Zhang Tu was silent, while the middle-aged man lying at the head of the bed, having drunk a bowl of fish soup and regaining some strength, cursed: "Stop yelling and hollering here. What the hell are you yelling about? If someone didn't know, they would think I was dead, and you're wailing here."
The cabin suddenly became quiet, with only the sound of rain outside. The raindrops hit the surface of the Yangtze River, splashing tiny ripples one after another. The ripples collided with each other and then spread into even smaller waves.
This unique scene instantly calms people's hearts and makes them feel inexplicably peaceful.
Plop, plop!
A sound of someone falling into the water was heard in the distance. An attendant of Tiger Lord who had beaten up the fisherman before walked to the riverside, staggered, and then plunged into the river.
Like a heavy stone, it sank straight to the bottom of the water without any sound after entering the water.
Faintly, there was a cry of surprise, followed by two more thuds.
This time the screams became louder, but over the mixed sounds of rain, wind, and flowing water in the river in the cabin, the two cousins could not hear them at all.
They just lay in the rain, looking at the outside world with numb and turbid eyes, drinking a bowl of hot fish soup in the cold rain to resist the cold that seemed to come from everywhere and penetrate into their bones.
"This fish tastes really good. Mixed with the sound of rain, it really has a unique kind of romance."
Zhang Mingtu held the coarse porcelain bowl, took a small sip, and praised softly.
After the quarrel, the cousins seemed to calm down as they listened to the continuous sounds of rain and wind outside, and their emotions were not as impulsive as before.
The injured, taller cousin managed a forced smile and said, "Hey, fishing all year round, if I didn't have good fish cooking skills, I really wouldn't be able to make a living. Eating fish every day, that fishy smell, and the taste of fish flesh, I really don't want to eat another bite. I have no choice but to do this!"
The short and strong cousin also chimed in: "It tastes good for a meal or two, but the fish won't satisfy your hunger. You have to go ashore and trade the fish for some coarse grains to keep you going. Salt is also a big problem. Otherwise, you can just find a small island on the river and make a nest in a cave. There's no need to endure this kind of suffering."
The taller and thinner cousin shook his head, and when the wound was touched, he couldn't help but let out a hissing cold snort in his throat and took a breath of cold air.
"Let's not talk about this unlucky thing. The fish in this river have all been marked out in a certain area. All the fish caught from this section belong to the Fish Gang and Mr. Huang's family. Ha, it can't be changed.
"Scholar, why don't you tell me about yourself? Your accent doesn't sound like it's from here. You said you're from Jiangnan West Road. Have you ever been to Jiujiang County?"
The tall and thin man lying in the cabin, with not very good complexion, had a numb look on his face when he talked about his past, but his eyes lit up when he mentioned Jiujiang County.
Zhang Mingtu's heart moved, but he still nodded.
“Yes.”
The tall and thin man suddenly became a little excited, and even the short and strong man next to him who had been swearing and swearing all the time became quiet, staring at Zhang Mingtu with his head tilted.
"What about Jiujiang County? Is the prefect of Jiujiang County really as loving as the legend says, loving the people like his own children? Can he really have enough to eat and have good crops if he goes there?"
"Only residents under the jurisdiction of Jiujiang County will receive the good seeds. Moreover, not only Jiujiang County, but also the entire Jiangnan region will be promoted in the future. Your family should also receive seeds."
The tall, thin man just shook his head. The short, stocky man was also not very interested. He asked, "I heard that they can eat meat every now and then over there. It's not fish, but fatty pork."
Zhang Mingtu thought about it and realized that after the large-scale promotion of good varieties, grain production increased greatly, especially in the first two rounds of official promotion of Yimu essence at all costs, and every household stored some grain.
There are indeed many families who raise chickens, ducks and pigs.
At the weekly market, some people go to sell pork, and some people go to buy it.
If that's the case, there are indeed quite a few people who can eat meat every week.
"There's a saying, but not every household can afford it. After all, some people are still a bit poor."
The short and stocky man was a little disappointed, but then he heard Zhang Mingtu add, "But it's not a big problem for every household to eat eggs. The yield of high-quality eggs is indeed very high, and after paying taxes, there will still be a lot of money left."
The tall and thin man's eyes lit up, and he pointed at the short and strong man with a little excitement and said, "Look, I told you, Jiujiang County is different!"
The short, stocky man remained silent, simply asking, "With increased production, the taxes the masters must pay will increase, right? How can they possibly have enough to eat? The extra produce should all belong to the masters. Could it be that the masters are being kind?"
The short and strong man and the tall and thin man had not read many books, but they had seen too many scenes in the world and were more familiar with these things than Zhang Mingtu and Ruihai.
Zhang Mingtu shook his head after hearing this and said, "Of course the masters won't be kind. Rui Hai and the Rui prefect have issued an order strictly controlling the level of grain collection and prohibiting it from being raised higher than before."
Unexpectedly, before the short and strong man could say much, the tall and thin man shook his head, disappointment flashed in his eyes, and he murmured.
"What's the use? What's the use? The extra land belongs to the masters. Does that mean the land in Jiujiang is still in the hands of us common people? Does the food we grow belong to the masters?"
Zhang Mingtu felt it was outrageous. The other party's sense of smell was even stronger than his. Ruihai spent a lot of time and energy dealing with this matter.
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