Chapter 672 Signing an Agreement with the County Magistrate
From then on, Wan Lao Er handed over all the business matters of the Wan family to Jia Yanbing.
Wan Laoer obtained two kinds of seeds from Jia Yanbing and Shen Jinyuan respectively.
One was cotton seeds, and the other was a seed that Wan Laoer had never seen before.
Wan Laoer devoted himself to studying how to increase the yield of these two seeds.
At the same time, Jia Yanbing began to work on the land leasing plan.
This plan was a series of plans that Fubao listed after he told him his ideas and he thought about it carefully.
After formulating the plan, Wan Laoer took Jia Yanbing to find Shen Jinyuan.
"Second brother is here? Please sit down."
Shen Jinyuan was still as enthusiastic as ever. After all, most of his future achievements in office would depend on the Wan family.
"Sir, this is Mr. Jia, Fubao's teacher. We have discussed that if we want to increase our border income, we are going to rent all the land in the hands of the people. Connecting large areas of land together will make it easier to cultivate and manage. This is the plan we have made. Do you think it is feasible?"
Wan Laoer handed the plan prepared by Jia Yanbing to Shen Jinyuan.
Shen Jinyuan frowned and took it. It was a thick stack of documents, which included everything from why the land should be rented from the people and how to manage it with maximum efficiency after renting it, to the people's salary and benefits, land rental prices, employment arrangements, etc. Jia Yanbing listed all the aspects he could think of and gave detailed explanations and plans.
Even Shen Jinyuan felt that there was no reason to refuse, but the land was all in the hands of the Wan family, and what to plant in the future was not something the court could control, which was somewhat risky.
Jia Yanbing seemed to see Shen Jinyuan's worry, and he said respectfully: "Sir Shen, if you are worried that the grain grown by the Wan family will not meet the court's regulations in the future, we can sign a contract with you to ensure that the crops grown are edible and can bring economic value to the court."
Shen Jinyuan then sighed, "It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that you probably know the current situation of the court. Our country is short of food. The war has been going on for five or six years. The treasury is empty, and the soldiers on the front line are short of food and clothing. The court has clearly stipulated that all cultivated land must be used to grow food, and the court's official documents have recently arrived at our border counties. This year's tax revenue will be increased by one bushel per mu."
Wan Lao Er was silent for a long while before he said, "Sir, don't worry, we won't cause you any trouble. Our border land is already poor, not as rich as the south of the Yangtze River. There are not many types of food that can be grown, and the output is pitifully small. If the court increases the tax by one bushel per mu this year, I don't know how many people on the border will freeze to death during the New Year."
Shen Jinyuan took the plan and asked as if he had made up his mind: "Second brother, I just want to ask you one question. Now that you know that the court is going to increase taxes, can you still pay the people according to the price in this plan?"
Although all the expenses this time were paid by Wan Laoer, all he knew was farming and he didn't know anything else. Everything was figured out by Jia Yanbing and Fubao.
Wan Laoer subconsciously looked at Jia Yanbing.
"Sir, the reward remains the same, but there is one thing we need to ask you in advance."
Jia Yanbing answered for Wan Laoer.
"Please speak, Mr. Jia." Shen Jinyuan admired Jia Yanbing's talent in his heart. If this person was willing to serve as an official in the court, he would surely rise to a high position.
Jia Yanbing didn't hesitate to speak out what was on his mind.
"Sir, if we develop a high-yield crop from our border land, but this crop is not edible, can you agree to allow us to plant it on a large scale? However, no matter what we plant, what we hand over to the court in the end is food. Can you agree to this?"
After listening to this, Shen Jinyuan pondered for a long time before asking, "So Mr. Jia means that he wants to exchange the high-yield crops you grow for food?"
"Master Shen can understand it this way."
"I can promise you that, and if you can sign a military order, I can also lend you the wasteland at the border for free to cultivate, but you have to pay an extra bucket of tax per acre."
Jia Yanbing laughed softly, "Sir Shen, isn't this deal of yours a bit unfair? We are reclaiming wasteland for the court for free, but we have to pay an extra bucket of tax. How can we say that we are at a disadvantage?"
"I can rent it to you for free for fifteen years?" Shen Jinyuan offered the greatest benefit.
"Even so, in fifteen years, we will have already turned those wastelands into cultivated land. By then, when Lord Shen sells them, the court will still reap the benefits."
Shen Jinyuan saw that Jia Yanbing responded flexibly and knew that the other party was not unwilling, but was definitely trying to gain more benefits from him.
"So what are your conditions?"
"Sir Shen, let's not beat around the bush. We are all smart people, so let's not scheme. In this way, after fifteen years, these lands will be rented to us first. If the Wan family does not rent them, the government can rent or sell them to others. How about that? And even if we rent them, the price of these lands must be 30% lower than the market price. If Sir Shen agrees, we will sign the agreement."
Shen Jinyuan thought about it for a moment and agreed. Reclaiming wasteland is also an assessment indicator for officials.
"Okay, I'll draft an agreement right away, just as you said. We'll sign it today, but whether the people are willing to rent it to you is something you'll have to figure out on your own. After all, the land belongs to the people's private property, and the government has no right to interfere with whether they want to sell or rent it."
"I understand. I'd just like you to notarize it so that no one can instigate or argue with me in the future."
"That's fine. After all, it's a good thing that benefits the country and the people. I support it."
Jia Yanbing's method of going against the landlords of Da Qi was indeed refreshing. After all, the landlords rented land to people who had no land to cultivate. However, the Wan family did the opposite of those landlords and rented land from the common people. This was unheard of.
"In fact, the difficulty of renting land from ordinary people is much less than that of renting land from landlords. I guess the biggest difficulty you will encounter is from the landlords. They may not give you the land they own to farm."
Shen Jinyuan warned the two of the problems he anticipated in advance.
"Sir, we have thought of this as well, but we have our own way to deal with it. Thank you for your reminder, sir."
The two successfully signed the agreement at the county government office and returned to Shizi Village.
"Mr. Jia, I also want to know what you just said in the county government about how to deal with the landlords?"
Wan Laoer thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with any good solution. He felt that those landlords would never hand over the land in their hands.
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