Chapter 393 The Reason for Poverty
Not only did the three farmhands not have wives, they also rarely went home.
They were kicked out of their home and had to work to make a living. After two years of odd jobs, they finally settled down in the Bai family. During this period, they did go home.
But they had no land, or very little land, in their hometown, and their lives were not easy. It would be better for them to work as long-term laborers in the Bai family.
Basically, if you are not extremely lazy, you will not be driven away. If you are not driven away, you will have food to eat every day and you can survive.
They may not be rich, but their lives are better than those of ordinary poor families during years of disaster, because at least they will not starve to death or become refugees.
Now, the oldest of the three farmhands is already twenty-four years old.
In Qili Village, children of this age can go out to work in the fields.
For example, Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang are of the same age.
The youngest one is already 22 years old, and none of the three has the capital to get married.
Yang Heshu became excited and quickly asked someone to call the three farmhands over. He was very curious about how they lost their land.
The three farmhands were a little reserved in front of the county magistrate, and Yang Heshu's questions also made them a little confused.
They were already quite old when they left home, but they didn't know much about what was going on at home. For example, how did the land disappear?
The three of them thought about it, and the farmhand said, "It seems that my grandfather was ill, and my father sold a piece of land to buy medicine, but before he could fully recover, his illness got worse again."
He thought for a moment and said, "I don't remember who my father borrowed the money from. Later, they came to collect the debt and took away most of our fertile land. We didn't have much land to support so many people, so my parents kicked my second brother and me out and told us to make a living on our own."
The second farmhand said, "There was a drought in that area, and the crops didn't produce anything. My parents ate up all the seeds we had left at home, and then took us out to beg for food."
Yang Heshu: ...
Manbao: ...
"I don't know where my parents took my younger brother. Anyway, I went home to check, but they weren't home. The land at home was barren. The village chief said that if I went back, he could give me some permanent farmland. But I thought, I'm alone, I don't have any farm tools or seeds, and I have to borrow money to buy farm tools and seeds. I also need money for food and drink every day, so I might as well work as a farmhand."
Yang Heshu looked at the third farmhand.
The farmhand smiled naively and said, "My family has little land, and none of my three brothers have married. My parents felt that this was not going to work, so they sold my permanent farmland to my eldest brother to get married, and let me out to make a living."
Yang Heshu was stunned. Manbao and Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang were also stunned. They all widened their eyes and asked in unison, "Are you willing too?"
The third farmhand said as if it was normal: "There must be someone to carry on the family line in our family. Since all three brothers are staying at home and none of them can get married, it's better for one of them to come out."
Yang Heshu felt uncomfortable, his heart aching and swollen. This feeling was a little unfamiliar. He paused before asking, "Then, have you ever been home?"
"No, I'm already out, why would I go back?" The farmhand Sanhan said with a smile, "I need travel expenses to go back."
"If you have money for the trip, will you go back?"
The third farmhand thought about it and shook his head. "I'd rather not go back. If I can save enough money for the trip, I'll definitely save enough money to marry a wife. Of course, I have to marry a wife first. After marrying a wife, I have to save money to buy things for my wife and children..."
So you keep saving and spending money like this endlessly, and who knows when you will have money to go back.
Yang Heshu sighed in his heart.
Manbao looked up and down at the third farmhand and asked, "What did you do with your money?"
The farmhand's face flushed slightly, and he whispered, "Eat it all."
He had been hungry a lot before, but now that he had some extra money and no one was urging him to eat, it was natural that he couldn't help but eat as soon as he had money.
He had tried to save money, but he just couldn't. Whenever he was hungry, he couldn't help but buy something to eat.
Yang Heshu expressed concern about their self-control, "How can you find a wife if you keep doing this?"
The third farmhand lowered his head.
Manbao said, "After you get married, just give the money to your wife to manage. That's what my fourth brother did."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "My eldest and second brothers couldn't save money before, but after they married my eldest and second sisters-in-law, they were able to save money."
The third farmhand immediately looked at Yang Heshu expectantly.
Manbao also looked at Yang Heshu expectantly, "Master Yang, do you want to find a wife for them?"
Yang Heshu: ...So he is going to become a county magistrate and a matchmaker?
Mr. Bai, who had been paying close attention to the situation, saw the situation and came over at the right time to rescue County Magistrate Yang.
The three children watched County Magistrate Yang walk away with regret on their faces.
Manbao said: "It's almost there, so we don't have to hire permanent workers."
Bai Shanbao and Bai Erlang nodded in agreement, looking regretful.
Mr. Bai had nothing to say to the three naughty kids. He and the village head took County Magistrate Yang to visit the whole village. After understanding the sowing progress and farming conditions in the village, they held a small and simple meeting.
The only attendees were the adults who followed County Magistrate Yang around. Manbao and the other three children were too disdainful to attend such a boring meeting, so even though County Magistrate Yang invited them, they declined on the grounds of being busy with their studies.
The arrival of County Magistrate Yang did have an impact on Qili Village, and it was quite significant. The most direct impact was that the day after he left, the village head brought a batch of bean seeds and rice seeds and distributed them to each household according to the number of people.
There aren't many, but it is said that they are seeds transferred from other places by the county government, and the quality is pretty good.
Because the three children were friends of County Magistrate Yang, the village head gave them a share for the first time.
Manbao and his friends had finished planting all the beans, so the three of them discussed it and divided the bean seeds equally and went back home.
After looking at the bean seeds, Old Zhou chose a piece of land to plant them, intending to test the yield.
The reason why it is only one piece is because there are not many bean seeds, about two kilograms per person, how much land can be planted?
The rice seeds distributed will be kept temporarily. After a period of time, they will sow the rice seeds again. After the winter wheat is harvested, the rice seeds sown later will be ready to grow into seedlings.
Seeds were distributed to every household, and some families also received some farm tools.
Such as rakes, hoes, etc.
They were all delivered by the village head himself. A total of three families in Qili Village received agricultural tools, and coincidentally, they were the three poorest families.
The villagers were delighted by this change. Every night after washing up, even though they were exhausted, they would still gossip under the banyan tree at the entrance of the village, saying, "Although this county magistrate is young, he's a good guy. He looks better than County Magistrate Fu."
"Yes, yes, our village hasn't received any seeds or farm tools from the county government in years."
"In the past, adults didn't like to come to our village because the roads were difficult to travel and the area was poor."
"Yes, yes, many of them got better after Master Bai came. I remember..."
Manbao sat among a group of adults and listened with great interest. If Old Zhou hadn't taken her back, she would have wanted to continue listening.
(End of this chapter)
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