Chapter 2871 Staring
Bai Shan and Zhou Man said, "A drug dealer has come to our door. The medical department has already sorted it out. When will you return to the county?"
Manbao calculated the time he had been out and found that he had been out for nearly ten days, so he sighed and said, "I've run quite far. Never mind, I'll go back tomorrow."
Bai Shan nodded and said, "When you are in the county, please keep an eye on Song Zhubu for me."
He said, "I've noticed recently that the grain seeds, rice seeds, and other bean seeds previously distributed by the Ministry of Revenue are fine, and the wheat seeds are basically given to the Song family's tenants and members of the Song clan. However, some remote villages basically don't get any new grain seeds."
He said, "The situation improved when County Magistrate Lu was here, but judging from the villages I've visited recently, most of the new wheat is still concentrated among those few surnames."
Manbao asked, "Are the rice and bean seeds purchased by the government office not good?"
"It's not that they're bad, but I don't know how well they can adapt to the environment," Bai Shan said, clearly well-versed in farming. "Over time, the yield of a particular region's grain will become increasingly stable. If we want to improve, we should try growing grain from other regions. Perhaps these grains can lead to even higher yields. This is one of the reasons why the Sinong Temple and the Ministry of Revenue insist on sending grain to various government offices."
"But the farmers are unwilling to take this risk," Bai Shan said. "So, not only the rice seeds distributed by the government, but also the new wheat seeds, most of them will eat them, or plant the seeds they have saved for themselves."
Bai Shan was a little troubled. The farmers obviously trusted their own judgment more than that of the government.
Of course, Bai Shan couldn't say they were wrong, because some grain varieties were indeed not adapted to the local climate after sowing, and thus became very low-yielding.
The people are unwilling to take the risk.
The Song family and those other families obviously had information from other channels and knew that the new wheat seeds were good, so they were allocated a lot of them using other methods. Even if the situation improved after County Magistrate Lu took office, he could not control so many village heads under him at once.
When a county magistrate governs a county, he is actually more concerned with governing the place in accordance with local conditions and improving the situation within the scope of his ability.
Before being sent out, Yang Heshu had discussed this matter with him in correspondence. Throughout history, there were countless smart people who were extremely talented when they were studying and were very successful in the court, but once they got to the local level, they failed. Did they not seem smart enough?
Or is it that their knowledge is not enough to govern the place?
Neither, it’s just that what they did was beyond the scope of what the local situation could bear, so they failed.
Yang Heshu knew that the emperor wanted to train Bai Shan, and although Dajin currently had many problems, the biggest problem was the land issue.
In recent years, due to the peace and prosperity in the country, the population has grown rapidly. After the national stability, several generations of children have grown up. The existing arable land in some places has been almost divided up. In addition, the local wealthy families, gentry and powerful families will try their best to enclose land, so land and taxation are the main contradictions in the current Jin Dynasty.
When it comes to land, people can die if you’re not careful.
Therefore, the relationship between the county magistrate and the local nobles should not be completely antagonistic. If they cannot complement each other, they must adapt to the situation.
So even though Bai Shan knew that these wealthy families in Beihai County had something fishy to do with the distribution of grain, he had no intention of pursuing it.
Instead, let go of these past events and focus on the future.
Bai Shan said, "This time, the county government has reversed the amount of grain it has distributed. To ensure that all this grain reaches the people, I'll probably be in the countryside for the rest of the time. I'm not sure how everyone will react to this distribution, so I'll be grateful for your continued care."
Manbao agreed immediately, "No problem!"
Man Baoying was so generous that he went to see Song Zhubu after returning. This made Song Zhubu's back cold. He couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what is this...?"
Man Bao showed his standard eight teeth and gave a fake compliment with a fake smile: "Look at Song Zhubu, he has lost weight. It seems that he has been very hard lately."
Song Zhubu couldn't help but touch his belly. "...Is it okay? Spring is busy, so it's a bit exhausting?"
Manbao suggested, "Spring brings on a lot of phlegm and dampness, so Master Song should eat less meat and more vegetables. Aren't there a lot of wild vegetables popping up lately? Don't underestimate them; they're very beneficial for your health."
Song Zhubu didn't want to eat wild vegetables, as that was something only the hungry and poor would eat. However, since Zhou Man said so, he just agreed with a smile, but he didn't intend to eat them in his heart.
After Manbao finished staring at him, he started to talk about business. "I heard from Lord Bai that your county government has a batch of old tables, chairs and benches. Are they still in the warehouse? Our medical department wants them."
Song Zhubu: "...Sir, those tables and chairs are all broken. Why do you have to treat yourself so badly? Just buy new ones."
"You pay?"
Song Zhubu was speechless. If it was just one or two sets of tables and chairs, it would be fine, but the medical department...
It’s obvious that it can’t be done with just one or two sets. It requires a lot of wood and carpentry.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Manbao sighed and said, "The medical office still needs to buy medicine. I'm out of money, so every penny counts. Your county government doesn't need that set of tables and chairs, so give it to our medical office."
Song Zhubu said helplessly: "Sir, I can't make the decision on this matter alone. Why don't we wait until Sir Bai comes back..."
Manbao waved his hand and said, "He had already agreed before he came back. If you don't believe me, go ask Daji and the others. If you think they are my family's guards and therefore side with me, then go ask Zhao Wu."
Zhao Wu is the yamen runner assigned to Zhou Man by Bai Shan. He talks a lot, but he also knows many dialects.
The dialect in Qingzhou varies from place to place, but he can speak all those dialects. With him around, Zhou Man has no problem communicating with anyone, and he also learned a lot of local languages.
Song Zhubu was choked and then woke up. Zhou Man and Bai Shan are husband and wife. Who else can Bai Shan support if not her?
Song Zhubu touched his nose and could only say, "Okay."
Manbao was not shy and directly called out to the yamen runners in the courtyard, "Come on, help me move some tables and chairs."
The warehouse was opened and there were a lot of things piled inside, including many tables and chairs. Manbao took a look and found that some of the tables and chairs were indeed unstable and some were missing limbs, but many others just had some scratches and were also moved here.
Manbao took one look and took them all with a wave of his hand.
Song Zhubu twitched his lips. The warehouse was already open, so he wouldn't bother with Zhou Man over some broken tables and chairs, but wasn't this too much?
He said, "Master Zhou, can your medical department use so much?"
Man Bao said: "Of course it can. In the future, when more people come to see the doctor, there may be patients living in the hospital, and they will need these things."
After the tables and chairs were moved, Manbao came across the oilcloth piled in the corner and went over to look through it.
Song Zhubu immediately felt something was wrong. Sure enough, Zhou Man stood up and said, "This oilcloth is gathering dust here. Give it to me too."
Song Zhubu: "...Sir, what do you want the oilcloth for?"
"It's a shielding herb. It has so many uses. They're all old anyway, so you're just leaving them there for nothing. Why not use them for me?"
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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