My whole family traveled across time with an encyclopedia

In Taixi County, despite the scorching heat, Village Chief Ning wore a small home-knitted straw hat and inspected the longer and better pumpkin patch with his hands behind his back.

Watching them take root, sprout, and bear fruit, the fruits grow bigger and bigger.

Village Chief Ning felt happy that he finally lived up to Changrong's expectations.

As soon as he took two steps, he saw the yamen patrolling around saying hello to him, and Village Chief Ning also responded a few times with no surprise.

Ever since the magistrate of Taixi County knew that Ning Changrong had spoken for them to keep his official uniform, he not only became more diligent, but also often sent people to take care of Ning Changrong's fellow villagers.

The one who came most diligently was the Ning Village Chief’s family. The county captain had previously sent someone to ask if there was anything they needed help with in their pumpkin patch.

The news I got was no.

At that time, the pumpkins were already halfway through their growth cycle, so if they needed any help, Village Chief Ning refused without even thinking about it.

But the other party didn't give up. After some inquiring, he decided to send someone over to help patrol around the pumpkin field.

Since the pumpkin has grown bigger and bigger, more and more people have paid attention to it.

Many people came to inquire about the melon farmers who were selected.

They were afraid of the Ning family despite getting the benefits, and kept silent no matter who asked.

Seeing that they couldn't get the news from them, many people decided to go to the melon field. The defense was tight and there were fences all around, but they couldn't stop the prying eyes of interested people.

Village Chief Ning asked people in the village to help patrol, but these people were just farmers. If it weren't for the people sent by the county magistrate to help guard, people might really get in.

Village Chief Ning knew Ning Changrong’s ultimate goal, so he wasn’t worried about anyone going in and peeking into the pumpkin patch. However, the county magistrate didn’t know that. The other party sent people to help catch the thieves who wanted to run in, and Village Chief Ning had to admit it. This feeling.

What happened next turned out to be like this smoothly. There were government officials patrolling around the pumpkin field.

In order to fear the dissatisfaction of those government officials who did not patrol seriously, the county magistrate rewarded them with his own salary.

After Village Chief Ning learned about it, he personally returned the money.

Back home, Village Chief Ning sat in his room and wrote down the recent events word for word.

Things about pumpkins in Taixi County have long been spread everywhere.

Initially, no one paid that much attention, but the villagers around the pumpkin field were more concerned. Because the thief was caught, most people knew about it.

"What the hell is a pumpkin? Why do people come in specifically to steal it?"

"Who knew? I heard that pumpkin is as big as a person's head! It can also be used as food, so it's really a treasure!"

"Hey! So big? If it could be used as food, then every household wouldn't go hungry, right?"

"I heard it grows very big, but I don't know how much this acre of land can produce."

"There should be a lot, otherwise why would there be so many people trying to steal it? If I could steal one and take it home to save seeds, I would never be short of food again."

"That's not all! I heard that the pumpkin tastes as sweet as eating candy."

"Is it really that good? If only we could grow it too."

"What good thing are you thinking about? Can we ordinary people get such precious seeds?"

Ning Changrong asked Village Chief Ning to send people to spread the specious news about pumpkins on the street. Some of them were true and some were false, just to attract everyone's attention.

By the time Ning Changrong received the letter from Village Chief Ning, it was already approaching the pumpkin harvest day.

He wrote another letter back to the other party, and handed the letter to Ning Husheng in a good mood, asking the other party to send the letter away. …

The day of pumpkin harvest came in a blink of an eye. After receiving the letter from Ning Changrong, Village Chief Ning took the time to arrange people to harvest the melons. He even demolished the fence with great fanfare and invited many people to help harvest the pumpkins.

All the curious people around came to watch.

Everyone looked at the pumpkin that was bigger than a human head, and they all gasped in surprise.

Everyone was chattering around and discussing.

"What a bastard! Why is this melon bigger than a human head? You can't eat this without bursting your belly!"

"Oh my God! How much is this acre of land? It looks like it's a lot more food than we can grow! This melon is big, it must be at least four to five hundred shi if we weigh it, right?"

"No wonder it's so well hidden! This melon has a high yield and can fill your stomach. It's a good thing!"

Compared with the crowds of people around, the people who actually went to the fields to help harvest the melons could more intuitively feel the weight of these melons.

The harvest from one acre of land is heavier than theirs, and the harvest from one acre of land is twice as much!
They are all grains and can fill their stomachs. If they can grow pumpkins, they will definitely grow pumpkins without hesitation.

It's a pity that this kind of thought can only be thought about.

How could such a precious thing get their turn?

In order to let everyone feel the benefits of pumpkin more intuitively, Village Chief Ning followed Ning Changrong's instructions and had all the pumpkins weighed.

The final result was pretty much what everyone had guessed, with the average yield per mu being around [-] shi.

After seeing this scene, everyone became even more envious and jealous.

Some people even thought about taking advantage of the crowds to steal one and take it home. If they grow this melon in the future, the whole family will not go hungry.

I heard the discussion around me getting louder and louder, and some people even asked Village Chief Ning on the spot if he could sell the melon.

Of course, Village Chief Ning wouldn't sell it. Faced with his unhesitating rejection, the other party just gave up with regret.

They had to give up. The government officials around them stared at them eagerly.

Seeing that the pumpkins were almost harvested, Village Chief Ning raised his hands and said to the people around him: "Everyone knows that these acres of land belong to Mr. Ning. Mr. Ning loves us little people the most. He has said that when receiving the goods, I will take out two melons and let everyone have a taste of them. Everyone who came today will have a share!"

After Village Chief Ning finished speaking, the crowd exploded like cold water poured into hot oil.

"Mr. Ning, are you telling the truth? Don't you want to trick us?"

"Can we really have a taste?"

Village Chief Ning blew his beard and glared, saying with a straight face: "Can I trick you? If you like it, you can eat it. If you don't, you will be kicked out. If you don't believe it, leave early. Others can eat a few more bites."

Everyone didn't mind being scolded by him, and laughed and said, "Oh, don't we just be a little bit unbelievable? This good thing actually doesn't cost money to feed us, the idiots like us."

While they were talking, the clever one had already turned around and ran away, preparing to pull his family and the whole family over. The free food was free, and it was food they had never seen before, so they couldn't let it go.

It would be better if I could eat enough here and save food for my family.

And when Village Chief Ning arranged to cook pumpkins in a pot over a fire, more and more people gathered around him.

After hearing the news, even the county magistrate rushed over. He was not just for a bite, but was simply shocked by the yield of pumpkins.

(End of this chapter)