Xu Zhenniang's hands and feet were nimble, and soon a pot of hot noodle soup was cooked, but it was Yangchun noodles. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The white noodles in the clear soup are topped with soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, and seasonal vegetables and cabbage, and the soup is immediately fragrant and attractive.

I also bought bacon, sausages, and fish for the Chinese New Year this year, and I still have some left.

Celery fried with bacon, transparent and shiny, bright color.

The sausage is fried like a sausage, smooth and red, and the aroma is rich.

There is also a large bowl of fish that is also boiled and steaming.

After frying a few more bowls of vegetables, looking at the table full of hot meals, Xu Zhenniang showed a satisfied smile on her face.

Just last year, I ate miscellaneous grains for the New Year, and then a fish specially reserved for the New Year's Festival, some pickled vegetables, and vegetables grown by myself were gone.

I didn't even dare to eat white noodles on Chinese New Year's Eve, because I wanted to keep the seeds, but this year this day is good.

But after Yang Xianggong arrived in Xin'anzhuang, she began to pick up nitrate and sell it with men, and then took over the sewing work of Xin'anzhuang.

Eat white flour, eat meat, and sew new clothes for a family of three, which was unimaginable before.

Xu Zhenniang is even more looking forward to life, she heard "Sister Luo" say that the work in Xin'anzhuang is not finished, in addition to winter clothes, she began to have summer clothes.

Then as there are more people in the village, there will only be more work in winter and summer clothes, and I am afraid that there will be work all year round, and there will be wages.

Xu Zhenniang only hopes that God will bless her and let Yang Xianggong do well, so that she can work steadily and get money.

She thought about it, she was setting the dishes and chopsticks, and the excited noise sounded, but it was her man Cao Zigui and son Cao Jingxing who came back.

……

"Wow, there is white flour to eat, and fish and meat ......"

"Wow, mother, let me tell you, that supervisor looks so dark, just like coming out of a coal kiln, and his hands and feet are so thick, thicker than his father's......"

"Does my mother know, Mr. Liu is going to be recruited to do a book office, and he has to teach the children in the village, including food and accommodation every month, and a tael of silver to take, and now the village has said that it is ......"

"Mother, I'll tell you ......"

"Mother......

Cao Jingxing was eating noodles in a hurry, gulping down the soup, and the hot, fragrant and mellow noodle soup made him mouthful, while talking endlessly, telling his mother what he had seen.

His mother gave birth to him at the age of fifteen, so Cao Jingxing is also seventeen years old this year, wearing a new blue cotton dress and a lazy scarf, which is quite refreshing.

He inherited the genes of his father and mother, and has a slender figure, but his personality is the same as his father's, a little arrogant, and a little gossip.

Cao Zigui smiled and sat eating noodles, wearing a red dress, also wearing a lazy scarf, he also said: "Indeed, that supervisor Zhang is too dark, not like a scholar at all...... Old Master Liu is also running from time to time, he has taken the test eight times to show his talent and is still a child, he is usually bitter, he can't pick his shoulders and can't lift his hands, and he can't get rid of meat once a year...... Now the beam has one or two silver a month, and it can also be moved to Xin'anzhuang to live, which is really famous. ”

Xu Zhenniang looked at her husband, she married Cao Zigui at the age of fifteen, and like thousands of women at this time, she only saw her husband's appearance on the day of the cave room, and she was relieved at first sight.

The husband is tall, and he is still the kind of gentle and optimistic person, and Xu Zhenniang is not dissatisfied with marrying such a husband.

Then marry a chicken with a chicken, marry a dog with a dog, serve your in-laws, treat your husband carefully, and support each other year after year.

She has a soft personality and is quite assertive, and her husband will follow her ideas in many things, Xu Zhenniang feels that these ten years are still worth it.

In the past, life was still hard, and she ate bran for most of the year, but now that life is better, Xu Zhenniang is more satisfied.

Looking at her husband and son at this time, Xu Zhenniang said angrily: "Look at the two of you, how do you look like a woman's family, specifically talking about the east family, the west family is short, that director Zhang is a person with status, you can't slack off." Besides, what's the matter with men's black spots, the important thing is to have talent to learn...... There is also Old Master Liu, after all, he is a scholar, Yang Xianggong is a famous scholar, and it is common for a reader to be a scholar. ”

Cao Zigui smiled and said, "The lady is right." ”

However, Xu Zhenniang is still curious about today's events, especially envious of Old Master Liu being recruited into Xin'anzhuang.

Speaking of this, Cao Zigui also gushed endlessly.

"It's spread all over the place, Xin'anzhuang first recruits scholars and craftsmen, and this part of the north shore is preferred, and there are not enough scholars and craftsmen, and then recruit scholars and craftsmen from all over the south bank and Pizhou...... The heads of each village were summoned by Xin'an Village, saying that they would cooperate with Director Zhang and count the people in each village, and what house number should they do first......"

Xu Zhenniang said curiously: "Door number? ”

Cao Zigui said: "Yes, each village must have a door number, and then according to the door number to issue a waist card, regardless of men and women, over the age of thirteen, the waist card must be hung in the future, otherwise the archers of Deng Patrol will arrest people, saying that it is to prevent thieves...... The head of the village came back and said that the thieves had hit Kaifeng, and there were quite a lot of shearing thieves in their camp, that is, the children's soldiers, the eldest was fourteen or fifteen years old, and the younger one was thirteen or fourteen years old, so in order to prevent the shearing thieves from working finely, the children had to hang waist cards when they were thirteen. Yang Xianggong spoke, if all villages do not cooperate, they will be punished as bandits. ”

Xu Zhenniang was very surprised when she heard about the thief, and occasionally heard about it, and felt very far away from her.

Cao Zigui said: "After the Xin'an Zhuang Book Office is recruited, it will start to plough the fields and build roads, and I heard that the ploughing team and the road engineering team will recruit 1,000 people." There is also the inspection department, which also recruits 100 people. ”

He said happily: "Last time I recruited the villagers, I didn't recruit them, and this time thousands of agricultural workers will definitely be selected." ”

Xu Zhenniang is also happy, if Xianggong can enter Xin'anzhuang, it is also her dream.

But then she hesitated: "It's just that if you recruit in, what will happen to the dozen acres of land at home?" ”

Cao Zigui was also a little hesitant, he said: "If the eldest brother can plant, he will give the eldest brother planting, if the eldest brother does not plant, just abandon the wasteland, I can't eat enough all year round, and I can't dig food in the soil." ”

Cao Zigui's two brothers, there is a big brother above, he split up after he got married, but he also lived in Luoshanzhuang, he still had two parents in the early years, but they died early, and people did not live long at this time.

After the separation, he had more than a dozen acres of land, planting some winter wheat and miscellaneous grains, and in the early years, when the world was not very chaotic, it was okay, and he could barely spend his days, but the more bandits there were over the years, the heavier the burden of Zhuangzi's public expenses.

The repair of the Zhuangzi, the maintenance of the Zhuang wall, the addition of equipment, the defense of the village, and the construction of any civil engineering are all required to pay for the people.

If there are bandits who "borrow grain", they also have to share it publicly.

There is also a flood and drought, there is a river in the northeast of Luoshanzhuang, but everyone's fields dare not be too close to the river, otherwise they will be flooded, unless the pond is repaired, and the polder wall is repaired.

It's just that each household has more than a dozen acres or dozens of acres of land, how can such a water conservancy be built?

They all depend on the sky for food, and the harvest is difficult to say.

Because of its proximity to the Yellow River, there are often floods, and the fields are often flooded in spring and summer.

Floods would even come from the direction of Xuzhou, and one year the fields of the entire village were flooded, and many people died of starvation that year.

In the past two years, there have been fewer floods, but there have been more bandits, especially large bandits, such as Jiaoshan bandits.

If it weren't for Yang Xianggong stationed in Xin'anzhuang, whether the family of three would survive this year, Cao Zigui felt that it was difficult to say.

Even if the bandits are gone now, they rely on the sky for food, work hard for a year, and suffer from hunger and cold, Cao Zigui has no nostalgia for more than a dozen acres of land at home.

Of course, Xu Zhenniang also knows this situation, the year is good, the harvest of an acre of land is only a few buckets, barely crossing the day, the year is not good, it is not bad if you don't starve to death, eating bran and swallowing vegetables is just idle.

However, she pondered for a while, but said: "If you can't share, you don't have to abandon it all, now there are more people in Xin'anzhuang, and there are more vegetables and vegetables, so the slave family will work harder, plant some vegetables, raise more chickens and ducks, and also subsidize the family." ”

She also remembered something: "Yang Xianggong wants to build the bluestone road, where is the stone, does Xin'an Zhuangzi want to mine the stone quarry?" ”

Cao Zigui was eating noodles comfortably, as noisy as his son, and he said vaguely: "I heard that we want to buy materials from outside, and Director Zhang came to Zhuang today and said that the road to be repaired by Yang Xianggong is long, and most of the stones will be purchased in the future." ”

Xu Zhenniang's eyes lit up: "Xianggong, didn't you work in the Xuzhou quarry before?" ”

Cao Zigui was also eye-catching: "If you can sell stones to Xin'anzhuang all year round, it is better than working in the village." ”

Then the eyes of the husband and wife darkened again, the capital needed is huge, and now the family has just eaten enough, where does the money come from?

Xu Zhenniang is a little unwilling, "Sister Luo" is a talkative person, every time she comes back from Xin'an Village, there are always endless words, she has all kinds of things in the village, and Xu Zhenniang has a lot of knowledge, it seems that all kinds of strange pictures, the world of vice and novelty opens in front of her.

Especially Zhao Zhongju of Xin'anzhuang, Sun Zhaodi is a legendary figure among the women of each village, and women can also be supervisors, managing a large number of people, which makes her very envious.

However, Xu Zhenniang is also a real person, and she knows what is too far away from her, those are two worlds, but she also has her own careful thoughts and ambitions.

is like "Sister Luo", becoming a foreman, if you can build a sewing workshop in the future, it will be better to supply military uniforms and winter clothes to Xin'anzhuang.

According to her inner judgment, Xin'anzhuang will get bigger and bigger in the future, each person has winter and summer clothes, felt blankets and bedding, how much is needed?

A small workshop with a stable batch of orders every year is enough for the family to live a superior life.

There is also his own father-in-law, if a quarry can be built, then the foundation of the Cao family will be laid.

Xu Zhenniang drank the noodle soup slowly, and finally she discussed with her husband that the road in Xin'anzhuang would not know how to be repaired, and the stones needed would not know what style.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the husband and wife agreed on major events in the family, and the future long-term planning - orders and plans were all heard from "Sister Luo".

In the end, it was his son Cao Jingxing, who was eating noodles in a hurry, and finally put down the sea bowl with satisfaction, touched his stomach, and muttered: "I want to study, like Mr. Liu, at least one tael of food and silver per month." ”

He remembered that after Old Master Liu was sure to be recruited at noon, his originally rickety waist pole immediately straightened up, and a momentum poured out of his body, that is, the momentum of a scholar, which was completely different from illiteracy, which made him look at it with envy.

At the same time, he also remembered the situation when the army went out to suppress the Tongshan bandits that day, a sturdy man, stepping on the road with neat steps, hunting with flags, rumbling horses' hooves, and snare drums responding, which made the young man's heart swell with fire, and also made him contradictory now.

He is very cautious, he really wants to join the army, but he wants to study and get a high salary, what should he do?

Do you study first or find an opportunity to join the army first?

The young man was conflicted in his heart, but his father and mother looked at each other, and there was solemnity in their eyes.

Yes, we must let Xing'er read and let him read and write.

Especially Xu Zhenniang's heart is firm, she and her husband are blind, and they have suffered all their lives, and they can't let Xing'er follow in their footsteps.

She had already heard that even if she was an apprentice in Xin'an Village, those who could write their own names would be completely different from those who could not write their own names, and it was obvious that Yang Xianggong attached great importance to education.

Let Xing'er read and write, and in the future, he will also enter Xin'anzhuang to do a book office, including food and housing, and one or two silver per month.

After lunch, the husband and son went out to watch the excitement again, as if there were flowers on the supervisor's face, but Xu Zhenniang still stayed in the house and cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks at the same time.

Suddenly, she saw a noodle hanging on the leg of her son's stool, presumably in a hurry, and fell down.

"This kid."

Xu Zhenniang shook her head with a smile, picked up the hanging noodles, soaked them in the clear water, and then stuffed them into her mouth and ate them.

……

The rise of Xin'anzhuang, radiating all around, has aroused a different picture of life.

Perhaps, the fate of many people will be changed.

The more people there are, the more they will deviate from the trajectory of their lives.

On the 10th day of the first month, there was news that at the end of last year, the thief Li Qingshan was defeated, he rode away from Surabaya with 100 horses, and finally on the sixth day of the first month, he was captured by Qi Jianlong, the brother of Qi Yilong, the defense capital of Yandong.

Those who were captured included in the puppet military division Wang Linchen, the puppet marshal Zhu Lian of the old battalion who was in charge of the thief, Li Mingfang, the puppet marshal of the Black Tiger Temple, the puppet marshal Yu Chengyin of the Linchao Collection, the puppet marshal Chen Weixin of the Daijia Temple, and the puppet marshal Jia Wangshan of the Landian shop.

Li Qingshan's younger brother and puppet master Li Qingfang were also captured, and there were 24 people who were attached to the rebels such as Yang Mou, a pseudo-staff officer, and tied up the car.

The chief soldier Liu Zeqing and the eunuch Liu Yuanbin heard of the victory.

When the news came out, all places celebrated, and Yang He was also relieved, at least for two years, there would not be any big bandits committing crimes in the south.

On the 11th, Jiaoshanzhuang.

The sky was still overcast, as if it was going to snow.

Yang Chunliang, the director of the Gongtun Office, took a piece of soil, stuffed it into his mouth, and tasted it carefully, with a professional expression on his face.

Farming, he's a veteran.

However, turning to Yang He, the look of a timid and fearful old peasant appeared on his face again.

He rolled up his sleeves, stomped his feet and said: "Xianggong, this place has a slightly heavy smell of lo-lo, I'm afraid I have to wash the ground first, water more water, soak in water, and then raise the land, stir with lime to kill insects." However, in general, this area is old and familiar land, and if it can be irrigated effectively, it can be turned into fertile land. ”

Yang He nodded, the soil has acidic and alkaline two, generally speaking, the south is mostly red loam, the land is mostly acidic, and the north is high in salt content and alkaline soil.

Generally, if you cultivate, the acid-alkali should be balanced, and if the acidity is heavy, you must add lime to neutralize it, and if the alkalinity is heavy, you must soak in water to drain it, wash away the salt in it, and the special drainage ditch should be repaired, but in the end, lime should be added to stir the land, balance the acidity and alkali, and kill insects.

Otherwise, the worm will eat the seeds, bite off the rhizome, and work in vain.

At this time, he rode his horse a few miles south of Jiaoshan Villa, not far from Baima Lake, and saw that many of this land had traces of cultivation, and some of them were even planted with rice.

Then on the east and north sides of White Horse Lake, two or three miles away from the lake and far away from the barren beach lake, there are winding polder walls.

Outside the polder wall, there is a continuous field, although there is wild grass growing on it at this time, but look at the traces, the land cultivated by the villagers in the past is at least 10,000 acres.

Even see ditches that divert water, ponds that water the fields.

Then, on the east and north sides of the polder, there is also a culvert to divert water.

The polder wall is to prevent floods, Baima Lake is not far from the Yellow River, every time the Yellow River flood season, Taoxin, Fuxin, autumn flood, Lingxun, these four major floods, the north bank will often open the gate to discharge water, and then the surging Yellow River water will come to Baima Lake and other places.

Without the polders, this field would be all gone.

Yang He wore warm ears, a black mink fur cloak on his body, pinned a horse chopping knife, and stopped on his horse, just looking around.

There were also Minister Yang and Qi Youxin beside him, and the weather was very cold, and both of them were shrinking.

Especially Qi Youxin, wrapped tightly, still trembling all over his body, as if he couldn't hold the reins.

There is also Chen Qiu Ao riding a horse motionless, he is wearing a cloak, holding a shield, the hunting cold wind sweeps on him, as if he can't feel the cold, a pair of sharp eyes, just looking around vigilantly.

Yang He half-squinted his eyes and looked at everything around him, the north bank boundary he currently controls is about five or six hundred square kilometers, and then Xin'anzhuang goes north, and the land that Jiaoshan goes south is even more elite.

From the east of Baima Lake to Champongji, there are dozens of square kilometers of plains in between, except for some surrounding villages and few fields, which can theoretically be reclaimed.

However, it was not easy to reclaim wasteland in this era, first of all, it was necessary to burn the wasteland, then level the land, level the ground to be cultivated, remove all the stone tree roots and grass roots in it, and then observe the soil quality, whether it is acidic or alkaline.

Acidic, lime stirring, alkaline, washing the ground and soaking water, the soil quality is too poor, and even the old soil is mixed, and then the lime is used to kill insects, and a large amount of agricultural fertilizer is used to cultivate the land.

Otherwise, just wait for the grains to be gone.

Moreover, this is still considered raw land, and it generally takes a few years of cultivation before it becomes cooked land, and it can be intensively cultivated.

Colonial management, land reclamation, and development are often calculated in units of 100 years.

Yang River looks around, the extreme eye sees, the land is basically excellent, the water source is also convenient, if you make your own potash fertilizer and phosphate fertilizer, at least this more than 10,000 acres of cultivated land, can grow rice.

However, the water conservancy had to keep up, and many ditches were dug and many ponds were built, and stone was used for paving.

Then the culvert of water diversion, build a few more, build a culvert on the Yellow River, the silver of labor and food is one hundred and eighty taels, the water diversion culvert of this polder wall, the price is cheaper.

At the same time, this polder wall should also be built on a high place, so as not to be unable to fit the White Horse Lake when the sluice gate is opened and the water will wash away the polder wall.

It's just that this kind of water conservancy construction, I am afraid that the silver invested will exceed 10,000 taels.

However, everything is worth it, as long as tens of thousands of acres of fertile land are reclaimed in this area, all the capital will be returned.

This territory will also become the foundation of his livelihood.

……

On the 12th, the statistical office made a general count of the population of each village, and especially inspected the number of scholars in the village, and there were about twenty-six literate people.

Of course, eight people who can only write their own names are included.

These people are also considered "talents", there is no way, the illiteracy rate in this era is too high, and they can write their own names and are already considered scholars.

Yang He feels that there is a lack of talents, and with the expansion of the territory, it is not a way to recruit from outside, and he must also cultivate himself.

According to the standard of literacy in later generations, peasants can understand 1,500 Chinese characters, and workers of enterprises and institutions and urban residents can understand 2,000 Chinese characters, be able to read simple and popular newspapers, periodicals, and articles, be able to keep simple accounts, and be able to write simple practical texts.

By this standard, half of these 26 "scholars" are still illiterate.

However, it would be good to have literate people, there was no need to pick and choose, Yang He recruited all of them into Xin'anzhuang, and some of them were used as clerks and part-time teachers.

Now there are nearly 100 children and children in Xin'anzhuang, and there are hundreds of soldiers who need to be literate, but only Yang He, Minister Yang, Yan Dezheng, and Zhang Songtao are literate in the village, and each of them has a lot of affairs, resulting in the intermittent teaching of literacy among the children and soldiers.

Until now, no one knew many words.

Yang He feels that in addition to the small number of people, it is also related to the teaching materials, and the literacy classes in later generations are generally only two classes in one night, three days a week, and eighty class hours in three months, and then after graduation, the students can basically read 1,500 words, and can do some simple calculations and common sense of life.

Most of these people are middle-aged and elderly, and their memory is declining, and they can all have this result.

Yang He plans to slowly compile a set of easy-to-understand teaching materials in the future as an enlightenment education for all soldiers.

As for the children, they have a lot of time, so they can gradually write and calculate according to the learning at this time.

Fifteen craftsmen from various villages were also recruited, and if they were still waiting and watching last year, they are now very willing to enter Xin'anzhuang, and Yang He accepted them all and let the Public Works Hall evaluate their ranks.

Just after the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhang Chuxun, the director of the quartermaster station, reported that the firearms workshop had built dozens of new anjunctures.

Yang He was very happy that all of his 200 guns could be equipped with standard breech Xin'an guns.

On the 16th, Yang He learned that his official uniform had come down.