On a hillside, Qin Huaidao looked up and felt relaxed and happy. Although this kind of remote mountainous area was poor, the air was really good. His eyes were quickly attracted by the green plants in the valley below. The branches and leaves swayed in the wind, and the flowers hanging on the branches.
Aren’t the cuboids just hops?
Qin Huaidao was overjoyed and rushed down, picked out a few and identified them carefully. They were the same as in his memory. They were unmistakable. He said to Zhang Heiwa who followed him down, "That's it. Are there many around here?"
"I haven't been here for several years, so I don't know."
"It was finally a worthwhile trip." Qin Huaidao was in a good mood. He looked at the children who were following him not far away and said, "Since there is one here, there must be one in other places. Let them come and ask."
"You guys, come here." Zhang Heiwa shouted.
Several children hesitated and came over with some fear. The older one asked: "Uncle, what's the matter?"
"Are there many of these things around?"
"There are so many of them, they are inedible and of no use. They are everywhere in the ravines and valleys behind."
Qin Huaidao was overjoyed, picked some and said, "Let's go back and talk about it later."
Zhang Heiwa followed without asking any questions, and the children quickly followed suit.
The group returned to Zhang Heiwa's house. Qin Huaidao found a place to squat down. Zhang Heiwa's house was so poor that they didn't even have a stool. He put the hops on the ground. Just as the second master came back, he asked: "My father-in-law."
, aren’t there a lot of mountains near this thing?”
"There are so many, and the sheep won't eat them, so they're of no use."
Qin Huaidao was right. The village was poor, and everything that could be eaten would have been wiped out long ago. After chatting for a while, there was a noise at the entrance of the village, and the purchasers came back. There was a long convoy, and the carriages were all filled with bags of grain. Behind them,
There were also people driving sheep and slowly entering the village.
Soon, a convoy transporting grain came over. The villagers' eyes glowed green when they looked at the grain and they licked their lips. Luo Zhang led the horse over and said, "Uncle, we have to find someone to help unload the goods. The convoy must return before dark, otherwise we will enter."
Not a city."
The county town would close its gates at night, making it impossible to enter. Qin Huaidao nodded knowingly and said to the second master: "My father, please ask everyone to help unload the goods. Uncle Zhang will send ten buckets of polished rice and noodles to each household in the village."
"Really?" Erye's breathing suddenly became rapid and he looked at Zhang Heiwa.
Zhang Heiwa didn't know anything about it, so he wanted to deny it. When he saw Qin Huaidao's glare, he suddenly reacted. His heart felt warm and moved, and he nodded and said: "Second Master, please excuse me."
"My benefactor, hurry up and kneel down and kowtow!"
Although the second master was old, he still had experience. How could he not see that it was given by Qin Huaidao? Of course, it was for Zhang Heiwa's sake that he knelt down excitedly on the spot. He burst into tears and was so excited that one person fought ten fights, not one person.
Ten buckets per household is enough to keep the whole village worry-free for a whole year.
The onlookers also knelt down in excitement, kowtowed desperately, and expressed gratitude from the bottom of their hearts. In an era when there was not enough to eat, nothing was more precious than food. In order to have a bite to eat, many people would risk their lives.
"Please get up quickly." Qin Huaidao quickly helped the person up.
The second master stood up and shouted excitedly: "Young and old men, hurry up and do your work more carefully. The Duke is kind and thinks highly of our Zhangjia Village. If anyone steals a grain of grain, pay close attention to its skin."
"Village Chief, just take a look. Although Zhangjia Village is poor, it is tough."
"Whoever dares to mess around will be killed by me."
"Let's go unload the food!"
Everyone made their vows and went one after another.
Qin Huaidao felt a little emotional, what a simple person.
The news of the food donation spread quickly, and every household came to help. They unloaded all the food and materials, stacked them neatly, and lined up under the supervision of the second master. The person at the front of the line saw the real food, or was it?
They had never seen polished rice noodles before. The excited family all knelt down and kowtowed to Qin Huaidao, constantly saying words of thanks.
Qin Huaidao couldn't stand this, so he took Zhang Heiwa to a place where no one was around and said, "Uncle Zhang, it's not easy to pick hops. I want to mobilize the villagers to do it faster. How about paying a penny for every kilogram of fresh hops?"
"But it can't be done. The young master gave so much food. The food can survive. The villagers accepted it shamelessly in order to survive. It's not right to give more money. As long as the young master says, no one will refuse to pick hops. We can't afford to lose that.
people."
Qin Huaidao also felt that it was reasonable. Everyone wanted to save face. If the whole village, young and old, went out, they could harvest all the nearby hops in half a day, which would be enough for him to use for a long time. Giving money would make him uncomfortable, so he said: "Well, then,
How about you discuss it with the village and mobilize everyone to plant hops and come here to harvest them once a year. The dried hops will cost ten cents per catty?"
"Is it too much?" Zhang Heiwa reminded uncertainly.
"A lot will be fine. Your parents are old, so they can stay here for a while and organize planting for everyone. Then each household will be given an advance payment of twenty taels of silver, and when the hops are harvested, the more will be refunded and the less will be reimbursed. How about that?"
"Young Master, don't you want me anymore?" Zhang Heiwa suddenly became nervous.
"What are you talking about? Stay and take good care of your parents and organize the planting of hops. These are big things. If you do them well, you will be rewarded. If you don't do it, you are asking. Hops are very important. No one is here to keep an eye on it.
, you have to pay more attention and remember that if you encounter difficulties, you can send messages through the post station."
Zhang Heiwa came to his senses and said solemnly: "Thank you, Master, for giving Zhangjiacun a way to survive. If things don't work out well, I'll come and see you."
"What's the use of your head? Remember, you have to get things done, but when you encounter something you can't handle, don't risk your life to protect others. Only when a person is alive can he have everything." Qin Huaidao reminded seriously.
"Remember!" Zhang Heiwa said solemnly, but she made up her mind in her heart. The young master loves her so much and gives Zhangjiacun a way to survive. Even if she risks her own life, she must get things done.
Next, Qin Huaidao told Zhang Heiwa what little knowledge he had about hop planting, and gave some other instructions before turning back. Seeing that the food had been distributed and there was still a lot left, Qin Huaidao said to Zhang Heiwa: "Go and organize
They will bring the rest into your house, and then ask others to help you make some food, butcher the sheep and stew it, and treat the whole village to a meal. You must take care of enough and don’t skimp on it.”
Zhang Heiwa said gratefully and hurried away.
When the news spread, the whole village was in a sensation. Men, women, old and young all came out to help. It was even more lively than the Chinese New Year.
Half an hour later, the mutton was fragrant and the white-faced steamed buns came out one after another. The whole village cheered loudly and everyone started eating. I had never eaten the legendary polished rice noodles before. It turned out to be so sweet and sweet, not like brown rice noodles at all.
While eating, many people burst into tears.
Qin Huaidao felt a little panicked when he saw this scene. It was just a meal. The people were really suffering. Maybe he should do something. Regardless of fame or reward, he just wanted peace of mind!
That night, the villagers stayed awake all night, pulling Zhang Heiwa to ask whether the planting of hops was true or not, and calculating how many kilograms of hops could be produced in a year and how much profit they could make. However, the most knowledgeable second man in the village couldn't tell the truth.
As for how much you can earn, you only know that it is a lot. A lot is the hope of the whole village, and that is enough!
The next day, all the people in the village, including those who could leave, swarmed up the mountain to pick hops. Just as Zhang Heiwa said, no one asked for money, not even hard work. Qin Huaidao was moved by his simplicity.
In half a day, all the hops nearby were picked. What Qin Huaidao didn't expect was that the villagers spontaneously went to far away places to pick, and there was no way to stop them. Qin Huaidao asked Zhang Heiwa to find a few people to stay and cook.
Offer and express your feelings.
Two days later, the ancestral hall was filled with hops, and all the hops were picked within a radius of dozens of miles. It was dangerous to go farther, so we stopped.
Ten days later, all the hops were dried and weighed thousands of kilograms. They were packed in burlap bags containing rice and flour, and evenly distributed among twenty horses. It would not be a big problem for each horse to carry dozens of kilograms more.
When everything was ready, Qin Huaidao left some money with Zhang Heiwa and returned with his people.
It has been almost two months since I came out, and I don’t know how my family is doing.