northernbook Chapter 149 Deposit
Chapter 149 Deposit
When the prefects of various prefectures received the imperial edict, they all rushed to Qingshan Town without stopping.
Previously, the rice seeds that Lin Changshi sent to various prefectures and counties could only meet the needs of the government and local officials. As for the amount distributed to the common people, it was extremely small.
However, Shenjia Village has grown so many late rice seeds this time. If they can buy them, the people can grow a thousand kilograms of rice, and they will get an A in the performance evaluation next year.
What's more, without special reasons, officials in the jurisdiction cannot leave easily.
But this time there was an exception. They naturally set off immediately after receiving the order.
What they bought was not rice seeds, but a political achievement that was put on the table.
But at this time, Qingshan Town was already overcrowded.
The post station was full early on, including the county magistrates from neighboring counties.
Shen Tang and Lin Changshi sat at the top, looking at the smiling county magistrates on their left and right sides.
"I haven't congratulated Lord Lin on his promotion yet."
The county magistrates congratulated Lin Changshi, who waved his hand:
"It's too early to tell."
Magistrate Wang of Baiyun County was the first one to arrive.
Baiyun County is adjacent to Qingshan Town, so the events of Shenjia Village naturally could not be concealed from County Magistrate Wang.
It was known early in the morning that Shenjia Village had actually planted another crop, and people were even sent to Qingshan Town to inquire about the news.
As soon as Emperor Jingdi's order arrived, he personally rode to Qingshan Town on horseback.
"Marquis of the County, Lord Lin, I believe that both of you are aware of the situation.
Old Wang is impatient and wants to ask the Marquis how to buy this grain.
County Magistrate Wang was a Jinshi from a few years ago. He was still relatively young, but he had a passionate heart.
Shen Tang and Lin Changshi looked at each other. They had already discussed it.
"Since you gentlemen have come first, I will not hide anything from you. I am sure you all know that this rice seed is sold to you at ten taels of silver per catty.
But now the emperor means that the grain should be distributed to the people.
If we sell it to the people, we naturally can’t pay that price.”
Shen Tang spoke, and the county magistrates all nodded.
"Therefore, I discussed it with Lord Lin and decided to lend it to you."
Lend?
Everyone was naturally puzzled as to why the rice seeds were not for sale.
"A household may have many or few members, but each can only be given one mu of land, or two kilograms of rice seeds. Shenjia Village harvested over 1.4 million kilograms of rice seeds from the late rice season. This can benefit over 700,000 households and plant over 700,000 mu of rice."
Shen Tang explained the calculation to the county magistrates, and everyone nodded frequently.
The county marquis was right.
"Everyone, please go back and count the total number of households under your jurisdiction. According to the household registration number in the county government, come to Qingshan Town to purchase rice seeds."
It is most reasonable to divide it according to each household.
“It’s an excellent method.”
"This is a good idea. This way, every household can grow about a thousand kilograms of rice, so they will have seeds for the next sowing."
Shen Tang took a sip of tea, looked at the smiling faces of the county magistrates, and said lightly:
"but--"
When others heard this, the discussion came to an abrupt end.
"but what?"
"If you have anything to say, please speak directly."
"Yeah, but what?"
Shen Tang looked at everyone,
"But you didn't take the seeds from Qingshan County for nothing. Each county government office must pay a deposit of two taels of silver per kilogram. After the autumn harvest next year, when you return the rice seeds you borrowed, the deposit will be fully refunded."
Everyone looked at each other.
The deposit is really new.
"The Qingshan County government didn't get this grain for nothing; it was collected from the people. If you don't produce the same amount of rice seeds next year, the difference will be deducted."
Lin Changshi began to explain.
Previously, the Qingshan Yamen had already paid money when it purchased rice seeds for the first time, and it had to pay money again for the rice it collected for the second time.
Naturally, the government office was unable to make ends meet.
When the other county magistrates heard this, they thought it was indeed the same.
"Marquis of the County, Lord Lin, I will go back and count the number of registered households in Baiyun County."
County Magistrate Wang stood up and saluted.
Seeing this, the others also stood up.
There are still many people who have not arrived yet. They came early and knew the news, so of course they had to go back early to prepare.
We came too late, there aren't that many rice seeds.
Moreover, the emperor did not say how much each county government could purchase.
When everyone walked out of the door, Lin Changshi asked doubtfully:
"Why did the Marquis inform them in advance? Why didn't he wait until the other adults arrived before informing them all at once?"
Shen Tang smiled:
"Uncle, why should we tell them? Those county offices are far away from us, and even if they were, they don't have any relationship with us now.
Moreover, Qingshan Town is under the jurisdiction of Lin'an Prefecture. Naturally, we should envy the surrounding counties first."
Lin Changshi immediately understood the principle of giving priority support to those in the same region.
"Once the county government buys this batch of rice seeds, they won't come to Qingshan County to buy rice seeds again. They can already grow rice on their own, but even if the county governments around us don't buy rice seeds, there will always be some transactions with us."
Lin Changshi looked at Shen Tang and felt that Shen Tang was completely different.
Since ancient times, people have waited until everyone was gathered before discussing matters, but Shen Tang was different. He started talking as soon as he arrived, regardless of the order.
Sure enough, the next day, county magistrates from other prefectures also came. Upon hearing the news, they left immediately.
He even secretly cursed Shen Tang and Lin Changshi for their dishonest behavior.
The prefect of Lin'an was delighted when he received the news.
I originally thought that after Emperor Jing ordered Shen Tang and Lin Changshi to distribute the rice seeds equally, but unexpectedly, Shen Tang simply distributed them on a first-come, first-served basis.
In this way, each county in Lin'an Prefecture can basically get rice as quickly as possible, and even every household can have rice seeds.
The prefect of Lin'an was in a very good mood when he thought about the performance evaluation next year.
What could be more comfortable than having someone think of and implement the result you want long ago?
Two days later, the Baiyun County Magistrate arrived in Qingshan County first.
With him came carts carrying grain.
Shen Tang was not as familiar with government affairs as Lin Changshi, so Lin Changshi was responsible for verifying the list.
Shen Tang was responsible for collecting money and registering, and the two worked in perfect harmony.
After Shen Tang and his companions verified that everything was correct, they asked someone to move the grain out of the warehouse behind the county government office and counted it for the other party in person.
When County Magistrate Baiyun escorted the grain cart out of the Qingshan County Office, the smile on his face did not fade.
In the past two days, several smart families in Baiyun County even thought about dividing up their family property and came to the county government office to re-register.
They were all blocked by the county government.
They already have the advantage of being closer than other county offices. If they still resort to these tactics, it would be inhumane.