Chapter 773: Implementing a Planned Economy

While waiting for Changzhi, Baifeng and Mu chatted about the current problems at the Pasture, including some matters regarding the breeding and rearing of livestock.

Huaxia is now constructing Breeding Farms on a large scale, and because of the land usage issues in Huaxia City, the final choice was to move a portion of the pig and sheep farming to Lema City, as the open land around Lema City is still large enough.

However, moving everything over is not realistic; after all, the number of livestock in Huaxia is so large, and the distance between Huaxia and Lema City is so great. How to drive the livestock over is a problem in itself. Pigs are not that docile, and sheep are even more skittish; the small wooden fences on the road between the two cities are as good as non-existent to them.

Currently, the Breeding Farms in both places are under construction, and Mu still feels quite overwhelmed by the transfer issue. The sheep problem can be considered solved: by tying a relatively loose wooden stick to the sheep's front legs and connecting them with a rope, if the sheep walks with normal small steps, there is no problem, but if it tries to run with large strides, it will be hit in the legs by the wooden stick, not to mention jumping.

This operation has already been verified in practice and is completely problem-free. When grazing, to manage a flock of sheep well, one must first manage the lead sheep; as long as the lead sheep does not run around, the other sheep basically will not have any problems.

The sheep flocks in Huaxia are divided into many parts, so there is more than one lead sheep. As long as the lead sheep are controlled well during the migration, the other sheep will have no problems.

Pigs are different. Although they also have the concept of a Leader, the Leader's control over other pigs is not very strong. Moreover, boars are always fighting each other; in fact, much of the pork sent to the meat market comes from boars that died in fights.

Because of the mating season, combined with the lack of castration and bleeding, the rank odor is extremely strong. The one Baifeng ate this time happened to be an old, large boar that had been bitten to death by other boars. By the time it was discovered, the blood had already dried, and it had not been bled properly in time, so the taste was exceptionally foul.

Usually, when slaughtering pigs, it is done according to Baifeng's instructions to bleed them properly; the meat that comes out this way at least has a much fainter rank odor.

Mu still wanted Baifeng to offer some ideas to see if a portion of the pigs could be transported safely. Baifeng did not dare to guarantee this, only saying: "Don't send the big pigs over; just send the piglets instead. Send the castrated piglets over, and starting from Lema City, raise a batch of better meat pigs."

"Send some breeding pigs as well, but send them in small quantities. Put them in cages and transport them by cart. It is best to send those half-grown pigs; everything must be based on the premise of safety, right?"

Afterwards, Baifeng continued: "As for here in Huaxia City, let's gradually phase out those old pigs. Our pigs have already bred enough. As long as the weight looks about right, slaughter them for market so that ordinary people can also eat meat. We can't have the Breeding Farm be so prosperous while ordinary families can't eat meat many times a year."

"The price of meat should also be lowered appropriately; there is no need for it to be so expensive."

Mu agreed with the issue of lowering prices, but had other concerns: "King, there is absolutely no problem with lowering the price. After all, our costs are not very high. By collecting some grain, the operation of the Breeding Farm is not a problem at all, and there is plenty of pig feed in the National Treasury."

"But the problem is, how to distribute the meat? There is only so much meat per day. If the price is low, everyone can afford it, but then there will be a scramble. People living close to the market can grab it more conveniently, but what about those living far away? They can't stand in line there for a whole day just to eat a bite of meat."

Baifeng stroked his beard and suddenly had an idea: that is, in times of material shortages, implement a Planned Economy and issue Meat Tickets. Cloth and furs could also be handled this way. In this way, the problem of uneven material distribution in Huaxia could be successfully solved.

Baifeng immediately slapped the table: "Mu, you really reminded me of this. I have a solution to this problem."

Subsequently, Baifeng said to the last maidservant beside him: "Go, call Yulong over."

The maidservant lowered her head to say yes, then immediately retreated. Although she dared not show any expression on her face, having been listening here just now, this short moment indicated that Huaxia would have a major policy reform. She did not understand the reasons, and she could not reveal anything to the outside, but this feeling of being able to be the first to come into contact with the latest policies gave the maidservant, who was a Slave, a sense of excitement.

Yulong, who had taken over the Ministry of Revenue, had long felt the busyness of the Ministry's affairs and had a clear understanding of Yu's abilities. In the past, Yu seemed to do everything, but in reality, he was doing the main affairs of the Ministry of Revenue. During the early founding of Huaxia, Wu kept a tight grip on the main affairs of the Ministry of Revenue, but in the later period, Wu was already somewhat unable to keep up, so he only did the overall planning, while the specific affairs were handled by Chou and others below, as well as Yu.

Yulong, who was very confident in his own abilities, was now feeling the pain, but he was to take over the entire Huaxia in the future, so no matter how busy the Ministry of Revenue was, he had to persist. This was the price that had to be paid for gaining power.

At this moment, he had just finished lunch and was lying on the table taking a nap. Because he was lying down, he felt a mass of Qi bloating in his stomach, neither going down nor up, which made him extremely uncomfortable and unable to sleep.

Just then, a soft "Prince Yulong" from Baifeng's personal maidservant called him up from the table. Yulong's eyes had some bloodshot streaks, but his mind was still very clear.

The moment he saw the maidservant Chun, he guessed the situation: "Is my father calling me?"

Chun was very gentle: "Yes, Prince."

Yulong stood up, took off the fur he was covering himself with, and rubbed his waist with both hands: "Alright, let's go."

Mu bowed to Yulong, and Yulong hurriedly helped him up. He still had to treat an elder-level person like Mu with courtesy.

Baifeng looked at the somewhat exhausted Yulong and felt a bit of pity, so he advised him: "Yulong, if you feel too tired, you must know how to delegate power. Letting go appropriately is good for you, and for the people below, it can also increase their enthusiasm."

"I remember I once told you that you cannot blindly centralize power; centralization is not the best way..."

Yulong hurriedly stopped Baifeng: "Father, I understand. I will definitely correct my work attitude immediately. I wonder what important matter you have for calling me this time?"