie Shuting gave him a manuscript. Although the content on it was not very impressive, it was exactly the essay for the imperial examination that year.

After this incident, Xie Tingwen collected Xie Shuting's manuscripts intentionally or unintentionally. Gradually, he found that everything seemed very reasonable, but also a little unusual.

Although the letter in her hand was not the original, it was not difficult for Xie Tingwen to guess the content of the letter, the special floral pattern, and the changes in Xie Shuting.

Xie Tingwen sorted out his thoughts for a while, then returned to the pavilion alone and became a listener to Wang Lang's explanation of interesting things at sea.

It was not until the sunset cast a shadow on the pavilion that everyone put away their longing in their hearts and went to the side hall to have their meal.

Unlike usual days, tomorrow is the day Xie Zhenghong and Xie Ningzhi are leaving, and Wang Lang has made great contributions today, so he was given a seat by Xie Zhenghong.

"This..." Wang Lang seemed a little embarrassed.

"Grandfather is the boss here. Now that he has spoken, you should sit down!" Xie Shuting quickly responded.

"Yes! I have overstepped my authority today." Wang Lang responded nervously.

Although Xie Shuting gave him a way out, Wang Lang still felt very uncomfortable. After finishing dinner with everyone with difficulty, he quickly apologized and left.

After all, Xie Zhenghong is leaving for Yuzhou tomorrow, and Xie Ningzhi is also going to the Imperial College in Beijing, so he naturally has to leave some time for his masters to reminisce about the past.