Chapter 111: Bao Lai, the Loyal and Righteous Person [VIP]
quarry.
Because a new batch of hard laborers and exiles had been sent in recently, the original hard laborers learned from the newcomers that there were new instructions from above.
As long as they finish building this section of the wall, they can go home.
So now these people who were doing hard labor did not need the officers to urge them on and whip them all the time. Instead, they just gritted their teeth and held their breath, chiseling stones and carrying stones to build the city walls.
They want to leave here as soon as possible.
Not only the convicts wanted to leave, but Zheng Fu did too, otherwise he would not have agreed to the unreasonable demands of the old man Li Menghong.
"Sir, the food we brought is almost gone." The accompanying steward entered the tent to report to Zheng Fu.
Zheng Fu was already furious. He threw the teacup in his hand at the person who came and angrily scolded him, "If you're out of tea, go buy some. Why are you reporting such a trivial matter?"
The steward's forehead was bruised, blood streaking across his brow and eyes. He didn't dare raise his hand to wipe it away, but instead immediately knelt down and said, "Sir, the money you brought from home is gone."
No, no money?
How could he be out of money? All the money and food he brought with him were gone?
Zheng Fu didn't believe what the steward said, so he asked the steward to bring him the account book. It turned out that all the money and food he brought with him had been squandered.
"If you don't have any money left, write a letter and ask your family to send you some money and food." Zheng Fu threw the account book on the table, feeling extremely annoyed.
The steward cautiously reminded him, "Sir, this letter needs to be reviewed by Lord Li. Please review how it's written, otherwise we won't be able to send it off."
"You are useless, a bunch of useless people. What use do I have to you if you can't even do this?"
If the letter can't be delivered, what will he eat? Is he going to eat the same food as these people doing hard labor?"
"Sir, how about..."
"Shut up!" Zheng Fu didn't want to listen to their advice anymore, so he went straight to find pen, ink, paper and inkstone, wrote down the current predicament, and told the person in charge to find a way to send it out quickly.
Silver and food must be sent to him as soon as possible, otherwise he doesn't want to eat the same food as those who are doing hard labor.
The steward took the letter and walked out of the tent. Looking at the deserted eastern suburbs, he wiped the blood from his forehead, sighed deeply, and rode to Qingfeng Town himself.
People were coming and going in the city. The manager sat in the noodle shop looking at the post station opposite, but he couldn't find anyone who could deliver the letter. Who could deliver the letter without being discovered?
Just when the manager was in a dilemma, he suddenly remembered the old farmer who set up a stall to sell vegetables outside the city when he entered the city.
So he used two taels of silver from his own pocket to buy a basket of fresh vegetables, put the letter in it, and asked the old farmer to deliver it to the post station in the city. He then secretly sent it back to his own residence under the pretext of delivering vegetables.
If he was sent directly back to Zheng's house, it would be too eye-catching. But if he was sent to his home, it would be different. Who would care about a small person like him?
When the old farmer came out of the city, the manager immediately came forward to ask. After seeing the approval note, he breathed a sigh of relief, and the item was finally sent out.
Just as the steward rode his horse back to the eastern suburbs to report the news to Zheng Fu, the letter was intercepted and delivered to Li Menghong's desk.
Looking at the letter asking for help, Li Menghong snorted coldly. Fortunately, he had secretly sent spies to monitor Dongjiao's every move, otherwise the letter would have been delivered to the hands of Zheng's clansmen.
He has been too conspicuous in the court recently and has made many political enemies, so this letter cannot be sent.
"Sir, if we don't send this letter, Zheng Fu will definitely come looking for us. How will we respond then?" The old official stepped forward and asked.
Li Menghong lit the envelope and watched it burn to ashes. He smiled contemptuously and said, "Come if you want. I'm not afraid of him. I have to let him taste the feeling of being without money, food and hunger. I'll see if he dares to continue to oppress the tenant farmers."
Didn’t he use his power to treat the tenant farmers as non-human beings before? Then let him live a life that is not like a human being.
The old official had followed Li Menghong for many years. After observing the changes in the master over the past few days, he knew how to deal with Zheng Fu and others next.
When it was time to plant cassava and peanuts, Tian Baolai and Huang Dongsheng had not returned to the village yet, so the task of teaching the villagers of Shanghe Village how to farm fell on Chen Yao's shoulders.
Chen Yao informed the folks of the two villages that he would teach Shanghe Village first tomorrow morning, and each family would send a representative to come and learn, and then teach Xiahe Village using the same method in the afternoon.
When Yang Jizong learned that she was going to teach the people of the two villages how to cultivate new crops, he also gave the children in the school a day off.
In order to put Chen Yao's ideas into practice, the students were divided into two groups to come and learn.
Children can't just bury their heads in books.
The peanut seeds were originally selected and distributed to everyone, so Chen Yao was teaching the people how to prepare the land at this time.
Chen Yao chose the three-acre wasteland of Luo Dunzi's family to demonstrate the planting of peanuts and cassava.
Luo Dunzi's home is close to hers, so after teaching, she can lead everyone to the field behind her house to see what the peanuts look like after they emerge.
Another reason is that Luo Dunzi's father went to the quarry and his mother worked in the silkworm room. The three acres of wasteland at home were all taken care of by his grandparents, so Chen Yao wanted to help the Luo family while teaching.
The land for planting peanuts must be deeply plowed, ridges must be dug, and fertilizer must be applied in advance to prevent the soil from becoming compacted and clumping.
Chen Yao was demonstrating and explaining, and Yang Ji was on the list. Not only him, but also the students around him were on the list.
The students finished learning how to grow peanuts and cassava today. Not only did they have to try farming and sowing on their own, they also had to write an article about it.
Everyone shouted that they had tried every possible way to fertilize the wasteland.
Yijing praised everyone for doing a great job.
Shen Yao knew what everyone had done in the past few days, and then continued digging ridges while saying: "When digging ridges, you have to pay attention to the spacing and depth."
Everyone came over and measured the size on the ground with their hands, memorizing the distance.
Chen Yao stood aside and waited for the villagers to finish looking at everything before she picked up the basket and prepared to dig holes and plant seeds.
"Chen Yao dug a hole, planted the seeds, and covered the soil at the same time.
Luo Dunzi put down the notebook in his hand and ran towards Chen Yao. He took the hoe from her hand and dug a hole in front of her: "Head, let me help you."
Chen Yao followed behind him to plant the seeds and bury the soil, and the two of them cooperated seamlessly.
During this time, Luo Dunzi turned around and asked Chen Yao whether the size and depth of the pit he dug were appropriate.
Chen Yao gave him a thumbs up, and Luo Dunzi worked even harder after receiving praise in front of the people from the two villages.
Luo Dunzi's grandparents also came over to dig ridges in their own fields, and understood Chen Yao's intention.
But there was no way A Yao could do all the work on their own land, so he hurried over to dig the ridges while asking Chen Yao if they were digging correctly.
The Luo family has three acres of wasteland. The old couple plans to plant peanuts on one acre, edamame on one acre, and cassava on one acre.
In fact, many villagers think so.
When hearing Chen Yao praising the old couple for what they did, the villagers became more confident that they could learn to grow these crops well.
When it was her turn to plant cassava, Chen Yao simply said, "Be careful not to make the soil too moist."
The villagers were a little surprised and asked, "As long as cassava sprouts, it can survive as long as there is soil and water, and its yield is high."
Everyone spent the whole morning learning it with their eyes, and then they had to go back and put it into practice in the afternoon.
The crowd gradually dispersed. Chen Yao listened to the discussions becoming quieter as the crowd moved away, and walked towards Yang Jizong with a hoe in hand.
When she lowered her head, she saw that the booklet in Yang Jizong's hand not only recorded the knowledge points she taught, but also circled the key points.
"Zi'an, were you so dedicated when you first traveled to study?"
Yang Jizong put the charcoal pencil between the gaps in the account book, smiled and nodded at her, took the hoe from Chen Yao's hand, said hello to Grandpa Luo and Grandma Luo, and went home.
Luo Dunzi ran all the way and insisted on seeing them off. The two houses were only a few steps apart. Since the child insisted on seeing them off, then he did.
Luo Dunzi didn't return to the fields to help his grandparents work until he saw his teacher and his wife enter the house.
In the afternoon, Chen Yao became more adept at teaching the people in her village.
Now that you have learned how to use your eyes, let’s get started.
In the following days, anyone who entered the village would find that there was not a single idle person in the village.
Tian Baolai and Huang Dongsheng arrived home the day before August 15th.
Looking at the pile of mule carts, everyone gathered around with anxious looks on their faces.
Tian Baolai was afraid that the mule would scare everyone and kick people again, so he asked Dongsheng to get off the car and quickly grab the mule, and then said something to the villagers.
The price of grain in the neighboring county has not increased.
"Great, that's really great, there's no price increase."
"Baolai Village Chief, Dongsheng, you guys must have worked hard on this trip. Thank you, thank you so much!"
The villagers were delighted, and some of them, after their excitement, came to their senses and clamored to go back and get money to buy their own quotas.
Huang Dongsheng looked at the villagers leaving and touched the mule's fur with some reluctance: "Cousin, why didn't you tell us the truth? The grain prices in the neighboring county have increased. It was you who paid the difference out of your own pocket so that we could bring back these two carts of grain."
After Tian Baolai entered the house, he opened the side door of the Shen family's house and pulled the mule cart into the yard before answering his cousin: "It's not easy for everyone."
"Cousin, it's not easy for everyone, but what about you? You've been giving money to the villagers for no reason. That money was all saved by you when you were carrying a load on your shoulders."
"If your aunt knew you spent your money on these things, would she scold and beat you?"
"No, if my mother had such an idea, she wouldn't have given me the money to keep."
"Dongsheng, I'm the village head. Do you really want me to watch my fellow villagers starve to death without helping them?"
"You, I..." Huang Dongsheng didn't know how to refute for a moment.
Seeing that he was stunned, Tian Baolai unloaded bags of grain from the mule cart, placed them in the courtyard, untied the ropes that tied the bags, and waited for the villagers to come and pay for the grain.
Shen Qingshan drove an ox cart with his family to the city to buy groceries. When he saw a long queue in front of his house, he knew that his two sons had returned with food.
Tian Baolai was collecting money and keeping accounts, while Huang Dongsheng was weighing everyone at five cents per pound.
If some rice grains accidentally fall to the ground, the people who are closest to the queue will pick them up.
This is a respect for food and it should not be wasted.
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