It was the first time that Dongsheng heard them discussing Zhuangzi. He had no idea what was going on, so he just listened quietly from the side.
"What you said is indeed true. Although my farm was not affected, some farms nearby were also confiscated. I came to Zuoyuan County and realized that the business community here is very shady. The private property under the county magistrate accounts for half of the market. I heard that there are people in the capital who support this situation. You must not confront them." Speaking of the county magistrate, Fu Zongming's face was not very good. "I didn't own property here before, so I don't know the situation here. I heard that in the past few years, all the crops here had to be sold to the government at a low price. It was nominally a government order, but it was actually the county magistrate's private actions."
"This county magistrate is really too bold." Yan Dashan was a little surprised. "We all thought it was an order from above. There's a war going on over there, so grain can't be collected. So no one is complaining?"
"Of course not. It's just that everyone who filed a complaint ended up in a miserable state. The noise was really loud for a while, but it died down a couple of years ago. I don't know why it started up again this year. I only found out about this not long ago. Anyway, I don't plan to continue running the farm in Zuoyuan, so it's a good thing you didn't buy it. If you have any ideas, we can go to other counties together to look for one, and then we can buy together so we can look after each other."
Chunxiao remembered that when Zhuangzi first planted cotton, private sales were indeed prohibited. Later, the army bought them out. It seemed that this matter was not over and continued like this.
"It's over. It won't be the same this year. If private sales are not allowed, the price they charge will definitely be low." Yan Dashan couldn't help but feel sad.
"If that doesn't work, I'll have the carriage and horse business ship all your stuff out to sell."
"You think too simply. I remember that in the first year of cotton planting in Zhuangzi, private sales were not allowed. They had to be inspected before leaving the city, and these things could not be transported out at all. What I thought was that if their prices were only slightly lower, then we, the people, would not fight with the officials and would just sell them. If their prices were too low, then we would hoard our products and not sell them. There is no reason to work hard for a year and let others get the lower price." Fortunately, cotton from other prefectures could provide subsidies.
"What a crooked official." Dongsheng was upset.
Fu Zongming shook his head helplessly. "Your county magistrate is always criticized wherever he goes, yet he's doing a good job and has been in office for several years. It can only be said that it's easy to get things done because of connections in the court. What can we ordinary people do? We can only endure it."
After talking about the dire social situation, they started talking about cotton.
"I came to see the cotton in your village today, and I'm itching to grow it again. I really don't understand how you grow it. Your one acre of land produces more flowers than our three acres. I was so grateful for your guidance when we were doing the pest control last time."
"Don't talk about buying a house again. If that's the case, we can go our separate ways now." Chun Xiao told him about growing cotton with a headache.
"I'm just envious. Seeing how well you're growing cotton, I want to give you some compliments. Who said you were going to buy a wife? Maybe in the future we won't grow cotton anymore, but sell it. We can still cooperate, right?"
There were many people helping out at home today, so Tian couldn't handle the evening meal, so she cooked two large pots of noodles with meat and served them with pickled bamboo shoots. It was the first time Fu Zongming had eaten so casually out of the house. Everyone urged him to eat more, and he thought it was new, so he didn't hesitate and devoured two large bowls. The Yan family's impression of him improved a bit.
It was dark after dinner. Tomorrow was the wedding day, so everyone agreed to come at daybreak. Yan Dahe invited Fu Zongming and the servant back home, and Dongsheng wanted to send Chunxiao and Xiaohua back.
"No need to see me off. I've walked this village road so many times. People live there now, so it's not far away at all. By the way, Dongsheng, you haven't seen my house yet, right? When you're free the day after tomorrow, come over and visit me. I'll show you around, and you'll also have to help me find a gardener."
"Okay, take me to see it the day after tomorrow. I'll see if you still need anything. If I find something suitable outside, I can bring it back to you."
"That's perfect. Go back now, and we'll be leaving. Just one last reminder: don't tell anyone about that. Please."
"Don't worry, I won't tell you." He naturally wouldn't tell you. This was something that concerned her reputation. He looked at Chunxiao and said, "You've forgotten what you should have forgotten."
The two said goodbye and went home. Xiaohua couldn't help but ask, "Miss, is Brother Dongsheng okay?"
"Okay, why do you say that?"
"Then why don't you like him?"
"What are you imagining? When did I ever dislike him?"
Xiaohua sighed. Maybe these young ladies were a little slow in this regard. This love might not be what others thought.
"What do you want to say?"
"Nothing, it's just that I think since you're not married and he's not married either, it would be great if you two could be together."
Chunxiao covered her mouth with her hand and said, "There are people living nearby. Do you want to kill me, your lady?" Thinking of Dongsheng, she felt a little complicated.
She could see a little bit about Dongsheng's behavior towards her, and she also had a good impression of him. After all, he had saved her twice and he was handsome. But she was a divorced woman, living a good life on her own, and she really didn't want to cause any more trouble. "Don't say that again in the future, or I'll be really angry."
Xiaohua said "Oh" and sighed in her heart.
There were many people at home today, and the younger ones stayed at Shufeng's place. When we got home, they had already gone back.
"Aunt, it's already dark when you come back."
"There's no other way. We have to work. Have you eaten?" Chunxiao was pulled by them to sit in the living room.
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