Upon seeing this, the village headman quickly brought out a booklet for the villagers to claim. The booklet contained plots of land that he had surveyed in advance. These plots were of different sizes, and the villagers could choose which one to claim based on their own capabilities.
Those with large families, like Uncle Chen, can claim a plot of land for themselves.
If a family has few members, they can form a small team to reclaim land together. Brothers who had previously separated from their families, seeing that they couldn't claim the entire piece of land by working alone, decided to work together as a family.
Families with many elderly or infirm members also gathered together, thinking that if they could gather more people, they could jointly claim a piece of land, and with the whole family working together, they could eventually reclaim the wasteland.
After an afternoon, all eleven plots of land prepared by the village head were claimed, and he happily reported this to Meng Zhao.
"These eleven plots of land add up to two hundred mu! If they are all cultivated and planted with potatoes next year, we can harvest about 50,000 jin in one season. If we plant two seasons, that's a full 100,000 jin! If we process all these potatoes into starch, we can produce 20,000 jin! This has really solved a huge problem for us." The village head was calculating with great enthusiasm, his expression full of excitement.
Meng Zhao was also very happy to hear this. "This is all thanks to you, village head. You've been busy these past few days, making several trips to the county government alone. You've really worked hard. Without your hard work, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
"Please don't say that." The village head waved his hand.
"You have no idea how happy I've been lately. Even though I'm out and about every day, I feel much healthier than in previous years. My wife even said that I can stand up straighter now and look several years younger."
Meng Zhao took a closer look at the village head, and it was indeed true. Once a person had something to strive for, he was full of energy and looked much younger than when Meng Zhao first met him.
After the two finished speaking, the village head dared not delay and hurriedly took the land reclamation plan to the county government. After all, all land under heaven belongs to the emperor. Although the imperial court strongly encouraged land reclamation, any action taken on this land had to be reported to the county government in advance according to regulations, and no carelessness was allowed.
***
Qingshi County is a remote small town with mediocre performance in agriculture, lacking any famous local specialties, and having no outstanding industries in commerce. Even in the imperial examinations, it has achieved nothing, having not produced a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) for several years.
The previous county magistrates all had a "get by" mentality, not seeking any political achievements, but only hoping to avoid mistakes, pass their terms peacefully, and accumulate enough time to move to a more prosperous place.
Under the influence of this negative attitude, the entire Qingshi County became like a stagnant pool, devoid of any vitality.
Since taking office, Wang Xian first drastically expanded the county school enrollment, recruiting more students and providing opportunities for young people. He also opened night markets to promote commercial exchanges and increase tax revenue.
Recently, in order to encourage the people to reclaim wasteland, he has worked tirelessly, traveling around to apply for a three-year reduction in land tax. These days he has devoted himself to finding a way to make a living for the people of this county.
"My lord, this is the land reclamation plan that was delivered today. Please take a look." The servant respectfully presented the booklet with both hands.
"Put it down," Wang Xian replied without looking up.
Upon hearing this, the attendant gently put down the booklet, then bowed and withdrew.
After Wang Xian carefully read through the case closure document in his hand, he picked up the booklet that the servant had just put down and began to read it.
This glance was quite significant; when his gaze fell upon the plan for Shenjia Village, he was greatly surprised.
As far as he knew, Shenjia Village had only a hundred households and was not even a big name in the county. However, the amount of land reclaimed was a full two hundred mu. He couldn't help but feel uneasy, worried that the number was wrong, so he quickly called the people from the household office in.
"Shenjia Village says it will reclaim 200 mu of wasteland. Is there any error in the number?" Wang Xian frowned slightly, his sharp gaze fixed on the person in the household.
"Your Excellency, when Shen Zhengtai, the village head of Shenjia Village, came to deliver the petition, I specifically inquired about it, and he confirmed that the numbers were correct," the person in charge of the household registration office replied respectfully.
Wang Xian's curiosity grew, and he asked, "What is the population situation of Shenjia Village?"
"Reporting to you, sir, based on the tax revenue over the years, the population of Shenjia Village has not changed much." After answering, the man seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "If there is any difference, it should be that Shenjia Village has received a considerable amount of commercial tax in the past few months, supposedly because a new workshop has opened in the village."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xian pondered to himself, "Could the amount of land cleared be related to this workshop?" So he instructed, "Go and find the village head of Shenjia Village to ask what's going on. Report back to me with the results."
The official received the order, bowed, and replied, "Yes, sir." He then quietly withdrew.
***
After the village head went to the yamen, Meng Zhao stayed. She came back not only to announce the land reclamation, but also to teach everyone how to use the new farm tools.
Meng Zhao put a lot of effort into this land reclamation project, staying up all night to draw up many blueprints and discussing them with the craftsmen several times before finalizing the design.
She made some upgrades to the original farm tools. Although the changes were minor, they greatly improved efficiency. She was worried that some people might not understand, so she stayed behind to explain them to everyone.
All eyes were on the farm tools Meng Zhao had brought. Everyone was all smiles. They were not only brand new, but also very well made and sturdy. They would definitely be very easy to use.
Everyone present was an experienced farmer. After a brief explanation from Meng Zhao, they understood the uniqueness of these farming tools. In an instant, everyone looked at Meng Zhao with admiration.
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