Chapter 3149: Rich and Lack of Money
Bai Shan is very confident now that he has money.
As the magistrate of Beihai County, he first calculated the official taxes he should pay for selling salt this time. After recording the accounts, he turned around and wrote a document requesting financial assistance and sent it to Qingzhou City.
The official document lists in detail the huge gaps in the construction of the dock. Why haven’t the funds requested from the Ministry of Revenue been received yet?
Then apply for temporary subsidies from the salt and grain taxes in the Beihai County Government, etc.
When Governor Guo received this document, he couldn't help but curl his lips and said, "This is like an eagle catching a rabbit and refusing to let go even if it dies."
Even though he, the governor, did not have specific data, he had a rough idea of how much salt was sold in Beihai County.
After all, he has been covering for the capital in the past few months. After various places knew that Qingzhou would replace Jiangnan to supply their official salt, he personally handled all the official documents and letters of inquiry.
We don't need the specific number of salt they purchased, just a rough estimate will give us a rough idea.
Besides, he was the one who sent the official ship to Beihai County on the orders of the Crown Prince.
So much official salt, so much money, so much salt tax, and Bai Shan actually wanted to keep it all.
"Sir, should we agree?"
"Agreed," Governor Guo complained as he wrote the word "approved" on it. After affixing his seal, he muttered, "The Ministry of Revenue can't allocate funds. If we want to build Longchi Wharf, don't we have to do it ourselves? This is probably what His Majesty and the Crown Prince want."
Fortunately, Bai Shan is capable and Beihai County has a lucrative industry of salt drying. Otherwise, even if the Qingzhou Governor's Mansion was emptied, such a large dock would not be built.
Governor Guo shook his head. Considering that this was also his political achievement and he wanted to leave a good impression on the emperor, he decided to support Bai Shan's proposal with a painful heart.
The document returned to Bai Shan's hands. He smiled slightly and said to Yin Huo, who was sitting below him, "It's settled. We in Beihai County can use this money."
Yin Huo handed him an official document. "Bai Er wrote this. It says that all government farmland should be turned into closed-loop farms. I've read it. I don't know the actual effect, but the document sounds pretty good."
Bai Shan flipped through it and smiled, "That's a good idea. We talked about building a farm like this when we were little, but because our farm was too small, we didn't build it in the end. After Manbao was allocated official land, we slowly built some in Putun Village. But because they were all tenant farmers, we also had to consider their wishes, so there were many things we couldn't do. Now that the official land belongs to the Beihai County Government, the people working there are all farmhands, all doing their jobs for wages. It's worth a try."
Yin Huo asked, "What if it fails?"
Bai Shan said nonchalantly, "Even if we fail, we won't lose much."
He said, "The biggest expense here is actually the labor wages and food and lodging. I think that even if the official farm loses money, we can still guarantee their food, drink and wages. The most I will lose is the money for the seeds, which is still affordable for the Beihai County Government."
Bai Shan is rich now and doesn't care about the losses in agriculture at all.
Yin Huo couldn't help but laugh, "It's different after all when you have money."
Bai Shan said, "There's a lot of salt stored in the salt fields now. Once the next season's salt is sold, it will bring in another fortune. Plus, the official ships that went south should be back soon. Even with the money-eating dock, I'm still very rich."
Zhou Man heard this before she even entered the door. She was so envious that she couldn't even walk. She leaned against the door and said, "You are so rich, can you support me a little?"
Yin Huo and Bai Shan turned their heads together and saw her leaning against the door, looking at them with tears in her eyes.
Bai Shan immediately stood up and walked over quickly, holding her up with his hand. "Why are you so thin?"
He reached out and touched her face. To make sure it wasn't his illusion, he pinched her arm, feeling even more distressed. "Even your arms have become thinner."
Yin Huo stood up, looked at the two of them, and said quietly, "Shall I go first?"
Bai Shan nodded at him, and Zhou Man said, "No need."
Yin Huo: ...
Zhou Man held Bai Shan's hand and walked into the house. He sat on a chair and took a sip of tea before saying, "The first batch of children who received the vaccination have all come out. Everything went well, but it was very tiring."
"But that's not the key point. The key point is that our medical department is out of money." Zhou Man looked at Bai Shan anxiously and said, "We are both contributing to the people of Beihai County. As a parent official, why don't you support the medical department?"
Bai Shan was puzzled. "Didn't the Imperial Medical Bureau allocate funds to you in the spring? Because you plan to open three medical offices here and carry out smallpox vaccination, the funding allocated to you is three times that of other local medical offices."
When Zhou Man received the money, he was so happy that he was overjoyed for a long time. It had only been half a year, how could it be spent?
Zhou Man sighed and said, "Not all of it has been spent. It's just that the new hospital cost a lot of money, and now there's not much left in the account."
"Also, people from several surrounding counties knew that Beihai County was vaccinating, and many of them brought their children here for vaccination. The number of people getting vaccinated increased dramatically, and the cost naturally increased."
Bai Shan clicked his tongue twice, thought for a moment, and then said, "Personally speaking, I will naturally help you."
Zhou Man looked at him dimly and asked, "What about Cong Gong?"
Bai Shan looked at her and smiled, "From a public perspective, if there's money in my account, I'm willing to do it. After all, the Medical Department is related to people's livelihood, and this is a good thing and a political achievement. But if there's not enough money in my account, I'm not willing to do it."
He said, "I think other county magistrates are the same, so you have to convince me why the money should be biased towards you and the Medical Bureau."
Zhou Man thought for a moment and then said, "Shall I write you an official document?"
Bai Shan quickly waved his hands, "No, no, this is not only a waste of time but also a waste of energy. You might as well take a good rest with this time. Just tell me verbally and see if you can convince me."
Zhou Man looked at him silently.
Bai Shan reached out to massage her shoulders and arms, smiling and saying, "Don't worry, whether you can convince me or not, I'll give you the money. Isn't this all for the good of your medical department? The Imperial Medical Department transferred you to Qingzhou to find a way for the medical department and the county government to coexist harmoniously and develop together..."
"Alright, I'll try to convince you then." Zhou Man rolled up his sleeves and said, "I've decided to submit a petition to the Ministry of Personnel to include the development of local medical offices in the performance evaluation of county magistrates. What do you think of this argument?"
Bai Shan's hand that was massaging her froze.
Zhou Man said seriously, "I'm serious. Since the county magistrate is the parent official, everything that happens within the county should be counted in his performance evaluation. If the county school is included, then isn't it normal to include the medical department as well?"
Bai Shan: "...You are the same level as me as the Director of the Medical Department. How can I manage you?"
Zhou Man waved his hand and said, "The Medical Bureau's direct subordinate department is naturally the Imperial Medical Bureau."
"What does the county magistrate do?"
"Just focus on supporting and developing the Medical Department?"
Bai Shan: "Just give money?"
(End of this chapter)
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