In front of a farmhouse in Zhengjia Village, more than a dozen farmers in their twenties and thirties were sitting in the fenced courtyard, and the only peasant in his 40s next to him wrapped a white cloth around his head, smoked hookah, stopped, and said: "My family of four is strong, and it takes at least two people to serve the crops, and I can produce two families." One month is five taels of silver, two months is ten taels of silver, and a year is sixty taels of silver! ”

"The head of the family does not recruit the family, but only relies on farming, and those days are ...... It's just like Huang Lian. Rent the owner's eleven acres of land, although one acre of rice in spring can collect two stones, one acre of rice in autumn can collect one stone and six buckets, but the county lord to collect our official grain is seven buckets and four acres in one, count, catch up with the harvest year, there are only twenty-seven stones and five buckets left, but the eldest in the family two and three are married, the eldest has a son and a daughter, the second family also has a son, and the third has no doll. There are 12 people in a family plus a father and a mother. Twelve people live on twenty-seven stones and five buckets, and there is no fixed number of people who do a thin meal, not that the old family owner is kind-hearted, and receives some food from time to time, and we have starved to death for a few people. ”

The farmer chirped a few puffs of hookah, paused, and said: "In the past, it wasn't for our Zheng Lao Wu family who didn't work hard, but they couldn't live in this world!" Don't talk about others, just say that the sixth uncle of the clan, his old man rented 30 acres of land from the head of the family, but he raised eleven people, and he was reluctant to even pull the white linen cloth. ”

"Since the head of the family is determined to raise the family, our family also has two people, so that we can earn sixty taels of silver a year. Moreover, reduce the size of two mouthfuls and spend a lot less chewing. That day was more than twice as good! Go, why can't you go? What kind of sword soldiers have no eyes, just in our irrigation I county, what are the big bandits that must not be stopped? Isn't there a plum lady? I think she is definitely not an opponent of our family master. She is a girl and a bandit, how can she fight the family owner's family? What's more, sixty percent of our Zheng Zhang Wednesday surnamed children, when we fight, we will definitely not run, the so-called 'father and son soldiers, fight tiger brothers', doesn't it mean us? ”

"As for the surname Zhao, if it is reliable, it depends on the head of the family. However, the old man of Zhaojiacun said that we had embezzled their land, and I didn't want to think that when the emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was there, it was our Zheng Zhangzhou who arrived first in Guan I County. The head of the house took out the silver of the white flowers, and the surnamed Zhao licked his face again, phew, the white-eyed wolf who couldn't be raised. ”

"In short, those surnamed Yang, surnamed Liao, surnamed Pei, surnamed Li, surnamed Huang, surnamed He, surnamed Niu, surnamed Gou, it doesn't hurt to get a little cheap, you can't easily let the surnamed Zhao take advantage."

"Okay, big brother, if you complain, the head of the family can just take the idea, is it possible to let you take the idea? The second uncle, the third uncle, the seventh uncle, the eleventh uncle, the thirteenth uncle, the fourteenth uncle, the sixteenth uncle, the nineteenth uncle, the twenty-first uncle, and the uncles and brothers in the village who came out of the five suits, which one is not talking about these? The head of the family is only recruited for seven days, and if it expires, you don't hesitate to go to anyone, first report the names of the third and fourth brothers. Daddy and Mom are old and don't want to care about this, our family, just take your idea. ”

"Okay, second child, if you say so, I will help persuade the third child to become the housekeeper. He guards his mother-in-law, he can't even afford to give birth to a baby, and he is not a family, how can he raise his children? That's it. ”

"Zheng Lao Wu, your family has negotiated, our Zhou Lao Qi family is in big trouble. There are only two men in the family, me and the second child, an old lady, two mothers-in-law, and three daughters, and there are six girls. How is this possible? It's not that we rented ten acres of land from the head of the family, but our family would also starve to death a few people. Now, go to the housekeepers, what do they eat? But if you are not a soldier, the head of the family will take back the field, what will we eat? Hey, that's hard. This is the way of the world! ”

"Don't worry, Zheng Zhangzhou is all in love, the head of the family will not accept your field, you can rest assured to plant yours." A young man who had just walked into the courtyard spoke.

"Yo." Everyone turned their heads to look, it turned out to be Zheng Baijian, this is the third son of the sixth uncle Zheng Yinghui, who has always been shrewd and capable, if it weren't for him, it would be impossible for the sixth uncle Zheng Yinghui's family to rent 30 acres of fertile land from the head of the family!

A farmer hurriedly got up to give up his seat, Zheng Baijian sat down, and said: "The head of the family asked me to be the chief of the army, and I took three taels and five coins of silver a month, and I was ashamed of it, so I had to recruit warriors everywhere." I think the brothers of the Wubo family are as powerful as oxen, and they are good men when they do farm work, so I expect you to be my family. I'm going to ask you for your opinions. ”

"You don't have to worry about me Zheng Baijian drinking your soldiers' blood, every family member is directly from the head of the family to receive silver, armor, cotton clothes, cotton shoes, straw sandals, cloth shoes,...... that you may know that the master of your house is in charge of your garments. Like an ordinary family, the head of the family told me that a person gets a set of spring and autumn clothes, a set of summer clothes, a set of winter cotton clothes, a pair of cloth shoes in spring and autumn, a pair of straw sandals, three pairs of straw shoes in summer, and a pair of cotton shoes in winter. ”

More than a dozen peasants, you look at me, I look at you, all of them are a little unconvinced.

In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the children of a peasant family did not wear a set of clothes all year round, and at most wore cotton clothes in winter.

Sensei said that several sets of clothes a year is impossible to have one set a year.

A set of clothes, even if they are mended like the futon in the temple, with dense patches up and down, are reluctant to tear up and arrange new clothes.

The doll's clothes are even more so, the eldest wears the second one, and the second one wears the third one, until the baby wears this dress. Even, the children's clothes of the previous generation have been packed, and after more than ten years, the next generation will continue to wear them.

This dress, even if it is linen, is three or four dollars of silver, a set of inside and outside, no less than half a tael of silver, cotton clothes are more expensive, at least eight or nine dollars.

The owner of the family issued three sets of clothes a year, two pairs of cloth shoes, one pair of cotton shoes, and five pairs of straw sandals. Even if the straw sandals are not valuable, but the rest, less than three or five dollars of silver, don't even think about it!

Doesn't this mean that another year has more than three taels of silver?

The head of the house has so much money?

Zheng Baijian pursed his lips and smiled, and said: "Look at your unbelief, now in summer, the head of the family has prepared five hundred sets of summer clothes, five hundred pairs of straw sandals, as long as you become a family, immediately send this month's settlement silver and clothes, shoes and socks, by the way, I don't talk about socks, the head of the family sends three pairs of socks a season, twelve pairs a year!" ”

Yes, this is an extra five taels of silver for the real value.

Countrymen, how many people, have been barefoot all their lives, talking about socks, even shoes have never seen a pair, and now, even the expensive socks are issued, the owner of this family, I'm afraid I have a cornucopia?

Without a cornucopia, even the mountains of gold and silver may be empty!

That's a real 500 family! 500 mouths, 500 sets of clothes, shoes and socks!