Entering July, the rice has been fully ripe, and Yiranju is the third day of July. On this morning, all the people in Yiran Center came to the world on the east side of the bamboo forest, and even Mr. Chu also made an exception to stop class and rushed to help. As the saying goes, three springs are not as busy as one autumn, and the weather is fine. Xiao Yiran naturally accompanied everyone and worked in the field.

Xiao Yiran, who is already fifteen years old, has long been slim and slim, wearing a slightly close-fitting shirt and pants, which shows the grace of his gradually mature figure. Together with Liu Xia, Qingwen, Musk Yue, Zhao Yun, Zhao Cai, and six girls, they were responsible for tying up the rice that the adults had cut down. Nearly 20 acres of rice, everyone was busy for almost six days before it could be received in the yard. Next came the threshing, and wooden threshers were already available in this era. Looking at the scene in front of him, Xiao Yiran couldn't help but think of a few lines of Fan Chengda's poems:

The mud mirror surface of the new construction field is flat, and every family beats rice while the frost is clear;

There was a light thunder in the laughter and singing, and the flail sounded until dawn all night.

I think of the harvest days in the ancient era, which is almost the same scene. Xiao Yiran stood on the edge of the courtyard at this time, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, full of longing for the future life, like everyone in front of him. Since the last time the Yuan Shen visited the Xuannu Temple at night, listened to the words of the Xuannu Niangniang, and knew that they were all very good, when he remembered the past few lifetimes, Xiao Yiran was no longer sad.

"Ran Er's eyes are smiling, did she think of something happy?"

I don't know from the beginning of time, Mr. Chu no longer calls Xiao Yiran "Miss Yiran", but naturally calls "Ran'er".

"Sir, why think of anything else, isn't it a rare joy in front of you?"

"What Ran'er said is true, hard work for the harvest is indeed a rare joy."

"Sir estimates, how much yield per mu of rice should be this year?"

"Maybe more than ten stones." (Note: In ancient times, a stone looked like about 978 catties.) ）

"Isn't there nearly 200 stones of rice produced by these ten acres of land? So, is it enough to live comfortably for everyone for a year, and there is still a surplus? ”

"Yes, fortunately, Yiranju doesn't have to pay taxes, otherwise it won't be enough."

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the tax rate was relatively heavy, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, almost three out of ten. If you really pay 30% of the tax, it will really not be enough to eat.

"Ran'er is fifteen years old, right?"

"yes."

"Have you ever thought about personal matters?"

"Not for now."

Xiao Yiran had already made up his mind and would no longer fall into the entanglement of the relationship between men and women, especially after he condensed his soul a few days ago, and a series of changes occurred in his body, he strengthened his thoughts in his heart. It's just that it's not good to say it so directly to Mr. Chu.

"Ran'er, actually, ......"

Xiao Yiran vaguely guessed what Mr. Chu was going to say, so he simply interrupted him:

"Sir, the paddy will be ready for storage in three or four sunny days. The next step is to dig the lotus root, which is not an overnight thing. You need to plan early, just one person, I'm afraid it won't work without hundreds of people. ”

Chu Tian naturally understood what Xiao Yiran meant, because he didn't want to talk about his marriage, so he swallowed back what he was about to say just now. Following Xiao Yiran's words, he said:

"Yes, manpower matters, go back to Lizheng Liu Wen and ask him to help."

"Why bother Mr. Labor, Sun Cong is coming over in the next two days, just let him go to find Lizheng."

"It's okay, anyway, I don't need to teach these days, I just take this opportunity to go out for a walk, just to relax."

Seeing that Chu Tian insisted, Xiao Yiran didn't say anything more.

In order to take advantage of the good weather in the past few days, quickly harvest the rice, dry it and put it into the warehouse, the two long-term workers Liu Li and Zhao Qi in the center, as well as six gardeners, as well as Zhou and Di's two sisters-in-law, including Xiao Liu An, were divided into two groups, day and night, and finally on July 15, all the neatness was cleaned up. Although there were no bags to weigh, everyone could still estimate the approximate amount of rice, and as Mr. Chu Tian had estimated, the yield per mu was really more than ten stones. Nearly 20 acres of paddy fields, a total of 200 stone of rice harvested.

For a long time, the Liu and Zhao families went out to buy grain to eat, and the six gardeners had Yiranju to supply. Because what was said at the beginning was that he was in charge of eating and living. One day, Xiao Yiran instructed Qingwen:

"Go back and tell Liu Li and Zhao Qi, and in the future, I will receive rice from the garden to eat. At the end of the year, when the salary is settled, it can be deducted from the salary according to 60% of the market price. ”

Two families, each family is a family of four, if calculated according to the average of 60 catties of rice per person per month, a month, each family needs nearly three stone of rice, a year is almost about 34 stone. At present, the price of rice on the market is about 480 yuan per stone, which is more than 16 taels of silver. According to Xiao Yiran's instructions, only sixty percent of the silver was collected, which was almost ten taels, and for this alone, six taels of silver were left for each of the two families.

At the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, especially in the Hongwu period, the wind and rain have been smooth, and the imperial court has promulgated a lot of policies to benefit the people, so the price has always been very low, and the purchase of six taels of silver is quite large. You can almost buy one acre of dry land and seven or eight paddy fields. Pork is only a dozen dollars a pound.

July 15, commonly known as Halloween, also known as Olan. It's just that some places in the south of the Yangtze River pay more attention to it, and it is not a serious festival in the north of the Yangtze River. However, Xiao Yiran still prepared a boxing gift for the long-term workers and gardeners in Yiran's center. Ten pounds of pork per person, a jar of flower carving, and two packs of snacks. and two or three pounds of silver carp and two carp each picked up from the pond. I also know that some time ago, when I was harvesting rice day and night, everyone was tired, and I ordered everyone to go down and rest for two days.

The next day, Sun Cong came to report on the affairs of the Sun Moon Boat, and Xiao Yiran took advantage of the situation to tell Sun Cong about the need to dig lotus roots and manpower. Although Mr. Chu Tian said that he would go to Liu Wen, Xiao Yiran still handed over the matter to Sun Cong to handle.

"Miss, I wonder how many people are needed in total?"

"There are nearly 30 acres of ponds, and if there are fewer people, I am afraid that it will drag on for too long, so please press 100 people for the time being."

"What about wages?"

"I'm also hesitating, whether to calculate according to the daily labor, or according to the number of lotus roots dug by each person."

"Judging from the villain, let's count it according to the number of lotus roots dug up. Isn't it lazy to save people like this? ”

"Okay, then count according to the number of lotus roots. I don't know how much does the current labor cost per person per day? ”

"It's probably between fifteen or sixteen and twenty."

"If a person digs 400 catties of lotus root every day, he needs to pay half a penny per catty. Is that appropriate? ”

"I'm afraid that each person has more than four hundred catties per day, and one strong laborer, it shouldn't be a problem to dig five or six hundred catties."

"In this case, let's calculate it according to half a penny, more work and more rewards, and we also hope to finish the appointment as soon as possible."

"When is the young lady going to start construction?"

"While the weather is warm and the water in the pond is not cold, how about July 20?"

"Okay, the villain will immediately go to Lizheng Liu Wen to discuss."

After Sun Cong finished speaking, he turned around and was about to go out.

"Young Master Sun, wait a minute, bring four fish to Li Zheng."

Sun Cong carried four fish, came to Liu Wen's house in the Song family, and said the intention, Liu Wen said with a smile after listening:

"Mr. Chu came to talk early yesterday morning. I was thinking about going to Yiranju ****** ask about the salary, and Sun Gongzi came. ”

"Miss Gongfeng has already instructed you to pay according to the amount of lotus root you dig. Pay half a penny per catty of lotus root, get more for more work, and there is no cap. ”

"Oh? This salary is not low, and people will be easy to find. ”

"Miss ordered, no too many, no more than 100 people for the time being. If you dig slowly, consider adding people. ”

"When will the construction begin?"

"Twenty this month."

"Today is sixteen, it's too late."

"These four fish are a little bit of Miss Miss's heart, and after the lotus root is dug up, there will be lotus root to send each other."

"Miss is too polite, go back and treat me Thank you, Miss."

Sun Cong left Song Jiatuan, returned to Yiranju again, and explained the matter to Xiao Yiran clearly before returning to the painting boat.

When Xiao Yiran asked Qingwen to tell sister-in-law Sù Di the news of digging lotus roots on the twentieth day, she was like a crazy demon. Because she was tired of harvesting rice, Sister-in-law Di didn't want to move for several days. The lotus pods in the pond are only less than one percent, and I always feel that the days are still long, so I am not in a hurry. I heard that there were still three days to dig the lotus root, so there was no reason not to hurry. urged Zhao Qi to take his two daughters to quickly prop up the boat into the pond to pick lotus flowers, and he came to Liu Li's house and begged Liu's family for help. Liu Li and his family are both very good talkers, so they came to help without saying a word.

The two families, except for Liu Xia, who had already started to follow Mr. Chu to class, all went to the pond to pick lotus seeds. The lotus canopy of the 30-acre pond, four adults and three children, worked hard for two days before they were finally picked.

Looking at the lotus canopy piled up on the ground like a hill, Sister-in-law Di was worried again.

"Dad, how can you sell so many lotus seeds?"

"I don't have time these days, so I'll talk about it when I'm done digging the lotus root."

"Won't the lotus seeds rot when they are dug up?"

"Nonsense, whose lotus seeds have you seen rotten? They were all piled up in the sun and dried well. Wait for the lotus seeds to be taken out and sent to the pharmacy for some, and the rest will be taken to the market so that they can be sold. However, you should ask the young lady for her opinion first, and don't make up your own mind. ”

Early in the morning of July 20, Lizheng Liu Wen led a hundred and ten people to Yiranju.

"Miss, everyone has been found. If there are any things that need attention, it is best to make it clear in advance. ”

"Just tell them that one out of ten lotus roots at the bottom of the pond should be dug up. People spread out as much as possible, and it is better to give them a good slice. And don't drag the mud and water, just make a mess around the pond. The lotus root dug out by each person should be kept separately, and the two eldest brothers Liu Li and Zhao Qi in the garden are responsible for weighing the catties and taels every evening. Wait until all the digging is done and settle the wages together. ”

After Li Zheng understood, he turned around and explained clearly to the people who came to dig lotus roots, and personally accompanied Liu Li and Zhao Qi to roughly divide the area for everyone, and did not leave afterwards, but still helped Liu Li and Zhao Qi to maintain order and weigh two catties.