A cloud of smoke rises as the red iron hammered into a plow cools.
Xue Baiting liked hearing this kind of sound. Every time he came to the blacksmith workshop for inspection, he would take time out of his busy schedule to stop and look at the forging table for a while.
He sniffed, this time there was no smell of barbecue, only the slightly astringent smell of iron could be faintly smelled, but it was more reassuring.
"Look, is this the plowshare that the county captain wants?"
"How deep into the ground do you think this plow can go, Mr. Lu?"
"There should be one foot. It's rare for a plow to plow so deep."
Xue Bai nodded and said with a smile: "The so-called deep plowing, plowing deeply and placing the seeds in the soil can better absorb nutrients."
Lu Sanxi was surprised and said: "The county captain also knows about farm work."
What Xue Bai was talking about was not only farm work, but also himself, who had to put himself at the bottom of the soil.
The drawings he drew were all based on farm tools he saw in the countryside during his childhood, at least they are still in use.
For example, farmers today mostly use long straight-shaft plows, which are difficult to turn and require effort to plow the land. The curved-shaft plows they made are easy to turn around and turn, which can save manpower and animal power; the step plow is suitable for use on mountainous areas; and some farmers also use plows with straight shafts.
The utensils already existed in the Tang Dynasty, but they could be slightly improved in shape, or they had not yet been popularized.
Compared to creating a new process, if a process can be made slightly more advanced and truly popularized, the changes will be greater.
The workshop was in full swing, and there were more and more shovels, shovels, hoes, and sickles, but the snow outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the weather was getting colder and colder.
~~
The ground is frozen hard in winter, so we still have to wait until spring to open up wasteland. However, there are still many preparations to be made, first of all, people.
Xue Bai took advantage of the winter to take in more than 109 households and more than 400 homeless poor people, including farmers who had just lost their fields, water workers, and refugees.
These people were placed behind Kofukuji Temple, where the secret house was originally located. The alley wall has been completely demolished, and the bricks and tiles have been used to repair the houses. The secret house is no longer mysterious. A large plaque reads: "
"Jimin Society" looks like a medical clinic from a distance.
"The county captain is here!"
Several children were playing at the gate. When they saw Xue Bai coming, they quickly ran into the lobby and called out their family members. After a while, the courtyard was filled with people.
"Everyone who has to do something should do it. Team one and team two go and bring in the hatchets and firewood."
"Yes, County Captain."
Due to the limited number of houses, apart from some couples, the rest of these poor people lived separately as men and women. They were already very familiar with each other and seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The children under Ren Mulan now also live here, plus the orphans and children from poor families who have been taken in. They will help with some things during the day and have begun to learn to read; the weaving workshop has also been opened, run by the Yang Family Trading Company
He came forward and hired slaves rescued from the dark house to weave together with the women and daughters of poor families and receive wages; the old people did chores like washing and cooking; the men were trained into teams.
Now I just line up for training every day and occasionally do some strenuous work.
They were all poor people who couldn't live happily anymore. They got together to help each other, but it was in an orderly manner. There were definitely some quarrels, and the county officials suppressed them, so nothing serious happened.
It's just that the county office has provided money and food to support them, so they can't always make ends meet.
That day Xue Bai came over and took a look at them first, and saw that they were no longer as hungry and weak as they were at the beginning.
"Sit down."
As soon as he opened his mouth, one hundred and fifty-three men sat on the floor, dumbly waiting for the county captain to speak.
"They are all good men. They cannot be kept by the county all the time. Even your aunt and wife are still working in the weaving mill. What about you? When spring comes, I plan to take you to open up wasteland. If you are willing to work hard, stay here.
If there are those who just want to eat and wait to die, they can leave now."
No one left. When we took in these poor people, we had initially screened out the cunning and lazy ones. They were all honest farmers. At this time, everyone was so nervous that they dared not speak out.
"County Lieutenant, we really want to have fields!"
"good!"
Xue Bai said: "But there is another problem. There is only so much mountain land that can be reclaimed in Yanshi County, and the maximum is no more than thirty hectares. If we follow the law, a household can divide the land into eighty acres, and twenty acres of permanent land, and the maximum can not exceed thirty acres.
We can’t support so many people like you.”
The poor households then looked at each other, not knowing what to do. However, some farmers with better ideas murmured in a low voice: "It doesn't take a hundred acres, as long as there is less tax, I can feed my children on thirty acres of land."
"According to the law of the Tang Dynasty, there is no rent or tax for three years to open up wasteland. However, one person cannot open up thirty acres of wasteland. It requires the joint efforts of many people. You 109 households are willing to go all out to open up thirty acres of wasteland and work together to cultivate. The more work you do, the more you will get.
If so, the annual output of three thousand dan, plus other income, can support four hundred and seventeen of you..."
In this world, faced with layers of exploitation, these poor peasants at the bottom are like scattered sand, each cultivating a few acres of thin land. Obviously, they do not have enough strength to support their survival, and they must unite. As for private property or better distribution methods
?We can only talk about it if we survive.
When they unite together, Xue Bai can better lead and help them.
"I will set some rules. If you are willing to abide by the rules and accept their rewards and punishments, the Jimin Society will become a tightrope. Can a hundred and fifty men not be able to do things that cannot be done by one person?"
The crowd was still silent, no one answered, but their eyes followed Xue Bai, quietly expressing respect and obedience.
"Can you do it?!" Xue Bai asked again.
"able!"
“It can be done!”
Their answers were haphazard.
But it doesn't matter. What Xue Bai has to do this winter is to train them so that they can strengthen their weak bodies and understand some basic principles.
Otherwise, when spring comes, canals are dug to divert water, and wasteland is reclaimed, they will inevitably face various pressures. Without a strong body and spirit, they will not be able to defend their fields...
~~
County Department, Wei Xie.
"To open up wasteland, in addition to labor and farm tools, the most important thing is to dig canals to divert water."
Yin Liang was taking the trouble to teach Du Wulang how to do things. He drew the water conservancy drawings that he and Xue Bai went to inspect, and said: "The irrigation water sources in Yanshi include two large rivers, Yi and Luo, Cui River, Horse Ti Spring, and Zhongzhou Canal.
As well as some small rivers and canals. The best fields are near water sources and belong to temples, high gates, or the land sent by princes and ministers. The only wasteland that can be cultivated is the Mang Mountains in the north, or the mountains under Songshan Mountain in the south, which are far away from the water sources.
Far."
Du Wulang was not stupid and asked: "Then we need to build the canal?"
"Yes, building canals is not an easy task. If it wasn't too hard, the big families in the county would have organized manpower to clear up wasteland long ago. Why do we have to wait for the young government to do it."
"What did Mr. Yin say?"
"With farm tools, it's just a matter of hiring people to dig canals." Yin Liang said: "There is no shortage of idle canal workers in Yanshi County."
"I thought we were going to recruit people for military service." Du Wulang said, "Conscripting military service is to do practical things that benefit the people. They are already rare good officials. If we plan to hire people this time, where will the wages come from?"
"Does Wulang have a magic trick?"
"You want me to contribute? How about letting Fengwei House make another donation?"
Yin Liang shook his head and said: "This is not a long-term solution."
While talking, Xue Bai opened the door and came in, bringing with him the cold wind and flying snow outside.
"The young master is back."
"What are you talking about?"
Yin Liang said: "I'm worried about the cost of digging canals in spring."
Xue Bai said: "This money should have come from the county office, and it is also in the accounting room. After all, Guo Wanjin has just been confiscated."
"I'm afraid County Magistrate Lu won't come up with it." Yin Liang said, "I heard that he spent a lot of money to create an auspicious sign in Yin Ruins. It seems that he would rather spend the county's money and food on flattery."
"Mr. Yin is interested in the study of epigraphy, have you ever visited it?"
"I'm not interested, but very interested. But after seeing Lu Linghao's sudden auspiciousness, I was afraid that he would be angry to death."
Xue Bai thought for a while and said: "He asked me if I could deliver a gift to Concubine Yang and General Gao for him."
Du Wulang said: "He doesn't care about anything else."
"Then let's spend it in this name." Xue Bai then finalized the matter and took over the cost of repairing the canal calculated by Yin Liang.
"Building canals is not a small sum of money." Du Wulang said: "It can't be done without thousands of cans."
Xue Bai asked back: "Do you know how much gift Lu Linghao is willing to give?"
"I'd better not know about it. It makes me feel unhappy. But you asked him to pay the money, but you gave it to Yang Guifei and General Gao. What is the appropriate gift? They really don't like ordinary treasures."
"Write a letter." Xue Bai said: "My handwriting is not bad..."
~~
There is no news about the new county magistrate yet, probably after the civil service examination, and I don’t know how many people are staring at this county magistrate, looking up and down, and fighting over it.
In the Yanshi County Office, the county magistrate and the county lieutenant gradually found a way to get along with each other. This winter, everything seemed to be on track.
In the twelfth lunar month, the New Year's gift from Mrs. Guo Guo to Xue Bai arrived, and there was actually a reply letter from Concubine Yang. Xue Bai took a look at the second half of the letter to Lu Linghao.
It was obviously written by someone from the palace. The reply had received greetings from the Yanshi County magistrate, and he replied on behalf of General Gao... That was all.
Lu Linghao was greatly surprised. He removed thousands of dollars from the county office's books just for this sentence.
"This is really...concubine Yang and General Gao also know about me, a humble official?"
Xue Bai said: "Being entrusted by others is a matter of loyalty to others."
Lu Linghao looked at the letter paper again with longing eyes. The front content was folded, and he could only see the last two columns. At this time, he found that there were still long pages in front.
"Xue Lang, what else is written in this letter?"
“I don’t need to show the instructions given to me by my sworn sister to the county magistrate, right?”
"Yes, by the way, I didn't find out what treasures you shipped to Chang'an, and I thought you didn't. But I don't know what you sent this time. When the noble concubine and General Gao ask about it later, I can answer it."
"It's really calligraphy and painting." Xue Bai said: "Did the county magistrate think that I was greedy for the gift money?"
There was actually no trust between the two of them and they were just patiently dealing with each other. Lu Linghao watched helplessly as Xue Bai put the letter back into his sleeve, fearful and jealous, but the smile on his face became gentler.
"You and I are officials in the same county, so we need to get closer in the future..."
This was probably the best period of time when Xue Bai had the best relationship with the officials and gentry of Yanshi County.
On the one hand, he is still digesting Gao Shang's legacy, on the other hand, he is still accumulating strength, and he chooses not to touch the powerful network of interests in his governance. Making farm tools and opening up wasteland are just small things in the corners.
, so everyone is very harmonious.
After the twelfth lunar month, the Yiluo River has also frozen. Whether it is water workers, farmers, slaves, or gentry, they have entered the most leisure time of the year, waiting for the New Year.
The number of invitations to the banquet inviting Xue Bai also began to increase. On the 12th day of the twelfth lunar month, Cui Jun invited relatives and friends to the house for the banquet. All the prominent people in the county were invited.
"Xue County Lieutenant is young and talented, and he is outstanding. In fact, he treats people with grace and has excellent character."
At the banquet, when Xue Bai was mentioned, Cui Jun did not hesitate to praise him. Lu Linghao, Song Mian and others also echoed the praise. Although everyone has had unpleasant experiences, as long as we benefit from each other, the unpleasantness will pass. Only by looking forward can we work together to share the benefits.
Wealth.
"This county also appreciates Xue Lang... By the way, why doesn't he come?"
"Xue County Lieutenant left the city yesterday." Guo Huan went to inquire again and came back, whispering: "Maybe something delayed me and I didn't come back in time."
~~
In the wind and snow, a man in his forties led his horse to Xue's house in Kuixingfang. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he happened to meet a young couple holding hands and going out.
"I dare to ask, but will Xue County Lieutenant do it in person?"
The big man looked at the face of the young man in front of him and hesitated a little, thinking that maybe everyone who praised Xue County Lieutenant for his talent and appearance was using polite words.
"I'm not. I am the county captain's staff, Du Qi, one of the five sons of Chun Wei. Have you ever heard of my name?"
"It turns out that it was Du Lang in person. A certain family named Fan wanted to pay a visit to Xue County Lieutenant. I wonder if he is here?"
Du Wulang was surprised and quickly pulled Xue Yunniang behind him.
"Are you Fan Lao?!"
He looked up and saw that Fan Lao was at least 6 feet 5 inches tall, with a muscular back and a full beard. He had a very powerful figure and appearance, except for a pair of eyebrows that were splayed, and his brows were furrowed into the character "Chuan"
, looking too worried.
"Yes, I want to talk to Xue County Lieutenant about some matters. I just went to Cui's house to inquire, but he doesn't seem to be there?"
"I do know where he is. Just wait a moment and I'll take you there."
Du Wulang was a little panicked, and quickly took Xue Yunniang back to the house, slammed the door, and when he came out again, Jiang Hai was with him and he also led two horses.
Fan Lao had a strong aura, but when he met Jiang Hai, he was still suppressed. The two looked at each other for a while, and Jiang Hai grinned proudly and drove his horse ahead.
~~
From the winter lunar month to the twelfth lunar month, Xue Bai had spent a month walking around the territory of Yanshi, actually inspecting the fields secretly.
Of course he couldn't trust Guo Huan.
That day on the south side of Yihe River, he saw a row of farmhouses in front of him that looked familiar, and asked Yin Liang, "This is where we measured last time?"
"Yes, when we get here, the fields between Cuihe and Gongxian have been measured."
"Go and have a look."
This year, the Song family donated a sum of grain and grass, and with the confiscation of Guo Wanjin, the county office is not as strict in collecting taxes as in previous years. I hope the farmers can have a good year.
Three farmers in this area have fled this year, and the remaining ones are living in tight conditions. The last time Xue Bai came here, he saw a family of four crowded on the couch, and they didn't even have enough pants.
He did not plan to give them a pair of trousers directly, but asked the weaving shop to hire a group of women so that they could earn two winter coats for their children in this cold winter.
"I've been to the previous one too. There was only a man and his mother-in-law. Is his mother-in-law recovered from her illness?"
"Yes, the name on the book is Qiao Erwa."
Xue Bai had an impression of Qiao Erwa, a farmer who had suffered a lot silently, and felt that he was on the verge of running away from home or rebelling.
The last time he came here, Xue Bai saw that Qiao Erwa's mother-in-law was ill, so he arranged for doctors to go to various villages for free medical treatment. This kind of charity was fully supported by all the gentry in the county, and they provided money, people and medicinal materials without any expense.
, a small amount of money can make a good name.
When I came here today, I saw that Qiao's mother was much better, but Qiao Erwa remained silent, only knelt down and kowtowed three times to express her memory of the county captain's kindness.
After kowtowing three times, what made Xue Bai feel deeply was not gratitude, but the thought that the county captain only needed to give a slight instruction, but to a farmer, it was a major matter that affected the survival of the whole family. The difference in power and status was so huge.
"Get up, we're here to talk to you about your land and taxes." Xue Bai said, "The purpose of measuring acres is to let you know how much land you have and how much tax you pay. Do you understand this?"
"The villain understands." Qiao Erwa understood, but she didn't believe Xue Bai before.
At this time, there was the sound of horse hooves in the north, and someone asked on the roadside: "Where is Lieutenant Xue County?"
Yin Liang listened from a distance and said: "It's Wu Lang who is here. It must be because of the Cui family's banquet."
"I'm not going." Xue Bai said: "There's no guarantee that I won't fall out in a while, so why waste your energy on laughing now."
Sometimes they guessed wrong. After a while, Jiang Hai came over and said, "Alang, Fan Lao is here."
"Fan Lao?" Xue Bai then handed a few coins to Qiao Erwa and said with a smile, "Then I'll have to use your place to talk to him."
~~
There was no wine or stove, only the cold wind howling into the house.
Fan Lao didn't expect that the conversation with the county captain would be on such an occasion, so he was stunned for a moment when he entered the room.
"If Mr. Fan is not used to it, he can go back to the county town to talk."
"I'm not used to it." Fan Lao came to his senses and said, "I used to be a shift leader, and I often collected taxes in places like this."
Du Wulang suddenly realized, "So you are a bandit..."
Xue Bai picked up the topic tacitly and said: "I'm going back to run Tieshan."
"yes."
"You came here to transport copper materials to the Song family?" Xue Bai asked: "Song Mian plans to introduce you to me at the banquet?"
Fan Lao was surprised, somewhat impressed, and said: "The county captain is smart."
"It's not clever." Xue Bai said, "After all, I also cooperate with the Song family."
"I have some doubts, and I would like to ask the county captain to clarify my confusion." Fan Lao said: "The Diao brothers told me after they came back that the county captain planned to buy iron and stone from us. He even used more iron and stone than before. I want to ask
I asked, what does the county captain do?"
"Have you seen the farm tools being forged in the county?"
Fan Lao said: "Farming tools can never use so much iron and stone."
Du Wulang actually didn't know much about the quantity of iron and stone, so he really wanted to make a pot. This was also a secret of Yang's Trading Company, so he couldn't keep it secret, so he said: "Hey, you can sell it as long as you want, no matter what we use it for."
.”
"I will talk to Master Fan alone."
"It's so cold outside, I have to go and get cold again, right?"
Xue Bai said: "Let's go out."
It was cold and windy outside, so Xue Bai and Fan Lao each mounted their horses and walked for a while into the wind and snow. Lao Liang and Jiang Hai were worried and followed them on horseback, staying in a position where they could not hear them but could step forward at any time.
Fan Lao took out a bamboo hat and was about to put it on to cover the snow, but on second thought he handed it to Xue Bai and said, "The county lieutenant talks about things like this. Could it be that he has an ulterior motive for buying iron stones?"
"You sold it to Gao Chong, do you know what he used it for?"
"Sold to border towns, made into armor and weapons, and expanded the territory."
"Covering one's ears and stealing one's bells." Xue Bai did not imitate Gao Chong and said some fake words, and his words were startling: "There is an emperor's grandson behind me who wants to help the country and eliminate the old diseases of the Tang Dynasty, so he needs these iron stones."
Fan Lao opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
He once worked as a team leader in the state department, and now runs Tieshan, smuggling iron, stone, and copper materials. He has hundreds of people under his command. He is considered a well-known figure in the local area. But he was still shocked by these words.
People in a small place usually make jokes and talk about princes and grandsons. They even say "what a saint is like" when drinking. But now that I have a chance to relate to them, I can feel the connection between them.
How big is the status gap.
"Master Fan is afraid?" Xue Bai said: "I think you are a hero."
"You can't be called a hero. He just leads his brothers to stutter."
"Understood, what I told you is useless if you spread it out. It is without evidence." Xue Bai said: "But you can think about it carefully. It is not easy for people to live in the world. They are as unknown as a mayfly or a prince.
Will Xiang Qing leave his name in history?"
He knew that Gao Chong might have said something similar to Fan Lao, but in fact they were talking about two different things, a rebel and an aspiring grandson. How could these be the same?
Anyone who is still in awe of the Tang Dynasty can feel the huge difference.
The reason why Xue Bai dared to say this to Fan Lao was because Fan Lao had already transported the first batch of iron stones. Even if he exposed it, it would be the same crime. The more secrets they share, the deeper their interests will be bound.
After a while, Fan Lao thought about how to answer.
"Xue County Lieutenant said it too profoundly, a common man... is just a common man."
"It doesn't matter. If you don't understand now, it won't be too late to talk about it later when you understand." Xue Bai said, "Any doubts?"
Fan Lao came here specially. He originally had a lot to ask, but now he realized that the more questions he asked, the more trouble he would get. It would be better to just pretend that he had never been here and observe slowly.
"No more. When will the county captain want the second batch of iron stones?"
"As soon as spring comes."
"Okay, see you later."
Fan Lao sat astride the horse, loosened the reins with both hands, held a fist towards Xue Bai, and rode straight away.
This time he got an unexpected answer, and he must have been thinking about it for a long time.
~~
The winter of Tianbao's seventh year seems to have become colder, and the New Year's Eve also passed in the heavy snow.
Xue Bai spent a relatively monotonous New Year's Eve in Yanshi County. There were no thousands of lanterns in Chang'an, and no bright lights all night long on the Lantern Festival. I heard that the lanterns in Luoyang are also very good, but there is only one Chang'an and one Luoyang in the world.
What's rare is that the Du family is still there. In the third year of the Tang Dynasty, Xue Bai still spent time with everyone in the Du family. Even Qinglan regarded the Du family as her natal family.
On Yuan Dynasty night, when everyone was admiring the moon, Qinglan couldn't help but ask: "Does Mr. Lang want to go to Chang'an?"
"I'm waiting for the beginning of spring." Xue Bai said: "It's time for Yanshi to make some changes."
"Aren't you curious about how Chang'an is doing now?"
"The saint held a royal banquet in the Huacalyxianhui Tower, and the whole city was filled with lanterns, similar to last year and the year before that."
On this festive day, Qinglan was a little emotional. She looked at the stars in the distance and murmured: "If we were in Chang'an, we would be tired of it, right? On the contrary, it's good to miss Chang'an because we are far apart."
Du Wei came over with a pot of fruit wine. When she heard these words, she lowered her head and smiled.
"What are you laughing at, eldest sister?"
"This year's imperial banquet at Huaxianhui Tower does not include Xue Lang. How can it be more interesting than the previous two years when he presented treasures at the imperial banquet?"
"Of course it's more interesting when Mr. Lang is here." Qinglan nodded vigorously and affirmed: "They must feel that this year's royal banquet is not as good as last year."
Du Wei took the opportunity to look at Xue Bai, her eyes seeming to say, after all, we are celebrating the New Year together, why should we care about Chang'an and Yanshi?
"Ah, if Xue Bai is in Chang'an, all the princes at the banquet will definitely be annoyed by him." Du Wulang did not forget to turn around and said: "But since he is not here, maybe even the right prime minister and the prince will miss him."
"Excuse me for worrying, that's definitely not going to happen."
~~
Within a few days, Lu Linghao received a letter from Chang'an.
He asked his connections to recommend Xue Bai for promotion. Not only did he want to transfer this powerful county captain, but he also wanted to make a good deal for Party Yang.
Unexpectedly, the reply was to scold him bloody. In short, the Right Prime Minister did not want Xue Bai to return to Chang'an.
"This is really... people hate dogs."
Lu Linghao had no choice but to be prepared to work with Xue Bai for many years.
Fortunately, Xue Bai felt a lot more comfortable after dealing with Gao Chong. Although he had seized power and placed officials, his fundamental interests were no longer touched.
"Mingfu."
Guo Huan hurried into Lingshi and reported: "Xue County Lieutenant has told the Ming Dynasty that he will lead a canal to the east of Huiguo Town to reclaim wasteland."
"I seem to have said that." Lu Linghao put away the letter and stroked his beard and said, "The county told him that there was no money in the county office's account, so the matter was dropped."
"Xue County Lieutenant has recruited people."
"Really?" Lu Linghao said thoughtfully: "Building canals is no small matter."
He had thought about the annual gift expenses that Xue Bai had left, but it was not appropriate to make this matter public.
"Guo Lu's incident is not a bad thing. If he can really build the canal and open up wasteland, it will be a credit to the whole county."
Guo Huan then smiled and whispered: "What Mingfu said is true, but... the mountainous area northeast of Guo Town belongs to my clan."
Lu Linghao understood it as soon as he heard it.
The reason why Xue Bai dared to take the landless poor people to open up wasteland was precisely because the land did not belong to anyone. Although Huiguo Town was almost all the Guo family's property, the mountainous land was in the northeast of Huiguo Town.
If the Guo family was asked to organize more than a thousand people to dig canals and open up wasteland, not to mention the expense, they would not have the patience and energy. But when Xue Bai leads people to clear up land...
"Do you know who is covering him? How dare you have such an idea." Lu Linghao had to remind Guo Huan.
"How could you not know?" Guo Huan quickly explained: "My uncle has been obsessed with it. He has lived in the countryside for a long time and does not know the heights of the sky. He dares to make suggestions for the political achievements of the imperial concubine's step-brother. Don't worry, the Ming Dynasty has said something serious. Let me
Uncle, stop being greedy."
"Then what else is there to say?"
"The elders in the clan asked me to ask. The county magistrate once said that Xue County Lieutenant would be transferred out in the beginning of spring. Maybe in March?"
Lu Linghao did not admit whether he would be transferred or not. He stroked his beard and said, "It's hard to say, maybe in March or next year. You must not be in a hurry. It won't be too late for him to return to your family's farm after he has received his merits and promotion."
"
"Don't worry, the Ming Dynasty will never dare to embarrass Xue County Lieutenant."
Guo Huan came today not really for Xue Bai, but to declare his sovereignty over the fields as early as possible, so as not to fall into the hands of other families when Xue Bai was transferred.
Don't worry, these fields haven't been cleared yet.
~~
"Excavate!"
Such a sound suddenly sounded in the wilderness north of Luohe River.
Several big men pushed the curved shaft plow, and the iron share broke through the frozen soil, like a pangolin turning over the soil. Just looking at it made people feel soft and comfortable, like the breath of spring.
"Hoe the fields to create spring, and the weather will be smooth!"
There were more than a thousand people watching, cheering and shouting auspicious words. Whether they were fiber pullers or farmers, words related to harvest were their most auspicious words.
The atmosphere was so lively because everyone involved in digging the canal was paid a full salary, and more than 400 of them were extremely excited because they were going to cultivate their own fields.
At this moment, Xue Bai seemed very calm.
As he looked around, he could see differences in the people doing farm work. After a winter of training, the hundreds of men had a faint sense of strength, unity, and order. They all had families.
Once they have this land and a family business...in other words, they are all good family members.
These honest and obedient farmers have been ignored by the officials and gentry for their hard work in protecting their homeland.
And they had identified Xue Bai and became Xue Bai's staunchest supporters in Yanshi County.
But it is not enough. Thirty hectares of wasteland and 300 hectares of farmland are not enough. It should be noted that a wealthy family in Yanshi County has thousands of hectares of land.
The legacy left by Gao Chong has been swallowed by Xue Bai, and he is ready to swallow something more.
After all, time waits for no one. Xue Bai must take advantage of this spring to plant the seeds into the soil and cultivate it carefully.
It’s better to be 2 in 1. This chapter has one theme from the beginning of casting to the last plowing. Xue Bai planted the seeds of his power~~ It’s more than 7,600 words. I like the rhythm of big chapters more and more now.