Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 797 Looking at the fields
The racecourse was such a long stretch of land, and Meng Changqing wasn't just wandering around randomly; she intentionally headed towards the direction where there were fields before.

When they got there, they saw that the place that used to be farmland had been trampled by horses' hooves. Upon closer inspection, they could not see any signs of planting in the fields.

Meng Changqing praised Xi Dong for doing things meticulously.

happy Dong smiled sheepishly, "Like you said, I should learn from my work experience."

No one would complain about having too much farmland. Even if the land exchange has been discussed and the people have agreed, some people will inevitably think that since the land hasn't been used yet, they can plant one more season. Since they can plant one more season, some people might think of planting two more seasons, and so on. The exchanged farmland is essentially given away for free.

happy Dong had learned his lesson. Since he had agreed to the change, he destroyed the farmland on the spot. If he wanted to plant anything in that field again, he would have to spend a lot of effort to rebuild it, which would be much more costly.

"Which plot of government land was given to this family?" Meng Changqing asked. "Let's go take a look."

"I'll take you there directly." happy Dong led the way.

The land given to this family was not far from here; it was a piece of government-owned land located between Luojia Village and Pingbei Village.

When Meng Changqing and the others arrived, the family was weeding and watering the field, which was obviously already planted.

Although it's not hot yet, some weeds have already sprouted in the fields.

That's how farming is. You have to keep an eye on the soil all day long, watching for pests, weeds, and whether the seeds have sprouted.

"Auntie, is this land easy to cultivate?" Meng Changqing asked the woman who lived near the edge of the field.

The woman was wiping her sweat when she turned around and saw it was the county magistrate. Hearing his question, she nodded happily and said, "Good planting!" She then bowed to Meng Changqing, "Thank you, County Magistrate." The man who had been concentrating on weeding also rushed to the edge of the field. "Your Excellency, you've come! Thank you to the county government for exchanging our land. Earlier, Magistrate Xidong came to us saying our land had been assigned to some kind of threshing ground. I thought my family had committed a serious crime. I never expected the county government to let us change our land, and even give us government land instead! It's such a wonderful thing!"

"As long as it grows well, that's fine." Meng Changqing had barely finished speaking when people from the nearby fields crowded around him, saying, "Your Excellency, County Magistrate."

The land next to it used to be government land, but it has now been swapped with the land near the racecourse.

Meng Changqing had some impression of the two men, but it was limited. He knew they were from his county just by looking at their faces, but he couldn't remember their names.

The couple came over, the woman holding an earthenware pot. "Sir, thank you for understanding how hard it is for us farmers. We're just farmers, we don't have much to offer in return, but please have some water." As she spoke, she put the pot on the ground. Her husband, being very perceptive, immediately took the bowls from the lid of the pot. The woman poured water, and the man handed them to Meng Changqing.

Fearing that Meng Changqing would find it offensive, the man quickly explained, "This is a clean bowl, and the water has been boiled..."

Before he could say anything more, Meng Changqing had already taken the bowl and started drinking.

Seeing that the woman was about to pour more water for Xidong and the others, Meng Changqing quickly stopped her, saying, "Alright, keep it for yourselves. It takes effort to carry the water over, so don't give it all to us."

Meng Changqing said to the two households, "I should thank you for not finding the county government troublesome and for being willing to cooperate with its policies."

Both households hurriedly said they dared not.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. It's because everyone is considerate of each other that things have gone smoothly," Meng Changqing said. "Although we have different statuses for the time being, we are all in Beishan County and we all want to make the county better and our families better off. We have the same goal, so we feel close to each other."

From now on, don't stand on ceremony. Everyone should stay in their place and do their own job. I'll manage the county government well, you all should focus on farming, and your children should study hard. The future will be brighter.