Early the next morning, the two brothers Zheng Shiyuan woke Gu Chen and Lao Liao from their sleep and said they wanted to go out of the city to the countryside to see the people nearby.
Then I bought a few steamed buns at the only steamed bun shop in the county and hit the road.
Wen Zhihui was the leader and kept introducing the situation to several people along the way.
"Although our county is poor, the folk customs are very simple. In the past two years, there has not been any major life-threatening cases or thefts and robberies."
"If you go out, even if you don't close the door, the things at home will not be lost..."
This folk custom is good, but isn’t it true that every family is poor and there is nothing to steal or rob?
"I heard that you are still a rookie?"
Since this is the case, Gu Chen must control whatever he says.
At the very least, under his rule, such unscrupulous things as dishonest people must not happen.
"Hey, it's been five years, just together..." Hearing this, Wen Zhihui wiped away his tears and said, "The family really has nothing to do."
"Otherwise, the only boy in the family will starve to death."
Food without food does not nourish people at all, so the women’s children are not good-looking.
Even if you sell it to a brothel in Fucheng, others will... definitely want it.
"This situation must be prevented." Gu Chen first expressed his attitude: "Humans are human beings, how can they be treated like pigs or sheep."
"Tomorrow you will send government officials to go door to door and tell everyone that anyone who dares to sell vegetables, buy vegetables, or kill vegetables will be charged with murder."
That's it for other things. If he doesn't care about this, he won't be able to save his head.
Wen Zhihui nodded repeatedly and remembered everything he said in his heart.
After leaving the city, the carriage was bumpy as it walked along the official road left over from the early Yuan Dynasty, and the outside of the carriage also looked overgrown with grass.
Everyone followed Wen County Cheng to the first village, called Ganquan Village.
"What is the population of this village?"
Almost without thinking, Wen Zhihui answered immediately.
"In addition, last month, there were a total of 123 new Milk Babies."
He didn't know what the county magistrate wanted to do. Shouldn't he open the office today?
The houses in the village were worse than those in the county town. The people looked at the new magistrate carefully, wondering whether he was a good official or a bad official.
All the clothes on everyone's body were in tatters and could not be sewn.
It was already noon. Gu Chen randomly walked into the kitchen of a family and lifted the lid of the pot. He saw a pot of green wild vegetable soup with a few grains of rice that he could count.
Apart from this, I didn't eat anything else.
That's all, and I have to keep the men at home and the boys to eat.
Women and girls can only wait to drink some rice soup to fill their stomachs.
Gu Chen couldn't bear to watch any more and asked someone to send four kilograms of rice to their family.
It's not that he is stingy, it's that there is more than one family in the village.
Then he and everyone, led by the village chief, walked to the fields.
There has been little rain in the past two months, and the ground is cracked. It is obviously the harvest season, but the wheat is not growing well, it is thin and not full.
Not to mention having to pay taxes, even if you don’t pay taxes you won’t have enough to eat.
"What do you mean, sir, to build terraces?"
In fact, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, people built terraces on hilly slopes.
Terraces are the most effective measure to control sloping farmland and soil erosion. They have the functions of storing water, preserving soil, and increasing production.
"It's good." Looking at the rolling hills, Zheng Shiyuan agreed: "But there are few people in this county, so I don't know how long it will take to do it."
It’s not that they don’t have fields, it’s just that the fields are barren and don’t produce much food.
Therefore, it is impossible for ordinary people to leave their own fields and open up wasteland, right?
"Then take your time." Gu Chen was not in a hurry: "It's not just a day or two that the world is suffering. It won't take a day or two to get better."
"As long as everyone is diligent and willing to work, sooner or later, they will live a good life."
The village chief who was following everyone suddenly asked.
"Sir, what do you mean by a good life?"
"I have lived in the village my whole life, and I don't know what a good life is."
He is sixty years old this year and has never even had a full stomach.
Gu Chen didn't answer but asked: "Old man, what do you think is a good life?"
The village chief said nothing, obviously he didn't know what a good life was.
"Three meals a day, and I can eat big cakes every time. Is it a good life to be full?"
Although today, everyone eats three meals a day, in poor areas they still only eat two or even one meal. It may be much better during the Yongle period.
The village chief thought of the beautiful days of eating big cakes every day. He couldn't help but smacked his lips and nodded quickly. These were naturally considered the best days.
"Set a small goal first." Gu Chen asked again: "I only eat two meals a day, one piece of cake for each meal in the morning and evening. Do you think this is a good life?"
The village chief continued to nod. This was certainly a good life. All he ate now was rice soup and wild vegetable soup, and he couldn't eat large white flour pancakes for several months.
"Master Magistrate, how can you work hard to live such a good life?"
They are already very diligent, but their life is still not easy.
God, if you don't take care of them at all, what can they do?
Gu Chen didn't say anything and walked around the village for a long time. In fact, Ganquan Village is a good place for terraced fields. Although the mountains here are not high, they also block the sun.
Wheat on flat land cannot absorb sunlight and cannot retain moisture, so it will naturally not grow well. Terraces can solve this problem.
Although there are no high-yielding and drought-tolerant grains such as corn and sweet potatoes.
But at least it can be improved a bit, so that we won’t be so poor that we can’t even afford the noodles.
"After the busy farming season, let's start building the terraces from Ganquan Village."
Gu Chen was not in a hurry. He always asked everyone to collect everything in their fields so that he could arrange the next thing.
Moreover.
He didn't want to do too well. What if Lao Zhu called him back in advance?
He still wanted to spend more time in this small place.
The county government did not have an accounting office, so Gu Chen asked Zheng Shili to take charge of it.
By the way, make a budget for making terraces.
"There are a total of 123 people in Ganquan Village, and there are 53 able-bodied men among them. What do you mean, Sir, they build terraced fields, and the yamen is responsible for their three meals?"
Gu Chen nodded. How could he work if he didn't have enough to eat? He wasn't Zhu Bapi either.
Zhu Papi was a bit stingy, but the salary he was given was not enough to make him hungry.
but.
money.
He won’t post it anymore. After all, everyone will benefit from the terraced fields.
I have a clear conscience by paying for my own meals so that everyone will not be hungry.
Zheng Shili said with a smile: "For more than fifty strong men, even if they eat two kilograms of rice a day, they won't eat much. We can afford to feed them."
"You can also give me some salt. Those who work must not be short of salt."
If you don’t eat salt, you will become dehydrated easily.
Gu Chen nodded, there must be no problem in providing food, but the number of people...
"These fifty or so people can't eat much food, but they can't do much work either." Zheng Shiyuan asked: "I wonder if General Liao's people can..."
Idle time is also idle, can you do something good for the people?
"Brother, don't think about it." Zheng Shilin curled his lips and said, "These military generals only know how to enjoy blessings. It's okay if you ask them to kill people, but you ask them to benefit the people?"
As long as they don't cause trouble, they should be thankful, okay?
"Second brother." Zheng Shiyuan glared at him and advised, "You should really change your mouth. Why do you say things that offend others?"
Although he had offended people in the past, since he had been in prison for three months and lost his identity as a censor, he had begun to pay attention to his words.
"I'll try."
Gu Chen felt that Liao Yongzhong was actually not a bad person.
On the contrary, when he heard about the dish people and saw the poor, he also showed a look of pity, and his heart felt a little soft.
After spending these days together, he also saw that he would not hide his emotions.
Therefore, Gu Chen didn't think that he would definitely not help with the work.
"You want us brothers to follow you to farm?"
Liao Yongzhong gnawed on the hunted rabbit meat, his mouth full of oil.
He was not particular about it and just wiped the greasy mouth with his sleeve and said.
"If we brothers are willing to farm, why should we be warriors?"
