The autumn wind was howling, the dead grass on the ridges was swaying, and one or two grass stalks flew into the field, where they continued to roll on the fine soil.

The earth is dark and moist, showing that it has just been moistened by rain.

A young man stood on a ridge and turned his gaze from the field to look out at the field in the distance, where four or five men were gathered around an ox, which pulled the plough behind it, leaving a deep furrow where it had been plowed.

With shouts and shouts of excitement, more people stood on the ridges of the surrounding fields, and there were also villagers who had come to inquire about it, pointing at the ox and plowing.

"What a robbery, cheating." Looking at the excited villagers, Chen Ping was really speechless, his understanding of this era did not seem to be deep enough.

The day before yesterday, Chen Ping's proposal to Chen Hecai was not recognized by the latter, and after seeing the efficiency of the Quyuan plow, Chen Hecai carried the Quyuan plough and went home, and then went straight to find the lieutenant.

In the ninth year of the emperor's reign, after Emperor Wen of Sui completed the great cause of unification, he adjusted the grassroots social organizations and changed the original two-level party system to the two-level system in the township.

Baitu Village and Xiatu Village downstream of Tushui are really one mile, and you have to walk four or five miles to get there, when Chen Ping runs in the morning, you can occasionally see hunters in and out of Xiatu Village in and out of ** Mountain.

The two villages together have one hundred and twenty households, named Jieyili, and the chief is a family with a solid family background and an industry in the county. It is said that it is rich and unkind, but this is not the case here.

It's like the one that happened in Chen Ya's family, all of which were made with the help of Lai Dongxi, so that Aunt Wang could keep those more than ten acres of land and not starve to death.

No, as soon as he heard Chen Hecai's report, Lai Dongxi came immediately, at this time he was trying to qu Yuan plow, his dark and thin body, his mud-stained cloth shirt, an old peasant's dress, and at the same time, he was wearing silk cloth, which was more expensive than linen. I couldn't see Huang Shiren's appearance at all, which surprised Chen Ping.

"That's the pain of not having patent protection." There is no doubt that this Quyuan plough must be contributed, and he still wants to make some money from it, which is considered to be a soup, Chen Ping sighed again.

Just thinking about it, feeling sad, Chen Erniu ran over barefoot, his face was red, and he didn't know what he was excited about.

"Brother Ping, the lieutenant will let you go."

It's been half an hour, the ground has been ploughed, and a group of people are still there trying, you come, I'll take care of the feelings of the land?

Chen Ping reluctantly got off the ground, and the eyes of the villagers suddenly shot over.

There was a fellow villager who knew him, and said proudly: "Look, this is the eldest nephew I told you, a good farmer, and I saw him harvesting rice a few days ago, no worse than Chengding, and he can harvest two or three acres of land a day." ”

"Two or three acres?" It is very difficult for an adult to harvest one acre of rice a day, and people from other villages do not believe it.

"Don't believe it, or you can make this zigzag plow? Look, how easy it is, with such a plow, I can plough ten acres of land in a day. The villagers continued to blow, as if they were now ploughing and ploughing the fields with their bullwhips.

This joy is incomprehensible to outsiders.

The field is for the farmers, that is the reassurance, that is, to rely on, now with such a cultivated land tools, how much manpower must be saved? For the family with a weak mouth, the importance is even more prominent.

The villagers who are active and impatient are already quietly inquiring about who can beat this object called Quyuan plow, how much it costs, and when can it be taken.

On this side, Chen Ping stepped on the dirt and came to Lai Dongxi's side.

"Li Chang, it's this baby, this curved plow was made by him." Chen Hecai spoke.

Lai Dongxi was very thin, sweaty on his forehead, holding the plow with one hand, and was very satisfied with the Quyuan plow: "Yes, with this thing, we can save a lot of manpower in the coming year, and we can also free up manpower to reclaim more land on the ** mountain." ”

This is not only the responsibility of the county governor, but also the responsibility of coming to Dongxi.

In the general direction, this is a good deed that is beneficial to the imperial court and benefits the neighbors, and on the private side, such a farm tool and such a person have been produced in his own jurisdiction, which can be said to be the credit of his coming to Dongxi, and the township can also boast a few words.

"How old is this year?" Lai Dongxi asked.

"Eleven."

"Yes, it's rare. At such an age, I am so dedicated to farming, you can rest assured, I will report this matter to the county magistrate, and the county magistrate will definitely be rewarded. Lai Dongxi rubbed his hands, saw Chen Ping's indifferent expression, and his eyes fell on his thin shirt, "On such a cold day, why are you still wearing such thin clothes?" Wait a minute, come home with me, get a silk horse, and make a jacket. ”

Based on Chen Ping's size, there is still a surplus of a silk jacket, even if it is not used to make clothes, this silk is also hard currency.

The lieutenant is willing to give, Chen Ping will definitely not refuse, he just pretended to be that picture, and he also had such a mind. After Xie came over to Dongxi, Chen Ping was waiting on the side.

"Brother Ping, you're amazing." Chen Erniu came over.

"Hmph, my eldest brother must be amazing, that toothbrush, and that fire sickle, aren't you using it?" Chen An's small face raised, "Tell you, Chen Erniu, my brother said that he would buy me a horse in the future." ”

"Really?" Chen Erniuniang is not sick, her family is quite good, and there is only a donkey at home, Chen An's words make her envious.

"Then sure, do you think Brother has no money? It's not like you didn't hear it just now, the chief is going to send a silk horse to my brother. Chen An said proudly, "That's a silk." ”

Chen Erniu laughed twice and nodded: "The silk is very slippery, I wore it, when I was studying in the township." However, a piece of silk can't buy a horse, right? ”

"Save more and you'll be able to buy it." Chen An didn't know how much money a horse needed, but silk was also rare, and he didn't have it at home, so he could buy a horse if he wanted to save a few more silks.

The villagers on the side laughed happily when they heard the two boys discuss like this, and then followed Lai Dongxi to carry the plough up the ridge, and the villager who had already brought the small cart at home was already being pushed by the villager.

"This plow...... I will take the Quyuan plough back first, it is a little late today, and I will go to the county tomorrow morning and inform the county magistrate. Lai Dongxi waved his hand and asked the big guy to go back, "This is made by Blacksmith Chen, everyone can find him if they need it." ”

With a hula, dozens of villagers immediately surrounded Chen Hecai. Old and young, uncles and nephews, on such a cold day, Blacksmith Chen was stunned and sweated.

"No, no, no, this is Chen Xiaoyi's kid's idea."

"That's not the iron you hit, my family's few acres of mulberry land are really going to turn over the soil, and I am in a hurry to use a plow, you hurry up and hit one." Money...... Well, I have money with me, and I'll give it to you now. "It's an impatient," he said, untying the money bag from his belt.

"Yes, yes, farm work waits for no one."

"Blacksmith, it's me, your third uncle. Ahem, don't squeeze, ahem...... And thou shalt make me a good plow. ”

……

Not to mention that Blacksmith Chen was surrounded, Lai Dongxi pushed a wheelbarrow, and a few fellow villagers on the side wanted to take a handle but were not agreed to by Lai Dongxi, and walked along the path towards Tu Village, followed by Chen Ping and a few people behind him.

"That's a good thing, a good thing." Lai Dongxi pushed the cart and kept babbling.

Lai Dongxi is in his forties, nearly fifty, and his age is not small in this era, and there are two servants and a maid at home, and there are more than 50 acres of land outside, plus a vegetable shop in the county, and the family property is also quite rich.

It stands to reason that under such conditions, it is okay to enjoy Qingfu at home, but Lai Dongxi is a person who can't be idle, he doesn't go to the ground for a day, he doesn't touch the hoe, and he doesn't feel comfortable if he doesn't look at the vegetables and grains.

"With this quyuan plow, when these two ears of rice are harvested, you can turn over the land, and you don't need to invite people, the three sons of the family, plus two old servants to help." Laidong thought about it.

Later, Chen An wiped the mud from the soles of his feet on the dead grass on the side of the road, and complained, "Brother, why do you want me to come with you?" ”

"You don't want your horse anymore?" Chen Ping pushed back Chen An's stomach complaint with one sentence, "Don't get that clean on your feet, bring some mud on your face, and clothes, just wipe some mud." ”

"Grandpa will fight when I go back." Chen An was wearing Liu's altered clothes, which were already covered with mud spots, and some of them were specially smeared by Chen Ping, "I want to tell my mother." ”

"Do you still want a horse?"

Chen An really stopped talking, and the road behind deliberately walked into the mud pit that had not yet dried. Chen Erniu saw Chen Ping and the brothers like this, and they learned from each other.

By the time they arrived at Xiatu Village, the three of them were already covered in mud.

There are nearly 100 households in Xiahe Village, which are larger than Baitu Village, and most of them are surnamed and have an ancestor.

Lai Dongxi's house is next to Tushui, a separate courtyard, next to the courtyard there are a few vegetable fields, planting some seasonal vegetables.

"Why do you have so much mud on your bodies?" When he arrived at the door, Lai Dongxi noticed the situation of Chen Ping and the three, and put the cart away, "Come into the house quickly, it's cold outside." ”

There is a layer of green bricks under the doorway, and when you enter the courtyard, the ground is even more flat, although it is not paved with bricks and stones, but it is obviously tamped, and the roof is a walk of green tiles.

A courtyard to enter, but there are wings on both sides.

"Put the plow away and carry it to my room." The two old servants had already come over, and Lai Dongxi ordered, "Go to the library and get a silk." ”

"Wait, bring two of the tiger's old clothes." Donglai said happily, looking back at Chen Erniu's sturdy body, "This kid must be a good blacksmith when he grows up." Bring me my silk jacket as well. ”

"Go and change your clothes and go back." The old servant took a silk horse and three clothes, and came to Dongxi to give Chen Ping and the three of them, "The mud on this body is not cold when the wind blows." ”

"Thank you, Uncle Lai." The chief here is really generous, Chen Ping's heart is somewhat better, Qu Yuanli will contribute to it, and there is no shortage of this thing to make money.

With this silk and clothes, this winter, it will not be too cold.

Chen Ping and the three of them quickly changed their clothes, and at this time, Lai Dongxi took more than a dozen oranges and gave them to Chen Ping and the others.

"Take it back to eat, go back quickly, don't be greedy on the way." The oranges are home-grown in Dongxi, and they are fresh, so they are in Dongxi.

The silk and the clothes he changed were placed on the small cart, Chen Ping pushed the cart, Chen An and Chen Erniu ate oranges in the back and left Xiatu Village.