Two days later, Hai Rui bid farewell to Zhao Hao and took his son to Beijing by land.

Originally, Qiongzhou Prefecture was referred to as the end of the world and a place of exile. However, it was part of the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commission, and the Nanhai Group also established Sanya City here, which was the northern base for the group to control the Indochina Peninsula. Therefore, the Jiangnan Education Group established nine-year schools in Qiongshan and Sanya, but because they were established a little late, Hai Zhongping had just graduated from high school and had not yet decided whether to apply for a college to study for the imperial examination or go to university to join the group in the future.

Hai Rui told him not to make a decision in a hurry, but to walk around and think more before making a choice.

Although the sea route was faster, one could not see any local customs and practices. Hai Rui wanted to take his son to see the real suffering of the people while he was still able to move.

Hai Gong was a great man who walked from Qiongzhou to Beijing to take the imperial examination. Now there are post houses along the way and you can ride horses. Isn’t this journey too easy?

But he soon regretted it...

Because staying in an inn required the presentation of a permit issued by the Ministry of War, his identity was naturally exposed.

Although he asked the postmaster to keep the secret for him, every time he woke up, his house was surrounded by people who had heard the news.

Hai Rui asked them what was the matter?

They said it was okay, they just wanted to see Hai Qingtian in person and wish him a long life. They kowtowed to him and wished him a happy new year...

After bowing, the people went back happily.

The next wave followed in, wave after wave, and people from all over the county lined up to come and pay homage to their Hai Qingtian.

Someone outside was shouting, "You must keep Hai Gong for a while. I will go back to the village to fetch my father and kowtow to Hai Gong!"

The postmasters naturally apologized deeply, and their words were all similar - because they were too excited, they only told their wives or mothers. Then the old women spread the news quickly, and "Mr. Hai is coming" became a secret known to everyone.

This was the case in every county in Jiangnan, without exception. Many common people gave up their jobs and businesses and followed Hai Rui on his journey to the Yangtze River.

Knowing that Hai Gong was as honest as water and did not accept gifts, they brought the best food, hoping that when Hai Rui and his son were thirsty or hungry, they could just eat or drink a sip of their filial offering, and they would be satisfied.

The result was a scene that will be remembered throughout the ages: Hai Rui and his son rode on horseback in front, followed by a team two miles long, with more people constantly joining them.

"Why didn't they go back home in the snow and ice, but insisted on sending their father across the river?" Hai Zhongping finally couldn't help asking.

"Because I did something insignificant for them." Hai Rui said calmly, "I didn't expect that after more than ten years, they still haven't forgotten it."

The people will never forget his deeds of eliminating violence and upholding justice when he was the governor of Yingtian.

The common people in the Jiangnan area even paired him with Bao Qingtian and pasted him on their doors as door gods. It can not only drive away evil spirits and ghosts, but also allow people to see the idol at all times, which is killing two birds with one stone.

This is the earliest idol portrait. Unfortunately, I don't know how to get a signature...

Hai Zhongping was shocked and immediately felt that he should go to college to study and become an official like his father.

~~

After crossing the river, Hai Rui learned his lesson and never stayed at a free post house again. Instead, he and his son stayed at an inn, thus avoiding the crazy fans.

As for the safety of the father and son, Hai Rui was not worried at all. He knew that Zhao Hao was a man of great loyalty and would definitely send the security department to protect them secretly, so he just walked around and looked around, without worrying about encountering robbers.

In fact, the public security in Jiangbei is also very good.

Because Yangzhou Prefecture, as one of the first ten integrated prefectures in Jiangnan, had long been governed by the Jiangnan Group. There was no need for the government to intervene, as the farm guards in various places made the thieves disappear without a trace.

In order to defend against the Japanese pirates during the Jiajing period, the imperial court allowed the gentry along the coast to organize their own militia. This good tradition was also inherited by the Jiangnan Group. All of their factories, farms, mines, and forest farms organized guard teams, which were trained, equipped, and managed by the Jiangnan Security Group.

Like overseas reserve forces, all male employees and farm workers must participate in military training and take turns on duty.

It was the winter off-season, and farms everywhere were organizing militia training. From time to time on the road, you could run into groups of militiamen carrying Longqing rifles, blankets and helmets. Bandits, pirates and thieves must be tired of living, so they would come to such a place to seek death...

Fortunately, he and his son looked like good people, and Hai Rui was already in his seventies, so he was not questioned by the militia.

Hai Rui found that although the militiamen were not as well-disciplined and well-disciplined as the coast guard and the soldiers, they were also full of fighting spirit and looked very powerful.

Many of these young people, like Hai Zhongping, are much taller than their parents and have broader shoulders, which fully reflects that their nutritional level has far exceeded that of their parents.

In fact, they are just the older militiamen. Although they can’t grow taller, they are still strong and energetic. You can tell at a glance that they eat meat regularly.

Hai Rui knew that under Zhao Hao's strong promotion, meat, eggs and milk had already entered the daily diet of the people in the Jiangnan region. Of course, who doesn't want to eat meat every meal? The key is to have the conditions to achieve it.

Hai Rui had studied this and told his son that first of all, the income level in Jiangnan region was rising rapidly. Not to mention the income of the group's employees, the income of the people in Jiangnan region was also rising under the leadership of the Jiangnan Group. Now, even hiring a temporary worker would cost three taels of silver a month.

And this is when refugees continue to pour in, providing Jiangnan with sufficient cheap labor. Those local skilled weavers can only be hired at a price of five taels each!

"Back then, a weaver would work very hard for a month and earn only one tael and a half," Hai Rui said with deep emotion.

"Only one tael and five cents. How can I support my family with this?" The 19-year-old Hai Zhongping found it unimaginable.

"One tael and a half, that's in the paradise on earth, Jiangnan. You go to Shaanxi and Henan to do the hard work, and it's good enough with food and accommodation. Do you still want wages?" Hai Rui shook his head. This was why he wanted to take his son to an inland trip.

"When people's income increases, their appetite will increase first, so that the whole family can have enough food. Then they will think of ways to eat well. This is what we call food being the first necessity of the people." Hai Rui exclaimed:

"This is what your Lord Zhao En told me in the fourth year of Longqing. He was not even as old as you at that time."

"Ugh, my child is so disappointing..." Hai Zhongping blushed immediately.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of. Zhao Hao only appears once every two thousand years. Who can compare to him?" Hai Rui laughed and said, "I feel much better if I don't treat him as a human being."

"Father is really understanding..." Hai Zhongping touched his red nose from the cold.

Hai Rui took off his scarf and put it on his son. Old men and old men all do this, and Hai Rui is no exception.

"From then on, he ordered the farms under each development company to vigorously raise livestock and promote mulberry-fish ponds. Later, large chicken farms and pig farms were specially built in various counties. To be honest, I thought he was too unrealistic at the time. Ordinary people were grateful for brown rice and pumpkin soup. How much feed would be wasted by raising so many poultry and livestock?"

"It turns out that my father was short-sighted." Hai Rui sighed again, "The large amount of poultry meat on the market only caused a short-term drop in prices, but it soon went up again, and the supply has been in short supply ever since. Alas, this person is like a wolf cub. After eating meat, it is difficult for him to eat vegetarian food again."

"Dad, I haven't had any meat for two days..." Hai Zhongping felt hungry when he heard that.

"This kid, ah..." Hai Rui was about to say that it was only on your grandmother's birthday that our family could eat meat again. But how could the life back then be compared to today? He said unhappily, "We'll see tonight."

Hai Zhongping immediately became alert and determined to behave well so as to avoid having to eat meat and take a bath in the hot spring at night.

"Soon, animal husbandry became the biggest source of income for farms, and even made more money than growing crops. Later, there were even specialized animal husbandry farmers." Hai Rui continued:

"But the south of the Yangtze River is not suitable for breeding, so it is more suitable for the north of the Yangtze River and the south of the Huai River. Although Nantong is very rich now, it was extremely poor 20 years ago, with endless saline wasteland everywhere."

"I know why." Hai Zhongping said enthusiastically, "Originally this was part of the Lianghuai Salt Field, but after the Yellow River took over the Huai River, a large amount of silt was deposited at the estuary, causing the coastline to expand eastward. As a result, the Huainan salt area became farther away from the sea, and the tides did not reach it. The brine gradually became lighter, and the salt production decreased. There were no crops growing on the land, so the salt farmers had to cross the river with their families to make a living in the south of the Yangtze River."

"After Tongkaisi was established, under the guidance of Mr. Zhao En, we bought all the wastelands along the Huainan coast, fenced them off, and planted a large amount of grass to raise cattle and sheep. It turns out that saline-alkali land is very suitable for the growth of grass and is rich in salt, which is conducive to the growth of cattle and sheep." Hai Zhongping became excited and said with a flushed face:

"The most in short supply in the Jiangnan area is cattle and sheep, so naturally they are bought at high prices, and the ranch quickly becomes profitable. Moreover, the excrement produced by cattle and sheep is also fertilizer to improve the soil quality of wasteland, which is really a good business strategy that kills two birds with one stone."

"Then the group spent a huge amount of money to build coastal dikes and dams to prevent seawater intrusion. At the same time, water conservancy projects were built to divert river water for irrigation. This is how we now have the golden coast of more than 100 miles north of the river and millions of acres of coastal cotton fields!" Hai Zhongping said proudly:

"The cotton produced here is not only supplied to Jiangnan, but we have also built our own cotton spinning mill, which is known as the North Songjiang!"

Looking at his son's shining eyes, it was obvious that he had forgotten what he saw and felt in Jiangnan.

Hai Rui couldn't help but sigh secretly. The scholars trained by Jiangnan Group not only showed more interest in science than in school, but also seemed to be more interested in industry than in taking the imperial examination...

Even his own son is no exception.

He knew that what Hai Zhongping had just talked about must have been cases he had heard in the practical training class offered in middle school.

"If you are angry about the weakness of the country, you should focus on military preparations; if you are distressed about the plight of the people, you should focus on industry." This is the idea that Zhao Hao instilled in his students.

In his education system, the books of sages were only part of the primary school language knowledge. As for the imperial examination materials such as the Four Books, only the academies specialized in studying them.

Alas, the principles of building a strong and prosperous country do not seem to be found in the words of saints.

Times have really changed. Hai Rui was both happy and sad, but he was happier...