Chapter 1769 – Old Commander, Can You Get Me Another Order?
“By the way, sugarcane requires a specific climate, so send someone to Nan Sheng to find a suitable spot. That place has seen war; it’s filled with impoverished refugees and idle wasteland, making it easier to recruit manpower and designate a sugarcane planting area. Who should I assign this task to?”
Jiang Pengji scanned the room and randomly picked a few well-regarded newcomers with honest personalities, sending them off on a business trip.
The selected newcomers were stunned, feeling like they had just been hit by a pie falling from the sky, nearly overwhelmed with joy and not knowing what to do next.
They thought this was a sign that Jiang Pengji valued their abilities, unaware that she considered the task quite simple and believed sending capable people on it was akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut—a waste of resources. Well, it was a wonderful misunderstanding that only motivated the newcomers even more.
Feng Jue teased with a smile, “Second Brother, how do you feel about having such a Lord?”
He had heard about Jiang Pengji summoning everyone to announce the sugarcane project, and from suggestion to implementation, it only took a day.
Such extraordinary efficiency not only showcased Jiang Pengji’s authority and power among her officials but also displayed her capability in absolute terms, winning everyone’s admiration without a word, unintentionally establishing the impression that she was always right and needed no rebuttal!
She was far from those incompetent leaders who impulsively made their ministers clean up messes—believing in her was the right choice.
Having such a wise leader is something ordinary folks yearn for, but for those brimming with talent, it became somewhat frustrating, since the Lord was also handling their responsibilities. It was like they were walking down their path, nearly leaving them with nowhere to go.
Sugarcane was a luxury item; if extensively cultivated, the profits were beyond imagination.
Normally, such matters would take at least half a month of debate before decisions were finalized.
But it only took a day, with the detailed proposal not even prepared by the ministers but rather presented by the Lord herself.
Feng Jin grumbled, “Hmph, it’s tiring.”
High efficiency didn’t mean less work. Feng Jin had been with Jiang Pengji for many years; how many days off did he really get in a year?
Every day he opened his eyes, his mind was jam-packed with various tasks. After finishing one thing, there was still another—like a spinning top.
Feng Jue agreed, “Indeed tiring.”
Feng Jin couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his younger brother, as if to say, “You pampered homebody, eating and drinking all day, how would you know how exhausting it is?”
“You know it’s tiring yet you don’t help your brother out?”
Feng Jue responded, “How can I help?”
He had made it very clear last time that his elder brother wouldn’t be able to convince him to take up an official position; so how could he possibly relieve his brother’s burden?
Feng Jin insisted, “Changsheng is old enough not to need so much worry from you; pay more attention to those two nephews and niece of yours.”
Those troublesome children!
Huang Song’s daughter was treated like a precious gem, but he didn’t give a fig about his own nephews and niece, how was that fair?
“Go and take care of the kids!”
Upon hearing this, Feng Jue’s face turned dark.
With his own child plus Huang Song’s daughter, and then his elder brother Feng Jin’s two sons…
Was he being seen as a babysitter?
That road couldn’t be opened; if it was, it’d be the end.
Due to the lack of effective contraception, pregnancies had to be brought to term.
Feng Jin and Wei Jingxian weren’t that old; their health was good. Over the years, aside from Changsheng and the eldest legitimate son, they had another son.
Who knows if in two years they’d have two more?
The second brother and sister-in-law weren’t ancient; plenty of couples in their thirties were having children.
“Not willing?” Feng Jin raised an eyebrow.
Feng Jue forced a smile, suppressing the urge to spit blood.
“Of course not! The two nephews are just as smart as Second Brother was at their age; my little brother dotes on them!”
Please, don’t have any more; if you do, I can’t handle it!
As a high-IQ talent, Feng Jue did not want to spend the rest of his life looking after toddlers.
Unbeknownst to him, his dear sister-in-law Wei Jingxian was thinking the same thing.
She had married Feng Jin and borne three children— the burden of childbirth was too great, occupying too much energy, and now she was feeling a bit anxious.
Because of this, she even began to entertain the idea of having Feng Jin take a concubine to share the burden.
Among aristocratic women, it’s quite common for concubines to bear children so that the primary wife could take it easier.
With the Feng family being well-born and prominent, having a concubine wouldn’t be considered out of line.
However, that thought was quickly extinguished as soon as it crossed her mind.
Wei Jingxian was no ordinary aristocratic woman; after years in the political affairs office, she had developed her skills and risen to a considerable position. Her thinking was vastly different from when she was a young woman. Her husband wasn’t just hers—anyone who dared touch him would face consequences!
But still,
Pregnancy truly was a burden.
Wei Jingxian could only privately send someone to seek effective contraceptive methods.
Feng Jin was in the loop, turning a blind eye.
Two sons and one daughter— three children were quite enough; having more would just be a burden.
The Feng family didn’t believe in the saying “many children bring blessings”; they advocated for quality over quantity. After all, the resources the family allocated to each child were limited—more children just meant dividing what little resources there were among more kids, and in the end, all children could end up mediocre. Why bother?
Clearly, not everyone saw it as Feng Jin did; most still sought the blessings of many offspring.
However, they seldom considered the immense pressure and burden this would put on women.
When Jiang Pengji passed by, she overheard the idle chatter of the women’s department.
The original core of the women’s department consisted of a group of literate women saved during the siege of Xiangyang.
Years had passed; some had found homes and left, but others had stayed on, now acting as the backbone of their families.
Newcomers had also filled in, forming this special department with real authority.
When Jiang Pengji heard them complaining during their lunch break about childbirth, her expression showed she was deep in thought.
“Old Commander”
Jiang Pengji wiggled her behind, and the Old Commander immediately knew what she was after, promptly expressing his refusal.
Your Dad: “Heh, if you don’t want to be dealt with, I’d advise you to stow your thoughts.”
Last time she ordered a few hundred boxes, who knows how many she actually utilized.
“What’s the Old Commander talking about? I’m a serious person,” Jiang Pengji said with an earnest face. “I’m asking if you have any rubber trees over there?”
Self-sufficiency is essential; depending on the Old Commander for purchases isn’t as good as producing it oneself.
Jiang Pengji may not have been great at history, but she remembered that the original BYT was a latex product, so researching in that direction should have no issues.
Contemplating this, she felt a headache coming on.
The Federation prohibits gestational childbirth. If a woman becomes pregnant, not only does she face penalties but also the man responsible will face thorough scrutiny.
If they are in a couple or marriage, both will spend some time in prison, with heavy fines as well.
If a woman becomes pregnant against her will, the man’s prison time depends on her age— at least ten years for the youngest females, with the duration escalating for younger women, potentially reaching up to a hundred years. Men would face chemical castration. Even if they get out of jail, they’d be fitted with an irremovable special ring that would alert and shock them if they got too close to a woman.
In such circumstances, contraceptive surgeries in Federation hospitals became highly sought after.
Gradually, adult products vanished from the market.
By the time Jiang Pengji was around, she only knew about BYT from textbooks and literature.
She learned that the early BYT was derived from a certain interstellar organism; it was handy yet perfectly biodegradable, leaving no pollution behind.
But even further back, the earliest BYT…
Being a poor student, she only knew it was made from latex. :з
Your Dad: “Jiang Xiaojiumei, you’ve truly opened my eyes.”
Asking her to order rubber trees just to make BYT?
What ambition!
