All the students are from poor backgrounds, and they all have lofty ambitions of self-cultivation and governing the country and leveling the world. After entering the Shidenko, although he was ready to leave his hometown to take up his post, when he thought of being assigned to such a remote and impoverished area, it would be difficult to make some political achievements, and he suddenly felt that his future was bleak, and some people were even ready to resign and return to their hometowns after a few years.

Hearing Xia Qingyun say this, their faces rejuvenated, and this look also ignited the ambition in their hearts that was almost extinguished.

Xia Qingyun put down his wine glass and spoke eloquently.

The main reason for poverty in a region is the poor natural conditions. In addition, with backward agricultural technology and underdeveloped transportation, local officials have increased taxes to make money, and even embezzled grain funds from the state for disaster relief.

Xia Qingyun gave an example: "For example, in Shuoyang County in the northwest, due to the severe drought for several years, the grain planted has not been harvested, and the young and middle-aged laborers have gone out to make a living, leaving the old, weak, sick and disabled to survive on the only little relief grain. ”

Dong Wencheng, a jinshi who was assigned to Shuoyang, frowned and said, "I didn't expect the county lord to also know about the situation in Shuoyang. I am also worried that if I report to the imperial court to increase the amount of relief food after taking office, I will inevitably be criticized by others. Why did my predecessor treat me well, and I had to reach out to the court as soon as I went. Alas, what a sorrowful man! ”

Xia Qingyun heard Zhen Guogong talk about the place where they worked that day, so he paid attention to the local situation.

She continued to explain unhurriedly: "I heard that Shuoyang used to be a large county in terms of production, but later it was diverted because of the river. There is a lack of water for irrigation, and it is gradually declining. We might as well start from two aspects, one is to choose drought-resistant crops for planting, and the other is to use cash for work to attract young and middle-aged laborers to return to their hometowns to farm. ”

Hearing this, several other Jinshi who had been assigned to the northwest also became interested.

"China's food crops are nothing more than rice, wheat and corn, and the northwest is only suitable for growing wheat and corn, and in case of drought, the yield will be reduced, how can this be solved?"

Xia Qingyun smiled slightly, and ordered Qingju to bring a large plate of boiled golden corn.

The seeds of corn were brought back from Fanbang by Huangfu to the south. She sows seeds in the Wishful Treasure Pavilion. Baoge has the effect of accelerating the growth of plants, and under the care of Qingguo and others, several stubbles have been harvested.

"What is this?" For the first time, the people saw the golden kernels of cooked corn. It smells of fragrance.

Xia Qingyun picked one up and took a bite. "You always do. It's called corn, and it's delicious. ”

Everyone saw that she ate sweetly, and they also tried to eat a few bites.

"It's delicious." Dong Wencheng ate most of it in one go. He wiped his mouth and said: "The grains are as golden as jade, no wonder they are called corn." It tastes sweeter than rice and wheat, and I don't think you need to eat vegetables, just eat this to fill up. ”

Xia Qingyun said with a smile: "Corn is not only full but also nutritious, not inferior to rice and wheat. However, it is not only boiled and eaten in this way, but also ground into flour and made into bread and other foods. Straw can also be used to feed livestock. On top of that, corn is drought tolerant and has extremely high yields. It can be planted on sandy soil, loam, and clay soils. ”

Dong Wencheng's eyes lit up and he asked, "But where can I buy corn seeds?" ”

Xia Qingyun knew that he would ask this, and replied with a smile: "This batch of seeds was brought back from Fanbang by someone I entrusted me, and I tried to plant some last year. As long as you have the heart to take care of people's livelihood, I can give you the seeds for free. ”

"Great!" Dong Wencheng and others clapped their palms and shouted.

Someone asked: "However, we will go to work alone this time, I'm afraid we won't be able to bring much, and 180 pounds will not be enough." ”

Xia Qingyun smiled and said, "Don't worry, you go to work first, and then I will send someone to escort the seeds over." ”

Although there is a lot of corn harvested in the treasure pavilion, the amount is still far from enough to be distributed to these counties for planting. She'll take some time to prepare.

Dong Wencheng asked again: "Even if corn is drought-tolerant, it also needs water for irrigation, if the local drought is severe, I am afraid there will still be no harvest, but it will not live up to the hard work of the county lord." ”

"There can still be oases in the desert, as long as you use your brains, there will always be a way." Xia Qingyun took out a few drawings and spread them on the table.

"With little rain and not close to the river, we can mobilize local people to dig wells, dig cellars to store water, and dig culverts to divert water. That's the other way I'm talking about, cash-for-work. The government stepped in to build water cellars and canals to attract laborers who had left their hometowns to return to work. ”

Dong Wencheng sighed and said worriedly: "The method is good, but I'm afraid that when I take office, my predecessor won't be able to leave much official money, so how can I have money to pay my salary." ”

"Oh, people came up with the solution!" Before Xia Qingyun could speak, Hua Jingtian said: "You read a lot of books on weekdays, but you are rigid in life and work. ”

He pointed out on the drawing, "I think no matter how poor that place is, there must be a few big families." You can mobilize them to donate money first, and you can also use the dug water cellars and culverts for them first, so that you can solve the problem of money first. When the first batch of water cellars and culverts were built, they traded with them with the corn seeds sent by the county lord. Wouldn't there be money to continue construction? ”

Hua Sedum is a businessman with an active brain, and as soon as he said this, several people suddenly realized.

Dong Wencheng stood up with a wine glass, "Speaking of which, I still have to rely on the county lord to support me, I will do this glass of wine first as a respect, thank the county lord for his kindness, and wait for the next day to make a career, and then thank you!" ”

After speaking, he raised his glass and drank it all, and several other people also stood up and drank the wine in the cup one after another, one by one, their hearts were full of passion, and they wanted to step on the land under their jurisdiction now and make some great achievements.

After solving the problem in the northwest, the seven or eight people assigned to the southwest also got up and asked Xia Qingyun for advice.

"County Lord, you have also been to the southwest, except for Yuzhou and a few other rich towns on the southern plain, the places we went to are all in the mountains, the traffic is very inconvenient, and there is little arable land, even if the corn production is large, there is no place to plant it!"

Xia Qingyun returned a glass of wine to them, "The problem on your side is actually easier than in the northwest. ”

When these people heard this, they were overjoyed and said respectfully: "I would like to hear about it." ”

Xia Qingyun smiled, "As you know, my own home is in Beixi Village in Southeast Province, which is also mountainous. ”

"What does the county lord mean by letting us grow tea?"

Xia Qingyun shook his head and nodded, causing several people to look at each other and be confused.

"Tea is to be grown, but that's another story. Although tea can be exchanged for silver, it cannot be used as food. You can follow the example of Nord Stream, create terraces in the mountains, grow rice and corn, solve the food ration problem first, and then start planting tea trees. (To be continued......)