Liang Chuan cured He Baozheng's cow. When He Baozheng heard that his cow was not the first to suffer, He Baozheng immediately took the cow rope and prepared to take the cow home. By the way, he invited Liang Chuan and Zhao's two brothers to his home, and accepted the family's kindness. It is impossible to express nothing, there is absolutely no reason for this.
He Baozheng asked Liang Chuan and Zhaodi to sit at home while he led the cows to the cowshed and added a handful of fodder.
At this time, a young woman came in from outside the door. She had a scarf wrapped around her head to prevent her hair from falling down. She was holding a little girl in her left hand and a half-faced water ladle in her right hand. She walked in without any expression on her face.
He Baozheng happened to return to the middle hall when he suddenly saw a woman coming in with a child. She didn't scold or say anything else, but her face was so dark that ink dripped from it, and her breathing was obviously a little messed up. .
The young woman led the child to He Baozheng, and Liang Chuan stood beside him, as if Liang Chuan and Zhaodi did not exist, looking straight at He Baozheng from the beginning to the end, until he walked in front of He Baozheng and said The little girl pushed He Baozheng in front of him and said, "Girl, why don't you call me grandpa?"
The child was only three or four years old. Although she was dressed in plain clothes, she was quite clean. She had a small white face, but not very rosy. She looked at He Baozheng timidly, followed her mother's instructions, and yelled: " Grandpa.”
The little girl's voice was quite pleasant, but also seemed a bit unfamiliar, which made people feel sad in their ears.
He Baozheng is only in his forties. In this era, it is normal for a grandfather to be in his forties, and his hair is white, which is more suitable for this title. However, He Baozheng's mouth is as dry as a chimney, and it is so dry. Without making any sound, he looked at the little girl who greeted him distressedly, his eyes were slightly red, and it took him a long time to make a sound in his throat: "Hmm... um..." A pair of big rough hands caressed the little girl lovingly. head of.
The young woman didn't speak until He Baozheng spoke, and then she said: "Dad, there is no rice at home. I will bring Niu'er to borrow some rice from you."
When He Baozheng heard what she said, the muscles on his cheeks trembled with expressions. Liang Chuan and Zhaodi were watching with fear, as if a volcano that had been held in for a long time was about to explode. The veins on his forehead were so high, He glanced at Liang Chuan and Zhaodi who were beside him, suppressed his anger, pointed to the back room and said, "Go find your mother, she is inside."
The young woman still had no expression on her face and led the little girl into the house without saying a word.
Seeing her like this, He Baozheng felt helpless and said "Alas!"
He Baozheng looked at Liang Chuan and Zhaodi and said, "I made you laugh." Liang Chuan knew that this was his own family matter, and no matter what he said, it would not sound good to others, so he stopped talking and asked directly : "He Baozheng, where did we just talk?"
"Do you really want to buy land?"
"This is natural. My house was burned down last night. The whole family must have a place to go."
As the person in charge of Helu Village, He Baozheng is responsible for everything that happens in the village. It's okay for ordinary small things, he can solve them by himself, but if he encounters a major case such as robbery, murder, arson, etc., he must Report to the county government and ask the county to send someone to solve the problem. If he fails to report in time, the county will also hold him accountable for his dereliction of duty.
He didn't know that Liang Chuan's thatched cottage was burned down last night. Now that Liang Chuan said this, he must ask clearly if he wants to get a correct answer from the government in the future.
"What's going on? Did you get lost?"
"I don't know what happened yesterday, but Yi Niang and I were asleep when the roof suddenly burned down. The fire burned so fiercely that a good house was reduced to a pile of dregs in a short time."
"It wasn't arson, was it?"
"That's probably not the case. When we ran out, we also saw other people. Besides, Yi Niang and I rarely go out and interact with people less often. This shouldn't offend anyone and invite revenge."
"That's good. When someone in the county asks you about this, I can give you an answer. Since the house burned down, it's time to build a new one. How do you want to build it? Do you know where to hire a master?"
Liang Chuan looked around at the house where He Baozheng lived, and said with a smile, "I think your house, He Baozheng, is very nice. It's tall and bright, just like yours."
When He Baozheng heard Liang Chuan's words, a mouthful of old blood almost spurted out from his mouth. Looking at Liang Chuan, his eyes straightened and his mouth started to tremble a little. He asked, "It's not that I'm talkative. I think I'm a reliable person." With these real estates handed down from my ancestors, I have been busy all my life and I still don’t have the ability to add honor to my ancestors. Build a big house like this. Liang San, you can neither do business nor take care of crops. You have the ability to build such a big house. A house?”
Liang Chuan knew that others would be suspicious and had to have a reasonable explanation for this problem, so he said: "I met Mr. Zheng from Xinghua a few days ago. He is a pretty good person. He lent me some silver to help me tide over difficulties. Difficulties, I don’t have the ability to do it, what you, He Baozheng, can’t do, I don’t even have the ability to do it.”
He Baozheng chuckled, a little nostalgic for the glory of his grandfather back then. Although the memory was a bit fuzzy, it still reminded him of the high-spiritedness of his grandfather when he built this big house. At that time, he was still a yellow-haired boy, and now his beard and hair have turned gray. , Time is not forgiving.
"Borrow it from you? How much can I borrow? When my grandfather built this big house, he spent several thousand dollars. I'm not talking about you. There are such big landowners in Xinghua who can lend you so much money. Money? Introduce me to the old man, and I can borrow some from him, or lend him interest."
Liang Chuan is not as poor as him. The more he explains, the darker he will become.
When He Baozheng saw that he was silent, there was no point in asking too much about other people's money, so he said: "I can't control where your money comes from, but as long as it's money from unknown sources, I will definitely take it to the official. You have to be careful." .”
Liang Chuan said with a smile: "He Baozheng, please be careful. My money comes from all sources. If the source is unknown, don't bother you to take me to the court. I will surrender myself to the county magistrate myself!"
He Baozheng was so worried about the government that he never left his post. Such enthusiastic village cadres are really rare!
At this time, He Baozheng's daughter had already led the little girl out of the back room. The half gourd was filled with snow-white rice. The little girl was still timid and looked scared when she saw anyone. The woman had tears in her eyes and was holding back. Without letting the tears flow down, he took the child through the three of them and walked back directly.
Liang Chuan and Zhaodi stood there like trees on the roadside, without any reaction or daring to react. Until the two silhouettes, one big and one small, disappeared outside the door. He Baozheng sighed heavily, his face seemed older.
"I'm fine with everything, it's just a few kids that make me unhappy... I'm so happy!"
He Baozheng continued what he just said: "Liang Chuan, you are not from our Helu Village, but after you build a house and buy land in our Helu Village, you will be a member of our Helu Village from now on. Our Helu people behave like We must be upright and worthy of our ancestors and even more worthy of our descendants, and we must not allow others to poke our spines. This is my warning to you as a person who has been through it."
Liang Chuan looked stern and said, "The boy has learned a lesson."
He Baozheng said: "Since you have decided to join our village, I can't be too stingy. I will do whatever I need to do to help. How much land do you want to buy?"
Liang Chuan said: "Our yard extends a little further, and it is almost as big as your house. But I may occupy a little more, and I will build a few more houses."
He Baozheng looked at it, calculated it in his mind, and said, "Then just buy two acres. You can build as much as you want in the future. You can also build a yard and plant a lot of flowers and plants."
“Two acres, isn’t that a bit too big?”
"Big? You can buy one acre, or two acres. It's not that different. If it's bigger, it's your home anyway. Besides, the land near your home is so cheap that you won't want to give it away to anyone else."
"Don't you need two thousand dollars for an acre of land? How come you are giving it away and people don't want it anymore?"
"Liangguan? Why don't you go and grab it? Those dry lands are worth hundreds of cents, which is as high as the sky. Haha, Liangguan. Have you seen those fertile paddy fields on the south bank? Those fields are only four or five cents per acre. Guanduo, those are fertile paddy fields, and they are not the same price as these dry lands that cannot produce a few kilograms of grain. How did you hear that the land in front of your house costs two guans?"
Why is the land on the north bank all deserted? The north bank is all dry land. Although there is a Nanxi River on the side, the height difference on the river bank is too big and the water cannot be pumped up. The land along the river is fine, but the land near Hulu Mountain is not at all No one wants it, it’s worthless.
Those dry terrains are the same as mountainous areas. There are so many mountains in Fengshan that no one would want to plant them if they were given away.
Liang Chuan didn't go to see his brother Zhao, he touched his head with his hand, laughed, and said mockingly: "Maybe I heard it wrong, but also, I see that a lot of land like this is deserted and no one is planting it. How can land be valuable?"
"These lands are not valuable, and they cannot produce food. But as long as the land is in your own name, you must pay taxes and service to the government on time according to the number of acres of land every year. Think about whether it is better or worse to have this kind of land in your own name. not good?"
Liang Chuan said nothing.
"So these lands are all deserted. They have all left He Lu and fled the fields. Occasionally, some people come back, but there are too few. He Lu used to have many outstanding young men, but now there are fewer and fewer men. , maybe our village will be gone in a few years. Now that the good young people have money, they go to Xinghua, who will still guard this place."
He Baozheng continued: "The land in front of your house has been deserted for some years. The house where you used to live has also been deserted for several years before you moved in. The foot of the mountain is too remote and the land is thin. Let the government take it back. Now if you want to buy land, you have to go to the county government to find someone. I know He Lu. The owners of those lands have been away for many years. "
