On three sides of the house, there are brick walls that have been painted but are now mottled, and you can see the traces of age. In the west corner is a black lacquered wood cabinet, but this is the most decent piece of furniture. In a vessel next to it, which could not be said to be a clay pot or a clay pot, a few small flowers that were in full bloom were blooming, bringing a bit of life to the house.

However, Zhang Shou knew that it was freshly dug up from the ground in the morning and planted with soil.

Seeing that a few children were crowded at the door and watched curiously, they were impatiently expelled by a few adults guarding the door, and except for Zhu Ying, who occupied the only rattan chair, the others were either two or three people squeezing a stool, or they could only sit on the small horse, but they also had a straight waist, and Zhang Shou, who was standing in the middle, couldn't help but look at the eldest lady twice.

Since he passed the news to the Yang family last night, this rattan chair has been brushed over and over again with well water, at this time, this chair that has been sat by too many people is glowing with a little old oil, but it is a little quaint, but it can sit peacefully, like sitting on the Taishi chair in the high hall of the mansion, and there is only this Miss Zhu, who is not like the eldest lady in many aspects.

He retracted his gaze, cleared his throat, and came up with a concise opening sentence that was very visual to the village committee meeting: "Since everyone is here, let's start the meeting now." Yang Laoqi, you can talk about it first. ”

Old Yang glanced at Zhu Ying with a gaze full of awe, and then held his head high, looked at the others with a condescending gaze, and said one by one: "Today, in front of the eldest lady and uncle, I will talk about our meltwater village. ”

Hearing the title of uncle, Zhang Shou was helpless. He'd already warned that this damn old man was knowingly committing a crime!

However, I don't know if it was Yang Laoqi's serious tone, or his uncle's title, anyway, Zhu Ying was amused. And when she smiled, the next group of peasants who wanted to see but didn't dare only felt extremely amazed, and their mouths were dry for a while. Even Qi Liang, who was specially called by Zhang Shou and listened in the corner as a junior in the village, couldn't help but beat his heart twice.

And Yang Laoqi saw that everyone else didn't dare to make a sound, and thought that he had shocked everyone, so he didn't see Zhang Shou's annoyed gaze and started his main topic.

"In the past, most of our village used to grow wheat, but thanks to my aunt's blessing, we rebuilt the canal, diverted water to irrigate the fields, and planted a lot of rice in the past two years. The sandy land that was flooded before the river embankment was repaired is now planted with cotton, many trees have been planted on the hillside, and two crops of silkworms are planted a year, which is much better than from the foreground. ”

At this time, the eldest was full of red faces, and his eyebrows fluttered and said: "If it weren't for my uncle who persuaded Mrs. Wu to spend a lot of money, open the canal, select seeds, buy silkworm seeds and cotton seeds, and reduce the rent for the first year, we wouldn't have been able to persevere! The harvest in the rice and cotton fields the year before last was average, and the silkworms died a lot, but it was better last year, but it was a bumper harvest at the beginning of this year!"

"You must know that there are many southerners who are officials in the capital, and they prefer rice food, and there is more wheat and less rice in the north, and most of the rice is transported from the south to the north, so the price of rice has always been much more expensive than that in the south of the Yangtze River. We are selling polished rice, not brown rice, and as long as we sell it this year, it will definitely be more than the previous two years. What's more, there are fish to eat directly in the rice fields, and you can often open meat if you want. ”

"As for the cotton fields, not to mention the money, every household now has two new cotton jackets to wear. Not to mention raising silkworms, this year's spring silkworm season, everyone earned a lot more. If it weren't for the fact that we had our backs against the big trees to enjoy the shade, the cotton fields and silk taxes would be lighter than rice and wheat, but those tax collectors were not easy to talk to, and they didn't know how much we would have to exploit when we were rich!"

"So, I'm here today with a word, no matter what my uncle says in the future, our old Yang family will do anything, there is no other word!"

Although he was still annoyed just now that Yang Laoqi was buckled on his head by his aunt, but at this moment, after Yang Laoqi said this, Zhang Shou had to admit that this slippery old man was really good at talking.

Where does this explain the situation, and it is clearly a sign of loyalty!

Sure enough, with Yang Laoqi taking the lead, the others also echoed in unison, and the voice that responded seemed to be louder than anyone. It wasn't until Zhan Jin, who was standing beside Zhu Ying, finally couldn't help but reach out and cover his ears that no one shut up.

Zhu Ying didn't like this noise, she seemed to be listening seriously, but in fact, she glanced at Zhang Shou from time to time, thinking about what he had invited her to come here before.

I didn't expect Zhang Shou to be really popular in this small village...... But what exactly did he want to help himself?12

"What Yang Laoqi said before is just that it will take some years from subsistence to food and clothing, from food and clothing to well-off. And from being well-off to getting rich, it's even harder. Since it's near the capital, if you want to get rich......"

Zhang Shou paused, and swallowed back the three words of building the road first - you must know that the village is not far from the main road, and the small road extending from the main road is very solidly repaired, and it can also accommodate the passage of carriages and horses, and it is not a problem to transport things in and out at all, otherwise the carriages and horses of the Zhao Guogong Mansion will not be able to pass before. It can be said that the congenital conditions of this village are very good.

He took a light breath and said solemnly: "If we want to be rich, we must at least not make this village look so dilapidated, and we have to renovate the house." You know, in the near future, there will be a steady stream of people coming from the capital!"

Zhu Ying was suddenly surprised, and immediately asked, "Ah Shou, what do you mean by this?"

Zhang Shou turned to look at Zhu Ying, who was sitting on a rattan chair like a master in the center, and said with a smile: "Since the eldest lady of the Zhao Guogong Mansion has come to live in this small village, won't some people who get this news come in droves?"

Thinking that Zhang Shou didn't believe what she said in the Zhang family's mansion before, Zhu Ying couldn't help but snort lightly, and said with an unhappy face: "I said it all, don't pay attention to them, they don't have the courage to mess around! If anyone dares, I can't spare them!"

"They probably won't make trouble, but what if they plan to live like you?

Zhang Shou looked at Miss Zhu, who had a little temper, with a smile, and deliberately winked at her, "So, since our village has finished harvesting, let's immediately dry the grain, threshing and milling rice, and then start renovating the house." ”

As soon as these words came out, Zhan Jin and Liuyin, who were originally quietly staring at Zhang Shou, were suddenly taken aback. Liuyin even shouted in a lost voice: "Are you planning to use Miss to attract those noble children to come and pay for accommodation?"

Before she could finish her words, Zhu Ying interrupted domineeringly: "What kind of use is this! Ah Shou is right, these guys may really gather like flies." It's just that these guys who only revolve around me, people who don't know how to be motivated, and don't know how to do something serious, are all pig-headed fools who don't succeed enough and have more than enough failures!"

In the past, with the connivance of her father and grandmother, Zhu Ying had played tricks on those gentlemen in the capital, but at this time, instead of being angry at Zhang Shou's suspected use of her calculations, she was a little eager to try.

"But if Ah Shou renovates the houses in the village just to give them a place to live, it will definitely not work, even your house, they who are used to glory and wealth, may not be in their eyes. These pigs' heads are richer than the other, waster than the other, and pickier than the other!"

Zhang Shou was not surprised by Zhu Ying's attitude, but even if he guessed that she wouldn't care, seeing that people were really interested in participating at this time, he still couldn't help but feel that this eldest lady's temper was really interesting. In some ways, she and he actually fit in somewhat!

Hearing this, Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile: "Renovating the village is just so that they don't live in the village, so as not to disturb everyone's life." ”

Hearing this, a group of villagers immediately nodded their heads again and again. There are no bullies here, and there are few officials who collect taxes, but anyone who has been to the city has always seen one or two bullies running rampant, and no one wants this life that has just been hoped for will be ruined.

Seeing that everyone was supportive, but Zhu Ying was suspicious, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "The village is renovated and dusty, how can these noble children who are used to living a luxurious life live? And these guys can't stand setting up tents." ”

The more Zhu Ying listened, the more itchy she became: "Ah Shou, what did you say, where did they let them live?"

"Hehe, the mountain people have their own tricks!"