"This melon is so sweet."
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the small bench provided by the young melon seller, biting into the watermelon. The melon was very sweet, white and red, juicy and tender.
At the same time, he was already listing Li Xiao's crimes in his mind.
The household registration system that he spent more than ten years building was completely abolished, and even military households were abolished. This was the first thing Zhu Yuanzhang could not bear.
If even military households are cancelled, who will fight if a war breaks out in the future?
Second, because the household registration has been cancelled, everyone thinks they can do whatever they want, and in Peiping, these people can live wherever they want. I heard that many people left the village and went to the county after making money. Even went to Beiping City.
After a long time, wouldn’t there be no people in the countryside?
What's even more outrageous is that Li Xiao actually forced children to go to school at the age of six and be compulsory for five years. In this way, wouldn't the whole world be scholars in the future?
The people would rather let it go by than know about it.
It is not a good thing for people to know too much.
Will it be more difficult to obey discipline in the future, and will there be rebellions everywhere?
Third, I heard from this young man that all the land in Beiping was taken away by the prefect.
This is simply ridiculous. The Beiping Prefecture has 45 million acres of cultivated land. Hasn't Li Xiao become the largest landowner in the world? ?
I don’t know how Li Xiao did it.
Do local people and farmers agree?
Was the army mobilized to suppress it?
There were too many mysteries, and Zhu Yuanzhang seemed very worried.
Although the smooth asphalt road brought him a surprise when he first arrived, what happened later gave him a shock.
Zhu Yuanzhang finished eating a piece of melon and threw the rind aside.
Erhu immediately handed over another piece of melon.
As he ate, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was thinking about something, had finished the whole watermelon before he knew it.
Then he burped.
Suddenly, he felt something was wrong.
It feels completely different from eating melon in the past, except it’s sweeter
“There are no watermelon seeds!!”
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes fell on the ground, and he suddenly realized what he had felt before. It turned out that he had eaten for so long without spitting out a single watermelon seed.
Strange, so strange! !
How can a watermelon be childless? If it is childless, how can it be used to plant melons next year?
You know, Zhu Yuanzhang was born as a farmer and knew a lot about agriculture.
Because small things lead to big things, he quickly thought that if the land was taken away and no one left the seeds of various crops, would the crops be cut off? ?
"Erhu, have you noticed that this watermelon has no seeds?"
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the ground.
Erhu looked at the ground, and then said in surprise: "Master Huang, it's true, this watermelon seems to have no seeds."
With that said, Erhu pointed and said: "Shopkeeper, please open another melon."
The young man said happily: "Okay. I'll give you a treat right now."
With one cut of the watermelon knife, a big watermelon was divided into two halves.
The bright red flesh was exposed, and indeed not a single seed could be seen on it.
Erhu had not paid attention just now because he was worried about Zhu Yuanzhang's health, but this time he was really shocked.
The young man chopped the watermelon into several pieces, but there were still no seeds.
Erhu held the watermelon and handed it to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Master Huang, look at it."
It’s so rare, this is the first time I’ve seen such a rare thing!
what on earth is it? ?
Zhu Yuanzhang murmured: "No wonder I ate so happily just now. It was all because I didn't have to spit out the watermelon seeds."
He frowned slightly, looked at the young man selling melons again and said, "Young man, why does your melon have no seeds?"
The young man smiled and said, "This is a seedless unicorn melon. Is it delicious?"
"It's delicious."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "But how did you grow this melon, and how did you save the seeds?"
The young man buying the melons said with a naive smile: "I don't know that. I don't grow the melons, but I know that there is a shop called Daming Seed Company in Beiping City, which sells various seeds, including tomatoes, potatoes, You can buy peanuts, corn, pepper and other seeds, maybe you bought them there."
"Da Ming Seed Company."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the watermelon in front of him in surprise. In addition to this seedless watermelon, there were also potatoes, peanuts, corn, and peppers? ?
What are these, why haven’t we heard of them?
But it’s good to have a company that specializes in selling seeds. In the past, farmers saved their own seeds, but now they don’t need to save their own seeds. Can they sell them themselves?
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a long time, but felt that he had encountered too many things today, his mind was going to explode, and he needed to take a good rest and go back to sort it out.
Hey, I am getting older after all, and my head hurts when I think about some problems.
"Maybe Li Xiao did the right thing? Although this young man has no land, he has been very optimistic and smiling from the beginning."
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the young man and asked with a smile: "Young man, are you happy?"
"What?"
The young man smiled and shook his head: "My surname is not Fu."
Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes. This young man was indeed unhappy. Li Xiao deserved to die.
Then, the young man finished his words and said, "My surname is Wang."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "."
Forget it, it’s better to observe this kind of thing yourself and you will know the clues.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the young man in front of him. After talking for so long, he felt that this young man was very talkative and kind to others, so he seemed to have a good reputation.
I sat and watched this young man selling melons for a while. Almost all the melons on the tricycle were sold.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Young man, is it time to close the stall?"
The young man smiled and said: "Yes, we still need these three melons, so we will close the stall today."
Zhu Yuanzhang stood up and said: "Young man, we bought all the remaining melons."
As he said that, Erhu asked: "How much money are there in total for the remaining melons, plus the two melons that were opened just now?"
The young man weighed it, rubbed his hands and said, "A total of half a tael of silver."
Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly startled and said: "Half a tael of silver? Young man, are you accurate?"
Five watermelons weigh about fifty pounds, one pound costs two copper coins, and one hundred copper coins equals one penny.
This man actually took half a tael. He seemed honest and honest. He couldn't be a profiteer, right?
The young man said: "No way, sir, my seedless watermelon is delicious to eat, but it's also expensive. It says on the sign, the price is clearly marked, ten copper coins per catty, fifty catties is exactly half a tael of silver."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the small wooden board on the ground, and it was indeed written on it that ten copper coins per pound were written.
"Can you still write?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in surprise.
"Hehe, I learned it before, in the army." The young man smiled.
"The army also teaches writing."
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly became interested and planned to communicate more with this young man to learn about the current situation of military households after Li Xiao abolished them.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the sky and said with a smile: "It's getting late now. I can't see clearly at night. It's not convenient to go to the city to stay. I wonder if you have a room at home, young man. Can you stay for one night? I'll give it to you." money."
The sun had set and it was indeed dark.
The young man smiled and said, "You have asked the right person now."
As he spoke, he turned over the small wooden board, and on the other side it read: B&B for two coins a night, including breakfast.
Zhu Yuanzhang: "????"
This young man has a lot of business, what about the inn business?
The young man smiled and said: "I originally planned to stay a little longer to collect customers, but since the customers have come to us on their own, I'll close the stall and come with me."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head helplessly and got into the carriage.
Let Erhu keep up with the tricycle.
On the way, Zhu Yuanzhang stuck his head out and asked, "Young man, I still don't know what to call you?"
Wang Jianlin said with a cheerful smile while riding a tricycle: "My surname is Wang, and my name is Wang Jianlin. You can just call me Xiao Wang. Old man, what do you call me?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Huang Ba."
Wang Jianlin said: "Mr. Huang, as soon as I saw you today, I knew that you are a noble person and you have nobility in your body."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "You boy, you are very similar to one of my little brothers. You are familiar with him and you are good at flattering him."
Wang Jianlin said: "Hey, those of us who are doing small business have to be sweet-mouthed and diligent, otherwise we won't make any money."
Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated. What Wang Jianlin said made sense.
However, if a person is neither sweet-talking nor diligent, and has no land, how should he live?
So, Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Young man, what if your business goes bad?"
Wang Jianlin said: "If you lose your job, you can go work as a worker at worst."
"Worker."
Zhu Yuanzhang made a note of this term in his mind so that he could understand what a worker was.
After thinking about it, he asked: "You would rather do business than be a worker. It seems that being a worker is not a good job."
Wang Jianlin smiled and said: "Actually, being a worker is not bad. Everyone in our village works in the brick factory. It's stable. We get money every month. During the holidays, we also give out brown sugar, tea and other holiday gifts."
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't believe it: "It sounds so nice, then why don't you become a worker?"
Wang Jianlin said: "I want to do some small business to accumulate experience as a businessman. Now that there are no household registration restrictions in Peking, I just want to engage in business and become a rich man. But I have never done any business, so I just want to sell. I want to accumulate experience. When I save enough money, I want to start the real estate business. Now I am running to the city. If I buy a piece of land, build a house and sell it in Chengdu, I will definitely make a lot of money."
The words fell.
Zhu Yuanzhang squinted his eyes, feeling something was wrong.
The disadvantages of canceling household registration are too great. Everyone wants to go into business, so that’s okay.
Li Xiao, Li Xiao, you have really messed up Peiping.
The carriage moved forward slowly, and the scenery on both sides was superb. Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but look at the scenery outside the window and feel the afterglow of this summer.
"What's different about us soldiers is that we all wear simple military uniforms. What's different about us soldiers is that since we left our hometown, it's hard to see our parents.
Even if they say they are different, they are actually the same. They are all in their youthful years and they are all hot-blooded men."
Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking about something in the carriage, Wang Jianlin, who was riding a tricycle outside the carriage, hummed a tune.
Maybe it was because he not only sold out all the watermelons on the tricycle today, but also brought back a hotel guest, so he seemed particularly happy.
"We are soldiers"
Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little strange, so he opened the curtains of the carriage again and asked, "Young man, what song is this?"
"This song is for us soldiers. It is a song that everyone must sing during training in the army. They also compete with each other, which is very exciting."
Wang Jianlin explained while pedaling a tricycle.
Among the various regiments, Zhu Yuanzhang made another impression on Li Xiao. Not only were the military households cancelled, but singing was also started in the army.
At this time, Wang Jianlin outside said with emotion: "As soon as we sang this song, we all remembered the days when we spent time with our brothers in the army and sweated day and night in the past few years. We miss it!"
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up. Didn't this young man just say that he still wanted to be a businessman, but now he seems to miss his time as a soldier?
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Listen to what you mean, you quite like being a soldier? But why are you not a soldier now?"
Wang Jianlin said: "Hey, I like to be a soldier, but my mother is old and there is no one to take care of me. I have no choice but to come back to take care of my mother. If not, I want to stay in the army for the rest of my life."
The words fell.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked startled.
He felt something was wrong!
Yes, something is very wrong!
This soldier seems to have volunteered to be a soldier, but because of his mother, he started to become a businessman.
But it is different from his own rules, which force the sons of military households to also be military households.
One is mandatory and the other is voluntary!
If everyone is willing to be a soldier, that would be great!
But can it really be done?
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang asked again: "Young man, what do you mean, if you want, can you continue to be a soldier?"
Wang Jianlin said with a smile: "Isn't that right? I have already become a small flag. It is possible to become a hundred households if I get a higher level. It's a pity that I have no one to take care of me. I have no choice but to come back. Since I'm back , then you have to do a career."
Zhu Yuanzhang almost understood.
I also understand what Li Xiao wants to do.
He wants everyone to be able to do what they want to do
Those who are good at being a soldier should become soldiers, and those who are good at business should be engaged in business. If it doesn't work out, just become a "worker", even though you don't know what a worker is yet.
"Li Xiao, Li Xiao, you are so naive. If people's hearts are so easy to control, why should we waste so much effort to establish a household registration system? Sooner or later, you will cause big trouble."
With Zhu Yuanzhang thinking this, he had already arrived at Wang Jianlin's residence during the conversation.
After crossing the trail, we came to a village called Honghua Village.
Zhu Yuanzhang got off the carriage, and his eyes lit up when he saw the house.
The three-story gray brick house was rare in rural areas. He couldn't help but look up and down, and then turned to look elsewhere.
What surprised him was that the village was almost full of brick houses like this, with yards, which looked clean, tidy and pleasing to the eye.
"Is this village so rich?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly surprised.
Along the way from Nanjing to Peiping, he stayed at many farmers' homes along the way.
Although people's lives have improved in recent years, the houses are still the same. In rural areas, there are mostly mud houses. Except for wealthy families and the landlord class, there are almost no brick houses.
And in this village, every household has a brick house?
This is too exaggerated! !
Zhu Yuanzhang followed Wang Jianlin towards the courtyard. He suddenly stopped in front of the courtyard door because a small golden sign above attracted his attention.
There are four big characters engraved on the golden plate: Glorious Home.
"What does it mean?"
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, pointing to the plaque.
"This was given to me by the army after I was discharged from the army."
Wang Jianlin was very proud and said: "This is an honor. It means that someone in our family joins the army. It is an honor to join the army!"
As he spoke, he made a military posture towards the open space and said sternly: "You are brave and brave in guarding the border, and it is an infinite glory to join the army with gold and iron horses!"
When Wang Jianlin said this, his eyes were filled with immense pride!
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up as if he was not pretending.
Joining the army is regarded as an honor and is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. No wonder Li Xiao would cancel military households. If everyone did this, there would be no need to worry about no one joining the army!
"Are all the people in your village willing to serve as soldiers?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
Wang Jianlin smiled and said: "It's not a question of whether you want to go or not, it's a matter of having to go. In Peiping, all labor services have been cancelled. Only military service is left. Men over the age of sixteen must obey military service. Of course, you can do it after two years." You can choose to quit or stay on your own. Most people are willing to stay. If they come back after five years, they will be assigned a good job. I heard that they can be assigned to a regular yamen, or they can work as an official in another yamen. What a pity. , I came back early because of my mother, so I don’t have this blessing."
this.
Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly stunned and canceled all labor. If the yamen needed people to do fortifications, who should do it? Do you want to spend money? ?
What kind of yamen is this watchman?
Doesn't this full military service train everyone like a soldier?
If there is a civil uprising in the future, it will be difficult to suppress it! !
There are too many questions.
Zhu Yuanzhang is now confused and feels a little headache
"Two guests, come with me. This is the guest room. If you need anything, just ask."
Wang Jianlin led them to the third floor.
There are three rooms on the third floor, which are usually used to entertain passers-by and earn some extra money.
Erhu and Zhu Yuanzhang entered.
The room is quite neat and clean, with tables, benches and two beds.
Zhu Yuanzhang walked to the bedside and was quite satisfied with the environment. He had mostly stayed in ordinary people's homes along the way, and this was considered the best one.
He sat by the window, touched the neat quilt, and said with a smile: "Young man, your quilt is well folded. It's like a piece of tofu, square and square."
Wang Jianlin smiled naively: "They are all trained in the military."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. It seemed that he had the opportunity to learn more about how the army was trained now and how it was different from the original military system of the Ming Dynasty.
"Please bring me a floor bunk."
Erhu ordered that he would sleep in the same room with Zhu Yuanzhang for personal protection along the way, but he did not dare to sleep on the bed, and usually slept on the floor.
Wang Jianlin asked strangely: "Aren't there two beds?"
Erhu said: "I like to be down-to-earth."
Wang Jianlin: "."
Soon, Wang Jianlin brought the floor mat and helped lay it.
"correct."
Wang Jianlin smiled and said: "If you don't mind, we can eat together later. Our farmhouse, the cost of this meal per person is ten yuan, but you two bought me so many melons today, so I'll treat you to it." A meal."
Twenty dollars for two people is not much. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Okay, let's eat some together, but we will pay the money. We don't like to owe favors."
Indeed, it is impossible for ordinary people to owe Zhu Yuanzhang's favor.
Only Li Xiao could make Zhu Yuanzhang owe a great debt of gratitude.
Zhu Yuanzhang would also eat with the people along the way and see with his own eyes the lives of the people.
That's it.
Wang Jianlin turned around and went down to call his wife to cook.
Zhu Yuanzhang rested in the room for a while, his head hurt.
"Erhu, have you written down everything that happened along the way?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Erhu and said.
Erhu nodded, "Your Majesty, I have taken note of everything."
"Bring it here and show it to me."
Zhu Yuanzhang is now older and has trouble remembering things. He took Erhu's notebook and began to read it, recounting what happened today.
Everything seemed outrageous to him.
For example, this matter about military households, but what Wang Jianlin said later made him change his mind again, and he didn't know whether it was good or bad.
Half an hour later.
"You two guests, you can come down and have dinner."
Wang Jianlin shouted from the first floor.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Erhu stood up and walked downstairs.
Come to the lobby on the first floor, there are four tables.
Wang Jianlin's family of three, his wife and his mother gathered around the table to eat.
The other three tables should be prepared for guests.
But obviously they were the only guests today, and there was no one else.
The food on both tables was the same.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat down slowly, looked at the food on the dining table, and then froze.
What's going on? This is a standard meal costing 20 cents?
Two dishes and one soup.
One dish is tomato scrambled eggs.
One dish is roasted chicken with potatoes.
One dish is corn stewed pork ribs soup.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know what these red and yellow vegetables were.
But he could recognize that there was meat in this bowl.
All three dishes were meaty.
Eggs, chicken, and ribs! !
Although the portions of chicken and pork ribs are quite large!
Is this the standard of twenty cents? ? ?
He and Erhu only had twenty cash for food together.
But these meat dishes are worth a hundred words, but that’s fair!
"Young man, you won't charge us more, will you?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the food in front of him and said in surprise.
"No, no, we do business with integrity. If we don't make more money from you, we will just earn a hard-earned fee." Wang Jianlin said with a smile.
Zhu Yuanzhang stood up slowly and walked to the table where Wang Jianlin and his family were sitting.
The three of them were a little strange. What's going on with this old man?
"Do you eat this every day?"
Finding that the dishes on both tables were the same, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, the meals that our family eats are all cooked together with the guests' dishes."
Wang Jianlin pointed to the dishes and said, "We cooked them ourselves. Is there any problem?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said in disbelief: "This is so cheap. We all can't believe it. Outside of Peking, these dishes are not cheap. There are chicken, eggs, and pork ribs. The portion is quite big. It costs more than a hundred yuan at least." Money, right?”
"Haha, by the way, you are a foreigner."
Wang Jianlin patiently explained: "Only the ribs are a little more expensive, and the others are not expensive. Since we have a large chicken farm in Beiping, the prices of eggs and fat chickens are falling every day. These eggs cost two cents each. A big fat chicken only costs a hundred cents."
One hundred cents each.
Zhu Yuanzhang calculated in his mind that one tael of silver could buy ten big fat chickens!
Outside of Peking, one tael of silver in other places can only buy four fat chickens at most. How much has the price dropped? ? ?
But even if it’s half the price, people can’t eat chicken every day, right?
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wang Jianlin, who seemed to take it for granted.
Could it be.
Prices have dropped and incomes have increased, so can we eat meat every day? ?
hiss.
Zhu Yuanzhang showed an incredible look.
What on earth happened in Peiping! !
Numb, Zhu Yuanzhang was completely numb!
(End of chapter)
