Wang Hongyu looked at the surging Han River not far away, and then at the green mountains shrouded in mist, and patiently explained:
"Although officials from all over Yunyang are capable of hard work, they want to be promoted after all. Since they want to be promoted, they will try their best to show their political achievements. Once we leave late and conduct slow and high-profile inspections, what we see in the end is not the truth."
"The general is absolutely right."
Zhou Yijie admired his ability in fighting, training troops, court, and industry. This time, he was also very amazed and admired for his attitude of not forgetting his roots.
"Hahaha, cousin, is this called Chasing Ben Shuoyuan?" Li Tiezhu's idioms were more reliable this time than last time.
Wang Hongyu saw Li Tiezhu and Qiao Jibai. The two combinations, one tall and fat, the other thin, were here again, and this time they were with him again.
Qiao Jibai chuckled, "This inspection will start from a difficult and remote place, and finally return to Yun County. It's like eating sugar cane, starting from the bitter end, and the more you eat, the sweeter it becomes~"
Wang Hongyu raised his forehead and smiled.
Li Tiezhu followed Qiao Jibai to learn idioms, and his idioms have indeed improved a bit. Qiao Jibai has followed Li Tiezhu, and his understanding of food has improved too quickly~
The group set off immediately.
This time we went to Fang County first, then from east to west, the second stop was Zhushan, my eldest brother’s hometown, and the third stop was Zhuxi in the distant mountain.
When it was the hottest time in late June, I thought it would be a little better in the mountains. The reality is that the temperature is indeed a little lower, but the humidity and fog make it much more difficult to endure than in the plains.
Fortunately, Zhou Yijie and other people who were familiar with the local area, as well as Qin Ling, provided refreshing, deworming, and dehumidifying drugs, so everyone got used to it and got through it in a few days.
After walking on a winding mountain road, we finally arrived in Fangxian County two days later.
After arriving, I inquired as a business traveler and learned an interesting thing.
Fang County is just south of Wudang Mountain. It is convenient to reach Wudang by land. Because the main river is flooded, it is extremely convenient to reach Gucheng by water.
For example, if you take the overland road from Fang County to Yun County, Zhushan is surrounded by mountains, and it takes 5 days to walk more than 100 miles. However, it only takes one day to get to Wudang Mountain, and 3 days of walking to Junzhou County in Xiangyang Prefecture.
It can be reached by water to Gucheng, which is far away, and can be reached in 2 days.
It is obviously a county in Yunyang, but it has closer ties with neighboring Xiangyang Prefecture. Several other counties also have closer economic ties with Nanyang and Hanzhong.
This is the magical place in Yunyang Mountain Area.
When doing industrial planning later, we should consider the linkage between several surrounding areas instead of sitting in the government office and making plans based on maps.
This is one of the secrets of logistics economy.
Fang County has a tax collection population of more than 3,000 residents, which is considered to be at a medium level among Yunyang counties, but is much smaller than that in the plains. The actual population is much larger, but many are hidden in the mountains, so you cannot see too many in the county.
Multiple people.
A rough inquiry revealed that there are only over 1,000 people in the county. If I hadn't seen with my own eyes the brick wall about two people high and the two stone and wood gate towers, it would be a small town.
There is a two-car-wide dirt road in the county that is fairly flat, and the county government office is right in the center of the county seat.
The main road extends into several three-person-wide paths, connecting warehouses, workshops, markets and residential buildings.
These residential buildings are small two-story bamboo and wood buildings along the street, and inside they are all ordinary bungalows.
The market was quite lively. In addition to people from the county town, there were many people from various towns and villages who came to the county town to do business.
Except for a grain shop, one selling tea, and one selling local specialty turquoise, there are no shops in the strict sense.
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Most of the people who come to sell things spread out a piece of cloth or a bamboo basket on which they place the things they want to sell, such as some fruits and vegetables, a few chickens and ducks, a basket of mushrooms, a basket of eggs, and a basin of river.
mussel.
When selling something, just shout out and negotiate the price directly. When the items are sold out, pack up and leave. If it is a good location near the road and there are still people watching the location, hurry up and grab the vacant good location.
The county government also has tax collectors to collect taxes from the stalls along the road. To collect the tax, you first pay a stall fee of 1 to 3 cents, and then collect a few cents more depending on the transaction volume.
There is no conflict between merchants and tax collectors.
The cost is still very low. If the vendors think it is too high, they will not enter the county stalls and directly find a place near the road outside the city to set up their own stalls.
Tax collectors and police officers are not ineffective. They will help deter thieves, resolve disputes, and stop the behavior of not paying for goods.
Most of the vendors are ordinary farmers who save some goods and come to sell them at a suitable time. Some of them who specialize in business also ride donkeys to pull carts, and the vegetables and fruits in the cart are all very fresh.
None of us can be considered locals, because they are all from a foreign land. None of us can be considered foreigners, because when we live in Yunyang, we can be considered locals.
No one bullies or excludes anyone.
When you enter the city and pay taxes, the officials provide security and order. Only with security and order can business be done.
Just in good condition.
Since Wang Hongyu and his party arrived unexpectedly in casual clothes, the county did not make any special preparations, and the scene they saw was more realistic.
Wang Hongyu bought some pears and chatted with the pear seller.
This is a mountainous area, which is very suitable for growing fruits. Pears are sweeter than outside, papayas are rare outside, and grapes can be sold to Junzhou, Gucheng and Xiangyang. You can make a lot of money.
But after all, not much was grown. In addition to the costs of transportation and sales, the most important thing was that there was not enough food to eat.
There is little land in the mountains, and in better places they are reluctant to plant fruit trees and have to use the land for farming, which will ultimately produce less fruit.
"Can we sell fruit and buy food?" Wang Hongyu asked tentatively.
"Young man, you are joking! We eat a lot of food, and it is not cheap. Fruits are produced slowly, and people will starve to death..."
Wang Hongyu's heart skipped a beat. It would be very difficult to operate large-scale fruit trees in later generations.
The core issue is productivity.
Food prices are not cheap, even in Huguang it costs 10 Wen per pound.
These pears just now cost 8 cents a pound.
Wang Hongyu has a friend who grows pears at home. Although it is not in Huguang, it is of great reference value.
The pear tree does not bear fruit for the first five years, but bears fruit every year thereafter. Based on subsequent breeding, insect control, and fertilization, the pear tree can produce three to four thousand kilograms of pears per mu every year.
Pears are sold in batches for 2 yuan per catty. With this output, we can certainly make more money than cheaper grain.
Can it be done tomorrow?
The price of grain is higher than that of fruits, and fruits have to be invested in the past few years without yielding any output. Without the support of scientific achievements such as breeding, fertilization, and insecticide, it is difficult to exceed the income from growing grains.
Then logistics and sales are pain points. If the output is high, it cannot be sold locally. Transportation to Junzhou and Gucheng also costs money. If the daily ship transportation volume is exceeded, it will cost more...
This matter will develop very slowly on its own, but with Wang Hongyu here, good times are coming.
Among the counties in Yunyang, the rest are connected to the counties in Xiangyang by Yun County and the Han River. Fang County alone has a large river connection with Gucheng. This is its advantage.