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Chapter 371: Barren Field (Part )

Li County has many mountains, forests and land. In the past, due to the serious banditry, the people of Li County had a hard time making a living and were very poor. Later, the bandit dens were wiped out, and Li County had a diligent and people-loving magistrate, Cai. In just a few years, Li County went from being one of the bottom three poorest counties to a middle-class county.

This year, Li County received the first batch of famine victims and settled them very well, which won high praise from the two chiefs Chen and Feng. They directly took Li County as a model for other counties to follow.

Jiang Shaohua had toured Xi'e, Bowang and other counties, and only today when he entered Li County did he feel truly pleased.

Magistrate Cai pointed at the endless fields in front of him, and a rare hint of pride and complacency appeared in his tone: "These fields were cultivated by them with great effort. I have registered all the land. According to the previous agreement, half of the land belongs to the people, and the other half belongs to the princess."

Jiang Shaohua laughed: "Didn't you say that the other half belongs to the county government? How did it become this princess's?"

Magistrate Cai responded as a matter of course: "What belongs to the county government belongs to the princess."

This makes sense.

Chen Jinyu and Ma Yaozong nodded in agreement. Tang Youyin was a little slower in reacting, but he soon followed suit and nodded: "County Magistrate Cai is right."

Cui Du couldn't help but glance at Magistrate Cai. Don't think that Magistrate Cai only knows how to do things with his head down. When it comes to flattery, he is not comparable to ordinary people.

Jiang Shaohua pursed his lips and smiled: "Well, this princess's property also belongs to the county government, and even more so to the people. Half of the grain produced in the fields every year is sent to the palace, and the rest is kept in the county government for its own use."

Magistrate Cai was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude.

As for Cui Du, he had already dismounted his horse quickly and walked quickly into the field, carefully inspecting the land and the green seedlings that had sprouted in the ground.

Jiang Shaohua and others also dismounted and walked into the fields very carefully to avoid trampling the seedlings.

Cui Du looked at it carefully, then borrowed a long knife from Meng Sanbao, dug up the soil, squatted and looked at it for a long time, picked it up with his hands, and smelled it.

"Is there something wrong with this field?" Jiang Shaohua became nervous for some unknown reason.

Cui Du pondered for a moment and said, "The soil here is indeed a little special. It should be because of the high salt and alkali content. The grain seeds germinate slowly and grow poorly. If this continues, I'm afraid we won't be able to harvest much grain in a few months."

Jiang Shaohua frowned slightly, but before he could say anything, Magistrate Cai was already anxious: "What should we do! When I was selecting the wasteland that day, I specially selected this piece. It is close to the village where they will be resettled, and the land is flatter. This year, the people worked extra hard to reclaim the wasteland, hoping to harvest a crop. What if there is no harvest?"

"Don't worry, Magistrate Cai." Cui Du smiled and comforted him, "It's not that serious. We can harvest some grain, but the yield won't be that high. Besides, this saline-alkali land can be managed. After I study it carefully, I'll teach the people some ways to manage the soil."

Jiang Shaohua took over the conversation: "No matter how much grain is harvested this year, it will belong to the people. If there is not enough food, the palace will allocate food, you don't have to worry."

County Magistrate Cai finally breathed a sigh of relief and bowed deeply to express his gratitude: "Thank you for your grace, Princess. They are all poor people who left their hometowns and now have settled down in Li County. I hope they can integrate into the life here as soon as possible. I am a little anxious. I am sorry to have embarrassed you all."

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "You are their parent official. You treat the people with the same love that a parent would give to their children. You cherish and love them. This county magistrate should be highly rewarded by this princess. Who will laugh at you? Who dares to laugh at you? This princess will not forgive him!"

The last sentence was so domineering and majestic. Cui Du couldn't help but look up.

The bright sunlight cast a layer of light on the princess' beautiful face, which was so dazzling that one could not look directly at it and could only look up.

Magistrate Cai was so moved that his eyes were wet.

He never said anything like "I am willing to die for the princess" in public. He only replied solemnly: "I will remember what the princess said. I will not let the princess down."

Jiang Shaohua smiled slightly and reached out to help Magistrate Cai up.

Soil surveys and other matters must be left to professionals. Since Cui Du said it was not a big problem, Jiang Shaohua was relieved. Accompanied by Magistrate Cai, she went to the nearby famine village for a tour.

More than 2,000 starving people were settled in four villages. Each village was about two miles apart, and the thatched houses had been replaced with wooden houses. Three wells were dug in each village, and there were also special places for dumping garbage and burning incense at night. Some families even raised pigs, chickens and ducks.

Chen Jinyu couldn't help but ask, "Magistrate Cai, the food that the hungry people eat is all donated by the palace. Where did they get the money to buy pigs, chickens and ducks to raise?"

Magistrate Cai smiled and explained, "This is my idea. The money for buying chicks, ducklings, and piglets will all be paid by the county government. They will be responsible for collecting grass every day to feed them. Li County has many mountains and forests, so just be diligent. After raising the pigs for a year or so, the county government can take them back and send them to the military camp in exchange for money. Half will go to the county government, and the other half will be theirs. The chickens and ducks can lay eggs, which can also be sold for money."

Anyway, the military camp consumes a lot of meat. They only eat meat once every three days, so no matter how many chickens, ducks, and pigs are sent over, they can all be eaten.

County Magistrate Cai had such a quick mind that Chen Jinyu had to admire him: "County Magistrate Cai's method is really good."

Ma Yaozong immediately smiled and said, "I will write a letter to my grandfather later and ask him to learn from Magistrate Cai's method."

Tang Youyin said nothing, but he was thinking that he would have to write a letter back to Xi'e when he returned home tonight. His cousin worked in the county government and could remind Magistrate Zou privately.

County Magistrate Cai laughed and said modestly: "I will give it a try first. If it works, the people will have another way to survive."

If you want to do something, you have to worry about it. Just these few casual words just now sounded light and airy, but I don’t know how much tedious work is behind them.

For example, if a family wants to raise chickens, ducks, or pigs, they all need to register. What should be done if the chickens and ducks die or the pigs get sick? Should the county government take care of them? If the government takes too little care, will the people become lazy and just lie around and eat and drink?

After the chickens, ducks, pigs and other poultry were raised, they had to be collected from every household, weighed and accounted for, and then sent to the military camp.

All these things have added a lot of chores to the county government. In today's Li County, everyone obeys orders. A few years ago, who would be willing to do so many trivial and useless things!

Of course, Magistrate Cai would not talk about these things. There is no point in boasting about the work before it is done. Even if it is done, it is what he deserves.

Jiang Shaohua knew what was going on, and said in a gentle voice, "Thank you for your hard work, County Magistrate Cai."