In Black Earth Province, while the killings are going on in Mocheng, the small town where the immigrants from the Ming Dynasty live is full of laughter and people gather together to celebrate the New Year.
At Li Er's home in Xiaofeng Town, taking advantage of the Chinese New Year, Li Er also called his eldest brother Li Da's family and uncle Ge Lu's family to his place, and everyone gathered together to celebrate.
A table full of dishes, including stewed lamb chops, stir-fried beef with chili, cold pig ears, roast duck, roast chicken, steamed sea fish, stir-fried bacon with radishes, and stir-fried intestines with onions, kept the three daughters-in-law busy.
Very happy.
As for Li Da, Li Er and Lu Da, the three of them were drinking wine while discussing.
"I really regret not listening to you. If I had followed you and bought a cultivator, it would have been issued last year."
Lu Da regretted very much. When Li Er asked him to buy a cultivator together, he just didn't stop. He felt that the cultivator was too expensive and he still owed money to the bank. So no matter what Li Er said, he just didn't buy it and even paid back the cultivator.
I persuade Li Er not to buy it, the risk is too great.
The results came out.
Because the Li family had a cultivator, they cultivated more than a thousand acres of land and had a bumper harvest. They harvested hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain and sold it for hundreds of taels of silver.
Not only did he repay all the money he spent to buy the machine, but he also made hundreds of taels of silver by plowing land for others and harvesting wheat.
In comparison, although the couple worked exhaustingly for a year and only planted dozens of acres of fields, which harvested a lot of food, there was nothing they could do with someone like Li Er.
Compare.
"It's all over. It's not too late to buy it this year. If I buy it this year, when spring comes, I'll open up more land and plant food. I'll have a bumper harvest this winter."
Li Er smiled and said.
Fortunately, I listened to Li Da's words. Otherwise, like other immigrants, I would be afraid of one thing or another. I estimate that last year I could only harvest enough food for a year. How can I be like now?
And my pockets are bulging.
I have paid off the tiller and harvester, I still have a few hundred taels of silver in my pocket, and I still have tens of thousands of kilograms of grain at home. I am living a decent life these days.
Look at the large table of dishes in front of you, eat whatever you want, and eat with an open stomach.
It's not like my old hometown in the mountains. It's hard for my parents to let everyone eat a full meal during the Chinese New Year. There is no way. There is little land and food at home, and the population is large, and they are all half-sized.
Zi, the kind who will eat me to death.
If you really eat with an open stomach, it is normal for a person to eat one or two kilograms of rice after a meal.
Now, even if his family eats three meals a day, he can't eat much food. Li Er also finds that his appetite is much smaller than before.
When I first came here, I could eat several large bowls of rice in one meal, but now I can only eat two large bowls, and the food must be meaty. If I eat without meat, I feel like I have no appetite at all.
Every now and then I have to cut some meat. Pork, mutton, and beef are very common here, and people have gained a lot of weight.
Originally, he was just skinny, but now he has put on some muscle and looks much stronger.
Looking at his eldest brother again, Li Da is now even more muscular, with all the flesh on his body and a belly. It is obvious that he has lived a very comfortable life this little life.
"I have already bought a tractor for more than 100 taels of silver. It feels so uncomfortable to owe the bank money. I can't even sleep."
Lu laughed and said.
The thinking of the older generation still persists, thinking that being in debt is troublesome, and being in debt makes it hard to eat and sleep well. After all, there have been too many stories about loan sharking and interest compounding since ancient times.
Why do you owe a certain landowner 3 taels of silver? You just haven't paid it back for a few months. As a result, with the compound interest, it turned into dozens of taels of silver. Then you want to drag your daughter to sell it.
Things like this have existed since ancient times and are constantly being circulated, which also makes people afraid of borrowing money. No matter how well-said it is, it is still interest-free.
But debt is debt, regardless of whether it is owed to a bank or a loan shark. In short, it is better to find a way to pay it off as soon as possible, so that people can feel more at ease.
"Just relax."
"The money you owe is nothing. Once the land is reclaimed and you have a cultivator, you can cultivate one or two thousand acres of land casually if you work hard. When the grain is sold, the money you owe will be repaid."
"If it really doesn't work, I'll borrow it from here when the time comes."
"It's time to eat and drink, just live your life."
Li Er smiled and said to Lu Da.
At the beginning, he was also worried about not being able to pay back the money. It was Li Da who made him feel relieved. In just one year, things have changed drastically.
Now Li Er is full of hope and longing for his future life.
"Actually, it's a good thing to cultivate more land."
"Nowadays, Black Earth Province is a vast and sparsely populated area. There is a lot of land. It can be cultivated casually. If you open up more land, you will occupy the land first."
"If the land is used up, we can also do a variety of planting and breeding. Don't just grow food. The price of food is too low and it is not cost-effective."
"You can engage in breeding and raise some cattle, sheep, and pigs, so that you can increase your income."
Li Da took a sip of wine and spoke slowly.
"Brother, what are your plans for this year?"
When Li Er heard this, he immediately became energetic. He quickly poured wine for his elder brother, and then asked humbly. Lu Da also looked over eagerly.
Li Da immigrated before everyone else, and his vision and knowledge are much better than everyone else's. His suggestions must be carefully listened to.
"I plan to continue to reclaim some land this year, but I will not grow food in the newly reclaimed land. I plan to plant some pasture to raise cattle and sheep."
Li Da looked at the two of them and said.
"Grow pasture?"
When the two of them heard this, they quickly said in unison.
"Yes, grow pasture."
"Central Asia Province has a specialized large-scale pasture economy. People there specialize in planting grass in large areas, and then use the grass to feed cattle and sheep. The yields of cattle and sheep are very high, and the benefits are very good."
"In addition, most families in the Hezhong area are a combination of large-scale pasture economy and large-scale farm economy. On the one hand, they cultivate land on a large scale, and on the other hand, they engage in large-scale breeding. The two models are implemented together, so the entire Hezhong
This region is also one of the richest places in our Ming Dynasty."
"My neighbor Wang Kaiwen, whose family is in Ha Trung Province, has been doing this since last year, and now has hundreds of cattle, sheep and pigs."
"For them, growing grain is often just to be used as feed to feed cattle, sheep and pigs."
Li Da nodded and said, also mentioning the economic model of Hezhong and Central Asia Province.
"He told me that Black Earth Province has great advantages. He said that the land in Black Earth Province is very fertile. It is all black soil. Whatever you plant, you will grow."
"In addition, the Black Earth Province is vast and sparsely populated. The current population of such a huge Black Earth Province is only a few million, and the number of immigrants from Ming Dynasty is even smaller. This means that we have enough land to develop a large-scale farm economy and large-scale farming.
Ranch Economy.”
"Farming can't just be about growing food. In fact, you can also grow soybeans, peanuts, sunflowers, etc. The returns from growing these are much better than growing food."
"Of course, the best thing is to engage in breeding. The price of cattle, sheep and pigs is relatively good, and the sales are relatively good. When the railway access comes to our Black Earth Province, we can have a steady stream of cattle, sheep and pigs here because Daming will sell them locally.
.”
"The newspapers say it's good. We people in the Ming Dynasty have no problem eating enough now. The grain output is large, so we can eat whatever we want."
"Now we Ming people have to make do with what we have to eat well."
"Eat more meat so that the child can grow stronger, taller and in better shape."
"In the future, our Ming Dynasty's demand for meat will continue to rise, and the market prospects are great."
Li Da also described a larger level of things to the two of them.
It is no longer as simple as just limited to farming, but it has to be linked to the situation of the Ming Dynasty. Whatever the Ming Dynasty needs, everyone will do it.
When we need food, we grow food; when we need meat, we raise pigs, cattle, and sheep, and we make constant adjustments to keep up with the changes of the times.
"I see, I listen to you, big brother. I will also raise some cattle, sheep, pigs, etc. this year."
After Li Er heard this, he nodded and said.
"I'd better focus more on land this year and pay off the money I owe to the bank first."
Lu Da said weakly.
Now I feel like I am one step behind, unable to keep up with Li Da and Li Er. They have already considered starting breeding, but I still want to open up more land for farming to pay off the bank's debts.
.
"I don't know what's going on at home now?"
While chatting, Li Da suddenly felt homesick and missed his parents.
I am eating a lot of fish and meat here, but I don’t know how my family is eating during the New Year. I don’t know if the remaining three brothers can have a prosperous New Year.
"Lu Da, have you written back?"
"Yes, I asked my family to immigrate my second son. The life in the mountains is not a human life. There is nothing to eat, it is inconvenient to go anywhere, and the few acres of rotten fields are exhausted in a year.
How much grain can be produced inside, it is better to come out, but it is just that you can open your belly to eat."
"Well, yes, it's better to come out. I'm also planning to let several brothers in my family immigrate when the time comes, including us. Life in the mountains is really too bad."
