A little snow fell on He Chunhua's shoulders, and He Yue held a small section of dead branches in his cloak. It was obvious that he had walked quite a distance. He Lingchuan waited for the two people to approach before asking: "Dad, second brother, why don't you two come back by car?"
"It's freezing cold today.
"Take a walk and take a rest." He Chunhua puffed out a breath of white steam and said, "Also clear your head."
For an official with a high level of cultivation, his face looked too haggard. He Lingchuan discovered that He Yue had dark circles under his eyes and there were bloodshot eyes.
"What's wrong with you, kid? You got up in the middle of the night to catch chickens?" He accompanied the two of them as they walked home.
I don't know if it was an illusion, but there was an unspeakable tacit understanding between the two of them, but it was broken as soon as He Lingchuan stood between them.
"In the past few nights, we have been working all night to review the account books." He Yue yawned, "We have to audit the farmland tonight, and the situation is not optimistic."
Both father and son were as wilted as eggplants beaten by frost. He Lingchuan himself was so lively and vigorous, which was quite embarrassing.
"How can you be so pessimistic?"
"The farms in Xiazhou are distributed in five counties. The number I got is eight villages in total." He Yue frowned, "This is too few. My father found me the original book from forty-five years ago, and it is clearly written on it.
The total number of farms in Xiazhou is twenty!"
He looked at his father with a kind of admiration. This kind of hidden original information can be found.
He Chunhua coughed lightly: "I found someone to get it."
He does not fight unprepared battles.
He Yue saw He Lingchuan counting on his fingers and kindly explained: "Each village is fifty hectares, which means that 600 hectares were lost in forty-five years!"
Tuntian is one of the public fields. It was originally an ownerless wasteland controlled by the state. Later, the local government organized garrison soldiers or civilians to cultivate it and harvest grain to supply military supplies.
The He family has experience in fighting, and they know the principle of moving food before the army moves thousands of miles, and eating 70% of it. Now that Xiazhou has become a front line, the food supply in the fields must be valued by the government. Food is produced here, and food can be delivered.
Greatly shorten the time and save the loss during transportation.
However, more than half of the farmland in Xiazhou is missing. What does this mean?
He Lingchuan exclaimed: "Has it been invaded again?"
"Well, the officials and gentry have colluded over the years to sell all the farmland into private land." He Yue rubbed his eyes, "It's another bad debt. We need to step up our efforts to find them out today and tomorrow."
"You dare to sell it in farmland?" He Lingchuan gave a thumbs up, "That's awesome."
"The previous state capitals had borrowed money from wealthy gentry and prominent families. When the year was not good, the part that could not be repaid was paid with farmland." He Yue checked the accounts in the past few days, and from the initial shock to the numbness now,
"Of course, this is only one of the reasons."
He Lingchuan saw that the two of them looked sleepy but their eyes were bright, and couldn't help but said: "Dad, do you think there is anything I can do?"
"I was about to ask you." He Chunhua looked him up and down, "Did you break through again?"
"yes."
He Yue's eyes were full of envy: "Brother, you are being unreasonable. Last time the Emperor's Liquid came, you broke through once, and now you..."
"Is there such a thing as fairness in this world?" He Lingchuan laughed, "My sword has long been thirsty. Next time there is a big battle, I will definitely play!"
"You have plenty of opportunities." He Chunhua also smiled, "After sorting out this mess in Dunyu, I want to tour Xiazhou, especially paying attention to the northern front. You can come with me."
As the general manager of Xiazhou, he must examine Panshun's customs, customs, administration, and public opinion in various parts of the state. Especially now that war clouds are looming, it is even more necessary for the new general manager to patrol around to reassure people.
He Lingchuan clenched his fist and said, "Okay."
He Chunhua smiled and said: "In a few days, I will send you a task first."
￥￥￥￥￥
Dreaming back to Panlong City, the small courtyard of the wooden house was covered with snow on the calf, and He Lingchuan felt resistance when he pushed the door.
He picked up a broom, piled the thick snow into a corner, and started practicing martial arts.
Eighty percent of the gifts that were originally piled into a small mountain disappeared, and the rest were neatly placed in the kitchen. The last two jars were placed next to the water tank.
This should be Sun Fuling's handiwork. She promised to help him donate the mountain of thank-you gifts - if it wasn't for her, it would have been emptied by the kid who stole the fish and sticks.
He Lingchuan called twice, but there was no response from the neighbor. She seemed to have gone out again.
But every time the wind blows, there is always a tinkling sound. He Lingchuan leaned on the wall and took a look. Sun Fuling's yard was simpler and more empty than his. There was nothing except a chair and a ladder.
But there is a string of wind chimes made of shells hanging under the eaves.
The colorful shells were picked from somewhere, and each piece was polished smooth and round. When the wind blows, they are knocked together, which is particularly pleasant to the ears.
He Lingchuan recognized that this was one of the thank-you gifts given to him by the people of Panlong City, and it seemed that it had been left behind by Sun Fuling herself.
However, the snow in her yard is thicker, and it seems that she has been away from home for at least the past three or four days.
Maybe she has another place to live?
He Lingchuan shrugged and concentrated on practicing martial arts seriously. The focus of today's practice was the hook rope. He also bought one in Panlong City. Of course, it was not a magic weapon and it was not as useful as the one made by Li Fubo.
The initial goal is to cut down the branches of the jujube tree, and be sure to cut down which branch you want.
He had a hunch that this thing would be of great use in the future, and he had to master it as soon as possible.
It seems that he has more and more skills to practice, and he still feels like he doesn't have enough time to practice them day and night.
The feel of the rope was completely different from that of a knife or a bow, and it was soft and difficult to bear force. He Lingchuan had only practiced for a few times, but the head of the hook was hung on a tree branch and could not be pulled off.
At this time, footsteps were heard outside.
The footsteps stopped at the door of his house, and then a letter was stuffed under the courtyard door.
Then, the man left again.
He Lingchuan picked it up and saw that it was an official letter stamped with fire paint.
It turned out that the Pengcheng Department urged him to close the shop.
Last time, he used all the rewards in exchange for a shop on Panlong Main Street, and then forgot about it. There were still a lot of debris in the shop, which he needed to clean up before he could rent it out.
He Lingchuan has been very busy, but the Pengcheng Department is not going to let him drag him down anymore. The shops on Panlong Main Street are all golden chickens that lay eggs, so the management is very strict.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The shops are all owned by Panlongcheng, and he only has the right to rent them. The official urged him to open quickly, so he had no choice but to open quickly.
Having no choice but to find the shop key, He Lingchuan took a donkey cart and drove towards the main street.
In fact, the main street of Panlong City is in the shape of a standard "ten", and the one to the south is Wanglin Street, where He Lingchuan's shop is located.
Unexpectedly, it has not yet reached the end of the street and the corner. Although the store is small and the wooden door is closed, there are people walking shoulder to shoulder in front of the door, and the traffic is considerable.
If a store is opened in a place like this, everything will be easy to sell, right?
There was actually a guard standing by the door. Seeing him take out the key, he took two steps back and made a "please" gesture.
He Lingchuan also saw a yellow seal on the door.
He had to ask the patrol: "Excuse me, what is going on?"
"There are always people who want to break in illegally." The patrolman saw him taking off the seal and immediately said, "From now on, you will take care of this shop."
The task completed, he turned around, called it a day, and stepped out of the way.
He Lingchuan looked at his back and shook his head, then unlocked and pushed the door.
"Squeak", the two doors opened, and gray mold came oncoming.
He Lingchuan couldn't help coughing twice and used the Wind Calling Technique to blow away the haze.
He heard that this place was originally an antique shop and grocery store. When he walked in and saw that there were unfinished bits and pieces everywhere, the furniture was staggered here and there, and there was a thick layer of dust everywhere.
There were a few footprints on the ground. It was obvious that someone had visited here not long ago. No wonder there were guards guarding the door.
He Lingchuan covered his mouth and nose with a towel and flipped through it. Sure enough, he didn't see anything valuable.
The most expensive thing in the whole place is probably the mahogany eight-treasure cabinet and chairs hidden in the back room. Maybe the store moved it in a hurry and forgot it here.
I'm afraid these things are not important at all, the key lies in the store itself.
Just as he was feeling disgusted, two mice jumped out of the eight-treasure cabinet with a squeaking sound, slid along the wall, and fled out of the store in a hurry.
This place has been closed for so long that even rats have made their nests.
They ran away very fast, but knocked down a basket. Several things in it clattered to the ground.
He Lingchuan took a look and saw several books.
Most of them are story books, two are about myths and legends, and the other five are about bedtime action literature, with bold and uninhibited words and sentences, and illustrations, which would make even someone as shameless as He Lingchuan feel sad.
You can't keep such harmful things, take them back.
Food, sex, sex, human desires, it is not strange at all to sell such things in grocery stores, maybe they were the best sellers in the past.
There is also a map and a thin booklet.
The map depicts the eastern part of Panlong Wasteland. The drawing is rough and only points out a few main roads in the east and a few important geographical landmarks, such as the Ghost Needle Stone Forest. It was also the first time for He Lingchuan to see the entire Chipa Plateau.
This is probably what a business traveler traveling in the wilderness will need.
As for the last thin booklet, He Lingchuan picked it up and took a look, and found "Collection of Hundred Fragrances" written on the cover.
He thought it was the slanderous writings or idle moans of literati, but when he opened it, he found that it was not true. It was actually a comprehensive introduction and preparation of edible spices.
However, this booklet is full of cavities, and there is a lot of dust when you turn it over. It has an old musty smell, and the author's signature at the back has been blurred and cannot be seen clearly, so He Lingchuan does not know whose hand it came from.
But it’s full of pictures and texts.
For example, cardamom and angelica are spices that He Lingchuan is already familiar with in another world. The booklet not only has clear descriptions, but also has pictures that help people identify them. He Lingchuan can only say that his painting skills are at the level of a soul painter, but the author's intentions are good after all.
of.
The most valuable part is the second half, which details various combinations of spices, as well as their effects and application scenarios.
Isn't this, isn't this...? He Lingchuan's eyes lit up when he saw it, and he put it away without hesitation.
Frankly speaking, it is useless for ordinary residents to get this booklet. Their cooking and seasoning are very simple. Salt is good, soy sauce is a bit luxurious, and it is impossible to cook these complicated seasonings.
But can he, Young Master He, be an ordinary person?
It seems that the grocery store is not full of garbage, at least he found a treasure.
At this time, the light at the door dimmed and someone came in.