Becoming a God from a Water Monkey

Chapter 1215 Thriving Progress, The Thirteenth Grand Ceremony (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Time may be short, but it feels long to those who are still; life is short, but it feels even shorter to those who are busy.

When I'm busy, I always feel like the days go by very quickly.

Winter has just passed, and spring is coming again. Before three months have passed, the air is filled with scorching heat, but before the heat can spread, a light rain begins to fall.

Plum rain season...

In Yixing County, the evergreen trees are reaching for the sky, their branches lush and neatly arranged, raindrops dripping from their verdant tips. This afternoon, on a rare sunny day, the surrounding rainwater dried up under the sunlight, leaving only a shallow ripple.

As a bridgehead and gateway to the thirteen fiefdoms, Liangqu did not plant the Eternal Spring Tree in the original Yixing Town, but instead placed it in Nanxun Township, which was designated by the imperial court as part of Yixing County.

There is no other reason.

Firstly, after ten years of development, Yixing Town has become extremely populous due to the policies of Pingyang Prefecture and the imperial court, and there is not enough free land for him to plan and make his own moves.

Without natural disasters or human calamities, a household registered in the local area typically consists of six people, which is a very healthy average.

Basically, each family has one elderly person or no elderly person, a couple, excluding those who died young, and raises three to four children.

As a tree grows, it branches out; as children grow up, they leave home.

In addition, "if there are two or more adult males in the population who do not distinguish between themselves, their taxes shall be doubled."

Therefore, with 1,000 households, there are approximately 6,000 people in the area, with one able-bodied man between the ages of 20 and 55 in each household.

The general process is as follows: when a couple has a child, the older child separates from the family according to age, and the younger son stays in the family. When the younger son grows up and becomes an adult, the couple is also old and no longer considered to be in their prime. As for why each family has only one elderly person, it is often because none of the children and grandchildren want to be at a disadvantage, so they will support each other. In the end, on average, each family has one elderly person or none.

However, the current data for Yixing often shows that a household can have as many as seven people, which is enough to demonstrate the prosperity of the area.

People need to eat, and large areas of flat land are scarce. Building high-rises on flat land inevitably involves land occupation, which will lead to a series of relocations and compensations, which is too troublesome. The more disputes there are, the more likely problems will arise, slowing down construction.

Secondly, Liang Qu's own palace is located in Yixing Town. When the Eternal Spring Tree becomes a landmark like the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce, there will be even more people in Yixing Town. At that time, the streets in front of their homes will be bustling with activity, making it very noisy.

With the basic locations sorted out, the crucial next step is ensuring proper road connections between the different locations.

A dirt road alone is not enough, nor are bluestone slabs; it must be thick, rectangular bluestone strips used to build the embankment.

To be rich, build roads first.

This phrase is etched into Liang Qu's instincts.

Everything else can be done slowly, but road construction cannot be slow. There must be good roads between the main attractions.

Stone materials from Nan'an are transported by water to Yixing County, where they are salvaged, cut into suitable sizes, and used to fill roads, winding their way through Huaiyin Wutang, Wangu Yingchun Tree, and Shangrao Wharf, completing a closed loop.

It's a place where you burn through money.

Especially road construction.

Before Liangqu was built, no one knew that a 20-mile road could be so expensive!
He could easily cover it all with a single finger and crush it, but the construction cost was ridiculously high.

Fortunately, many projects have begun to make money and recoup their costs, especially the cattle embankment tax and ferry tax in waterway transportation.

In early June, the cicadas hadn't even started chirping yet.

The lotus flowers in the pond have begun to bloom.

The dragon hid under the shade of a tree, sticking out its tongue, and the dripping sweat left a water stain.

Through the round window, one can see the ancient winter jasmine tree standing tall against the sky. Workers from the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce bring planks and ropes to build houses on the tree trunk.

Changes with each passing day.

"The cattle embankment tax and ferry tax of the May Waterway were roughly used for the following purposes..."

"General Tiemushan has attracted a total of three million in investment so far, which has been used to... earn five hundred and sixty thousand from the sale of treasures in the southern borderlands..."

"The main road in Yixing County has been largely completed. It is thirty li long and ten zhang wide, with three-foot shrubs planted in the middle. It took six months and cost 1.8 million yuan."

"The construction of the palace is being led by a group of monkeys and beavers, and it is expected to be completed by the end of this year."

"The balsam fish brought in a total income of 76,000 taels in May, which was slightly lower than in April."

"Xu Tiling's Qiushui Bathhouse is completed. It integrates bathing, food, lodging, meditation, and movie viewing. It will open for business for the first time, and he will receive a dividend of 3,450 taels in late May."

"The jade crystal boats on the Jiangchuan County Water-Sky Plank Road generated a total revenue of 46,800 taels in May, but this has not yet covered the cost of firing the jade crystal boats. A price increase is expected this summer..."

Hedgehogs of all kinds, reports to follow.

"So, in terms of this month's finances, construction and output from all parties are roughly balanced?" Liang Qu asked in surprise.

"That's right, Your Majesty. Before June, the land-based businesses were mostly accumulating debts. On paper, apart from the two major debts of 20 million from the Tianbo Chamber of Commerce, there were also 8 million in debts caused by road construction, totaling nearly 30 million in debts. However, it is expected that after the weather warms up in June, the debts will remain at a level of no increase or decrease, and there will be no outstanding debts. It is anticipated that the debts will be gradually repaid starting in July."

Construction of the Dragon Palace also began to recover. Xiao Xing was promoted to a demon beast, greatly expanding the search area and catching many treasure fish. Combining the planting of treasure plants and the raising of treasure fish, the dragon beasts that worked were paid wages. The various clans also tallied the numbers and began to collect treasure fish taxes.

Especially the Northern Water King, Your Majesty, the Northern Water King reopened trade, imposing a tax of one-fifteenth, which is particularly high. Now, most of the expenses of the Underwater Demon Court come from the Northern Water King!

Lord Umibo.

They never disappoint.

"Good, very good." Liang Qu was extremely pleased.

After much hardship and six months of busy work, with less time for marital relations with Eying, they finally got the two carriages running. Once they were running, the rest would be much easier!
How could I possibly have such talent for governance?
"I can only describe this situation with one word." Liang Qu stood up and put his hands behind his back.

The hedgehog pressed on, "What does Your Majesty wish to say?"

“Prosperity is growing!”

"Exquisite! I am utterly impressed!" The little hedgehog exclaimed in amazement, holding the book pages like a scepter. "Under heaven and on earth, only Your Majesty..."

The words stopped abruptly.

The little mirage dragon drifted in leisurely, extended two dragon claws, pointed to itself, and pointed to the hedgehog.

As the little mirage dragon appeared, ripples spread across the pond, and Quan Yuxuan and Quan Guangqin, who had been summoned, arrived at the garden.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! What are your orders?"

"You've come at the right time, Hedgehog, Yuxuan, Guangqin, take note of what I'm about to say."

"Yes!"

With nothing to do, the little mirage dragon looked around, flicking its mane. Its sharp eyes spotted a wooden ruler, and its gaze lit up. It flipped through the book, tearing a blank corner of the book into small pieces.

"Crackling sound".

The hedgehog and the mermaid turned to the blank pages.

Liang Qu pointed to the Wan Gu Ying Chun tree: "As you can see, houses are now being built on the thirteen ports. Guang Qin and Yu Xuan, you are in charge of the Yunyang port. At the same time, don't forget the construction of the cinemas on all thirteen ports. You can ignore everything else, but the cinemas must be built first."

I'm allocating 800,000 yuan to purchase dragon-spirit silk for you, to speed up the process. The cloth shadow plays must be put into screening by the end of June. In addition to the three new cloth shadow plays I've written, at least five more new films, for a total of eight or more, must be screened.

"clear."

"Secondly, Hedgehog, please note that this is a pilot program for travel permits. In Yixing County, we will try to eliminate the travel permit system for people from Yixing to other ports."

"My lord... what if the population declines and there's no one to cultivate the land?" the hedgehog exclaimed in shock.

"That's why I call it a pilot program. Moreover, you need to change your thinking and not just rely on restrictive measures."

The hedgehog scratched its head: "Please enlighten me, sir."

“In the past, anyone from Yixing who had not done anything wrong could receive my subsidies to go to school or academy. We should use various welfare programs to emphasize the importance of population registration, rather than directly restricting daily movement.”

"Won't that cost a lot of money?"

"Therefore, we should plan for the long term and add more gradually."

The hedgehog nodded: "Please give me some time, Your Majesty, to consider this carefully."

"It's alright, there's no rush. The important part is what's coming next. All those in charge need to know, and the three of you are responsible for informing them."

Everyone lowered their heads to listen.

"Before the end of June, all thirteen ports will hold river god festivals. They will be grand and special events, and each one will be treated as a local cultural event. All port leaders should come up with their own unique features! I will go to each one to preside over the festivals! It will start on June 6th in Yixing County, with one festival every three days, and end in mid-July at Lanhu!"

"As ordered!"

The mermaid fell into the water, and the hedgehog sorted through the pages.

"Boss, boss!" The little mirage dragon brushed away the scraps of paper stuck to the wooden ruler, its claws poking at its horn. "I also have important news to report!"

"Say!"

"Through my tireless efforts, I have found three Mirage Insects!"

(End of this chapter)