After letting them argue for a while, Xiao Youran had already come up with an idea. She raised her hands, and despite being only a five-year-old toddler, she possessed an imposing presence. Her speech was clear, and her thoughts even clearer: "Wait a minute, everyone. I, the county magistrate, am going to build a market. The daily wage is thirty copper coins, with food and lodging provided. Going to town is not a problem; those with wives and children can bring them along. Generally, four people will share a room, but those with more than four will have to squeeze into one. Wives and children will also have work, depending on whether they are willing to do it. Specific wages will be calculated separately. Children under seven will be fed to their heart's content; rice, flour, and steamed buns are free. If you want better dishes, you will need to pay for them. A total of sixty able-bodied men are needed, but they must be hardworking, willing to work, and healthy. Those who wish to sign up, please line up over there!"
The crowd immediately erupted, each person checking with the others to confirm: Had the county magistrate really said that rice would be plentiful? Could women and children really be brought along? Food and lodging provided? Rice, flour, and steamed buns free?
Xiao Youran beckoned to Lao Feng, asking him to set up a small table nearby. Then she asked Wang Wu, "Brother Wang, I remember that as long as there is a employer to hire them and a place to stay, refugees can enter the city, right?"
Wang Wu nodded. "There is such a rule. The city guards will let you pass if they see your travel permit and any documents that can prove your employment relationship."
Xiao Youran smiled, "Then could you please take a look and select some healthy and strong men for me?"
This Wang Wu is extremely experienced. Every year when he repairs the river and supervises the laborers, he can tell which ones are weak, which ones are strong, which ones are diligent, and which ones are slick. He has long since developed a keen eye for these things.
Within half an hour, the quota of sixty able-bodied men was filled. Including their families, there were a total of one hundred and fifty or sixty people.
The number of refugees outside the city was quickly depleted.
Yueyue stood behind, completely convinced.
This girl, You Ran, is almost magically intelligent.
Su Yue also sighed in admiration, but... Miss's spending spree is a bit too fast!
Should we tell Zhao's mother when we get back, or should we tell Zhao's mother?
...
A few days later, Wen Yuanbai, whom the two women were thinking about, was, as Xiao Youran had predicted, marking several nearby villages on a map of Wufeng County where they would be conducting pilot plantings.
Sitting in front of him were Magistrate Sun, Magistrate Cao, and Yun Laoqi, the head of the Yun family and village chief.
After Sun Tongzhi was promoted, he recommended the former registrar Cao to become the new magistrate of Wufeng County.
County Magistrate Feng had been keeping a low profile since the last lawsuit, but he never expected his former subordinate to suddenly become his superior. He also felt that if it weren't for this lawsuit, Magistrate Sun would have recommended him instead. Enraged that he had lost his chance for promotion simply for causing trouble for the Yun family, he drove Yun Liu Mei and her daughter Feng Qing'er, who were lying in the dilapidated temple, out of Wufeng County. The mother and daughter had no choice but to return to Sanyang Village for help, only to find that Sanyang Village had changed drastically. But that's another story.
Magistrate Cao was appreciated by Assistant Magistrate Sun and was determined to make a name for himself as soon as he took office.
He had known about the coal mine in Sanyang Village for a long time, and with soldiers from the Ministry of War coming to help with logistics, he had become quite familiar with Yun Laoqi of Sanyang Village. In May, when he heard that Sanyang Village had reported to the authorities that they had been robbed, he immediately rushed over.
He initially thought it was a case of thieves at the coal mine, wondering who would be so audacious as to dare steal from a coal mine under the control of the imperial court!
When they arrived at Sanyang Village, they discovered that what had been stolen from them was actually corn that was almost ready for harvest!
The severe drought in the first half of the year made it difficult for rice seedlings to survive, and by May, many villagers in the villages under the jurisdiction of Wufeng County were already starving. However, he was astonished to find that the corn planted before the Lunar New Year in Sanyang Village was about to be harvested.
Who would have thought of planting grain in winter?
Those wouldn't survive, would they?
Yun Laoqi also took him to see the potato seedlings, which were about to be harvested.
This was all thanks to the water saved by the Yun family working together.
He immediately decided to send officials to live there and patrol the area every day.
Later, he saw with his own eyes that piles of corn were being harvested. Although they were thin and weak due to the drought, they were still real corn.
In June, Yun Laoqi even let him see the potato harvest with his own eyes. After weighing it, the yield reached 800 jin per mu!
This is the harvest from a year of severe drought!
Good heavens, in a normal year, it would weigh over a thousand pounds!
Ordinary rice yields only four or five hundred catties per mu!
He immediately reported the harvest to Magistrate Sun.
For some reason, Magistrate Sun had gotten in touch with the young master of the Wen family, and today he invited him to come and listen.
Cao, the registrar, also learned from Sun, the assistant prefect, that this young master of the Wen family was no ordinary person; he was a prince and grandson of the emperor, so he dared not be negligent.
Wen Yuanbai laid out his planting plan in detail, specifically centering on Wufeng County, and allocating 5,000 mu of land in twelve villages under its jurisdiction to grow potatoes.
Under Wen Yuanbai's leadership, seventeen households in Sanyang Village, led by Yun Laoqi, planted fifty-six mu of potatoes. Not only were the harvested potatoes exempt from taxes, but the government would also purchase them at ten wen per jin. However, there was one condition: Yun Laoqi had to teach the planting techniques free of charge, cultivate all the potatoes into seeds, and distribute them to other villages for planting.
Upon hearing this, Yun Laoqi became somewhat worried. "There hasn't been much rain this year, and white rice is already thirty coins a pound. We're essentially exchanging three pounds of potatoes for one pound of grain. I'm afraid the villagers are unwilling to do so because they don't have any surplus grain at home."
Wen Yuanbai glanced at Yun Laoqi, "You haven't paid taxes on the corn you harvested last month, have you? The government has been patrolling the village for you for two months, don't you want to show your appreciation?"
Yun Laoqi blushed slightly and fell silent.
Of all the surrounding villages, Sanyang Village is currently living the best life, with neither a shortage of food nor a significant shortage of money.
The two officials stayed and ate in the village, and were naturally treated very well. They even gave them a generous gift after they left. But this was completely different from the government collecting taxes.
These days, any land that yields a profit is taxed at three-tenths.
Magistrate Cao said cautiously, "This year there is a severe drought, and we don't know how long it will last. Moreover, at this time of year, most farmland has already been planted with rice, and even if potatoes are planted, there is no guarantee of a good harvest."
Indeed, not a single drop of rain fell all year, right up until June! Yun Laoqi was incredibly grateful that he had listened to Xiao Fubao and planted corn and potatoes during the winter. Those dozens of villagers who hadn't believed him left their fields empty, preparing for spring planting. The soil was barely moist enough to plant rice seedlings, but without rain, the paddy fields quickly turned into dry land. By May, all the seedlings had withered and died. These farmers were destined to have another fruitless year.
Wen Yuanbai sighed, "The rice paddies must be dry by now, right? The spring-planted seedlings must have died from the drought long ago. I've heard that potatoes are drought-resistant and only need a little water to survive. Rather than leaving the fertile fields empty, we should plant some potatoes; at least we'll have something to look forward to in the second half of the year. Xiao Youran said they'll be ready for harvest in four months. If we can plant them in August, we'll have a harvest by the end of the year. It's better than waiting until September after spring planting. Besides, if we can find a way to dig a well and bring in water, the survival and harvest of these potatoes shouldn't be a problem."
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