Hearing Qin Yue's words, not only Lao Lizheng was surprised, but the old men in the neighborhood were also surprised.
For farmers like them, the most terrifying thing, apart from natural disasters and man-made disasters and poor harvests, is land reclamation.
Land is the most valuable hard currency after gold and silver.
Only those who have lived here for generations can own a piece of land of their own.
The remaining people, migrant households like the Datian family, if they have some ability, can live with a small salary. If they don't have the ability, they can either open up wasteland or work as serfs for the landlords.
Of these two options, most people will choose the latter.
"Girl, do you understand the meaning of land reclamation?" Lao Li asked with a frown.
This girl from the Qin family is not shrewd in her own right. She has been taught by her old mother all year round, which makes her even more confused.
He has been farming all his life and he dare not open up wasteland. How capable is she, a young daughter-in-law in her teens?
Qin Yue naturally understands the meaning of land reclamation. Although she has never done it herself, many of her students have successfully fattened barren land into high-yield areas of food through practice.
And she not only has knowledge and experience in this area, she also has space.
"How can I get the land deed?" Qin Yue asked.
Lao Lizheng gave another good advice, and seeing Qin Yue determined, he finally sighed.
"Have you thought it through?"
"Think it through." Qin Yue said loudly.
Lao Li was shaking his head and returned to the house.
The imperial court hoped that farmers would open up wasteland so that they could have more and more fertile land, so every village had a land deed given by the county.
Land deeds are valuable, but land reclamation deeds cannot be given away for free.
The land deed in Lao Lizheng's hand turned yellow, and he kept it under the box, never expecting to take it out one day.
Who would want to open up wasteland unless forced by life?
"No money is required for the land deed, but grain and seeds can be borrowed." Lao Li sighed as he was speaking.
If he lent the grain seeds, he had no hope of getting them back.
"Although the land deed does not cost money, it is not completely yours. If the harvest is not tripled within three years, not only will the grain produced be confiscated, but the land will also be taken back."
This was not decided by Lao Lizheng, but by the imperial court.
Three years seems like a long time, but it was all planned by the boss.
Opening up wasteland is scary in itself, but having this set of rules is even scarier.
Anyone with some experience knows that burning wasteland, weeding, and cutting down trees can tire people to death, and fattening is not a worry-free and labor-saving job.
Now that these are done, we can start farming. It would be good to have a harvest in the first three years. Where can we get triple the harvest?
The Datian family is so small that they are paralyzed. Qin Yue can't even chop down a tree with Qin Yue alone.
Lao Li was taking out a piece of land deed and handing it to Qin Yue.
"I'll give you this piece of wasteland. There aren't many trees. Just burn it down and weed it."
This was of great help to Qin Yue, and she quickly thanked her.
The imperial court has official documents circulating, and Lao Lizheng still has to go to the county government to cancel the accounts and register the wasteland and give it away.
Qin Yue returned home happily.
It was completely dark now. Qin Yue was really tired after jumping into the river and crossing the river all day long. When she saw the four little ones laying down on their own bedding, she ignored them and simply washed them before falling asleep in the east room.
In the early morning of the next day, Qin Yue woke up and stretched herself refreshed.
When she came out, she saw Dabao teaching the little girl how to brush her teeth.
"Yes, dip the soft end in some coarse salt and see how my brother wipes it off."
Dabao bit one end of the willow branch until it was soft, dipped it in a little coarse salt, and then brushed it back and forth on his teeth.
Seeing this, Qin Yue suddenly remembered that there was a method of brushing teeth in ancient times called the 'wiping teeth with willow branches' method. She didn't expect that this method was also used here.
However, usually only aristocratic families use utensils to brush their teeth, while ordinary people just rinse their mouths with salt water, and even more places don't even need to rinse their teeth.
It can be seen from Dabao's actions that these four children have received etiquette education.
Qin Yue also followed their example in brushing her teeth and washing her face, ignoring the surprised looks from the four little ones, thinking that she would have the opportunity to make toothbrushes and toothpaste in the future.
Breakfast was porridge and pickles. She had not picked up the wild rabbit last night because she was too tired. After breakfast, she picked up the wild rabbit for lunch.
After doing all this, Qin Yue went to the back of the house. There was an open space here, which was suitable for growing some vegetables.
Although there are many excellent seeds in space, taking them out out of thin air will only arouse suspicion and even attract prying eyes.
After thinking again and again, Qin Yue turned around and went to the west room.
"Can you still write?" Qin Yue asked straight to the point.
The man's eyes were cold and he looked at her without knowing why.
Qin Yue knew that there was a huge rift between the two parties, and it would be difficult to cooperate without explaining it clearly.
"The child is growing up and cannot eat porridge and pickles every day. I am going to plant some vegetables. If you can still write, I would like to exchange them for some vegetable seeds."
Of course the man doesn’t believe her, she knows how to grow vegetables?
Even if she really knew how to do it, if she exchanged his calligraphy for vegetable seeds, she would still give it to Qin, right?
"Why don't you just change the dishes?" The man asked, staring at her with cold eyebrows.
“It’s not appropriate to replace it with vegetables directly. You can replace it with more vegetable seeds.”
The man asked again: "Not everyone needs my words, so how can you exchange them for something?"
Qin Yue replied: "I went to Lao Lizheng's house yesterday. On the way, I heard Aunt Zhang saying that her son had written a letter. She was worried about how to reply to her son. You can write it for her."
The man saw that she spoke in an orderly and logical manner, and did not seem to be instigated by Qin, so he became dubious.
She seems to have changed since she jumped into the river yesterday.
His temperament has changed, his personality has changed, and his whole person has changed.
"If Aunt Zhang is willing, I'll have no problem with that," the man said.
He knew very well the attitude of the village towards their family, especially the village girl, who was not popular with others. If she could really persuade Aunt Zhang, it wouldn't hurt for him to reply, just to see what she was going to do.
He always felt that there was something fishy about this village girl.
As for the so-called extra food for the children, how could he believe it?
Qin Yue didn't know that the cheap man had thought about so many things. He cleaned up the inside and outside, and then called the four little ones over.
The four little ones stood cautiously in front of her, thinking that she was being scolded by her father and taking it out on them.
Qin Yue poured the water that had been in the sun for most of the day yesterday into the big wooden basin and said, "Nanny, come here."
The little girl trembled all over and stood there hesitating.
Qin Yue was obviously more patient with the little girl. She gently picked her up and helped her take off her clothes.
"Mother, please cleanse me~"
"Our little girl is so cute, she needs to be neat and pretty."
"Mother Qiming has earned enough money to buy nice clothes for my daughter."
Under Qin Yue's gentle soothing, the little girl's mood gradually calmed down, and naturally, she quickly became happy while sitting in the big wooden basin.