Yu Xiaocao replied in a justified and confident manner, “The emperor is doing it for the future of his country, and the young royal prince wants to successfully complete his task. What do you think I’m doing this for? Aren’t I doing this to earn more money so that my family can eat well, wear warm clothes, and not suffer from poverty? Our family has over ten mu of farmland, but we didn’t even plant one mu of grain. Grains are really expensive right now ah! The locust plague hasn’t ended yet. If we want to plant grain, we have to wait until at least the beginning of spring next year and harvest them in the summer. During this period of nearly one year, we would have to constantly purchase overpriced grain. Although our family has made some money, it’s still not enough for our family to use it in this way for a year!” 

Madam Liu thought about the price for coarse grain in town, which had risen to over one hundred copper coins. Moreover, the price was inflating day by day. It was already considered good if the food they hoarded could last them until the autumn. Although these corn and potatoes were high-yielding crops, they didn’t have any control over the disposition of them at all and had to hand them all to the imperial court. After hearing her younger daughter’s words, the whole family became downcast, and the originally delicious potatoes turned tasteless in their mouths. 

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