Chen Chao got out of Huayuan Industry, put up the name of the Fifth Town Senator, and went to conduct a social investigation. Due to lack of manpower, he wrote a letter to recruit his old friend Xiao Guanyu from his hometown as an assistant.

Regarding social surveys, Chen Chao has already done it twice. The first time was in his hometown, and according to Long Qian's suggestion, he learned in detail about the population, economy, and land of several villages near Chenjiaya. When he arrived in Yizhou, in the process of preparing for the establishment of Huayuan Industry, he conducted a social survey on Yizhou City. The former is a survey of the countryside, and the latter is a survey of the cities.

The focus of this investigation, Chen Chao still chose the countryside. First, he admits that he is familiar with the countryside, and secondly, he knows Long Qian's worries, and he can compete for the world only if he has enough food and soldiers. But it's not easy to say. In today's rural areas, productivity is extremely low, and it is very difficult to collect surplus grain. When the Mengshan Army was stationed in Lunan, in order to raise military rations, it bought grain from Jiangsu and Anhui through the Zhongxing Company.

Chen Chao has been following Long Qian for a long time, and has been deeply influenced by Long Qian on many issues. Zhilu said that he has always had a grand idea, hoping that through the transformation of the countryside, the yield per mu will be greatly increased and the problem of eating will be completely solved. Many of Long Qian's unmatched reforms in his hometown were aimed at this purpose.

Hearing that the autonomous committee in his hometown was re-elected, the original director Xiao Guanyu stepped down, so Chen Chao wrote a letter to his old friend and asked someone to send it to Bai Wei and invite Xiao Guanyu to come to Jinan.

At the beginning of the month, Xiao Guanyu, who received Chen Chao's private message, brought his eldest son Xiao Wuji from his hometown to Jinan Mansion, and lived in Chen Chao's temporary home, not elsewhere, in the backyard of the Fifth Town Headquarters. Chen Shu gave up the two west rooms of the main house to her uncle and aunt, and Chen Xian and Chen Zhi occupied the west wing. It's just a temporary settlement. Chen Chao is ready to buy a house in Jinan, but he has not yet found a satisfactory yard for a while. In addition, after the "1111" incident, Chen Shu also felt that it was not very quiet outside, and she lived in the headquarters of the Mengshan Army, so she naturally did not need to consider security issues.

When Xiao Guanyu arrived, Chen Chao was extremely happy, drove Chen Xian and Chen Zhi out of the West Chamber, and gave the house to an old friend to live in temporarily.

Xiao Wuji has already married, and Xiao Guanyu also has a grandson. Although Xiao Guanyu stood on the side of Mengshan Army at the beginning. But it is strictly forbidden for his only son Xiao Wuji to join the army. Right now. Everything is different.

"Yuezhi! It's really a vicissitudes of life, I can't imagine that the commander has created such a situation, and the foolish brother congratulates. When I first saw Chen Chao, Xiao Guanyu bowed down.

"Brother Suitable! What are you doing! Chen Chao hurriedly picked up his old friend. Not. Mowgli's nephew is also here. Very good, very good! Hurry up and sit in the house. Hey, hey. Come out and see who's coming? The latter words were shouted to You Shi.

When Chen Chao first arrived in Yizhou, Xiao Guanyu went to Yizhou to visit, and then You and Chen Xian returned to their hometown, which was regarded as seeing each other again. After a long absence, the two felt quite intimate. On the way to Xiao Guanyu, he thought about the ancient adage of "noble friends, rich and easy wives", and worried that Chen Chao's relationship with himself could no longer be the same as before. Now Long Qian is the admiral who holds the military power of a province, and the second daughter is also married to the important general of the Mengshan army, and he deserves to be a powerful Xuanhe. But Chen Chao's current attitude relieved him.

The two of them were originally good friends and did not avoid their wives and children, but You Shi and Chen Shu came out again, and they were polite. Of course, Xiao Guanyu wants to compliment Chen Shu, the so-called discerning hero, this is the story that happened in reality. At the beginning, the wild girl who didn't like women to be popular, and couldn't even find a suitable in-law for dancing and playing with swords all day long, has now become the wife of the main house of a first-class military attaché, and it is said that she is quite favored by her husband, and she does not even accept a concubine in a room, and she is favored.

"Yuezhi, this is living in the headquarters. Commander, okay? Now our Mengshan army is strong and strong, not as good as it was then. Or is it my lady's niece who knows heroes, if there would be such a scenery? Hehe. Xiao Guanyu sat down in the guest seat and smiled at Chen Chao.

"Reckoning, he went out to inspect the troops. This was originally the headquarters of the Mengshan Army, but now I am only living temporarily, just because I have not yet found a suitable house. This is a provincial city, although it can't be said that every inch of land is gold, and it can't be like we are in the countryside, choose a good house to build a house. Ha Lu Ha. By the way, everything is at home, okay? How are you home? As soon as he saw his old friend, Chen Chao naturally asked about the situation in his hometown.

"Good. With the light of the commander, the children of our base area are either going to serve as soldiers, or to work in Yanzhou and Yizhou, and their livelihood is not worried. ”

The facts confirmed Long Qian's original prophecy, and it is really a wise saying that no work is not rich. On the one hand, the pressure on the rural areas has been relieved, and on the other hand, because the profitability of industrial enterprises is far superior to that of agriculture, the income of the workers is much stronger than that of farming, so that the rural areas can be helped and the situation in the rural areas will improve. But to say that all families have a good livelihood is also a beautiful word. However, many of the children of their hometowns have become officers, such as Cheng Jianguo, the son of Cheng Daniu, who has become a battalion commander, and his monthly military salary is 100 silver oceans, and the supply system is implemented in the army, and the cost is very small, and even all the military salaries can be sent home, which naturally changes the conditions of the family. What was the original situation of Lao Cheng? As a hired worker for Zheng Jing, he couldn't even eat enough, and he was almost killed because of a conflict with the owner because of the non-payment of rent. Now, he has built five large tiled houses and become a well-known wealthy family in the neighborhood, and the matchmaker who said goodbye to his son is about to break through the threshold.

"That's good...... "The hometown is getting better, and it's naturally pleasant.

"By the way, hasn't Chen San's family always been sheltered by you? You brought them to the provincial capital this time? ”

"Nope. Stayed in Yizhou. Life has settled down, and I don't need to take care of it anymore. Chen Chao brought up the topic, "Brother Shizhi, I invite you here this time because I want you to help me conduct a survey on the rural economy." No one helped me with this, so I thought of you. If the house can be left, how about you stay for a while? ”

"Walking is walking away. I don't do any more errands on the Autonomous Committee, and I'm idle. When it came to things that didn't go well, Xiao Guanyu looked lonely.

"I just want to understand, why did you lose the election?"

"It's hard to put into words. I'm not afraid that you will be unhappy, Cheng Daniu and his gang of poor ghosts are becoming more and more powerful, relying on the support of the team, and they are less and less concerned about us people. We want to reduce the rent today, and we will cut the interest rate tomorrow, and if you don't agree, you will make trouble. There's no place to make sense yet! This autumn, the rich man Han of Shuangji Village sued his hired farmers to the county, and the Zhao county commander in Fei County was also a dumb official. actually rejected Han Caidong's complaint, which further fueled their arrogance. also compared you to Chen Chao, saying that since Chen Chao can donate the land, what do you have to reduce the rent? ”

"Didn't make a fuss, did you?" It was the first time Chen Chao had heard of this. Moreover, his land was not donated, but given to the Invalids Farm of Mengshan Army to manage, which can be regarded as a shareholder in the farm.

"Look at you, Brother Xiao just came, you picked him up and said it upset." You Shi said, "You guys are tired all the way. Let's have dinner. Rest early after eating. There's time for you to talk. Now he has also resigned from Huayuan's errand, and he has time. ”

"Yes, yes, let's eat first. Serve wine. Let's have a drink. That's right. Shu'er, you can find me a few packs of cigarettes from Quancheng. Your Uncle Xiao is a smoker, let him taste it. ”

Chen Shu agreed. Let Sister-in-law Zhang take the money and go to the front yard to buy a few packs of cigarettes from the staff office. Slandering my uncle in my heart, what do you mean by looking for it? Can you get it without spending money?

"Reflection. What does that social survey mean? What can I do? After three rounds of drinking, Xiao Guanyu remembered the business.

"Have you forgotten that I investigated your village in the first place? It's pretty much the same as that. ”

"What are you doing here? The commander is still in charge of civilians? ”

"It's not about it, it's about understanding the situation. Bringing troops is not so simple. Tens of thousands of horses eat what horses chew every day, and they can't ignore the harvest. By the way, that Invalids farm is said to be doing very well, isn't it true? ”

"That's not nonsense. They rented out most of the land, and the rent was thirty percent lower than normal, which made the poor ghosts feel up, so they forced us to reduce the rent. The land left behind is taken care of by himself, mainly cultivating seeds and selling seeds to earn money. It is said that it is a good seed bought from abroad, and it is really good, let's say corn, which is drought resistant, and the harvest has increased by at least 20%. ”

"Twenty percent?" Chen Chao was surprised.

"Yes, most of our new seeds are used there this year, and the wheat planting has increased. The team ordered directly, agreed on the price in advance, and gave the deposit. It's true that the folks are having a better time. However, the squires were not very happy and did not dare to speak. ”

"Why are you upset? Isn't the yield per mu increasing? ”

"Hey, it's hard to put into words. This time, I brought Wuji out, I want you to help him find something to do in the city? Aren't you in charge of Huayuan Company? How did you quit it? ”

"Huayuan has moved out of Yizhou Mansion. It merged with the Machinery Bureau of Jinan to form Xinhuayuan. After annexing people, you must appease your next family. It doesn't matter, it's not hard to find a thing. By the way, I am going to set up a bank recently, which is based on the ticket number of Jinyuan, and Manager Jiang is an acquaintance, why don't you introduce Wuji to the past? ”

"Banks? That's a good idea. Is Mowgli capable? Xiao Guanyu was happy.

"The virtuous nephew knows how to read and break, why can't he do it? Rest assured. Manager Jiang will give me this face! ”

After dinner, when he returned to the hall, the topic turned to the social investigation, Chen Chao had already found two assistants, and now Xiao Guanyu came, which could be divided into two groups and carried out at the same time. The area, scope, object, and purpose of the investigation have been outlined, and they have been taken out to explain clearly to Xiao Guanyu one by one, and the two of them have been talking about it all the time. Xiao Wuji has been accompanying his father, and when the two fathers finished talking about business, they asked if they could let him also participate in this investigation, and Chen Chao immediately agreed.

"Look, you see, forget that you saddle horse tired, it's long overdue to rest. Sorry, sorry! Xiao Zhi, send you Uncle Xiao back. Chen Chao said apologetically.

"It's okay, when I see my old friend, my spirit is immediately much better." Xiao Guanyu said with a smile.

The tiger head has already slept, but Chen Chao's family, including Chen Shu, has not slept. After the Xiao father and son left, Chen Shu, Chen Xian and You all came out of the suite, cleaned up the remaining tea dishes, Chen Xian asked his father, "Brother-in-law asked you to do this investigation, what is it for?" It doesn't seem like he's in charge, does it? ”

"You're not too young, so it's okay to talk to you. He was plotting a solution to the land problem. ”

"The land problem? Do you have to do it like tidying up the Zheng family? This time, it was You who asked the question.

"You women's knowledge is poor. But I haven't met anyone who recognizes the importance of the land issue. This is still a far-reaching reflection. China is an agricultural country, and more than ninety percent of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Therefore, land is the lifeblood of the peasants, and whoever solves the land problem has the support of the peasants. And whoever wins the support of the peasants will own the country. ”

"Huh?!" You Shi and Chen Xian both understood the meaning behind these words.

After being quiet for a while, You Shi glanced at Chen Shu and said to her husband, "We are all women's families, and we don't know Dali, but I think it's good to think about it now. ”

"He knows this better than you. Otherwise, it wouldn't be like this now. It's nothing, it's just an investigation, and in the past few years, I can see him clearly, don't worry. After speaking, he instructed Chen Xian to fetch hot water and prepare to wash and rest.

But Chen Chao had insomnia that night. Because of Xiao Guanyu's contradictions about the hometown self-government committee, he was reminded of the class views that Long Qian had mentioned to him more than once. Since this point of view, the incomprehensible points of reading history before have been easily solved. The so-called "rule of three generations" in which the politics are clear and the world is the common good, which the scholars and doctors have never forgotten, is nothing more than a primitive society with an extremely backward economy and no classes having yet emerged. With the development of the economy, the emergence of classes, the contradictions begin. The pursuit of interests is almost human nature, so the contradictions are always intensifying, and the tragicomedy of the cycle of chaos is directed. In his view, if the selfish characteristics of human nature are not changed, the circle of chaos will not end. It's Long Qian, what can he do if he comes to take charge of the big handle? Even if he has always maintained his current conscientious and self-denying and honest style, who among the following civil and military generals can always live the same life as him? And, who can guarantee that he won't change?

The Mengshan Army has developed from a roaring horse gathering in the mountains and forests to the present day in five years, which seems like a dream to Chen Chao. Who would have thought where he would go in five years? This hope was rushed by the thoughts caused by the class, and he actually felt that the future was like ink, and it was even not as peaceful as the peaceful and peaceful Chen Jiaya time in the past.

But it's hard to turn back time, and even if you want to go back, your family won't agree. And, in fact, there is no going back.

Layue is busy, especially for the Chen family. Chen Chao and Xiao's father and son went to conduct a social investigation, and they only came back once in a few days. Long Qian went to inspect the troops for half a month, and did not come back until the eighteenth day of the lunar month, and stayed at the staff office in the front yard every day, where lunch was eaten. You Shi and Chen Shu are preparing for Chen Xian's marriage, and Xiao Zhi is still reviewing his homework and preparing to take a special exam at Shandong University Hall in the spring of the following year. In a blink of an eye, it was the festival of the sacrificial stove, Chen Chao basically ended his investigation, went home to sort out his records, and began to write an investigation report. You Shi and Chen Xian made dumplings and were supposed to have a reunion dinner, but on this day, Long Qian went to the seventeenth standard army and did not come back until the evening. You Shi complained and postponed the reunion dinner to the next day. When it was almost noon, he sent Xiaozhi to the front yard to call Long Qian back, and called the Xiao family and his son, and had a hearty lunch together. The next day, Xiao Guanyu and his son will return to their hometown in Fei County. Long Qian, who drank a lot of alcohol but rarely drank alcohol, also accompanied Chen Xiao and the others to drink a few glasses of wine, and the topic had been talking about their hometown, and Chen Chao even felt that Long Qian also regarded it as his hometown.

The meal lasted until about three o'clock in the afternoon, when a staff officer hurriedly came to the staff office and said that there was an urgent military situation. Long Qian was very calm, "The war broke out?" ”

"Yes. It has been confirmed. Plus, they've finally got the news! ”

Long Qian stood up and walked out of the room. (To be continued......)