Chapter 249 Market
The once low-slung shacks have long since vanished, replaced by rows of gray-tiled, white-walled houses, gleaming warmly in the sunlight. Peddlers carrying shoulder poles and women carrying bamboo baskets weave through them, their feet making crisp, crunching sounds on the newly paved bluestone slabs.
Xishi was actually a slum before. Not only was the environment dirty and messy, but most of the houses were shacks, and even thatched houses were rare.
Zheng Qinghe built houses for the indigenous people here free of charge, bringing them together. They only needed to pay a small monthly rent to live in the spacious and bright houses. As long as they rented the houses for ten consecutive years, the house would belong to the family.
Of course, not everyone can live in this house. Only poor families without young and strong labor force or families whose men have died in the army can apply.
After everyone gathered together, a large piece of land was vacant, and Zheng Qinghe built this land into a market.
For only three cents a day, you can set up a stall here and sell what you want. If you want a long-term monthly subscription, you can also get a better price.
And when you set up a stall here, you don’t have to worry about hooligans, because the yamen runners will come to inspect from time to time.
There is no need to worry about the environment being dirty, because someone will come to clean up the garbage at any time.
The people who clean up the garbage are the elderly people living around here.
The three cents were actually the health and protection fees for these elderly people and yamen runners.
It's just a few lines, but no one knows the immense pressure Zheng Qinghe faced in implementing these policies. Don't underestimate the respect everyone gives him because his father is the Crown Prince's tutor. That's just the surface; those who superficially flatter him are secretly trying to trip him up.
But he was not afraid of these. Seeing that the lives of the people in Annan County were getting better day by day, his heart was filled with warmth.
He thought, this might be what the book meant by "live and work in peace and contentment"?
Gu Jiayue didn't expect to meet Zheng Qinghe in Xishi.
He is now a completely different person compared to a few months ago.
It turned out that his fair face was now a healthy wheat-colored face, and even had a bit of vicissitudes of life, although he was obviously only in his early twenties this year.
Originally, due to years of studying, his body was very thin, but when we met again, I found that he had not only grown taller, but also became much more muscular.
To sum up, the man in front of me has completed the transformation from a boy to a man.
Zheng Qinghe was squatting on the ground, helping an elderly man adjust the angle of his bamboo basket. His coarse cotton jacket was stained with mud, and his hair was a bit messy from the wind.
When he turned around and saw Gu Jiayue, a hint of surprise suddenly appeared on his originally bronze face.
He frantically wiped his hands on his lapels, but they only got dirtier. For a moment, he was bewildered, like a child in trouble. "Miss Jia... Miss Gu, how come you have time to come into town today?"
His tongue seemed to be tied when he spoke, and his eyes quickly swept across her face and then quickly fell to her toes.
He didn't dare look at her, for fear that he would not be able to control his longing for her in his dreams at night.
He wanted to see him again, otherwise he didn't know how he would get through the long night.
During this period, he spent every day dealing with landlords, powerful people, and chieftains. He was busy like a top. But even so, in the dead of night, she would still appear in his mind.
She was like a poisonous insect that he could never get rid of in his lifetime.
The once polite scholar is now as tall and straight as a pine tree, and his every move is more calm and capable.
"I came with my mother to buy ingredients for Laba porridge. I heard there's a new market opened in the West Market, so I brought my sister to take a look."
Before she finished speaking, Zheng Qinghe had already stepped forward, nearly knocking over the vegetable basket beside him. He then hurriedly squatted down to fix the basket and handed it to the people.
"Then let me show you around. I built this West Market with the help of the county yamen runners and thousands of migrant workers. No one knows it better than me."
"Okay, I just happen to have something I want to discuss with Mr. Zheng." Gu Jiayue did not refuse, she really had something to discuss with Zheng Qinghe.
It's said that after Laba, the New Year begins. Once the twelfth lunar month is over, it's the next year. She still hasn't secured the land she wants. Spring is coming, and it's time to transplant the tea and mulberry trees. But she still hasn't found any land.
Gu Jiayue was very anxious.
So she felt that she couldn't put all her eggs in one basket. If the person above her took her things and refused to acknowledge it or give her any benefits, she would have no choice, right?
So she thought of Zheng Qinghe again.
Zheng Qinghe was now the magistrate of Annan County, and the prefect of the state was his uncle. With his help, it wouldn't be impossible to get some land.
She hadn't approached Zheng Qinghe before because she was afraid of getting him involved and inducing unrealistic ideas. But now, seeing that he was fully committed to the development of Annan County and not the type to be confused, Gu Jiayue began to think about collaborating.
The two walked side by side, the sound of their soles crushing dead leaves crisp and pleasant. Gu Zhigeng lagged behind, her eyes focused only on the candied fruit in her hand and the candied haws that Zheng Qinghe had just bought for her.
Along the way, Zheng Qinghe was introducing the layout of the entire West City to her.
As he said, he really knew Xishi very well.
After walking a little further, Gu Jiayue pointed at the adjacent vegetable and prepared food stalls, frowning slightly: "If they're next to each other like this, there might be problems in the summer."
Zheng Qinghe looked in the direction of her finger and didn't react for a moment.
Gu Jiayue had no choice but to explain further. "Cooking food requires fire. It's not a big deal in winter, but in other seasons, the fire will burn the vegetables nearby."
"Another point is that this is right in the middle of the market. If we're not careful and a fire breaks out, the whole market will be destroyed."
Zheng Qinghe slapped his forehead and said in frustration, "I didn't expect that!"
He scratched the back of his head, the tips of his ears were red, and he had completely lost the dignity of a county magistrate. Instead, he looked like a schoolboy being criticized by a teacher.
But this cannot be blamed on him. After all, he is the son of a noble family. He has been comfortably provided for since he was a child. How could he have such common sense?
"So I think we can categorize these vendors. For example, those who need fire can be concentrated in one area, those selling fruit in another, and those selling vegetables in another... That way, shoppers can quickly find what they want, and the yamen runners can better manage it, while also reducing unnecessary trouble."
For example, your fire roasted my vegetables, your chicken ate my rice, and so on.
Zheng Qinghe nodded repeatedly, wishing he had a pen and paper to write down every word Gu Jiayue said. "You're right. I'll have them make some changes when I get back. It's the end of the year, and there are a lot of people doing business and shopping. We need to make some careful planning."
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