The Lucky Heiress

Everyone’s face lit up with joy after their observations, including the typically cold Chu Lan.

The Qian Magistrate excitedly praised, “Mr. Wei indeed has a wonderful daughter! She’s actually able to grow crops on this barren land! In this way, the farmable land of Xingshan County will greatly increase! This really alleviates a pressing problem for the people of Xingshan County!”

Lu Yuhong, who had come with Chu Lan, was even more effusive in his praise: “This is incredible! While the surrounding area barely has any weeds, crops are growing here! And these seedlings look even healthier than those in other parts of Xingshan County!”

Listening to the praise, Wei Mingting looked at his neatly dressed daughter with joy and pride in his heart: “It’s rather shameful to admit that these skills were attained by my daughter’s own efforts. As a father, I didn’t fulfill any responsibilities and didn’t really teach her anything.”

Wei Mingting didn’t feel the need to be modest when complimenting his daughter, but when it came to teaching her well, he genuinely felt inadequate.

Qian Magistrate replied: “Mr. Wei, there’s no need to be modest, you are simply busy with the safety of Xingshan County’s people. Your daughter is now risking danger and enduring hardship to cultivate this land for the same reason. Your father-daughter pair clearly share the same love for the people.”

Just then, Chu Lan took the opportunity to question Wei Ruo: “Miss Wei, I have a question.”

“Please go ahead, sir.” Wei Ruo did not shy away.

Chu Lan asked, “Looking at this field, what’s growing here are still seedlings, as opposed to regular rice which should be about to head out. Isn’t it a bit late in the hybrid’s life cycle for it to still be a seedling?”

Everyone had been so caught up in the joy of successfully growing seedlings from the wasteland that they had momentarily forgotten this key point. Upon hearing Chu Lan’s question, both Wei Mingting and the Qian Magistrate turned to Wei Ruo, their eyes filled with curiosity about this issue as well.

Wei Ruo answered, “Don’t worry, sir. The seeds I broadcasted in this paddy field are a new variety of rice brought over from Huzhou Prefecture. It’s a bit different from regular rice and it’s sown in the sixth or seventh lunar month. The growing period is about 160 days, so it will not be ready for harvest until November.”

Upon hearing this, the faces of the three people in front of Wei Ruo again filled with surprise and joy.

Whether it was the Qian Magistrate, who was officially responsible for the people’s livelihood, Chu Lan from the royal family, or Wei Mingting the military official, they all knew clearly that being able to plant rice at different times was equivalent to artificially expanding the area of arable land.

However, at this moment, they hadn’t seen the mature rice yet and dare not easily believe Wei Ruo’s words.

Chu Lan said, “Once the rice you are testing here matures, Miss Wei, and you can prove that you can help increase the cultivable area and increase grain production in Xingshan County, I will report this to the court.”

Hearing these words, the Qian Magistrate was somewhat excited, because if it were to be reported, the majority of the credit would belong to the Wei Family, but he would also get a share as the magistrate.

The reaction of Wei Mingting was more lukewarm, without much joy, but it was nonetheless noticeable that he was looking forward to this.

Wei Ruo was not very excited. If it was someone else telling her these things, she might have been in a better mood, but with Chu Lan, she really didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

Qian Magistrate then proceeded to ask Chu Lan, “Sir, do you think this wasteland in the south of the city can be handed over to the Government Office and the Military Prefecture for large-scale development?”

Chu Lan had ordered that only they should know of his presence during this trip. His family must not know, so the Qian Magistrate immediately changed his form of address.

With the successful trial planting by Miss Wei, Qian Magistrate wanted to expand the scope, whether for personal political gain or for the survival of the people.

Chu Lan replied, “Xingshan County is under the jurisdiction of Qian Magistrate. How to develop the wasteland is up to him to decide, there’s no need to ask my opinion.”

Qian Magistrate: “Yes… I understand.”

After that, Qian Magistrate asked Wei Mingting and his daughter, “Mr. Wei, Miss Wei, are you willing to be responsible for all these wastelands in the south of the city?”

Wei Mingting didn’t answer immediately, but looked at Wei Ruo.

The matter of opening up the wasteland in the south of the city was proposed by his daughter, and she had invested her time and energy in it. If the area of land reclamation was to be expanded, the hard work would inevitably fall on his daughter, so the decision should be left to her.

Wei Ruo answered, “Father, I think that the wasteland in the south of the city covers a large area. If all of it is handed over to our Military Prefecture for reclamation, I am afraid we may not be able to cope. It would be better to give the wasteland to the people to reclaim. There are many people in the city who lack a means of livelihood, especially the fishermen who are unable to go out to sea because of the Japanese pirates. If we give some wasteland to them and teach them improved farming methods, I believe they will do their best.”

The words of Wei Ruo struck a chord with Wei Mingting, who turned to the Qian Magistrate and said, “Mr. Qian, my daughter is right. This vast wasteland cannot be reclaimed by just the County Government and the Military Prefecture. We should give it to the people and let them cultivate the land for their livelihood!”

The Qian Magistrate reluctantly admitted, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to allocate it to the people, but we now have the threat of Japanese pirates. The south of the city is not safe. Though Wangyue Mountain separates the south and east of Xingshan County, we can never be sure if the Japanese will cross over. Allowing too many people to freely move in and out of this area may bring many hidden dangers…”

This was indeed a problem, and it was also why Wei Ruo’s request for the nanny to apply to the government office to open up the wasteland to the south of the city was refused initially.

“That won’t be an issue.” Chu Lan suddenly spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at Chu Lan, and so did Wei Ruo.

Chu Lan, his eyes deep, said, “The court will soon send additional troops to Xingshan County. If we set up defenses at key points between Wangyue Mountain and the southern city, it will ensure the safety of the area and allow peasants to work their farms with peace of mind.”

After listening to Chu Lan, both the Qian Magistrate and Wei Mingting had different looks on their faces.

The fact that the court was willing to send more troops was obviously a good thing, but they didn’t know whether the Wei Family, who had not performed well in the fight against the Japanese pirates, or the Qian Magistrate, who had failed to feed the people of Xingshan County, would be punished.

Chu Lan then looked at Wei Ruo: “Miss Wei, as you’ll be expanding, you’ll need more resources and manpower. I will send some people to assist Miss Wei. Please feel free to use them.”

Wei Ruo quickly declined his offer, “Thank you for your kindness, sir. However, as it is improper for a woman to interact too closely with a man, I must respectfully reject..”