Ch 31: The Regent’s Farmer Husband

Jiang Ji moved a table over, planning to hammer four nails into the wall of the main hall to hang up the scroll.

Just as he was about to climb onto the table, Jiang Yan stopped him. “I’ll do it. You just direct me.”

Jiang Ji didn’t argue and handed him the nails and hammer.

Standing on the table, Jiang Yan positioned the first nail and asked, “Here, is this spot okay?”

Jiang Ji stood below, guiding him left and right. “A little higher… higher… okay, right there.”

Once all four nails were in, they hung the scroll. Jiang Ji crossed his arms, admiring the result from below.

“Looks great!”

Just then, the village chief came by—he’d heard Jiang Ji was back and wanted to ask about sprouting the potato seedlings. Spotting the scroll hanging in the center of the hall, he exclaimed, “Oh! ‘Wealth and Prosperity Arrives,’ that’s wonderful!”

“Hahaha, isn’t it nice? Jiang Yan wrote it!” Jiang Ji patted Jiang Yan’s shoulder, full of genuine praise. “Even the owner of the calligraphy shop couldn’t stop complimenting it.”

Jiang Yan glanced at him and smiled without saying anything, putting the hammer away.

The village chief nodded approvingly. “It’s really fine work.”

After they admired it for a bit, Jiang Ji said, “By the way, Village Chief, can you call everyone over? I want to explain the potato sprouting process.”

“I was just coming to ask you about that. Alright, I’ll go gather the folks.”

When the chief went out to round people up, Jiang Ji turned to Jiang Yan. “Oh, by the way—the calligraphy shop owner asked if you’d write him a piece. He said the price is negotiable. Want to do it?”

Jiang Yan shook his head. “No.”

Jiang Ji raised an eyebrow. “It’s paid work.”

“I’m not short on money right now,” Jiang Yan said calmly.

Jiang Ji shrugged. “Alright, I’ll let him know.”

Then he bumped Jiang Yan’s shoulder playfully. “But you’ve written two pieces for me already.”

“What I wrote for you was a favor, not a commission,” Jiang Yan said with a faint smile. “Why, are you planning to pay me now?”

“Come on, we’re friends—no need to ruin it by talking about money.” Jiang Ji chuckled, then hoisted a sack of potatoes from the corner. “Time to sprout the seedlings!”

Jiang Yan watched his back as he walked out, the corners of his mouth softening into a small smile.

The villagers soon arrived, and Jiang Yan carried out two bags of potatoes.

Jiang Ji began explaining, “You don’t need to go to the fields for this. We’ll start at home. First, lay the potatoes out to dry for two days—this wakes them from winter dormancy. Make sure to turn them so both sides get sunlight. The sun helps kill bacteria and mold on the surface—kind of like disinfecting them. Just spread them out like this.”

“After two days of drying, move them under the eaves. When you start to see sprouts forming—like these small eyes—you can cut them into pieces.”

He took out a chopping board and a knife. “Make sure the knife’s clean—boil it in water and let it cool first. Then cut like this. For potatoes this size, you can make two or three pieces. Each piece should have at least one sprout eye, preferably two. See these little dots? Those are sprout eyes—the shoots will grow from here. Got it?”

“After cutting, coat the cut surface with wood ash, like this, and set it aside.”

“When all the pieces are coated, lay them under the eaves in layers—two or three layers is fine. Sprinkle some ash between layers. At night, cover them with straw. In the morning, remove the straw so they can get sunlight. Once they sprout and the shoots turn thick and green, they’re ready to plant.”

“Before planting, loosen and dry the soil, then ridge it up.” Jiang Ji looked around the group. “That’s basically it. If anyone forgets, come ask me. I’ll have the village chief call everyone again at each next step so you can see. Today’s weather’s perfect—start drying your seed potatoes right away. Let’s all do it together.”

The villagers asked a few questions, got their answers, and went home to start laying out their potatoes.

By then it was noon. Zhao Ru went to prepare lunch while Jiang Ji and Jiang Yan spread their own potatoes out in a sunny patch of yard, carefully laying them one by one.

When they were done, both washed their hands. Jiang Ji said, “Let me take a look at your wound—it should be about time to remove the stitches.”

“Alright.”

“Sit down, I’ll bring the small table.”

As Jiang Yan went back into the room, Jiang Ji quickly turned to his livestream.

“Hey folks, any surgeons online? Help me check whether Jiang Yan’s wound looks ready for stitch removal.”

Jiang Yan’s injuries had been deep. Jiang Ji had checked before—they were healing well, though slower in the cold and under primitive conditions. Still, it had been eleven days now.

【Perfect timing—it’s lunchtime, I’ll go call my uncle!】
【My high school classmate’s a surgeon, I’ll get him!】

“Thanks, everyone. Once the doctor’s here, please keep quiet so I don’t miss any of his instructions.”

Jiang Ji carried the small table inside. Jiang Yan was already seated by the window where the light was good, his outer robe removed, dressed only in his inner clothes.

Jiang Ji set the table down and brought over the medical kit. He gestured with his chin. “Take it off.”

Jiang Yan slipped off his inner shirt. Jiang Ji rubbed disinfectant between his palms, sanitizing his hands before removing the bandages.

Jiang Yan had four or five deep wounds across his body. The cuts had healed, leaving narrow scars where blades had once struck. The skin around them was faintly yellow-stained from the medicine and disinfectant.

Jiang Ji examined each wound carefully. He glanced at the livestream but didn’t dare ask directly. “They’ve healed pretty well,” he said aloud.

【Recovery looks good. You can remove the stitches.】
【Open the suture removal kit. Take out the scissors, tweezers, and gauze, place them on the wrapper. Keep only the cotton balls inside the box. Pour some iodine on a cotton ball, disinfect the wound and surrounding area twice. Use tweezers to lift the knot slightly, snip one side of the thread with scissors, then pull the stitch out with tweezers. After removing all the stitches, disinfect again with iodine and rebandage.】
【Don’t let the wound get wet afterward. If it turns red or swollen, apply ointment. If not, you can bathe after three to five days.】

Jiang Ji checked the commenter’s name—it was the same doctor who had once taught him suturing.

“Removing stitches stings a bit. Bear with it,” Jiang Ji warned.

Jiang Yan nodded. “It’s fine.”

Jiang Ji knew exactly how much pain he could take. In all these days of healing, he hadn’t heard Jiang Yan complain once—at most, he’d frown slightly.

Jiang Ji pulled on gloves, opened the suture removal kit, disinfected his hands again, and followed the doctor’s step-by-step instructions. He laid out the tools neatly, disinfected the wound with iodine, and, holding tweezers in his left hand and scissors in his right, cut each stitch and pulled it free one by one. Then he disinfected again, placed clean gauze, and wrapped the wound.

None of the wounds were red or inflamed—only the one on his arm was slightly irritated, probably because Jiang Yan used that arm frequently. Jiang Ji applied some ointment and bandaged it carefully.

The whole process took nearly half an hour.

Removing his gloves, Jiang Ji cleaned up and said while packing away the tools, “Don’t let the wounds get wet these next few days. Your arm’s still a little inflamed, so don’t strain it. Give it three to five days. Keep taking the medicine for now.”

“Alright. Thank you.” Jiang Yan dressed himself layer by layer.

Jiang Ji disinfected the tweezers, scissors, and tray with a cloth. Later, he’d boil them to sterilize so they could be reused.

When they came out, Zhao Ru immediately asked, “How’s Jiang Yan’s wound? All healed?”

“Yeah, it’s doing well. Stitches are out—he’ll be moving normally in a few days,” Jiang Ji replied.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Zhao Ru let out a relieved sigh.

After lunch, they rested for a bit. Then Jiang Ji went to flip the drying potatoes. Outside, someone knocked on the gate.

“Excuse me, is this Jiang Ji’s house?”

Jiang Ji looked up—it was Liu Dalang from the livestock yard, the man who hauled manure for him.

“Brother Liu! Yeah, over here,” Jiang Ji called, walking to the gate. “You brought it?”

“Yep, three wagonloads in total. Like you said—pig and cow manure in one, horse and sheep manure in another, separated by boards.”

Behind Liu Dalang stood a woman and a young man—his wife and son, most likely.

“Good.” Jiang Ji went to check. Each large barrel was full. “Come with me—I’ll need your help getting it to the fields. From now on, you can dump it directly over there.”

He called into the house, “Mother, I’m heading to the fields to pile compost!”

“Alright, go on, I’ll be there in a bit!”

Jiang Yan came out and asked, “Need help?”

“No, you finish writing out the planting methods—we’ll need them soon. Once you’re done with potatoes, write cotton next, then corn and rice.”

Jiang Yan nodded. “Got it.”

Jiang Ji picked up a shovel, a hay rake, a basket, and a chopping knife, plus a bucket for irrigation, then led Liu Dalang’s family to the fields. Together, they unloaded the manure barrels, stacking pig, cow, horse, and sheep waste separately near the compost pit.

After paying them, the group left with their carts, and Jiang Ji headed into the woods to collect fallen leaves and dry grass.

Zhao Ru soon came, carrying a hoe and a hatchet.

“Mother, you hang the leaves—I’ll chop this batch.”

Every day, Wu Er delivered a load of manure, and the cleaners at the market sent spoiled vegetable leaves, chicken manure, duck manure, and other waste. After several days, a large pile had formed beside the compost pit.

Zhao Ru went deeper into the woods to gather leaves while Jiang Ji put on the medical gloves he’d used earlier for the suture removal—washed and disinfected, they were perfect for this job.

He chopped the vegetable scraps into short pieces two to three inches long, then cut the leaves and dry grass the same way—ready for composting.

Once the materials were prepared, Zhao Ru took over chopping while Jiang Ji dug out a layer of humus from the forest floor.

Then he dug several crisscrossed trenches on the ground for airflow, spread a layer of leaves and grass, sprinkled a thin layer of humus, added the chopped vegetable waste, covered it with a bit of soil, poured over a layer of manure, then another of forest humus, and finally doused it all with water.

The compost heap was complete—it would now slowly ferment. In twenty days, he’d turn it over once, then let it ferment for another month or so before using it.

By the time he made two piles, the afternoon had slipped away.

Their field wasn’t far from the village, so several villagers passing by spotted Jiang Ji and Zhao Ru working hard and came closer, curious.

“Jiang Ji, what’re you doing over there?”

“Composting.”

Seeing the large heap he’d built, someone asked, “You’re using tree leaves? And grass? And rotten veggies… plus manure?”

“Yes,” Jiang Ji said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “We don’t have enough manure at home, so we can only make some of our own. Uncle, you should pile some too—it makes great fertilizer.”

Someone pointed at the pit nearby. “Isn’t that manure over there?”

“That’s the batch I bought from town,” Jiang Ji explained. “The pig and cow dung too—I bought those as well.”

“What? You bought manure?”

“Sure did.”

“How much did that cost?”

“About twenty-something coins per cart.”

“So expensive!”

Jiang Ji sighed. “Can’t help it. We have a lot of land, and no fertilizer means no crops. But if your family has a latrine and raises pigs or chickens, you should have enough on your own without buying any.”

The onlookers exhaled in relief. “Good thing! I’d feel sick spending money on manure. Imagine having to buy the stuff.”

Jiang Ji added, “Still, if you’ve got spare money, buy a little. It makes the soil richer.”

The crowd fell silent—no one there had that kind of spare money.

“Uncle, you should also start a compost pile. Just manure alone isn’t enough. Use my method—it’ll make more fertilizer. Dig some channels for air flow, lay leaves and grass at the bottom…” He went through the whole composting process again. “After two months, it’ll be ready. Just in time to use as topdressing for the fields.”

“Alright, I’ll start piling some tomorrow.”

“We’ve got pig dung at home—I’ll make a pile too.”

And so, by the next day, everyone who had heard about it was out in the hills gathering fallen leaves.

Others found it odd—until they asked and heard it was Jiang Ji’s idea to make compost. Word spread fast. Soon, after the village had just finished building new outhouses, a new wave started—now every household was in the mountains collecting leaves and grass for compost.

In the following days, aside from composting, Jiang Ji focused on thinking about cotton.

He copied down all the system tasks related to it and studied them carefully.

Basic weaving technology required spreading rice seeds across ten thousand mu; intermediate level needed fifty thousand mu; and advanced level, one hundred thousand mu.

That rice-seed promotion task was relatively easy.

Next came the blueprints for improved machines—the cotton gin, the spinning machine, and the loom. He’d need to obtain the blueprints first, then build the machines himself.

Each machine blueprint required expanding cotton cultivation—one thousand mu, ten thousand mu, and fifty thousand mu respectively.

The weather would soon warm enough for cotton planting, so he had to hurry.

“Mother,” he asked one day, “how much does cotton sell for at the market now?”

Zhao Ru thought about it. They hadn’t bought cotton in a long while. “About three hundred coins a jin, I think.”

Jiang Ji’s eyes widened. “That expensive?”

“Cotton’s scarce now, of course it’s expensive,” Zhao Ru sighed. “We used to plant a whole mu of it and barely got a little yield.”

Jiang Ji thought to himself—that was because no one had mastered proper cultivation yet, and the seeds were poor.

At that price, pushing for fifty thousand mu of cotton shouldn’t be too hard.

Still, he knew most farmers would focus on filling their bellies first.

After pondering it for two days, he shared his thoughts with his audience on the way to town to pick up the seal and scroll.

“What do you all think? Does it sound doable?”

【Sure, but you need to explain clearly how much profit they’ll make.】
【Or you could do this—sign contracts for cotton planting, and give discounted rice seeds. Like, one coin off per mu—two mu, two coins off.】
【Just show them the math. Compare how much one mu of sweet potatoes earns versus one mu of cotton. They’ll see it themselves.】
【Sweet potatoes are new and will fetch a good price too. Compare it to vegetable prices.】
【I think getting everyone to plant cotton only isn’t realistic, but if each household grows one or two mu, that still adds up. Little by little works too.】
【Large-scale farming might not be realistic yet, at least not in the first year. People are still focused on food. Wait till they see cotton’s profits next year—then you can scale up.】
【If you want large-scale, talk to the landlords—they’ve got the land.】
【Careful though. Dealing with landlords is risky. If they back out or decide to sell to someone else, there’s little you can do. Even if you get compensation, they might just undercut you.】
【Safer to deal with the small farmers. They’re more honest.】
【Or just work with both—it’s not mutually exclusive.】

Then came a golden rain of reward notifications:

—— Xiao Xuehai sent Rice Seed x100

【Xiao Xuehai: Build a good relationship with the magistrate. If you sign contracts with landlords, have the magistrate appear as a witness—it’ll show them you’ve got strong backing.

Those landlords need your new seeds too. When negotiating, you can offer small concessions—not too much. People respect confidence; don’t let them think you’re easy to push around just because you’re a villager. You’re negotiating cooperation, not begging.

If you’re planning to open a textile workshop in the county, you should start building connections now. Good relations with those landlords will help later and prevent them from causing you trouble down the line.】

Jiang Ji immediately spotted the golden comment floating across the screen—his eyes lit up. Xiao Xuehai was a successful businessman; the perfect mentor right here in his chat.

He said, “Thanks for all the advice—and thank you, President Xiao. I wanted to ask: what do you think about linking the cotton contracts with seed discounts, like cheaper rice, sweet potato, or corn seeds?”

【Xiao Xuehai: That’s feasible—but you’ll need to calculate your textile workshop’s future profit margins. How much will your net earnings be? If you discount too heavily, will you take a loss? Of course, it’s normal to lose a bit in the first year, but remember—once you set the price, it’s hard to raise it later. So don’t sell the seeds at a loss.】

Jiang Ji nodded. “I understand. I’ll go back and calculate it carefully.”

Since President Xiao was still around, Jiang Ji took the opportunity to ask him a whole bunch of questions. Before transmigrating, he’d only been a college sophomore—there was a lot he didn’t know. Having a successful entrepreneur right there, he seized the chance to learn everything he could.

President Xiao Xuehai was generous and patient. He shared his own business experiences, analyzed the pros and cons of different approaches, and pointed out many things Jiang Ji hadn’t considered. Hearing it all made everything suddenly clear.

Jiang Ji was thrilled, listening intently. President Xiao covered so many topics that he couldn’t remember them all, so he immediately exchanged for a notebook and pen and began taking notes right there on the road.

During their “conversation,” the livestream chat went quiet—most viewers were listening seriously. After all, it wasn’t every day they got to hear a business magnate share his wisdom.

【We’re so lucky today—free masterclass from President Xiao!】
【He really has that sharp insight—straight to the point every time.】
【Feels like sitting in one of my business case lectures.】
【Worth every minute.】
【It’s like I’m back in class.】
【Our host’s such a good student.】

They walked and talked, stopping occasionally for Jiang Ji to jot something down. Normally the walk to town took an hour, but this time it took him two.

“A single conversation with a wise man is worth ten years of study. President Xiao, thank you.”

When he arrived at the calligraphy and painting shop, Jiang Ji picked up the “Sea Embraces a Hundred Rivers” scroll for President Xiao. He unrolled it carefully—everything looked perfect.

Then he tried out Jiang Yan’s new seal by pressing it into the ink paste. The imprint was clean and well-cut. Satisfied, he paid the remaining balance.

The shopkeeper asked, “So, did you ask him? Did he agree to sell?”

Jiang Ji shook his head. “He said he doesn’t sell his calligraphy.”

The shopkeeper sighed regretfully. “Ah, I see. Did you tell him I’m willing to pay a high price?”

“He said he’s not short on money.”

“Understood,” said the shopkeeper, still disappointed.

Jiang Ji smiled. “By the way, you sell ink paste here, right?”

“Yes, on the back shelf. I can show you—”

“No need, I’ll find it myself.”

Jiang Ji went to the shelf, picked a high-quality ink paste, and then quietly asked, “President Xiao, Jiang Yan’s seal is ready—would you like me to stamp it on your scroll for you?”

—— Xiao Xuehai sent Rice Seed x100.
—— Xiao Xuehai sent Rice Seed x100.

【Xiao Xuehai: Please do. Thank you.】

“Alright. It’s fitting—this will be Jiang Yan’s first official seal impression. I’ll ask him when I get home before I stamp it, but I’m sure he won’t mind. Give me about an hour.”

【Xiao Xuehai: Alright.】

As Jiang Ji went to pay, he noticed a stand of scroll tubes beside the counter. He looked through them one by one and asked softly, “President Xiao, there are scroll cases here for storing paintings and calligraphy. Which one do you like? I’ll gift it to you as thanks for your help.”

—— Xiao Xuehai sent Rice Seed x100.
—— Xiao Xuehai sent Rice Seed x100.

【Xiao Xuehai: The light blue one.】

Jiang Ji picked out the pale blue tube with cloud patterns. “This one?”

【Xiao Xuehai: Yes.】

“Alright.”

He paid for the ink paste and scroll tube, then rolled up the calligraphy and placed it neatly inside.

【Ahhh, even a scroll tube! It looks amazing!】
【So vintage—it really feels ancient.】
【That scroll case alone is a collectible!】
【The host is so thoughtful.】
【Can it be transmitted too?】
【Yeah, does the scroll tube count as a separate item?】

Jiang Ji paused, ducking into a quiet corner before whispering, “2977, the scroll tube can be transmitted too, right? It’s part of the artwork set—it’s packaging, an essential accessory. That should count, shouldn’t it?”

2977: 【Yes, it counts.】

Jiang Ji let out a relieved breath and told the viewers, “All good! 2977 says it’s allowed.”

【Phew, great!】
【Ahhh, why didn’t mine come with a scroll tube?】

It was the guy who had won the grand prize earlier.

Jiang Ji chuckled. “Back then, I didn’t even have any scroll tubes at home. And this one’s a special thank-you gift for President Xiao.”

【…I could teach you programming as thanks.】

Jiang Ji was speechless. “Brother, even if I learned programming—what would I run it on here?”

【…】
【Hahahahaha, that’s gold.】
【Yeah, there aren’t even computers or phones—what’s he gonna program on?】

After buying some xuan paper next door, Jiang Ji also stopped by a cotton shop to confirm prices—cotton was three hundred twenty coins per jin. He checked prices for cotton thread and cloth too, jotting everything in his notebook before heading home.

On the way back, he continued asking President Xiao for advice.

Xiao Xuehai seemed to be waiting in the livestream for the finished calligraphy. He was patient and answered every question. Jiang Ji learned a great deal.

When he got home, Jiang Ji handed Jiang Yan the seal. “Jiang Yan, your seal’s finished. Look—it came out really nice.”

He set down the ink paste. Jiang Yan tested the seal on paper. “Hmm. Not bad.”

Jiang Ji unrolled Sea Embraces a Hundred Rivers and asked, “Can you stamp it here?”

Jiang Yan nodded and pressed the red seal just below his name.

With that bright red mark, the work was finally complete.

“Looks great. Let’s stamp ours too.”

Jiang Ji climbed onto the table, took down Wealth and Prosperity Arrives, and had Jiang Yan add his seal to that one as well. Once the ink dried, he hung it back up.

“Oh, and I got you some large sheets of xuan paper—you can use them for writing big characters or painting. Whatever you like.” Jiang Ji took out the bundle and placed it on the table.

Jiang Yan glanced at it. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

Jiang Ji admired the calligraphy for a moment, then carefully rolled up Sea Embraces a Hundred Rivers and placed it inside the scroll tube before returning to his room.

“President Xiao, all set—I’m about to transmit the scroll tube to you.”

【Xiao Xuehai: Ready.】

Jiang Ji set the scroll tube on the bed, watched as it was scanned into the system, then clicked Send Reward. In the next second, the tube vanished.

Moments later—

—— Xiao Xuehai sent Rice Seed x100.
—— Xiao Xuehai sent Rice Seed x100.
……
【Xiao Xuehai: Received, thank you!】

The businessman was clearly delighted; he immediately tipped another million rice seeds in total.

As golden effects shimmered across the screen, Jiang Ji’s lips curved upward. So generous! He’d just made another two hundred thousand today.

Feeling cheerful, he left the room with his notebook and pen, sat down across from Jiang Yan, and began reviewing the notes he had taken. After reading through them once, he started doing calculations.

He spent the entire afternoon working through the numbers, and with help from his online viewers, finally sorted everything out—he even drafted a preliminary plan.

The next day, Jiang Ji sought out the village chief and asked him to visit a few nearby villages together to contact their chiefs.

It was time for him to start promoting cotton planting on his own.

🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾