The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 400 - 389: I Am Willing to Suffer Losses (reward add-on for book friend ’Deer Calling’)

Chapter 400: Chapter 389: I Am Willing to Suffer Losses (reward add-on for book friend ’Deer Calling’)

The wheat in the fields was still green, and Old Zhou stretched out his hand to touch the thin wheat husks on the ears, while the fine drizzle gently wetted his hands.

He lowered his head to look at the wheat roots in the field, which were quickly absorbing the spring rain, and couldn’t help but say with openness, "This rain came at just the right time."

Zhou Dalang wiped the rain off his face and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, the timing is perfect, just right for the wheat to fill out."

It had taken Old Zhou the entire day to walk through all of the fields planted with winter wheat, and there were quite a few people in the village like him who came out to check on their wheat fields in the rain.

Between the vast expanse of fields, one could spot people in straw raincoats walking back and forth.

That day, many people in Luojiang County got soaked by the rain, and those who walked through the fields in the rain were the happiest.

However, County Magistrate Yang, who also got drenched, was not so happy. He walked briskly into the hall, peeled off his straw raincoat and threw it to his attendant, casually took a towel from a servant to wipe his face, and then somewhat forcefully tossed it back into the servant’s hands.

The steward who came out to greet him paused, then hurriedly asked, "My lord, is there something wrong at the front office?"

"Nothing!" So, that’s why he’s even more irritated, isn’t he?

Yang Heshu sat down on a chair, his brows involuntarily furrowed, "Is an interest of twelve wen per month for one tael of silver really that high?"

The steward replied, "It is not."

"If it’s not high, then why has no one come to take out a loan for cattle?" Yang Heshu asked. "It’s been five days, and only six households in the entire Luojiang County have come to borrow cattle. With a new round of spring plowing about to begin, isn’t anyone tempted?"

The steward smiled and said, "Why be anxious, my lord? For a poor family, even three or four wen is a big deal, let alone three or four taels. If you really want to loan out the cattle, why not relax the requirements a bit? I believe in less than three days, the rest of the cattle will all be loaned out."

"If I relax any further, it would be like loaning the cattle to the gentry."

The steward smiled and said, "What’s wrong with that? After all, the cattle are meant for cultivation either way."

Yang Heshu just gave the steward a flat look.

The steward stiffened, his smile fixed, and asked, "My lord?"

Yang Heshu flicked his robe and asked, "Do I look like a fool to you?"

With that, he stood up and left.

The steward stood frozen in place, wanting to follow, but his pride held him back, leaving him red in the face for a moment.

Yang Heshu’s attendant Wantian quickly caught up to him, "Young master, why did you suddenly become angry while we were talking?"

Yang Heshu huffed.

Wantian then said, "Actually, I think what the steward said isn’t wrong. Those cattle eat a lot of forage every day, and if they keep not being loaned out, wouldn’t that annoy you, young master?"

"What do you know?" Yang Heshu said angrily. "Do you think I had all these cattle brought here to do business? Do you realize that with each cattle loaned out, both I and the County Governmental Office take a loss?"

"I’m already not fussing about them doing like the Zhou Family, taking a loan first and then buying cattle, quietly making a profit off of me," Yang Heshu said. "That’s because they are poor. I’m willing to take such a minor loss, but what does it mean to let the not-so-needy gentry benefit from such a loss?"

Wantian was full of questions, obviously hearing but not understanding.

Yang Heshu slapped the back of his head in exasperation, saying, "Why are you so dense, worse than a child, and here you’ve been studying with me for so many years."

Yang Heshu returned to his room and changed into fresh clothes before asking, "Do you know about that child, the one named Manbao, how much did I lose when she borrowed the silver and then exchanged it for copper coins to buy cattle?"

Wantian said with a confused look, "Didn’t you say, young master, that the County Governmental Office lends out silver and also takes back silver? Although there’s a difference between copper coins and silver, we didn’t actually lose anything."

"You’re stubborn in your ignorance," Yang Heshu said. "The County Governmental Office didn’t lose anything on the silver loan part, but we took a loss selling the cattle. When I bought this batch of cattle, I and the County Governmental Office paid in silver, not copper coins!"

Yang Heshu continued, "All the cattle up for loan are priced at cost, priced in silver. Before, I didn’t know there was such a big difference between silver and copper coins..."

Yang Heshu paused before saying, "So, right now, every head of cattle is losing money just sitting in the cowshed."

What angered him was that such a losing deal had no takers, and no one was taking advantage of him, which was downright infuriating!

Wantian finally began to understand the relationships involved and became anxious, "Then, young master, why did you specifically have people at the County Governmental Office entrance teach those coming to loan the cattle to first take out a silver loan, and then exchange it for copper coins to buy the cattle? Isn’t that like digging your own grave?"

"It’s not quite like that," Yang Heshu said after taking a sip of tea, appearing a bit more at ease. "Although I put in some of my own money, the main loss is borne by the County Governmental Office, but at least the common folk are getting the benefit, right?"

Wantian: ... Please forgive his stupidity, he really doesn’t get the difference. Isn’t his young master the County Magistrate of Luojiang right now?

Isn’t taking advantage of the County Governmental Office the same as undermining himself?

"These people are poor, having one ox is like having two extra workers; their days should be somewhat better," Yang Heshu said. "But those gentry, they aren’t short on money. If the conditions are relaxed, they would undoubtedly snap up all the cattle without batting an eye," Yang Heshu continued. "Why should I take a loss to benefit them?"

Wantian couldn’t help but mutter, "In any case, it’s still a loss..."

"What do you know?" Yang Heshu knocked his head again, saying, "Some losses are tolerable, others are not. Last year, Luojiang County suffered a disaster and taxes were waived for only one year. This autumn’s harvest, taxes will have to be paid... Forget it, forget it, you wouldn’t understand anyway."

"Then, young master, if no one comes to loan the cattle, what do we do with all the cattle in the cowshed?"

"What else can we do but distribute them?" was his reply.

"Ah?" exclaimed Wantian, mouth agape.

Yang Heshu waved his hand and said, "Alright, on the way back just now, I heard an old clerk at the office say that with this spring rain, spring tilling is about to begin. You go, call over Principal Clerk Zhang and the others, let him inform the Land Officers, and we’ll discuss the matter of distributing the cattle."

Wantian closed his mouth, hesitated, and asked, "Really distribute?"

Yang Heshu replied, "If not, are you going to feed all those cattle yourself?" He continued, "Distribute them so that at least it will alleviate some of the pressure of spring plowing."

As County Magistrate, his most important duty was to encourage the cultivation of agriculture.

How to encourage the cultivation of agriculture?

Besides going up to the mountains and down to the villages to help build the thoughts of and encourage the farmers, sometimes it was necessary to provide certain material and technical support.

Materials included but were not limited to seeds, farming tools, and plow oxen.

Seeds were generally provided on a wide scale, and virtually every household could get some; of course, this activity varied by county, and at least in Manbao’s memory, her family had never received seeds distributed by the governmental office.

As for farming tools, they were given to particularly poor families whose farming tools were severely damaged or who simply lacked them.

And plow oxen, such valuable resources, were generally the common property of a hundred households in a village, to be used and cared for by turns.