After the Spring Festival, the most important work of the prefectures and counties after the opening of the printing office is to persuade farmers to spring ploughing. Although the first season of rice in the south of the Yangtze River should be planted in March, before that, it is necessary to convene a meeting of the elders of the townships, and repeatedly emphasize the matter of spring ploughing, and for those who are really in difficulty at home, they must also be given subsidies for ploughing cattle and farm tools.

These tasks had to be busy from the first month to February, and it was not until March that the pressure on the government was lighter.

When Zheng Yue was a teenager, he was also a noble young master who did not produce at home. His family's land was all cultivated by tenant farmers, and the most he could do was to look at it from afar. I was really able to distinguish the grains and know the difference between rice and wheat, and I was still after I became an official. On this day, he took advantage of the sunny weather, blue sky and white clouds, and the idea of visiting arose.

In order to prevent officials from disturbing the people, Emperor Taizu especially emphasized that county officials could not go to the countryside, and wrote it into the "Da Ming Law". But fortunately, there is a small tail in the back: if it is a point to see the bridge, the polder, the post pass, the shop, the survey, the disaster, the autopsy, the thief, the copy, etc., it is not limited.

Zheng Yue's trip this time was to see the bridge polder.

The destination is Tang Xing.

It is said that Tang Xing is now more prosperous, although it is not comparable to Huating, but it is almost the same as Shanghai. This kind of prosperity that has sprung up like mushrooms is still too rare in an agrarian society. Everyone is accustomed to the fact that it took thirty or fifty years, or even hundreds of years, for a piece of land to complete the basic accumulation and become a rich land, and it is natural to see that Tang Xing has gone to the next level in just three or five months.

In Xu Yuanzuo's eyes, this is a very normal thing. Because Renshoutang was responsible for paying taxes, the grain cabinet was located in Tang Bank. If everyone wants to pay food, they have to come to Tang Xing. Places that are a little farther away cannot be traveled back and forth on the same day, which creates an overnight economy. It is inconvenient for people in the village to go out far away, so they have to bring some local products. As a result, the commodity economy was stimulated.

In the past, farmers paid taxes, and all kinds of gloom and gloom were bleak, but Renshoutang used commercial taxes to make up for part of the difficult agricultural taxes. Although the small traders were burdened with more burdens, the farmers were relieved and were able to buy some household goods. As a result, it fed back the lives of small merchants.

These chains are interlocking and form a silhouette of socio-economic activity. In a small enclosed environment. The effect is particularly noticeable.

Zheng Yue sat in the small sedan chair, swaying with the ups and downs of the sedan chair driver. Through the car window, he saw a piece of good field full of water, and knew that this was the prelude to rice planting, and his heart was also quite happy. The sedan chair walked slowly, and the scenery in the distance barely moved. Zheng Yue looked at it for a while and slept for a while, and when he looked at it again, it was already mulberry cotton in front of him, and even occupied fertile land.

Although he didn't know how to farm, Zheng Yue also knew what it meant. At the beginning of the dynasty. Hundreds of wastes are waiting to be revived, Daming is really poor and white from scratch, lacking everything in food, clothing, housing and transportation. Therefore, Emperor Taizu put rest and recuperation in the first place, not only persuading farmers to harvest, but also stipulating the planting ratio of cash crops such as cotton, linen, mulberry, etc.

In the beginning, the people were willing to grow grain, not cotton and linen. After a long period of peace in the country, the food gradually became enough. The consumption of cotton and linen is increasing, and planting one acre of mulberry cotton can be worth three or five acres of rice. There is no tiredness of planting crops yet. Profit-seeking is the general nature of human beings, and they are naturally willing to give priority to planting mulberry, hemp, cotton, bamboo and other cash crops on limited land.

As for the food, it is enough to eat for yourself. Even if you don't have enough to eat, you can still buy it. Huguang and Zhejiang are both major grain-producing provinces, with convenient transportation and low freight. Especially Huguang. In the Song Dynasty, it was still a barbarian wasteland, and it has become an out-and-out granary of the world. When the land in Liangguang is developed, Su Song and Zhejiang may not need to grow any more grain.

Zheng Yue sighed secretly in his heart: Wunong is unstable after all, but unfortunately under the huge profits, who is willing to do this? Fortunately, my term expires next year. It's time to be promoted to Kedao.

Since the reign of Xiaozong Hongzhi, there has only been one case of Zhixian's promotion to Zhizhou when Wuzong was promoted, which can be ignored. A very small number of other counties with outstanding political achievements can be promoted to the position of inspector, and a small number of them are promoted to the position of inspector.

Zheng Yue felt that his chances of being promoted to the post of inspector were almost zero, and he only hoped that he could be promoted to the middle of the matter safely and stop worrying about the general affairs below. If you choose to supervise the imperial history, I hope it will be a big difference, not a small desertion such as patrolling Guanglu Temple. He was still fantasizing about it, when he suddenly heard the horses' hooves rumbling behind him, and in the blink of an eye it was already very close.

The sedan chair drivers avoided one after another, and the sedan chair swayed, like a boat in a storm.

Zheng Yue grabbed the hands on both sides tightly, and the black veil on his head trembled, as if he was about to fall, and asked him to hurry to help him again, and his demeanor was greatly lost for a while.

"Who's out there! Stopped me! Zheng Yue was furious.

The only advantage of the county magistrate is that he has a guard of honor when traveling, which is considered a consolation prize for this hard-working profession. However, now that someone dares to collide with the guard of honor, isn't this even the last bit of dignity of the county official stripped away!

Outside, the sedan chair driver hurriedly dropped the sedan chair, and the soap class official who was playing the guard of honor stepped forward to block the road.

The tall horse let out a long neigh, and stopped its hooves.

"Bastard! Didn't you hear the gongs and drums of the opening road, didn't you see the county brand! The officials scolded one after another.

Zheng Yue straightened the black yarn in the sedan chair, and still had a sigh of spirit, and did not go out, only listening to the official scolding the knight.

"Bastard! I am Xu Ge's old family, and the little county official dares to block my way! The man didn't even care about it, and scolded the servant.

As soon as the official heard that it was Xu Ge Lao's name, his momentum suddenly shortened by three points. They secretly don't care if you are an elder or an emperor, there are countless ways to gnaw on elephants and eat big households. However, it was not their true nature to resist head-on, and the scolding suddenly stopped.

Of course, Zheng Yue heard it clearly, and scolded secretly in his heart: Diao slave!

He has a very good relationship with Xu Fan, and he is Xu Yuanzuo's teacher, who doesn't know this in Huating, who doesn't know? This guy dared to come out and insult him under the banner of the Xu family, obviously not from Xu Fan's family. However, even if it was other slaves who were not long-eyed, Zheng Yue had to give Xu Jie face and grit his teeth and endure it.

"Don't get out of the way yet!" The Diao slave shouted loudly: "I missed the important matter of the elder of the pavilion, I want you to look good!" ”

Zheng Yue reacted at this time, and the official was waiting for him to speak.

- If you get out of the way, you will lose face; If you don't let it, people will be worried.

Zheng Yue thought for a while, and finally said loudly: "Let him go." ”

The Diao slave arched his hand into the warm sedan chair: "Thank you!" "Say goodbye, raise the whip, and go away.

Zheng Yue lifted the sedan curtain, watched the man and horse gradually disappear into the horizon, and gritted his teeth.

Li Wenming jumped off the mule. walked up quickly and said in a low voice: "Dong Weng, this person seems to be Xu Ying's slave." ”

Zheng Yue shook his head slightly: "Xu Ying, hmph, you can know a thing or two by watching the master as a servant." ”

Li Wenming also sighed: "What kind of person is Xu Daguan. As a result, my brother turned out to be like this. Looking at the brothers Xu Zhenheng and Xu Jinglian, they are also cautious and humble gentlemen, who would have thought that they would be a family. ”

- Xu Jinglian is not a humble gentleman who respects small and cautious!

Zheng Yue denied it in his heart, thinking that Li Wenming didn't know anyone, but he said: "It is also common sense that the dragon gives birth to nine sons and the sons are different. ”

Li Wenming saw that Zheng Yue was in a slightly better mood, so he called for pomp and circumstance again and rushed to Tang Xing.

When Zheng Yue and his entourage left the county office, a flying pigeon also left the cage.

This is the first nest of pigeons produced by Xu Yuanzuo's pigeon factory. Now there are only three points: Chongming, Tang Xing, and Shang Couch. This is just a warm-up for the pigeons. And there is no threat of natural predators, so it is safe and reliable, and it has already flown a few times as a youngster.

Xu Yuanzuo therefore knew the news that Zheng Yue was coming to Tang Xing early, and laughed secretly in his heart: My teacher is still playing the trick of surprise inspection.

Xu Yuanzuo needs to make special arrangements at all, because there is only one line in Tanghang Town, and there is not even garbage to be seen on the street. This is also thanks to the influx of disaster victims, which has provided a large number of cheap labor. For example, the work of cleaning the streets was originally undertaken by the residents themselves, but now the Guangji Association pays for it. Disaster victims were hired to clean up.

People only see the cost of relief for the victims, but they do not see the improvement of the quality of life that cheap labor can bring. Under Xu Yuanzuo's strict allocation. Instead of causing social unrest and encroaching on local jobs, the victims have improved the living standards of the residents of Tanghang at a very low cost.

Environmental cleaning, tree maintenance, road repair, these are the most accessible jobs for people who lack technical skills. Some of the smart-minded merchants. They also began to hire victims to do simple heavy physical work. However, in this regard, Renshoutang has repeatedly emphasized equal pay for equal work - what is the price of hiring Tang pedestrians, and the same price must be paid to hire disaster victims.

This is not only to protect the victims of the disaster, but also to prevent people from being robbed by fire and exploiting labor. It is also the protection of Tang pedestrians. Don't be robbed of your livelihood by cheap labor.

Even so, the kiln and wood factory near Tanghang still recruited hundreds of people.

Because Renjutang has too many orders, it is necessary to increase the number of people to complete the production task as soon as possible.

Zheng Yue arrived at Tang Xing, and as soon as he got off the sedan chair, there was a different kind of hardness under his feet.

- This is not the feeling of frozen soil.

Zheng Yue lowered his head, and the ground was a strange gray.

"The teacher came, but the students could not welcome them from afar, and asked the teacher to forgive them."

When Zheng Yue was pondering this place, Xu Yuanzuo had already come up with a group of entourages to greet the teacher. When the official saw Xu Yuanzuo, he really saw the God of Wealth, his eyes were shining, and he smiled to make way, how could he stop him.

Zheng Yue originally wanted to remind him about the matter of the Xu family's Diao slaves, but now he was completely attracted by the hard road under his feet, stomped his feet lightly, and said, "How is this ground leveled?" ”

In ancient times, there were many ruts in driving. The so-called closed-door car is like a naturally formed track. If every car follows the same ruts, ruts are not only not a burden, but also a helper in keeping the vehicle stable. But this ideal state is rare after all, and there is more than one rut on the road.

The animals pulling the cart don't understand the reason, and they can't stop them from changing lanes frequently, and when they change lanes, they have to go from one rut to another, and the bump is enough to make people feel sour.

The gate of the city is the main road for vehicles to enter and exit, and the unhardened road surface is densely covered with ruts in various directions. Muddy on a rainy day and bumpy on a sunny day are the biggest headaches. Taking advantage of the large number of victims, Xu Yuanzuo first asked someone to level out the square in front of the city gate, and for this purpose, he also carried out vehicle diversion, and each car had to pay 50 yuan for urban construction to enter the city.

As a result, the number of vehicles entering and leaving the city has been greatly reduced, and those vehicles that can or may not enter have chosen not to enter. Naturally, there are a group of coolies at the door to meet the physical and mental needs of the rich without occupying the mud.

The land that Zheng Yue stepped on was not the result of simple leveling.

also because Xu Yuanzuo smeared cement.

Cement has long been rare in the Longqing period. This fired stone powder can be used to bond masonry after mixing with an aqueous solution. If it is more luxurious, it can also be mixed with glutinous rice juice, which is said to be harder and more effective, and the typical case is the Nanjing City Wall. However, Xu Yuanzuo did not know the scientific principles or the rumors spread by the craftsmen.

What really works is the mineral composition of the cement. Because there is no volcano in Jiangnan, it is not possible to directly take volcanic ash to make cement. However, the wisdom of the working people is infinite, and they decisively learned the Liuyi mud used to seal the furnace when the Taoist priest made alchemy, used it in construction, and kept the recipe secret.

Speaking of shame, Xu Yuanzuo is also among the secrets, and the shameful attribute of "liberal arts student" makes him unable to clearly say the ingredients and ingredients, let alone the amount of ingredients. Therefore, he can only buy the products monopolized by this industry, so as to coerce the kiln factory to hire more victims and grind the finest cement particles.

The finer the particles, the easier it is to coagulate. The hardness of the soil cement will continue to increase within three months after application, and it will be completely stable after half a year. If the pellets are ground fine enough, the process can be greatly accelerated and dried faster without getting in the way of life.

As for the intensity. Xu Yuanzuo didn't know the technical indicators, and he didn't know how to test it, but it was rumored on the Internet that the Nanjing City Wall had withstood the mortars of the Japanese invaders, which showed that it was still useful.

"This side is already dry, and the fenced one is still waiting to dry." Xu Yuanzuo explained: "When the spring rain falls, I'm afraid the progress will be slow." ”

Zheng Yue stepped on the concrete floor, walked two steps, and didn't see much dust, which was indeed good. He was about to praise Xu Yuanzuo, but he saw Li Wenming squeezing his eyebrows on the side, as if he had a stomachache. Li Wenming said in a trembling voice: "Jing Lian, how much silver did you spend here?" ”

Xu Yuanzuo smiled: "It's not much, it's only a few dozen taels." Labor is cheap, the key is to ask the kiln factory to start and hire the victims. ”

Zheng Yue took a breath of spring cold, his throat was itchy, and asked, "Dozens of taels?" ”

Xu Yuanzuo smiled: "The ...... donated by the big families in the town"

"Twenty taels is dozens of taels, and ninety taels is also dozens of taels." Zheng Yue really wanted to find out how much money was spent.

"Well, pretty much......"

"How much!" Zheng Yue raised his voice.

"Ninety taels." Xu Yuanzuo reported a public figure, in the end, the Guangji Association took other people's donations, and it was obliged to tell others how much it was used and where it was used. Even if the numbers are not true, they should not be deaf or dumb.

That's a hundred taels of silver! Where is this paving, this is paving silver!

Zheng Yue felt that his liver trembled, so he could only say to himself repeatedly: This is not my silver! It's not my silver!

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*(To be continued......)

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