That night, Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo re-drew a rough sketch for renovating the county government yard.
They talked about the situation in Heyang County and exchanged their opinions.
After Xiao Dalang sorted out the booklet, he went home when it was almost dark.
He was so tired that his back and waist ached, and his whole body was still dusted.
He felt even more bitter in his heart. With Xiao Hanzheng and his wife here, he didn’t know what his future would be like.
He had only been rampant in the county briefly, and he was about to be suppressed. He wanted to cry and felt uncomfortable.
He went home with a gloomy face, and the old lady felt so distressed when she saw him like this.
“Dalang, what’s wrong with you? Did Zheng’er and his wife punish you?”
Xiao Dalang: “……”
He smiled awkwardly: “No, I was just helping Hanzheng find the books he wanted to read, so I was delayed.”
The old lady was relieved: “That’s good.”
She couldn’t help scolding: “Your second uncle is also incompetent. He got rid of the county magistrate, but he couldn’t let him continue to do the work.”
They always thought that Xiao Dalang would be on the stage, but who would have thought it would suddenly become Xiao Hanzheng?
When Xiao Dalang heard about his second uncle, he was furious: “Grandma, it’s good enough if my second uncle didn’t harm me. How could he help me be the county magistrate?”
Then he repeated what Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo said in front of everyone in the family.
After listening, everyone in the old Xiao family was angry.
“That unscrupulous beast. I was wondering why he suddenly became so kind, it turns out he was waiting here.”
Old Lady Xiao continued to curse with a dark face: “He even wanted to harm his nephew. No wonder he couldn’t have a child, this beast…”
Xiao Dalang listened to the old lady’s scolding and cheered in his heart.
He reminded again: “Grandma, Ge Chunru might come to settle accounts with us, we’d better be prepared.”
Old Lady Xiao looked gloomy: “What account is she going to settle with us?”
Xiao Dalang said: “We sent her brother to the mines, and she said in the capital that she wanted to kill our Xiao family.”
He thought of what Shi Qingluo said: “After we left, Ge Chunru almost emptied the general’s mansion and gave it to her sister as a dowry.”
That woman was too much, she ruined the Xiao family’s things like this.
Old Lady Xiao was furious when she heard this: “That little bitch, she gave so much to her siblings, but she still has the nerve to come to us to settle accounts.”
“If she dares to come, I will beat her to death.”
Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Wu could not help but join the old lady in cursing.
Giving that little bitch Ge Chuyi so much dowry was as painful as cutting their flesh.
The dissatisfaction with Ge Chunru in their heart had faded a lot since they came to Northern Border.
But now it was all aroused again.
The next day, Xiao Hanzheng handed the renovation drawings to Xiao Dalang and asked him to help find craftsmen to repair them.
Because the wages were not small, and the settlement was made every three days, they quickly recruited enough people and renovated it in the county government office.
Xiao Hanzheng began to read the booklet that Xiao Dalang found.
Shi Qingluo didn’t come to the county government office with her but went out with Xi Rong and others.
If they want to understand a place, they must walk around and understand the people’s livelihood.
Even though Nanxi County was not a rich county, it was much better than Heyang County.
There were only a few courtyards in the whole county that looked okay, covered with blue bricks and tiles.
Many houses looked old and dilapidated, and the main shops were concentrated on one street.
The other streets were very deserted.
The pedestrians on the road also look sad, and many of them have patches on their clothes.
There were not many beggars, but everyone’s life was not so good, where could they get money or food for charity?
After walking around, Xi Rui sighed: “This place is as Xiao Dalang said, too poor.”
Liang Youxiao sighed: “I said I would see if there are any business opportunities, but after seeing it, I know that there is no hope.”
The living conditions of people in the county were not good, so how can they be willing to spend money?
If he were to do the business in the capital here, how many people would be willing to buy or afford it?
He sighed again: “Qingluo, Old Xiao was assigned to such a poor county, it would be difficult to accumulate merits.”
Shi Qingluo didn’t think so: “Why is it difficult to accumulate merits? I think it’s easier than going to those wealthy counties in Jiangnan.”
Liang Youxiao asked puzzled: “There is nothing here, how can we make merits?”
“Repair city walls and dams? The county government must have money for that.”
Shi Qingluo replied: “Isn’t it a good merit to change such a poor and backward county into a rich county with frequent caravans?”
Liang Youxiao smiled and shook his head, then said: “Of course, but it’s easy to say, it’s hard to do.”
“Let’s not talk about making the county rich, just making the merchants come and go frequently is a big problem.”
Shi Qingluo smiled and said: “Of course, we have to make something that can attract the merchants.”
Liang Youxiao asked: “Do you want to build a workshop here?”
Shi Qingluo replied: “It’s not me who will build a workshop, but the county government.”
“If I build it, won’t it become a competition with the people for profit?”
She was Xiao Hanzheng’s wife. He was the county magistrate, it was not suitable for her to open a workshop or do business in the local area.
Otherwise, when she returns to the capital in the future, she will definitely be caught by deep-minded people and use this matter as an excuse.
“If I were to build it, and used the money I earned to build roads and build the county town, wouldn’t I be like a sucker?”
“If Heyang County wants to develop, it must rely mainly on the talents here.”
“So that after we leave in the future, their lives will not become the same as before.”
Liang Youxiao thought for a while: “You mean to let Old Xiao open some workshops in the name of the county government, recruit people to work, and use the things in the workshops to attract merchants to buy things?”
Shi Qingluo nodded: “Yes, after opening a workshop, many people in Heyang County will have work.”
“As long as the things in the workshop can attract merchants, the flow of people will naturally follow suit and the local area will develop. ”
“For example, when these merchants come here, they always need to eat, drink, defecate, and urinate. The business of restaurants and inns in the county will become better.”
“When the whole county becomes lively, people from other poor counties or grasslands will want to move here after seeing it, which will also solve the problem of empty households.”
“Don’t you think it’s interesting and fulfilling to build such a poor county into a rich county in Beicheng Prefecture?”
They are not short of money now, and they can’t spend all the dividends every month, but they lack reputation and political achievements, so they have to work hard to develop this county. Her husband can be promoted because of these political achievements, and secondly, she thinks this is also meaningful.
After coming to this backward world, she felt she had to do something. It doesn’t have to be too big, she can start with what she can do.
After listening to her words, Liang Youxiao couldn’t help but think.
He was born into a good family and has always been smooth sailing, so when he saw the county town like this, he felt it was difficult to make a living and couldn’t help but have the mentality of retreating.
But in Shi Qingluo’s mouth, it seemed to have become a challenging and meaningful thing.
Suddenly he felt that he needed to train well, no wonder his grandpa had to send him to the northern border.
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