The next day, Xiao Xiangui sent someone to send 20,000 taels of silver. After Li Tu got www.biquge.info the silver, he went to Maping Town to find the craftsman Feng You and asked him to recruit someone to build a ship.

The 20,000 taels invested by Shimadzu Tadahiro were to build a new ship, and Li Tu and Shimadzu Tadahiro each held 50% of the shares. Li Tu earned 13,000 taels last year, plus some of the money he borrowed from Xiao Xiangui, to invest in another new ship, which will completely belong to Li Tu. Together, Li Tu wants to build two 2,000-material lucky ships. Li Tu demanded that the ships be of medium quality, which could be used for five or six years, and each ship would cost 2,000 taels.

When Feng You heard that business had come to him, he was overjoyed, and he found seventy or eighty craftsmen and helpers to purchase and transport timber and raw materials everywhere. The shipwrights built a temporary dock in Mae Bay, turning that stretch of beach into a large construction site.

After Zhang Luo finished the shipbuilding, Li Tu began to recruit poor people in Zhangpu County and colonize Taiwan.

Now that the county order has been bought, Li Tu did not hide it, and directly sent the boatmen to the places where the flow of people in the villages and towns gathered. If you encounter a government official or a general who obstructs the posting of the notice, give a few coins of silver, and you will not make trouble.

Fearing that the poor would not be able to read, Li Tu asked the crew to be stationed from village to village to do oral propaganda, so that more people could know about the recruitment.

Li Tu's propaganda made it clear: Poor peasants were recruited to cultivate Xiaoliuqiu, and each member could rent 15 mu of paddy fields, and the annual rent of each mu of land was only one stone. There is no tax on the land except ground rent. In addition, one ploughing ox is distributed for every five people.

Before the grain is harvested, Li Tu is provided with food, all white rice.

Fifteen acres of paddy field, what is the concept of land rent for one stone? One acre of paddy field has at least two stones of harvest a year, and more than one stone can be harvested after removing the land rent. With the help of the ploughing oxen, the output of an acre of land is even more than two stones. Even if the most conservative estimate is two stones, fifteen mu, excluding the land rent, can get more than fifteen stone of rice in one year. If a family of four can get more than 60 stone of rice without risking, this is already a well-off level.

You must know that in a place like Zhangzhou, there are many tenant farmers whose families rent ten acres or even a few acres of paddy fields. These people are struggling to make ends meet, and every year when the harvest is scarce, they have to eat bran and go hungry. Long-term malnutrition and weakness can be life-threatening at the slightest illness.

And if you participate in Li Tu's reclamation, you will be able to eat enough food, eat meat, have money to make new clothes, and build a house and marry a wife. On such a good day, who is not tempted?

The reclamation conditions given by Li Tu are really superior. Although the poor people don't know Li Tu as a person, they vaguely feel that there is some risk, but the life in front of them can't go on! For a good life in the future, which one will not let go? Anyway, before growing food, Li Tu provided food, didn't he? For these destitute tenant farmers, they are not afraid of having food when the sky falls. Those poor people came to Li Tu with their children and daughters. Within 10 days, 3 to 4,000 poor peasants in Zhangpu County had signed up with Li Tu's crew.

Although Li Tu recruited many people, Zhangzhou was cramped and populated, and most of these people were the poorest peasants who rented a little land. The tenant land vacated after these people left was immediately rented by other people. Therefore, the squires and landlords did not have any opposition, and only regarded Li Tu's reclamation business as a novelty.

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In the past few days, Li Tu has been busy looking for shipwrights to build ships and recruiting poor peasants. It was always confirmed that thousands of people had signed up, so Li Tu stopped a little and took Xu San and a few people back to Qianting Town.

These days, in Zhangluo in various parts of Zhangpu County, Li Tu rented dozens of horses for the crew to make transportation, so this time when he went home, he rode back. Xu Sanji got a lot of honorarium and silver bounties with Li Tu this year, and they all wore newly made silk clothes. A group of people in fresh clothes and angry horses rode on Qianting Town, frightening those small people in the market to avoid one after another.

"Where is this nobleman?"

"Isn't that the boss of the Li family!"

"Don't you know? The boss of the Li family wants to recruit people to go to Xiaoliuqiu to reclaim the wasteland! How much money is that? ”

Even Cao San, a vegetable vendor who has always been clever, didn't dare to come up to make noise when he saw the pomp and circumstance of Li Tu and his party, and only watched Li Tu and his party ride towards Li's house in a daze.

When they arrived at the courtyard of Li's house, Li Tu and the others jumped off the horse.

The courtyard of the Li family has been renovated, a gatehouse has been built at the door, and a shadow wall has been built behind it, which is also a decent residence in the town. Li Tu walked in and saw that the roads in the courtyard were paved with bluestones, the three houses had been renovated, and the blue bricks and black tiles of Yishui were much more beautiful than the original dilapidated appearance.

In the hall, the mother, Zheng, still sat on the loom, weaving cloth.

Seeing Li Tu walk in, Zheng's face was full of joy, and he threw down the loom and walked over: "My son is back safely!" As he spoke, Zheng's tears came out again, wiped a handful of tears with his hand and said: "I heard someone say a few days ago that my son recruited poor people to go overseas to farm, and I knew that my son came back safely this year, and my mother is really happy!" ”

Li Tu smiled and said loudly: "Mother, what are you worried about, don't you believe in your son's ability?" ”

Zheng wiped away his tears and said with a reluctant smile: "Believe, I believe!" My son naturally has the ability to roll on the sea, so I ate this bowl of rice that walks the sea! ”

Xu San smiled and said: "Grandma, your son has not only eaten a bowl of rice, but your son is now the owner of two ships!" Two more are under construction! In this Qianting Town, I'm afraid your son is the richest. ”

Zheng looked at Li Tu and said, "How much silver did my son earn?" If you earn enough money to get married and buy land, can you not go to sea? ”

Xu San laughed and said, "Grandma! Your son is going to do great things! If he doesn't go to sea, who will lead a few of us to get ahead? ”

Li Tu smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry, my son has his own rules for going to the sea, and nothing will happen." ”

Zheng looked at Li Tu's satin clothes and was silent. In the middle of the ring, Zheng said: "The house you recruited people to build last year has already been built. This is all your brother Li Tong often goes to watch, supervising those masons to use solid materials. After a pause, Zheng said again: "Cui Xianggong often goes to help watch." Now that the two of us are about to become in-laws, you have to move around more. ”

Li Tu and Zheng were gossiping, Li Tong ran in and said loudly: "Brother! You're back! ”

I haven't seen him for a year, Li Tong has grown a lot stronger, and he already has an adult shelf. As soon as he saw his brother Li Tu, Li Tong asked anxiously: "Brother, I heard that you are the owner of the ship, and you are also recruiting people to reclaim Xiaoliuqiu." ”

Seeing Li Tong, Li Tu smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said, "My brother has grown stronger!" ”

Li Tong said disdainfully: "Why have you grown strong and still treat me as a child?" I'm married, and I'm going to get married in a few months! ”

Li Tu smiled and asked, "Carpenter Qu promised you his daughter?" ”

Li Tong said loudly: "Thanks to my brother's blessing, Carpenter Qu heard that my brother had made a boat, so he happily promised Juan'er to me!" Now my brother is even more powerful, he has become a foreign owner, and he has to take people to Xiaoliuqiu to cultivate! ”

Li Tu looked at Li Tong and said, "When you have nothing to do, go to the private school where you teach, learn to write and keep accounts, and you can help me do things in the future!" ”

When Li Tong saw that his brother said that he wanted him to do something, he was overjoyed and agreed.

The family was overjoyed to see each other, gossiped all afternoon, and in the evening set up a table in the hall and had a sumptuous dinner. In the evening, Li Tu gave Li Tong one hundred taels of silver, so that he could use it when he got married, so as not to lose the face of the Li family. Li Tong took the money and happily agreed.