Eat yourself!

In fact, for the vast majority of people, even if they don't know the word, they will do everything possible to improve their lives and let their families live a good life. Especially for those second sons who do not have the right to inherit, the pressures of life force them to have to run around to make a good life for their families.

For these second sons, after they left home as adults and became independent, they did not have many options, and renting official land was the most common choice, although "official land is not sold, and the government will have it for the rest of life" is the basic principle, but the government allows farmers to pay tenant rent to cultivate or graze in perpetuity, while the government still retains the right to land ownership. Compared with short-term rentals, its land rent is 10% less, only 25%.

In addition to renting official land, working in the city is also a means of making a living, from the time the first yarn factory was built by the Qinghe River, after the construction of the Qian, the factories and mines were greatly developed, so that there were no less than thousands of factories and mines scattered all over the Central Plains, employing millions of people, plus a large number of factories serving it, the early industrialization required a large number of labor.

But whether it is renting land or working, it is not the best choice for the second sons. The former had to bear a "heavy" rent and could not pass on the inheritance to their children, while the latter had been trying for years to reduce their costs and exploit the blood and sweat of the laborers and hired farmers. Working in factories and mines seems to be able to worry about food and clothing, but the work in the "sweatshop" is never easy.

In addition to this, there is one more option - immigration!

Is it Zhuxia? Or is it a borderland?

It is a choice for those who choose this path.

Although it was still only August days, it was already a little cool in the morning and evening. In a month at most, it may turn into a world of snow. The thick ice on the river can even accommodate the passage of cars and horses.

The river is called the "Urals" in the Ming Dynasty and on the other side, in the mouth of the Russians, it is called the "Yayik River", and this river is the border between the Ming and Russia, although this border is not recognized, but for several years, both countries seem to have acquiesced to the existence of this national border.

A steady stream of immigrants from the interior has come to this frontier, and for newcomers, everything here is unfamiliar, but it is also hopeful.

Liu Kunwu is undoubtedly one of them, he has just arrived here from Baoding Prefecture in Beizhili, and even walked out of the train station more than 200 miles away until a month ago. It took him five years from the countryside of Baoding to the factories in Tianjin, and then to the banks of the Ural River in the Anxi Governor's District, before he made up his mind to come to this distant frontier with a train ticket subsidized by the government.

Everything here is new to Liu Kunwu. Of course, it is also promising.

At least here, you won't be busy from the beginning of the year to the end of the year for six hours a day, like in the factory......

Muttering so much in his heart, Liu Kunwu, who was leading a horse, came to a teahouse after walking around the street

"Eh, man, why are the things on the street so expensive?"

Liu Kunwu, who came to this border town for the first time, asked the guy at the tea shop curiously.

"Hey, look, the nearest railway station is three hundred miles away from us, and the freight in the customs is here, thousands of miles out, and the boat and car are coming to us all the way, of course it's more expensive, don't you say?"

The man replied with a wry smile as he wiped the table for the guests.

"Isn't that the truth, otherwise, whose money do those profiteers earn?"

"This little brother has just arrived. Listening to the accent, it seems to be from Beizhili. ”

A middle-aged man on the side smiled heartily.

"Yes, big brother, you really have good ears. The younger brother is from Baoding, just came over last month, and received a field in the government's house, which is not enough for the official government's household goods, and I thought of picking some handy household goods on the market, but I didn't expect the things in the market to be so expensive, more than twice as expensive as my hometown. ”

Liu Kunwu replied honestly.

"Ahem, this Han Jun's ears can't be good. He is our famous military commander here, when he went out with the army, he fought all the way to Jingnan, not to mention anything else, the Jianzhou maids at home have been rewarded with more than a dozen, have you ever seen the Jianzhou maids? The high nose, the big eyes, the complexion...... Hey, don't say it, when I save up enough, I'll have to get a state-builder. ”

The guy poured tea for Liu Kunwu and said enviously.

After the surrender of the Qing captives, the imperial court did not retaliate, but in accordance with their rules to accept it as "Baoyi", and awarded it to the meritorious officers and soldiers of the Western Expedition, they have been slaves for generations, and the children born to them are still slaves, also known as "family children". Their lives, marriages, and residences are arranged by their masters. As the private property of their owners, they can be given as gifts or bought and sold, and there are markets for buying and selling coatings in many places.

"Little brother, don't listen to him. I just divided six coats with military merits back then, and they have only given birth to a few more in the past few years. ”

Han Jun always said, took out his cigarette pouch, and took a puff.

"When I was in the army, there were brothers from the North Zhili side, and in recent years, more and more people have come from Guannai. So you can hear your accent as soon as we hear it. ”

"Oh, so there's a lot of people coming from the hinterland in this place?"

Liu Kunwu raised his head and asked.

"Not really. Those who open up wasteland, those who seek minerals, and those who do business are all over the world. Don't say anything about Beizhili, that is, there are people in Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the people of the older generation say that there is heaven and Suzhou and Hangzhou, and now it's good, even the people in Suzhou and Hangzhou don't wait for heaven, and they come to our place......"

The guy from the teahouse followed in and chimed in.

He thought to himself that if it weren't for the imperial court's strict law not allowing the second son to divide the property, how could he leave his hometown alone, first going into the city and entering the factory to make cattle and horses, and then to this place to open up wasteland and farm.

"Hey, don't say that, now, the fields of Beizhili are not bad, although they are not as good as the paddy fields in the south of the Yangtze River, but now they are also the land of rice and grain."

"It's not just the part of my hometown in Beizhili, it's just over there in Gyeonggi Province, and now it's also the land of fish and rice......

"It's not that the Holy Son of Heaven is in power, and all the earth's qi has returned......"

Obviously, for the vast majority of people, they do not understand the improvement of drought and flood in certain areas by matters such as the return of the Yellow River to the road and the flow of the Huai River into the sea, and they often simply attribute all this to "God" and then to "the Son of Heaven".

In fact, in the past 20 years, almost everywhere in the land of the Ming Dynasty staged "auspicious", what the Yellow River is clear, what drought and flood are decreasing, what soil fertility is restored, etc., these ancient "auspicious" are more caused by the restoration of the regional ecological environment.

Of course, the people don't understand this. In fact, sometimes the government doesn't want the people to understand.

Han Jun on the side couldn't wait to say when he heard this.

"Needless to say, now it is the reign of the Son of Heaven, these years are auspicious, the wind and rain are smooth, let's live a good life, you see, our current past days, even those old men in the past, may not be able to compare with us, right? Brother, let's just talk about you, don't think why you came to this area, it's like exile, although this place is a little colder in winter, but guarding the hundreds of acres of land given by the government, the seeds that should be planted, the pasture that should be pasted, if you are lucky, within a few years, this industry will be settled, guarding the fields for so many years, that is a few generations of people do not have to worry about eating and drinking. ”

For Han Jun, who is a soldier, his support for the imperial court is not mixed with water, and he is also telling the truth, although the border is far away, there are many opportunities.

"Isn't that the truth, Mr. Han Jun, if it weren't for the fact that I only have one person, I guess I would have gone to ask for a piece of land a long time ago."

As soon as he mentioned the field, the guy immediately came to the momentum.

For the frontier with a large amount of land, in order to attract immigrants, they have always spared no effort, they are willing to provide immigrants with up to 300 acres or even more of land, but there is a premise, it must be a family unit, at least monogamous, and in the prime of life, the reason for this is so that they can settle here and multiply.

For a guy who is only a teenager and has a hot brain, he is alone, of course, he has no chance to ask the government for land, so he can only work in the teahouse.

So, this guy asked Liu Kunwu quietly.

"This master, you always come here from a family, right? How many people? ”

When Liu Kunwu heard this, he smiled honestly.

"A family, a family of five people with wives and children, Dani is only seven years old this year, speaking of which, there is no helper left, the government has given 400 acres of land, I really don't know how to plant which ......"

"Ah...... Only, only ......"

When the guy heard this, his face changed, and Han Jun on the side immediately laughed.

"Haha, you kid, when you see a living person, you ask how many people there are in someone's family, are you wondering if you can meet a girl of the same age, so that she can be someone's son-in-law?"

When the guy whose mind was pierced heard this, his face couldn't help but turn red, and the whole person was speechless, and Liu Kunwu's face became a little unnatural, after all, Dani was only seven years old.

"Brother, don't blame me, this is the borderland, and it's not easy for young people to find a daughter-in-law."

Han Jun always said with a smile.

"If you don't have a daughter-in-law, you won't be able to get the official land, otherwise, who wants to live in this teahouse for the rest of your life?"

"Isn't there a Jianzhou maid?"

Liu Kunwu said puzzled.

"Just marry a Jianzhou maid?"

In the mainland, many second sons who can't marry a daughter-in-law are just marrying a maidservant, what's the big deal?

"Hey, look at what my brother said, the Ming Dynasty has a law, and the servant girl can only be taken as a concubine, not a wife. And in our place, the Jianzhou maid is different from other colored maids, and the main family can't let go of their free body, so naturally they can't marry a wife. ”

As he spoke, Han Jun waved his hand and asked.

"By the way, when did my brother come over? Look at your age, you haven't just broken up, why did you drag your family over at this time? ”

The guy also glanced at Liu Kunwu with a strange gaze.

"What else? Isn't it just for farming? ”

"Yo, I said brother, why can't you think so much, just rent a piece of official land in the mainland, where you can come to such a far place, and drag your family with you? Even if you enter the factory......"

This sentence of the guy can be regarded as talking about Liu Kunwu's sore spot. He immediately let out a long sigh of helplessness.

"You don't know, this official land seems to be rented well, but the grain is not worth much these years, even if you plant dozens of acres of official land, it is only enough for a family to make a living, and the government has to pay 30% of the land rent, which is a fixed rent, and it is indispensable. Even if you raise some cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens and ducks at home, there is nothing left all year round. No, after leaving home that year, I lived in Guantian for a few years, thinking that there was really nothing left, so I sold the house in my hometown and went to Tianjin Wei to work, although the work is hard, but there are always dozens of taels of silver a year, the food is still cheap, and the days are still making up, but this day can not make up for it, no, there was a kid the year before last, what will the two boys do in the future? I have to buy them some household leaves, although the work over the years is better than planting official fields, but it is barely enough to make a living. If there is no Neiko to do some needlework cloth to subsidize the family, it is estimated that there will be nothing left all year round, no, and then put it in the newspaper and looked, here to give so many fields, I thought, maybe I can find opportunities here, even if these fields can't be planted, that is, raising cattle and sheep, a year's income is better than working in a factory, even if it is not good, it can leave a few hundred acres of land, at least let the boss have an industry to inherit, as for the second boy......"

At the mention of the second boy, Liu Kunwu was a little helpless, and he immediately sighed and said.

"In the future, it's up to him, I'm a father, there's only so much I can do, in the future, find a way to find a daughter-in-law for him, and then see if I live here for the rest of my life, I'll be content as a father."

These requirements are often the simplest hopes of ordinary people, after listening to Liu Kunwu's words, whether it is the guy or Mr. Han Jun, they can't help but sigh in their hearts, but when they saw Mr. Han Jun, he immediately patted him on the shoulder and comforted:

"Actually, we're a good place too. You look at this endless prairie, although there are not many places to farm, but it is also worse than Guannai, take thousands of acres of grassland, and then raise some cattle and sheep, all year round, you will not be poor, as for your boy in the future to find a daughter-in-law, it is not simple......"

Mr. Han Jun's hand pointed to the west, and then said.

"When you came over, did you look at the wooden bridge over the river? On the other side is Russia, if you want, you can always get a child bride from the opposite side, a child bride is not the same as a slave, do you say this is the truth? ”