Many years later, his great-granddaughter asked Zhang Ximeng, who was famous all over the world, what was the craziest thing you had ever done in your life?
Zhang Ximeng stared at the sky and said two words without hesitation: "Get married!"
Originally, he could still fish in private and be lazy, but since Jiang Nan was around, he didn't even have time to fish. He even suspected that Zhu Yuanzhang had sent his wife to supervise the work.
"Madam, let's stop working so hard, okay? It's not worth spending so much time sleeping and forgetting to eat and sleep just for the sake of Lao Zhu's family, and they won't give us any extra salary."
Jiang Nan's smile did not diminish, she lowered her head to tidy up her things and asked, "Your Majesty, are you afraid of being heard by your Majesty when you say that?"
"I hope he hears it. It's best to remove me from office, and then I can rest at home."
"Don't even think about it!" Jiang Nan said with a smile: "If you are removed from office, won't I still be an official? Then I will order you to work for me."
Zhang Ximeng rolled his eyes, "What's the difference between that and now?"
"Of course, I am asking my husband for help now, so stop pretending. I know that my husband is most considerate of the people and cares about the sufferings of the people. Right?"
"Yes, yes! Madam is right!" Zhang Ximeng said: "Where are we going?"
"Of course I'm going to Chenliu. Let's revisit the old place and see if there are any changes in the village." Jiang Nan prepared his belongings, picked up Zhang Ximeng, and the couple rode a donkey out of the city.
…
"Daddy, my eldest brother and sister-in-law just left the city." Zhu Ying complained to Lao Zhu.
"Leave the city?" Lao Zhu was stunned, the noodles in the bowl were no longer fragrant, "They, it's just the third day since they got married, why did they go out for nothing?"
Zhu Ying said helplessly: "Dad, I'm already worried. My sister-in-law is focused on official duties. I'm not worried about anything else. When will my eldest brother's single lineage blossom?"
After listening to this, Lao Zhu was even more speechless. This was probably the first time that he felt that it was not good for the minister to be too hard-working.
Mr. Zhang needs to spread his wings as soon as possible and have a few children.
We have four sons, and we still hope that they can play together and develop a relationship from an early age! If Mr. Zhang and his wife are busy with business, wouldn't it be delayed?
"Zhu Ying, what do you think Mr. Zhang cares about? Can we prescribe the right medicine?"
Zhu Ying thought for a while, "My eldest brother cares about money... He doesn't want any money. He is a gentleman who loves money and gets it in a wise way. Otherwise, my godfather issued a decree saying that officials should have more children in their homes."
, you can receive the reward, my eldest brother will definitely stay home."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and praised: "This makes sense, I will do it according to your wishes."
"Pass the decree. Tell me, all officials above the fifth rank, who have been married for one year and have no heirs, will be fined half of their salary. This is what we will do!"
Someone has gone to deliver the message.
Zhu Ying was dumbfounded. I meant to ask her godfather to reward her with money and encouragement. How could it turn into a fine?
This means the opposite, completely screwed up?
Zhu Yuanzhang said helplessly: "My godfather doesn't have that much money to reward me, so I have no choice but to do this, but the effect is the same."
no the same!
Zhu Ying is not stupid. He has been with Zhang Ximeng for a long time and has learned a lot of messy things. Originally, many people, including the eldest brother, could get rewards.
If we do this now, a very small number of unlucky people will lose half of their salary together with their elder brother!
OMG!
What did I do?
Why did you offend the officials again?
Zhu Ying is about to cry but has no tears. She has offended so many civil and military officials at the wedding, and now here she is again... What's wrong with me? Even if I have my godfather and elder brother to protect me, I can't go any further on the road to death.
!The county magistrate is not as good as being in charge now, as an official cannot be offended.
Otherwise, I'd better go back to Lingnan to enjoy the sea breeze and eat sea crabs.
Zhu Ying was so frightened that he packed up his bed all night and prepared to run away... Zhang Ximeng, however, had no intention of caring about Zhu Ying. The couple revisited their hometown and returned to Chen Liu's village.
When he came this time, Zhang Ximeng was delighted to find that in addition to the keel waterwheel still turning, there were actually several cattle plowing the fields in the fields.
Zhang Ximeng immediately became interested, and with a smile on his face, he happily walked to the fields to check the situation... Jiang Nan followed closely, with a smile on his face.
My husband obviously likes to watch this, so why are you pretending?
When I can't see it?
This is called enjoying it.
Jiang Nan was right, Zhang Ximeng was indeed getting happier the more he watched it.
In order to get rid of the salt-alkali, the people not only dug drainage ditches and used irrigation to remove the salt-alkali, but also dug out mud from the ditches and covered the surface.
They also dumped rotten leaves, plant ash, manure, and farmyard manure on the ground, mixing them with the soil to improve the saline-alkali condition.
After leveling, the appearance of the land has been greatly changed.
Some villagers are busy tidying up the land, while others are busy plowing the fields.
Even the children who were only five or six years old followed obediently, carrying a small basket with seeds in it. Every time they pinched out as many seeds as they could, they followed the instructions of their elders strictly, for fear of making any mistakes.
His serious look makes people laugh.
But the children didn't feel at all that they seemed to be doing something sacred.
Grow up quickly!
When food grows, you can eat white rice and steamed buns in autumn.
Thinking of this, my mouth is watering.
Taking advantage of the people's lunch break, Zhang Ximeng invited the old farmer again, along with several other farmers, including Du Guangan.
As soon as they saw Zhang Ximeng, they would kneel down and kowtow.
"Stop it."
Zhang Ximeng asked the old farmers to get up, and asked everyone to get up.
"If you still think of me as a member of the imperial court, I won't come here next time."
The old farmer was frightened, "How can that be done? I also want to treat adults to a banquet to celebrate the harvest."
Zhang Ximeng immediately said: "Good harvest? Are you sure about it?"
The old man was stunned for a moment, and finally forgot about the salute, and concentrated on talking about crops, and the more he talked, the more excited he became.
"The certainty is not small. Look, our village has five more cows. They are all top quality bullocks. The court is kind and the emperor is good. By the way, sir, I want to thank Mr. Qingtian.
"
He wanted to kneel down, but Zhang Ximeng quickly stopped him and turned his attention to Du Guangan.
"Tell me, these cattle were bought with borrowed money?"
"no!"
Du Guang'an shook his head, "Mr. Zhang, people are still worried about borrowing money. They feel that there is a burden on their shoulders and their lives are not stable."
"Then, how did you get the cattle?" Zhang Ximeng asked curiously.
When this matter was mentioned, several other farmers grinned, their wrinkled faces unable to conceal their pride, as if they had done something important to honor their ancestors.
Du Guang'an told Zhang Ximeng that although it was mainly a loan, the imperial court still raised some cattle. In addition, Zhu Ying brought a lot of money, and Zhu Yuanzhang also used some to buy cattle and other things to help the people and resume production.
There are not many of these things, so it is naturally impossible to distribute them on a per-capita basis.
It depends on the results of water control by the people.
Whoever builds more ditches, whoever builds more reservoirs, whoever flattens more land... will be rewarded!
"Xiang Zhang, you guys sleep next to the ditch day and night... After working hard for many days, you finally won the prize and earned five cows for the village!"
This is how it came about!
Zhang Ximeng was not without surprise, "Old man, you have worked hard."
The old farmer hurriedly waved his hand, "What's the hard work... This, these are not five cows, this is our capital, our lifeblood... In the autumn, whether we eat dry food or drink water, it all depends on them.
!Speaking of which, this cow is much more useful than a human."
Zhang Ximeng was also happy for them, "With the cattle, we can open up more fields, right?"
The old farmer nodded, "You can drive a lot more, but you can't be tired... You adults may not know that the more you use your strength, the stronger it becomes. This is not the case with animals. Even though they are big and strong, they work all day long.
, it won’t work. During this period of busy work, you need to rest. But the cows rest, and the people don’t rest. We are thinking about taking advantage of the rain to build more ditches, level the land more, and spread grass seeds first.
, we can plant crops next year.”
Zhang Ximeng nodded with a smile, "Indeed, the old man is right... I want to ask you something. Please tell me, if every household receives food rations, and then puts the remaining food in the village, and the village keeps it and sells it.
Do you think so?"
The old man was stunned for a moment. He thought carefully and then looked at several other farmers.
"Then, does it just return to the village, or what happened?"
"No... the food still belongs to the big guys. It's just that with more people and more strength, the food can be sold at a better price. And if there are natural or man-made disasters in the future, the village has food in stock and can take care of everyone." Zhang Ximeng added:
"Of course, this is my idea. I hope that the villagers can unite and make the flames brighter! But if there are difficulties, you can also speak up and let everyone discuss it."
The old man lowered his head and pondered for a long time before he said: "If we do this, everyone must know how much food there is in the village, how much they earn from buying and selling food, and how much each household should get.
Understand, you must be clear, otherwise, once the money passes through your hands, you will be ugly if not ugly, and your reputation in this life will be ruined even in front of the folks."
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "You're right. I will find a way to assign a teacher who specializes in settling accounts in the village. I will also arrange schools in the future so that the children can study, understand principles, and know the king's laws, so that they will not be deceived."
Hearing what Zhang Ximeng said, the old man finally became happy.
If this is the case, in addition to ensuring the food rations of every household, the land they opened up will also have a food surplus of thousands of stones, which will be the responsibility of the village. It is not a small sum!
If this is used properly, the small village will be completely renewed.
"Sir, this method is good. We, we must try it. There is strength in numbers. If there are more people, we will not be bullied!"
Zhang Ximeng nodded happily and chatted for a while. He asked everyone to go about their business. He and Jiang Nan were also preparing to return... Just when they got on the donkey's back and were about to leave.
Suddenly someone took the lead and shouted, "My lord will live a long life, and my wife will give birth to a son soon!"
In an instant, Jiang Nan's face turned red, and Zhang Ximeng could only smile...