Walking into the inner room, because it was very dark, Lin Xuan could barely see a figure lying on the bed.
Zhou Mancang said: "Aniu, this is the owner of our Zhouzhuang. This time, I have a good thing for your family to do. As long as it is done well, your family's rent will be exempted this year."
Zhou Aniu was stunned and said excitedly: "Sir, I wonder what you need from my family?"
It's not like he hasn't thought about whether Lin Xuan has other plans, but his family is so poor, what can he do for them?
He joined the army in his early years, and some of the fields awarded by the court were sold during natural disasters a few years ago.
The fields his family is currently cultivating belong to the Lin family.
"I have a new crop. After planting, it will be less than half an acre. I need your family to take care of it. Can you complete this task?" Lin Xuan asked.
Zhou Aniu nodded quickly and said: "Yes! Master, although I have inconvenient legs and feet and cannot work, my wife is very diligent. Our family has rented twenty acres of land, and she and the children are busy working there, so there is no waste at all."
.Half an acre of land is definitely no problem.”
A year's rent reduction is very important to his family.
His family cultivates more than 20 acres of land, and after deducting 30% of the rent, they only have over a thousand kilograms of grain left.
Although the land is rented, the landlord's family pays the taxes.
But those landowners are not so generous. The rent they charge is collected after paying taxes.
Calculated this way, they actually received less.
Zhou Aniu cannot work, and the family relies entirely on his wife and two children to help out. They can barely make ends meet all year round.
But when disaster struck a few years ago, there were still fields for sale.
Now his family has no land at all. If the 30% of the rent is waived, his family can save some food. If there is any disaster, they will not starve to death.
"When your wife comes back later, I will tell her the planting requirements and see what she says." Lin Xuan did not agree immediately.
Zhou Aniu said quickly: "I'll ask Erya to call her back."
"Erya, go and call your mother and your brother back." Zhou Aniu shouted.
"Dad, I'm going right away!" Erya responded and trotted out.
"Then let's wait in the yard." Lin Xuan said.
It wasn't that he disliked the strong smell in the room, but it was too dark and he wasn't used to it.
Zhou Aniu said: "Uncle Zhou, could you please move two stools out and make them for the young master."
"I know, let's go out first." Zhou Mancang said.
Lin Xuan and Zhou Mancang were sitting in the courtyard. Lin Xuan asked some questions about the people of Zhouzhuang.
Through Zhou Mancang's narration, Lin Xuan gained a deeper understanding of the lives of ordinary people.
"There is no idle land in the world, and farmers are dying of hunger."
This is a poem written by Li Shen, a poet of the Tang Dynasty.
This means that there is no waste land in the world, and there are still people who are working hard and starve to death.
Most of the ancient farmers relied on the income from their fields to make a living.
Some of their necessary expenses depend on the output of their fields.
Once the harvest is abundant, food becomes worthless.
Apart from what they ate themselves, they had no leftover food except for exchanging some necessary supplies.
This is also the reason why in ancient times, the weather was good for several years, but once a natural disaster occurred, the people still did not face the disaster.
Of course, Li Shen wrote two poems about compassion for the peasants that have been passed down through the ages, just to gain fame and accumulate capital for his promotion. It does not mean that he is a good official who cares about the people.
On the contrary, Li Shen was very luxurious after he became an official. Especially after he became a high-ranking official, a meal cost a lot of materials. He liked to eat chicken tongue, and every meal required a plate of chicken tongue. This plate of tongue cost more than 300 people. It takes a live chicken to make up a full plate. In order to satisfy Li Shen's love for eating chicken tongue, the chickens he killed piled up in the backyard. The meal was extremely extravagant and wasteful.
But regardless of his character, he wrote two poems to show mercy to farmers and one to teach everyone to save food.
Another song reveals the true situation of ancient society.
While Lin Xuan and Zhou Mancang were chatting, they suddenly heard footsteps.
Lin Xuan looked up and saw Erya, a middle-aged woman, and a little boy who looked about five or six years old coming back.
"Master Hou, this is Zhou Aniu's wife Shen Yue'e." Zhou Mancang said.
Lin Xuan learned from Zhou Mancang that Zhou Aniu and his wife were only in their thirties.
But due to long-term fatigue, Shen Yue'e looks like she is in her forties. Coupled with long-term exposure to wind and sun, her face looks dark.
"Here comes Li Zheng? Oh, isn't this the master's son? Why don't you sit in the house?" Shen Yue'e said with a smile.
Erya went to call her, but she only said that someone was coming from home, but did not explain the specific situation. She still doesn't know the situation.
Zhou Mancang said: "Put your things down quickly, the Marquis wants to talk to you about something!"
"Hou...Hou Ye?" Shen Yue'e looked at Lin Xuan nervously.
Zhou Mancang said angrily: "How can it be fake if it is personally sealed by His Majesty?"
Shen Yue'e quickly took off the backpack behind her and put it on the ground. She pulled her children forward and saluted: "A commoner woman came to see the Marquis. She didn't know who the Marquis was. She neglected the Marquis. Please forgive me."
Lin Xuan waved his hand and said, "Aunt Shen, I came here this time to discuss something with you."
Shen Yue'e had a sudden thought. Discussing the matter?
Should I increase the rent?
Last year, the family was happy for a long time when they learned that the rent would be reduced by 10%.
"I wonder if the Marquis has any orders?" Shen Yue'e asked nervously.
Lin Xuan said: "I have a new crop, which is less than half an acre. I want you to plant it and take care of it. If you are willing, your family's rent can be exempted this year."
"Master Hou, the original intention of the civilian woman!" Shen Yue'e said quickly.
If you plant less than half an acre of land, you can get a year's rent exemption. No fool would be willing to do such a good thing.
Lin Xuan said: "Don't be too eager to be happy. I'll tell you the planting method first. You can see if you can do it well, and then we'll talk."
"Master Marquis, please speak!" Shen Yue'e said.
Lin Xuan explained in detail how to grow potatoes.
Planting potatoes is not difficult, but the difficulty lies in germination in the early stages.
Not only must the temperature be maintained, but when the buds of the tubers grow to two centimeters, the tubers must be taken out and planted in the sun.
After hearing this, Shen Yue'e said: "Master Hou, it's okay for civilian women to do germination and planting. But when germination happens, they need to be indoors. And the women's house is too small, even if we don't live in it, it won't be enough."
According to Lin Xuan, not only does it need to be germinated indoors, but it also needs to be heated to maintain the indoor temperature.
His family simply couldn't afford it.
Lin Xuan said: "You don't need to think about these, I will take care of them, you only need to be responsible for daily care."
"That civilian woman can definitely do a good job." Shen Yue'e said confidently.
Her ability is limited and she cannot plant too many fields, so she will take care of the farmer more carefully than other people.
Let her take care of it and she is very confident.
"Zhou Lizheng, please go to the village and find some people to help me build some simple houses. Just make sure there is no ventilation." Lin Xuan said.
The house is only used for germination, and it won't last long.
"Yes!" Zhou Lizheng responded.
Although most young men in Zhouzhuang are busy working on the Lin family's construction site, building a simple house is not that difficult.
Lin Xuan then ordered Liu Da to send someone home and ask him to bring some coal and stoves.
It took half a day to set up the room and get all the coal for the stove in place.
Lin Xuan asked someone to spread moist soil inside.
Just cut the potatoes into cubes, put them in, and cover them with soil.
Cutting potatoes into cubes is not just random, there are a lot of things to pay attention to.
In order to ensure the germination rate, each piece generally needs to have two or three buds.
In order to ensure sufficient nutrients for germination, the stems should not be too small.
After cutting into pieces, place the stem pieces on the soil and cover with a layer of moist soil, and you're done.
Now just need to wait for it to sprout.
"Aunt Shen, you just need to keep the fire going every day. When the soil is almost dry, sprinkle some water, but don't sprinkle too much. Just keep the soil moist." Lin Xuan felt that the temperature was about the same, and said to Shen Yue'e
Explained.
"Yes, Lord Marquis, don't worry, all the women have remembered it." Shen Yue'e said.
"If you encounter anything, you must find Zhou Lizheng as soon as possible and ask him to inform me." Lin Xuan explained uneasily.
"Yes!" Shen Yue'e nodded.
She didn't know why Lin Xuan was so careful about this thing, but it was related to whether her family could be rent-free, so needless to say she would be careful.
Lin Xuan checked it again and found that there was no problem, so he felt relieved.
"Goudan, do you want to study?" Lin Xuan asked with a smile.
Goudan is Zhou Aniu's son. People like to give their children nicknames because they think it will make them easier to support.