"Mom, look at how much food we have now, aren't you happy?" Li Dalang asked, pointing to the corn cobs piled up in the room.
The yellow corn cobs carry the hope of the whole family.
Around the yard, corn stalks are piled up like a hill around the cowshed.
These bundles of corn stalks not only protect the cowshed from wind and rain, but also serve as fodder for the cattle in the winter.
Days like this were something the old lady could only see in her dreams.
"I'm happy, of course I'm happy, but it's hard on my son, having to take care of such a large area by himself." Mother Li said distressedly.
Even though he said this, he may not have meant Versailles in his heart.
I originally thought that becoming an immigrant would mean becoming a refugee. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Now their family's land can match that of the landowners in the village. But they can't hire tenant farmers here.
Every household has a lot of land. What is lacking here is not land, but population.
In addition, this family has become landlords, which is not uncommon.
"Mom, you guys should take a rest first and have dinner together," Li Dalang said.
With the support of her daughter-in-law, Mother Li went to eat on the kang.
This year's new corn is mashed in a stone mortar, with some soybeans in it. When boiling, salt and vegetable leaves are added.
People in Shandong call this kind of food, and an average man can drink four or five bowls of it in one meal, which is not enough.
There are also steamed sweet potatoes on the table. Sweet potatoes are a bit choking when eaten alone, but they are easier to swallow when mixed with batter.
Sometimes sweet potatoes are also cooked together in the batter. The dish is pickled pickled pickled cabbage.
Now under the rule of the Fuxing Army, the price of salt is much cheaper than before. This kind of coarse salt for pickling is even cheaper.
This kind of meal may seem crude, but it was already a good meal in that era.
After all, it is just an ordinary day. If it is a festival, the Li family will also have plenty of meat to eat.
Li Dalang's daughter-in-law is an honest little daughter-in-law. She usually doesn't speak much at the dinner table and always listens to her mother-in-law.
The house they live in now is made of wood and clay.
After arriving here last year, every household first built a shack to stay temporarily.
Then the government gave each village some logging tools, and then these people helped and helped build the houses.
Due to limited time, we could only use decks and earth as walls and add wooden beams. These houses are generally not high, but every house has a fire pit, so it is not cold in winter.
Having spent a winter here, Li Dalang's family has adapted to it. It is a bit colder in winter, but there is not much work to do.
In other words, Li Dalang would put on thick leather clothes and go hunting in winter.
When the weather is cold, firewood is burned under the kang. In the winter, the whole family enjoys sitting on the kang.
"Mom, I want to go to town and buy a dog so that I can have a helper when I go hunting in the future." Li Dalang had a habit of communicating with his mother about anything.
Although Mother Li's legs and feet are not good, she is the talker in this family.
Li Dalang was like a hound early in the morning. When he went hunting, he didn't expect it to deal with prey. The bears, tigers, wild wolves, and wild boars here were all beyond the reach of dogs.
He wanted to get a dog just so that it could give him an early warning when it encountered prey.
"Dad, I'm going to keep you company and be your helper." At this time, his son Li Lin interjected.
"You're going to school soon. It's important to go to school and study hard."
Li Dalang glared at his son. He was going to send his son to study. A school was built in the town, and children from immigrant families only had to pay a small fee to go to school.
Hearing his father's words, Li Lin immediately fainted. The school was in a town, a long way from home. I heard that he had to live there all the time and couldn't even go back home.
Squatting in school every day studying, how could it be any more interesting than hunting with my father?
However, Li Dalang's ideas were obviously different from his son's.
In the past, my family had no conditions, but now it is different. After all, I am a small landowner, and all the sons of landlords have to go to school.
"Yansong, if you want to buy it, just buy it. A bastard isn't worth much. But are you really prepared to send Lin'er to study?" Mother Li asked.
Li Lin is about to become a young man and can help the family with farm work.
If he were sent to study now, Li Dalang would have no help here.
"The thirty acres of new land have been completed. Will you be busy next spring?" Mother Li is most concerned about whether the family's fields can be harvested.
The first task of a farmer is to plant the field well.
Even if there is no shortage of food, the fields must be planted with crops meticulously.
This is not a matter of food, the quality of the fields is related to the dignity of farmers.
"Mom, don't worry, our village is planning to set up a farming mutual aid group, and I'm ready to join it."
"When the time comes, everyone will help together. Our family has a cattle. I plan to get some more game, sell some corn, save some money, and get another cattle. In this way, our family will have one person and two cattle.
With three laborers, we won’t take advantage of others. This way the land can be planted. Everyone grows many different things, so the harvest time will be staggered.”
The mutual aid group's approach is based on the government's recommendations.
Nowadays, everyone is planting in large fields. Everyone is doing their own thing and it is easy to delay the time of sowing and harvesting.
But if several families join together, they can acquire a piece of land in a short time.
Five people can plant 500 acres of land faster than five people can plant 100 acres of land.
In addition, everyone's planting and harvesting times are different, which can make the use of manpower more efficient.
Li Dalang is the village chief himself, so he naturally wants to take the lead in joining this mutual aid group.
But his family had little labor, so he considered adding a plowing ox.
Moreover, he is also planning to buy another cow. By then, it will not only be able to plow the land, but also be able to give birth.
Now there is no shortage of fodder at home, even if we can raise a few cows, there will be no problem.
Planting hundreds of acres of land and raising a few cows and pigs is the life a landlord's family should have.
Dong Shuheng went west from Vladivostok through Dunhua County and Jiaohe County, and then entered Jilin Prefecture.
He did not go to the immigrants' homes for on-site inspections, but he also passed by some villages.
For these immigrants to be able to settle down.
Dong Shuheng was still very pleased.
But he also discovered a problem, that is, there was too much land allocated, and many families were overwhelmed.
Local infrastructure has not kept pace.
"Director Han, I saw along the way that many farmers' farmland has not yet been cultivated. It is already the second year. Next year, we will collect public grain according to their farmland area." Dong Shuheng asked.
If these immigrants do not cultivate so much land, they will still have to collect public grain according to the actual area of land allocated.
At that time, some immigrants will definitely be unhappy, and some may even be unable to afford it. This is what Dong Shuheng is worried about.
"President, there is indeed such a problem. You know, most of these immigrants came with nothing."
"Although we have distributed farm tools to them, they need to buy large livestock on credit themselves. Some people have scruples and are unwilling to buy large livestock on credit, and the land reclamation speed will not be able to keep up."
"In fact, if there are livestock to help, there is no problem for one or two strong laborers to cultivate hundreds of acres of land."
"As for the infrastructure you mentioned, there is really nothing we can do about it. Nowadays, every household is too busy with their own affairs. How can they have time to build roads and canals?" Han Lin was also a little helpless.
He was originally an official in Shandong, and it can be said that these immigrants were all brought over from Shandong by him.
He also wants to lead everyone to build this new home.
"The lack of people is indeed a problem, but it is not something that cannot be solved."
"The King of Liao sent a letter saying that their harvest this year is not good, and they are afraid that there will be a famine."
"I went to your grain management office and saw that you purchased a lot of grain from farmers this year. I told the cabinet that the grain will be kept for your own use, and you exchange grain for labor with Beiliao.
"
"Using one day's work of a laborer as one working hour, you should discuss with Beiliao how much grain should be exchanged for one working hour."
"This way we can leave those infrastructure projects to them."
"This way you solve the labor problem, and they solve the food problem."
Dong Shuheng's suggestion just solved the problem Han Lin was currently facing.
Han Lin had also thought of hiring laborers in the past, but it involved relations with vassal countries.
He is just a local governor and has no authority to comment.
Now that Dong Shuheng had brought it up himself, he was naturally happy.
Dong Shuheng hasn't paid attention to Beiliao's affairs for a long time.
Since Lin Fengxiang became a vassal state on the list, he has always been extremely cooperative with the Renaissance Army's grand strategy.
Under their control, the Korean Kingdom in the south was also extremely obedient.
The two sides have now formed a balance, and under the mediation of Wuxing District, the two sides have been in a ceasefire for a long time.
The territory of Beiliao is rich in mineral resources. Lin Fengxiang not only opened the market to the Fuxing Army, but also sold these mines to Chinese businessmen.
Now that Lin Fengxiang has taken the initiative to seek help, Dong Shuheng might as well just be a favor.
Northern Liao is mostly a mountainous area. Nowadays, there are more people and less land, so food has always been a problem.
Lin Fengxiang did not want all his people to be moved out by the Renaissance Army, so that in the end he would have no one on hand.
The best thing is like this. The Northern Liao government centrally organizes people to sell their labor power. In this way, after doing good work, these people can be brought back.
"President, can you let them completely open the border so that immigrants here can hire people from Beiliao to farm?" Han Lin asked carefully.
Dong Shuheng understood that Han Lin meant that these immigrants could hire people from Northern Liao to help them work.
Nowadays, many people have land, but they lack labor force.
Those people from Northern Liao worked hard and were cheap to hire.
If we can really employ a large number of people, then this place outside the customs will soon be able to enter the fast lane of development.
"Haha, Han Lin, think about it, if that's true, all those people who don't have enough to eat in Beiliao will come to us. When the time comes, Lin Fengxiang will have no one under his command, so how can he be his king safely?
Ah!" Dong Shuheng said with a smile.
Han Yun naturally knows the secrets involved.
He just felt that the people in Bei Liao were also dependent on the Fuxing Army. If they were asked to do something, it would not be a matter of Dong Shuheng's words.
However, although Dong Shuheng could do that, he would not do it.
He does not have the ability to allow all ethnic groups in this great Chinese circle to enjoy the same benefits.
Now the people in the country can enjoy the benefits of land allocation for immigrants. This is a benefit brought by the Renaissance Army.
The more people receive this benefit, the less everyone gets.
Moreover, Dong Shuheng also counted on the peninsula and the shogunate to become an exporter of cheap labor.
Naturally, we want them to still maintain a certain degree of closure.
Only if they remain in their current state of poverty can they be considered cheap labor.
Seeing that Han Lin seemed a little disappointed, Dong Shuheng continued: "It won't work to let them go voluntarily, but if there are people over there who are too poor to survive and come here to work, we can also turn a blind eye.
It’s just for the eyes. But you need to strengthen the management of these people locally, otherwise they may become a safety hazard.”
Dong Shuheng's words made Han Lin's eyes light up.
This suggestion alone was enough to make him run over to greet the president.