Climbing to the Top: A Reborn Queen's Journey-Chapter 371: Wasteland Fields (Part 2)

Li County is abundant with mountains, forests, and land. In the past, due to severe banditry, the people of Li County had a very difficult livelihood and were extremely poor. Later, after the bandit dens were completely eradicated, Li County gained a diligent and benevolent County Magistrate Cai, and in just a few years, Li County progressed from being one of the three poorest counties to reaching a middle-ranking position.

This year, Li County was the first to receive the refugees, and they were settled very properly, receiving high praise from Chen and Feng, the two Chief Historians. Li County was taken as a model for other counties to emulate.

Jiang Shaohua inspected Xi’e, Bo Wang, and other counties, and upon entering Li County today, she truly felt content and pleasant.

County Magistrate Cai pointed to the vast fields before them, a rare trace of pride and self-satisfaction in his voice, "These fields, they have cultivated through hard work. I have registered all the land, as previously decided, half of the land belongs to the people, and the other half is under the name of the Commandery Princess."

Jiang Shaohua chuckled, "Wasn’t it said that the other half belonged to the county government? How did it become the property of the Commandery Princess?"

County Magistrate Cai naturally replied, "What belongs to the county government belongs to the Commandery Princess."

This makes sense.

Chen Jinyu and Ma Yaosong both nodded in agreement, and Tang Youyin, a step slower, quickly followed with a nod, "County Magistrate Cai has a point."

Cui Du couldn’t help but glance at County Magistrate Cai. Don’t think County Magistrate Cai only works with his head down; when it comes to flattering, he is unmatched.

Jiang Shaohua smiled with pursed lips, "Well then, what belongs to the Commandery Princess also belongs to the county government, and more importantly, to the people. Half of the annual grain yield from the fields will be sent to the Prince Mansion, and the rest will stay with the county government for its use."

County Magistrate Cai was overjoyed and quickly bowed to express his gratitude. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

As for Cui Du, he had already dismounted swiftly, walked briskly into the fields, and began carefully examining the land and the sprouting seedlings.

Jiang Shaohua and the others also dismounted one after another, treading carefully into the fields to avoid stepping on the young shoots.

Cui Du scrutinized for a while, then borrowed a long knife from Meng Sanbao, dug into the soil, squatted and observed for a long time, pinched some with his fingers, and even sniffed it.

"Is there something wrong with this field?" Jiang Shaohua inexplicably followed along with a sense of tension.

Cui Du pondered for a moment and said, "The soil here is indeed somewhat special, likely with a high saline-alkali content, causing the seeds to germinate slowly once in the soil, and the growth isn’t good. If this continues, we might not harvest much grain in a few months."

Jiang Shaohua furrowed her eyebrows slightly, and before she could speak, County Magistrate Cai was already anxious, "What should we do! At the time, I specially chose this land while selecting wasteland. It’s close to the villages where they are settled, and the land is relatively flat. The people have exerted themselves extraordinarily in reclaiming the wasteland this year, hoping to harvest a season of grain. If there’s no yield, what are we to do!"

"Don’t worry, County Magistrate Cai," Cui Du said with a smile, comforting him, "It’s not that serious. We will still reap some grain, just not as much. Moreover, saline-alkali land can be treated. Once I have conducted a thorough study, I will teach the people some soil improvement methods."

Jiang Shaohua picked up the conversation, "No matter how much grain is harvested this year, it will belong to the people. If there’s not enough grain to eat, the Prince Mansion will send some over, so you don’t need to worry."

Only then did County Magistrate Cai truly breathe a sigh of relief, bowing and making a long gesture of gratitude, "Thank you, Commandery Princess, for your grace. They are all poor displaced people who have now settled and taken root in Li County. I’m eager for them to quickly integrate into life here, hence the urgency. Please pardon my eagerness."

Jiang Shaohua smiled and said, "You are their parental official, treating the people with the love of a parent for their children, cherishing and caring for them. Such a County Magistrate deserves a great reward from this Commandery Princess. Who would laugh at you, and who would dare! This Commandery Princess won’t forgive them!"

The last sentence was bold and imposing.

Cui Du couldn’t help but look up.

The bright sunlight cast a luminous glow on the Commandery Princess’s beautiful face, dazzlingly radiant, impossible to look at directly, only to be admired from below.

County Magistrate Cai was already moved to tears.

He never uttered phrases like "I am willing to die for the Commandery Princess" in public but solemnly replied, "I will remember the Commandery Princess’s words in my heart. I will certainly not let the Commandery Princess down."

Jiang Shaohua smiled slightly and extended her hand to help County Magistrate Cai up.

Inspecting soils and such matters should be left to professionals. Since Cui Du said the problem was not significant, Jiang Shaohua felt at ease. Accompanied by County Magistrate Cai, she took a tour around the refugee settlements nearby.

Over two thousand refugees were settled in four villages. Each village was about two li apart, and the thatched huts had been replaced with wooden houses. Three water wells were dug in each village, with designated places for garbage disposal and night soil. Some households had even started raising pigs and chickens.

Chen Jinyu couldn’t help but ask, "County Magistrate Cai, the grain the refugees eat is provided by the Prince Mansion, so where did they get the silver coins to buy pigs and chickens for breeding?"

County Magistrate Cai smiled and explained, "It was my idea. The silver coins for buying chicks, ducklings, and piglets are provided by the county government. They are responsible for grazing and feeding every day. Li County has plenty of mountains and forests; as long as they work diligently, it’ll be fine. In about a year, the pigs can be reclaimed by the county government and sent to the military camp, exchanged for silver coins. Half for the county government, and the other half belongs to them. Chickens and ducks can lay eggs, and they can also be sold for silver coins."

In any case, the military camp has a large consumption, with meat being eaten once every three days, so no matter how many chickens, ducks, and pigs are sent over, they will be consumed.

County Magistrate Cai’s quick thinking made Chen Jinyu have no choice but to admire him, "County Magistrate Cai’s method is indeed good."

Ma Yaosong immediately laughed and said, "I’ll write to my grandfather later, telling him to learn from County Magistrate Cai’s method."

Tang Youyin remained silent, but he thought to himself that he would also write a letter back to Xi’e tonight. His cousin worked at the county government and could privately remind County Magistrate Zou.

County Magistrate Cai chuckled modestly, "I’m just trying it out first. If it succeeds, the people will have one more way to make a living."

To accomplish things, one cannot avoid worries. Those few offhand remarks just now, though they sounded light, involved countless tedious tasks behind them.

For instance, which family wanted to raise chickens, which wanted to raise ducks, and which wanted to raise pigs, all needed to be registered. What to do if chickens or ducks died halfway through rearing, or if pigs fell ill? Should the county government intervene? Intervening less would not do; intervening too much, would the people develop lazy tendencies, lazing and loafing intentionally?

Once these poultry were well-reared, they needed to be collected from each household, weighed, tallied, and then sent to the military camp.

All these tasks added a lot of work to the county government. It was only the current Li County, where everyone obeyed orders obediently, that was willing to do so many nitty-gritty tasks without apparent benefit. A few years ago, who would have been willing to do so many trivial and thankless things!

Of course, County Magistrate Cai would not mention these things. Before accomplishing the tasks, there was no reason for grandstanding. Even if accomplished, it was as it should be.

Jiang Shaohua understood in her heart and gently said, "County Magistrate Cai, you have worked hard."