Although it has been six years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the reality that there are fewer people in the north has not completely changed. Although Lao Zhu has already started an immigration plan, his main consideration at this time is his hometown of Fengyang. The migration of people from the south of the Yangtze River to Fengyang will also It's a good idea to build a house and prepare for moving the capital to Fengyang in the future.
The large-scale immigration to Hongdong, Shanxi, has not yet begun, but it is not too far away.
Overall, Shandong currently has a small population and the problem of land annexation is relatively minor. Most farmers own land and do not need to sell themselves into slavery. The number of righteous men and women is far less than in the south.
But there are always people who become poor due to illness, disaster, or accident. They have no choice but to sell themselves into slavery.
For example, Gu Zhengchen failed in the imperial examination and almost became a tenant.
Tenant, also known as tenant servant...
Liang Laoliu was worthy of being the housekeeper of a wealthy family, and he was very capable. It only took him two hours to investigate Xue Cheng.
"Master Juren, Xue Cheng has a clean life. He has never been in a government office. He has only one wife to depend on and has no children. After consultation with the doctor, he found that his wife Chen had indeed had a miscarriage and was physically weak and could not walk. There was also an uncle who was with Xue Cheng. The relationship is not very good..."
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly and asked, "Why is he so poor?"
Liang Laoliu lamented: "In his early years, he traveled all over the country and did business, and his family was well off. Later, the war broke out and his family fell into decline. After the founding of the country, he worked hard and finally had some savings, and he thought about doing business again. Last spring, he went to the south to prepare. We were bringing in a batch of silk and satin, but the boat capsized on the way back and all the silk and satin was destroyed. Only then..."
"Buying silk and satin, this is not a good deal."
Gu Zhengchen sighed secretly.
Now in the sixth year of Hongwu, Lao Zhu's restraint on businessmen is not very strict. At this time, it is not illegal for businessmen and wealthy households to wear silk and satin.
"A farmer's house is allowed to wear silk yarn and silk cloth, and a merchant's house is only allowed to wear silk cloth. If there is only one merchant in a peasant family, silk yarn is not allowed to be worn." This rule appeared in the 14th year of Hongwu.
There is nothing wrong with Xue Cheng wanting to do business in silk and satin, but this business is difficult to do, and the journey is far away. The time cost and risk are too great. Generally, small merchants and self-employed businesses cannot afford losses.
Liang Laoliu looked at Gu Zhengchen and raised his sleeves to wipe his sweat. He was not a scholar who had studied hard for ten years in a humble window. With his thoughtful and cautious attitude, he was clearly a seasoned veteran.
Back in the private room, Gu Zhengchen looked at the anxious Xue Cheng and took out two coins: "Now I give you a choice. Either take these two coins home and treat me as a pity to you and don't need to return them. Or take fifteen coins." Guan Qian, stay with me for the rest of your life. You should think it through before you decide."
Liang Laoliu looked at Gu Zhengchen in surprise. Aren't you afraid that he would take the two coins and run away?
As soon as I thought about it, I felt admiration.
This is Gu Zhengchen testing Xue Cheng. If he withdraws two ounces of money and leaves, it means that this person does not understand kindness, is difficult to share weal and woe, and may even abandon his master's family for his own benefit. This kind of person can be used, but cannot be reused.
Xue Cheng knelt down and kowtowed: "Master Juren, I, Xue Cheng, am willing to stay by your side and serve you forever!"
When Gu Zhengchen saw that Xue Cheng had made up his mind, he looked at Liang Laoliu. Liang Laoliu found Yaren as the matchmaker and wrote a document. What made Gu Zhengchen vomit blood was that the so-called adoption contract was actually a marriage contract...
"Xue Cheng signed the marriage letter. Due to the difficulty of the solar eclipse today, Xue Cheng voluntarily adopted Gu Zhengchen's name as a righteous man through a matchmaker. He will receive fifteen financial gifts. From now on, he will obey the orders and never return to the clan. Like everyone inside and outside, If you are seduced by birth, please follow the evidence. Respectfully sign the marriage certificate, leave your fingerprints, and pay it to the owner to keep the photo."
Gu Zhengchen's face twitched.
It seems that I am married for the second time, but it seems that I am not...
Before Gu Zhengchen even took out the money, he said something like replenishing Wu Guan at home, but Liang Laoliu had already helped pay it off and promised that he would arrange for someone to take Xue Cheng's wife Chen to Dayan Village in a carriage.
Xue Cheng thanked him profusely and left with the Liang family servants.
Gu Zhengchen took out ten guan of money and handed it to Liang Laoliu: "Take the money. After it is delivered, I will ask someone to bring back five guan of money. This is my person, and we can't let the Liang family spend money."
"Master Juren, if I take the money back, the old master and master are not allowed to whip me."
Liang Laoliu refused to accept it, and when he saw that the matter was over, he simply ran away.
Gu Zhengchen reluctantly left the restaurant and walked to a blacksmith shop on West Street, thinking about making a few plunderers.
Lvzi, a magical weapon for harvesting wheat in the north.
It is said that it appeared in Shanxi during the Song Dynasty and was used on a large scale. It had to wait until the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It is speculated that it was a technology brought by immigrants from Shanxi. Compared with the sickle, which has to be bent over to harvest, the plunderer can cut the wheat while standing, and is more efficient.
Gu Zhengchen asked, there is no plunder in Dayan Village, and there is no plunder in Teng County. If you want to get the plunder to save some effort, you have to think of your own way. Otherwise, the eight acres of wheat (and the other two acres of mulberry and hemp) would be harvested slowly with a sickle. It would probably take four or five days, and I would have to lie down from exhaustion...
There are several pairs of scissors, kitchen knives and axes placed on the blacksmith shop, and some shovels and sickles stand at the door. Inside, a rough man was sweating profusely, knocking on the red iron block, making a clanking sound.
"Tiejiang Sun."
Gu Zhengchen shouted three times before the blacksmith inside heard the noise. He threw the iron block into the water and cold brewed it, causing a burst of white smoke. He picked it up and put it away before wiping his sweat and walking out: "A kitchen knife is thirty cents, a scissor is two cents." Ten coins, axe...oh, sickle, eighteen coins."
Blacksmith Sun took a sickle and handed it to Gu Zhengchen. Gu Zhengchen moved his thumb up and down the sickle blade slightly, feeling the sharpness, and said to Blacksmith Sun, "Can you help me make three sickle blades?"
"What kind of scythe blade?"
Blacksmith Sun asked with a straight face.
Gu Zhengchen put down the sickle, took out a piece of paper from his arms, and handed it over: "Four fingers wide, two feet and five inches long, single-edged."
Tiejiang Sun took the drawing and looked at it. He didn't recognize the words in it, but he could still see the size clearly. He asked with some confusion: "What's the use of this?"
It's definitely not a weapon of some kind. It's okay to use a single-edged weapon, but at least it needs to have a handle. Otherwise, where can you grab it? If it is said to be a farm tool, it doesn't look like it. I have never seen a farm tool with such a long blade. You don't need a two-and-a-half-foot knife to cut melons and vegetables...
Gu Zhengchen smiled and said, "Can we harvest wheat?"
Ironsmith Sun looked at Gu Zhengchen and reminded: "I have never seen such a long blade used to harvest wheat. If you can't use it..."
"Don't worry, I won't ask you to refund your money."
Gu Zhengchen promised.
Blacksmith Sun lowered his head and looked at the drawing again, nodded and said, "Three handfuls of one hundred and fifty cents. The deposit is thirty cents. I'll pick it up the next day."
"no problem."
Gu Zhengchen left his name, took out 30 yuan as a deposit, and turned to leave.
While passing through a street, the sound of blowing and beating could be heard in the distance, filled with joy. Soon we saw a procession delivering bride-price gifts. The most eye-catching thing was the white-bellied and black-winged geese in front of them, spreading their wings from time to time.
In ancient times, there was a certain custom in receiving gifts of wild geese. The reason is...
"Zhi is a wild goose, which can move north and south at any time without losing its integrity. It is also a bird that follows the sun, and it is the meaning of a wife to obey her husband..."
A familiar voice came from beside Gu Zhengchen, followed by a chuckle: "Gu Juren, the Zhao family has been hired today. The young master of the Zhang family, Zhang Shiping, and the young lady of the Zhao family, Zhao Ya'er, are about to get married. What do you think?"
Gu Zhengchen turned his head and glanced sideways, squinted his eyes, gritted his teeth and said, "It's you again!"
