Li Yaonan walked around the market again, bought some extremely cheap mountain products, and finally set his target at Qilizhai, intending to go and take a look.
"Master!" Zhang Cheng hesitated and seemed to want to say something.
Li Yaonan raised his eyebrows: "If you have something to say, just say it."
"The mountain road in Qilizhai is difficult to travel, and riding a horse may be inconvenient."
Li Yaonan nodded, indicating that he understood: "Let's go forward first. We can't ride horses and then walk."
Zhang Cheng frowned and said, "It's nothing for me, but it will take at least two hours to walk there. I'm afraid the master can't stand it."
Li Yaonan was silent and did not think for too long. He said lightly: "Let's go and take a look." If he did not experience the situation himself, he would never understand the difficulties faced by the mountain people. A hundred-year-old ginseng only sold for twenty taels of silver, and a tiger skin only sold for ten taels of silver. Yunnan is full of treasures, so why is it still so poor? Since he plans to improve the lives of the mountain people, he must first understand the local environment.
Zhang Cheng tried to persuade her in vain, and hesitated for a moment: "Master, please wait a moment, I will go buy some things."
Li Yaonan nodded in agreement. After a while, Zhang Cheng came back with some herbs, plasters, a few pairs of shoes and a straw hat in his hands.
"You are..." Li Yaonan looked at him in surprise.
Zhang Cheng smiled as he carried the things: "It's a hot day, Master, get ready to walk again. I'm afraid your shoes are not suitable for walking on the mountain road."
Li Yaonan chuckled, then immediately changed his shoes and put on a straw hat. He was not the kind of person who would not listen to advice, nor was he someone who could endure hardship.
The group rode on horseback. Soon, the narrow mountain road turned into a steep mountain. A road wide for two people meandered up the mountain. There was a cliff on one side and rocks on the other. Just looking at it made one feel dizzy.
Zhang Cheng saw his master's expression and grinned. He would never admit that he was gloating, so he explained, "Qili Village is named after the distance. Go up the mountain road for about seven miles and you will reach the village."
Li Yaonan frowned, got off the horse, looked around, and understood why the mountain people were so poor. There is a saying in modern times: if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. The mountain roads here are difficult to travel. It is not easy for the mountain people to go to the market. They have to carry everything on their backs. How much can they sell? What's more, the market is not held every day. The mountain people don't have much time. They just want to sell everything quickly. Naturally, the price can't go up, which only makes it cheaper for some vendors, and the resale price is high.
"Let's go and have a look." Li Yaonan was very determined, but finally decided to go. He only left a young servant behind and asked him to take the horse back to the town first.
The weather in June was very hot, and the sun was burning people. After walking less than two miles, Li Yaonan felt very hot and his soles were aching. He was very glad that Zhang Cheng had the foresight to prepare shoes and a straw hat in advance.
"Master, have a drink of water." Wang Dayong handed over the kettle.
Li Yaonan took the kettle and drank most of it in one gulp. Afterwards, he poured the water on his body, and only then did he feel better.
"Hey! Master, look?" Wang Dayong pointed to a place not far away where two mountain villagers were moving quickly. Compared with his own snail's pace, Li Yaonan felt ashamed.
"Hey, where are you going?" The girl saw them and called out from afar.
"We are going to Qilizhai." Li Yaonan looked carefully and found that they were acquaintances. He had just bought two furs from them not long ago.
"Who are you going to look for? We don't have any rich relatives in our village." The girl was smart and capable. As she spoke, the two of them gradually approached and soon came in front of them.
Li Yaonan smiled and said, "I heard that there are a lot of mountain products in the village. I want to go over and take a look. My husband is pregnant, so I plan to buy some food to nourish him."
Hearing him talk about her pregnant husband, the girl became more friendly and waved her hand, saying, "You'd better not go. The mountain road is hard to travel with just a few of you." The girl looked them up and down and said disdainfully, "You are as weak as a chicken. Even a wild boar can't lift you. You'd better go back quickly. If you need anything, I'll ask Brother Zhuzi to take you down the mountain tomorrow."
Li Yaonan fell to the ground, his face disheveled in the wind for a while. What a weakling! He actually became a weakling.
"Lihua!" the man scolded hastily, looking at them apologetically: "Lihua speaks her mind, don't take it to heart."
Li Yaonan was very strong under pressure and quickly regained his composure. He smiled and said, "It's okay. We've already walked halfway and I don't want to go back. If you don't mind, how about we all go together?"
"Is there any land at home... mmmmm..."
The man quickly covered her mouth and said enthusiastically: "I'll lead the way for you."
The girl glared at the man, but Li Yaonan pretended not to see it. It was better to have a local mountain villager lead the way than for him to grope around blindly. It would also be convenient for him to understand the situation. He smiled and said, "Thank you very much."
The man rubbed his head. He was not used to his flowery words and stammered, "You're welcome. Of course, of course."
Li Yaonan smiled slightly and walked slowly forward while chatting with the man, asking him about the local situation and what local specialties there were.
The man was very happy after hearing this, and answered Li Yaonan's questions one by one, hoping that he could buy more things so that the villagers could improve their lives.
Li Yaonan was quite impressed in his heart that the man's requirements were really low. At the same time, he also realized that the man had no concept of government at all. If there was something, he would go to the village chief. If there was a dispute, he would also go to the village chief. If he encountered a problem that the village chief could not solve, he would go to the local gentry. As for what the government was, sorry, the man just shook his head honestly and said, I have no money.
Li Yaonan felt heavy-hearted and could not describe how he felt. Whose fault was it that the government was in such a mess
With them as a burden, the man's journey slowed down a lot. The girl was anxious at first, but as they talked, she was no longer angry. After all, she knew the man's temper. If he was really angry, she wouldn't even eat. He was so angry that he was full of anger.
Li Yaonan's depressed mood eased a little when he looked at this pair of bickering lovers. In the afternoon, they finally arrived at their destination. The guards were fine, but Li Yaonan was exhausted.
Since he was a big buyer, the man took him to the village chief's house, a mud house built with a mixture of mud and straw, with a thick layer of straw on the roof, and the ground was bumpy and had signs of leaks. It was not as good as the pigpen of a wealthy family. However, it was obvious at a glance that the village chief's house was the best house in the village.
Li Yaonan frowned and looked around. The living conditions of the mountain people were worse than he had imagined.
The village chief was about fifty years old, and long years of hard work made him look even older, but his deep eyes showed a shrewdness and wisdom that could not be ignored.
The village chief greeted them warmly, but his eyes were fixed on their clothes. He also prepared a sumptuous dinner in the afternoon. Of course, the so-called sumptuous means there were vegetables and meat. Li Yaonan only ate a few bites casually. As soon as he put down his bowl and chopsticks, the village chief's children started to wolf down the food.
Li Yaonan was slightly startled and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that the village chief's child was well-educated. Even though the environment was so bad, he was obviously drooling with greed, but still waited until the guests had their meal before eating.
"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you." The village chief was very respectful and enthusiastic towards them.
However, Li Yaonan could not see any joy on his face. Instead, there was a hint of nervousness and caution in the village chief's eyes.
"You're welcome, village chief." Li Yaonan said with a smile, and looked around, especially at a few of his subordinates. His eyes were fixed on the big swords hanging on their waists, and he couldn't help laughing in his heart. It turned out that the old ones were the most experienced, and he had revealed his flaw here.
Since his identity had been exposed, Li Yaonan stopped pretending and pointed to the seat next to him: "Sit down." He got straight to the point: "Village chief, tell me about the situation in the village."
The village chief sat down and said cautiously, "There are 38 households and 253 people in our village..."
Li Yaonan frowned and decided to ask the questions himself. Otherwise, if he kept talking about these irrelevant things, he didn't know when he would get to the point. He said calmly, "How much land have you planted this year? What is the expected harvest? What local specialties are there in the mountains? Have you ever thought about building roads in previous years? What is your average annual income?"
"This..." The village chief pondered for a moment, "This year we planted a total of 78 acres of paddy fields, with each household having less than 3 acres. The harvest is not enough for the villagers to eat. We usually make money by hunting or selling herbs. It is all thanks to the help of Butler Yi that we are lucky to have enough to eat every year. How can we have any extra money?"
Li Yaonan was speechless. From what he heard, the village chief was complaining about being poor. He was not a bandit who oppressed the villagers, so there was no need for him to be so vigilant.
"Is Butler Yi a member of the Yi family?" Li Yaonan asked with a smile, feeling a little unhappy in his heart. When the village chief mentioned Butler Yi, his tone was like that of a living Bodhisattva who saves people from suffering.
"That's right." The village chief nodded in response, his expression as calm as a mountain.
Only then did Li Yaonan realize that the village chief wanted to use housekeeper Yi to put pressure on others and make him feel intimidated.
Li Yaonan was so angry that he laughed. Today he knew that the Yi family was so powerful. He said bluntly: "You know, a tiger skin costs at least one hundred taels, and even more can be sold for thousands of taels. A hundred-year-old ginseng cannot be bought without five hundred taels of silver, and it is in short supply."
The village chief was startled, his wrinkled face twitched slightly, and he asked in surprise: "One, one hundred taels?"
Li Yaonan nodded. He was not surprised by the village chief's reaction. In ancient times, transportation was not as developed and information was not as convenient as in later times. As a native mountain dweller, how could he know the market conditions outside even if he was the head of a village
The corners of the village chief's lips twitched, and his bright eyes quickly dimmed. He asked tentatively, "What do you want, sir?" Whether it was the Yi family or the lord in front of him, what difference did it make? No matter how much silver it could be sold for, there had to be a buyer. Which merchant in their poor mountain village would be willing to come here, not to mention that there were people from the government office eyeing them covetously. Compared to the stranger in front of him, he trusted Butler Yi more.
Li Yaonan pondered for a while, not expecting to impress the village chief with just one or two words, so he decided to lay out a bait first, and said with a smile: "Not yet, take me around the village later, it's a rare trip, just in time to bring back some mountain products. Also, think carefully, if we build a road, is there a shortcut in the mountains?"
"Repair the road?" The village chief straightened his back and stared at him intently, as if trying to determine whether it was true or not.
Li Yaonan nodded and smiled: "I am the newly appointed magistrate of Yuxi. I am also responsible for the livelihood of the villagers. I think transportation is the key to enriching the people. Otherwise, mountain goods cannot be transported and it would be a pity if they accumulate and go bad."
The village chief looked at him suspiciously, as if he didn't believe he would be so kind, and reminded him: "It costs a lot of money to build the road."
Li Yaonan laughed loudly: "Don't worry, you don't have to pay for it, but you have to provide the manpower."
"Manpower is no problem." The village chief was more sincere, but he didn't completely believe it. He had the impression that the government never did practical things. So he would listen to what this adult said first. The villagers would not suffer any loss anyway. Whether it was just empty talk or not, he would have to make a final conclusion later.
The author has something to say: Thank you, I will continue to work hard. o(n_n)o
Today, someone from the telecommunications company came to help me check the network. It turned out that the network cable was tangled. Wipe my sweat, as soon as they untied the cable, the network immediately became normal. Because of such a small problem, my computer was stuck for several days. It's really useless to use amateurs.
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