Chenjiawan.
This is a village within the jurisdiction of Tang County, with about 80 households and about 400 people.
Chen Heizi feels that his current life is beautiful and fulfilling, and he is getting more hopeful every year.
Back when he was still a little baby, his parents took him to run away from home. He didn't know what home was, and he didn't know what it felt like to have a full stomach.
Finally, the years of war were put down by His Majesty the Emperor.
His parents took him and many other refugees back to Chenjiawan in Tang County. My parents told me that this was his birthplace and the ancestral home of the Chen family. He had to be displaced because of the turmoil in the world.
He was exactly sixteen years old at that time.
After returning to this land, under the imperial decree, the government began to implement various policies to benefit the people, organizing people to reclaim wasteland, dredge water conservancy and irrigation, open village roads, and resettle their homes.
He also owns several acres of fertile land. Now, he has married a girl from a neighboring village and has his own family.
Moreover, the harvests from these fields no longer have to be handed over to the local powerful and powerful as before, but belong to themselves!
He had never dared to dream of such a life before, but the Emperor of Qin really made it come true for him, and for the entire village.
Last year, his little family no longer went hungry. This year, the weather has been smooth, and the harvest will definitely be even more gratifying.
Nothing could be happier than this.
At this time, at a glance, the fields were filled with gold, and they were all busy people bending down to cut rice.
Chen Heizi was about to take a rest, so he came to the edge of the field and sat down, shouting loudly: "Erlang of the Xiao family, come and have a drink of water——"
In the field, Xiao Yu was dressed in coarse linen clothes, with his hair tied up with strips of cloth. After cutting a few more handfuls of rice with a sickle, he straightened up, stretched his muscles and walked towards this side.
As a prince, he has been well-fed and well-fed since he was a child, so of course he does not know how to do farm work, but cutting wheat and rice is not difficult to learn, although his movements are still not as skilled as those of the common people.
Two months ago, Xiao Yu was still a handsome young man in rich clothes and jade hairpin. Now he looks a little dark, but has a sunny and handsome look.
When he came over, Chen Heizi patted the grass next to him and handed him a bowl of cold water: "Come, sit down and have a rest and drink some water. We are not in a hurry. We just need to finish the field today. It's still early. ."
Xiao Yu sat down next to him, picked up the tea bowl and drank.
Chen Heizi chuckled: "Today I asked my mother-in-law to prepare some dishes and kill the chicken at home. Let's have a couple of drinks tonight."
In the past, Xiao Yu might not have known what a chicken meant to the people, but now he knew. Hearing this, he quickly said: "No, no, Brother Chen. How can we kill the old hen if it is still there to lay eggs?"
"Hey, what are you talking about? You have been doing farm work for me for several days and you don't want any reward. If I can't bear to part with a chicken, am I still a human being?" Chen Heizi, a simple farmer, looked serious.
After a busy day, during dinner, the family stewed a pot of chicken, mixed with wild mushrooms from the mountains, and the aroma was overflowing.
Farm food has a different aroma, and after working hard, Xiao Yu has a great appetite.
When Chen Heizi clinked glasses with him, he was still talking: "In the past, let alone this stewed chicken, I was thankful to have a handful of broken rice."
"If His Majesty the Emperor hadn't put an end to this war and allowed us people to have a home and farm, maybe everyone would still be fleeing everywhere now, and I wouldn't be able to marry this mother-in-law at home."
His wife hit him, and then asked curiously: "Erlang of the Xiao family, you are not from the village, how come you are here."
"You know the etiquette of writing, but are you a scholar?"
"I think Erlang of the Xiao family looks like a rich man in trouble. Maybe something happened at home." The husband answered.
"It's a long story, so I might as well not mention it." Xiao Yu laughed and changed the subject: "Thank you Brother Chen and Mrs. Chen for your hospitality these days. I may have to leave here tomorrow."
"What are you talking about? I just want to thank you for your help. I haven't entertained the guests well. I feel really bad about this." Chen Heizi said.
The wife said: "Mrs. Chen, let me tell you, the second son of the Xiao family, who speaks elegantly, must be a scholar."
"Haha!" Xiao Yu smiled heartily, had a drink with Chen Heizi, and asked casually: "By the way, Brother Chen, it looks like this year's harvest should be pretty good, right?"
"That's right, this year will definitely be better than last year." Speaking of this, Chen Heizi couldn't help but feel happy: "I have a total of six acres of fields. According to the rice in the fields, I estimate that this year I can have two thousand kilograms of grain."
"Is the yield per mu more than 300 kilograms?" Xiao Yu said.
"Ang, it's like this." Chen Heizi said: "I plan to keep some food for my own consumption, and then sell some to get some money for the family, so that I can live with enough food."
"Very good." Xiao Yu smiled and nodded, truly happy for him.
This chicken stew was delicious. After dinner, Xiao Yu took out a notebook, took out a brush, licked it on his tongue, and wrote:
【People's livelihood is taxed, government orders are clear, and there are no evil officials. 】
【If you don't go to the fields, you don't know the suffering of the people. 】
Early next morning.
Xiao Yu bowed to Chen Heizi and his wife, thanked them and said goodbye.
Seeing him being so polite, the two of them were at a loss. Until they saw him off, Chen Heizi's wife was still saying: "Look, I just said that Erlang of the Xiao family is a scholar, otherwise you know those etiquettes." ."
Chen Heizi was dissatisfied: "I think something must have happened to the rich young master. You haven't seen how talented Xiao Erlang was. He looked so handsome when he first came here."
After leaving Chenjiawan, two followers in the dark immediately ran over. Seeing Xiao Yu wearing coarse linen clothes and carrying a book basket, they both immediately knelt down. One of them burst into tears and shouted in a trembling voice: " Young Master!"
Of course Xiao Yu didn't come out alone, and even Lu Yunyan wouldn't agree to that.
He had not allowed these followers to enter the village before.
"Okay." Xiao Yu regained his previous temperament: "We still have many places to go, so don't waste time here."
"Young Master, you..." At this point, the two of them lowered their heads and said in unison: "This subordinate deserves death!"
"What kind of crime deserves death? Do you know that the book only talks about sowing melons and reaping melons and sowing beans and reaping beans, but it never mentions the hard work of farming, nor does it know what the crops in the fields mean to the people."
"Now I know why my father always talks about people's livelihood."
The words faded away, and Xiao Yu had already stepped away from here.
A few days later, Chang'an Palace.
Yang Zhao had just finished his report and was kneeling down with his head bowed.
Hearing that the child helped the people cut rice and got a lot of tan, Lu Yunyan couldn't help but have a layer of mist in her beautiful eyes, and her whole heart ached.
"Yu'er, my child"
She muttered something, took a deep breath, and said coldly: "Yang Zhao! What do you do for food! How can you let the young master go down to the fields? If anything goes wrong, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
"Yes, I am guilty. Your Majesty, please calm down."
Yang Zhao lowered his body instantly and swallowed hard.
