The first county seat of the South Island is called Cao County, the second county seat is called Gao County, and the third county seat is called Wu County.

At present, the South Island has a population of 12,000 households and 60,000 people, and it lags behind the North Island in terms of economy, urban construction, and all aspects.

However, the exchange between the North Island and the South Island is very close, there are three passenger boats every day, and the ticket price is also very cheap.

Akihito informed Cao County in advance with a pigeon letter, so when Fanning's ship docked, Fanning saw his father-in-law Cao Tong at a glance, compared with a few years ago, Cao Tong's complexion is very good, quite a bit of fairy wind and bones, so in mythology, he was named Cao Guo's uncle There is also a certain reason.

"Son-in-law, long time no see!" Cao Tong smiled and waved his hand and shouted.

Fan Ning hurriedly went ashore and bowed, "Son-in-law greets my father-in-law!" ”

"No need to be polite, Ah Xiu! Didn't come with you? ”

"She was very seasick and is still recovering, and her son-in-law also turned around during the inspection."

"I see, she has indeed been prone to seasickness since she was a child, and in any case, it makes people happy that you can come, it seems like your first time in the South Island, right?"

"It's the first time I've been here."

"I'll take you to see, of course you can't have it with Wu Cheng, but there is another flavor!"

Cao Tong was very enthusiastic, and when Fanning and the other greeting officials had greeted him, he impatiently took Fanning to visit the county seat and various places in the farmland.

In terms of available land, the South Island is richer than the North Island, with vast expanses of endless grasslands, dense forests, and abundant freshwater resources.

The plains of the North Island are not large, the distribution is relatively fragmented, mainly concentrated along the coast and along the banks of the river, of course, the plains of the North Island are only a little weaker than the South Island, and there are more hills, which is not conducive to the development of animal husbandry, but it is still quite good in farming.

In addition, the temperature in the South Island is relatively low, so only some agriculture can be developed along the northern coast, and the rest of the plains to the south are livestock.

The South Island has also vigorously developed animal husbandry according to local conditions, and the total number of sheep has exceeded one million.

Fan Ning and Cao Tong rode into the county seat, Cao County can only be regarded as a medium county seat, with a circumference of about twenty miles, most of the buildings are brick houses, the streets and houses are relatively neat and clean, and like Wucheng, there is a faint smell of sulfur in the air.

The road is straight, the greenery is very good, the stone road is paved, there is basically no business, only a few restaurants, inns and other service industries by the city gate, as well as a few grocery stores and cloth shops, silk and satin shops, the whole county seems to be very quiet, and the hustle and bustle of Wucheng is completely different.

"How many people does Cao County have now?" Fanning asked.

"6,000 households, 30,000 people, but most of them live in the countryside, only 2,000 households in the city, so far, most of the necessities of life are allocated by the government, such as 30 catties of noodles per person per month, 10 catties of meat, oil and salt are supplied by the government, vegetables are self-sufficient, at the beginning there are few people and it is easy to do, now there are more and more people, the government has a big package, and it is a little unbearable, and the energy can not cope with it."

Cao Tong said worriedly: "We want to learn from the North Island to develop business, and every family earns their own money to support their families, but the problem now is that we can't provide so many items, and there are not so many seats for the people to earn money, so we are very anxious." ”

Fanning smiled and asked, "What is my father-in-law's position in the South Island?" ”

"I am currently the head of the Hall of Elders, the highest official in the South Island, and I am under a lot of pressure!"

Fanning nodded and said: "The key is that the South Island should provide enough jobs, so that the people have something to do and can make money, and business will naturally rise." ”

"This is fundamental, we are also thinking about how to develop, you say planting, breeding, but the South Island has such a population of tens of thousands, how much food can be eaten, how much meat can be eaten? Now the carpet is woven with wool and the leather is made from sheepskin, although it sells well in the Great Song Dynasty, it is still relatively simple and does not need so many workers. ”

Fanning thought for a moment and asked, "How many Japanese laborers are there in the South Island and what are they currently doing?" ”

"There were 10,000 Japanese laborers, and 2,000 Japanese girls, men were building cities and logging trees, and women were weaving wool."

"Are there mines in the South Island?"

Cao Yan shook his head, "Not at the moment!" ”

Fanning said: "Let me make a suggestion, in fact, there is no need for so many Japanese laborers in the South Island now, if you need to build a city, you can borrow it from the North Island, like logging, two or three thousand people are enough." ”

"We have also considered this problem, and when the contract expires at the beginning of next year, we will send them back to Japan, no longer employed, and it is enough to keep only two thousand Japanese ladies to do textiles, but the question is, what else can Nandao do to make a living, and the virtuous son-in-law will help us come up with ideas."

"That's what I'm here for!"

Cao Tong was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Tell me quickly!" ”

Fanning smiled slightly, "Let's go out of the city and have a look!" ”

The two rode out of the county seat and went to the south of the county, which, like the North Island, was also an endless wheat field, with mountains in the distance, covered with large primeval forests, mainly pine trees.

Fanning looked at the forest in the distance and asked, "The South Island is rich in timber resources, right?" ”

Cao Tong nodded, "It's quite rich, even the speed at which we cut them down can't match the speed at which they regrow, we have cut down tens of thousands of acres of pine forests in the past few years, and now more than half of them are covered by small pine trees again." ”

"Why is the South Island not good for these timber resources?"

"It seems that there is no shortage of wood in the Great Song Dynasty! Moreover, pine trees are also very cheap, and when they are transported to the Great Song Dynasty, the freight cannot be earned. ”

"Father-in-law didn't understand what I meant!"

"You say!" Cao Tong looked at Fanning expectantly.

Fan Ning said lightly: "In fact, any livelihood revolves around 'clothing, food, housing, Okay' these four things to make a fuss, wood can be made into furniture, can be shipbuilding, can also build houses, there are so many overseas immigrants, the first thing is to build a house, the South Island can process wood, such as making furniture, after making furniture, the paint also comes out, and for example, I build a wooden house parts, after buying it back, you can directly build a wooden house, and then there is a shipbuilding workshop in the North Island, but the required ship wood has to be purchased from the Great Song Dynasty, why doesn't the South Island take over this business? ”

Cao Tong and the two accompanying officials next to him woke up like a dream, and Cao Tong hurriedly said: "What else, keep talking!" ”

"Besides, there is such a large pasture in the South Island, it is completely possible to raise horses and donkeys, at least we don't need to buy horses and donkeys from the Great Song Dynasty in the North Island, and the same is true in the South Continent.

There is also food, the food is more extensive, the resources of the South Island are sheep, mutton can be made into mutton jerky, mutton ham, bacon, goat milk can be made into cheese, can be made wine, better than the grassland tribes to make cheese and goat wine! The packaging is exquisite, and the signboard is played, but there is no market in the Great Song Club? There is also fish in the sea that can be made into fish sauce, which is available in the North Island, which is very delicious, and can also be sold to the Great Song Dynasty.

When it comes to beautiful packaging, isn't it good to make paper? With abundant raw materials, you can make high-quality rice paper in large quantities, and it can also be sold to the Great Song Dynasty.

Speaking of clothes, wool can only be used as a carpet, not a sweater? The key to making sheepskin boots and inner wear leather armor is to be exquisite, to play the brand out, and sell it in a special store, not afraid of not being able to sell it at a good price, and even sell it to the West.

What I said, if the South Island really becomes bigger and stronger, it will take at least two or three hundred thousand workers, and your current 60,000 people are simply not enough. ”

Cao Tong let out a long sigh, "The words of the virtuous son-in-law made us better than ten years of study, why didn't we think of it earlier?" ”

Fanning smiled slightly: "Actually, I haven't gotten to the point yet!" ”

"What's the point?"

"The main point is to make high-quality products, build signboards, sell at high prices, do what others can't do, and have enough profits to offset the cost of long-distance shipping, I think this is the way to survive together in the South Island and the North Island."