allonlinenovel Chapter 121 Settlement
Chapter 121 Settlement
As the saying goes, if you have food to eat but don’t eat, you’re a fool. Jin Dali can’t care about others, but he himself is still hungry!
It was fine in a good year, but now it was a year of famine and there was a shortage of food and water everywhere. He had a large family, and if he ate more, his family would starve. He couldn't bear to let his parents, wife and children go hungry.
After all, if they are starving, they are really starving. If he is starving, he can see if he can get a meal in the yamen. If that doesn't work, he can get some porridge or water. It will not make him unable to hold on.
County Magistrate Lin obviously knew about his family situation, so he specially greeted him.
After the two of them sat down, County Magistrate Lin's eyes remained on Xiao Li, and he brought up the previous topic again, "I met Young Master Xiao a few years ago, but he never met me. At that time, Young Master Xiao wanted to move his family, and I was the one who stamped the document for you."
In fact, according to the rules, if Xiao Li wanted to move his family to the capital, there were many procedures involved, and the government even had to send people to investigate whether the situation was true.
At that time, County Magistrate Lin happened to meet the other party and heard about his story. Knowing that the other party had given benefits to his subordinates to let the document come to him, he hesitated for a long time and finally decided to take a chance, betting that the other party was not an ungrateful person and would always come back when he achieved success in the future.
He didn't expect the other party to come back and help him. After all, his path to promotion depended on his political achievements. By the time a young man became successful, he would probably have already retired.
However, he didn't expect that in just a few years, the other party would return from the capital, and seemed to have transformed into a prominent figure.
When Dali looked for him before, he only said that a Mr. Xiao wanted to cooperate with the government office, but he did not mention the specific name of Mr. Xiao, otherwise he would have remembered the student who left that year.
Xiao Li didn't expect that the other party would remember it, and he didn't think that the other party would be impressed by him just because his family moved. So something must have happened during this period that he didn't know about.
Seeing that he seemed to have guessed something, County Magistrate Lin put down his chopsticks and revealed a look of reminiscence. "When you were looking for your subordinates to give you the benefits, I happened to be nearby."
Xiao Li: “…” What a mistake.
But the next moment, his brows furrowed even tighter. "My memory should be pretty good. If I really met you, I shouldn't forget you."
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Lin laughed heartily a few times before saying, "I just happened to be back from working in the fields. How could I be any different from an ordinary farmer? Not only did you fail to recognize my identity, but even the man who accepted your favor didn't recognize me."
Xiao Li: “…” No wonder.
If County Magistrate Lin had appeared with that majestic and sharp look just now, he would have been suspicious even if he hadn't recognized the other party, and would have postponed the transaction with the other party or simply found another way. But who would have thought that a county magistrate would actually dress like a farmer?
At least Xiao Li couldn't think of it.
Jin Dali had known him for a few days, but this was the first time he saw him speechless. He couldn't help but want to laugh for a moment.
"Sir County Lieutenant, please laugh if you want to." Xiao Li saw that he was trying hard to hold back his laughter, so he just let him laugh. It was not a big deal anyway.
"Hahaha..." Jin Dali burst into laughter. He didn't even rush to drink the porridge when the servants brought it to him. "Master Xiao is really funny."
"Young Master Xiao is indeed a wonderful man," County Magistrate Lin also said jokingly, "And I never thought that Young Master Xiao would return to Nan'an County at this time and take the initiative to cooperate with the government."
It seemed that Xiao Li had gained more from that cooperation, but the premise of all that was that he had to make efforts first and fulfill his promises first before he could reap the rewards later.
If you make any mistakes during this period, there may be no follow-up.
Therefore, after thinking for a day and a night, County Magistrate Lin used the official seal to stamp the agreement between the two parties. This was also his way of showing his appreciation, so that if he left Nan'an County in the future and someone else took this position, Xiao Li would suffer a loss.
Xiao Li didn't think what he did was selfless. After all, it was all based on his own needs.
If he didn't have a need, he wouldn't have wasted so much time.
Therefore, in response to the other party's appreciation, he also made it clear to the other party, "Master Lin, you can treat me as a businessman. I solved a big problem for the government, but at the same time, I also got what I wanted. The two of us are just cooperating.
I came here this time to find Mr. Lin for another cooperation, and I think Mr. Lin would be very interested."
As he spoke, Xiao Li took out a plan he had prepared in advance from his sleeve pocket and placed it in front of County Magistrate Lin. "I plan to open three factories in Nan'an County. When the factories need people, I can ask them to build the factories for me in the early stage, and then I can ask them to work in the factories in the later stage. I will pay them wages.
I have only one place in mind at the moment, but that place is public land, and I want to buy it from the government.
Besides that, I also hope that Lord Lin will open the door and look for a suitable place somewhere else, and allocate two more plots of land for me, and I will buy them together."
The land in the wild mountains and wilderness is not expensive, especially since there is a drought at this time. The land is worthless at all. Many people want to sell their land but don’t buy it.
His intention was no different from directly giving money to the government office. County Magistrate Lin frowned and stared at him for a long while before asking in a deep voice, "Mr. Xiao is a businessman, but he is also a businessman with a kind heart. The government office can sell you the land you want. At the same time, I will have someone pick out the other piece of land for you."
It's always a pleasure to talk and work with smart people. Xiao Li nodded and told County Magistrate Lin about his future plans. Before leaving, he said to him, "Once things here are over, I will leave Nan'an County. If my people are in desperate situations, I hope Lord Lin can help them."
"I will." This time, County Magistrate Lin did not call himself "official". Everyone present noticed the change in his attitude.
Xiao Li looked at him more, thought for a moment, stared at his tired face for a while, and then said goodbye: "I won't bother you, Master Lin."
"Mr. Xiao, take care." County Magistrate Lin did not try to keep him.
Jin Dali didn't react. "Leaving now? Are you still going to eat the porridge?"
Xiao Li had already stood up and was walking out. Hearing this, he waved his hand and said, "No, County Lieutenant, enjoy your meal."
After leaving the yamen, Ma Er sent him back, and then he was assigned by him to work with Shen Congzhou.
Thanks to County Magistrate Lin's order, Xiao Li's problem was quickly resolved. After determining the place and measuring the dimensions, he began to pay the money and then took the red deed from the government.
As soon as he got the red deed, Xiao Li started looking for craftsmen, and as soon as the blueprint came out, he asked the group of people outside the outer city to start work.
Fortunately, the cement factory he chose was outside the city, and the two places that County Magistrate Lin asked people to choose were also outside the city. Otherwise, so many people coming into the city would probably cause considerable panic.
Among the three places, Shen Congzhou was responsible for supervising the cement factory and taking charge of all matters. Ma Er and Ma Xiao were in charge of supervising the other two places respectively.
When the factory was being built, Xiao Li didn't interfere much. He just asked them to keep an eye on it, ensure the quality, and avoid any shoddy construction.
Even though tens of thousands of disaster victims were divided into three places, there were still quite a few people in each place. The main force in building houses were the young and strong, while the women, children, the elderly and the young did some light work. In short, no one was idle.
Of course, Xiao Lize heard that there were some people who were cheating, but they managed those people the same way Xiao Li managed them. Those who made more porridge would be given more when the porridge was distributed, and they would also be given a vegetarian bun separately.
As for those who were cunning and deceitful, they were only given a bowl of thin porridge, which could only ensure that they would not starve to death, but would not leave them with the energy to cause any trouble.
A month later, all the factories were built and the victims were dispersed among the three factories.
Xiao Li's affairs have come to a temporary end. He just needs to wait for the government to register the disaster victims, and then the factory can officially start operating.
But before that, Xiao Li asked all the idle people to go and reclaim the wasteland. Even though it was still dry now, it would not prevent them from reclaiming the fields first, so that they could start planting directly after the disaster year was over.
Of course, half of the land that has been reclaimed belongs to Xiao Li, and the other half belongs to the victims. They will be divided uniformly after the land is reclaimed.
These lands do not need to be purchased from the government like the previous lands. These are ownerless wastelands and belong to whoever opens them up. However, the final output needs to be taxed.
For people at that time, land was one of the most important assets. Even if they did not have the conditions to farm, the fact that they could own their own land would arouse the enthusiasm of most people.
After knowing about this incident, County Magistrate Lin went to the scene in person and comforted those who had left their homes, saying that as long as they persevered, their lives would get better and better in the future.
During this period, Xiao Li was not idle either. He looked for places to store water and transferred the water out of the space.
In addition, he also released a lot of wild animals on various hills in Nan'an County to allow them to reproduce and thrive.
Wherever he walked, he would water the plants so that the flowers, plants and trees could take a break.
As time passed, while life was difficult everywhere else, the days in Nan'an County were quietly getting better.
Fortunately, transportation is difficult nowadays, and the distance between counties is far, so any news is very isolated, not to mention that it is a disaster year now?
At this time, unless one is desperate, who would leave his hometown and travel around? Whether there is food or not is one thing, but the fear is that he might encounter bandits or something, and end up losing his life. That would be a waste of time.
After the factories were built, except for the cement plant which was officially put into operation, the other two factories are still idle.
However, although the factory was idle, the people were not idle. Xiao Li asked them to look for a water source to see if they could find one.
He released a large amount of water from the space, which would be enough for the entire Nan'an County to use for three to five years.
The reason why he asked someone to find a water source was simply because he didn't want this matter to have too direct a relationship with himself.
But even so, because he was the one who first asked people to look for water, when they finally found the water source, everyone couldn't help but feel grateful to him.
Not only the disaster victims who had left their homes, but even the natives of Nan'an County were extremely grateful to him after they learned that it was he who sent people to look for water and discovered that there was water.
Water sources were discovered one by one, and the drought in Nan'an County was not over, but it seemed to be over.
However, due to the water shortage caused by the drought, everyone started storing water as soon as water became available, and then considered whether to resume farming.
No one is sure about this kind of livelihood issue, because if they make a mistake, they may end up wasting water and getting nothing. So not only the experienced farmers dare not make a decision easily, even County Magistrate Lin is in a dilemma.
I don’t know what County Magistrate Lin was thinking, but in the end the matter was actually asked to Xiao Li.
“…” It must be said that the man did ask the right question. Although he didn’t know how to farm, he could still guarantee whether there was water or not.
"Plant it, but don't plant too much. Each family should plant enough for their own food, plus taxes." This was the answer given by Xiao Li.
County Magistrate Lin did not make a decision at that time. Instead, he went back and thought about it for a long time before adopting Xiao Li's opinion.
Since then, Nan'an County has gradually begun to recover its vitality, and the number of prey in the mountains and forests has gradually increased. Only Xiao Li has to walk around the hills from time to time to release some water to prevent the water sources from drying up and causing panic.
Soon, summer passed and autumn came, and the weather gradually became cooler, but there was still no rain.
This kind of problem is not something Xiao Li can solve. He has done his best to make Nan'an County live a good life.
After traffic in Nan'an County was completely restored, Xiao Li finally returned to Yangliu Village with her husband and children.
The situation in the village is much better than in the city. At least no one in every household has starved to death, and every household still has food stored.
No, not all of them. For example, Xiao Laoer’s family has no food stored and relies entirely on borrowing food and water from the village to survive.
Xiao Li returned to the village without notifying anyone that day. As soon as he arrived at the village entrance, he met a thin and dark young man driving an ox cart.
The other party was visibly stunned when he saw him, and then shouted in surprise, "Fourth Brother Xiao? You're back? Why didn't you let someone know? I'll bring someone to pick you up!"
The person who spoke was Erzhuzi, the grandson of Xiao Laofu. He used to work with the three brothers of the Ma family, and later returned to the village. Because the village was disturbed by those refugees, he stayed in the village.
He didn't know that Fourth Brother Xiao had returned, otherwise he would have gone to the city to see Fourth Brother Xiao as soon as possible.
Xiao Li had known about him since he had just returned to Nan'an County, so he wasn't surprised to see him so enthusiastic. "Long time no see."
"Long time no see, fourth brother Xiao, shall I take you to see Grandpa?" Erzhuzi smiled innocently, as if he was no different from when they parted all those years ago. "A lot has happened in the village in recent years. I'll tell you about it on the way."