As soon as these words were uttered, not only Bai Shan, but even Manbao couldn’t help but stare at him with wide eyes, feeling that County Magistrate Tang was shamelessly brazen.
Huayang County is a superior county, an annexed county to Yizhou City, whereas Luojiang County is an inferior county, far behind in both population and economy. How could it possibly be poorer?
But Zhou Silang didn’t understand these complexities. Scratching his head awkwardly, he said quietly, "But Lord Tang, the price I’m giving you is already very low."
He might not understand the complexities, yet he knew the selling price couldn’t vary too greatly.
He sold to others for one hundred and forty wen per dou, giving County Magistrate Tang a price of one hundred and twenty wen which was already the bottom line. Any lower, and he would have to reduce the price on the other side as well.
Seeing her fourth brother’s troubled expression, Manbao spoke up on his behalf, "Lord Tang, Luojiang County only has one main street, and Huayang County has so many shops. How could it possibly be poorer than Luojiang County?"
"But we have greater expenses," County Magistrate Tang lamented about his poverty. "Not to mention anything else, look at the number of refugees. How many do you in Luojiang County need to settle, and how many do we in Huayang County?"
He counted on his fingers, "Besides grain seeds, there are also farming tools, and their relief before harvest. Housing cannot be neglected either. Each and every one of these costs money. I was thinking since you all are kind-hearted, I asked for your help, after all, you’ll just earn a little less, right?"
Manbao, moved by compassion, couldn’t help but look towards Zhou Silang.
Zhou Silang kept shaking his head vigorously at her, but he, too, was a bit hesitant in his heart.
However, Bai Shan felt something was amiss and asked, "Lord Tang, why are you suddenly settling refugees? Where did you get so much land from?"
Refugees in Huayang County had been a constant influx because they were settled slowly, and more refugees who had fled from calamities were coming back every day.
The settling pace was much slower than the rate of incoming refugees, thus naturally accumulating a considerable number of them.
Consequently, it was common to see ragged refugees looking for work on the streets as well as beggars begging along the roadways.
Lord Tang’s smile faltered, seemingly realizing the current predicament of Huayang County, but he spoke with a hint of pride, "Our County Governmental Office has recently discovered a few barren lands. They turned out to be fairly level, so we plan to distribute them to the refugees who registered earlier."
Bai Shan asked, "How many refugees can you settle?"
"Naturally, we cannot allocate twenty mu of Yongye Fields per person as dictated by the imperial edict. Fortunately, those fields are still quite fertile. With careful cultivation, the yield should not be bad. Therefore, my plan is to allocate two mu of land per person, and currently, the registered number should be enough to settle around eight hundred sixty people," Lord Tang said with a smile. "By organizing some of the refugees to reclaim new barren lands, we should be able to settle around one thousand two hundred people by the end of this year. With that, about four-fifths of the refugees inside and outside Huayang County can be settled. For the remaining part, we will have to think of other ways."
Manbao and Bai Shan’s mouths hung open in astonishment. So many people, so much land?
Gulping, Manbao asked, "Did those barren lands previously know some invisibility spell, then suddenly became invisible?"
County Magistrate Tang burst into a hearty laugh, saying cheerfully, "Something like that."
He suddenly turned serious, and once more played the pauper, "So I am truly broke now. Just think, so many people need to be settled. Not to mention anything else, it’s almost winter, so they’ll need houses to live in, right? They need food and drink, right? Plus, we need tools and seeds; each item requires money."
Recently, Bai Shan had been engrossed in studying national policies and, taking interest, pulled County Magistrate Tang aside to speak, "For something like building houses, just let the refugees do it themselves, there’s no need to pay wages, right?"
County Magistrate Tang nodded, "To ’work in exchange for relief,’ I also had this idea, but we need to spend money to buy materials like wood, bricks, and stones."
"That’s troublesome. Just get people to mine the stones directly," Manbao said. "Even the bricks could be made by themselves. When County Magistrate Yang settled refugees, they made their own bricks and stones."
Bai Shan nodded, "Wood is even simpler. Designate a section of the mountains, let them go in to chop down trees themselves. Once the houses are built, they can draw lots to decide who lives where. They wouldn’t dare slack off."
These were strategy’s of County Magistrate Yang, known not only to Bai Shan and Manbao, but also to Bai Erlang, as the three of them, along with the students from the County School, had been conscripted to the front lines to record work hours.
After all, while the refugees could do the housebuilding, literate people were needed for management.
County Magistrate Tang listened in bewilderment, taking a moment before responding, "But those trees belong to others, how could we just chop them down recklessly?"
"There must be some mountains that haven’t been allocated," Manbao said. "The imperial mountains, wouldn’t it just take a word from you? With a stroke of your hand, they can chop down at will."
County Magistrate Tang felt stifled, "Actually, I don’t have the final say in this matter. This is Huayang County, not Luojiang County; I have the prefect, the Envoy, and the Prince of Yizhou watching over me."
Manbao was taken aback for a moment, "Isn’t this doing something good for the common people?"
County Magistrate Tang spoke with profound meaning, "You think it’s a good thing for the common people, but others might not see it the same way. For example, if too many trees are cut down, next year’s heavy rain could cause soil and rocks on the mountain to collapse. That could cost lives. So, can you say that preventing it isn’t for the good of the common people?"
Manbao contemplated and exchanged a glance with Bai Shan, then asked, "Then why could County Magistrate Yang do it?"
County Magistrate Tang sighed, "Because that was in Luojiang County."
A remote, economically backward inferior county, so long as no trouble was caused, that was fine. With so much daily governance, who would cross mountains and rivers to keep an eye on such a small county?
However, Huayang County was right inside Yizhou City. The Prefecture Office was just next door to the Huayang County Governmental Office, a turn away was the Envoy Mansion, and two streets over was the residence of the Prince of Yizhou. Every morning, what this county magistrate of Huayang County ate for breakfast could be reported to the heads of the other three offices by lunchtime if they wished to know.
More adept individuals would probably even know when he farted more clearly than he did.
But what about Luojiang County? If it weren’t for the sudden influx of new wheat varieties into Yizhou City, the Prefecture Office, the Envoy Mansion, and the residence of the Prince of Yizhou might still be unaware of the significant commotion that Yang Heshu had stirred up in Luojiang County.
He even attracted nobles from the capital to take a tour.
What does it mean to be far from the emperor’s reach, to be the parent officer of a county? Yang Heshu exemplified it.
Even though his official rank was higher than Yang’s, even though he seemed more reputable, and even though the documents he dealt with in a single day might be more than Yang dealt within a month, couldn’t he still feel more stifled than Yang Heshu?
County Magistrate Tang wallowed in a bout of depression, then continued with a smile towards Manbao, earnestly saying, "A little cheaper then? If the Ying Family hadn’t paid a substantial ransom recently, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to afford the new wheat seeds. I probably could only afford the old wheat kind."
Manbao didn’t believe it one bit, "But even the old wheat is priced higher than one hundred and twenty wen in the grain shops."
County Magistrate Tang: ...Are children nowadays so clever?
They’re not easy to fool.
County Magistrate Tang sighed, "Think about it, when I was eleven or twelve, if I saw someone in need on the street, I would give them all the money I had with me..."
Manbao and Bai Shan: ...Are adults nowadays so shameless?
Lying without even drafting a story.