"It's still okay in the county this year. In winter, every village has a boiler room and every family uses heating. Some villages with a small population have moved out and built big houses outside.
In winter, the off-season vegetables are not selling as well as before. The main reason is that there are more and more people who know how to grow vegetables. The biggest tax payer is still at the docks. The river channel has been expanded to both sides. They also specially found shrimp and fish to raise in the river channel. Every once in a while, they will get stuck in the net.
Before the New Year, two pavilions collapsed due to heavy snow. The people in charge of maintenance have been arrested. Fortunately, they were not crushed to death. This matter is not tolerated. Due to the inconvenience of the road, the children in the school drank soy milk continuously for 45 days and only returned to fresh milk two days ago. The roast chicken and duck sold in Zhuangzi have become the specialty of the county. Last year, we paid a lot of taxes.
Last year's snow was heavy. This year's development will probably be affected. I'm worried that the turn of the river channel will be washed ashore. Decent people have reinforced it. The poultry farm has done a good job of blocking and preventing diseases. There are more than 450,000 chickens and ducks … "
County Magistrate Lu followed beside Zhang Xiaobao and reported the county's work to Zhang Xiaobao. Zhang Xiaobao occasionally asked a few questions. Every time he asked, County Magistrate Lu would answer smoothly.
The group of people who came with the Tujue listened and were surprised and envious. Secret Service Que had heard Mo Jiilian's introduction of Sanshui County. At that time, it was almost unbelievable. How could a county's development be comparable to a province's?
Now that he heard and saw it, he knew that Mo Jiilian had said too little. He was even more envious of County Magistrate Lu's detailed introduction of the data. If there was such a capable person in his tribe, why would he be blocked by the Great Tang Dynasty a few years ago?
Zhang Xiaobao was satisfied. He also praised County Magistrate Lu. It was considered that he approved of his position as county magistrate. Otherwise, he would have taken him down immediately.
Xiao Bei had also been a county magistrate and was in the same line as County Magistrate Lu. He nodded and said, "County Magistrate Lu, you have worked hard. You are better than me when I was in Jian 'an County."
"You flatter me, you flatter me. It was all supported by the people in the county. As long as the county made a decision that was beneficial to the county, a small portion of the people would be willing to suffer losses to support it.
For example, last autumn, when there was a shortage of medicinal herbs, they were going to choose a fertile land to plant herbs in. At that time, they chose Two Rivers Beach Village. There used to be two rivers flowing through the village, so the soil was strong. When the idea came out, the entire village of 115 households, 720 people, no one complained. Within three days, the entire village moved. Without their efforts, there would not be Sanshui County today. "
County Magistrate Lu hurriedly spoke modestly. Although Xiaobei was young, he did not dare to belittle him.
"How's the water transportation?" Zhang Xiaobao asked casually.
"It's about the same as before, but fewer boxed meals are being sold on both sides of the river. Ever since the introduction of canned food, many foreigners don't like to eat boxed meals from our county and bring their own canned food. This year, I plan to hire some chefs from other places and expand the service station so that everyone can find their favorite dishes."
County Magistrate Lu answered without any hesitation.
"What about salt and oil?" Zhang Xiaobao was not surprised that County Magistrate Lu was familiar with the affairs of the county like Mo Jiilian and others. For him, it was normal to know these things. It would be abnormal if he did not know. To be able to be the county magistrate of Sanshui County, he must have the ability. He then asked about the necessities of life.
"The price of salt has decreased slightly, mainly because there are more places to dry salt. The manufacturing of ships is also more advanced. The profit of selling salt has not changed. The quantity has increased by 20%, so the price has decreased by 20%. As for oil, the price of soybean oil and rapeseed oil has increased slightly.
One is that there are more livestock, so there is more lard, so the locals like to eat lard more. The other is that the people south of the Yellow River like to eat vegetable oil. Most of it is shipped and sold there, so the taxes have increased. "
"It's better to eat vegetable oil as much as possible. I will write a notice later, saying that eating too much lard is not good for health. No, I will say that lard can be made into wax. Keep more of it and try to sell it to the areas where there is less lard to lower the price of vegetable oil."
Zhang Xiaobao was afraid that more people would get cardiovascular disease if they ate too much lard. He wanted to mention it in the county, but he was afraid that because of his words, there would be more market for vegetable oil and the price would be pushed to a higher position. Therefore, he could only take a roundabout way.
County Magistrate Lu nodded repeatedly, "Okay, I will remember it. I will talk about it later. After the beginning of spring, the price of garlic has increased a lot. It has doubled the usual price. Should we find a good place to plant more garlic?"
"Garlic has increased? How did it increase? Did it increase all at once or little by little? "At this time, Wang Juan, who had been silent at the side, suddenly asked.
Zhang Xiaobao also wanted to know. He knew that people at this time liked to eat garlic. Many people asked if there was any garlic when they went to a restaurant. If there was, they would go in and eat without turning around. It was said that garlic and meat were delicious when chewed together. He didn't think so. He only knew that it tasted good when eaten with sausages.
County Magistrate Lu thought for a while and replied, "It has increased twice. The first time was just after the New Year and the price increased by 30%. The second time was a few days ago and the price suddenly increased by two times. It is said that the places where garlic is produced were bought by big businessmen. It is estimated that the price will increase again.
The people in Sanshui County are more prudent and there is no panic buying. I heard that the price of garlic in other places is higher. As long as there is garlic, it will be sold out immediately. I don't know what happened. I always feel that someone is doing it deliberately, but I can't think of a way. "
Zhang Xiaobao nodded and said, "County Magistrate Lu, go do your work. We will walk and watch. We won't disturb you."
County Magistrate Lu acted like he was pardoned and obediently stepped aside. When Zhang Xiaobao and the others walked away, he raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat on his forehead and said to the yamen runner beside him, "I was scared to death. Fortunately, I didn't relax. The young master of the Zhang family is really amazing. He can even find a lot of errors in the data. If we randomly check the data, he will definitely find the problem. It will feel like he has never left the county."
The yamen runners also looked admiring. Song Yang, who was still a yamen runner and became the new arrester, said with a smile, "Sir, Young Master Zhang is certainly not ordinary. You should know that when Sanshui County was changed from Zhongxian to Shangxian, many people said that it was Young Master Zhang who promoted it. At that time, there was no master from his family. Sanshui County is the foundation of his family. How could he not do his best? People say that he is a little immortal. "
*****
Wang Juan didn't know that people were talking about her and Zhang Xiaobao behind their backs. At this time, she lowered her head and thought about something. She didn't wake up until the road in front of her suddenly widened and she heard the sound of running water. She found that they had reached a small river. She asked Zhang Xiaobao, "Did someone deliberately increase the price of garlic?"
"Probably." Zhang Xiaobao replied.
"Then what should we do? This kind of thing is the most terrible thing to encounter. In the end, even if there is a way, the real leader will run away. Only those who follow the hype will be unlucky. At that time, the garlic will have changed hands at least three times. Should we issue an order to arrest all those who hoard garlic? "
Wang Juan thought of herself. From a hundred years ago until she and Zhang Xiaobao came, she didn't have a good way to deal with this kind of thing. She was worried.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head, "Why should we arrest people? Garlic isn't a necessity in life, unlike grains, oil, and salt. I know that you remember the past. At that time, you knew that the real big fish were all the elders in the capital who were officials or were officials in the past. Not to mention cooking garlic, even if they were cooking something more important, who could do anything to them? "
"Let's not talk about the past. Let's talk about the present. There are many people who like to eat garlic. How can it not be a necessity? Today, they are cooking garlic. If you don't stop them, they will cook something else tomorrow. Even if they decide to deal with it in the end, many people will suffer losses. This won't do. I will write a letter to the capital and tell Li Longji. "
Wang Juan was very anxious. She knew that this wasn't just a problem with the price of garlic. If it wasn't handled well, the people's trust in the imperial court would decrease. As she spoke, she wanted to enter the carriage to write a letter.
Zhang Xiaobao reached out and stopped her, saying, "Do you really want to use administrative orders to solve the economic problem? Didn't I say before that we shouldn't do this unless we have no other choice? Administrative orders are useful, but there are also many drawbacks. It will make the other party feel that the imperial court is incompetent and continue to find loopholes to attack.
Although political economy is a combined study, it can't be used like this. If buying garlic is hoarding, then what about buying ginger? Buying onions? Buying cloth? How do you locate it? Aren't you afraid that the local officials will take the opportunity to do as you wish?
Let me tell you this. If I were a merchant and you gave the order to crack down on garlic hoarding, I would immediately change it to something else. If you directly said to crack down on hoarding, then the local officials might be arrested by the merchants. Merchants will definitely have stock in their inventory when they do business. Does that count as hoarding? "
"Then what about the negotiation? Get them together to discuss it. Scare them and give them benefits so that they won't be so greedy. "Wang Juan thought of another method.
"They want to earn a million strings of cash. After you negotiate with them, even if you scare them, they will earn less. They won't say anything and will endure it. When the garlic is harvested next year, they won't accept it and will try their best to lower the price. Every industry has its own rules. Who would dare to casually accept it? What will happen to the people who grow the garlic? This kind of thing will backfire.
Then, won't you negotiate with them again? Don't you find it embarrassing? If they ask you, what do you mean? If you can't sell it at a high price or low price, wouldn't it be better to send officials to do business? Your imperial court will set whatever price you want. What do you think the consequences will be? "
Zhang Xiaobao analyzed the situation for Wang Juan and asked.
Wang Juan held back her anger and thought, "It will become a purely planned economy. When the time comes, the farmers will lose their motivation and there will be problems with business. After all, people who are good at business usually don't become officials. Those who can become officials will need to spend more energy on officialdom, and that will make it even more chaotic.
Just like if we didn't come, there would be a salt tax in the Tang Dynasty, causing the price of salt to rise. What should we do then? Why don't we use our family's business to cooperate with them? "
"Economic problems are best solved by economic means. Cooperate with them? Negotiate? Did I give them face? Isn't it just the price of garlic? I'll let them rise and lose money. Later, investigate who is the leader. I'll make it difficult for them to do anything in the future. "
Zhang Xiaobao scoffed at this kind of compromise and said contemptuously.
Wang Juan smiled and hugged Zhang Xiaobao's arm, "I knew that Xiao Bao would have a way. You have thought of a way to deal with the situation that just happened. Quick, tell me what to do."
"There's no hurry. Let's go to the county and rest first. We won't let them have an easy time. Let's confirm it first. If the situation is not like what we said, the method we came up with will be useless."
"How can it not be? There's no news of a big disaster in the garlic area. The price suddenly changed so much. It's strange if it's not strange. Are we going to buy garlic from other places and sell it here?"
"We can't buy garlic from anywhere. As long as we buy it, that place will definitely raise the price. Don't you think it's better to steam eggplant and eat it with sauce than to fry it directly?"
"Each has its own taste. What does it have to do with eggplant?"
"It doesn't matter. I'm going to steam eggplant today. When there are more potatoes in the future, we'll steam them and eat them together. Just thinking about it makes me drool."
"What's the plan?"
"We'll talk about it when we get back."
*****
Zhang Xiaobao and the others strolled toward the county of Sanshui County. They walked until night time, but they did not reach the county. They just arrived at the river that connected to the capital.
As the people of Sanshui County were rich, they lived in two-story houses. Their demand for other things was also high. Countless street lamps were erected on both sides of the river. In the entire Great Tang, apart from Lu Zhou and the capital, only Sanshui County had the ability to do so.
The lights of the street lamps were not very stable. They flickered. If the hydroelectric generator beside the river turned fast, the street lamps would light up. If it turned slow, the street lamps would naturally dim.
Even so, Secret Service Que and the others were shocked. They looked at the caravans walking on the river under the street lamps in the dark night. Some people who could not sleep came over with shrimp cages to fish for shrimp. The more than 70 people thought that they were no longer in the mortal world.
"These are the street lamps I saw in the capital." Mo Jilian's gaze followed the river. After being mesmerized by the gorgeous colors on both sides of the river, he introduced them to Secret Service Que, who was also in a daze.
"I wonder if my tribe has the same thing? With the light, I think the wolves don't dare to easily attack the sheep pen at night, right? " Secret Service Que was envious. At the same time, he knew the difference between his tribe and the people of Great Tang. In his tribe, it was more extravagant to light candles. When they used oil lamps, the people of Great Tang had electric lamps.
How comfortable would it be to go out for a stroll in the summer when you couldn't sleep at night? Yes, it was just like what was happening in the pavilion not far away.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
