"Thank you for today."
Zheng Ruoying said in a low voice. The two of them walked side by side on the road to Fengshan. The haze in the sky seemed to have disappeared, the wind was no longer so cold, and everything seemed so beautiful. Feeling the free air, the sun shining on your body makes you feel warm.
In the past few days, she had already made up her mind that if she really wanted to marry Huang Hou, blood would be splashed three feet high on the wedding day. Since her father didn't care about her life or death, she would have to die to express her determination.
"Miss, you're welcome. I'm just here to fulfill my contract. Besides, we are friends. I can't just watch you being humiliated by that monkey and remain indifferent."
"No matter what you say, I want to thank you."
The two of them walked to the north bank. Today, Zheng Ruoying was dressed like a fairy, attracting the attention of others. Children from three villages surrounded her, spinning around.
"I want to ask you a question. Do you have any good methods for managing the land in our academy so that it will continue to develop healthily? Will the money and food of the academy be generated by itself? It will also be self-sufficient in the future."
Zheng Ruoying was a little surprised: "It's rare that you, Liang Daguan, are not ashamed to ask questions. I thought you knew everything."
"Do you have to argue with me?"
Zheng Ruoying said with a sense of victory on her face.
"This is not easy, rent it out, otherwise no one will plant it. The people taught in your academy are all scholars, and you don't have the energy to take care of these lands every day. Why not rent it out to other big households or farmers, and they will take care of it, and you can just share the accounts. ”
"If we divide the accounts, won't we lose a lot of harvest?"
"Then what do you think?"
Liang Chuan told Zheng Ruoying his thoughts, and Zheng Ruoying just smiled helplessly.
"When will you, a good old man like Mr. Liang, change your character?"
Zheng Ruoying said earnestly: "The land you have is very thin. The farmers themselves are not willing to plant it. They can't grow rice, and the farmers can't grow it. Later, it was all deserted. We saw that the price was low and we went there." Bought."
"If they don't want to plant the land, there will be no tenants who want to help you plant it. Even if the tenants are willing to plant it, they will not be able to make ends meet if they can't harvest the food. They can't make any money from the farm work according to the tenancy contract. You let the villagers depend on their debts." Planting the land depends on your friendship. Planting well is a matter of affection, and planting poorly is a duty. Our family has very strict control over the tenant farmers. We collect rent according to the contract every year and force the farmers to work hard, so we have a good harvest. Otherwise, how could our family have such a big industry now?"
Zheng Ruoying's words are very similar to He Baozheng's words.
"Do you remember the rice seeds I bought in Qingyuan? These are upland rice. If you plant them like this two seasons a year, I believe the harvest will be much higher than your one-season rice harvest. These are the places where I Should I leave it to you to help me take care of it, or should it be under the name of the academy and the management rights be given to you, and we can agree on a certain number of accounts to be divided, what do you think?"
It's another time to settle accounts clearly. This person always calculates things clearly and cannot tolerate any sand.
Zheng Ruoying calculated it and found that if the harvest was higher than that of his paddy fields, it would be possible. Moreover, as long as he recruited tenant farmers to manage them, he would not need to worry about the cost of the land. The taxes paid to the court would still be counted on the academy, so from now on His share is deducted, and he doesn't have to pay a penny of tax. It's a pretty good deal.
The question is whether that rice seed is reliable or not. He Baozheng, an old farmer, doesn't have much confidence in it. Why is Liang Chuan so sure?
"What if we can't collect food..."
"Ahem, this is not easy. Did you think I could make sugar at the beginning?"
Zheng Ruoying also smiled. If she couldn't collect it, she would pay for it. What else could she do?
Zheng Ruoying has not been to Helu for several days. The fields are already busy. Some of Fan Dianyuan and others are harvesting sugar cane, and some are plowing the ground again. The sugar cane bed is plowed again to loosen the soil, and then fertilize and bury the sugar cane leaves. and other fertilizers to prepare for next year's harvest.
"Miss, you are here!" Seeing Zheng Ruoying's appearance, these sugarcane farmers gathered around her. They also heard that the lady was going to be betrothed to another family. Zheng Ruoying treated them generously on weekdays, and gave them much more money than others. During holidays, he would come to express condolences to them. Where can I go to get jobs for others after I get married?
"Lao Fan and Lao Ma, you have worked hard these days while I am away."
"I'm exhausted but also happy. These days we listen to Saburo and cut all the sugar cane. This..."
Fan Dianyuan and the others didn't feel confident when they said this. They looked at Zheng Ruoying and hoped that there was nothing wrong in doing so, otherwise. . They're done.
"Well, you did the right thing. Now that the New Year is about to come, we will be able to breathe a sigh of relief together after we are tired for a few more days."
After hearing Zheng Ruoying's words, several people were relieved after having been hanging on for so long. They all showed off their skills and said: "Miss, don't worry. At present, the two or three acres of harvest a day are all brought to Sanlang's house, and we will take care of them." This progress won’t be much left after the new year, so there’s no need to worry.”
Fan Dianyuan took a hatchet and trotted into the sugarcane field. He picked a good sugarcane with a small eye, a small stem and almost no breaks. , sent to Zheng Ruoying.
"Miss, please try it, does it taste sweet?"
Zheng Ruoying smiled, took the sugar cane, opened her mouth, and started chewing. The sweet sugar cane juice spread in her mouth.
"Sweet! The candies bought on the street are not as sweet!"
"This is the first year that we have grown such good sugar cane. It makes your heart moisturize when you eat it. Will you, Lao Fan, be willing to farm for our Zheng family next year?"
"If the eldest lady doesn't drive us away, we will keep farming for the eldest lady!"
"Okay! Not only will these hundreds of acres of land be planted with sugar cane, but I will also need to recruit more people to expand the area of the sugar cane field next year."
The current situation is very comfortable, and the life is more nourishing than when I had my own land in northern Shaanxi. The children can also go to the academy to study. When the children grow up, they will not have to be burdened. Do you have to think about anything else? No one would think.
Liang Chuan led Zheng Ruoying and followed the ox cart to pull the sugar cane to Zhang's backyard. Zheng Ruoying was completely unaware of this place in the backyard. Zheng Ruoying was astonished by the spinning candy twists. Standing in the backyard from a distance, you can still smell the strong aroma of caramel. The yard is clean and tidy, and the place where the sugar cane is piled is cushioned with cane leaves to avoid getting dirty.
Not only that, Liang Chuan also introduced mountain spring water to the backyard to clean the sugar cane and clean the dirt in the backyard, keeping the backyard fresh and tidy at all times. After the sugar is boiled every evening, the bagasse in the backyard will be cleared away in time to clear space for the cane pressing the next day.
"Did you design all of this?"
"Otherwise, I originally wanted to count on you to help me, but who would have thought that you were hiding at home on a blind date, leaving me exhausted to death by myself."
Liang Chuan knew Zheng Ruoying's difficulties and deliberately made little jokes on her.
"I am angry."
"Haha, forget it. It's hard to raise a woman and a villain. It doesn't matter if I complain a little more. Come on, let's go into the house and take a look."
The door of the back room opened with a creak, and cold wind poured in. Several people were sweating profusely, and their bodies trembled when the wind blew.
Everyone took a closer look and found out that Liang Chuan had returned, bringing with him a fairy-like beauty, the eldest lady of the Zheng family whom they had not seen for many days.
The sugar-cooking room was filled with smoke and the water temperature was so high that the women were sweating profusely. All of them used to be quite pretty, but now they are no different from the farm girls, even the most beautiful ones. Shen Yuzhen, who was good at adding firewood to the boiler, also had a lot of ash on her face and it was smeared all over her face. She used to be a bit more beautiful than Zheng Ruoying, but now she feels a little ashamed compared to her.
A strong hostility from several women couldn't help but strike together. Everyone was busy, but the eldest lady acted condescendingly.
"Is this how sugar is boiled? Then I see that the syrup in the pot is all brown, so why can you make white sugar?"
Zheng Ruoying asked Liang Chuan curiously, but Liang Chuan was at a loss as if he hadn't heard anything. When Zheng Ruoying saw that this boy was pretending not to hear, he wanted to ask again, but suddenly he realized that this was someone else's secret. He had already trusted her enough to let her into this room, so why should she ask for it again? Not happy.
"Now that the tour is over, let's go sit in the lobby."
Zheng Ruoying reluctantly walked out of the sugar cooking room. She knew very well how valuable the craftsmanship in this room was. No wonder Liang Chuan had the confidence to go to Qingyuan. With the production at the back in place, the business at the front could open to all directions.
"Miss, I have made the sucrose as promised. Tell me, what are your plans next?"
The whole family was busy in the backyard, and Li Chuyi was walking the dog in the courtyard to look after the house. The academy was not open, and the rare silence in Wangxiang was a good time to discuss important matters. There was no one at home, and naturally there was nothing to entertain Zheng Ruoying. There was a pot of water on the table. Liang Chuan was thirsty and tired after walking for a long time. He took out the porcelain jars filled with sugar and asked Zheng Ruoying to open his eyes again. He drank a pot of water on his own.
Zheng Ruoying opened a can of white sugar. The color of the white sugar was quite pure. After taking a bite, both the taste and appearance were even more surprising. A can of white sugar only weighs a few kilograms, and there are more than a dozen cans of brown sugar. There are round ones and square ones. The round ones contain sugar granules, and the square ones contain sugar bricks. The artist has already selected and packed them.
"What do you think is the best price for these candies? What's the current market price?"
Zheng Ruoying asked back.
"One pound of brown sugar is twenty guan, and one pound of white sugar is 100 guan!"
"What!" Zheng Ruoying knew that the price of sugar was extremely high, but she also thought it would be so high. One hundred guan, that's one hundred taels. The price of gold is about the same.
