Chapter 3321 Lively
When the old men and women heard this, they thought that Old Zhou could go to the palace to see the emperor every year and eat at the same table with him. They were extremely envious and asked, "What does the emperor look like?"
"Majestic," Old Zhou said, "I don't even dare to look at him. They say you can't look directly into the emperor's face."
"Uncle Jin, what is your dress made of? It feels so thin, and the pattern on it is beautiful."
"It's fine cotton, supposedly produced from such and such a place. It's a bit more expensive than the fine cotton we produce in Mianzhou, but it's cool and breathable, perfect for this kind of weather. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, our cotton will still be the best to wear." Old Zhou generously let them touch it. "Manbao got it from the palace, and I only made a few sets of clothes for me and her mother. Alas, that's what happens when you get old. You can't stand the cold, and you can't stand the heat."
"Manbao is still filial..."
"So it's something from the palace. No wonder it's so good. Does the emperor and his men from the palace also wear clothes like this?"
Old Zhou said complacently, "It should be about the same."
Everyone was envious.
After talking about food and clothing, everyone was still more concerned about the children's future. "Uncle Jin, I remember Liwei no longer went to school, but I heard from Erlang that he is now an official. How did he get there?"
"Thanks to his uncle's blessing, he originally followed his uncle to serve as a steward. He did a good job, so he was promoted. However, the rank was very small. It took two promotions to get to the seventh rank."
"Isn't that the same as the county magistrate? Amazing!"
"Yes, yes, Li Zhong has also become an official. I never thought that farmers could become officials. Brother Jin, do you think those of us who are good at farming can go?"
Old Zhou said complacently, "Not everyone who is good at farming can become an official. My family's Li Zhong has grown new rice seeds. If you can grow new seeds, you should be able to do the same."
He paused and said, "Manbao said it's called 'reward for merit', anyway, that's it."
"That's not easy. We've been farming for so many years, and every year at most we pick the best seeds to increase the yield a little bit the next year. Who else has ever grown so many rice seeds like this except your family?"
"The new wheat seeds were also grown by your family back then, so this is all thanks to our ancestors. Alas, we are all members of the Zhou family, so why did our ancestors only bless your branch?"
"I suspect it's the ancestor of this branch of their family."
"I thought so too. If it wasn't for Uncle Yin's blessing, then it would have been my great uncle and great aunt."
"Yes, yes, Uncle Jin, when are you going to repair the grave? Let's go and burn some incense."
"Yes, you can't repair it secretly."
Zhou Jin: "Repairing graves is a good thing, why should I do it secretly?"
"There are more and more people in our village who are studying, and many young ladies are clamoring to go to school. Uncle Jin, I heard from Erlang that there is a girls' school in the capital now. Do you want to send all your great-granddaughters to study there?"
"Yes," Old Zhou nodded, "but the child is still young and needs to grow up. For now, she can learn a little at home. When she is old enough, she can be sent to a girls' school. That's a school jointly run by the Princess and the Crown Princess. It's quite impressive."
The villagers were amazed and asked quickly, "If we go inside to study, won't we be able to see the Princess and the Crown Princess every day?"
Oh my God, just thinking about it was enough to make them excited. They would never even talk about these two big shots before, but now they might see them every day.
Zhou Silang, who was bragging about his own achievements while bringing back two slaughtered sheep from Dali Village, was also stopped by someone.
They were all young and middle-aged people in the village. "Silang, did my kid get you into trouble outside?"
"No, no," Zhou Silang said with a smile, "He's very hardworking, but he loves drinking too much. Apart from the money he sends back, he spends most of the rest on drinking. Brother Dayong, you have to talk to him. Drink less and save more money. He wants to get married in two years."
"Shiro, do you think I can do it? I also want to go on business with you."
"You?" Zhou Silang looked her up and down and shook his head, "No."
"Why?"
"You're an only child. Let's wait until you have a few more sons and they're grown up enough to take charge of the family," Zhou Silang said. "Trading is much more dangerous than farming. Whether it's going to the Western Regions or the sea trade route, your life is in jeopardy. If you're unlucky and die out there, where can I find you to explain to my aunt and sister-in-law?"
Zhou Silang suggested, "Give birth to a son first, and then go out with me when he grows up."
The villagers burst into laughter and started to jeer, "Yes, Eryi, you should have a son first."
Eryi was unconvinced, "I'll sign a life and death agreement with you. If I die outside, my parents and wife will definitely not bother you."
"That won't work," Zhou Silang said. "Even if there's a death warrant, we're all from the same village. If something really happens to you, how can I feel at ease?"
He paused, then patted his shoulder and said, "I'm not saying this, but don't always think about going out and making a lot of money. We merchants seem to make more money, but our expenses are also higher. Ask the villagers who went out with us. They don't eat well, they don't sleep well, and every day they're either running or carrying bags. It's more tiring than farming."
"Things are different now. In the past, the land produced little, so if you wanted to make more money, you had to go out. But now, wheat and rice are both high-yielding. If you cultivate the land at home well, you can make a good living. Add in the income from some medicinal herbs, and you can earn just as much as we do outside."
"Yes, yes," Dayong said, "The reason I let my son go out is because there are many people in my family. One more or one less of him won't make much difference to the land. But you are different, Eryi. You are the only adult male in your family. If you go out, who will do the heavy work at home?"
"Life is much better now than before. Silang, what's the price of Ligustrum lucidum this year? Food prices are getting cheaper every year, so wouldn't this medicinal herb also be cheaper?"
"Not yet, but I can't guarantee what will happen in the future," Zhou Silang said. "We just follow the crowd. Whatever the market price is, that's what we charge."
Although food prices are falling, medicine prices have not changed much. This is because in recent years, more and more medical offices have been opened in various places, the number of people seeking medical treatment has increased every year, the amount of medicinal materials consumed has also increased, and medicine prices have also risen slightly.
If the Imperial Medical Bureau had not collaborated with county governments in recent years to promote the planting of medicinal herbs, the price of medicine would have definitely risen more than just slightly.
However, now that grain yields per mu have increased, the quantity and quality of land used to grow medicinal herbs will definitely increase. There will be more and more medicinal herbs, and the price of medicines will also fall in the future.
However, Manbao said that this would not produce results in three or two years. Not to mention the time required for promotion, it takes at least two years for a single medicinal ingredient to mature. Therefore, the price of the medicine will not fall for five or six years.
There was no need to tell the villagers about such a complicated matter. "The price of Ligustrum lucidum shouldn't drop this year anyway."
The villagers breathed a sigh of relief and cheered up, "What about the old ginger? We dried a lot this year too."
After Zhou Silang answered their various price questions, he finally squeezed out of the crowd and went home sweating.
(End of this chapter)
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