Gu Sinian came to Tutu Temple again. Although he only brought Xiao Liuzi with him this time, the two of them carried a lot of things in large and small bags:
Naan bread, side dishes, fruits and vegetables, roast chicken, and even a few jars of wine.
This sumptuous scene made the beggars in the temple have their greedy eyes light up. Have they ever seen such a scene before?
Gu Sinian, who had almost been beaten two days ago, became particularly pleasing to them.
"Oh, Brother Gu is too polite.
It’s a waste, it’s really a waste! "
Although Zeng Lingchuan and Wu Xiang kept saying polite words, their honest eyes kept staring at the fat and oily roast chicken.
It smells good, it smells good just by looking at it!
"Harm, we are all friends, why are you talking about this?"
Gu Sinian smiled brightly and carried the wine jar to the table:
"Come, let me have a drink with my two brothers today!"
"Gulu~"
Wu Xiang opened the wine jar carefully. The faint aroma made him swallow, and then he raised his head and said:
"Qinggou?"
"Brother Wu, this nose is amazing!"
Gu Sinian gave a thumbs up and said:
"admire!"
"Hahaha!"
Zeng Lingchuan raised his head and laughed:
"He is a well-known drunkard. He used to be addicted to alcohol, but now he naturally can't drink. He has been craving for it for several months.
Brother Gu’s cup of wine today is a timely help~”
"Ha ha!"
The three of them laughed heartily.
This Qinggou wine is a specialty near Langzhou. It is not expensive, but it is strong and gives you strength after eating it. Many farm men like to drink it when they are tired from work.
Of course, Gu Sinian couldn't afford so many things with his salary of several hundred copper coins, so he asked Jiang Yufeng to borrow some money before going out.
"Don't say anything, let's have a drink first!"
"To my two brothers!"
"Respect brother!"
The young Gu Sinian raised his wine bowl boldly, and after three cups and two bowls, he became one with the two of them. As long as a man looks at each other, friendship will be established very quickly.
In fact, before time travel, Gu Sinian only drank half a kilogram of liquor. However, after arriving in the Great Liang Dynasty, he found that the alcohol content was very low, far from the high-alcohol liquor, so his drinking capacity suddenly increased.
"Dry!"
"Bang bang!"
"Eat, eat chicken legs!"
"Wow, smells good!"
"呲流~"
Zeng Lingchuan and Wu Xiang devoured their food as if they had been hungry for eight hundred years. While eating, they said:
"Hmm~ Brother, don't laugh at the way we eat. You're a rude person and you're going to be hungry!"
"Haha, it's okay. It's fun to eat big pieces of meat!"
Gu Sinian smiled, put down the wine bowl in his hand and said:
"Brothers, how are you discussing the move?"
As soon as the words fell, the movements of their hands slowed down a lot, and their faces looked a little embarrassed.
Finally, Zeng Lingchuan spoke:
"Brothers are good people and have kind hearts. We all see it. We don't hide it, we just say it from the bottom of our hearts.
Look, there are more than 20 people inside and outside the temple. Some are disabled, some are old, and some are homeless. Where can we go if we leave the ruined temple?
No matter how bad this place is, it is still a sheltered place. We and I can leave, but they..."
Zeng Lingchuan's meaning was clear. The two of them could leave, but what about the others?
"Actually, there's a question I've been wanting to ask."
Gu Si young said:
"That's it for the others, but the two brothers are not very old and have good health. How could they become beggars? You can just find a long-term job with a wealthy family and have a bowl of food, right?"
Zeng Lingchuan and Wu Xiang were only in their early thirties and had hands and feet. How could they become beggars? He doesn't look like an idle person.
There is not just one such person, many people are like this.
"Alas~"
The two laughed bitterly, and Zeng Lingchuan took a big sip of wine to strengthen his courage:
"I'm not afraid of your jokes. We are deserters."
"deserter!"
This answer was really beyond Gu Sinian's expectation.
Wu Xiang said a little depressed:
"I guess you can tell from our accents that we are not from Langzhou, our hometown is from Yunzhou.
Three years ago, Beiyan invaded the country and the imperial court conscripted troops. The two of us transformed from peasants to big-headed soldiers. We fought several battles, saw swords and blood.
Afraid of death, he ran away.
A deserter, who dared not go home, had no choice but to wander around, and finally fled to Fengchuan County, where he stayed. "
A hint of loneliness flashed in Wu Xiang's eyes. They used to live a down-to-earth life.
Zeng Lingchuan took over and said:
"Although our bodies are stronger than others, when those wealthy families hear our accents from other places, they can guess that we are deserters or refugees. Who dares to use our accents?
Having no home or land, I had no choice but to live on the streets as beggars. Gradually, these people gathered around me and took us as our leaders. "
The explanations given by the two made Gu Sinian suddenly realize that indeed, wealthy people were most afraid of getting into trouble, and no one dared to hire these outsiders with unknown origins.
Wu Xiang spread his hands and said:
"To put it bluntly, for my brother's sake, we will definitely help when we can, and move when we need to move.
The two of us will definitely leave Fengchuan County, but what will happen to these people who follow us to make a living?
Alas~"
It is said that the hands of the grabber are short and the mouth of the cannibal is short. Today, the two of them ate roasted chicken and drank wine, so they had to give Gu Sinian some credit.
Gu Sinian crossed his arms and thought for a while before asking:
"If there was land for these people to grow and food to eat, wouldn't they no longer have to be beggars?"
"Pfft~"
Zeng Lingchuan laughed self-deprecatingly:
"We, a group of people, have had nothing to eat, so how can we get the money to buy land? It's a luxury to be a farmer."
"What if there is land for them to grow without spending any money?"
"Uh~"
Both of them were stunned:
"Having land without spending money? How can such a good thing in the world be possible?
If there were, these people would definitely be willing to farm. Even if they are frail and elderly, they can only cultivate a few acres of land to support themselves, but they will have to be looked down upon every day as beggars~"
"I'll help you solve the land issue!"
Gu Sinian said in a deep voice:
“But you have to promise me that with land, these people will have to leave the land temple and be self-reliant.
To be honest, begging for a living is not an easy thing after all. "
"no problem!"
Zeng Lingchuan patted his chest and promised:
"As long as there is land, let alone them, my brothers will also farm!"
The two brothers don't have any big ambitions. They are content with just a few acres of land to farm and enough to eat.
"Haha, you two brothers don't have to farm."
Gu Sinian smiled slightly:
"If the two brothers don't mind it, how about finding a few people with good legs and feet who are in good health to work as yamen servants in the county government?"
The two of them were shocked again. Are they the only ones who can still be government servants?
"Brother, brother, you, are you kidding?"
Zeng Lingchuan was stunned. He knew they were deserters, but Gu Sinian dared to use them?
Gu Sinian smiled slightly:
“I always do what I say.
You are responsible for finding the person, and the rest will wait for my news! "
…
"Lease order?"
The magistrate of Fengchuan County looked through the pieces of paper in his hand with curiosity on his face. The three big characters of the Land Rental Order came into view first, which Gu Sinian had just handed to him.
"Yes, land rental order!"
Gu Sinian nodded heavily and said:
"Sir, if this method can be implemented, not only the beggars in the Tutu Temple will leave, but most of the beggars in the city will return to their fields and will no longer wander around.
The annual taxes in Fengchuan County can also rise a lot.
Kill two birds with one stone! "
Chen Hongxin's eyes lit up:
"Please tell me in detail."
Gu Sinian said methodically:
"The official looked through the county's field register and found that there was a lot of wasteland that was uncultivated and wasted. The refugees and beggars in the city were ready-made manpower, so it was better to make use of it.
The so-called land rental order is also very simple. The county government rents the wasteland, manages it uniformly, and then rents it to beggars, refugees, and poor people for farming. If the land is cultivated, there will be taxes, a virtuous circle!
First of all, the owners of these wastelands have disappeared, and the land deeds are unknown. It is said that they are rented by the yamen, but in fact, you don’t have to pay a single copper. If someone comes to us with the land deed in the future, we can just pay the rent based on the number of years, and we won’t owe each other anything.
Secondly, those homeless beggars have no capital to rent land, and the county government does not charge rent and gives them free farming. However, when the next year's grain harvest comes, they need to use the rice to offset the previous year's rent.
In the future, when these people cultivate the land and have spare money, they can buy the land.
In this way, whether it is the yamen or the beggars, all the manpower and land can be used without spending a tael of silver.
At best, the county government just distributes grain seeds and farm tools to these poor people for free. "
"Well, what you said makes sense~"
Chen Hongxin murmured:
"Isn't this just a waste of money? What a good idea!"
"Hehe, that's pretty much what it means."
Gu Sinian happily blurted out:
“We are like an intermediary, renting land and earning taxes.”
"intermediary?"
Chen Hongxin raised his head blankly:
"What did you say?"
"Ahem, it's nothing."
Only then did Gu Sinian realize that he had said the wrong thing and quickly changed the subject:
"Sir, as long as this method can be implemented throughout the county, the number of homeless people and beggars will be greatly reduced, and the people will praise your merits.
When taxes come up next year, the Langzhou government will also see your achievements.
This is the best way to kill two birds with one stone! "
"You boy, you have so many clever ideas!"
Chen Hongxin put down the letter with a smile, and then said seriously:
"It seems that I really made the right person to be the pawnbroker. In just a few days, a novel idea has come to me.
However, this matter is easy to say, but it is also a troublesome and laborious thing to do. "
Gu Sinian solemnly cupped his fists and said:
"If you trust me, leave this matter to me!"
"good."
Chen Hongxin said happily:
"If you are determined, I will support you! To be honest, I can only rest assured if I leave this matter to you!"
Although Gu Sinian had been following Chen Hongxin for a short time, the two seemed to have a very good relationship.
The youngest son of the family also changed his personality drastically under Gu Sinian's guidance and became much more practical. This made Chen Hongxin pay special attention to Gu Sinian.
"Well, this official, I have a merciless request."
Gu Sinian chuckled:
"I hope your Majesty will approve."
"Anything else?"
Chen Hongxin looked at Gu Sinian suspiciously:
"Where did you get so many tricks? Let me tell you."
"Ahem."
Gu Si young said:
"Sir, I think I would like to add a few more yamen servants to the yamen."
"Additional Yamen servants?"
Chen Hongxin frowned:
"What do you want to do to increase the number of government officials? That is Song Ping's territory."
Gu Sinian lowered his voice and said:
"Sir, Song Dutou has a good heart and he really didn't go against you much, but Wang Zitong kept extending his hands and feet into the yamen, and his thoughts were not good.
If I hadn't been lucky this time, I would have been tricked by Wang Zitong, just once or twice, but it won't work in the long run.
There must be some of our own among the yamen! "
Chen Hongxin's eyes narrowed slightly, and after a long silence he nodded:
"According to your!"
