Because Rong Hong and Huang Kuan chatted too happily the night before, they drank a little too much, so that they got up a little late the next day.

Huang Kuan didn't know much about the situation in Shanghai, but Rong Hong, who was familiar with the recent market, shouted that it was not good, hurriedly put on his clothes, and urged Huang Kuan to dress well, and then stopped eating, and pulled him to run in the carriage and horse shop - by the way, they slept in the same bed last night, which is called falling asleep on the foot, and this era is a kind of friendly behavior of special civilization.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the carriage and horse shop, they found that all the carriages in the carriage and horse shop had been rented out, and there was not a single one left.

Looking at Rong Hong's lonely expression, Huang Kuan was a little puzzled: "If you don't have this family, you will go to another house, why do you look so depressed?" ”

"You don't know, if there is no carriage in this house, I am afraid that there will be no other family." Rong Hong shook his head, and then began to explain.

It turns out that since Li Yongji made his career in Qingpu, especially since Qingpu County has been able to produce cheap pearls, stainless steel products, aluminum products, cheap brass, artificial gems and other things in large quantities for a long time, and at the same time purchased precious products such as gold and jade everywhere, the entry and exit of this special product itself has formed a new trade hotspot with huge benefits.

In addition, Qingpu County is the nest of Li Yongji's family, and the public security is particularly good, except for special taxes such as stamp duty and luxury tax, there is no other miscellaneous commercial tax, which is equivalent to giving special preferential treatment to the policy, improving the business environment, and the production of special products, which has led to the prosperity of all walks of life.

Qingpu County's rapid prosperity and quick enrichment are radiant, just like Shenzhen at the beginning of the reform of the later dynasties, attracting people who want to make a fortune in the surrounding area. And basically, people who come here to do business. In particular, those who ran trade also basically made a fortune. This creates a virtuous circle that attracts more people who want to get rich.

The excessive prosperity has caused the gradual acceleration of people's life rhythm, and this change has not only occurred in Qingpu County, but also affected the cities around Qingpu County, especially in Shanghai County, which is close at hand, has excellent docks, and has many foreigners.

If nothing else, let's just say that Shanghai's carriage shops are in short supply at all. Even if you book a carriage in advance, if you don't rush over early in the morning, you will soon be rented by someone with a higher bidder, and you will at most get a compensatory service for a refund of the deposit.

Because of this, over time, the carriage shops in Shanghai County no longer provide ordinary reservation services, but on a first-come, first-served basis, that is, who comes first. Whoever pays first, gives it to whomever first, of course, if you have special money. Willing to pay a large price for the wallet car, whether you go or not, you will be charged by the day. That's okay too.

However, although Rong Hong and Huang Kuan are not very short of money. But it's not extravagant enough to be able to play chartered cars.

Huang Kuan didn't say anything, he was a doctor and a doctor. But in fact, he is just a high-level worker working for foreigners in Guangzhou, not to mention that he is a guest invited by Rong Hong, how can he let the guests spend money;

As for Rong Hong, although he used to work in a foreign bank, his income was not high, and now although he has the title of Minister of Science and Education, the Minister of Science and Education is only a name at present, and he is in the initial stage of pulling people's heads, and before he pulls enough people to form a science and education department and personally meet with Li Yongji to declare, he does not have much money at all, so he does not have much money on hand, at least he does not dare to play such a thing as a chartered car.

"If the carriage can't work, how about we take the boat?" Huang Kuan, who understood, said again, "It's okay to take a boat, I remember that Shanghai and Qingpu can also take a boat, it seems that you can take the Huangpu River?" ”

"That's too slow." Rong Hong shook his head, "By carriage, we don't need half a day to arrive, if we take a boat, it will take a day and a half, and as far as I know, this autumn harvest ceremony is today, especially the time to harvest rice is today, if you go late, you won't see a good time." ”

"It takes a day and a half to take a boat to Qingpu?" Huang Kuan was really puzzled this time, "How can it be so slow?" You're bluffing me! ”

"That gentleman is right." At this time, the little guy in the carriage dealer interjected and laughed, "In normal times, it is natural to take the waterway, for example, it is quite fast to take the canal." But now it's different from the past, if you still take the canal, it's closer, but the river is too narrow, and there are too many boats, and the boats are blocked every day, and you can't walk at all; Walking the Huangpu River is not too congested, but it is too far, so it takes a day or two to go around, so if you want to be fast, it is the fastest to go to Qingpu or take a carriage. ”

"He's right." Rong Hong nodded, "Nowadays, the canal is full of cargo ships, almost end to end, so unless you are willing to take the risk of walking at night, otherwise in the daytime, it will definitely block the boats." ”

"That's really ......" Huang Kuan shook his head and said no more.

"Look, this little brother." Rong Hong began to beg the little guy at this time, "I'm a guest invited by your handsome, this time I went to Qingpu, and I was also invited to participate in the autumn harvest ceremony of the Li Manor, for the sake of the handsome's face, can you be accommodating?" ”

"Who?" The little guy didn't eat this set at all, "Cut, if it's really a guest invited by the handsome, will you come to our shop?" It has been specially received for a long time. Hmph, seeing that you are also a foreigner, and you are in a hurry, I won't arrest you to go to the police station this time, remember not to climb next time, how can you climb casually? Hurry up, stay and don't delay my sleep, I'm tired after a busy night. ”

"You don't know what to do in this future life!" It seemed that the other party was talking too impulsively, Huang Kuan couldn't help it, "He didn't lie to you, he is really the person personally invited by your marshal, and he is also your future minister of science and education." ”

"Hey, hey, the Minister of Science and Education, I've never heard of it." The little guy seemed to have a bad temper, "Hurry up and get out of here, and if you are verbose, I will arrest you and go to the official to believe it or not?" ”

"Alright, don't say it." Seeing that Huang Kuan was still theoretical, Rong Hong hurriedly pulled him away, and then said, "What's the use of arguing with him, let's think of something else." ”

"But you ......," Huang Kuan said angrily, "Aren't you the Minister of Science and Education, are you false?" ”

"Of course it's true, but the yamen hasn't been built yet, and my name hasn't been announced. Naturally, others don't recognize it. Rong Hong shook his head, "Don't say it's me." It's Lan Qing's foreign minister, and few people know. Now in this place. Everyone only knows one city government, and the city government knows two yamen, namely the tax bureau and the police department, the tax bureau is in charge of tax collection, and the police station is in charge of public security and trial of cases. ”

"But do you have any other way now?" Huang Kuan frowned.

"I'm thinking about it." Rong Hong smiled bitterly, "It's really not good, so I can only take a boat." In that case. It is estimated that the rice harvest will not be visible, but the follow-up celebrations are estimated to be able to catch up. ”

Just when Huang Kuan wanted to continue to be honest with Rong Hong, suddenly a man in brocade clothes with short hair and looking in his thirties took the initiative to come over and clasp his fists and said: "The two brothers are polite, I'm sorry, I just listened to you, you seem to be going to Qingpu too?" ”

"That's right." Rong Hong saw that the other party was extraordinary, and he was also kind. "But there's no carriage left, isn't that in a hurry?"

"I see." The other party nodded, and then hugged his fists again, "Two brothers." I think you are extraordinary, and you must not be a bad person, just right. I'm also going to Qingpu, and I've just chartered a four-wheeled carriage. If you're interested, why don't you go together? ”

"This. Is this appropriate? Rong Hong's eyes lit up, but his mouth was a little hypocritical, "We meet in Pingshui......"

"When we meet in Pingshui, we are fated." The other party waved his hand arrogantly, "I can't hide it, I want to go to Qingpu because I admire the prestige of the Jingwu Army and want to apply for the Qingpu Military Academy." I was alone, but I had three empty seats in my carriage, and you had not hired a carriage, so you were walking all the way.

If you want to, let's go together, don't talk about money, just make friends, if you are not happy, let's say goodbye, how about it? ”

"Good!" Rong Hong is not hypocritical this time, and he also hugged his fists, "Since the brother is so good, the little brother is disrespectful!" ”

After speaking, Rong Hong, Huang Kuan, and the man in brocade with short hair laughed, reintroduced each other together, and then got into the four-wheeled carriage parked on the side, and drove away under the control of the coachman.

This man in brocade clothes with short hair is actually Li Hezhang, after he discussed it with Li Hongzhang, he decided to go to Qingpu alone, but he is different from Rong Hong, their Li family in Dongxiang, Luzhou is also a big family, and they are naturally more wealthy. And this time he was going to come over to negotiate, Zeng Guofan gave Li Hongzhang a lot of silver in advance, and these silver were all for accommodating purposes, and it was clear that they could be used for public and private purposes, and there was no need to say how to use them.

The so-called going out to use money everywhere, Li Hongzhang is going back, and he doesn't need too much money, so he left a silver ticket of 1,000 taels of silver for Li Hezhang, and he will send him a silver ticket regularly in the future.

gave Li Hezhang so much silver, in addition to not wanting to treat his third brother badly, the most important thing was to let him make friends. Li Hongzhang understands the role of relationships very well, Li Hezhang is now going to work alone in the Jingwu Army, and the relationship must be established from scratch, at this time, if you are rich and bold, it is easy to establish a relationship network, which is very beneficial to Li Hezhang's future.

Because of this, Li Hezhang was able to spend a lot of money to purse the carriage in advance, and when he came to pick up the carriage this time, he happened to hear the conversation between Rong Hong and Huang Kuan, and his heart moved, so he decided to take them with him.

As for his short hair, it was because he cut his braids in advance before he came, because although it is not mandatory to cut braids in the Jiangnan area, if he participates in the Jingwu Army, I am afraid that it will not work without braids. Li Hezhang is only in his thirties now, which is the age of ambition, so he gritted his teeth and cut his braids, which can be regarded as submitting his name in advance.

Since they were sitting in the same carriage and were of the same age, everyone naturally couldn't be bored, but chatted openly.

Rong Hong and Huang Kuan are both in their thirties, but they have studied abroad most of the time in the past, and after returning to China, they mostly work on the territory of foreigners.

In comparison, Li Hezhang is different, although he is slightly older than Rong Hong, but he has lived in a big family since he was a child, and observing words and emotions is a necessary skill, and he has experienced a lot of things since then. But he basically touched the other party thoroughly.

"In this way, you are really the new officials invited by Li Dashuai." Listen to what they have to say. Li Hezhang, who thought he had caught two big fish, was overjoyed and immediately hugged his fists. "I didn't expect that Mr. Rong is still an adult, and he is disrespectful."

"Where." Rong Hong smiled bitterly, "It's just a skimming of the eight characters, whether I can be this official in the future is not certain, I have to find someone to form it myself." ”

"With the talent of Lord Rong, it must not be difficult to open a government and build a mansion." Li Hezhang continued to compliment, "Then I don't know if the two of you are going to Qingpu this time to ......."

"Oh. That's right. Rong Hong did not doubt him, "We went to Qingpu this time to participate in the autumn harvest celebration of the Li Manor. ”

"Lee's Manor?" The other party was stunned, "Could it be that it is the Zhuangzi of Li Dashuai of the Jingwu Army?" ”

"Exactly." Rong Hong nodded, "Li's Manor is Li Dashuai's private manor, I heard that a thousand acres of experimental fields have been specially opened up there, and a new type of high-yield rice has been specially planted, and now it is time to harvest. It is said that the growth is good and the yield is high, so the Li family decided to hold a private celebration. At the same time, many relatives and friends are invited to go to the lively and lively, and the name is called the autumn harvest celebration. ”

"Oh, so to speak. Those who can participate in this private celebration of the Li family are all not rich or expensive, right? Li Hezhang asked. In that case, not everyone can go, right? ”

"Definitely. Those who are not invited will not be able to participate. Rong Hong smiled slightly, although there was nothing special on the surface, a faint sense of superiority still arose, "But I happen to be among the invitees, and I still have a few places, I can bring a few people in." What, Brother Ji Quan, are you also interested? ”

"Absolutely." Li Hezhang laughed, "I don't dare to ask for it." ”

"Alright, then let's go together." Rong Hong said with a smile, "As you said, those who participated in the Autumn Harvest Ceremony are not rich, they are expensive, Brother Ji Quan is heroic, and it is also very beneficial to know them in advance." ”

In fact, the autumn harvest ceremony mentioned by Rong Hong is indeed Li Yongji's private celebration, the organizer is Li Yongji's family, and the host venue is a test field.

This experimental field is the 1,000 acres of paddy field that Li Yongji quietly selected from the land of the Wang family after he exterminated the Wang family, and then in this best paddy field, he planted all the modern high-yield super hybrid rice.

This high-yield super hybrid rice called Y Liangyou 900 has set a record of more than 1,000 kilograms per mu in Hunan in later generations, and it is also quite good in terms of disease resistance and lodging resistance, the price of seeds is not expensive, and the nutritional value is also good, it is a fairly mature variety.

The reason why there is no large-scale promotion in modern society is that this kind of rice has a general taste, large water demand, and is more water-intensive, and is only suitable for planting in the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River.

However, the Qing Dynasty at this time was different, the Qing Dynasty had not actually solved the problem of food and clothing, and eating was the first place.

Because of this, Li Yongji planted this ultra-high-yield hybrid rice in the experimental field, and at the same time, he also provided complete planting technology information, and found many experienced farmers with relatively high literacy rates to serve carefully with the technology on the materials; In terms of fertilizer, only farmhouse fertilizer is used, and catfish are also mixed in the paddy field, and the insect removal is also done manually, and it is completely free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which is a real pure natural rice.

Now, it is finally time to harvest the rice, although Li Yongji cannot personally supervise it, nor has he actually harvested it, but according to some old farmers, this year's wind and rain are good, this kind of rice has risen well, and the yield will definitely not be bad.

Therefore, this so-called autumn harvest celebration is just a disguise, and the main purpose is to let more people come to the experimental field through this grand festival, and use everyone's personal experience to witness the power of high-yield rice.

As for why only relatives and friends are invited, this is actually a disguise, but in order to raise the price, it is deliberately creating a phenomenon of alienation from relatives.

This is to tell everyone that those who can participate in this activity are nobles and people who are close to the Li family, so that the soldiers and businessmen who participate in this event will not mention it, and those farmers who are specially invited will also be honored, and then they will regard planting this rice as a kind of profit. It is a kind of identity recognition, and the interest in planting is naturally higher. It can also be promoted more quickly.

After all, the power of habit is terrible, even if the yield of new rice is high. But in the absence of movies and television, it is impossible for too many people to see it with their own eyes, just relying on hearsay, it is difficult for those who have not witnessed the miracle to give up their own rice that they have grown for many years and plant a new rice that they have never seen before.

What's more, Li Yongji also plans to adopt a new planting method, that is, the contract reemployment method, to promote this method. It must be recognized by more people.

The so-called contract reemployment means renting your land and at the same time hiring you as a professional farmer, so as to unify and carry out collectivized land operations.

Specifically, Li Yongji plans to plant a large area of rice in an area suitable for planting rice in the control area, so as to achieve unified planning and management, so as to increase yield. In the future, the plan to implement the large-scale zoning of crops will not only be for rice areas, but also for cotton areas and mulberry leaf areas. It's a bit like the agricultural district plan of the United States in later times.

Then, within this rice area, there must be a lot of land that was originally privately owned. If you buy them all, the financial burden is too heavy. What's more, many people may not be willing to sell, if they use force to buy and sell. That is even more problematic, so in this case, Li Yongji plans to use a new contract reemployment method.

In other words, I don't want your private ownership of the land, but I will sign a lease contract with you to rent your land.

During the period when I lease your land, your land cannot grow other crops but my rice, and you cannot have any right to use your land, but your land will be automatically converted into a sum of silver as rent according to the quality of your land, and this silver will not be given to you in advance, but half will be given to you first, and the other half will be given to you after the harvest.

At the same time, I will also hire you as my professional peasant, similar to the long-term laborer of the landlord's family, but the treatment is much better.

After you are hired, you will be paid a monthly salary, and there will be bonuses for doing a good job, and there will be dividends for a good harvest, but you must obey the company's leaders and obey the unified deployment, so that where you go to do farm work, you have to go to do farm work, you can't just take care of your own land, and there are various penalties for not doing well, usually fines.

During this period, all seeds, farm tools, etc., are provided by agricultural companies, and you only need to pay labor to earn a salary to ensure the harvest during drought and flood, in short, regardless of the good or bad harvest, your salary is fixed.

In this way, you can not only get a salary, but also get rent, which is much better in terms of income than you used to do on your own, and join an agricultural company, do collective work, and employees have various benefits, such as free schooling for children, etc.

Of course, this method is aimed at small homesteaders who have little land, and this cannot be done against large landowners.

For large landowners, there are currently two ways:

The first is traditional contracting, which is to pay you a high rent every year, and then you don't care how you grow the land, you just collect the rent on an annual basis. Of course, you should be willing to work in an agricultural company during this time, or even let your domestic slaves work in the company.

Another way is to convert your land into silver, and then exchange it for the internal shares of the agricultural company, and become a shareholder of the agricultural company, so that once the agricultural company has income, it will take out a fixed amount of money every year to these shareholders as dividends, the more shares you have, the more money you will share, and the higher the right to speak, of course, in case of loss, you will also have to bear the loss, in addition, this kind of stock can also be bought and sold internally.

On the surface, this model of forming an agricultural company and contracting land on a large scale costs more money, at least a lot more than the traditional tenant farmer contracting model, but because it is an intensive planting and higher production efficiency, even if you don't use high-yield rice, the income will be higher than the original small-scale tenant farming method, let alone the use of high-yield rice.

However, no matter which new model it is, even if it is clear that these new methods are beneficial to everyone, but due to the influence of traditional conservative forces, I am afraid that there will be many resistances, so Li Yongji decided to use the way of standing in line and let those who are close to him do it first.

Let these people participate in the autumn harvest celebration, first, to see with their own eyes the power of this high-yield rice, so that they can dispel their concerns, and second, to engage in such a private celebration, is to tell them one thing, that is, everyone is their own people, since they are their own people, if there are benefits, I will give you first, in this case, you will also vigorously support your own new policy?

Therefore, the people who can be invited to participate in the autumn harvest celebration are the first vested interests given by Li Yongji, and only after they have tried the new method first and become rich through the new method, will others follow suit.

At this time, the Qing Dynasty people's pursuit of equality was not high, on the contrary, they recognized the class status and the distance between relatives and relatives, and the most desired thing for the majority of peasant brothers was not to average land rights, but to turn over to become the landlord and become the landlord at that level, and then the children and grandchildren continued.

Therefore, at this time, if you use a method in which everyone is your own person, I want to promote you, and I want to give you benefits first, it is much easier than forced promotion.

For most people, although they don't know the specific content of this autumn harvest celebration and the true purpose of this autumn harvest celebration, they still have this idea, and it seems that as long as they can participate in this festival, they will immediately be tall and become a person.

At least in Li Hezhang's view, those who can participate in the autumn harvest celebration of the Li family's private estate must be people who are close to the Li family, and they must also be people who are to be promoted, especially in this sensitive period of turning against the Qing court, this matter is probably also a self-evident act of standing in line.

Therefore, Li Hezhang decided not to go to Qingpu Military Academy first, but to find a way to sneak into this celebration and find a way to show his face inside. As long as he can participate in this celebration and become a person in this circle, his status in the elite army will definitely not be low in the future. (To be continued......)