HLnovel Chapter 252: Give the credit for the waterwheel to the whole village
Chapter 252: Give the credit for the waterwheel to the whole village
"Sir, when my wife thought of these things, she never thought of any reward. She just saw that the farmers were suffering and wanted to improve agricultural production. This waterwheel was made with the efforts of the whole village."
Shen Yuan said in a deep voice.
They had thought about this, too.
They are not short of money now, and once the sweet potatoes and corn are grown, not to mention the county or the prefect, even if the imperial court knows about it, they will be rewarded.
They have been too conspicuous in the village recently. If they continue to be so, even the kindest people will inevitably feel jealous.
He and Wanwan discussed that the credit for the waterwheel should be given to the whole village.
Apart from anything else, the simple-minded people of Daliushu Village also deserve the credit.
"Sir, now we have curved plows, seed drills, and hoe carts, plus waterwheels for irrigation, which greatly improves farmers' farming efficiency. In the past, a family could farm 30 acres of land, but now they can probably farm 50 acres. Now that the drought is over, if the people have some spare time, they will definitely make these farm tools. It's a pity that there are not many good farmlands or wastelands in Daliushu Village."
When Shen Yuan said this, Liu Daping's heart began to pound.
Oh my god, Shen Yuan is trying to seek credit and benefits for the whole village.
It was clearly Shen Yuan's wife who came up with the idea for the waterwheel, but Shen Yuan generously gave it to Daliushu Village.
And he even asked the county magistrate for land so boldly and openly...
The people were still somewhat afraid of officials. At this moment, apart from Shen Yuan and Liu Daping, there was really no one else surrounding County Magistrate Xu.
Liu Daping really wanted the villagers to come and hear for themselves how selfless Mr. and Mrs. Shen Yuan were and how much they cared about Daliushu Village.
Xu Huaiyuan naturally understood the meaning of Shen Yuan's words, and nodded, expressing his admiration.
Shen Yuan and Su Wanwan were just commoners, without any official position, but they cared so much about the people, which made him feel ashamed.
And there are so many officials in the court who take salaries from the court but exploit the people and do shameful things.
Without comparison, there is no harm.
He even felt that he was not as good as Shen Yuan and Su Wanwan.
Having received so many benefits, the first thing he thought of was his own political achievements.
"Brother Yuan is righteous. I understand."
Xu Huaiyuan clasped his fists sincerely and changed his address.
At this moment, he really wanted to make this friend.
There is no such thing as officials or civilians, they are just brothers and friends.
Zhao Qinghai couldn't help but nod, patted Shen Yuan's shoulder gently, and smiled at Liu Daping:
"Liu Lizheng, your Daliushu Village is so lucky to have a good young man."
Liu Daping was a little frightened, but his throat was choked with sobs. He finally spoke to Shen Yuan:
"Shen Yuan, you don't have to be like this. Just let it belong to whoever it belongs to..."
Shen Yuan immediately stopped him from saying:
"Uncle Liu, what I said is true. This waterwheel was originally built by our village together. Listen to me. The villagers' lives are too hard, but they will get better in the future."
Liu Daping said no more and kept it all in mind.
"Brother Yuan is right. With the improvement of agricultural production, farmers have less land. What we lack the least in the Great Xia Dynasty is arable land. In the past, agricultural production efficiency was low, and even if there was land, farmers did not have enough energy to plant it. But now, since we have the energy, the land cannot be left idle."
Xu Huaiyuan also sincerely felt that what Shen Yuan said made sense.
The villagers have made contributions and should be rewarded. There is nothing wrong with rewarding them with land, and they can also collect more grain taxes to fill the national treasury.
"Master Zhao, is there any extra land near Daliushu Village?"
Xu Huaiyuan didn’t know much about this, but since it had been mentioned, he should implement it as soon as possible.
Zhao Qinghai is a professional. He seems to have memorized all the fields in Tongxu County. The number of idle wastelands and fertile fields is engraved in his mind like a blueprint.
After County Magistrate Xu asked this question, the blueprint immediately came in handy. Moreover, he had been living in Daliushu Village for some time and was very familiar with the fields nearby.
"There are 180 mu of flat farmland to the north of Daliushu Village, 270 mu of wasteland to the southwest, and the rest are mountain terraced fields on three hills. The land outside the mountains is too far away."
Daliushu Village is not big and is located in a valley, so the flat area is quite good.
Because there are few people and a lot of land, all the crops are grown on the flat land, and no one farms the land halfway up the mountain.
Xu Huaiyuan pondered for a moment and decided not to give all the rewards at once.
"First, I will reward you with 50 mu of good farmland, 100 mu of wasteland, and 100 taels of silver. Although Brother Yuan has generously given them up, you have made such a great contribution that I cannot just give you nothing. I will reward you with another 100 taels of silver."
Beads of sweat were already appearing on Xu Huaiyuan's forehead. It was not that he was stingy. Even though he had received commendations from the imperial court, the county government was still poor.
Liu Daping was so excited that he knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude.
One hundred taels! Their village has never had so much silver.
At most, having twenty taels of public funds was considered wealthy.
What's more, there is so much land. If villagers come to buy land, since these lands have been awarded to the village, the money from the sale of the land does not have to be handed over and can be added to the village public funds.
The most important thing is that the village can control the price of these lands by itself, and the county magistrate has no control over it. All villagers can buy some land to a greater or lesser extent.
The villagers watched from afar and saw the head of the village kowtow. They didn't know what was going on, but they didn't dare to step forward.
"Sir Zhao, you have also made contributions, but the reward is still due to you. I will definitely submit a memorial to request your contribution."
Xu Huaiyuan looked at Zhao Qinghai. He had just entered the officialdom, but Zhao Qinghai had been an agricultural official for twenty years. He had been an agricultural official in the prefecture, but because he pleaded for farmers and demanded a reduction in taxes during a disaster year, he offended the prefect at the time and was demoted here.
He was an optimistic person and devoted himself to studying agriculture wherever he went. No one had ever heard him complain, and few people even knew that he had once been an official in the state capital.
Zhao Qinghai laughed:
"I am old now. I like our county very much and am happy to work with you, sir. Don't ask for merit and transfer me away. I will cry. I am old and can't move. If you are kind enough, please give me some money so that the old and young in my family can live a better life."
Zhao Qinghai waved his hands repeatedly. He was really scared.
He finally met a good county magistrate and he really didn't want to leave.
Xu Huaiyuan:.......
He originally wanted to owe it, but after what Lord Zhao said, he felt embarrassed to do so.
I'd better go to the county government warehouse to take inventory later. I remember that the imperial court rewarded some things that looked good but were useless. I'll have people take them to the provincial government to sell them.
How can those things be as useful as silver?
Thinking of the rewards given to Shen Yuan and others by the imperial court, Xu Huaiyuan also felt a headache. If he had known earlier, he should not have come. He couldn't give it away.
How stingy! The imperial court is even more stingy than a small county government like his.
At this time, Su Wanwan happened to be walking around with Old Mrs. Xu and came over. Xu Huaiyuan still calmed himself down.
The reward from the court was not his, and it was the people of the court who lost it.