Chapter 166
Shi Guangzhu was from Hui'an Town, Suihua, and one of the town's three elders. That day, he and two other equally prestigious elders from the town had important business to attend to in Yichun City.
When they entered the city, they were inspected at the gate. They duly submitted their household registration and travel permits. During the inspection, they were all very nervous, fearing they wouldn't be able to enter the city. If they couldn't enter, they wouldn't be able to complete their mission.
But the inspector scanned them several times, asked a few questions, and then let them go.
Shi Guangzhu walked through Yichun City, still a bit dazed. Honestly, they had all prepared themselves for a near-impossible entry. General Gan's presence in Suihua was clearly a precaution against Yichun's southward advance or the possibility of an attack. Either way, Suihua and Yichun were already on a hostile footing, and since they were from Suihua, it was understandable that Yichun wouldn't let them in.
But Yichun let them in, apparently the City Lord's Mansion hadn't issued a ban. How confident must one be to not mind the people of the enemy city entering their own city?
"Yichun is really lively, much more lively than the market in our town."
Yichun encourages business, and as the New Year is approaching, people are coming and going in the city. They even see teams of patrols passing by, and the ruffians dare not move.
Here, they saw Yichun's strength and prosperity, and the people on the streets were really leisurely, as if there had never been a war. Unlike Hui'an Town, even on market days, people were in a hurry.
As they walked, they asked about the location of the City Lord's Mansion.
Seeing that the three of them were old and weak and did not look like people who could do bad things, the other party enthusiastically showed them the way.
Yao Chunnuan was presiding over a meeting with the members of the City Lord's Mansion to discuss next year's spring plowing. There was no doubt that the new farming methods they had previously tested in the Yichun military settlement would be promoted during the next spring plowing season. This was a point of no return. It had already been proven that the new methods increased crop yields by 20% to 30%. It would be foolish not to promote them.
There were two controversial points in their discussion: the cultivation of sweet potatoes and the disposal of the wasteland reclaimed by the Northern Di captives. Some in attendance argued that while their current supply of sweet potato seeds, approximately 200,000 jin (approximately 100,000 jin), seemed substantial, it could only sustain two thousand mu (approximately 1,000 hectares) of land. They should plant another crop, harvest, and distribute it to the public. As for the wasteland reclaimed by the Northern Di captives, it naturally belonged to the City Lord's Mansion. After all, weren't those captives also supported by the City Lord's Mansion?
Others disagreed, arguing that sweet potatoes were no longer a secret in Yichun, especially among the residents of the Yichun military settlement. Many knew that their City Lord's Mansion possessed a high-yield crop. Furthermore, six months ago, Lord Yao had hinted that a portion of the sweet potatoes would be available for redemption at the end of the year, prompting everyone to prepare work points or merit points.
Nowadays, plans can't keep up with changes. The exchange building has been cleared, and the items available for redemption have become fewer, but the quality has improved. The items that can enter the exchange building are all rare and valuable. Moreover, the exchange building is now only open to those with merit points. Those who have earned merit points are all heroes who have fought in battle or made significant contributions to the construction of Yichun and other places. However, as one of the leaders of the City Lord's Mansion, Lord Yao cannot go back on his word and must fulfill his promise.
Yao Chunnuan remained silent, just watching and letting them argue. She thought it was a good thing; everyone had different perspectives on things, and when everyone expressed their opinions, the truth would become clearer the more they argued.
Just as the attendees were talking, Yao Chunnuan noticed that the doorman from the City Lord's Mansion had been looking out several times. She walked out and called out to him, "What's going on?"
"Master Yao, the situation is this: three elderly men have arrived outside the City Lord's Mansion. They claim to be the three elders from Hui'an Town and wish to see one of the masters within the City Lord's Mansion." He hadn't wanted to report these individuals of unknown origin, but he couldn't resist their entreaties, and subconsciously felt that reporting this might yield unexpected rewards, so he went ahead. Sure enough, Master Yao's subsequent actions proved that his report was a good one.
Suihua Hui'an Town? The three elders were the ones in charge of education in the area. Yao Chunnuan turned to the people in the meeting room and said, "The meeting will be suspended for now. I will be back soon."
"Did they say what it was about?" Yao Chunnuan asked the doorman as she walked out.
The doorman said, "He must have something to ask for. I asked him, but he refused to tell me."
As soon as Yao Chunnuan came out of the gate, she saw the three old men standing in the shelter. Axia followed closely behind them, staring at the three old men with a sharp gaze.
The doorman shouted, "This is Master Yao from our City Lord's Mansion. What do you want to talk about?!"
Shi Guangzhu quickly said, "Yes, yes, let's talk about it right away."
In fact, they did not know Yao Chunnuan, but they all knew that there was only one female master in the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, and this female master was Yao Gongcao Yao Chunnuan.
"Master Yao, the truth is, the three of us are the elders of Hui'an Town. We've come here for the kang. Because of the war, all the young and strong men in Hui'an Town were drafted, leaving a lot of elderly people and children in the town. Winter is so hard on the elderly and children. Every year, many freeze to death in the town." Shi Guangzhu's voice trailed off. Hui'an Town, close to their Yichun region, is known for its mild climate, but the winters are truly cold.
Another old man continued, "Yes, since last year, we have heard that there are things like kangs in Yichun. We thought that if we had a kang in the house, the elderly and children would not be afraid of the cold."
They had planned to wait until the next year, after the autumn harvest, to count the families in the town and villages who needed kangs, and then come to Yichun to hire them. However, the situation changed and disrupted their plans.
"We are here this time to ask the elders in the City Lord's Mansion to send two people to our town to build a kang for us. We will pay for it." As they said this, several old men were about to kneel down in front of them.
"Just explain the situation clearly, no need to kneel." Yao Chunnuan quickly stopped them.
At Yao Chunnuan's signal, the guards of the City Lord's Mansion stopped the three people who were about to kneel.
Some people even looked at the three old men with suspicion, wondering if they were trying to make money from them by making such a request.
The technology for making this kang has always been in the hands of the government.
Yao Chunnuan sighed. She hadn't considered it carefully. "It's no problem to let you go back to Anzhen to make a bed, but Anzhen is under the jurisdiction of Suihua. Ganhua City has troops stationed in Suihua now. If our people rashly enter, it will not be a good thing for you or me."
Shi Guangzhu said anxiously, "Don't worry, Lord Yao. We know a way to get to Hui'an Town directly without going through the city gate. We won't alert General Gan. And we in Hui'an Town will also protect the safety of those who come to help us."
"It's still not appropriate." Yao Chunnuan shook his head.
They underestimated Gan Huacheng. Gan Huacheng's actions were not entirely upright. She was worried not only about the technicians sent to repair the kang, but also about the three elderly people. If Gan Huacheng learned of their actions, he might use them as a target.
Thinking she had refused, the old men all looked disheartened. It wasn't their fault, as Suihua and Yichun were now divided into two different factions. If they returned to Anzhen, they would be considered Yichun's enemies.
"How about this, you go back and pick out two smart young men in the town and send them to Yichun. I will ask the craftsmen to teach them how to build a kang. When they learn it, they can go back to An Town and you can build your own kangs." This is the safest way.
Hearing this, several old men's eyes lit up, and then they looked at each other, "But, isn't the technology for making kangs unique to the Yichun government?"
"It's okay, just send the person here without worry." She was inconsiderate. Such technology should be spread among the people so that more people can benefit from it.
Finally, the oldest man said tremblingly, "The Lord of the City is kind and righteous, Lord Yao is kind and righteous, and all the lords are kind and righteous."
By the time Yao Chunnuan returned to the meeting room, a decision had already been made on the two controversial points.
Of the 200,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes, Yao Chunnuan decided to keep 100,000 kilograms of seeds for official planting, and the remaining 100,000 kilograms for promotion: 70,000 kilograms for Yichun, 20,000 kilograms for Songhua Prefecture, and 10,000 kilograms for Huining. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Of the 70,000 kilograms for Yichun, 20,000 kilograms will be provided to the residents of the Yichun military settlement, fulfilling her previous promise.
The government helped germinate and guided the planting of the 100,000 kilograms of sweet potatoes used for promotion.
The 20,000 jin of sweet potatoes allocated to the Yichun military settlement were distributed according to the number of people. Of the remaining 80,000 jin, each household was only allowed to receive 10 jin of sweet potato seedlings, which was enough to plant one mu of land.
Eighty thousand kilograms of sweet potato seedlings were grown, and about eight thousand households were able to receive them. Together with the households allocated in Yichun, there were probably tens of thousands of households that could plant sweet potatoes during the spring plowing season.
Those who want to plant can participate in the lottery. Families who are qualified to plant sweet potatoes will be reminded to plant them well, otherwise similar benefits will be cancelled in the future.
As for the nearly 20,000 slaves of Beidi, they worked very hard during this period and reclaimed 200,000 to 300,000 mu of wasteland.
Yao Chunnuan suggested selling it to the residents of the Yichun military settlement at a lower price.
The Yichun military settlement was their birthplace. They now controlled three counties, but what did the settlers of the Yichun military settlement have? Just the rewards for a great victory, the grain distributed after the autumn harvest, and the houses they had built with their own efforts in the settlement. That was all, no land of their own.
And their City Lord's Mansion has 1.1 million acres of public land from the Yichun military settlement, salt fields, various workshops, and its own large ships... There is really no need to keep staring at that wasteland.
Moreover, after distributing the mang land to the residents of Yichun Military Settlement, the cultivation of public land can also be arranged for the recently taken-in refugees, who can follow the old path of the residents of Yichun Military Settlement and gradually let them live their own lives.
Yao Chunnuan persuaded them, and eventually, the over 200,000 mu of wasteland reclaimed by the Di Luo captives was sold to the inhabitants of the Yichun military settlement at a price of two taels per mu. Each person was limited to two mu, with preferential treatment for active military personnel.
This is just wasteland, but the land in the Northeast is famously fertile. Even if it is newly reclaimed land, the grain yield will not be low if the settlers use scientific methods to cultivate it.
Furthermore, the cost of reclaiming an acre of land is undoubtedly higher than two taels. First, the land must be cleared of weeds, small shrubs, and rocks. After that, it must be plowed and composted. Finally, the reclaimed land must be registered with the government, which is another expense.
In fact, a large landowner wanted to buy the wasteland that Di Luo had reclaimed, offering five taels of silver per mu. This price was far higher than the labor cost of hiring someone to cultivate the land. Of course, the other party's high price of five taels of silver for the land was also intended to curry favor with the City Lord's Mansion.
Well, actually the labor cost for land reclamation in Yichun has also increased, about one-third more than before.
Just kidding! The officials in the main city were so thrifty with the people that they assigned even the heavy work of digging canals, clearing land, and building roads to the Northern Di captives, reluctant to subject the local people to such heavy labor. They should also be thrifty themselves. As for the heavy work, it's not that they can't do it, but they'll have to pay more! With this thought, the tenants' wages went up.
The landlords and wealthy people in Yichun: What the hell, in these troubled times, labor should be cheap as hell, why do they have to pay a high price to hire labor?
So, when this batch of wasteland was released at such a low price, the inhabitants of Yichun Military Village were overjoyed. Every family counted their heads to see how many acres they could buy. Some wives, who were about to give birth, had their families watching them intently, hoping the baby would be born quickly so they could enjoy the benefits of this land distribution.
This welfare benefit for the Yichun military settlements also made the other residents of Yichun jealous. While wealthy landlords paid five taels of silver per mu for land, the City Lord's Mansion refused to profit from this and instead sold the land cheaply to the residents of the Yichun military settlements. In comparison, the residents of the Yichun military settlements were like the City Lord's own children, their affairs being closely monitored.
The residents of Yichun Military Settlement heard these discussions and felt both heartbroken and proud.
Later, the Yichun City Lord's Mansion announced that once the slaves reclaimed more wasteland, they would release more farmland. Next time, everyone in Yichun City would have a chance.
Upon hearing this, the people of Yichun beamed with joy. Then, it was the turn of the people of Songhua Prefecture and Huining to get angry. The local officials then promised to do similar good things in the future, and the people finally calmed down.
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