Start Summoning West Factory Flower

Chapter 4 Poor Shanhai County
Zheng Ming looked at the rudimentary lobby of the county government office, and it was boring.

"Tell me about the situation in Shanhai County."

No matter what Shanhai County is, it will be his fief in the future. Whether he can live a rich life in the future depends on Shanhai County.

Although he knew that Shanhai County was very poor, he still hoped that Lu Shou would bring him a little surprise.

"My lord, Shanhai County has a registered population of 420 people and [-] acres of farmland..." Lu Shou said softly.

Zheng Ming frowned slightly when he heard this, and interrupted him: "How much did you say just now?"

He thought he had heard it wrong.

Lu Shou took a breath and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, Shanhai County has a registered population of 420 people and [-] acres of cultivated land."

"..."

Zheng Ming looked at him speechlessly.

A county with a population of more than 30,000, isn't that a joke?
Although he didn't know much about the Dali Dynasty, he also knew that there were more than 500 counties in Dali, and the population of each county was between 400,000 and one million. However, Shanhai County had a population of more than 30,000.

This is too bad.

There are more than 30,000 mu of cultivated land.

It should be known that the land given by him is only [-] mu, which means that the arable land in Shanhai County minus the land given by him is only [-] mu.

"This king remembers that Shanhai County is very large." Zheng Ming said.

Lu Shou, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, said, "My lord, Shanhai County is indeed very large, but Shanhai County is surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on the other side. The only land suitable for farming is only thirty kilometers from the county seat."

Thinking of the mountains he passed by, Zheng Ming also understood the plight of Shanhai County, but he still had some doubts.

"Well, even so, you won't have such a miserable life."

Shanhai County is surrounded by mountains and seas, and there is little arable land. It is possible to hunt or fish.

Lu Shou looked up at him and lowered his head again.

"My lord, more than 30,000 people are registered population." He whispered.

Zheng Ming instantly understood what he meant.

Shanhai County is not really just more than 30,000 people.

Having a household registration means paying taxes. Many people do not want household registration in order not to pay taxes and become black households.

This situation is very common in poor places.

Zheng Ming rubbed his eyebrows with a headache.

The situation in Shanhai County was worse than he imagined. Lu Shou not only did not bring the slightest surprise, but caused him a lot of trouble.

Forget it, talk about it later, and now find a place to live.

"Where does this king live?" he asked helplessly.

Lu Shou said bitterly: "I also ask the lord to be wronged and live in this county government temporarily."

"What about the palace?" Zheng Ming said.

Lu Shou lowered his head, unable to say a word for a long time.

He really didn't know how to answer.

Given the current situation in Shanhai County, let alone the palace, even a larger yard could not be built.

"Forget it, Xiao Fuzi, you can arrange it." Zheng Ming waved his hand, too lazy to bother with Lu Shou.

In fact, the county government's situation is not good. Except for the lobby and the facade, the other houses are in disrepair. Fortunately, the weather is not cold now, otherwise Zheng Ming will really collapse.

Zheng Ming chose a room that was fairly intact and settled down for the time being.

Silent all night.

The next day, when Zheng Ming woke up, Song Baobao had already prepared the meal.

The food is not rich, but it is exquisite.

Even though Song Baobao was young, he was a good cook.

Thanks to this girl, Zheng Ming would probably starve to death.

"How much money do we have?" Zheng Ming asked while drinking rice porridge.

Song Baobao pouted and said, "Your Highness, we only have 300 taels of silver."

When Zheng Ming heard the words, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

300 taels of silver is not a small amount. An ordinary farmer in the Dali Dynasty would not die of starvation if he had two taels of silver a year.

But he is not a farmer, but a county king.

There are eight servants and more than 30 guards under him.

Not to mention anything else, let's just talk about Luo Jing, the captain of the guard, whose monthly salary is 30 taels.

There is also Yuhuatian, he can't be made to work for nothing, and the more than 30 guards also need to pay.

300 taels is estimated to last for a month.

"Poor! The dignified prince is going to be unable to eat. It's too miserable." Zheng Ming said depressedly.

"His Royal Highness, I can embroider clothes, and I can help His Highness make money." Song Baobao said seriously.

How could Zheng Ming let this girl go out and make money.

"It's okay, this king just sighed with emotion. In the future, this king will make money, and he will become the richest person in the entire Dali Dynasty, hum."

He seems to have said this to Song Baobao, but also to himself.

As a traveler, he really doesn't believe that he can't make money.

What's so special, I have read countless time-travel novels, and I am very familiar with those routines that made money in ancient times.

Not just drying salt, burning glass, and making soap.

hum~
Zheng Ming looked up at the roof, and muttered with empty eyes, "I don't seem to know."

How to dry the salt?Dig a pond and get some sea water?

It doesn't seem to work. The salt that is exposed in that way is coarse salt, which seems to be poisonous.

Burning glass directly with sand?

And how to make soap with lard?

"If I had known that I would travel through time, I should have learned it in advance!"

"It's fine now, it's nothing!"

Zheng Ming put his hand on his forehead, wanting to cry without tears.

"No, a living person can still suffocate urine to death!"

"Xiao Fuzi, go find Old Man Lu and take me out for a walk."

……

Zheng Ming walked out of the county office with a few people and walked around.

The shabby level of Shanhai County was worse than what Zheng Ming had seen before. The shops on both sides of the street were better, at least there was a decent facade, but the residential area behind the shops was not what it looked like.

Low thatched cottages, messy wooden shacks, built everywhere, is simply a model of messiness.

And there was a stinky smell in the air, which made Zheng Ming almost disgusted with the meal he just ate.

It didn't take long for a few people to visit the entire Shanhai County, giving Zheng Ming a relatively complete impression of the county.

I won't talk about poverty and shabby, anyway, Zheng Ming doesn't like it.

More importantly, the law and order is extremely poor.

After a while, Zheng Ming encountered three waves of fights, and some people even used weapons.

"Didn't the county government arrest the fast? Why don't you care?" Zheng Ming asked Lu Shou with an ugly face.

Lu Shou was sweating on his forehead, and obviously he was in a nervous mood again.

"Your Highness, the county government has only ten policemen and more than 30 city defense soldiers. They are simply unable to maintain the law and order of the whole city? The officials have no choice but to ensure the safety of the county government." Lu Shou said.

"Is it because of lack of money again?" Zheng Ming said.

Lu Shou sighed, and said, "Shanhai County's annual tax is only more than 1000 taels of silver."

"..." Zheng Ming looked at the sky speechlessly.

He thought he was poor enough, but he didn't expect that Shanhai County was poorer than him.

In a majestic county, the tax revenue is only more than 1000 taels a year. Who would believe it.

"Does the government care about you?"

Lu Shou lowered his head, and his hunched body looked particularly pitiful, "In the past ten years, the government has basically ignored Shanhai County, and they don't even want to pay taxes."

Well, that's bad enough.

Even without taxes, Beishan House is decisive enough.

But it's normal to think about it, a total of more than 1000 taels of tax is not enough to toss back and forth.

(End of this chapter)