Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 180 Game within a game
Chen Youmin stood at the foot of the stone steps and bowed to Yue Ling first, "I am ashamed to say that I was lucky enough to be rated as a top grade."

Yue Ling couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and glance at the county magistrate, and couldn't help but complain in his heart, "The scholar is so pedantic, and he feels ashamed of getting a high grade. Should I give you an excellent grade?"

Magistrate Chen had gray hair on his temples and slightly protruding cheekbones. His loose official uniform concealed his thin figure. Only his eyes were bright, showing a bit of tenacity.

Yue Ling withdrew his thoughts.

The first impression this man gave him was that he was a good official with clean hands, several levels higher than those people who were so greedy that their faces were covered with grease.

"He seems like someone who can be used."

Yue Ling looked at the document recording his achievements, flipped through it, nodded slightly and said, "Nanpi Town can now maintain the largest amount of farmland in the prefecture, and you have made an indelible contribution. You were unwilling to go along with Park and Ji, and they withheld the relief grain from the court. I will also give you some today."

"Before you leave the city, go to the city's granary to get 300 dan of grain. Maintain the status quo first and do not abandon the farmland."

Originally, Chen Youmin just wanted to pass the assessment and then meet with the current person in power to discuss his next plans. Unexpectedly, he had an unexpected gain before he even started talking, which made him very happy.

Holding back his inner thoughts, Chen Youmin asked, "My Lord, can I really receive 300 dan?"

But Yue Ling just shook his head.

Chen Youmin was panicked, "What kind of person is this Marquis? Why did he change his mind after just two sentences?"

Yue Ling sighed and said, "How can three hundred dan be enough? According to the disaster situation in your city, you need at least three thousand dan, but the treasury cannot provide so much food now. However, you don't have to worry. You will be able to get this food within a month."

"Three thousand shi? Three thousand shi for a county?" Chen Youmin was shocked, but he could see from Yue Lingyun's calm expression that he didn't seem to be lying at all.

Regardless of whether Yue Ling was exaggerating or not, Chen Youmin hurriedly thanked him and said, "Your Excellency is too kind. Being able to distribute 300 dan of grain has exceeded my expectations. I also know a little about the situation in the city. It is not easy for Your Excellency to raise this much grain in such a short time."

"Moreover, the number of disaster victims in Cangzhou City is several times that of Nanpi. If I transport this life-saving food away, I don't know what will happen to the city..."

Yue Ling waved his hand and said, "I have my own way. The food I promised you is one pound less. You can come to me again. I don't tolerate any sand in my eyes. If anyone dares to take advantage of me at this time, I will never tolerate it."

Chen Youmin nodded repeatedly, and became more and more impressed by the Marquis's courage.

"You came here today, probably to talk about the reclamation of Nanpi?"

Before he even mentioned it, Yue Ling's words hit the mark. Chen Youmin quickly responded, "My Lord, that's a good point. Although it's a difficult time now, the fields will be left uncultivated and there will be no harvest. Next winter will be difficult. The most important thing now is to hurry up and plant more food. Otherwise, if we miss the opportunity, it will be too late for anything."

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "There is no need to rush this matter."

"Aren't you in a hurry?"

Chen Youmin almost burst out with swear words, but then he thought again, he had just blamed the Marquis wrongly, and he was afraid that the Marquis had some better ideas.

"I don't know what your plan is, Lord. I hope you can tell me something, otherwise I will be very upset. I have been the county magistrate of Nanpi for seven years and have long regarded Nanpi as my hometown. If anything happens to my elders, I will not be able to bear it."

Yue Ling waved his hand and asked Chen Youmin to come closer to talk.

Chen Youmin approached with doubt, and heard Yue Ling whisper: "Now we have missed the best season for sowing. Even if we plant crops again, when midsummer comes, only one in ten seedlings will survive under the sun. If we do things according to the usual method, it will be a waste of effort."

"So, the most suitable crops I can think of are sorghum and cotton. Cotton needs water, so you can plant it in wasteland near the river. Sorghum is heat-resistant and drought-resistant, so you can plant it deeper in the wasteland. However, both crops require deep plowing of the fields, which is a very laborious task."

Chen Youmin wanted to say something but stopped talking when he realized that Yue Ling had not finished speaking, so he kept silent.

Yue Ling continued: "I have a plan for this matter, but I need your full cooperation."

Chen Youmin nodded quickly, "My Lord, please go ahead."

"Take 300 dan of grain from the warehouse, and 30,000 taels of silver. I won't tell you about the plan later today. Before you leave the city, I will send someone to deliver a letter to you."

Chen Youmin rolled his eyes, and then looked at his colleagues around him and nodded secretly, "We need to be cautious in our actions. The Marquis is right."

Looking at Yue Ling again, Chen Youmin said, "My Lord, I only have one last question for you."

Yue Ling nodded.

Chen Youmin continued to ask, "Sorghum is fine, but cotton is not easy to grow and cannot be eaten. People generally don't dare to plant these crops in disaster years. A poor harvest is one thing, but if the harvest is good, you have to make sure you can sell it and exchange it for silver to buy more food."

"This adds a lot of unknowns, and I'm afraid it won't work."

Yue Ling explained: "If it was the former censor, or any other official in the capital, they would definitely not dare to take such a risk. But now I am in charge of Cangzhou, I have my own way to ensure sales."

Seeing that Chen Youmin still looked worried, Yue Ling gave a slight reminder: "Your Majesty has just conquered Liaodong, and Datong is in turmoil again. Will you not need cotton-padded clothes and quilts when winter comes? It is because others dare not plant that we can sell the crops at a high price." "And you only need to ensure a good harvest."

"Cotton needs constant care. The softness of the soil and the humidity can affect the harvest. I am not familiar with farming. You should find someone capable to help you succeed."

Chen Youmin seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and bowed repeatedly, "My Lord, you are wise, and I am stupid. After I return, I will definitely not become a burden to you, and I will definitely work in the fields myself."

Chen Youmin bent down so low that his forehead was about to hit Yue Ling's desk.

Yue Ling raised his hand and patted Chen Youmin on the shoulder again, comforting him: "Whether Cangzhou can survive the winter this year depends half on the success or failure of your Nanpi development. I have high hopes for you."

Chen Youmin was shocked again. "Lord Marquis has so many arrangements, but Nanpi only accounts for half of them. Does Lord Marquis have other plans? It's incredible. Cangzhou has really welcomed the great Lord."

Seeing Chen Youmin's happy expression, Yue Ling smiled and said to Jia Yun, "Go get a piece of cloth from the mansion and give it to County Magistrate Chen so that he can go back and make a new set of clothes."

The two of them were whispering on the stage, which really stunned the officials from other towns below.

It was because Chen Youmin had always been the most stubborn among all the towns, and he never bowed his head to please his superiors. I still remember that when Pu and Ji were in power, they did not allow the wealthy merchants in Cangzhou to buy the fertile land in Nanpi even under all kinds of difficulties.

But at this moment, his respectful attitude towards Yue Ling really made people feel unfamiliar.

"Do you know what rank County Magistrate Chen is?"

"Just now I heard from the clerk above that it seems to be of top grade."

Everyone was stunned again.

"If the top-grade ones have to kowtow to this extent, what about the middle-grade and lower-grade ones? What should we do?"

Someone shook his head and sighed, "May the best be to you."

……

Yue Ling was busy in the back hall for the whole day. He first evaluated the merits and demerits of the eight county magistrates, and then investigated the right and wrong of the officials under the county magistrates.

The first day was so busy that it was nightfall, and Yue Ling was still flipping through documents on his desk.

He did not have enough time to travel between the eight counties for field inspections, and could only use documents to carefully identify the conditions in each county so that he could formulate a more appropriate development plan.

Yue Ling was filled with thoughts as he read a book about the salt industry.

"If we want to develop the salt industry, drying the sea salt on the beach is the best way. The Bohai Bay is flat, so it is the right place to dry the sea salt on the beach. And it is almost summer, so it is the most convenient time to dry the sea salt."

"So building tidal channels and tidal gates to draw seawater into the pond and preparing brine is the top priority now. There is also the issue of opening up trade routes..."

Compared with well salt, the disadvantage of sea salt is that it tastes bad and contains more impurities. The advantage is that it is easy to transport and has a high yield. The simple purification method is not difficult. People who often travel through time know that using plant ash to precipitate impurities in seawater is the cheapest and most effective method. However, this method has not been mature. The root cause is that the proportion is not easy to control.

With a modern knowledge background, Yue Ling was able to easily find the crux of the problem. He evolved the process of brine-frying salt into sun-drying sea salt, and then to layered crystallization and impurity purification. With limited technology, he doubled the production efficiency. This is the fundamental way to remain invincible.

"If the salt industry can be established, a new town should be built on the seashore. Then some salt academies can be established to train specialized talents and expand the scale of production. The prosperity of Cangzhou Prefecture will be just around the corner."

"After providing relief to the victims, the last thing we need is manpower. We are just afraid that there will be no work. I think the food borrowed from the capital should arrive in Cangzhou within five or six days."

Thinking of this, Yue Ling couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

The population of Beijing is several times larger than that of Cangzhou Prefecture, and there are more wealthy families, and the grain consumed is hundreds or thousands of times more. Grain has always been transferred from the surrounding areas to Beijing, and there is no such thing as transferring grain from Beijing to other places.

Even if it is for disaster relief, the surrounding provinces will provide food support, and the food in the capital will not be moved easily.

"These salt merchants never dreamed that I could borrow grain from the capital, and they are waiting for me to buy their grain. It's a joke."

"Forget it. When I manage this place well, the population and tax revenue will increase several times, which will be considered as repaying your majesty's kindness."

Just then, Yue Ling put down the documents and saw someone pushing the door and walking in.

Lin Daiyu was wearing a bright red crane cloak, with a light blue jacket embroidered with colorful flowers underneath, and a moon-white pleated skirt embroidered with plum blossoms. She walked quickly towards him with lotus steps.

Perhaps there would be no other person who would dare to break into Yue Ling’s classroom without knocking.

Lin Daiyu placed the food box in her hand on Yue Ling's desk, her eyebrows curved, and said with a smile: "Brother Yue, no matter how busy you are, you can't miss your meal, right?"

(End of this chapter)