Chapter 139: Agriculture-Based [VIP]
Early April is a good time for spring ploughing.
Even if Peng Dingqiu didn't come to see her, Chen Yao would still go to the government office to discuss with him about reclaiming wasteland for the tenant farmers.
When Peng Dingqiu and the yamen runners rushed to the village entrance, the old man guarding the village rang the gong, and the villagers who were busy in the fields stood up one after another.
The old man guarding the village entrance led them into the village.
When Chen Yao got the news, she was at home with her cousin, weighing Champa rice seeds and listening to Chunya's mother talking.
"Ayao, when we went to the quarry during the Lunar New Year holiday, his father told me that the eastern suburbs' wall would be finished by the middle of this month. I was wondering, since they'll be back in a few days, will they still be able to work in the silkworm room?"
The two children at home caught a cold at the beginning of the month, and she spent a lot of money on medicine from Dr. Zeng. She has been taking care of them at home for the past two days and has not gone to work in the silkworm room. She is very panicked, fearing that her position will be taken by others.
As Chen Yao inspected the grain, she said, "Aunt, Uncle Zhang and the others have returned just in time for spring plowing. Everyone should finish their farm work first and plant more grain. As for whether or not you can still go to work, I'll ask my father when he gets back."
"Okay, then I'll wait for your letter. You guys are busy."
Seeing Chunya's mother cautiously retreating to the door, Chen Yao felt bad and took ten eggs from home and gave them to her so that she could take them back to nourish Chunya and Chunwang.
Chunya's mother waved her hand to indicate that she didn't want any. "We have eggs stored at home. The government has also allocated us some livestock. If we take good care of them for a year, they will lay enough eggs to sell to the supply and marketing cooperative."
"Auntie, let Chunwang take good care of himself. The teacher asked them to take the exam because he wanted the children to try first and feel the atmosphere of the exam room in advance. It doesn't matter if they fail." Chen Yao handed over the egg again.
These days, the students in the school are under too much pressure and many of them are sick.
"Oh, I know. You guys are busy now. Auntie is back." Chunya's mother still didn't ask for eggs and ran out of the yard quickly.
Tian Baolai finished weighing all the grain in the warehouse, patted the dust off his hands, and said to his cousin, "The workers everywhere have been replaced by the boys in the village. There is no room for more people."
Chen Yao sighed, "I know, there will be a lot of work to do in the fields when my uncles and aunts come back, and each family has to raise livestock, so how can they have the leisure time to work?"
It's just to calm Chunya Niang down first and prevent her from losing her composure.
"Ayao, Baolai, are you home? Lord Peng is here." Outside, Grandpa Guo, leaning on a cane, led Peng Dingqiu and his group to the door of the Shen family.
Chen Yao and Tian Baolai looked at each other and walked out to greet them.
"County Lady, I came here to ask you how to convert this wasteland into paddy fields." Peng Dingqiu entered the yard and went straight to the point.
Seeing several sacks of grain seeds placed in the yard, he curiously walked over, reached out and grabbed a handful and asked, "This must be Champa rice."
He had never been to Jiangnan, but was fortunate enough to have eaten it in Beijing.
"Yes." Chen Yao showed him the tea. "Sir, have you just returned from surveying the village? Do you want other villages to grow Champa rice?"
"That's true, but the wastelands in several villages are so far away from water sources that digging canals is impossible. If we carry water for irrigation, we'll have to irrigate every day in the summer."
"Master Peng, this Champa rice is drought-resistant. As long as the soil is moist, you don't have to carry water for irrigation every day, even in summer."
"Really? I haven't finished reading the contents of this book. If that's true, that would be great." Peng Dingqiu was a little embarrassed.
Chen Yao poured him another cup of tea and said, "Sir, my cousin and I will distribute rice seeds to the tenant farmers in the two villages tomorrow and help them improve their paddy fields. Do you want to come with us?"
"Okay, I'll come again tomorrow." Peng Dingqiu said and was about to get up and leave.
Chen Yao called out to him, "Sir, please don't leave yet. I also have something I want to ask you."
"What is it? County Lady, please feel free to tell me."
"The wasteland in each village cannot be reclaimed at will. It must be purchased first... As the county lord, can I let the tenant farmers reclaim the wasteland first, and then ask them to pay the tax silver after they have a harvest?"
Peng Dingqiu slapped his forehead upon hearing this and bowed to Chen Yao, "Of course this is possible. The county lady has thought it through. Tomorrow I will have the yamen runners go to each village to register the wasteland for the tenants."
"As for the rice seeds..." Peng Dingqiu wanted to say that he would write a memorial to the saint when the time comes, but he heard Chen Yao speak.
"There's no rush for rice seeds. This year, you can have the tenant farmers reclaim wasteland and plant beans to fertilize the fields. After the autumn harvest, you can lead them to convert the fields into paddy fields. By then, our two villages will have harvested a batch of rice seeds, which can be loaned out."
Peng Dingqiu asked Chen Yao many questions that she didn't understand, such as how to grow compost. This trip was very fruitful.
Before leaving, Peng Dingqiu changed his route and went to the quarry to meet Zheng Fu.
Zheng Fu had been demoted repeatedly and had long lost his spirit. He was unkempt and muddle-headed, and he no longer had the demeanor of a young man from a noble family.
"You should understand the saint's will. I see that this city wall is almost completed. Once it's finished, the Japanese official will personally send you away." Peng Dingqiu looked at the laborers hanging baskets of earth and rubble above the city wall. They did not stop at all because of his arrival.
Seeing that the work was about to be completed and they would be able to go home soon, the laborers were holding their breath and would not slack off.
He walked over and asked, "Master Peng, are you worried about me?"
"Oh, I am indeed worried. After all, I have heard that Lord Zheng has caused a lot of absurd things here. Since I have just taken office, I naturally have to keep a closer eye on him."
Zheng Fu was humiliated by him, but he could not do anything to Peng Dingqiu now, so he could only curse him in his heart.
Xin, Liu Chuang and their original team leader were asked to take people to each village to measure the wasteland starting tomorrow and register the number of acres of wasteland for the tenants.
He also reminded me again and again that it was necessary to pay for the transfer of ownership of the wasteland next year and not to be greedy.
Before dawn the next day, Peng Dingqiu found a mule cart at the city gate and went to Xiahe Village. He followed Chen Yao and Tian Baolai to learn how to convert wasteland into paddy fields.
Day after day, Peng Dingqiu not only learned a lot, but also had an increasingly close relationship with the people of the two villages. If he didn't have time to go back to the city at night, he would stay overnight in each household in turn.
In mid-April, Peng Dingqiu sent Zheng Fu away and led all the laborers out of the quarry.
When the men from the two villages returned home, the children from each household rushed over and cried loudly in the men's arms.
The men stretched out their arms and hugged all their family members. It was great to be back alive.
The return of the strong laborers in the family added a lot of joy to the village. For several days in a row, not only was the aroma of meat wafting from the chimneys of every household, but there was also constant laughter in the yard.
After a spring rain, the rice seeds that Chen Yao distributed to the villagers had already grown into seedlings. The tenant farmers carried the heavy rice seedlings to the paddy fields and planted them in the fields. They worked from sunrise to sunset and were very busy.
With a backbone in the family, the women always had smiles on their faces no matter how tired or busy they were. The only thing that worried them was their children's county examinations.
In order not to delay their work in the fields, when the county examination started this year, the villagers could only send their children to the village entrance and let Tian Baolai drive a mule cart to take them to the government office.
This test lasted for three days. Every time the children came back, no one dared to ask them, for fear of affecting their performance.
After the provincial examination was over and the results were announced, the villagers had finished planting the rice seedlings in the fields. Before dawn, every household gathered together to go into the city to see the results with their children.
Luo Dunzi was led into the city hand in hand by his parents. He was so happy that this was the first time for their family to go into the city together.
The yamen runners posted the list on the wall and turned around to see the crowd coming over to see the list. This happened every year and they were no longer surprised.
Luo Dunzi rode on his father's shoulders, grabbed his father's ears, and stretched his neck to look at the names on the list one by one.
Huang Dongsheng, who was standing by, was also looking at the list accompanied by his parents. He was anxious, not because he was worried that he would fail the exam, but because he was afraid that someone would hurt his father. After all, his father's wound had not yet healed completely.
"I got it, Dad. I'm ranked 36th." Luo Dunzi bounced up and down excitedly on his father's shoulders.
Luo Lao Da held onto his son's legs, his mouth almost stretched to his ears. His wife, who was watching from behind, was also extremely excited: "Quick, check on the others, are there any others who have been hit?"
Luo Dunzi glanced around and saw Shitou's name at the end: "Brother Shitou also won."
Over there, Shitou's family were all crying and holding their heads in grief. It was not easy, really not easy, for their tenant farmer family to have a boy.
"Where's Chunwang? Or your brother Dongsheng?"
Luo Dunzi frowned, looked carefully again, and motioned to his father to put him down: "Dad, I didn't see it."
Boss Luo sighed, "There were fifteen students from our two villages who took the exam, and only two of them passed!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his wife hit him: "The master said that this time we are just letting the children practice, so don't talk nonsense."
"I know, I'm not..."
Before Boss Luo could finish his words, more than a dozen other families came running over to congratulate them.
Zhang Chunya and Zhang Chunwang were best friends with Luo Dunzi. When they knew that he had passed the exam, they were really happy for him.
Huang Dongsheng knew his own strengths and weaknesses, and knew he wasn't discouraged at all by not passing the exam. He helped his father out of the crowd and said, "Okay, we have to tell my cousin and husband the good news. Don't be discouraged even if you didn't pass. Let's try again next year."
"Yes, let's keep up the good work next year." The students cheered in unison, their voices inspiring.
After returning to the village, the teachers gathered the students together again. They first praised Shitou and Luo Dunzi, but also asked them to be humble and not be too arrogant.
As for other students who failed the exam and did not take the exam, the teacher printed out the content of this year's exam and distributed it to each student one by one for them to do.
After finishing, everyone will know where their gaps are, and then the teacher will give them extra lessons.
The success of Luo Dunzi and Shitou in passing the examination for becoming students was inseparable from the careful guidance of their teachers.
In order to thank the teachers, the parents of both families took out their savings and bought half a rack of ribs at the market. They divided it into three parts and sent them to Mr., Chen Yao and Zhao Xiaofu's homes.
When Mrs. Xu received the two ribs, she was so happy that she rubbed them with salt. She also wrote a letter to her son and asked Chen Yao to send them together with Wenying's letter.
It was already early May when Ribs and the letter arrived at the prefectural government.
Yang Wenying received two portions of ribs and handed the letter and ribs to Zhao Xiaofu in front of her brother, clearly stating that they were sent by Shitou and Luo Dunzi from Xiahe Village.
"It's all your fault, brother. Otherwise, I would also have received gifts from the students." Yang Wenying missed everything in Xiahe Village very much.
Yang Jizong didn't care about the meat. His eyes fell on the letters in the hands of the two men. He just glanced at them and scolded Yang Wenying for making trouble unreasonably.
Yang Wenying was so angry that she threw away her arms and went back to the house to read the letter. She also wrote back to A Yao to slander her brother.
"Teacher, can I send some books back to them?" Zhao Xiaofu asked in a low voice as soon as Yang Wenying left.
"We are teacher and student, so you should go back in person." Yang Jizong said without raising his head, holding the brush.
Zhao Xiaofu was extremely happy when he heard this, but he responded respectfully on the surface.
In mid-May, Zhao Xiaofu returned to Xiahe Village just in time for the winter wheat harvest.
Looking at the golden ears of wheat in the fields and the green rice seedlings in the paddy fields, Zhao Xiaofu's smile never fell.
If only the teacher could see it with his own eyes.
"Mom, I'm back." Zhao Xiaofu shouted at the door with his luggage on his back.
Mrs. Xu was making pancakes in the kitchen. She was going to take them to the fields to eat while harvesting wheat the next day. When she heard her son's voice, she thought she was dreaming.
"Oh, my son, why are you back?" Mrs. Xu still held the spatula in her hand.
Zhao Xiaofu untied her bag and followed her mother into the kitchen: "The teacher asked me to come back. Isn't it the busy farming season? I have to come back to help you harvest the wheat."
"Mom is worried and wondering whether we should ask the villagers to help us harvest the crops. But everyone is busy now. It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back!" Mrs. Xu put the spread-out and cooled pancake to her son's mouth.
Zhao Xiaofu took a bite and said, "Mom, after we harvest this winter wheat, we won't have to rent land anymore. I have a salary now and can support you."
"You and mother are on the same page. I don't want your money. I earn money. You can save your money and buy Wenying some nice clothes and jewelry. Girls love these things."
"Mom, there's nothing wrong between Wenying and me. Please don't say anything. It's not good if others hear it."
"You are my mother's child, but I don't know your character yet. I always want you to build a career before starting a family. But you also have to understand that you have to put in the effort to pursue a man, otherwise no one will be willing to wait for you in vain." Mrs. Xu repeated the same thing to her son over and over again.
Zhao Xiaofu could only change the subject and ask about the latest situation in the village.
He was quite surprised to learn that Peng Dingqiu had come to the village some time ago to work with the villagers to renovate the paddy fields and plant rice. What surprised him even more was...
His mother said that Peng Da came to the Shen family every now and then to ask the county lady about farming matters.
"Mother, this cake is enough for us to eat. Stop spreading it. Please tell me more about Master Peng."
The next day.
Zhao Xiaofu gave the books he brought back to Luo Dunzi and Shitou, and then went to visit Chen Yao. After handing her Wenying's letter, he almost blurted out what was in his heart.
He wanted to ask Chen Yao on behalf of his teacher, what was going on with this Lord Peng?
"Brother Xiaofu, if you are too busy at home, I will come to help you after I am done." Shen Yao's shout made Zhao Xiaofu completely put his mind at ease. His teacher had already divorced Shen Yao.
Zhao Xiaofu hurriedly left the Shen family and went to the fields with his mother to harvest wheat.
About an hour later, when the villagers were busy in the fields, Peng Dingqiu came again and went straight to the Shen family's fields.
"County Lady, I'm here to help you harvest the winter wheat."
Shen Qingshan and his wife looked at each other, picked up the sickles in their hands, and sped up, leaving the two behind.
They really didn't know how to deal with this Magistrate Peng.
Chen Yao was quite happy to hear Peng Dingqiu speak, as she could learn about the goings-on in the court from him. Today, she found out that Prime Minister Wang had suffered another setback in the court.
Wang Xiang and others once again opposed the promotion of winter wheat rotation, but were rejected by the sage.
After all, the winter wheat in Fang County has already started to be harvested, so it is useless for him to object.
I heard that he fell ill after leaving court, and the emperor sent a royal physician to see him, who said that he might have hemiplegia.
Chen Yao cried out, somewhat unable to believe it.
Peng Dingqiu whispered some secrets about Wang Xiang to Chen Yao.
Zhao Xiaofu, who was not far away, saw the interaction between the two and was very worried about the teacher.
Peng Dingqiu stayed in Xiahe Village for several days until most of the tenant farmers in the village had finished harvesting their winter wheat. Then he went back to arrange for people to go to each village to count the harvest in order to fulfill his original promise.
Tenants with good harvests were exempt from taxes for one year.
According to statistics, the highest per-acre yield of winter wheat this year is three stones, and the worst is more than one stone.
Peng Dingqiu reported the matter to the sage, who praised him, Li Menghong and Yang Jizong highly.
This made Wang Xiang even angrier.
After harvesting the winter wheat, everyone started to plow the land without stopping in preparation for the autumn harvest.
Summer goes and autumn comes, and it is time for the autumn harvest again.
When the tenant farmers learned that the wealthy families were going to increase the rent by two stone, they were so angry that they ran to the gates of the wealthy families' mansions with hoes, ready to make a fuss.
When Peng Dingqiu learned the news, he immediately sent Li Xin and other yamen runners to stop them on the spot.
At the same time, Yang Jizong had already secretly stockpiled rice seeds in Jiangnan and asked Xing Fang and others to bring the rice seeds back to Ezhou.
While Peng Dingqiu was still trying to appease the tenant farmers not to cause trouble, Yang Jizong had already arrived in various counties with rice seeds.
He began to organize the tenant farmers so that they no longer had to cultivate the land. The sage had allowed them to reclaim wasteland on their own, and they could borrow grain from the government for farming and return it after the harvest the following year.
As soon as the news got out, no one renewed the lease of the fertile land in the counties of Ezhou. When this result reached the ears of Prime Minister Wang, the wealthy families who supported him panicked.
There were thousands of acres of fertile land but no one was cultivating it, so they sent slaves from the mansion to replace the tenant farmers. However, these slaves also had their own thoughts, so how could they cultivate the land properly?
By the next year, thousands of acres of fertile fields were either overgrown with weeds or compacted into blocks, and the money spent on buying seeds was not even heard after it was sown.
On the other hand, the tenant farmers were no longer burdened with heavy rent and taxes. The government not only lent them seeds for sowing, but also provided them with livestock and taught them crop rotation.
Life was hard at the beginning, but when the harvest came, we carried back every stone of grain and filled up the granary, which made all the hard work worth it.
The result of Ezhou's move undoubtedly gave the saint hope of overthrowing the aristocratic families. He then issued an edict, and all states and counties followed Ezhou's example.
The tenant farmers are not afraid of hardship, but they are afraid of having no hope in life. As long as they have hope, they can get through any hardship.
In three years, the wasteland turned into fertile fields, the tenant farmers owned their own land, paid taxes on time, and the national treasury gradually became full.
There were new changes in the fields, and even more so in the court. In three years, new people in the court emerged one after another like mushrooms after rain.
Led by Yang Jizong, Li Menghong, Peng Dingqiu and others, and assisted by newly appointed officials from all over the country, the reforms under the sage's policy of "taking agriculture as the basis" were unstoppable.
The aristocratic families were declining day by day, and Wang Xiang and others could no longer stop the change. In the spring of this year, they had to retire and leave the court. The original fertile land of their aristocratic families was eventually bought by the common people at the price of wasteland.
The journey home was long, and Wang Xiang looked at the palace gate that he had entered and exited for half his life, his eyes filled with hatred.
After leaving the capital, he saw that the fertile land along the way that should have belonged to him was occupied by these lowly people. Seeing those people cheering in the fields, he gnashed his teeth in hatred.
The further he got from Beijing, the deeper the hatred in his heart became: "Go to Hecun, Fangxian County."
"Master, what are you doing there?" His old wife, who was riding in the same carriage with him, couldn't help but ask.
What to do?
He wanted to see whether Yang Jizong and Shen Yao had deliberately deceived him when they divorced.
In the past few years, Yang Jizong and himself were at odds on the surface, but secretly it might be Chen Yao's doing.
However, he sent people to investigate and found that Yang Jizong and Shen Yao had indeed had no contact in these years.
Wang Xiang looked at the torn books beside him and urged the driver to rush to Hecun again.
Over the past three years, Chen Yao has not only cultivated many new grain varieties, but also grafted many fruit trees. What makes her feel most accomplished is that the roads in various places have finally been repaired thanks to the unremitting efforts of her and Peng Dingqiu.
Shanghe Village and Xiahe Village were merged into one village years ago, with Tian Baolai serving as the village head, leading the villagers to continue working hard to get rich.
The Shen family school was also constantly expanding. Because Luo Dunzi from their village was the youngest student at that time, people outside said that the village had good feng shui. Didn't you see that in the past three years, people's stone houses had been replaced with blue brick and tile houses.
Not only that, peach trees are planted in front of every household in the village. The pink peach blossoms are blown all over the ground by the wind. Under the peach trees, young children make windmills and run from one end of the village to the other, and they will no longer be tripped by the road under their feet.
When Wang Xiang's carriage arrived at He Village, he saw Chen Yao leading a group of people into the mountains.
"Master, what are you going to do?" The old wife watched him run over angrily and quickly sent the people around her to catch up.
"County lady, can we really plant a tree of our own here?" Shopkeeper Ren was eager to try, wanting to plant a tree for his son so that he could share in the county lady's nobility.
Chen Yao nodded: "Planting trees is also a way to accumulate blessings for future generations. You don't have to worry about no one taking care of the trees. He Village will have a special forest ranger to look after them. I'd like to ask Manager Ren to help promote the trees when he returns to the city."
Manager Ren patted his chest and promised to complete the task. Just as he and Chen Yao were going down the mountain, a cry of surprise suddenly came from the fields.
"Come and help, pull the cows away, pull them away quickly!" Boss Luo whipped the cows and tried to drive them away.
But this herd of cattle is also very strange. They are eating grass just fine and are very docile on weekdays. Why are they so stubborn today and refuse to disperse no matter how hard we try to drive them away?
The gong in the village was struck, and the men ran to the fields to pull the cows. When they started pulling the cows, everyone was scared.
There was actually an old man in a crimson robe lying under the cow's hoof. It was obvious that the old man was breathing out more than breathing in.
"Ayao, this is terrible! Someone has been trampled to death by cattle in our village!"
Boss Luo shouted from behind, "He's not dead, he's still breathing. Let's carry him to Doctor Zeng's house first."
Chen Yao glanced at Shopkeeper Ren, who tactfully said goodbye.
When Chen Yao walked to the main road, she saw a group of strangers who were stopped at the village entrance by Grandpa Guo and the young men who were guarding the village.
"Master, you bunch of unruly people, do you know who that is? He is the prime minister of the dynasty. If anything happens to my master, I will..."
Chen Yao, who was standing behind the villagers, said, "Let them in."
Wang Xiang's relatives quickly rushed to Doctor Zeng's house.
Chen Yao quickly asked Niu Wazi to drive the mule cart to the county government office to ask his cousin and Lord Peng to come to the village.
Otherwise, she would probably be eaten alive by Wang Xiang's relatives today.
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