Chapter 2894: No Lack of Money (1 more chapter for the reward from the book friend "Murongqingqing")
County Magistrate Lu was the first to learn of this, and his advisor couldn't help but ask, "Sir, County Magistrate Bai won't break the alliance, will he?"
Magistrate Lu thought for a moment and said, "No, he mentioned before that the alliance is a private matter. Qingzhou City has five other magistrates besides the two of us. It's better to be in the dark than in the open."
Magistrate Lu smiled as a thought struck him. "Today I finally understand what he said that day. We're all doing this for the people of Qingzhou. He's the father and mother of Beihai County, and I'm the father and mother of Yidu County. As long as it's for the benefit of the people under our rule and has merit, why should we be so rigid about our stance?"
The lawyer frowned. "What he meant by this is that as long as it benefits Beihai County, he will betray his alliance with you, sir?"
"No, it's not betrayal," County Magistrate Lu shook his head and smiled, "I'm a decade older than them, but I didn't expect it to be just a passing fancy. I haven't thought about these things as clearly as they do."
The lawyer was completely confused.
Magistrate Lu had already stood up and said, "Let's go and pay our respects to Governor Guo. The busy farming season is almost over. Last year, due to the turmoil in the Qingzhou government, Yidu County was short of laborers. We'll just have time to call up a group of laborers after the Dragon Boat Festival."
"Not only do some of the canals need to be cleared, but the roads should also be repaired." County Magistrate Lu said, "We should go to Governor Guo to ask for money. If it's too late, I'm afraid the money will all go to Beihai County and the Medical Bureau."
Governor Guo himself did not expect that as soon as he sent Zhou Man away, he would be greeted by County Magistrate Lu who was crying poor and begging for money.
Manbao happily ran back to tell Baishan about their agreement and said, "I think Governor Guo is very generous. Isn't the county government short of money right now? Why don't you go and ask him for some money?"
Bai Shancai waved his hand majestically and said, "Don't worry. We in Beihai County are not short of money now. We can talk about the money issue when we go to see the governor during the Dragon Boat Festival."
Manbao went to ask for money as soon as he came back from Qingzhou City. He was too eager, which was not good.
Zhou Man was surprised and asked, "You don't need money anymore?"
Bai Shan grinned, unable to suppress the smile on his face, and said, "Today, Li Wei sent someone back to say that the new salt field has received the first batch of salt."
Manbao's eyes lit up and he asked, "Is sun-dried salt really better than boiled salt as you said?"
"It's even better than the last time I ate it." Bai Shan took out the small jar of salt from the drawer and showed it to her. "I asked Liwei to build another crystallization pool in the back. The brine crystals in the first crystallization pool are shoveled out, then rinsed with brine, filtered, and then exposed to the sun. The salt that comes out is whiter than the salt in the previous crystallization pool, and the impurities that are filtered out are also less."
Manbao pinched a few grains of salt and tasted them, and found that it was indeed, "Is this considered high-quality salt?"
Bai Shan nodded. "That's why I said that we in Beihai County are not short of money. At this rate, we can definitely build more salt fields along that coastline. Even if the old salt field can no longer produce salt, we don't have to worry."
"But relying solely on the salt fields isn't enough. Beihai County doesn't have enough grain, and it's not a good idea for the grain store to always import grain from outside. We still need to find a way to increase grain production."
He said, "I'm currently harvesting wheat, and I plan to visit all the villages down there."
Manbao said, "I was just about to take Wen Tiandong to the countryside for free medical treatment."
The two hit it off and decided to go to the countryside together.
County Magistrate Fang was no longer surprised by the two men's enthusiasm for going to the countryside, but he couldn't help but remind Bai Shan again, "County Magistrate, the county government doesn't have much salt in stock right now, and the official salt we give to the governor's office must be handed over by July at the latest."
Bai Shan said, "I have a plan for this matter. County Magistrate Fang, don't worry. The county government hopes you will take good care of it. Since the farmhands can't make salt, we should temporarily close the old salt field."
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Fang couldn't help but look at Bai Shan's expression. Seeing that he had a calm face and a relaxed tone, he guessed that there had been progress at the new salt field, and it was even very likely that salt had been cooked.
But I haven't heard of anyone cutting down trees on a large scale in Dajiawa recently.
County Magistrate Fang asked hesitantly, "What about the Song family..."
"Aren't all the offending officials sentenced to be sent to the Governor's Mansion?" Bai Shan said, "Then the Song family is no different from other citizens here. I will treat them normally."
"By the way, is Chief Clerk Song still ill?" Bai Shan said with a smile, "If that's the case, then we should select someone from below to take over his duties temporarily. Well, I think Zhao Ming is not bad. Let him take over the position of Chief Clerk temporarily."
Zhao Ming was born in Zhaojiazhuang. Although the Zhao family was not as powerful as the Song family in Beihai County, it had many members and was considered the most powerful family besides the Song family.
County Magistrate Fang's eyelids twitched, knowing that Bai Shan's patience with Song Zhubu had run out and that he was planning to take action again.
Since Bai Shan had decided to promote Zhao Ming, he called both County Lieutenant Dong and Zhao Ming to his side and asked him to temporarily take over the position of Chief Clerk. He then said, "While I'm away, you will help County Magistrate Fang handle the affairs of the county government."
Zhao Ming agreed humbly.
Bai Shan still brought County Magistrate Dong with him when he went to the countryside this time. County Magistrate Fang already had a feeling that the county magistrate and County Magistrate Dong seemed to be getting closer.
Oh, by the way, County Magistrate Dong is Zhao Ming’s brother-in-law.
Manbao watched the whole scene from the side, and when he returned to the backyard, he couldn't help but sigh, "Our medical department is still the best. We don't have to use so many tricks."
Bai Shan: "Twenty years from now, you'll see that everything that's happening in the county government office today will happen in the medical department. Right now, your medical department has just been established, and its purpose is just construction. The people recruited here are low-qualified, so naturally there won't be many people fighting for power. But in another twenty years, as long as the medical department is stable, these struggles will continue. Where there's profit, there's struggle."
Manbao thought about it and couldn't deny what he said, so he remained silent.
Bai Shan took her hand and smiled, "We can think about the future later. It's more important to deal with the present matter first."
He said, "Food is the most important thing for the people. Agriculture and sericulture are important matters, not only for our county government but also for your medical department."
Manbao: "...What does this have to do with our medical department?"
"Of course," Bai Shan said, "Grains are the basis of the body's energy. Isn't that what you said? So grains are important. Can the body of a well-fed person be the same as that of a hungry person?"
Manbao shook his head.
"So, if the people under your jurisdiction can have enough to eat, there will be much less disease. Do you think the purpose of the county government and the medical department is the same?"
Manbao couldn't even shake her head to deny it, but she also knew that he was trying to trick her, so she said, "What can I do?"
"I don't know. Let's look around. Don't you want to dig up some flowers, plants, and trees? Then we can go to the beach. If we run into fishermen out to sea, we can see if there are any living creatures you haven't seen before. We can buy them for you then."
Manbao tried hard to suppress his smile, "You said so."
Bai Shan nodded.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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