"Mwah—"
Chen Liejiu laughed and, without a second thought, leaned up and planted several firm kisses on Xu Huaiqian's face. Did he really think that by asking for a kiss, he would be the taking advantage?
His little husband was so good-looking; he could never kiss him enough in a lifetime.
"Talk fast, or I'll kiss you again!" Xu Huaiqian had thin skin; being kissed like this by Chen Liejiu left several red marks on his translucent white skin. Though Chen Liejiu wasn't as tall, he was full of presence, pinching Xu Huaiqian's chin, raising his eyes, his gaze unabashedly teasing, perfectly playing the bully teasing a young wife.
Xu Huaiqian felt quite uncomfortable under his fiery and direct gaze. His husband really didn't have a single bit of subtlety.
"The five mu of grain land and five mu of mulberry land the government gave me—I want to plant ginger on the grain land and peppercorns on the mulberry land. Since I'm a Xiucai now with no taxes, I can plant whatever I want." Xu Huaiqian lowered his head to kiss the back of his husband's hand that was pinching his chin, held him, and explained in detail by his ear.
The Jin Dynasty had imperial exams like the Ming, but it implemented the Equal-field system of the Sui and Tang dynasties. Any man over eighteen was considered an adult ding and received five mu of grain land and five mu of mulberry land from the government. Mulberry land was hereditary, could be passed to descendants or sold, while grain land could not be sold and had to be returned after death.
Grain land was for farming. Mulberry land was originally for planting mulberries and hemp for paying household taxes. But not every plot was suitable for mulberries or hemp, so some people cultivated mulberry land to grow crops, sold the crops, and bought mulberry or hemp to pay the taxes instead.
The Equal-field system corresponded to the Zuyongdiao system. "" Zu meant adult men had to pay grain tax. "" Diao meant each household had to pay a household tax. "" Yong meant adult men had to perform corvée labor.
But now Xu Huaiqian was a Xiucai. Xiucai could exempt two adult men in their family from the poll tax and corvée labor, and had the privilege of twenty mu of land being tax-free.
Since he married into the Chen family, he was now a Chen. The family only had him and Chen Jinhu as adult men. Chen Jinhu wasn't yet of age and didn't count as an adult man, so taxes were completely no worry.
Even when he came of age, it would be fine; his brother-in-law had already solved it for him.
With no taxes to pay, Xu Huaiqian had thought it over. In this era without high-yield seeds, chemical fertilizer, or pesticides, farming was very hard work.
Importantly, it was hard work without much gain.
Don't think five mu is small. In modern times, any family with five mu would be " well-off." Except in sparsely populated areas like the north, in southern villages, a person might only get a few fen of land 1 mu = 10 fen. A family of seven or eight might only have two or three mu total.
Just these two or three mu supported seven or eight people. Why? Because of technological advances. Here, a yield of two to three hundred catties per mu was already high-yield, while in modern times, two to three thousand catties per mu was nothing.
No matter how capable Xu Huaiqian was, he couldn't produce high-yield crops yielding thousands of catties per mu. As for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, he was completely clueless.
He could buy them in modern times, but make them? He didn't study that; he had no idea.
All he could do was analyze based on local conditions.
He had observed the farming here: mostly rice, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, etc., n with high yields. A family with over ten mu, working hard for a year without natural disasters, might have enough to eat and a little leftover in a good year.
He couldn't improve seeds, but he knew ginger was the only crop that could be high-yield without modification. As long as it wasn't exposed to light, extending its growth cycle, it could grow indefinitely in the ground.
The 6,000 to 8,000 catties per mu was Xu Huaiqian's conservative estimate. He had visited greenhouse ginger farms where yields of 20,000 catties per mu were normal.
Of course, the technology here couldn't achieve that high yield. Xu Huaiqian felt if his ginger could reach 500 to 1,000 catties per mu, it would be a success.
This yield was already much better than the current 200-300 catties per mu for rice or wheat, and its unit price was higher.
The only issue might be its market.
But this didn't stump Xu Huaiqian. Poverty alleviation wasn't just talk; back in his time, helping farmers find markets meant going out and running around—he had gained experience.
Moreover, ginger, if stored properly after harvest, could last about a year, so there was no need to worry about it rotting if not sold immediately.
Now, about peppercorns.
Actually, Xu Huaiqian wanted to grow pepper.
Before time-traveling, he had seen on Douyin: if you time-traveled, what was the most profitable and risk-free thing to do?
The answer was: grow pepper.
Unfortunately, pepper was still in the Western Regions. The Jin Dynasty had it, but it was only popular in upper-class society, far from being something that could be grown in their remote area.
So Xu Huaiqian thought: if he couldn't grow pepper, couldn't he grow peppercorns instead?
Both were condiments. Although peppercorns weren't as precious as pepper, they weren't cheap either. You had to get lucky to find them for sale at a pharmacy.
And like ginger, peppercorns were easy to store. Even if they didn't sell, Xu Huaiqian could keep them for himself.
Young ginger stir-fried with meat, ginger noodle soup, ginger congee, ginger milk curd, ginger jujube tea; peppercorn chicken, peppercorn fish, peppercorn-baked crab, peppercorn sauce, etc.
From his friends' and the Chen family's reception of the foods he experimented with, they were completely able to accept food made with condiments. They were just limited by their rural setting and lack of exposure.
If he maximized the use of these two condiments, he wouldn't have to worry about sales even if he opened his own restaurant.
Just thinking about it, Xu Huaiqian felt it had great potential. So, ever since he knew he would receive land upon coming of age, he had been thinking about what to plant. He finally settled on these two condiments.
Chen Liejiu, listening to Xu Huaiqian's whisper in his ear, was astonished by his unconventional ideas.
Ordinary people weren't this bold—using good farmland not for crops but for ginger and peppercorns.
In any other family, he would have been spat on and scorned for not attending to proper duties.
But Chen Liejiu wasn't ordinary.
He was more daring in thought and action than most. Hearing Xu Huaiqian's idea, he followed the train of thought.
Not bad.
They were both medicine and condiments, easy to store, and importantly, pharmacies bought them.
However, Chen Liejiu also had concerns: "Is our land suitable for ginger and peppercorns?"
This was why Xu Huaiqian liked Chen Liejiu. He didn't flatly reject him like others but followed his logic, raising questions to solve problems.
"Suitable." Xu Huaiqian had observed. Mishan County was mountainous with many trees and plenty of shady areas, extremely suitable for ginger.
Peppercorns weren't demanding about environment and soil; they liked warmth. They could be planted anywhere except mountain tops, wind tunnels, and extremely cold places.
"Then it's fine." Chen Liejiu raised his eyebrows. He didn't ask how Xu Huaiqian knew so much, offering wholehearted support: "You just go ahead and do it. Tell me if you face any difficulties."
"Okay." Xu Huaiqian wouldn't stand on ceremony with his husband. He held his husband close affectionately and pleaded by his ear: "I need ginger seeds and peppercorn saplings. A-Jiu, help me."
This was the first time Xu Huaiqian actively asked for something, and in such a pleading manner. Chen Liejiu's heart stirred; he wanted to go out and get it d for him immediately!
But he had also learned to be mischievous.
He looked up at Xu Huaiqian holding him, lips slightly curved: "I can help, but what payment will you give me?"
Meeting his eyes, Xu Huaiqian instantly understood. His ears reddened: "Myself?"
"Can you handle that now?" Chen Liejiu's gaze swept over his slightly flushed face, feeling a strong urge to do something.
Xu Huaiqian's face was so hot it felt like dripping blood. "Last night's way might not work, but other ways will."
It wasn't that Xu Huaiqian didn't want to, but last night's two rounds had left him a bit strained. No matter what, he needed a few days to recuperate before...
Too frequent could easily be fatal.
However, as long as Chen Liejiu wasn't in heat flush and didn't need union to resolve it, Xu Huaiqian knew many other tricks to ensure his husband enjoyed himself.
"Other ways?" Chen Liejiu's mind flashed. "Like last time?"
" More than that," Xu Huaiqian felt his own words were alarmingly hot. "Many more. I'll show you tonight?"
It was broad daylight, and there were younger siblings and minors at home. Too inappropriate.
"Okay." Chen Liejiu was teased until his heart itched. He agreed without thinking.
Seeing his husband's attention diverted, Xu Huaiqian pulled out a large stack of gift boxes: "Let's open the gifts."
The day after the wedding couldn't be without the joy of counting gift my and opening presents.
The gift my was negligible—a large box of copper coins totaling less than ten taels. The only interesting part was the gifts.
Pei Wangshu sent a crystal-clear horn comb with an accompanying poem wishing them a harmonious century together. Xu Huaiqian used it to comb both his and Chen Liejiu's hair.
"This is good." Xu Huaiqian felt the material, somewhat jade-like yet not hard on the head. "We can make a knot and hang it on the body."
Men often wore jade pendants or scent pouches on their belts. Jade was too expensive for Xu Huaiqian, and he didn't like scent pouches.
Why should a grown man be so attractive like flowers and butterflies?
He already had his A-Jiu completely captivated. Any more fragrance, and his A-Jiu would indulge in the land of tenderness every night.
...Well, that wasn't necessarily bad, provided his health could handle it. Tearful.
This comb was better—exquisitely made, not inferior to jade, and practical.
" Okay." Chen Liejiu had no objections. Xu Huaiqian was a Xiucai now; his status had changed, so his attire should too.
Duan Youyan's gift was a silver mirror. It truly hit the mark for Xu Huaiqian.
As his looks improved, he no longer feared the bronze mirror but disdained its lack of clarity, failing to show his true skin.
This silver mirror was perfect. Clearer than ordinary glass, it showed even the fine hairs on his face in minute detail. Xu Huaiqian couldn't put it down, replacing his old bronze mirror.
A pity it wasn't larger.
If it were wall-sized, he and his A-Jiu could—
Cutting off the improper thought, Xu Huaiqian wondered why, after marriage and consummation, his mind was full of playing with his husband?
Too decadent. Not good, not good.
Fortunately, Meng Fangxun's wedding congratulatory letter brought him back to reality: " It's so well written."
This effusive letter was over a thousand words, every word and sentence expressing blessings for Xu Huaiqian and Chen Liejiu, filled with beautiful, sincere emotion.
Xu Huaiqian read it to Chen Liejiu. It was fluent and catchy; even Chen Liejiu thought it was good, showing how thoughtful it was.
"This must be carefully kept." Chen Liejiu touched his stomach. He didn't know if last night's two rounds had left a child; heat flush was the easiest time to conceive. "In the future, when we have children, we can read it to them."