Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 153 Destiny
Early in the morning, Li Tangqing and his family got up and washed.

"grandfather."

The eldest granddaughter, Li Yan, greeted Li Tangqing and followed behind her father, carrying a water jug.

Li Anmin carried in a bucket of water, poured it into the kitchen water tank, and then chatted casually with his father, who was washing his face.

"The water price dropped today. They said the water price will be adjusted this month. It will be seven cents for the three months from November to January. If it rains next spring, the price will continue. If it is dry, the price will increase."

While Lin was cooking, she heard this and complained, "It's all about money, money, money all the time. Just tell me how much you want, it's so troublesome. They even charge for water, and they won't let us dig our own well."

Li Tangqing didn't say much. After washing her face, she went out of the house to get some fresh air.

Outside the row houses are rows of streets, each row with ten households, and every ten meters there is another row of houses in the same direction.

The distance between the front and rear rows is five meters, enough for two or three cars to drive side by side.

Luonan County has a total of 10,000 households and a total population of 50,000 to 60,000, most of whom are children born in the last two years.

It's normal for babies to cry at night, and every household is used to it.

People in every household began to busy themselves with the new day. Men, women, and children went to fetch water, while women, the elderly, and children emptied chamber pots or coal ash.

The coal ash is collected in a designated area, which is blocked by three walls, leaving only one side for pouring coal ash and collecting it.

People dump their excrement and urine directly into the septic tank of the public toilet, and there are always long queues at the public toilet every morning.

You either go early or late; going in the middle is the most difficult.

Besides recognizing words and pictures, newspapers can also be used as window paper and wallpaper to prevent wall dust from falling onto the bed and sticking to clothes.

Of course, it can also be used to wipe your bottom, wrap things, or start a fire.

Newspapers have a wide range of uses, not limited to a few common areas; sometimes children even fold them for fun.

With the improvement of papermaking technology and the increase in skilled workers, the price of newspapers rose from five coins for six sheets to five coins for seven sheets.

A newspaper about two palm lengths long cost less than a penny, perfect for wiping one's bottom.

However, newspapers cannot be produced in a quantity that is sufficient for every person; even if one were produced for each household, the supply would still fall short of demand.

Newspapers were mainly supplied to officials and merchants in the city. There were also people in the city who would collect newspapers and sell them to people in the countryside for two or three coins.

Li Tangqing walked around the long street and saw people squatting outside the public toilet, reading newspapers while waiting in line. She also saw a three- or four-year-old girl helping her family with chores.

It is now the third year of the Wu Dynasty, but the mountain farmer has already been famous for four years.

Even back when they were still in Kyushu, the mountain farmers were implementing a series of policies to allow the people to rest and recuperate and have enough to eat.

As farming was gradually taken over by the government, families no longer needed to do so much physically demanding work.

Furthermore, disputes over water and land among villages were suppressed by the mountain farmers, forming a system of ten thousand households that did not interfere with each other.

The water source and tasks were coordinated by several households, and matters requiring fairness were decided by King Wu.

Regardless of whether they suffered a loss or gained an advantage, whatever King Wu said went.

After the country is stable, ordinary people will naturally be more willing to raise more daughters to share household chores rather than drown them.

If a girl is raised to the age of three, she can receive a reward of three thousand coins.

This is definitely a good thing for families that already have young children. As long as the little girl is no more than three years old, she can receive three taels of silver, giving the family an extra sum of start-up capital.

Li Tangqing's granddaughter is only two years old and will receive the reward of three thousand coins next year.

A child costs three taels of silver. Today, the Mountain Farming Kingdom has a population of over nine million, but less than three million men and women are capable of having children. The rest are mostly elderly people, children, and people with health problems.

Three million couples is equivalent to 1.5 million couples. If each family can support four or five people, and the number of men and women is half and half, then that's three to four million people. Even if we calculate based on three ounces, it would still require around ten million.

Although it wasn't ten million taels of silver a year, it still showed King Wu's benevolence and righteousness.

Li Tangqing walked around, observing the number of men and women in each family, what each household was doing in the morning, and the various useful and useless things piled up in front of their doors.

There were 2,000 households in each of the four districts (east, west, south, and north). The city itself housed 4,000 households, primarily for county offices, residences of the banner chiefs (thousand, thousand, and hundred households), patrolling elites, and some garrison troops. The buildings in each district were similar: 100 households shared a ten-compartment toilet, and 2,000 households shared two bathhouses, men on the left and women on the right, with the boiler and payment counter in the middle.

There was also a commune that only opened during collective labor. It was usually opened when something important happened, and people were given free meals, but they still had to work and follow orders.

Each Wanhu team has only one school, which currently only admits children of mountain farmers to study, and the mountain farmers teach them their own language.

Han people can also learn Chinese characters and Chinese studies on their own.

I went home for dinner, listening to my wife's nagging in my ear, and eating with my son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.

Three generations living together under one roof is a truly joyful occasion.

After finishing his meal, Li Tangqing, who was quite old, walked to work in the county.

Now that the autumn grain has been stored, all that's left are minor tasks like storing it, controlling rodents, and guarding the granaries.

At most, they would just keep a record of the movement of grain and fodder, with some coming in and some going out. Some of the grain was transported from other places to the county, and some was regularly sent by the county to Luoyang City to be sold by people in the Minsheng Store for various kinds of rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.

There's no need to buy coal from stores; coal dealers often ride donkeys through the city and villages, calling out their wares, and whoever needs coal will place an order.

Some people sell firewood. Since there are so many straws in the fields, they can't just burn them all at once, so they sell some to neighboring villages at a low price.

Because coal transportation is troublesome, most rural areas still rely mainly on firewood.

Li Tangqing strolled leisurely to the outside of the government office where he usually worked. This was the county government office, and Li Tangqing worked in a small room in a secluded corner of the office.

As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the county government office, the servants and henchmen of Lord Wanhu greeted them with smiles.

"Lord Li, someone from the palace came this morning to say that your article has been appreciated by the Emperor, and he has appointed you as the magistrate of Luonan County."

Upon hearing this, Li Tangqing said awkwardly, "Don't joke with me, I was just joining in the fun."

The constable immediately said, "Just by casually joining in the fun, you can gain the Emperor's favor? How could Lord Li have just casually joined in the fun?"

Li Tangqing was very embarrassed and mumbled, "It's nothing, I'm going to work."

Seeing that Li Tangqing didn't want to talk, the two gatekeepers said politely, "If you need anything in the future, just say the word."

"Thank you," Li Tangqing said instinctively, then carefully walked away.

After taking a few steps, Li Tangqing suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, and her head went silent.

"Huh? I won?"

Li Tangqing immediately denied this possibility, "It's definitely not. It must be those two rascals teasing me. I'm not a mountain farmer, I don't have the same hair as them, I don't wear the same clothes, I'm not a public household, and I'm not a servant of King Wu."

"impossible."

Li Tangqing went back to the small house to do her work, but for some reason, she felt uneasy.

More than half an hour later, a fat man wearing tight-fitting brocade clothes walked in.

The people of the Wen Dynasty mainly wore wide robes with large sleeves, emphasizing modesty and elegance.

The clothing of the Wu Dynasty people mainly consisted of short sleeves and a belted waist, emphasizing ease of movement and comfort, with trousers worn on the lower body.

"Lord Li, why are you still working here? His Majesty has appointed you as the county magistrate. From now on, you will be in charge of the county's economy, people's livelihood, and warehousing."

Forty-seven-year-old Li Tangqing stared blankly ahead.

From the moment he learned that King Wu was selecting talented individuals, Li Tangqing knew that a large number of capable and hardworking people would serve King Wu.

Looking back on yesterday and today, Li Tangqing realized why she had been feeling restless these past two days.

It seems to be destiny.

This feeling was not unique to Li Tangqing; basically, everyone who was chosen believed that they had received a divine mandate.

(End of this chapter)