"Don't talk nonsense! What could happen to you?" When Zhang Tingzhang heard this, he became anxious on the spot, "You are the one who is in trouble."
"Yes, yes, something happened to me." Sir Si'er responded quickly, and then asked carefully, "Junhou, will there be any trouble?"
"There will always be some trouble, otherwise why would the government buy food at this time?"
Zhang Ting let out a long sigh, "This is a troublesome thing. Is it big or small?"
"If only the imperial court could send food to Liangzhou one day earlier, I think there wouldn't be any trouble."
"But even if your family's food is missing, it doesn't matter. Anyway, the prince is so capable."
The elder Si'er glanced at Zhang Tingchang, moved his lips, but finally said nothing.
Seeing his appearance, Zhang Tingzhang couldn't help but said angrily:
"If you fart, let it go! This is your home, it makes me feel like I'm raiding your home!"
"I can... I can help a little bit." Sir Si'er finally summoned up the courage, but his voice was still low, "It's okay to do your best."
Having said this, his face, marked by years of suffering, showed a look of worry, "Otherwise, I would feel uneasy."
He didn't understand any big principles, he only knew that his family could live like this because of the legacy of the monarch.
The hope of turning the family around lies in the school. As for the Nanxiang School, it was established by the prince himself.
If the warehouse collects grain at a high price because the prince needs grain, then it is appropriate to sell the surplus grain at home.
"Besides, the wheat will be harvested in more than a month, so we don't have to worry about the family going hungry."
When Zhang Tingzhang heard this, he gave a thumbs up: "What a man!"
"I only have one and a half months' worth of food left at home, and I plan to sell the rest."
Zhang Tingchang also expressed his plan, "I originally wanted to stay for two months, but the person at home was more decisive than me and only allowed me to stay for one and a half months."
Telling about the embarrassing things at home, Zhang Tingzhang smiled sheepishly:
"She said that the price of grain is so high now that it's really not feasible. After the wheat is harvested, she will go back and buy some more. Maybe she can make a few more bushels."
The elder Si'er smiled honestly: "Yes, I will earn a few more buckets."
It doesn't really matter whether you make money or not.
Cangtou Qianshou, which family is short of those few copper coins?
What’s missing is those tickets, okay?
The people who had just emerged from the hunger of the past few years valued food more than anything else.
Most of the people who are willing to use their stored grain at this time have the simplest wish: to help the prince a little bit, just to have peace of mind.
Feng Sang and Feng Can are not called for nothing.
"Then it's settled. Before it gets dark, I'll go to other houses in the village."
Zhang Tingzhang stood up and said, "After a few days, the villages in our pavilion will collect the grain together and sell it, and let outsiders see that although we don't have much ability, our conscience is worthy of heaven and earth."
As he spoke, he walked outside the yard.
"You...walk slowly."
The elder Si'er held it in for a long time before he said something.
Zhang Tingzhang has long since disappeared.
A few days later, as the sun just rose and covered the earth with a layer of gold, the official road started to be noisy.
As we enter the month of April, it rains more and more, or it becomes gloomy from time to time. It is rare to see a day without the morning glow.
Taking advantage of this rare good weather, people who were willing to sell grain carried the grain and pushed it on chicken carts. Zhang Tingzhang even found a few ox carts.
He raised his whip and waved it in mid-air, "Go!"
The oxcart began to squeak and squeak, heading towards the school.
In fact, the few villages that Zhang Tingzhang was responsible for did not have much surplus food.
At least it was much smaller than the other kiosks that arrived at the warehouse near the school one step ahead of them.
"Hey, Zhang Laizi, you are here to sell grain too!"
Someone came over and said hello.
Zhang Tingchang glanced sideways at the other party and sneered:
"What's wrong? There's been news from the higher ups and they won't let me come over?"
"How dare you! It's just your pavilion. Who doesn't know that there are more hills. When it comes to planting mulberry and raising silkworms, no one dares to speak in front of you, but when it comes to this food..."
The visitor half turned around, raised his chin, and motioned Zhang Tingzhang to look at the pile of grain bags on the ground in front of the school:
"Did you see it? The sack! It was specially given to us by the warehouse and is specially used to hold grain!"
Seeing the other party's triumphant look, Zhang Ting let out a loud "poof" and said disdainfully:
“How amazing is the food?”
"Ah……"
It must be amazing to have so much food!
"Haha..." Zhang Tingchang said one more word than the other party, and then pushed Si'er beside him forward, "Food has a price, but knowledge has a price, right?"
"Today, our booth will send someone to help with the warehouse. If nothing else, I can still help!"
This year, Si'er definitely occupied one of the places recommended by the school to be sent to Qiongdu.
I saw Si'er's blushing face and a somewhat embarrassed look, and then I saw Zhang Tingchang's arrogant demeanor.
The other party was as disgusted as if he had eaten a green-headed fly, gritted his teeth and said:
"Old man Zhang! I have never seen a person as shameless as you. You are cruel!"
With that said, he immediately turned around and left.
Zhang Tingchang pressed the opponent's head, and suddenly his thoughts became clear, he felt comfortable, and burst out laughing.
He immediately arranged for someone to find a place to unload the grain, and then went to negotiate in person.
When he learned that another batch of grain sellers had arrived, the warehouse manager was overjoyed.
When he heard that the most alert child in the school had come to help, the steward's face suddenly turned into a smile.
In these ten pavilions, I really want to find a few students who can write and do calculations. They are the few students in the math class.
It was easy to talk about those pavilion chiefs and so on when they were in the army.
When you arrive at a place, there is no one to supervise you, but you can still recognize a few words, and if you can memorize the Nine-Nine Jue, it is considered a great achievement.
And they have their own things to do, so how can they find time to help?
“Excellent, excellent!”
The steward took the book and pen and asked Si'er to sit at the table again, "You can remember as much as the food is shouted outside. This shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
Si'er looked at the account book and saw that it only wrote where he was in his hometown and how much grain he sold.
For him, it was still within his capabilities, so he nodded immediately.
Seeing this, the steward said to Zhang Tingchang, "I will stay with you for now and have dinner with the people in our warehouse tonight. Then I will personally take him back to the village."
"Don't let others lose out. My pavilion is just hoping to produce a reading seed!"
Zhang Tingzhang still ordered again and again.
"What are the rules here that others don't know but you don't know?"
The steward said angrily, "Don't worry, if you give him another piece of meat, it will be considered as reward."
"That's good, that's good."
Zhang Tingzhang said cheerfully.
"Looking at your search results, do you want me to tell you some more tidbits?"
"What's the matter? Tell me."
"I heard that after the deadline of three days, the villages that can sell grain will have more batches of silkworm seeds after the summer harvest."
"Is this true?"
Zhang Tingchang's eyes suddenly widened and he screamed.
The mulberry trees in Yuexun are different from those elsewhere. They are mulberries that can raise good silkworms.
But besides mulberry trees, silkworm seeds are even more important.
The first season of silkworms is raised in a year, and everyone has their own silkworm seeds on hand.
Even if something unexpected happens, you can borrow some from the government.
But if you want to raise a second season of silkworms, most of them have to be obtained from the government.
The official source of second-season silkworm seeds basically comes from the Xinghanhui.
It is impossible to satisfy all families with second-season silkworm seeds, so the government usually distributes them in schools and notifies nearby villages to come and get them.
Moreover, priority is given to families with students at home, which is considered a kind of subsidy.
At the same time, this is also a means for Xinghan Association to promote education and cultivate junior technicians.
The illiterate people at the bottom are purely consumables to capital and can be replaced at any time.
They simply cannot provide the efficiency that society needs for further development.
The great development of Yuexun County in recent years is inseparable from its unique administrative structure.
Because the Xinghan Association can take advantage of the power of the government to reach the grassroots and vigorously promote what it wants to develop.
This is transcendent efficiency, which represents a certain image.
The great Han Dynasty Prime Minister divided Yuexun County into a torment for Feng Junhou, and in the end it did not disappoint.
But Zhang Tingzhang was a little disappointed at this time, because he heard the steward say:
"I've also heard that, if I take it seriously, how can I guarantee it?"
"You don't believe the news is true, but you tell me to listen to it, so that I can be happy for nothing. What's the point?"
Zhang Tingzhang said dissatisfied.
When the steward heard this, he sneered and didn't mention the topic again.
Just because it’s gossip, the truth of the matter often comes out in the end, you know what?
Not even the government, not even the Xinghan Society, would admit this kind of thing!
The only thing that makes people speechless and confused is that they have nothing to say and nothing to say.
Those who are still unwilling to sell after three days are basically hesitant or want to wait for food prices to rise again.
No matter how much the government wants to benefit the people under its rule and achieve political achievements for itself, the Xinghan Society is so full that it will approve silkworm seeds for these people?
The steward waved his hand impatiently, trying to drive Zhang Tingchang out like a fly, "Go, go, go! I don't have time to grind my teeth with you!"
"Are you in a hurry? I'll have a word with my nephew again."
Zhang Tingchang held on to the door frame, unwilling to move. He looked at Si'er and said earnestly, "Si'er, Manager Liu often goes to Qiongdu!"
"You can be considered to have established a relationship with him this time. When you go to Qiongdu in the future, if you need to contact your family for anything, just look for him."
Si'er looked at the steward and then at Zhang Ting Zhang, feeling a little at a loss.
"The old man is not done yet, roll, roll, roll!"
The management directly pushed and pushed the person out.
Zhang Tingzhang didn't care and walked away happily.
After coming out, I returned to the place where I unloaded the grain in my pavilion. I saw the people in the pavilion squatting around the grain pile to bask in the sun. I immediately moved a stone and squeezed in together to brag.
We live in the countryside in Guizhou and don't have much knowledge. When we get together, we basically talk about trivial things.
Which family planted several acres of mulberry forest this year, and which family opened two acres of land at the foot of the mountain.
Even if someone carries a piece of meat home, it is considered news.
It's rare for everyone to have leisure time on weekdays, and the sun is just right, so it's really hot.
At this time, a middle-aged man and a young man came together.
The middle-aged man's eyes were sharp. He glanced at the group of people and saw the leader among them at a glance.
I saw him arching his hands towards Zhang Tingchang:
"May I ask if you are the leader of all people?"
"Don't dare. My surname is Zhang. I am the director of Wu Pavilion in District B of Shili Township. I have met two noble people."
Zhang Tingzhang did not dare to be negligent and quickly returned the gift.
The two people in front of them have the aura of being in charge, and the entourage behind them all carry swords, and the standard seems to be used in the military.
Just by listening to the name of the place reported by Zhang Tingzhang, we know that it was newly built after Feng Yongping settled Yuexi.
When the middle-aged man heard Zhang Tingchang's words, he immediately smiled on his face and waved his hand:
"You are not a noble person, but I was just passing by and saw that grain was being harvested here, so I came over to take a look."
He looked at the food behind everyone, with a curious expression on his face, "Where did all this food come from?"
Although he tried his best to be friendly to the people, he could not hide the overwhelming aura of wealth and nobility in his body.
Zhang Tingzhang did not dare to neglect, he showed a simple smile on his face, scratched his head, looking like a complete country bumpkin:
"This is how it is. We heard that food prices were high, and we thought we had some surplus food at home, so we scraped together some food to see if we could exchange it for money and buy some clothes for our family."
"Right now, we are in a lean period. Everyone is trying to borrow food from other places, but we all still have some food left at home?"
The middle-aged man asked in surprise.
"Elsewhere? Where else?"
Hearing what the other party said, Zhang Tingzhang became vigilant, "In the past few years, I haven't heard of any famines nearby..."
As he spoke, he looked specifically at the entourage behind them.
Yes, he is indeed a member of the army.
Zhang Tingchang, who had retired from the army, was very sure of this.
So what are the backgrounds of these two people?
The middle-aged man smiled awkwardly, but the young man next to him came to his rescue:
"Don't be surprised, Zhang Tingzhang. This clan uncle of mine just came from Guanzhong and doesn't know the situation here in Yuexi, so that's why I said this."
"Oh, so that's it."
Zhang Tingzhang suddenly understood and slapped his thigh, "How else can we say he is a Wei thief? How can a thief have the ability to feed the common people like a big man?"
"I heard that over there, the government takes 50% of the land you plant. How can you live like this? Once you join the army, your whole family will have to be soldiers for generations to come."
"The man in the family died fighting for the court at the front, but the wife and daughter in the back were assigned to other people by the government. Can this be done by humans?"
When Zhang Tingzhang was under the command of Feng Junhou, he had heard a lot about the affairs of the Wei thieves.
Some people came over from the Wei rebel army and told everyone about their own affairs.
Zhang Tingzhang may have forgotten a lot of the words he has learned over the years, but things like this can really be remembered for a lifetime.
"So the big man must kill the thieves so that everyone can live a good life..."
Everyone has lived a good life these years, and the more they dare not imagine the life of those people under the rule of Wei Thief.
How many things has Cangtou Qianshou seen?
In their eyes, Zhang Tingchang, who traveled all over the country with Feng Junhou, was a very knowledgeable person.
People in the village would chew on it for a long time when they saw others carrying meat home without restraint.
So even though I have heard Zhang Tingzhang talk about these things a long time ago, it still sounds interesting to me now.
There is no way, the sense of superiority always comes out of comparison.
What's more, I have only been out of hard times for a few years.
But the more everyone agreed with Zhang Tingchang's words, the weirder the middle-aged man's expression became, even a little embarrassed.
The young man glanced at him and seemed to be suppressing a smile.
He seemed to be more down-to-earth than the middle-aged man. He squatted down and talked to everyone without caring:
"This fellow, if you sell the food at home at this time, the family will not be short of food, right?"
"No...there is no shortage. I have plenty left at home."
The elder Si'er subconsciously wanted to stand up, but when he saw that the other person was also squatting, he had no choice but to follow the other person and continue to squat on the same spot, waving his rough hands.
"Everyone says that the government has done well in recent years, but do you think anything went wrong?"
The young man asked with a smile.
As soon as these words came out, everyone suddenly looked panicked and quietly did not dare to speak.
"Don't be nervous. In fact, we are sent by the county government. This matter today is a big deal for the county."
As the young man spoke, he pointed at the grain:
"So the officials actually know what everyone is thinking, so when we are sent out this time, we also want to ask everyone if they have any requirements?"
Hearing that the young man admitted his identity, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
This is right, otherwise being secretive would make people uncomfortable.
The government sends people to the countryside to inspect farming at least twice a year.
At least everyone had seen him from a distance, and even the elderly farmer would be called to him for questioning. Everyone saw that the man was young and would not be too big for an official position.
So I wasn’t too nervous.
There were old farmers in the crowd, and they even talked to the people sent by the officials last time. They were more courageous, so they tentatively said:
"Mr. Sir, our village has many mountains and little land, but the officials have not allowed us to plant more mulberry fields. We must grow food."
"Aren't these mulberries and rice all the same? I wonder if we can go back and talk to the officials in the government office so that we can plant more mulberry fields next year?"
The young man laughed and pointed at the old farmer:
"This fellow, are you bullying my youth and trying to harm me? The amount of grain to be grown in each pavilion and village was decided at the beginning."
"As long as you don't encroach on farmland, if you plant mulberry trees in other places, it'll be fine, but not in designated farmland."
"Otherwise, where would there be so much food?"
The old farmer showed an honest expression and smiled sheepishly:
"Yes, yes, I was confused and made Mr. Lang laugh."
The young man chatted with everyone for a while, then got up and left.
Zhang Tingchang, on the other hand, looked at their leaving figures with a sly smile on his face.
Can the people sent from the county be accompanied by elite soldiers?
Who are you coaxing?
After thinking about it carefully, I made sure that I didn't say anything that crossed the line, and then I smiled proudly.
After the two government officials led their entourage away from the crowd and walked for a long time, the middle-aged man suddenly asked:
"On my journey along the way, I saw that the people always addressed themselves as Feng. Aren't they afraid of being tabooed?"