Flowers in full bloom

Chapter 718: Good Destiny

Hua Lei flipped through the letter from Bao Zhifu. Bao Zhifu's handwriting was very beautiful and his tone was calm and polite. He was neither condescending nor flattering. Hua Lei had a good impression of him.

However, as a prefect, Bao could have asked the court for some corn seeds. Why didn't he ask the court for help? Instead, he asked to buy them himself. Isn't this a waste of money from the government?

Hualei was very puzzled, but Rong Jin gave Hualei the answer to this question. As the prefect, he did have the right to apply for the allocation of seeds.

However, it is actually unknown whether the application submitted by the prefect will be approved and whether the relevant officials of the Ministry of Revenue will agree.

On the one hand, it depends on whether the geographical environment of the approved area is suitable for planting and whether the tax grain can be collected at that time. On the other hand, it also depends on the ability of the prefect and whether he can lead the local people to plant well.

Of course, this is all on the surface. In fact, there are many behind-the-scenes operations. It depends on whether the prefect has any connections or networks in the capital to help smooth things over.

If not, this application may never reach the hands of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and may be put into a corner in no time.

Even if the application is approved, there are still many links that need to be cleared before it can be transported from the Ministry of Revenue warehouse to the local area.

As long as one of the stages is put aside, the seed will not reach the place. Or, if it passes one stage, it will be peeled off, and if it passes another stage, it will be plucked out of its hair.

Originally, out of the 1,000 kilograms of seeds applied for, only 600 to 700 kilograms were available at the local level. This was under a smooth operation.

In fact, after the application is approved, the local government must first pay a deposit to the Ministry of Households to avoid planting failure, in which case the Ministry of Households will not even be able to collect the money for the seeds.

However, once you have successfully grown the crops and paid the taxes, this deposit will be used to offset your taxes, which means you don't need to pay for the seeds.

Of course, this is a year later. A year is not long, but it is not short either. If there is any mistake in the meantime, the money will not be recovered.

But unlike Hua Lei, before leaving Shangjing City, she just had to write an application and submit it, and then bring the corn plants with her.

The key reason why Hualei could get the seeds so easily was that, on the one hand, the corn was grown by her and she had obtained the permission of Emperor Shengwu, so no one would stop her.

On the other hand, there is the support of the Zhenbei Marquisate, and Hua Lei transports the goods by boat herself, so there is no need for the Ministry of Revenue to make any additional efforts.

After listening to Rong Jin's explanation, Hua Lei finally understood why Prefect Bao asked her to buy seeds. It was possible that Prefect Bao's application was not approved.

It is also possible that, considering that after being exploited at various levels, you cannot get many seeds, it is better to ask your neighbors directly to buy them for you, and the quantity is guaranteed.

Although corn seeds are precious, since they are all planted, Hualei feels that there is no need to refuse. It is still okay to give some to Xi'an Prefecture. Just think of it as a good relationship, maybe it will help others.

Moreover, Bao Zhifu did not specify a certain quantity in his letter, so the price was negotiable. Hualei thought that she could give 500 to 1,000 kilograms of corn seeds to Xi'an Prefecture.

Of course, the current buds are not for sale at a high price. So she immediately replied and agreed that Xichang Prefecture, in the name of the prefecture, would sell 500 to 1,000 kilograms of corn seeds to Xi'an Prefecture at a fair price for planting promotion.

However, I also hope that Xi'an Prefecture will provide some of the local surplus resources for me to choose and purchase. Of course, this is a wish, not a condition.

Moreover, he was willing to provide several technicians to guide Xi'an Prefecture in growing corn in the first year. Of course, the fee would not be waived. Everything would wait for Prefect Bao's reply.

After the letter was sent, Hualei asked Feng Shuangxi from the household department to reserve 1,000 kilograms of corn for planting. Then, she started to deal with other paperwork.

It would take ten days or half a month for letters to go back and forth between the government offices. Moreover, if the two prefects had reached an agreement, both sides would have to write a memorial to the Ministry of Revenue to explain the situation.

Besides, corn will be planted in the spring of next year, so there is still time. Next, Hualei plans to go to Changtong Prefecture below to have a look.

Last time, when the government office held a meeting, Zhao Zhizhou did not come. However, some time ago, he brought a letter saying that a kind of bamboo that had never been seen before was found in Changtong Prefecture.

However, it is much shorter than bamboo, only about the height of an adult, with a light purple skin, like bamboo, segmented, but not hollow inside. Moreover, it is much thinner than bamboo.

Because he had never seen it before, he didn't know what it was, nor did he know whether it was poisonous or not, so Zhao Zhizhou didn't dare to try it, and just asked someone to keep it under guard.

According to the letter from Zhao Zhizhou, Hua Lei guessed that it was most likely sugar cane. In the southern part of the Great Sheng Dynasty, there were many wealthy cities, and many wealthy families planted sugar cane and were able to make sugar from it.

However, both planting and making sugar from sugarcane are done by only a small number of people, and ordinary people do not plant much.

Xichang has high temperatures and sufficient sunshine throughout the year, but the rainfall is not sufficient, which may not be suitable for sugarcane growth. However, nothing is absolute.

All species have evolved through thousands of years of history. Therefore, sugarcane may be able to grow in Changtong Prefecture, where there is not much rain.

This time, Hualei and Rongjin went to Changtong Prefecture with a few guards and yamen officials without the child. Changtong Prefecture is next to Changlan Prefecture where the government office is located.

After only two days of walking, they had already reached Changtong Prefecture. However, after arriving in Changtong Prefecture, Hualei's pace slowed down.

She started to check the crops in the fields. Because it was already the end of October, she had not actually checked the planting situation since Hualei issued the decree encouraging wheat planting.

Compared with several other prefectures, Changtong Prefecture has relatively good geographical conditions and has been less likely to be harassed by foreign enemies.

Moreover, there are more rivers here than in other states. Although there is not much rain, it can basically meet the needs of the people.

Moreover, the territory is basically plains with plenty of sunlight. There are very few high and low hills, but only a few small mounds occasionally. Therefore, there are more fields than in other state capitals.

Therefore, the people here live better than those in other states. Along the way, Hualei found that there were many people working in the fields, and many fields were planted with wheat.

Ordinary water wheels were set up at regular intervals along the river. However, due to the lack of manpower in the Anbang Army, the ponds and wells in the state had not yet been dug, and irrigation could not fully meet the needs.