Chapter 324 - 269: Mysterious Person 3
Chapter 324: Chapter 269: Mysterious Person 3
Xiao Yanci had just left the Imperial Hospital, holding a pest control recipe written by the Imperial Hospital, and was heading to the Ministry of Revenue to apply for pest control funding.
He had just entered the Ministry of Revenue when he saw the Minister of Revenue hurrying out.
"Minister, I have received the Emperor’s decree to be in charge of this pest control matter and need to apply for pest control funding from you."
The Minister of Revenue frowned and looked at Xiao Yanci, saying, "Lord Xiao, have you not met with the people from the palace yet?"
"People from the palace have arrived? Is the Emperor urging this? As long as the Minister of Revenue promptly allocates the pest control funding, I will immediately arrange for personnel to handle this matter, trying to ensure that in half a month, the crops will no longer be affected by pests."
"Lord Xiao, there’s no need to trouble yourself." The Minister of Revenue said, "The Emperor has already issued an oral decree, entrusting this matter entirely to Zhou Wangshu, Mr. Zhou. You need not worry about it anymore. Of course, there is no need to apply for pest control funding either."
"The Emperor clearly entrusted it to me..."
"Lord Xiao, are you suggesting that the Emperor is going back on his word?"
"That is not my intention."
"In any case, the information I have is that the pest control matter has already been entrusted to Zhou Wangshu, Mr. Zhou. So far, Zhou Wangshu, Mr. Zhou, has not applied to the Ministry of Revenue for pest control funding. He even sent a message, saying he wants us to record an additional entry, meaning more revenue for us."
Being the court’s treasury, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue have a hard time! All departments need money and thus approach the Ministry, and the Ministry of Revenue watches as money flows out like water, the national treasury becoming poorer, causing these Ministry officials to worry to the point of their hair turning white. Now, an official tells them they don’t need to pay, and they can even earn money together; how could the officials of the Ministry not be excited?
Not to mention the Emperor’s oral decree; even without that, the Ministry officials would want to support him and speak well of him in front of the Emperor.
Whoever doesn’t ask them for money is a good person.
Despite the considerable annual tax revenue, it is still not enough.
Xiao Yanci looked grim.
Once again, it was Zhou Wangshu.
He had finally found an opportunity to achieve something, and Zhou Wangshu came to steal his chance again.
Xiao Yanci had just left the Imperial Hospital and didn’t know what had happened outside. After leaving the Ministry of Revenue, he immediately sent someone to investigate, only to learn that Zhou Wangshu had sent people to catch the pests and eat them.
"How could they catch them all?" Xiao Yanci said, "I went to the fields outside the Capital City, where they were already overrun, densely packed with those strange bugs. Besides using medicine, I can’t think of a faster way to exterminate them. They actually believe in Zhou Wangshu’s method. It won’t be long before they cry and admit their whimsy."
"Master, what should we do now?" the subordinate asked.
"Since the Emperor’s decree is as such, we can only wait and see their performance. When they can no longer control it, they will realize that my method is the swiftest and best."
While Xiao Yanci returned home to wait for ’good news,’ the fields outside the city were brimming with joy, even more festive than during the New Year.
"Five cents per pound, and we have so many in the fields. In total, it should be about twenty pounds, which would be one hundred cents. I remember there are more in the barren fields over there, so once we finish catching ours, we’ll head to those wastelands to catch more."
"Our family still has too few; I wish there were more."
"Husband, I have an idea. Let’s keep one plot of land specifically for raising these strange bugs!" a woman said, "Since these bugs are so delicious, the nobles in the city will surely like them. Once these bugs are all caught in a while, our field will still have so many, and then we can sell them at a good price."
"Wife, that’s a good idea. We can give it a try. Anyway, we’re only keeping the smallest plot; even if we harvest a bit less, it won’t affect much."
There wasn’t just one smart farming family thinking this way; there were several households with the same idea.
Previously, everyone was worried about the presence of the strange bugs. But within just a few hours, once the bugs in the fields were almost all caught, those that remained were too few, leaving them instead regretful about their small numbers.
"Miss Su was right; no matter how fierce a bug is, can it be fiercer than humans? With so many of us, we can cook these bugs to eat, and isn’t that extermination? If we encounter pests in the future, we can use this method."
"While it’s still early, let’s quickly sell the bugs in the city."
"Old Li’s family has many sons, many daughters-in-law, and many grandchildren. The whole family caught a hundred pounds, making me really envious."