Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 891 - 889_1

Chapter 891: Chapter 889_1

"I feel that if we’re to distribute fields, we should also allocate dry land as equal shares, including homesteads. The homesteads should be planned in a unified manner to avoid random construction, making it beneficial for the overall planning of the county," Xiao’er expressed her thoughts again.

"In fact, it would be better to think long-term, planning for the use of land for basic facilities such as roads and water conservancy. While these facilities are not yet built, the planned land can be used by the people. However, once the Imperial Court starts construction, the people should be informed in advance and must return the land unconditionally within a specified time.

Of course, the Imperial Court can compensate the people a bit, such as reimbursements for seedlings, but this compensation is not necessarily given; it can depend on the available funds in the national treasury. The land was initially planned for basic infrastructure, so instead of lying unused, it might as well be used by diligent people to improve their lives."

Xiao’er proposed this method to reduce conflicts and potential problems as much as possible, as she recalled the frequent disputes over land compensation in her previous life.

"But, planned use of land is just a concept, sometimes, the actual situation does not go as planned. There may be unexpected obstacles when construction begins, possibly encroaching on farmland or houses allocated to the people. What happens then?" Jingrui presented the potential issues.

Xiao’er gave him an approving look. Jingrui had pinpointed the crux of the problem.

Shangguan Xuanyi handed Xiao’er a cup of tea to soothe her throat. She had been speaking for quite a while, surely her throat was parched.

Xiao’er naturally accepted it and took a gulp. Whenever she discussed matters, she would finish her tea in one go. The straightforwardness of it could have been seen as crude, but it made her come across as honest and down-to-earth.

After finishing her tea, Xiao’er continued, "The issue you mentioned is bound to happen in practice. Every plan in this world is constantly revised toward perfection during practice. Therefore, when the Imperial Court needs to occupy people’s land or houses for road construction or other projects, we must establish provisions for compensation in advance."

Shangguan Xuanyi sat quietly, listening to the siblings’ discussion without comment.

He knew that even if he remained silent, they would think of a perfect solution.

"It is not only when the Imperial Court occupies the people’s land that there should be a clear compensation policy. There should also be a clear rule when others, such as traders, need to use the people’s land. And their compensation should undoubtedly be higher than that of the Imperial Court." Jingrui, who always thought ahead, pointed out.

Xiao’er agreed and nodded, "Exactly, the whole world is royal land. When the Imperial Court occupies people’s land to build infrastructure, it is essentially to serve and benefit the people. The court’s compensation is a show of consideration for the people. However, when others such as merchants occupy people’s land, it is mostly for private gains. Therefore, their compensation to the people should be higher."

Shangguan Xuanyi agreed and nodded, "It should be this way. The more thorough and orderly the plan is from the start, the fewer problems will arise later."

Xiyue City and Zhan’er Island were also on Shangguan Xuanyi’s list for land reform.

Zhan’er Island was uninhabited, and he did not know who to distribute the vast land to. Thinking about this, Shangguan Xuanyi wore a bitter smile.

Zhenyang County began to pilot the land reform policy. The trio further discussed the concrete methods of implementation.

Land reform is indeed beneficial as it motivates the peasants. If land could be reclaimed from officials and landlords throughout the country, and land allotted to each household based on the number of people, life for the people would improve dramatically.

So, how should land be distributed under land reform?

To illustrate: for a family, regardless of age or gender, including newborn infants, each person would receive two parts of land. If a household registration lists six people, they would receive one acre and two parts of land.

An acre and two parts of land could yield around 1,200 pounds of grain a season. Over two seasons, it could yield over 2,000 pounds of grain. Even after paying taxes, they would still end up with roughly 2,000 pounds of grain.

This means that a family of six would be able to consume about five and a half pounds of grain daily.

As Zhenyang County mainly grows rice, let’s use rice as an example. A pound of rice can fill six to seven bowls, which should be enough for a family of six (assuming four adults and two children, where adults eat two to three bowls, and children eat one bowl per meal) per meal, cooking only two pounds of rice.

Generally, men might eat three bowls of rice, women usually have enough with two. This is only during busy farming seasons when physical exertion is high. Otherwise, men eat two bowls, women have one, which is enough to satiate them. Besides, people don’t just eat for the sake of filler, they also eat vegetables; they don’t need much rice for breakfast either. Hence, each person owning two parts of a field should leave ample grain storage at home!

Xiao’er and Jingrui have considered all foreseeable circumstances and discussed solutions for them.

Seeing this, Shangguan Xuanyi nodded: "Let’s proceed with this plan! Brother Jingrui, you can prepare the memorial and send it to King Xian’s Mansion for my brother to review."

"Got it," Jingrui responded decisively.

"This is crucial, brother must explain in detail."

"Don’t worry, I will write carefully and credit Xiao’er in it," Jingrui joked with a smile.

"My contributions are so great, it will take you three days to write it all down! Oh, I saw jicama and kudzu root at Huzi’s house today. These two can be processed into powder. Brother can announce procedures on how to process these two into powder, encouraging people to grow more of these crops, process them into powder, and then sell them."

"Furthermore, kudzu root powder has cooling properties, quenches thirst, boosts the spleen and kidneys, aids digestion, calms the nerves, clears the heart and sharpens vision, smooths bowel movements, reduces body heat, prevents heat stroke, helps with skincare, and removes body waste. It has a notable therapeutic effect on toothaches caused by wind-heat, swollen throat, hot coughs, fevers, headaches, and more. Such a valuable product should absolutely be exploited."

"I knew Xiao’er could always dig out gold. I tried kudzu root a few days ago. I didn’t like it much, but never thought it was a treasure!" Jingrui exclaimed.

"As for jicama, it is an excellent product. Just like sweet potatoes, jicama is also a high-yielding crop, producing several thousand or even ten thousand pounds per acre. We should treat jicama as a major economic crop."

After Xiao’er finished, both of them fell silent.

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