In early spring, the cool wind blows over the green wheat and creates a wave, which is pleasing to the eye.

Chen Ergou was sitting on the ridge of the field, shirtless and wearing a worn-out shabby coat, half of the reed wadding stuffed inside was exposed. He had no scruples and stared at the grasshopper in his hand, unable to stop.

At this time, he was thinking in his mind, should he braise it or just take it for fishing?

It's the most difficult time when there is no support.

As a half-grown boy, I feel hungry no matter how much I put in my stomach.

Next to him, there were patches of farmland, dotted with huts and tiles, and in the distance were small bridges and flowing water. On the grassy slopes of the river bank, cattle grazed with their heads lowered and mooed from time to time.

Not far away, several children were tossing around the scalpers, very active.

The smoke from cooking stoves and the barking of dogs form a pastoral scene in the north.

Beside a nearby pond, several children were happily fishing, but unfortunately the turbid water meant they caught nothing.

As for fishing in the river, you have to go through the clan elder who patrols the river. He holds a flat stick in his hand and will wave it when children come towards him. He has a fierce look and scares away many children.

Therefore, Chen Ergou had nothing to think about, either going to the pond to fish or fishing.

His little head couldn't stop thinking, and it was so cold down there that he couldn't help but scratch it.

"Two dogs, two dogs——"

Suddenly, in the distance, a boy of thirteen or fourteen wearing a torn straw hat ran and shouted:

"A letter from your family has arrived. Your brother is back with the letter——"

Chen Ergou turned his head sharply, grabbed the grasshopper in his hand, and then stood up with loess and grass all over his body.

His eldest brother, who was in his 20s and still had no wife, joined the so-called army and went to the Northeast. In the past few years, he has sent back a lot of money and improved his family's life.

The one who brought the letter was going to the town to attend the market.

The post station system was established during the Ming Dynasty for three hundred years. It has been continuously restored in recent years and shows great vitality.

Moreover, with the establishment of the three township elders, the administrative agencies at the township level are gradually recognized.

A township has jurisdiction over a dozen or dozens of villages, and the county's Civil Information Bureau sends people to each township to deliver messages.

When people in the village go to the market, they will also ask someone to collect the mail.

"okay--"

Ergou hurriedly took the wooden box and shouted: "The copper plate will be sent to your home later."

"No, just get the eggs." The young man said without thinking, and then jumped away into the distance, calling his relatives and friends.

Among the people, copper plates are precious items used to pay taxes and go shopping in the city, and eggs are the most commonly used substitute.

Chen Ergou sighed, he couldn't eat three eggs in the past two days.

However, with the wooden box in his arms, he was extremely happy. He didn't know what his elder brother had sent back.

Although there was no clattering sound inside, his heart was filled with anticipation.

After jumping around for a while, I returned to the village, walked around three times, and came to a remote thatched house.

The half-old courtyard entrance has been neatly tidied up, with only some mud and chicken droppings conspicuously visible, which is very common in rural areas.

A large number of vegetables are grown in front of and behind the house, which are the main dishes at home. Wild vegetables are not easy to find at this time, after all, there are few mountains in the north.

Dad was hoeing behind the house, while mother was tidying up inside.

Ergou, who is seven or eight years old, cannot help and can only play around.

Although his name is Ergou, the brothers in front of him have died long ago, and behind him are his five or six-year-old younger brothers and sisters, playing with the mud in the yard.

"Father, mother, there is a letter from eldest brother!"

Ergou's roar shook the whole room.

"Second brother, second brother -" several younger brothers and sisters jumped and shouted happily.

Although the young people did not understand the meaning of the letter, they knew that they could eat good food again.

His parents put down their work and came over impatiently, and immediately saw the wooden box in his arms.

Dad snatched it away, then returned to the room with mother and read through it carefully.

After a long time, Dad came out: "Let's go to the entrance of the village and find Mr. Zhao——"

Not many people in the village are literate, and Mr. Zhao, who studies social studies, is one of the few scholars.

Social studies, after the village gradually recovered, several families with big surnames pooled their money to start social studies again, right in the ancestral hall.

Soon, the whole family held their chests high. Although the clothes on their bodies were shabby, they were not timid at all.

Along the way, relatives and friends in the village looked enviously:

"Chen Big Head, your eldest son has sent a letter back again——"

"Yes, I just sent it back." Chen held his head high, his face full of pride.

"It's great. I don't know what good things I sent home. If I had this son, it would be worth losing ten years of my life."

When they came to social studies, the family's attitude immediately changed.

Before, he held his head high and his chest high, but now he bowed his back and his attitude was much more respectful.

In their hands, they were holding two eggs.

Mr. Zhao is wearing a long robe, washed neatly and cleanly, and his face is slightly rosy, which is very different from the poor and thin people in the countryside.

The whole person showed an outstanding temperament.

Even though he is a scholar who is not even a child.

But, after all, he is a scholar.

In the prosperous times after the Troubled Times, the importance of scholars increased again.

He glanced sideways and saw that it was the Chen family. He knew in his heart that it was a letter, so he sat down calmly and waited for the arrival of the family.

Like his family members, Chen Ergou's eyes were full of admiration, and his body was half an inch shorter unconsciously.

He had no doubt that if his attitude was even the slightest bit disrespectful, his father would slap him immediately.

In his father's words, Mr. Zhao will be an official in the near future, a Wenqu star in the sky, and he will be more respectful than the clan leader.

"Mr. Zhao, this is another letter from my son..."

Chen Datou wiped his rough palms on his clothes, even though they had been washed white.

Holding the letter carefully.

Mr. Zhao didn't blink an eyelid and said directly: "Don't bring anything here next time. This little thing is not worth it."

He said this, but when the eggs were placed on the table, he didn't move his buttocks at all, he just took the letter and read it carefully.

After a while, he suddenly stood up in shock and shouted: "Chen Big Head, your eldest son is coming back."

"Back?" Chen Da's head didn't turn around for a while.

"Isn't it three years? This kid Chen Xin joined the army in Liaodong, Northeast China for half a year. He said that he cultivated thousands of acres of land, and the imperial court gave him a hundred acres. Now that he is prosperous, he wants to bring his family there...

…”

The construction corps in the Northeast is a variant of the migratory people.

Recruit young people from rural areas to join the army, let them reclaim land and build frontiers, and then use the land to lure their families to relocate.

Compared to the direct forced relocation before, I don’t know how many times better it is.

After all, breaking up a family is worth tens of thousands of dollars, and coupled with the involvement of clan, in-laws, etc., how could it not make people panic all day long?

Moreover, doing so would be extremely costly to the court, and would be of no benefit to the people or the court.

However, using recruitment methods and indirect immigration can handle this matter very well, and it is more relaxed.

"Be good, one hundred acres——"

Chen Da's head was shocked.

Even though there were countless casualties during the war in Shandong, and a large number of people were taken captive to Liaodong, the per capita land area was very small, and the good time for land reclamation and farming had long passed.

In the village, the Chen family only has about ten acres of farmland at most, and it is all dry land.

"Mr. Zhao, is this hundred acres of land dry land or irrigated land?" Zhao Datou couldn't help but laugh.

"It's water that irrigates the ground." Mr. Zhao shook his head and said with a smile, "He is preparing to take you over to enjoy the blessing."

"There are Tatars in Liaodong..."

Chen Datou suddenly shrank his neck and said in fear.

"What year is this from the past?"

Mr. Zhao said in a deep voice: "Liaodong is very stable. The border is Jilin and Liaodong is inland. It is much better than Shandong."

Chen Da Nao was overjoyed.

One hundred acres of land, isn’t this a small landowner in my hometown?
To be continued...