In the past, Mrs. You was always close to Wang Xifeng, but now the relationship between Mrs. You and Sister Feng has faded, and instead she is close to Grandma Zhu.
Brother Rong couldn't figure it out for a moment and didn't go in to disturb them. After all, you couldn't choose such an awkward time and place even if you had a lot to ask in front of Youshi.
He left quietly and returned to Keqing's courtyard, listening to Qin Keqing and Wang Xifeng in the main room chatting about trivial matters in the inner chamber of the mansion.
Wang Xifeng said: "If the relatives of the You family come to the door, can we drive them out? They are also pitiful. They don't want to leave when they come to the house, so we just let them stay. How can our family be short of food rations for three people? Pack up the food. There is a small courtyard, let the three of them, mother and daughter, go in."
Qin Keqing said: "I think so too, but I can't make up my mind. It won't cost anything for food and clothing, but where will the money come from? My wife doesn't care about the family now, and she doesn't have much money. , I can’t take any points from her.”
Wang Xifeng smiled and said: "You have been a grandma for several years, and you can't even figure this out. Then how much RMB did the mansion pay for Mrs. You in the past years? From now on, according to the old calendar, the original RMB will be divided into twelve parts, and each month Giving one copy is considered as their monthly expense.”
Qin Keqing said: "Last time you brought Miss You Er and Miss You San, my wife received them and gave them twenty taels of silver. Unexpectedly, just a few days later, they came to the door again. If you use it like this, your relatives will The money for traveling back and forth is not enough.”
Wang Xifeng hummed: "Who doesn't have a poor relative in the family? It's just a trip once or twice during the holidays. It's certainly not enough to come here every month to catch the autumn breeze. Calculated at twenty taels per year, Mrs. You is the elder after all. , one tael of silver per month is enough for her, and Miss You Er and Miss You San receive five or six hundred cents per month, so our family can be considered extremely benevolent."
"Calculating it this way, it's less than two taels of silver a month. It's inevitable that gossip will spread and I'll treat my relatives poorly."
"Twenty taels of silver is not enough? Close relatives like Daiyu and Xiangyun in the mansion only get one or two taels of silver for a month. The three of the You family live in the same courtyard, and a total of more than one tael of silver is enough. On weekdays, Food and clothing expenses are all arranged by the mansion. Send three more maids over, and the maids' monthly money will be paid directly from the inner house, and they don't need to take care of it. This little money is enough for them to live happily in the mansion. "
"This... Madam's side..."
"The person named You is trying to avoid suspicion, and she is not easy to control. If I give you too much, I'm afraid you, the grandma, have something to say. If you give me too little, it won't be easy to explain to the mother and sisters of the You family." Wang Xifeng sneered coldly. , "For people like the You family who are used to taking money from the government, no matter how much we give, the old lady may not be satisfied. After all, business is done in accordance with the regulations and the old rules. No one can fault her."
Brother Rong listened outside for a while before he realized that it was You's relatives who had come to Dongfu.
The two houses will be lively in the future.
He did know the mother and sisters of the You family. You Lao Niang is the stepmother of Mrs. You Shi, and the second and third girls You are the children of You Lao Niang and her ex-husband. Later, You Lao Niang married You Shi's father and became the second and third girls of the You family. name.
When Jia Zhen was still alive, she was very kind to the You family. Later, Jia Zhen passed away, and it was the turn of You and Keqing to take charge of the inner house, so the money for the You family was much less. According to the ordinary quota of relatives, I only have twenty taels of silver every time I come here.
However, listening to the words of Keqing and Sister Feng, the You family woman felt that twenty taels was too little.
Brother Rong curled his lips, he was really greedy. What's more, Mrs. You is the stepmother of Mrs. Youshi, and Youer, Yousan and Youshi are half-sisters with no blood relationship at all. If they didn't have the same surname as my wife, no one would recognize them.
With a shrewd person like Wang Xifeng here, Brother Rong was not worried about Ke Qing being suffocated and stopped listening. He entered the next room, changed into a set of clothes, and went to the Water Conservancy Yingtian Mansion.
Brother Rong first met the old farmer who was the holy agricultural envoy. This man was still playing tricks in the official fields outside the Water Conservancy Camp.
Brother Rong looked at the green fields and asked, "What kind of seedlings are these?"
"Your Majesty is really good at joking. The Dragon Boat Festival has just passed. What kind of seedlings can be grown in this field?" The old farmer raised his head and said in a low voice: "It gets warmer later in the north, so the fields are planted with late-season rice seedlings. How can we live longer?" It will take a few days to plant rice seedlings.”
Uncle Rong smiled and saw that the farm officials next to him were a little cautious when seeing him, and asked: "Why doesn't anyone help you?"
The old farmer smiled and said, "It's just that I don't want them to interfere. There are a few paddy fields nearby, and they all share some of them. Each of them is responsible for his own rice seedlings, shading his own field, and waiting for the harvest in October to compete with each other."
"I see."
Brother Rong looked at the field and saw a pair of wooden barrels placed on the ridge of the field, containing fly ash from vegetation. Some farm officials are weeding the rice seedlings, while some farmers have finished weeding and are spreading ashes on the rice fields.
All of these people were in shorts and shirts, with their shoulders spread out and their bellies exposed. They all looked hard-working. I curiously counted the people in the fields and found that there was something wrong with the number of agricultural officers. There was actually a lot less.
A strange smile appeared on his lips.
The old farmer knew what he was thinking, so he kept silent and continued to pull weeds in the rice field.
Not long after, a group of people came out of the yamen of Shuili Yingtian Mansion, all of them were well-dressed and looked like great men. Brother Rong couldn't help but laugh at himself: "I didn't expect that there are people in the yamen who are lazy with me."
She came quickly and just in time to hear his words, she couldn't help but blush. He hurriedly saluted and said: "Your Excellency, I and my colleagues are compiling agricultural books. I only noticed that the pen has arrived when your Excellency arrived."
"I'm interested." Brother Rong said with a half-smile.
Everyone who came was embarrassed and at a loss. Jia Rong didn't blame him, and said calmly: "No need to be polite, everyone can go about their business. I'm just walking around in the fields."
The leader hesitated for a long time and was speechless, but the old farmer in the field stood up and said with a smile: "I asked them to write it individually first. There are many people here who can't read, let alone write. Although they know how to farm, they can't write about themselves. Based on experience. In addition, Mr. Tian, who was retained by the Yamen, could not give everyone a share, so we left one person to write and another to ghostwrite."
The leader hurriedly answered. "Yes, yes. Just as Brother Nong said."
"I was negligent. Just go ahead and go and I don't blame you." Brother Rong said with a smile. He looked at the old farmer with even more surprise. It was quite interesting that a farmer in the Holy Cult could organize others.
Anyone who has led a team knows that even if you have power and prestige, it is difficult to convince everyone, let alone being the leader in an equal position. The old farmer hides his secrets.
Brother Rong asked with a smile: "You asked them to write a book, but the climate and soil in each province are different, and the planting methods are different. Are you not afraid that they will cause conflicts first?"
The old farmer replied: "Your Majesty also said that the climate and soil in each province are different, and even the rice seeds are different. It is normal to have different planting methods. Just write down your respective methods and compile them into a book, and then return to each province. Just experiment and choose the best.”
"That's a good idea." Brother Rong said with a smile, "In that case, let's compare the harvests in the capital and see whose method is more suitable for the capital."
Jia Rong really didn't expect that the old farmer's accident was almost the same as the arrangement he had planned in his heart. If this continues, these agricultural officials will be able to make practical contributions.
In the future, each province will build a Yingtian branch to specialize in research on planting techniques suitable for the local soil and climate. If you extend downwards little by little, there will always be a few people with real talents and learning. Even if only one such person emerges, it will be a great merit. Regardless of whether it is the whole country, the whole province, or even just the local area, as long as the production can be increased in a healthy way, the hard work will not be in vain.
Thinking of this, I miss Zhungeer Qaidam again, and I don’t know what the northwest looks like now.
After chatting with the old farmer for a long time, Jia Jing didn't reveal anything about Jia Jing's plan to lure the snake out of its hole and catch Sanniang. It just left a lot of things to give farmers some convenience.
On the way back home, I was also thinking about my previous farming experience. Should I include potassium fertilizer?
The setting sun was about to set before Uncle Rong returned to his home.
Xiaoqueer hummed: "Do you have any appointment with Ruizhu's hoof?"
"Little girl, you are still taking care of your uncle's affairs." Brother Rong tried to avoid this girl these days, but Que'er was following Ke Qing, so he couldn't avoid her.
Little Que'er bared her teeth like a vicious dog and said, "That hoof asked someone to boil water early in the morning, saying it was for the uncle's bath. You haven't returned home yet, but you have already arranged your fun for the evening."
"It was calculated yesterday." Uncle Rong glanced at her.
The little bird followed the uncle's gaze and looked down, feeling ashamed and angry, and hummed: "Isn't it enough in Yixia Pavilion yesterday? How can we do this every night?"
Brother Rong was stunned. He was really a little crazy yesterday. He rubbed Xiaoqueer's head and said with a smile, "Why don't you make some medicine for me?"
"I'm going to sue grandma." Xiao Que'er threatened.
"what ever."
"Humph." The little girl snorted gloomily and walked towards Ke Qing's room threateningly. Only halfway through, he stopped again, pouted, and turned around to go to the back kitchen.
Fortunately, I stayed up early. Que'er's eyes were confused and she thought proudly, how could Ruizhu Nanizi be able to deal with the uncle by herself. If he showed up at the right time, wouldn't it be...
The uncle took the initiative, so he didn't break the rules set by grandma.
