The steam cultivator keeps walking between the fields, emitting bursts of whistles and billowing black smoke. There are many people watching the excitement. Nowadays, everyone no longer cultivates land for the landlords, so they are actually more leisurely and have time to watch the excitement.
.
Liu Jin listened to the conversations of ordinary people and learned about the living conditions of the lowest class in the Ming Dynasty. Generally speaking, it was very good.
It is no longer just as simple as eating enough, but now we are moving in the direction of eating well.
Pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks and geese, as well as seafood from the ocean, rice from Nanyang, white noodles from Liaodong, corn from Shandong and Shanxi, sweet potatoes from Henan, etc., these have greatly enriched the dining tables of the Ming Dynasty people.
Let them not only eat enough, but also eat well and nutritiously.
Everyone's lives have also undergone earth-shaking changes.
In the past, everyone was tightly bound to one-third of an acre of land. From morning to night, they worked tirelessly in the fields with their backs to the sky and their faces to the loess. On the one hand, they endured the exploitation and oppression of the landlords and gentry. On the other hand,
He also had to endure the taxes and taxes from the imperial court. Even though he was known as the ZTE, his life was actually quite hard.
Just like the small village before Liu Jin traveled through, everyone was poor and hungry, but the survivors were as tenacious as weeds. Once there was a natural disaster or man-made disaster, war would immediately break out.
This was the Ming Dynasty in the past. The huge population maintained on a limited land had actually reached a very dangerous edge. The weather was good and the people could barely survive.
But once there is a famine, people will not be able to survive.
It's different now, no one is willing to farm anymore.
Young people go to work in factories, workshops, and trading firms in the city. They are recruiting people everywhere, and they can earn money every month including food and accommodation. Although it is also very hard to work in factories, workshops, and trading firms now.
In an era when there were no legal working hours or holidays, when working in factories, workshops, etc., except for eating and sleeping, almost all work was done there non-stop.
It's very hard, but it's simple and you can get real money.
If you don't want to work in a factory or workshop, you can also learn to run a small business on your own. If you make some profit, your life will be quite good.
Those who have the opportunity and are brave can also go to sea, become sailors, immigrate overseas, etc. In short, there are many choices and opportunities, and there is no need to be restricted to the original one-third of an acre.
So here in Beizhili, the closer to the Beijing-Tianjin area, no one is willing to cultivate the land here, and the landlords and wealthy people have to start to change their previous thinking.
Those who have the means and are willing to invest can invest in firms, ships, open factories, build workshops, etc. Their wealth will grow explosively compared to before.
In the past, relying on land, the annual income was actually very stable. There was a limit to how much food an acre of land could produce. Even if the weather was good, the income of the wealthy landlords was actually limited.
But investing in firms, building factories, workshops, and investing in ships is different. Wealth will explode as quickly as a blowout. Thanks to such a good era, those who are bold and the first move will be supported.
No matter what happens, these wealthy landlords can also use their own land, mountains, etc. to start large-scale planting of cash crops, breeding, etc.
For example, now that the price of cotton is soaring, everyone is growing cotton. The demand for meat in the Beijing-Tianjin area is very strong, so everyone is raising pigs, cattle, chickens, ducks, geese, etc.
From gentry landlords to ordinary people, everything is changing. They are constantly changing with the changes of the times. They have gradually broken away from the trajectory of the feudal era that lasted for thousands of years and are moving towards the path of capitalism.
There is no doubt that Liu Jin likes to see such a change very much.
The bondage of land to people is really too strong.
China's thousands of years of feudal history are actually history based on the land. The changes in the imperial court, the rise and fall, also followed the changes in the land.
The cycle of chaos and chaos cannot escape the changes in the land.
When the land is relatively scattered, it must be a relatively prosperous time, because in such a period, people have their own land and their lives will be relatively easier.
However, as time goes by, land will inevitably be slowly concentrated into the hands of a few people, and ordinary people will lose their own land, which will be accompanied by the annexation and concentration of land.
Dynasties will inevitably gradually turn from prosperity to decline.
This has been the case for thousands of years, and this history has even continued to the later generations before Liu Jin time traveled. Before the reform and opening up, people were still tightly bound to the land.
If people's freedom, freedom of thought, freedom of work and life are not liberated, it will be difficult for society to progress. Once people are liberated from the land, they will inevitably burst out with powerful vitality and develop rapidly.
"The next thing to do is to constantly liberate the constraints on people, the restrictions on household registration, the restrictions on ideas, and the restrictions on traditional feudal power."
"Once the many constraints can be broken, Ming Dynasty will completely take off."
"However, this is an extremely long process. The feudal power is still very strong and needs to be taken into consideration slowly."
Liu Jin had already figured out how to go in the future.
Of course, Liu Jin actually doesn't have to do anything, because Ming Dynasty has reached this point and there is no way back.
If there are still people clamoring for a closed country and a routine maritime ban, it is estimated that those who invest in firms and ships will immediately send them to Australia or the Golden Continent to mine.
Now if someone still talks about implementing a strict household registration system, no one in the Ming Dynasty will agree. The powerful people above have a large number of factories, workshops, trading houses, plantations, etc.
These all need people, a large number of people, and some are even planning to build private colonies overseas. They all need people. You actually have to implement a strict household registration system and restrict personal freedom. Isn't this asking for death?
As for ordinary people, if you ask them to get up early and work in the dark to farm land for landlords like before, it is simply impossible, and everyone will tear you apart.
Ming Dynasty has already embarked on the right track, embarked on the path of the colonial era and the capital era, and can never go back.
"It's broken~ It's broken!"
"Get down!"
Just when Liu Jin was lost in thought, the melon-eating people around him shouted excitedly.
Liu Jin was pulled back from his thoughts and quickly looked over. It turned out that the steam cultivator had broken down and was lying motionless.
"Let me tell you, the machine is not very reliable. It has broken down several times. How long has it been since I bought it?"
“This machine is really powerful, but it’s not a solution if it keeps breaking down.”
"Yeah yeah!"
Everyone was talking to each other, some were gloating about the misfortune, and some were watching the fun and not taking it too seriously.
"Give way~"
When Zhu Houzhao saw this scene, he became excited. He rubbed his hands and shouted to the people in front of him, and soon a road was opened.
Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin also came to the steam cultivator and saw a man who looked like a landlord sweating profusely.
"Why did this machine break down again?"
"This is a machine that cost more than one hundred taels of silver to buy. It has only been a few days and it has already broken down several times. If I had known better, I would have bought more cows and horses. At least it would not break down."
Landlord Liu said while wiping his sweat.
"I'll check it out, it shouldn't be a big problem."
The person responsible for driving the steam cultivator was Li Dashan, a loyal servant of landlord Liu’s family.
Li Dashan's father had been favored by Landlord Liu, so he had been working at Landlord Liu's house. When Li Dashan fell ill when he was a child, Landlord Liu paid for his treatment.
Therefore, Li Dashan's family has always been working for Landlord Liu, as a way of repaying the kindness of Landlord Liu's family.
"I'd better send someone to the people who rule the Capital Machinery Factory to repair it."
Landlord Liu nodded slightly, thought about it and said.
Li Dashan here is also constantly checking and checking. He has learned how to drive a steam cultivator and perform some simple maintenance, but his level is limited, and he can't figure out where the problem is.
"You are so stupid."
Classmate Zhu Houzhao, who was watching the excitement, saw Li Dashan circling around the steam engine plowing machine, but could not solve the problem, and he couldn't help but said.
"Brother, this is a steam cultivator. Its structure is very complex and difficult to repair."
Li Dashan wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Zhu Houzhao. He was not angry either and said with a smile.
"Go away, go away~"
"I don't know how to answer such a simple question, let me do it."
Zhu Houzhao rolled up his sleeves, picked up the maintenance tools and some parts of the steam cultivator, and began to inspect them.
"can you?"
"Don't break my steam cultivator, it costs more than a hundred dollars."
Landlord Liu next to him looked at Zhu Houzhao and said.
"If it's broken, I'll give you a new one."
Zhu Houzhao said very confidently.
"Okay, if you fix it, I'll give you five taels of silver."
Landlord Liu nodded slightly and said.
"Okay, just think of it as a way to make some extra money."
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he immediately became more excited.
It doesn't matter to Zhu Houzhao whether he has money or not. He has a lot of money, but being able to earn five taels of silver by relying on his knowledge and skills seems to be an exciting thing.
Holding the wrench, Zhu Houzhao also wandered around the steam cultivator and quickly determined the problem. He very skillfully disassembled the problem area of the steam cultivator, and then quickly repaired it. In just one stick of incense, the steam cultivator plowed the land.
