No matter how worried you are about how to repay the loan, you have finally solved the current problem. As for what to do at the end of the year? The big deal is refinancing!
However, Zheng Anping did some calculations: If he used all the 150 shi from the harvest of 100 acres to repay the loan, it would take nearly 200 acres to repay the interest; and if he used another 100 acres to repay the principal, it would take about ten years to repay the loan. , I can still lose one hundred acres every year. Although it is difficult, it is not without hope.
The cost of transporting the logs was paid by Daliang, and the first batch of carpenters arrived with the truck. The wood and carpentry have to be transported in three batches. This batch is mainly engineering and technical personnel. They come to stay. So while Cao Bao was running around raising money and food, Zheng Anping and others were requisitioning houses in the city. Fortunately, Mr. Lu was the mediator and knew who were senior technicians and who were just handymen. Everyone had their own treatment and there was no joke. Since there are many adversaries in Guanyi, this is not a difficult task.
The most difficult thing is how to place the two hundred prisoners! They must be housed together to facilitate guarding. But there was no large courtyard in Guanyi city that could accommodate 200 people. The final result of the discussion was to separate the settlements into two places, one to be guarded by the accompanying soldiers, and the other to be guarded by Zheng Anping and four others, which was a reluctant solution. Then there was the expropriation of houses and the conversion of civilian residences into cells suitable for holding prisoners.
A few days later, everyone arrived, and Zheng Anping's hard life began. Managing prisoners became the core of all work. Prepare breakfast for them in the morning and dinner in the evening. The corn shipped from Huayang needs to be stored in the warehouse. After breakfast, the prisoners were gathered and escorted to the construction site; they were escorted back for dinner in the evening. They were not allowed to rest at night, and they took turns as guards in one shift. Thinking that this kind of life would last for three months, they even wanted to die. In the end, the five people cheered each other up and thought of a solution. Four soldiers were responsible for guarding at night, and Cao Bao was responsible for guarding the construction site during the day.
But there is good news. The guards told them that, except for the guards, the minimum dietary standard for carpenters and prisoners was five liters per person per day, not one bucket. This time Zheng Anping saved half of his expenses. Everyone is in high spirits.
A few days later, Shan San actually bought calves, lambs, dog puppies and chicken babies. Chickens and dogs are easier to handle and are kept in the courtyard. The same cannot be said for cattle and sheep, which must be let out to graze every day. Wuwang and Wuer are now alive... They did not live in the same courtyard with Zheng Anping and the prisoners, but were arranged in a nearby courtyard. Dealing with prisoners is still too harsh for these children.
Zhan San also brought a message: the spring equinox is approaching, and it is time for the first grain of the year to be delivered. Zheng Anping asked how to deliver it and where to ship it? Zhi San said: "If everything is ready, we can transport it at night."
Zheng Anping said: "We can prepare corn day and night. But there will be many people coming at night, which may cause inconvenience." He told the story about the prisoners and carpenters living here. Since there are soldiers on guard, if there is too much movement, they may be alerted.
Zhan San thought for a while and said, "It's really inconvenient. Brother, if I can repay it with a thousand coins, is that okay?"
Zheng Anping immediately returned to the hall (because all the rooms had been given over to the prisoners, the five of them had to go to the hall). He took out a piece of gold cake, broke off one-fifth of it, and handed it to Zhan San. Zheng Anping said: "Why? I got a lot." He was about to return a leaf. Zheng Anping said: "I don't have to pay you a visit, so I'd like to express my feelings!" Zhan San didn't refuse and left with the money.
A few days later, it began to rain lightly. The rain was not heavy and did not affect the progress of the project. The prisoners went to the construction site as usual. The four soldiers climbed up the tower and looked at the rows of cultivated fields coming towards them. Zheng Anping said: "The spring rain has arrived, and it is the time to sow."
Brother Su said: "If you want to sow seeds, you need good seeds. Now the grain seeds are planted in my old home, and we are all stuck here. What can we do?"
Zheng Anping did the math and found that under the current situation, all 400 acres of land could only be planted with millet, and diversified operations were out of the question. Based on the calculation of one bushel of seeds per acre, 400 acres of land requires 40 shi of millet seeds. Zheng Anping said: "Let us ask the city lord, where can we get the seeds?"
After asking the city lord, the seeds were originally saved, but due to the garrison in the past few months, all the grain and seeds were eaten. Now they must buy grain from neighboring towns.
The grain transport convoy arrived at noon. Zheng Anping asked if he could transport two carts of grain instead of the threshed millet tomorrow. The leader of the grain transport convoy said that he only needed to send someone from Guanyi to handle it. After everyone discussed for a while, no one could leave, so they had to send two little guys, Wuwang and Wuer.
At noon the next day, the two little guys came back with the car. The two expressed their gratitude by saying that they personally selected the two carts of seeds and kept the harvest well. Everyone saw it and thought it was good. The city lord was jealous and wanted these seeds. Zheng Anping asked the two of them to go there again and bring back a cart of millet seeds tomorrow. The two of them care about the cattle and sheep, and are a little reluctant. The city lord promises not to treat their cattle and sheep badly, and will send capable people to herd them tomorrow. Only then did the two agree.
After the seed problem was solved, the grazing work could only be left to Wuer. Wuwang and Zheng Anping devoted themselves to sowing preparations.
In the process of preparing the seeds, Zosan came carrying a pile of iron farm tools. Everyone looked at it and saw that the quality of the iron was good. It was not the kind of iron that would break when touched. It had better toughness. Everyone thanked Shansan and asked how much it would cost. Zhan San said vaguely: "It's only based on the remaining money in the control order."
Iron farm tools are indeed twice the result with half the effort, and the efficiency of deep plowing is greatly improved. Wuwang collected feces and urine from various households and mixed the farm fertilizer, making the whole city stink. The next day, add water, sprinkle it into the soil, and dig it again.
Cao Bao's management was very efficient, and it took only one month to build the post station. But this time there is a problem, because the expected construction period is three months, and during the extra two months, the carpenters and prisoners still have to live and eat in Guanyi. They cannot be sent back because there is no budget elsewhere!
Zheng Anping had no choice but to bribe the guards and let the prisoners do other things. So fifty prisoners supported Mr. Lu, ten prisoners cultivated the wasteland under the leadership of Xiaosi, and the remaining one hundred and forty prisoners were transferred to build the damaged city wall. All the one hundred carpenters were assigned to Mr. Lu.
At first, Zheng Anping was a little tempted. Should he send all these prisoners to open up wasteland? However, the guards pointed out that farming is daily work. If only a few people work on the land, they can turn a blind eye and hundreds of people go farming. This cannot be covered up. Prisoners must do heavy physical labor as punishment! So I had to build the city wall. Of course, insufficient farm tools are also the reason. The city lord collected all the farm tools in the city to provide for these ten people.
After the second spring rain fell, ten people sowed the seeds under supervision. The remaining time is to continue to reclaim wasteland and conduct field management. Wuwang was reluctant to part with the ready-made good land, so he sowed the remaining seeds in another piece of land.
Two months later, the construction of four official residences, a carriage house and a post station has been completed. Uncle Tang and Huayang Sixing both sent people to inspect and accept the project, and both expressed satisfaction. The only regret is that because the soldiers have to guard the prisoners, there is no time to recruit post soldiers. The millet in the field is growing well and has sprouted ears. Wuwang was so happy that he just patted his thigh. However, the construction progress of the city wall was not satisfactory, and only a corner of the city wall was completed in two months.
After paying the wages and rewarding the guards, the prisoners and the carpenters set off on their way home. After sending these people away, Zheng Anping and the other five collapsed on the ground as if their bones had been removed, and refused to get up for a long time.
After a long time, Zheng Anping said: "When I get back, I will work hard for Mr. Cao to join the plan for the beam. Mr. Cao has personally experienced the construction work, so he will be able to report clearly one by one, so that there will be no omissions."
Cao Bao said: "Here you go!"
Zheng Anping said: "Guan Yi's official residence has been completed. I hope Mr. Cao will fulfill the affairs of the four brothers!"
Cao Bao said: "Here you go! Guan Ling's marriage may also be granted!"
Zheng Anping shook his head and said: "Mr. Cao, please don't talk to yourself, and don't remind your Majesty!"
Cao Bao felt very strange when he saw Zheng Anping's sudden loss of interest, but he didn't dare to ask more questions.
Zheng Anping said: "Brother Quan and the fourth brother are all alone and have nothing to gain. Maybe they can move their family property here to get more money. Brother Su may move his wife and children to Guanyi, so that sooner or later they will have someone to depend on."
Cao Bao said: "Brother Quan and Su Shi will wait for the carriage to start, and then go to the carriage house to meet him. It may be difficult to meet him at this time. If the proposal of the fourth brother comes true, when will the date be?"
Seeing that everyone could still remember his marriage, Xiaosi was a little moved and said: "My brother was abandoned by his family and is left alone. The only people he has close relatives are the ears of my brothers. I should follow my brothers on the wedding date."
Cao Bao said: "Want to hurry up or slow down?"
Seeing that he couldn't push me, Xiao Si had to say: "It's within the year."
Cao Bao said: "I see that the millet situation is very good, and the harvest is imminent. It would be wonderful if after the millet is harvested and the newlyweds come into the house, it would be wonderful!" Everyone praised him.
Cao Baodao said: "The prosperity of the official government is due to official affairs, so it is difficult to appreciate it carefully. If you have nothing to do today, why don't you go into the room and take a closer look to make the most of the excitement!" Everyone stood up with a roar, patted the dust, and walked towards the newly completed building. Come to the mansion.
Everyone walked through the ripening millet fields and entered through the east gate. The first thing I entered was Xiaosi's house. Under the cover of a patch of grass, a courtyard wall made of rammed earth stands prominently. Although the house is near the east gate, it still faces north and south. There is an inn in front of the door, but the facade faces due east. The Yimen in the center of the mansion is as tall as one person, and the side doors on both sides are slightly lower. Xiaosi pushed open the west door and asked everyone to enter. He wanted to go through the east door, but everyone grabbed him and forced him into the west door. There is a small wall at the entrance, with private rooms on both sides. After bypassing the Xiao wall, a vast courtyard comes into view, with a lobby at the end; and a wing room under the walls on both sides. The whole yard still smells of wood.
Everyone was walking in the courtyard, pointing to the center of the courtyard and saying, "If you get a tree, it would be beautiful!"
Xiaosi asked: "If we must plant a tree, what tree should we plant?"
Cao Bao said: "When it comes to momentum, the first one is Sophora japonica."
Brother Su said: "I love peaches and plums very much and want to fill my garden with them."
Brother Dog said: "Don't ask, my old house never planted trees."
Zheng Anping said: "If I am satisfied, I should plant jujubes."
