Chapter 108 Chapter 108 The next day, Ah Hai came as promised...
The next day, Ah Hai came to the inn as agreed, and took Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin for a tour around the island.
There are not many horse-drawn carriages on the island, but riding elephants is popular. Shen Xuan found it interesting, so he asked Ah Hai to rent an elephant for him.
The elephant keeper fed the elephant a bunch of bananas and let Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin sit on the sedan chair on the elephant's back.
The view from the elephant's back was quite high, and they looked at the roadside scenery along the way. They asked Ah Hai some questions related to people's livelihood, and Ah Hai patiently answered them one by one.
Today, Xue Fenglin went deep into the hinterland of the South China Sea islands to check out their farming conditions. In addition to rice and other grains, the farmland was also planted with fruits such as bananas and pineapples.
Since there were many merchants traveling to and from Southeast Asia, there were also many vendors selling dried fruits as snacks. Fruits have always sold well, so there are many farmers growing these things.
After walking for a while, we saw a stall far away on the roadside, where an elderly lady was selling dried fruits. Ah Hai said to Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin, "The old lady in front is selling fried bananas and pineapples, which are specialties from Southeast Asia. I heard that many wealthy families in Dajin love to eat them. It's much cheaper to buy them directly from the farmers than to go to the fried food store near the dock."
After hearing this, Xue Fenglin asked him to go over and ask about the price. After a while, Ah Hai ran back and forth and said to Xue Fenglin, "Sir, dried bananas are ten cents an ounce, and dried pineapples are fifteen cents an ounce. The prices in the snack shops are double that."
After hearing this, Shen Xuan gave Ah Hai a dime and told him to buy as much as he wanted to eat, and the extra food would be considered a reward for him.
Ah Hai was naturally very happy, and after a while, he brought back two large bags of roasted dried fruits. Shen Xuan weighed them and they weighed more than half a pound.
He also tried the dried banana and pineapple. The dried fruit tasted sweet and sour, which was indeed good, but it was not crispy and refreshing enough, and it was not particularly delicious.
But in this era of sugar shortage, such sweet snacks can be considered a rare commodity. No wonder it can be regarded as a specialty of Southeast Asia and exported to Dajin.
"We have seen many fields of ordinary people along the way in Sarawak. Most of the fields are planted with crops such as rice and vegetables, but there are not many people planting fruits like this. I wonder why?" Shen Xuan thought for a while before asking.
Fruit is a cash crop and its selling price after processing is higher than that of grain. But for some reason, few people in Sarawak grow it.
"Farmers have been used to growing grains for generations. It's not easy to ask them to switch to other crops." Xue Fenglin thought for a while and said.
"Besides, Nanyang has already formed a commercial atmosphere. People know that if they grow fruits and make dried fruits, people will buy them, so there are so many people growing fruits."
“There are very few outsiders in Sarawak. The locals just want to make ends meet. Planting these fruits cannot be eaten. If they cannot be sold, they will rot in the fields. Therefore, no one grows other crops.”
"Your analysis makes sense." Shen Xuan nodded and said, "So if the government can provide the people with a market for these agricultural and sideline products, the people of Sarawak will be able to grow some cash crops, and I think their family income will also be able to increase."
Xue Fenglin's eyes lit up again when he heard this, and then he said excitedly: "It is indeed a good idea! The government can open some workshops to make dried fruits and sugarcane. Directly purchasing fruits and sugarcane and other crops grown by farmers, the income of the people will definitely increase. The excess labor force at home can also go to the workshop to work, which is another source of income.
"Xuan'er, although you are a boy, you are a genius in general affairs." Xue Fenglin looked at Shen Xuan with a trace of respect in his eyes. He paused for a moment before speaking: "When I was in the Imperial College, the teachers there often praised me for my good general affairs. It was only because I was in charge of my mother's dowry since I was a child and took over the general affairs industry very early, so I became more experienced."
"However, compared to you, I am still far behind. I originally thought that you were just a business genius, but now it seems that the brilliant ideas you have come up with in the past few days for the people's livelihood and daily affairs are unprecedented, which is really admirable!"
Shen Xuan thought to himself that these ideas of mine were only thought of by standing on the shoulders of giants, and felt a little guilty about Xue Fenglin's praise.
However, these good policies that are everywhere in the modern world can help Xue Fenglin and the people of Dajin. Shen Xuan feels that his life is not in vain. Perhaps it was for this reason that God allowed his soul to go to the modern world, where he grew up until he was in his twenties before returning!
Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin stayed in Nanyang for three full days. They spent most of the first two days observing the people's livelihood in Nanyang. It was not until the third day that they really relaxed and had a good time. In the evening, they boarded the cruise ship back to Dajin.
On the morning of the fourth day, they finally returned to Pengzhou. After that, we took a horse carriage to Jianzhou. After playing in Jianzhou for a day, we returned to Sarawak. It was almost evening when we got home.
The two of them traveled around these past few days, and several servants in the Sarawak government had arranged all the necessary items in the house.
Wu Xin Wu Wang went to the market and bought a few servants to do odd jobs. After some tidying up, the governor's house in Sarawak was now quite suitable for use.
After returning home, Xue Fenglin did not rush to work, but instead carefully considered the reform measures for Sarawak at home.
If he didn't go to serve, the state judge and the state officials would be more than happy to help him. He still played mahjong in the yamen every day, and his behavior was more flamboyant than before.
Shen Xuan accompanied Xue Fenglin to formulate a comprehensive reform plan for Sarawak. He traveled to many places in Sarawak and was much busier than when he was in the capital.
Many policy proposals are easy to say but face many difficulties in implementation. Although Xue Fenglin came from a prominent family, he was not rash in doing things. Instead, he planned out the details one by one and pondered over them over and over again. The plan was confirmed only after it was confirmed to be feasible.
Another half a month later, Sarawak’s reform strategy was finally formulated into a workable plan.
The plan was written on dozens of pages. Xue Fenglin compiled these pages into a book, and then went to Pengzhou to show the plan to Lord Tang.
This time, Shen Xuan did not follow. After all, Xue Fenglin was going there for work and could be back in one day. It would not be good for him and his family to go with him.
However, at night, when Xue Fenglin came back, his expression was very unhappy and there was a chill all over his body.
As soon as Shen Xuan saw it, he knew that his trip to Pengzhou today to meet Lord Tang was not going well.
When he just asked him where he had hit a snag, Xue Fenglin just smiled and said that reforms require money. Lord Tang said that the finances are quite tight now and he cannot afford to spend so much money to carry out reforms.
For some reason, although Xue Fenglin said this, his expression was a little stiff. Chen Xuan still felt that there was more to the matter, so he took advantage of Xue Fenglin's work and quietly pulled Wu Xin, who was with him, to ask.
Wu Xin was reluctant to reveal it at first, but after Shen Xuan's coercion and inducement, he had no choice but to say: "My dear husband, the prince went to Lord Tang today, and they had a very pleasant chat at the beginning. But then Lord Tang said that the reform was too big, and to be on the safe side, the Tang and Xue families would become relatives, so that they could act more reliably. Letting the prince marry his brother as a concubine can also be regarded as an alliance with the Tang family..."
Shen Xuan was stunned, and then he understood why Xue Fenglin was unwilling to mention the meeting with Lord Tang today in front of him.
This has always been the case among the ministers in the court. In order to strengthen their alliance, they often marry each other. Now that we have a kinship relationship, they become our own people, and it becomes much more convenient to act accordingly.
Xue Fenglin was not an ordinary person, and Lord Tang was not a fool either, so he could see it at a glance.
As soon as he arrived in Sarawak, he proposed drastic reforms. The plan was very well written, but it also came with corresponding risks.
This implies a lot of money, effort and offending people. If the reform is done well, Lord Tang should have made some contributions, but the greatest credit still goes to Xue Fenglin.
And if things don't go well, even if Xue Fenglin is dismissed from office, he still has the title of prince, and he can just return to Beijing to inherit the title, but Lord Tang will be greatly affected.
He has been operating in Pengzhou for so many years and has deep roots. Even if there is no reform nowadays, it is still a way of making progress while maintaining stability, and there is nothing wrong with that. Why should I go through this with Xue Fenglin and take on greater risks?
But if Xue Fenglin became his relative, they would be in the same boat. Even if the reform fails, when he returns to the capital, Lord Tang will have established a connection with the Xue Family Marquisate, which will be beneficial to his future career.
Lord Tang is a veteran official who has been in officialdom for many years. When it comes to caring for the people, I wonder how much of his original intention is left, but his plans for a career in politics are very real.
If Xue Fenglin had not known Chen Xuan before, he would have just taken in a concubine. For the sake of his career and the smooth progress of reform, he might have agreed to it.
But now he was married to Shen Xuan, and the moment he heard what Lord Tang was planning, he became annoyed and refused without hesitation.
Lord Tang's plan failed, so he was unwilling to give in on the reform. Xue Fenglin had a fruitless conversation this time and finally returned empty-handed.
He was in a very bad mood the whole way, and he was unwilling to show it in front of Shen Xuan. He just lied to him that Lord Tang was unwilling to pay, so as to prevent Shen Xuan from thinking too much about it.
Shen Xuan was silent for a long time before he stood up and went to Xue Fenglin.
Xue Fenglin was originally thinking hard about how to continue to promote the reform. When he saw him coming, he smiled slightly, made some room for him and said, "Come and sit with me, and let's think about how to implement the reform without Pengzhou's support."
Shen Xuan sat down next to Xue Fenglin as he was told, looking at his handsome profile. He was stunned for a while, and felt warm in his heart, with an unprecedented sense of happiness and confidence.
Seeing Xue Fenglin looking at him with some confusion, Shen Xuan said, "Isn't it just that you are short of money? Take out all the dowry money, renovate the dock, and start with the sugar cane workshop and the dried fruit workshop."
"If we make money first, there will be people willing to follow suit. Then we can attract others to invest and expand the scale. Then won't this business be successful?"
Shen Xuan said it easily, but renovating the dock and opening a workshop is not a matter of buying two shops and a few farms, but a bottomless pit!
Chen Xuan had more than 30,000 taels of silver in his hand, plus the 100,000 taels of silver that Xue Fenglin gave him as a betrothal gift, which totaled 130,000 taels.
These 130,000 taels of silver are a lot for a noble family, but if they are all used for reform, it may still be insufficient.
Xue Fenglin was also stunned when he heard this, and looked at Shen Xuan and said, "This dowry is your private property? How can you take it out to fill my official business? Such a thing has never been heard of in the world!"
Chen Xuan smiled, holding Xue Fenglin's hand and said, "What do you mean by private property and public affairs? Do you think we should separate them so clearly? Besides, I have two shops and a farm in Beijing, which bring in tens of thousands of taels of silver a year. How can I still be short of money?"
“Besides, this is not just an investment. When Sarawak’s reform is successful, won’t the money I invested in the docks and workshops make back the money? What are you worried about? Don’t you have confidence in your reform plan?”
Although Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin are in love with each other, Shen Xuan always handles things in a businesslike manner. Before, whether it was selling tea, food or making soap, the recipes were all in his own hands, and he did not ignore them because of his relationship with Xue Fenglin.
Therefore, the fact that he was going to take out all his money today to help Xue Fenglin promote reforms was completely beyond Xue Fenglin's expectations.
Xue Fenglin felt a warm feeling in his heart, and he felt that the last bit of vague alienation between him and Shen Xuan seemed to have completely disappeared.
He loved Shen Xuan very much in his heart, but he always felt that Shen Xuan was still holding something back from him. Although he didn't mention it on weekdays, it became a knot in his heart.
It was not until today that Xue Fenglin discovered that the knot in his heart had been completely untied.
"Xuan'er, I used to think that I could grow old with you, but now I feel that life is too short. No wonder some people go to temples to pray for fate and to be in love for three lifetimes." Xue Fenglin couldn't help but speak.
"If three lives are too short, then ask for five lives, ten lives... or countless lives?" Chen Xuan couldn't help but curl his lips and said, "As long as you dare to ask, I dare to answer."
"Okay, then we'll go worship tomorrow."
"What are you praying for?"
"Not far to the east of the pier, there is a Mazu temple. I heard it's quite effective..."
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