Chapter 599 Dahe Village Transformed into a Town
All the village heads from the 36 villages under the jurisdiction of Ping'an County were present. In addition to the village heads, there were also the management personnel from Dahe Village, as well as Cheng Wanwan.
Magistrate Shen sat in the main seat and went straight to the point: "Half a year ago, the Prefect and I discussed changing Dahe Village into Dahe Town. Because the imperial court has repeatedly rewarded fertile land, Dahe Village has reached the size of a town, but the population is insufficient... Today, we have summoned all the village heads to discuss the merger."
Upon hearing this, the village heads present immediately displayed various expressions.
Some people felt a pang of jealousy. Their village used to be richer than Dahe Village, but it was overtaken in just two years. Now, Dahe Village is about to become Dahe Town, while their village is no different from what it was two years ago. It's infuriating to compare people like that.
Some villages were also agitated, such as Wangjiadun, Lijia Gou, and Guihua Village. They are so close to Dahe Village. If Dahe Village needs people to become a town, it will definitely absorb them first. Wouldn't that mean they can go from being villagers to city dwellers?
Magistrate Shen took in everyone's expressions: "A town needs people for all kinds of jobs. There are already enough farmers, so now we are recruiting workers: carpenters, bricklayers, butchers, blacksmiths, cotton weavers, weavers, etc. Anyone who has a skill can settle down in Dahe Town, enjoy the tax reduction policy of Dahe Village, and their children can directly enroll in Dahe School."
Chief Li asked, "What is the tax reduction policy?"
As far as he knew, Dahe Village had reduced its land tax for three years two years ago due to the issue of ratooning rice, and the last year was coming soon. Even if they became residents of Dahe Village, they wouldn't get much benefit.
Magistrate Shen smiled and said, "In the first ten years after the establishment of Dahe Town, the land tax and commercial tax in its jurisdiction were reduced by half."
Zhao Lizheng's breathing quickened. After the development of their village's market and tourism industry, the taxes they paid every quarter were painful for him. If they had this tax reduction policy, the saved taxes could be used to build Dahe Village... no, to build Dahe Town, making their town the number one town in Huzhou or even Yunnan Province.
He immediately said, "If Dahe Town is truly established, the market will continue to expand, the streets will be redesigned, and more tourist attractions will be added. As Dahe Town attracts more and more people, doing business in the town will be very profitable. Once you become a resident of Dahe Town, you'll have priority in renting shops, and the prices will be much more favorable... Furthermore, you can directly enroll in Dahe Academy. You know, our academy has produced a third-place scholar and a successful candidate in the provincial examinations. Next year, even more people will surely graduate from our academy..."
The village head of Wangjiadun immediately asked, "What should a farmer without any skills do if he wants to become a resident of Dahe Town?"
“Those who have worked in Dahe Town for more than three years, or who own their own property and land here, can directly register their household registration,” Magistrate Shen said slowly. “However, Wangjiadun is adjacent to Dahe Village. The Prefect’s idea is that if the villagers of Wangjiadun have no objection, Wangjiadun can be directly incorporated into the Dahe Town area.”
“No objections! Absolutely no objections!” Wang Lizheng stood up abruptly. “Thank you, Magistrate! Thank you, Prefect! I’ll go back and tell the villagers this good news right away!”
If they become residents of Dahe Town and participate in the town's development, they will also receive a share of the year-end dividends from Wangjiadun. This is simply a windfall.
Wang, the village head, left in a great hurry, leaving the remaining thirty-odd village heads feeling a pang of jealousy.
Cheng Wanwan said, "Since Dahe Village is going to be turned into a town, the problem of inconvenient transportation should also be improved."
The main road leading out of their village is nestled between two mountains, making it impossible to widen, which hinders the movement of merchants.
Pointing to the map, she said, “The river in Dahe Village connects to the canal in Hekou County. However, the waterway in the village is too narrow, and only bamboo rafts and small wooden boats can pass through, which is not very useful. I was thinking, could we find someone to widen the waterway when the river dries up in winter and connect it to Hekou County? That way, merchants coming to the village can come directly by boat.”
Transportation is always a decisive factor in whether a city can develop. If Dahe Village is to grow bigger and stronger, then transportation must keep up. In ancient times, river transportation was the fastest mode of transportation, and this road must be opened up.
Magistrate Shen looked at Cheng Wanwan with more admiration. When the people of Sui'an spoke, they were astonishing.
Widening the river channel is no simple task; it requires a great deal of manpower, material resources, and financial support. Ping'an County currently does not have the financial resources to accomplish this feat.
“It doesn’t have to be this year, it could be next year or the year after,” Cheng Wanwan continued. “When Dahe Town becomes a must-visit place for merchants from other places, we can ask them to raise money to develop the river. This matter needs to be prepared slowly and cannot be rushed. I am just telling Lord Shen now so that he can be mentally prepared.”
If nothing unexpected happens, Magistrate Shen will be promoted and leave this land by the end of next year. She hopes to finalize this matter before Magistrate Shen leaves, because no one knows what kind of person the next magistrate will be.
The meeting lasted for nearly two hours before it ended, by which time the sun had already set.
Zhao, the village head, was not a stingy person. He smiled and asked Magistrate Shen and the other village heads to stay for dinner and discuss the details further.
The abundance of delicious food in Dahe Village today is mainly due to the addition of chili peppers. Last year, only Cheng Wanwan's family grew them, but this year every household has planted some, resulting in a variety of dishes, such as stir-fried pork with chili peppers, omelet with chili peppers, tiger-skin green peppers, and fish fried with chili sauce. These dishes are only available in Dahe Village; you can't find them anywhere else.
A group of people sat down to eat at the Zhao family canteen, and Zhao Lizheng even went to Lu Yingxue's wine shop to buy some wine.
While they were eating, Cheng Jia suddenly rushed over: "My lady, a group of people from out of town have indeed arrived in Ping'an County. Judging from their speech, they are indeed from the capital."
Cheng Wanwan's eyes narrowed.
She thought that He Ling and his group would arrive in six days, but she didn't expect them to arrive in Ping'an County so soon. It seemed that after knowing that He Xiao was still alive, He Ling couldn't wait any longer.
She said coldly, "Keep an eye on it."
Cheng Jia nodded and rode off to Ping'an County again.
Magistrate Shen, sitting beside her, noticed her grave expression and couldn't help but ask, "Has something happened?"
Cheng Wanwan didn't want to drag Magistrate Shen into this mess, so she shook her head and said, "It's just a business matter, so there's no need for you to worry about it, Lord Shen."
By this time, it was already dark.
When Magistrate Shen and his entourage returned home, He Ling and his party had already settled down in Ping'an County.
The best inn in Ping'an County was worse than the worst in the capital. A servant of the He family said anxiously, "Young Master, all the beds and furnishings have been changed. Please make do..."
He Ling's face looked unhappy, but he also knew that there was really no choice in this remote place.
Just as he was about to order his men to go to Dahe Village, he heard people in the inn's lobby talking about it.
"I heard that the people from Sui'an met the Emperor and Empress in the capital this time. That's incredible."
"I also heard that the emperor gave Sui'an an official position. It's really amazing that a woman can reach the court."
"Come to think of it, I've never seen a Sui'an person before. Let's go to Dahe Village tomorrow to enjoy the flowers and see what the Sui'an people look like."
"..."
Hearing these comments, He Ling's face darkened: "When did that woman return?"
When he left, the woman was still working for the Court of State Ceremonial in the capital. He didn't delay at all and rushed to Ping'an County as quickly as possible. How could he have returned later than the woman?
The servant beside him whispered, "Even if she comes back, she's just a sixth-rank official, nothing to be afraid of."
He Ling frowned slightly. If he had not seen this woman deal with the Ye family, he might have had some hope.
But having witnessed the Ye family fall apart and never rise again, he knew that this woman's rise to power was not solely due to luck.
It seems his plans need to be changed.
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