Zhufeng's words silenced everyone. Everyone lowered their heads and looked around, then whispered or made eye contact. The noisy scene suddenly became quieter.
Tian Debao narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the person standing upright in front of him. This person had always had a humble attitude before, and there was a child beside him. He always thought he was just a naive person, but now he saw that this person was much more than that.
"Everyone, I have a brother who was also a farmer. After he fled famine with me to Chengyang County, he found a job chopping firewood in the county magistrate's house. He paid five qian a month, and his wife sewed for four qian a month. The couple can get it every year.
Eighteen cents."
The murmurs of the people in the courtyard gradually became louder again. Some people sighed, some envied, some were shocked, and some said they were lucky. Twelve taels a year, this is an amount they cannot make in any case, even in a good year.
Zhufeng took two steps and continued slowly: "Twelve days a year, a family of five has no worries about food and clothing, and the county guard is a good person. It can be said that as long as they continue to work, their lives will definitely get better and better.
But even so, my brother was still unwilling to accept the current stability. At the end of the year, he went to join the army. In his words, "If you don't work hard now, maybe you will stay like this for the rest of your life."
It is so difficult to join the army. A general can achieve great success, but in Chengyang County, in just one month, he was promoted from a low-level soldier to a middle-level soldier. His family was allocated three acres of land, all corvee taxes were exempted, and he could earn a salary every year.
Two stones of rice noodles.
I tell you this not to ask you to do anything earth-shattering, but I just hope that we can learn something from it:
If you are really dissatisfied with the current situation, then forget it if there is no chance. But if there is a chance for you to seize it and get rid of the current situation, then why should you give up? What are you afraid of? What are you hesitating about? "
The crowd was quiet for a long time before someone said tentatively: "We have never planted medicinal herbs before, so we are afraid that we will not be able to grow them well."
"Which of you has been able to farm since birth? You learn little by little. If you don't know how to farm, I can teach you. I will teach you step by step on the spot. As long as you don't understand people's words, no one can't learn it.
.”
Another person said: "But what if no one buys one?"
Zhufeng smiled helplessly: "There is a market for the herbs collected in the mountains, but why is it that no one buys the ones we grow?
The quality of the seeds is even higher. The wild ones in the mountains are not taken care of, so the quality is uneven, but the ones grown in the ground, as long as they are carefully taken care of, the quality will not be bad."
"But now that the weather is dry and crops can't be planted, how can growing medicinal herbs be any better?"
Zhufeng continued to explain patiently: "There are also many people in medicine who like drought and hate water. Although it is a dry day this year, it is very desirable for growing medicinal materials."
The tenant farmers looked at each other and started discussing among themselves.
"Then if we don't plant crops and medicinal herbs, what will we eat next year?"
"Hey, if you could earn a hundred taels a year, would you still worry about having nothing to eat? You could only eat what you grow in the field? Wouldn't you buy it?"
"But I don't have ten acres of land, I only have three acres."
"Aren't you also renting other land? Even if you plant these three acres into crops, how much money will you get? If you don't plant them, you can transfer them to me. I want to plant them."
"What if I can't sell it? What if I can't sell that much? What if something goes bad? I don't always feel at ease with things I haven't grown before."
"This..." The crowd gradually became quiet again. After all the talk, there was only one problem, the most fear was that it would not be sold and would not be grown properly.
In front of the hall, Mr. Liu Tou, Tian Debao, also discussed with Zhufeng. Tian Debao said:
"From what Boss Zhu said, he wanted to do something big. It's just that it's easy to plant seeds. There are many other things involved. I wonder if Boss Zhu has considered them. For example, where did this medicine seed come from and who provided it.
Also, if the seeds go bad, what losses will the tenant farmers have to bear, and so on, we all need to figure it out."
Zhufeng nodded, "I understand, I have considered these." He took out a deed from his sleeve and handed it to Tian Debao, "I have written all the relevant matters on the deed. From now on, they will no longer be tenant farmers, but
As long-term workers, I hire them, not them as tenants of my land.
In other words, they only need to contribute and do not need to worry about anything else, which solves all their concerns.
There's just one thing. Regarding the wages, I can't give them first. First, I give them two out of ten, which is calculated from the net income after deducting the cost of each acre of land. How much this amount is cannot be determined in advance;
Secondly, if wages are paid in advance, which is not nice to say, they can give up their choice at any time, and they will lack urgency and sense of responsibility for the medicine fields, thus greatly reducing the quality of the medicine fields.
This will not only harm my interests, but also their own interests, because this is a transaction where the more you pay, the more you get in return. The more output per acre, the better the quality, and the more they get."
Old Liu Tou came to Tian Debao and looked at it for a while, then nodded: "It's really detailed. Apart from the wages, there's really nothing else to say."
Tian Debao had some doubts, "According to the contract written by the boss, their wages will be settled on the first day of the twelfth lunar month every year.
Then let me put it bluntly, if you run away from the boss or refuse to recognize him, then the tenants will have nowhere to complain."
Zhufeng smiled and said, "A monk who can run away cannot run away from the temple. If I really run away, can I still move this place?"
Besides, I have taught all the planting techniques to others. You are afraid that I will run away, and I am also afraid that they will learn to start their own business and stop working for me.
Whether it is growing medicinal materials or crops, the most critical, important and even valuable things are here." Zhufeng pointed to his head,
"The things I have here are priceless treasures. If I teach them these things, don't I give them a huge fortune in advance?"
Tian Debao was silent for a while, and then said again: "What the boss said is true, but there is nothing you can do about it. Since you want them to plant it, and everyone doesn't understand it, you have to teach this technology, otherwise you will not be able to do it here."
I can’t get any money.”
"This is exactly the reason. So the tenant farmers and I gave in to each other. I taught them the things first, and they gave me their time and manpower first. The two sides are pretty even, what do you think?"
Tian Debao chuckled, "Boss Zhu is indeed thoughtful. This is a mutually beneficial transaction. Only by working together and working together can everyone gain something in the end."
The three-year contract with the boss must be to constrain the tenant farmers to establish their own business."
Zhufeng smiled slightly, "I am also a layman. While I am leading everyone to make money, I also have to protect my own interests.
Three years is not a long time. During these three years, while they are working for me, their planting techniques will gradually mature.
I did this not only for my own sake, but also for their sake. I paid too much attention to planting medicinal herbs, and even after studying for a year and a half, I could only learn a little bit.
If you let them set up their own business if their skills are not good enough, it will undoubtedly push them into a trap, and it will also damage the reputation of this industry. Pharmacists will have doubts about growing medicinal materials and even feel conflicted, so the gain outweighs the loss.
Three years later, when their skills have matured, whether they are willing to buy their own land to grow crops, continue to grow crops, or continue to work for me as long-term workers is entirely voluntary."
Tian Debao and Lao Liutou looked at each other and saw shock in each other's eyes. It had to be said that they seemed to see a bright future. At least compared to the current predicament, this was undoubtedly a bright road.
"Also..." Zhufeng took out a letter and handed it to Tian Debao, "This is a recommendation letter written by the governor of Chengyang County himself."
Tian Debao was slightly startled. He took the letter and looked at it carefully. His expression gradually became dull. After a long time, he carefully folded the letter and handed it to Zhu Feng. He then cupped his hand and said, "Young man's eyes are stupid. I have been disrespectful so much before, but I still want to look at Zhu Feng."