Chapter 361: Harsh Government is Not as Good as Benevolent Government
After seven days of rest at home, Zhao Xiping returned to the Agricultural Department for duty. Since he didn't have to conduct field inspections, he was writing about his cotton planting experiences in Jiuquan and Zhangye counties. Whenever he encountered a question, he would directly ask Ma Nongjian, completely unassuming and not feeling embarrassed to ask for advice from a subordinate. He not only learned on his own, but also brought Xiaozai and Hu Ansui along to listen in.
At the end of the day, Zhao Xiping led two of his men out of the Agricultural Department. He told Hu Ansui, "In the next few years, as cotton planting expands, the Agricultural Department will definitely be short of staff. Keep an eye out and make preparations. If a suitable vacancy arises, I'll recommend you for the position."
Hu Ansui was very excited. He suppressed his joy and said, "Thank you, uncle, for promoting me."
Zhao Xiping stroked the back of the boy's head, and Hu Ansui immediately understood that the boy would most likely become an agricultural official in the future, and he was paving the way for the boy and building his network of contacts.
"Can you leave Dunhuang? Do you have any concerns about traveling far away? Or do you just plan to find a job close to home?" Zhao Xiping asked again.
Hu Ansui fell silent. If he decided to stay in Dunhuang, it would mean he might miss out on better opportunities. But if he left home and went to another county, he might not be able to come back more than a few times a year, and he couldn't take his mother with him.
"I, I'll stay in Dunhuang. I want to study with you first. Besides, my father works in Dunhuang. Even if I'm just a minor official in Dunhuang, with his support, there will be fewer obstacles when I do things." He made a decision.
"Have you decided?"
Hu Ansui hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly. "It's decided. If I have the ability, I will be able to leave Dunhuang City sooner or later. If I don't, if I leave now, I won't be able to come back."
He glanced at the boy, then met his brother's gaze. He nodded, lowered his brows, and smiled. This was another consideration for him. As long as he remained loyal to his cousin and always stood by him, if the boy ever had a great fortune, he could become one of the chickens and dogs in the story of the chickens and dogs ascending to heaven, and he could also follow him out of Dunhuang City.
"Okay, I got it. I'll let you know if there's any news," said Zhao Xiping.
When they reached the fork in the road, Juan waved his hand and walked briskly into the city.
Zhao Xiping and his son each rode a camel and left the city. The father and son held the reins and galloped wildly on the country road surrounded by wheat fields.
At the end of the wheat field is the cotton field. The cotton is in bloom, pink and white, dotted among the lush green branches and leaves, looking very beautiful.
Pinch the tops of flowers when they bloom, and form buds when they are in full bloom.
In just half a month, the first batch of flowers fell and cotton bolls hung on the branches.
After the cotton plants bore fruit, the water demand in the field increased greatly. Erhei, along with the maids and helpers, watered the fields every morning and evening. The 72 acres of land were watered in two batches, and each watering could only last for seven or eight days.
Zhao Xiping was a little worried about the cotton fields in the hands of cotton growers. One person was responsible for four or five acres of land. If the cotton was damaged or sick, or if it was not watered in time, the cotton would die.
Hu Ansui's opportunity came soon. Zhao Xiping drove all the people in the Agriculture Department to patrol the fields. The Agriculture Department did not have enough clerks. Ma Nongjian immediately asked him for more clerks, and Hu Ansui took office as one of the ten clerks.
"Sir, a patch of cotton plants is diseased. The cotton leaves look like they are rusted, with dense rust spots on them." The clerk came to report.
"Where are the cotton bolls? Are they sick too? Lead the way, I'll go take a look." Zhao Xiping immediately packed up his things and went down to the field. As he walked, he asked, "When did this happen? Is it just the cotton leaves that are sick? Are both the cotton and the bolls affected?"
The petty official knew nothing about anything he was asked. There was so much cotton planted this year, with thousands of cotton plants on one acre of land. How could they know the condition of every cotton plant? They could only rely on the cotton growers to observe carefully.
"Are these diseased cotton plants taken care of by slaves?" Zhao Xiping asked affirmatively.
The clerk nodded. "It was a slave named Wang Ansheng. He said he watered the fields at night, and since it was dark, he didn't pay attention to the cotton leaves."
Zhao Xiping didn't ask any more questions. He followed the clerk and walked quickly. When he reached the edge of the field, he saw Ma Nongjian had already arrived.
"What's going on?" he asked loudly.
"The cotton leaves are covered in rust, not insect bites. I dug up two cotton plants, and the roots are not rotten or infested with insects." Ma Nongjian looked solemn. He handed over the fallen flower in his hand and whispered, "Sir, look, this fallen flower also has rust spots. The disease on the cotton leaves has spread to the flowers, and the cotton bolls may also be affected."
Zhao Xiping pinched the rotten flower and looked at it carefully. He then pulled a cotton leaf and held it up to look at it. It was opaque and the rust spots were not rotten holes, but the edge of the cotton leaf had wilted. Perhaps in another five or six days, this cotton leaf would rust into a dead leaf.
"How many acres of cotton are still diseased?" asked Zhao Xiping.
"I've asked people, and they've stopped watering. The cotton growers are supposed to be checking the cotton plants first." Farm Supervisor Ma shuddered, feeling a pang of regret. He'd seen Madam Xihua grow cotton for two years without a single problem, so he'd assumed planting the seedlings was the end of the job: watering, picking off insects, and then waiting for the bolls to open. Lately, his inspections had focused on watering, urging his slaves to water day and night. Little did he know that nighttime watering had led to such a major oversight.
"Sir, would you like to ask Madam Xianhua to come and take a look?" Ma Nongjian asked humbly.
Zhao Xiping glanced at him and said coldly, "This never happened when she was tending the cotton fields."
Ma Nongjian lowered his head. Cotton had only been introduced to the Han Dynasty three years ago. He knew that Sui Yu was also feeling his way through the river and had little experience, but he couldn't help but have a glimmer of hope.
"Have someone pull out all the diseased cotton plants, dig up the soil beneath their roots, and expose them to the sun for a few days," Zhao Xiping instructed. "Have someone quickly count the cotton plants. Pull out all but twenty diseased plants and move them back to the Agricultural Bureau's backyard. Find a way to treat them, then observe the subsequent progress and record everything in the register."
Ma Nongjian was familiar with this process and nodded one by one.
"I need to go to Jiuquan and Zhangye. I'll pack some things and leave today," Zhao Xiping said. "I'll leave everything here to you. Don't leave any cotton plants you pull up. Burn them all, including the fallen leaves and flowers. Be careful not to stain the entire area with just one leaf."
Ma Nongjian agreed to all of them.
Zhao Xiping thought about it and found nothing else to say, so he immediately turned around and walked back.
It was almost noon and the sun was scorching outside. Sui Yu was holding Xiaohua in the house to play. The door was open and a hen peeked in, clucking at the top of its lungs.
"The hen is about to lay eggs." Sui Yu said to the little girl, fanning herself, "Do you want to eat eggs?"
Xiaohua responded with a "wuwu" sound. The little girl lay at the end of the bed and looked up at the chickens walking around in the yard. She crowed every time a chicken crowed.
Sui Yu wiped her saliva with a handkerchief and saw that she suddenly smiled and stared at the door with curved eyebrows. She turned her head to look and stood up and said, "It turns out that her father is back. No wonder she is smiling so happily."
Zhao Xiping's tense expression relaxed. He strode into the house and said, "The cotton plants have rust. A minor official just discovered it today. I wonder if Jiuquan or Zhangye counties have the same problem. I have to go there."
Sui Yu didn't waste any time hearing this. She unpacked the box and took out the bundle, saying, "I'll pack your clothes and shoes. Go and get the people. Take Master Du and Ding Quan with you, and take Liang Ge'er with you as well."
Zhao Xiping thought about it and said, "I'll ask him on the way to see if he's willing to work as a clerk in the Agricultural Department."
"No, if he was interested, he would have said it long ago." Sui Yu stopped him. "It's not necessary for him to have a stable job. He can do whatever he wants. He can stay at home for a few months, go out for a few months, and if he feels like it one day, he can leave with the caravan."
The child on the bed saw that her parents ignored her, so she held her breath and let out an "Ah!", and now both of them looked at her.
Zhao Xiping was dirty, so he didn't hug her. He reached out and touched the little girl's face, saying, "Dad is going away again. You stay home and listen to Mom."
Xiaohua grinned and her saliva dripped down again.
Sui Yu quickly took out five sets of clothes and three pairs of shoes and put them in her bag. Finally, she opened another box and took out a dress with small flowers and put it in it, saying, "If you miss your daughter, take it out and let her see it."
"Missed you?"
Sui Yu glanced at him, walked to the door, unbuttoned her clothes, and half-coveredly took off her bellyband in front of the man's surprised gaze. She folded the warm bellyband into a handkerchief and stuffed it into her bag.
Zhao Xiping smiled. He hugged her and kissed her, then leaned over and kissed the fat girl, picked up his bag and walked out.
"I'm leaving."
Xiaohua screamed "Ahhh" and burst into tears when she saw her father disappear outside the door.
"It's not that your father doesn't want to hold you, he has something important to do." Sui Yu picked up the child.
"Dad, when will you come back after you leave home this time?" The little boy followed closely.
"It might take a month, Sui Liang. You don't need to come with me. You can stay home." Zhao Xiping got on his camel and said, "Go tell Hu Ansui that after he has counted the number of cotton plants infected with rust, he can write a letter and have the postman deliver it to me."
Sui Liang nodded, "You really don't want me to go with you?"
"No, if Jiuquan or Zhangye are short of workers, I'll recruit them there. You stay home and take care of the farm work." Zhao Xiping said nothing more. He glanced at his son and said, "I'll have the postman bring back a message when I'm free."
The cub waved to him.
"drive--"
Zhao Xiping took Master Du and Ding Quan away on camels.
Five days later, Ma Nongjian came to visit Sui Yu. He brought a diseased cotton plant to ask for advice. Sui Yu had a vague impression of it, but didn't know how to cure it.
"How many cotton plants have rust?" she asked.
"More than 27,000 plants." Ma Nongjian said ashamedly.
Sui Yu gasped, "So many? No one noticed before? This shouldn't be the case."
"This is happening in cotton fields tended by slaves. The cotton plants of the farmers who planted cotton last year aren't sick, they're just a little water-starved," said Ma Nongjian. "That might be because the slaves are inexperienced."
"Come on, what do you mean by inexperience? To put it bluntly, they just don't care. Inexperienced and blind? The cotton leaves are rusted like this, how can they not see? It's not like they haven't seen normal cotton leaves before." Sui Yu mocked him for pretending to be stupid. "Whoever makes money cares. Slaves only work for free, and they get two meals a day regardless of how much they work. They're exhausted. Who would want to do something for nothing? Just like now, if they're sick, we just pull them out. 20,000 or 30,000 fewer cotton plants means less watering. It's so much easier."
Sui Yu had a premonition that when he went to catch insects for cotton next time, many cotton plants would die from being eaten by insects.
The only way to completely solve this problem is to release the slaves, even if they are not given land but just let them rent the land to farm. Only when they can make money and have a future will they be willing to take care of the cotton fields.
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