Zhu Hao and Tang Yin took a carriage to a river bend.
This winding river as the background wall is Aoshui, a tributary of the Han River. The flat farmland in front is connected with criss-crossing roads, and the dark soil is turned deep. It looks like mature fields that have been cultivated for many years.
The farm is located along the trail and has about fifty or sixty households.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the village. Someone from the farm immediately came out to check the situation, and then the village elder came over with four or five people.
Tang Yin was slightly worried.
Traffic in many places is congested, poor mountains and rivers are prone to unruly people, and robberies of outsiders often occur. Naturally, he will worry that his lifelong fame will not be ruined in this corner, right?
"Little boss, are you here?"
The village elder obviously knew Zhu Hao.
Tang Yin couldn't help but look at Zhu Hao sideways, thinking, what kind of title is this?
Zhu Hao smiled at several villagers and said, "I'm coming to stay here for a few days. I've said hello in advance... Oh, by the way, have my mother and the others arrived?"
The village elder in charge was a little confused: "There is no news about Madam."
Zhu Hao nodded and counted the days. Zhu Niang and the others should have arrived at the farm in the past two days. If they haven't arrived now, they must have been delayed by something on the way.
The village elder quickly asked someone to help unload the carriage, and then called Zhu Hao into the village.
Tang Yin looked wary and pulled Zhu Hao's sleeve, meaning don't rush in.
"Uncle Gen, please take the people back to the village first. I have a few words to say to my husband, and we will go there after we finish speaking." Zhu Hao could only let the villagers go first, and watched the few people who looked back frequently disappear at the entrance of the village. Tang Yincai
With a worried look on his face, he said: "Aren't you afraid of being brought into the village to catch turtles in an urn?"
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Mr. Tang, they are all my tenants. Even if we are slaughtered, the fields will not become theirs. Moreover, this place is not far from Changshou County, and there are not so many murders and goods...
"My mother and I came here to take over land before, and we know almost all of them. They are all honest farmers. Why do you think bad things about them?"
General Tang Yin was doubtful.
He had just escaped from Prince Ning's Mansion and was wary of everyone.
But think about it, the terrain here is flat and there is no cover in the front and back. It is really not easy to form a bandit den. If you commit crimes here, it will be a matter of time before the government finds out.
Tang Yin asked nervously: "Where is your father-in-law?"
Zhu Hao was startled, then smiled: "Mr. Tang, you don't think that my mother was imprisoned or even murdered by them, right? No, no... From Nanchang to Anlu, we have been taking the waterway, passing through Jiujiang, every night
Our ships almost always dock for rest, a day or two later than expected.
"But even so, we are much faster than taking the land route... plus if my mother and the others encounter delays on the way, it is normal to be delayed for a few days... Let's go."
Tang Yin was still worried, but when he saw that those people had stopped making any movement after entering the village, if they had already poisoned Zhu Niang, they would not have gone back to the village without being told by Zhu Hao. A group of people came up and killed an old man directly.
If you hold the young master down, everything will be solved?
…
…
Zhu Hao entered the village with a worried Tang Yin.
Uncle Gen quickly called representatives from each household in the village to come over to meet his employer. The faces of the farmers were full of enthusiasm, giving Tang Yin a sense of intimacy that he had not seen for a long time.
"Little boss, the weather is getting warmer now. There are many strong men in the village in the fields and there is nothing to entertain. I asked each family to bring you some eggs and kill a few chickens and ducks... Wait for the butcher to return to the village in the afternoon and ask him to kill a few.
Pig..." Uncle Gen was so attentive that he almost regarded Zhu Hao as a living Bodhisattva.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Don't be so troublesome. I will stay here for a while. Everyone will treat me as a family member and don't need to see anyone outside... This is Mr. Lu, my mentor, and he will also stay here."
Enter the village."
Uncle Gen quickly saluted Tang Yin: "I've met Mr. Lu."
In the eyes of farmers like Uncle Gen, those who have studied are lords, not ordinary people. How about being polite?
Tang Yin asked in confusion: "You are all... this guy's tenants? Why are you so enthusiastic about us?"
He couldn't figure it out, so he asked directly, hoping to judge whether this group of people had malicious intentions through the answers. If he found anything unusual, he would leave as soon as possible.
Uncle Gen sighed: "The past two years have been bad. There has been a locust plague in the north. From time to time, locusts fly from Nanyang and harm the crops. Seeing that the original owner could not collect the rent, he simply resold the land.
"Our village is full of refugees from the north. Many families have been living for three generations, and they all rely on sharecropping to make a living... After the new owner bought the land, he immediately reduced the rent. When he heard about our difficulties, he saved us a living.
He rents land every year and helps us pay taxes.
"Here is Shangkuang Village, and there is Xiakuang Village. There are hundreds of people in the two villages. They are all grateful for the kindness of our boss, who has allowed us to live a happy New Year."
After hearing this, Tang Yin felt much less wary.
No wonder they seem to be more enthusiastic than ordinary people. Their feelings are really due to the kindness of Zhu Niang and her son, rather than deliberately putting on a smile after having evil intentions and waiting for an opportunity to murder.
Tang Yin nodded and said, "Speaking of which... Madam, mother and son are really kind-hearted."
Uncle Gen smiled and said, "Mr. Lu is right...I'm going to clean up my little boss's place now."
…
…
It was just after noon, and Uncle Gen was going to arrange a reception banquet, but Zhu Hao declined.
Tang Yin was hungry before and had already eaten dry food on the carriage. Now he didn't even dare to eat the food provided by the village. At least he was still wary.
Uncle Gen personally took Zhu Hao and Zhu Hao to their residence.
When he arrived at the end of the field, Tang Yin found that it was just an ordinary thatched house with a bamboo and wood structure, mud brick walls, and a simple wooden bed. There was a desk and a bench near the window, which looked pretty similar.
Valley
Uncle Gen sighed: "It's a small place, so we can't entertain people well."
Zhu Hao laughed and said: "It's good. Having a place to stay is better than anything else... Don't you think so, Mr. Lu?"
Tang Yin didn't answer.
I would never have invited myself to such a small place in the past. I thought that when I was in Jiangnan, even if I was a little depressed, I wouldn't live in such a shabby farmhouse, right?
He couldn't help but look at Zhu Hao, feeling like he was on a pirate ship.
It wasn't because he was rescued by Zhu Hao that he had to endure hardships with this kid. How could a world-famous talent not be treated as a guest of honor? From then on, he really became a country man?
I, Mr. Tang, have really been disgraced for the rest of my life!
"By the way, Uncle Gen, didn't you ask me to build a yard and arrange some things in it?" Zhu Hao asked Uncle Gen to bring the bedding he had prepared in advance and simply lay it out before he asked again.
Uncle Gen nodded and took Zhu Hao and Tang Yin to the other end of the village. He explained on the way: "...the boss left money before to build a new house. Before the Chinese New Year, the village organized strong labor to build the house, and the furnishings inside were all newly added...
…”
New house?
Tang Yin perked up as soon as he heard this.
Feelings, you kid has already made arrangements to build a new house for me to live in, right? No wonder you just put your own bedding, and I live here?
When he arrived at the place and saw the so-called "new house", Tang Yin almost wanted to curse.
In front of us is another thatched house. It's quite new, but it's still not a masonry structure. The roof is made of neatly combed straw, so we don't have to worry about it leaking when it rains.
But what am I here for?
Tang Yin stared at Zhu Hao and wanted to say, you have been tricked by these people. They took your money and did nothing serious...
Zhu Hao was very satisfied with the building in front of him: "Uncle Gen, it's as I expected... let's go in and have a look!"
Tang Yin thought to himself that this kid was alert and should have seen the clues. He just knew not to have an attack in a strange place. Now he would no longer believe in the "simple and kind-hearted" of these villagers, right?
But when he entered the courtyard surrounded by fences, Tang Yin was stunned.
The layout and furnishings of the courtyard are exactly the same as those of a folk courtyard in the city. Even the well platform has been repaired, and a strange thing made of fine iron was placed there. Zhu Hao went up and put it down casually, and water flowed from the other end of the pipe.
Come.
For Tang Yin, who had never seen a water press, this thing shocked him quite a bit.
When we entered the house, we saw that it was not a mud wall at all, but plastered on it. It looked like it was made of bricks and stones, but the outer wall was covered with a layer of mud, deliberately concealing it to look gray. Looking up again,
There is actually a ceiling.
There was no problem with the people living in this house. Tang Yin suddenly realized that this was probably Zhu Hao's deception.
"Why are there no beds here, only rows of tables and chairs?" After Tang Yin looked at it, he felt that the most regretful thing was that there was no bed in the room for him to sleep on.
Zhu Hao said: "This is not a place for people to live."
Tang Yin was choked.
Feelings, you live in a poor thatched hut and build a large and clean room here as a decoration? Is this your family's ancestral hall?
Zhu Hao did not explain the specific purpose to Tang Yin, but smiled and said to Uncle Gen: "Uncle Gen, please help me take care of it. I brought a few coins with me, and I will cause you trouble in the future... Distribute this money and use it as living expenses."
"
Uncle Gen hurriedly said: "How dare you do this? You have already waived the village's land rent for one year. The young and old in the village are looking forward to doing something for you. I have resigned first. If you have anything to do, just let me know."
…
…
Uncle Gen went to wait outside the yard first.
Tang Yin looked at Zhu Hao, who was looking around at the layout of the house, and asked, "What are you doing? Do you want to use this place as your family's ancestral hall? Or as a school?"
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "No, I plan to do some research here. This is my carefully built laboratory."
"Laboratory?" Tang Yin frowned.
You have a lot of tricks up your sleeve.
They took me, Mr. Tang, all the way to a remote rural area. I don’t think the villagers wanted to harm me, but you, the kid, was deliberately trying to harm me!
Zhu Haodao: "It's difficult to explain it clearly to Mr. Tang... I'll call you Mr. Lu from now on. You have a special status. It's better to call you Mr. Lu before the matter in Prince Ning's Mansion is completely diluted."
Tang Yin didn't say anything, it was just a title, and he didn't care.
Address each other the same way before and after you, so that you won't let anything slip.
"Your family finally bought the land, so why do you want to waive the rent for the villagers for a year? If you mess up the market, you will be besieged by the surrounding landowners and tenants."
Tang Yin expressed his worries.
These days, you can't just waive the rent. If you waive it, what will other tenants think when they hear about it? Do they want to make trouble with their owners? Will they get entangled and come to your place to cause trouble?
Zhu Hao was surprised and said: "I didn't expect Mr. Lu to be quite knowledgeable... Let's put it this way, I waived their rent for one year, but based on the next five years, it was only 20% for one year, and I set the rules in advance.
…In normal years, there will be a 20% exemption, in good harvest years there will be no exemption, in minor disaster years there will be a 40% exemption, and in major disaster years, not only will the exemption be 100%, but necessary daily necessities will also be provided... In this way, will the eight villages in ten miles have any objections?”
Tang Yin looked at him with strange eyes again, as if to say, you are quite capable.
"Besides, my mother has made some money from her business. When she bought the land, she just used it to save money. The annual return rate is not even 2%. How can she make a lot of money? We should do some research, recruit some people to open a workshop, and make a lot of money.
The right way is to make money that others cannot make... What do you think, Mr. Lu?"