The arguments in the room became louder and spread into the courtyard.
Yao Zhen looked at the room, and then asked Zhang Pei, who was holding a knife and yawning: "Do you really want to force breeding in people's homes?"
Zhang Pei was a little sleepy and struck the ground with his knife: "The people lack education and people to guide the way. If the master really makes up his mind to force breeding, it may not be a bad thing for the people. You should also know that now a head weighs 150 pounds. A big pig can be sold to a butcher for enough money. With one dollar, you can buy more than two stones of grain, which is enough for a family of three to eat for two months."
Yao Zhen knew the price, but he was a little embarrassed: "Every household is different. After all, not everyone has time to raise pigs and sheep. If it were distributed to every household, wouldn't it be a waste of time and work for the people? Also, pigs You need money too, at least one hundred and sixty cents. There are many people who may not be able to come up with this money..."
Zhang Pei pointed to his head and asked Yao Zhen: "Are you as smart as me?"
"Uh, no..."
Yao Zhen was forced to admit it due to Zhang Pei's majesty.
Zhang Pei chuckled and said, "You are not smarter than me. Are Yang Liang, Zhou Mao and Luo Shao smarter than me?"
"Of course not."
Yao Zhen was calm.
Zhang Pei put away the knife and put it on his shoulder: "Isn't that the end? No one is as smart as the master, so why should we question the master's decision? Whatever the master says, we will do it..."
Yao Zhen thought about it, and it seemed to be the same.
In terms of wisdom, no one here can compare to Gu Zhengchen.
In terms of ability, there is still no one here who can match Gu Zhengchen.
Even in terms of official position and status, no one can compare with him. In this case, there is really no need to argue, just follow his orders...
Luo Shao, Yang Liang and others left after discussing for nearly an hour. However, the three of them did not return to their respective residences. They were all busy looking for officials and government officials to send messages.
When Zhang Xiwan returned to the room, she saw that the dishes on the table had not been touched with a few chopsticks, but Gu Zhengchen was already sitting behind the table and began to write quickly. He ordered Xiao He to make a bowl of hot rice, picked up some dishes and handed it over: " You work hard outside every day, and when you finally come back and don’t eat, how can your body bear it?”
Gu Zhengchen hesitated for a moment, then put down his brush, took the bowl and chopsticks, and asked, "Do you like pork or mutton?"
Zhang Xiwan was stunned for a moment. She didn't know why Gu Zhengchen suddenly asked this question. After thinking about it, she said, "I don't like the taste of mutton very much. I always feel it's very tangy. Pork is okay, but the taste is always a bit monotonous."
Gu Zhengchen lowered his head and took two mouthfuls of rice, then smiled at Zhang Xiwan and said, "There are many ways to cook pork. We just don't have spices now. Otherwise, I will cook you a good meal to open your eyes."
Zhang Xiwan blinked: "I heard from Qing Qing that my husband is quite good at cooking. I wonder when I can cook a meal for Xiwan?"
"Xiaohe is actually doing quite well..."
Gu Zhengchen declined, but seeing Zhang Xiwan's reluctance, he had no choice but to agree to cook if he had the chance.
"Spices are very valuable. Besides, you can only buy them in Jinling. There is no spice shop in Jurong. By the way, why do you ask about pork and mutton?"
"It's market research, of course."
“What is market research?”
"Well, I just want to understand taste preferences so that I can determine whether to raise pigs or sheep. My husband plans to start some breeding industry in Jurong to help people increase their income..."
"Xiwan knows the taste clearly, but what is the market?"
"This - isn't the point..."
Gu Zhengchen was depressed. Marrying a smart wife was not a good thing. He wanted to ask the question to the end.
Breeding is a matter of cost and benefit that must be considered.
As Luo Shao and others said, although poultry farming, such as chickens, ducks and geese, is simple for the common people, they can just keep it in the yard, but the benefits to the common people may be very limited.
If you want to make money and accumulate family wealth, you still need to raise larger social animals. The two options you can choose are pigs and sheep.
You can't raise cattle. Cows need to be registered as "hukou", and their birth and death are recorded. Not to mention that they don't have the conditions for large-scale breeding, but even if they do, Gu Zhengchen can't use cattle to make people rich, because cattle Slaughtering is not allowed. If you shout "Two pounds of beef" at any time, you may be sent back to the next generation.
Moreover, few families are willing to sell the calf. It is like a member of the family and a source of labor. No one is willing to sell the calf unless it is absolutely necessary.
When choosing between pigs and sheep, you really need to do market research.
No way, before the Ming Dynasty, such as the Song Dynasty, the princes, nobles, and gentry respected mutton and eating mutton was a lifestyle habit of the wealthy.
Back then, someone said, "If Su Wensheng is familiar with it, eat mutton; if Su Wensheng is familiar with it, eat vegetable soup." This means that if you memorize Sansu's articles well, you can go to high school in the future, and you can eat mutton in high school. If you don't memorize them well, you can only eat mutton. Vegetable soup.
Linking mutton to passing the exam means that mutton is a home-cooked dish for wealthy families and powerful people. Su Dongpo liked to eat pork and wrote "Ode to Pork", saying, "The pork in Huangzhou is as cheap as dirt. The rich refuse to eat it, and the poor don't know how to cook it."
During the Song Dynasty, the rich and powerful did not eat pork very much. Not to mention the Yuan Dynasty, a people who grew up eating mutton all their lives would not be finished if they didn’t bring mutton over. Mutton still occupies an important position in the recipes of the rich and powerful in the Yuan Dynasty.
But at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, this situation was changing, and the reason for the change was because of fighting...
You must know that although the Song Dynasty was aggrieved and did not win many battles, there was no shortage of sheep in the Song Dynasty. That was because Liao and Xixia were using sheep in exchange for various materials of the Song Dynasty.
The Liao Dynasty even wanted to play economic warfare and block sheep exports to weaken the Song Dynasty. However, after thinking about it, they only blocked the mouths of the powerful and it seemed to have little effect, so they gave up.
There was no shortage of mutton in the Yuan Dynasty, also because there were pastures.
But it was Lao Zhu's turn. He turned around and saw that it was over. The pasture was still in the hands of Yuan Ting. Wang Baobao was eating mutton outside the wall, but these sheep could not be sent to Ming Dynasty.
Raising sheep, especially supplying large quantities of sheep, requires vast pastures. However, most of the areas controlled by the Ming Dynasty were farming areas, and there were not many pastures. If you find a few good pastures, you have to use them to raise horses. Where? Can be used to raise sheep...
The number of sheep has plummeted, while the number of pigs has increased.
Changes in the food supply seem to have also changed the tastes of the Ming Dynasty people, with the preference for pork gradually overtaking the preference for mutton. Judging from the situation in Jurong County, there are only two mutton shops, but there are eight pork shops.
Besides, sheep only give birth to one or two in one litter, while pigs can give birth to about ten. According to Zhou Mao, a sow in Jiaxing Prefecture gave birth to fourteen cubs in one litter.
From the perspective of market demand, sales, and breeding benefits, pig farming is obviously better than sheep farming.
The next day.
Zhou Xi, Zhou Ke, the head of the Southern Zhou Dynasty, and the old man Zhou Zhi arrived at the county government office early. Gu Zhengchen simply processed the paperwork and led the three of them to the second hall.
Take a seat and serve tea.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the uneasy three people and smiled: "I have called you here not for accountability, nor because something happened to Nan Zhou, but because I have chosen Nan Zhou for something, and I need your full support. "
The old man Zhou Zhi quickly expressed his position: "The county magistrate has given instructions, and we will naturally support him."
Gu Zhengchen picked up the tea bowl with satisfaction: "I plan to use Nan Zhou as a breeding pilot and mobilize 108 households in Nan Zhou to raise pigs in every household. The Zhuzizi County Government has already sent people to buy them, and they will be delivered soon. .”
"ah?"
Zhou Zhi was dumbfounded, and the two chiefs, Zhou Xi and Zhou Ke, were also dumbfounded.
Raising pigs?
Return to every household?
My county magistrate, aren't you causing trouble for us? We will be busy with the summer harvest in a month, and everyone will be busy picking up the crops in the fields. There is no time to raise pigs. There is no one to help. Energy.
Seeing that Gu Zhengchen didn't seem to be joking, Zhou Zhi said nervously: "County Master, raising pigs is like adding a baby to the family. It always needs human hands to take care of it. The summer harvest is not far away, and autumn planting is still needed. After the autumn planting, we still need to be busy. After the autumn harvest, the fields will be idle until the twelfth lunar month..."
Zhou Ke nodded repeatedly: "Throughout the year, the time when people are idle at home is just winter. We can't raise pigs well. If we don't raise pigs well and die, wouldn't it be a big loss? Besides, people have no money left at home. I can’t even afford piglets.”
Gu Zhengchen took a sip of tea, then put down the tea bowl, took out a piece of paper from the table and handed it out.
Seeing this, Zhou Xi quickly took it. After looking at it, his expression changed slightly and he said to Zhou Ke and Zhou Zhi: "What the county magistrate means is that Piggy does not require the people to pay first. The county government will provide the money to the people on credit." , after the pig is sold, just pay back Piggy’s money.”
"Lending, this, this..."
Zhou Zhi was very embarrassed.
Now the people's families are doing well, but they have an extra debt on their heads out of thin air. No one wants to do this.
Zhou Zhi looked at Gu Zhengchen in embarrassment. Seeing that Zhou Xiang and Zhou Ke did not dare to speak out, he plucked up the courage to say: "I'm afraid no one in the ordinary family is willing to take credit or owe a loan. I think the county magistrate might as well choose something else for this pilot breeding project." Try the village?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly: "I have been to the Southern Zhou Dynasty. The west of the Southern Zhou Dynasty is a barren land with overgrown weeds and a forest. As long as a large fence is built, the pigs can be kept free-range. Besides, , this is an opportunity for the people of Southern Zhou, not a disaster for the people of Southern Zhou. Once this batch of pigs is raised, you don’t need to find someone to sell it yourself. The county government will accept it at the market price, ensuring that the people can get the money. .”
Zhou Ke worriedly said: "But if you can't take care of yourself and die of illness, wouldn't you become a debt to the people?"
Gu Zhengchen pointed to the paper in Zhou Xi's hand: "It also says that if the pig dies of illness or non-human factors, the loan will be cancelled, and there will be no accountability or debt collection."
"Is there such a thing?"
Zhou Zhi looked at Zhou Xi with some disbelief.
If this is true, doesn't it mean that all the risks are borne by the county government, and the people just raise pigs, and they don't have to worry about selling them, and they don't have to worry about the pigs dying of illness during this period?
Zhou Xi quickly handed the paper to Zhou Zhi and nodded heavily: "There really is such a thing."
Gu Zhengchen stood up, walked towards Zhou Zhi and others, and said solemnly: "The county government took the risk, now it depends on whether Nanzhou has the courage to become the first village for this breeding pilot!"
