51 Agriculture Division (1/2)

Back at the Lord’s Manor, Ouyang Shuo didn’t go anywhere, concentrating on reading in his office.

Gu Sanniang called in, “Lord, there is a call for you outside, from Wang’er, here to see you!”

“Wang’er?” Ouyang Shuo asked, confused.

“Yes, it is a mason, he said that you had told him to come find you.”

Oh ho, he remembered now, the young man at the work site wanted to come find him as a witness to his marriage. He hadn’t thought the young man would be so quick!

“I know who it is, let him in!” Ouyang Shuo told Gu Sanniang.

“Okay!”

Soon after, two visitors came in just behind Gu Sanniang. Entering the office, one said respectfully, “Commoner Wang greets the Lord!”

Ouyang Shuo nodded and smiled, saying, “You have come, I know why. Tell me, when is the wedding?”

“My Lord, this small person’s wedding is tomorrow evening,” Wang’er said cautiously.

“Okay, tomorrow evening, I will be there, you can rest assured!”

Hearing Ouyang Shuo promise this, Wang’er bowed happily, saying, “Thank you, sire! Thank you!”

Ouyang Shuo waved his hand, picking up the cup on the table to drink the tea. Gu Sanniang took the hint and led Wang’er out of the office.

In the evening, San Gouzi from the Military Intelligence Division brought some good news.

“Lord, the Military Intelligence Division has fulfilled its mission, and finally found some mulberry tree seedlings outside of the territory,” San Gouzi said hurriedly after coming into the office.

Ouyang Shuo was overjoyed, saying, “Finally, there is a result! This was all about our upgrade to a grade 1 town. If I didn’t find one, I might lose my race to the rankings.”

San Gouzi smiled widely in return, “Sir, this is not the only good news. Not only did one of the cavalry searching found mulberry trees, but there were also wild goat traces nearby. At this moment, General Shi is out with the cavalry squadron, making sure that he doesn’t miss them once again, and is planning to stay out all night.”

“Oh, good things in pairs! Get the mulberry saplings to the Agricultural Division!” Ouyang Shuo ordered him with a smile. He wasn’t worried about the night action of the cavalry. The Military Intelligence Division had long been clear with its investigations, there were no other threats near the territory past the bandit camp that they’d already eliminated.

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At 10 AM the next day, 2nd month 13th day, hundreds of goats, driven by more than fifty cavalry, came rumbling into the village.

Seeing the wild goats, Construction Division secretary Zhao Dewang hurriedly jumped to his feet, cursing as he arranged for workers to quickly build a goat pen.

Fortunately, the wild goats were more docile animals, not scurrying around, quietly staying together as a group. Seeing this scene, Du Xiaolan arranged for people from the warehouse to come out with fodder to feed them. Since the day they had cattle, the warehouse had always reserved some fine forage, and it came in handy this time.

In the afternoon, the goat pen was built. Ouyang Shuo looked at the goats and had a few thoughts. Heading back into the Manor, he summoned Fan Zhongyan, Tian Wenjing, Cui Yingyu, and Zhao Dexian to his office to discuss things.

Fan, Tian and Cui, these three people were secretly called the Three Giants by the administrative staff. With the Three Giants together with him in the head office, Zhao Dexian felt a little apprehensive.

Ouyang Shuo did not waste time, going straight to the point. “With the further expansion of raising livestock in the territory, coupled with the upcoming mulberry, the agriculture in Shanhai Division is slowly coming onto the right track. It is now necessary to set up specialized divisions to coordinate management.”

Zhao Dexian’s heart skipped a beat, and was starting to get eager. According to what Ouyang Shuo was saying, that meant he was going to set up a strong department covering agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal breeding. Looking at the few seats here, everyone else already had an important position. Was this position going to fall on him?

Fan Zhongyan threw Tian Wenjing a glance, asking, “Does the lord mean that he is moving Animal Husbandry out of the Material Reserves Department?

“In accordance with the general pattern of jurisdictions, such industries as Animal Husbandry should be placed under the Administration Department.”

The Material Reserves Department grew too strong during Cui Yingyu’s period, but she also had Ouyang Shuo’s trust. Coupled with the fact that animal breeding was very weak and unimportant, no one said anything. Now, it had grown into an important issue.

After taking over the Administration Department, Mr. Fan had been carefully assuming his powers, but had not found a suitable way to expand. With the potential of the wild goats and Ouyang Shuo bringing this up, he took the initiative to mention the jurisdictional issue, naturally adding fuel to the fire.

The newly appointed director of Material Reserves Department was as blank as a mirror, nobody could see what he was thinking.