After a day's work, lunch consisted of two steamed buns made of flour that they had never seen before, dinner was also two steamed buns, and breakfast was a fist-sized clod of dirt.
It tastes quite sweet, though. The portion is a bit small, though; it's not filling.
Anyone who dared to cause trouble at the county government office was forced to do hard labor for three to seven days before being released.
Before leaving, they were told that the high-yield crop they had planted for everyone this year was what they were eating these past few days.
It tastes good, right? Yields are over 1000 jin per mu.
If they can guarantee that they will work as diligently as they did when they were being watched by the yamen runners, then it's fine to lead them in planting high-yield crops.
One thing must be guaranteed: all crops grown, except for those kept for personal use and those used for taxes, must be sold to the government if the remaining produce is to be sold.
Of course, the government's purchase price was not low, after all, the production of this stuff was high enough.
After several days of physical training, those "lazy people" have completely transformed.
If their fields yield less than the average when it's harvest time, they will not only have to pay an extra 20% in taxes, but they will also be prohibited from planting high-yield crops in the future.
Of course, Xu Dongsheng was just trying to scare people, but the common people were genuinely afraid.
The lazy demeanor that Wang Yuanfeng had when he was around was gone.
Zhao Minggeng really only stayed in Lingbei County for three days before heading to Hongling County.
The situation in Hongling County is far worse than that in Lingbei.
Looking at the elderly, women, and children all over the streets, Zhao Minggeng felt heartbroken.
If you want to develop a city, you need people, right? But now there aren't even any young or middle-aged people in the city. How can it develop?
Should we let him blow it with his mouth?
Since we're here, let's make the best of it.
Zhao Qingyan was worried about her father, so she specially followed him to Hongling County.
When she arrived and saw the situation, even Zhao Qingyan, with her extensive knowledge and experience, was momentarily stunned.
She didn't know how to describe her feelings at that moment.
"What should we do, Father? Do you have any ideas?" Zhao Qingyan asked.
Zhao Minggeng glanced at his daughter and said, "Hehe, no."
This time, Zhao Qingyan accompanied Zhao Minggeng on horseback as they rode around the entire county. There wasn't a single clinic in the entire county.
There was only one general store that sold things like needles, thread, and salt.
There were no baskets, shovels, spades, or any of those.
As for farming, ordinary people know how to farm, but they don't farm large areas of land; they only cultivate their own small plots of land in their own yards.
Once the land is cleared, the produce will be enough to eat for a year.
Since the temperature here is relatively high, you only need one piece of clothing for all four seasons, so the vegetables grown here can be eaten all year round.
As for food, we can plant some soybeans around our house and eat green bean pods.
Planting a little wheat can yield a dozen or so kilograms of grain a year, which is considered a lot.
Most of the food that ordinary people eat is brought back from other cities.
Almost every household has someone working away from home, and then they deliver food back to the family on time.
Sending back 100 jin of grain is enough to feed the family for a year.
Will we be able to eat our fill? Are you kidding me? We'll be lucky if we don't starve.
At Hongling Mountain, Zhao Qingyan and her father Zhao Minggeng rode horses up and down the mountain for several days.
The large areas of red soil are not very suitable for growing crops; they can only be used to grow cash crops such as fir trees, tung oil trees, citrus fruits, bamboo, and palm trees.
One of the biggest uses of red clay is for making bricks, tiles, flower pots, and porcelain.
The plains where ordinary people live are mostly composed of loess soil.
Faced with the impoverished state of Hongling County, Zhao Minggeng felt a headache coming on.
Fortunately, he has his all-powerful daughter.
Adapting to local conditions is the most important thing that officials need to understand.
The area is divided according to local conditions.
In areas inhabited by local people, mountain resources should be used rationally to plant cash crops and trees.
In areas with sparse populations, ceramic workshops can be built without causing landslides.
Although the loess soil is barren, it doesn't prevent the growth of potatoes and sweet potatoes. You can also sow some grass seeds in the fields to feed poultry and livestock.
At the same time, it is also necessary to recruit as many migrant workers as possible back to the area.
Land needs to be cultivated; how can it function without the people?
The newly appointed county magistrate, Zhao Minggeng, issued his first decree.
The county government encourages land reclamation and farming, and anyone who reclaims two mu of land can receive 100 jin of free high-yield grain seeds at the county government office.
Any household that reclaims ten mu of wasteland can obtain a cow on credit from the government.
The debt for the cattle can be repaid in installments over three years with an interest rate of 1%. If it can be repaid within two years, no interest will be charged.
We are hiring potters and laborers...
The people of Hongling County weren't very interested in land reclamation or leading the planting of grain.
Low yields have consistently caused farmers to lose interest in farming.
However, the offer of a cow on credit for each household that could cultivate 10 mu of land was incredibly attractive.
In particular, interest is only required if the loan is repaid within three years; no interest is required if the loan is repaid within two years.
Buying a cow is something that farming families dream of their whole lives.
Some clever families figured out that an ox was worth 16-17 taels of silver.
It's unlikely that one can repay such a large sum of money within two or three years, but what if one could partner with another family?
If two families buy a cow, and the odometer reads 16 taels, then each family will receive a total of 8 taels of silver.
If the loan is repaid in two years, there will be no interest required, which means it will cost 4 taels of silver per year.
It seems possible that one's own children could save up four taels of silver a year by earning money outside.
Moreover, the county magistrate also needs to recruit workers and has high-yield grain seeds.
Since the magistrate dared to do this, perhaps he really was confident.
Over the years, I've never seen a county magistrate with such great courage.
The bolder ordinary people eventually gave in.
Hongling County is not small in area, it just has a small population.
Zhao Minggeng's recruitment information will naturally be posted first in the county.
The most important thing is to cultivate the land first.
When people have food, they have the motivation to think about other things.
When someone applied for a job as a laborer, Zhao Minggeng did not pay them wages, but instead paid them with grain.
Three catties of rice every day, and it's refined rice.
The main job was to dig soil and then make adobe bricks. Each person had to make at least 500 adobe bricks every day.
This number seems a bit large, but for the people who have been given enough tools, it seems easy to accomplish.
After all, whether it's a shovel or a pickaxe, the tools used for shoveling soil are brand new and sharp.
There are wheelbarrows for transporting soil and water pipes for mixing mud, so there's no need to carry water by hand.
This subtly reduces the workload significantly.
On the first day after work, I saw that some people actually took rice home, and the number of people going for interviews on the second day more than doubled.
The people were going crazy. They quickly wrote to their children, urging them to come back soon so they could earn some fine rice and sell it.
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