Just as they were making these "tragic" preparations, Duoduoniang came. Now she has officially become the "busy month" of Wang Siniang's family. What she often does is convey Wang Siniang's "instructions" to the villagers.
In Shen Kaibao's eyes, he has become a "dog leg" figure.
Although everyone can't help but despise them, they are also a little envious of the treatment of "dog legs": I heard that Duoduoniang can earn one or two taels of silver a month! She is similar to the clerks in the big shops in the town - she can make more money than many men in this village.
So, while everyone despised her in their hearts, they couldn't help but flatter her with smiles on their faces every time they saw her, fearing that she would offend her and have her slander her in front of Wang Siniang and force them to pay their debts first.
Dudoniang was smiling all over her face and just told everyone that Shen and everyone would invite every household in the village to her house for a "drinking" tomorrow night as a "thank you banquet" for taking care of her business this year.
"The whole family is coming!" Dudoniang greeted, "We have prepared a lot of wine and food!"
Upon hearing this, every household had goosebumps on their backs. It was never a good idea for the owner to invite the tenants to dinner. Either they wanted to increase the rent, or they wanted to take away the tenants.
Although Wang Si's family is not a landlord, they are everyone's creditors. It is not even worth mentioning that creditors treat creditors to dinner.
"I think this is the Hongmen Banquet!" Shen Kaibao said fiercely.
But it was absolutely impossible not to go there. There were several boats parked in front of Wang Si's house, and the cooks came to "book the table", built stoves in the courtyard, and moved down baskets of pots, pans, and pots.
Various vegetables and meats. Many women gathered by the river to wash vegetables. The fire in the yard was blazing and steaming. The aroma of the cooking dishes could be smelled throughout the village. The children were drooling, eagerly waiting for the meal in the evening.
Teeth Beating Festival - this kind of day has not happened for several years. Even the worried adults were all so hungry that they secreted saliva.
In the evening, the whole village, old and young, went to the yard in front of Wang Si's house. Tables, chairs and benches borrowed from various families had been prepared there, and the surroundings were brightly lit by torches. The table full of dishes attracted the attention of the whole village.
It's all straight.
With a smile on her face, Siniang Wang took the seat at the head of the table and asked her subordinates to greet everyone to the table. After saying some important words, she ordered the banquet to begin.
There was no drink at the banquet, but rice was enough. Everyone could barely get enough of it these days. With such delicacies in front of them, who could care about what kind of medicine was being sold at the Hongmen Banquet? Everyone devoured it like a storm.
After a while, the cups and plates were all in a mess. The children simply took the oily soup at the bottom of the plate and mixed it with rice to eat. Bowl after bowl, their stomachs were bulging and almost exhausted. Wang Siniang quickly ordered someone to pour vinegar on them.
vinegar.
Seeing that everyone was full and full, Wang Siniang got to the point.
The debts owed by each household can not be repaid for the time being. However, Mr. Zhao wants the village to continue raising silkworms - raising summer silkworms and autumn silkworms.
In ancient society, silkworms were raised in the second and third generations. However, due to the lack of awareness and means of disinfection at that time, spring silkworms continued to be raised in the second and third generations, which often caused serious silkworm diseases. Over time, there were very few silkworm farmers.
Raised summer silkworms and autumn silkworms.
Specifically speaking, the two parties signed a contract. Mr. Zhao loaned everyone silkworm seeds, mulberry leaves and rations as an advance payment without interest. Each family was responsible for raising a certain number of silkworm seeds according to their own capabilities. After the silkworm cocoons were harvested, according to the contract
The price is equivalent to the quantity of cocoons minus the advance payment, and the remaining cocoons are purchased at the contract price.
Everyone has heard about raising summer silkworms and autumn silkworms, but no one has ever raised them. Now I heard that Mr. Zhao wants everyone to raise them. They couldn't help but look at each other, and no one dared to respond to this.
"Everyone can rest assured that I have a way to raise summer silkworms and autumn silkworms here, and I will naturally help you take care of them when the time comes. I guarantee that everyone can succeed in raising silkworms." Wang Siniang was confident about this.
No one believed what she said. In their opinion, this was just a new trick used by rich people to deceive farmers.
But now no one dares to say "no". A debt note with one cent of monthly interest in Wang Siniang's hand is a lifeline. Who dares to say "no"? Tomorrow Mr. Zhao will send someone to collect the debt, and everyone will be able to cash it out.
Every household was immediately destroyed.
Zhao Yingong knew that in the current predicament, the sericulture farmers who were in a dilemma had no other choice but to accept his conditions. It was difficult to win the trust of farmers. For them to cooperate, it would require long-term and unremitting efforts. He did not have enough
There is not enough manpower to do it slowly, so we can only use the Dongfeng of this cheap acquisition to force the conditions on them at lightning speed. Although the method is cruel, it is the most efficient way at the moment.
Ordering production is the first step. To truly trust the silkworm farmers, we have to wait until the summer and autumn silkworms are successfully raised. Then we can talk about forming a cooperative.
There is a town more than ten miles away from Jixian Village, called Jiuli. Like most towns in Jiangnan water towns, it is surrounded by rice fields, dotted lakes, ponds and rivers.
Jiuli, like most small towns in the south of the Yangtze River, is full of wealth. Although it is not a first-class town on the Hangjiahu Plain, there are more than 500 households, with stone-paved Shangxiatang Road on both sides, black tiles and white walls.
Houses and shops are located next to each other. Rice shops, cloth shops, grain shops, ironware shops, boat shops, grocery stores, teahouses... Not only are everything that an ordinary small town should have here, there are also silk and satin shops, washing and dyeing shops.
"Big business" such as houses and silk shops. There are also a few temples filled with incense and worshiping gods and Buddhas.
In the southwest corner of this town, there is a small but very exquisite house. This is Mr. Cao's "residence".
Countryside people did not understand the rules of the imperial court, and society in the late Ming Dynasty was not as sensitive to overstepping the rules as it was in the early years of the Republic of China. Mr. Cao, a wealthy man with a scholarly background, was openly called Mr. Cao, and his residence was called "Cao's Mansion".
In the pavilion of the garden pond of "Cao's Mansion", there was a gentle tap on the teeth, and the faint sound of a woman singing softly could be heard.
Master Cao, Cao Guangjiu, was leaning on a Xiangfei couch, with his eyes slightly closed and snoring weakly. A maid knelt beside the couch, resisting the afternoon sleepiness and gently beating her legs.
Although he had been asleep for more than two quarters of an hour, neither the singer nor the maid dared to stop without the master's instructions.
Mr. Cao is in his middle age. Although he is a scholar and his family can be regarded as a "heirloom of poetry and calligraphy", he has no connection with the image of "white-faced scholar" or "Jiangnan romantic talent". He is a dark and strong man with a face full of flesh.
, even when he was asleep, he showed a ferocious expression.
Cao Guangjiu was a typical "Broken Boot Party" - this was the "title" given to such scoundrels by the society at that time. Almost all Broken Boot Party members were scholars or supervisors. They thought they were well-dressed and could move around the government.
, he usually takes charge of lawsuits, talks about right and wrong, bullies the weak and fears the strong, and is very rogue. As for lending money to earn interest and exploiting the villagers, it is even more common.
Therefore, the Cao family originally opened a private school in the town to make a living. Since Cao Guangjiu became a gangster, relying on these means of making money, he has become prosperous in just more than ten years. In recent years, he has taken over the grain and tax of nearby villages, and every year
Both Xia and Qiu Fu can make a lot of "external money" by means of defaulting on arrears and paying less. The family business is growing rapidly.
Although Cao Guangjiu is a bad guy and has done a lot of evil things outside, he still looks good in his hometown and town. Not only is the interest rate on borrowing money lower than ordinary people, but he is also more restrained in doing things. This is not because he has a kind heart.
, it is true that the literary style of the imperial examination in Jiangnan is very prosperous, there are many people with great fame, and the power of the Jin gentry is very strong. He is just a scholar, but he really annoys the powerful Jin gentry, and one picture can make him look good. Ordinary Jin gentry also embraces it.
With the mentality of "it is better to offend a gentleman than a villain", we do not offend each other.
Recently, when the news reached his ears that someone in Jixian Village and a dozen surrounding villages were lending money at a price of one penny a month, Cao Guangjiu sent someone to find out who was willing to do such a good deed and lend money at this price.
Although loan sharking is one of his "business contents", he has never dared to form a monopoly in the neighborhood - moneylending and interest earning are the main means of making money for squires, and he, a shabby guy, would never dare to dream of living alone.
However, this clearly stated intention to "grab business" attracted his attention. He sent several people to inquire about the information and found out that the person behind the moneylender was a "scholar" named Zhao in Hangzhou, and that this scholar was in the city.
He was very popular among the Jin gentry in Hangzhou. Especially among the Jin gentry who were religious, they were particularly powerful.
Upon hearing this, Cao Guangjiu had no other ideas. He didn't have any diamonds or porcelain work. No wonder Mr. Zhao dared to send people to "steal business" in such a careless way. Of course, he, a shabby gangster, could cause trouble for him, but
The other party's background is profound, and if you really look into it, you will definitely not be able to defeat him. Besides, there are so many moneylending gentry here, and I am not the biggest one, why bother to take the lead? When it becomes big, there will naturally be masters who will take the lead.
.
Cao Guangjiu just withdrew. These days were the busy farming season, and no one had time to file a lawsuit even before it was time to pay taxes. He didn't have much "business" except going to the teahouse every morning to "skin water" and asking questions.
Besides reading some news and talking to "friends" from all walks of life to see if there were any opportunities, I just spent my days leisurely at home.
His snoring gradually became louder, and at this moment the housekeeper hurriedly walked up from the garden path, holding a business card in his hand.
When Cao Guangjiu was sleeping, no one dared to disturb him - he would have to be hung up and beaten to death. But today's guest was no small matter. The butler walked into the waterside pavilion and called out a few times.
"What's the matter?" Cao Guangjiu was awakened by someone. He was filled with evil spirits, but when he saw that the person he was calling was a housekeeper, he knew something big was going on and asked quickly.