The county magistrate's daughter only wants to farm

The rice fields in Ning County are generally located at high altitudes, and the water for irrigating the rice fields comes from the Lingshui River, the largest river in Ning County.

In the past, there was a dam at each section of the river, and people brought river water into the fields. Now that the dam has collapsed, irrigation has become a problem.

“If the problems of rice seeds and paddy field irrigation can be solved, are you prepared to rebuild the county town?”

"Yin'er really has a solution?" Gu Huaiyi asked excitedly and ignored the latter sentence.

"Yeah." Gu Yin nodded affirmatively. It seemed that her father would not mention the construction of the county town unless he gave her some reassurance first.

"What method?" Gu Huaiyi's eyes widened and he asked impatiently.

"Well... I don't have rice seeds, but I have a crop called sweet potatoes that can be used as a substitute for rice. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow and have a very high yield."

"Where is the sweet potato?" How come he had never heard of it before? And where did Yin'er get it from? Gu Huaiyi was puzzled, but he did not get to the bottom of it.

Since waking up, Yin'er seems to have her own secrets.

"Just send someone to come with me to get it later."

"What about the irrigation problem? How to solve it?" Gu Huaiyi thought of another problem and asked.

"Uh... well, there is a tool called a waterwheel that can lift water from a low place to a high place, but it takes some time to make."

"Water flows upward? Is there such a magical thing?"

"Yes, but it requires the cooperation of a group of skilled carpenters and blacksmiths to make it." Gu Yin nodded and added.

"That's not difficult. If there's nothing in this county, I'll send someone to find it for you. As long as it can solve the irrigation problem, it'll be fine."

"Then the problem is solved. Dad, what do you think about the construction of the county town?" Gu Yin asked the focus of his coming here.

"What do you want to do?" Gu Huaiyi glanced at her daughter and picked up the teacup on the table.

"Dad, how about...we do something big?" Gu Yin leaned forward and encouraged.

"Puff..." The tea that Gu Huaiyi had just taken a sip of died heroically and sprayed all over Gu Yin's face.

Gu Yin wiped her face with her hand and took out a handkerchief to dry it. She would definitely stay away from people who drank tea in the future.

Gu Huaiyi also looked a little embarrassed, but he still wanted to knock her on the head, and finally lightly rebuked her:

"You think you're a bandit, and you want to do something big. Where did you learn that?"

"Hehe, this is not important." Gu Yin smiled awkwardly to hide her embarrassment.

"Dad, don't you want to rearrange the layout of the county? Build a paradise with a reasonable layout, clean and tidy streets and alleys, and rich and vibrant life for the people, so that people will not want to leave once they come." Gu Yin continued to encourage her father for her goal.

"Hmm...hmm? You still want to search the county again?" Gu Huaiyi raised his eyebrows and glanced at her.

"It's not impossible to turn it over again. Look, it's raining now, and the accumulated water can't be drained out. There's all kinds of garbage everywhere. It's so uncomfortable to look at." Gu Yin shrank her neck and said weakly.

"You can just turn the soil over and plant some cabbages. A skilled cook cannot cook without rice. Where would you get the money to rebuild the county?"

He is really still a child, a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger and dares to think of anything.

"Dad, you underestimate yourself too much. You are the magistrate of a county. There are always more solutions than problems. As long as you work hard, you will always have money."

"From what you said, it seems like you already have an idea. Tell me about it. If it's really feasible, I will definitely support you with all my strength."

Gu Huaiyi leaned back in his chair, obviously not believing that she could really rebuild the county. If rebuilding the county was that easy, there wouldn't be so many local officials who would never be able to climb up in their lifetime.

Gu Yin didn't care about her father's attitude. Before he showed his true ability, everything he said was just a mirage. After thinking for a moment, he said carefully:

"Rebuilding the county town requires nothing more than human, material and financial resources, of which the most important is financial resources. The economic base determines the superstructure. Everyone knows this. As long as the money is in place, I think everything else will be easy to solve."

Gu Huaiyi nodded after hearing this, unable to deny it.

"As for the silver, didn't the court give out the things we created before?"

Gu Yin rubbed his hands towards his father and smiled cunningly.

Gu Huaiyi couldn't help laughing when he saw it: "That money can be used for other purposes, so a portion of it can be allocated, but it's far from enough."

"Well, what about the big merchant families in the county? They will always contribute a little to the construction of the county."

"Merchants are very powerful. How can they do business at a loss? As for the noble families, they are all experienced people. It is extremely difficult to get money from them."

Gu Yin touched his chin and had some ideas in mind, but he would have to wait until he tried it to know the details.

"Oh... can the county government provide a loan?"

"Loan?" It was the first time Gu Huaiyi heard this word.

"It means borrowing money. For example, the county government borrows money from me, and then agrees to pay it back at a certain time and pay a certain amount of interest."

"I didn't say it's not allowed, but there's no precedent. But who would lend money to the county government?"

I have never heard of the imperial court borrowing money from the people. It has always been the imperial court that takes out money to help the people.

"That's fine, Dad. I'll lend you money to build a county town. I promise to build you a prosperous and strong county town!"

"Okay, okay, let's talk about it when you have money." Gu Huaiyi agreed with a smile. It would take her an unknown amount of time to earn enough money to build a county town.

There is no point in saying more. Once she makes money, her father will no longer be so worried.

"Then Dad, please recruit carpenters and blacksmiths for me first. Let's recruit 16 carpenters and 6 blacksmiths. We can recruit more when we are short of manpower."

“Do you need so many people?”

"Yes, the waterwheel is very large and the process is complicated. This number of people may not be enough."

In fact, she also planned to assign a few people to make distillation equipment. Speaking of the fastest and easiest way to make money, liquor is definitely among the top five. Since she has made up her mind to rebuild the county, how can she let go of this business?

Gu Huaiyi didn't want him to be there, so he promised to find him for her soon.

*

The next day, Gu Huaiyi sent Captain Ding to find Gu Yin to get the sweet potatoes:

"Miss, Lord Gu sent me here to get...sweet potatoes."

When he mentioned the word sweet potato, he hesitated for a moment. Captain Ding had never heard of such a thing and wondered if he had heard it wrong.

Gu Yin had already placed several hundred kilograms of sweet potatoes in a remote place, so now they could just go and get them. Taking the paper from Zhenzhu, he said to Captain Ding:

"It lists the specific planting methods and precautions for sweet potatoes. Take the sweet potatoes home to germinate them, cut them into pieces and plant them. When the sweet potato vines are about two meters tall, you can cut them off and plant them in beds."

Captain Ding raised his hands and took it respectfully. He had heard that sweet potatoes could replace rice and be a crop that could help people survive the winter, so he couldn't be careless.

"Please also help me take out ten kilograms and send them to Gu Shu's home in Gutian Village."

This is what she agreed to yesterday, and this time it saves her from having to make another trip herself.