Bai Ziqian recently followed his father around, learning the ways of business, interpersonal skills, how to read people's expressions, and even the unspoken meanings behind their words.
He immediately realized what was going on, "Auntie, what are you going to do with the rest of the potatoes?"
Aunt Shuiqing wouldn't say these things to him for no reason, and she certainly wasn't gloating!
My father reserved 500 acres of potato seeds, but now he can only use half of them at most. Aunt Shuiqing must have already figured out how to use the rest before she came to talk to him about it.
Shui Qing raised an eyebrow slightly, a surprised smile appearing on her lips.
This child, after becoming sensible, followed his father around for a while and seemed to have suddenly grasped the concepts, making rapid progress.
It's also possible that Bai Manshan is very capable and teaches well.
“The total amount of cornmeal available to each household in the village is limited, so even if they wanted to grow more, they couldn’t. I currently have a little over 100 mu of land, but I don’t want to use it to grow potatoes next season.”
Bai Ziqian straightened up, his expression turning serious, and listened quietly.
"I don't plan to plant rice or wheat, as we have enough food stored up. I plan to plant yams and sugarcane next quarter. You know the price of yams."
Sugarcane can be made into sugar, and sugar has always been an expensive commodity. Moreover, regardless of whether the world is good or bad, chaotic or peaceful, it sells well and fetches a high price. I'm going to give it a try." Shui Qing didn't hide anything from the boy beside her and said it all.
"There are hundreds of acres of farmland and four forests that need to be managed. The people your father brought are very useful. As for potatoes, there is no land or manpower to grow them."
I'm thinking of distributing it to the villagers of Shanshui Village. I'll provide the seeds, and they can use their surplus land to plant them. The harvest will be 40/60. Of course, this is only suitable for the first year. This method won't work next year when they have enough potatoes to plant. But the share from this season is enough to feed them for three years with a surplus!
And it won't take three years. With this year's pilot program, next year I'll have yam and sugarcane seeds to distribute to the villagers. We'll then buy them all, process them, and sell them. This will free up some of my own land for growing food.”
Bai Ziqian's eyes were filled with undisguised admiration, almost overflowing!
He had heard his father say that Aunt Shuiqing was very good at managing people and had excellent business acumen. If it weren't for her family's meager resources, her being a woman, and the limitations imposed by Uncle Jin's status as a scholar, she probably wouldn't be any worse off than the Bai family.
He had previously been dismissive, thinking his father was exaggerating. After all, Aunt Shuiqing's family didn't even have a servant, so how could they know how to use people?
Father said that Aunt Shuiqing was not just nice to the people of Shanshui Village. She won over the vast majority of them, was kind to the good people, and resolutely refused to cooperate with the bad ones. Moreover, she was strict in her rules and would not be ambiguous in her treatment of them.
With those who refuse to cooperate present, no one will harbor any disloyal thoughts or cause trouble, or they will think clearly about the consequences before they do so.
This is a clear system of rewards and punishments, and also a way of employing people. It encourages him to learn diligently, so that when he goes into the acquisition business on his own in the future, no matter how big or small the business is, he can use this tactic against those who cause trouble or disagree with him.
Today, he understands even more why his father speaks so highly of Aunt Shuiqing.
She could see several steps behind her with every step she took.
And every step they take is very steady and cautious, without being aggressive or trying to achieve too much too quickly, only doing their best within their own capabilities.
He asked excitedly, "Auntie, is what you're telling me true?"
Does this mean he no longer needs to propagate He Shou Wu branches? Instead, he can teach him business acumen!
Shui Qing wanted to tell the young man not to get excited, that he definitely had to do the work.
However, while doing the work, you should also hone your speaking skills.
She smiled and said, "Come on, let's go to the villagers' homes. You can talk to them and see how to divide the property 40/60."
Bai Ziqian blinked. How else could a 40/60 split be done?
Is this meant to make him a villain?
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