"Are you willing to lease me 30,000 acres of land?" Li Hongjun pushed away the wine glass in front of him and asked in surprise.

Several landlords in front of Li Hongjun have cooperated with Zhao Jiaren for several years, although they only met Li Hongjun for the first time, they spoke very straightforwardly. They said with sad faces: "Don't say 30,000 mu, even 100,000 mu." ”

Before arriving in Jiangbei, Li Hongjun and the cadres of the Navigation Guild believed that it would be very difficult to rent land in the Lianghuai area. Unexpectedly, I just had a meeting with the landlords who had rented the land before, and all the landlords were willing to rent the land in their hands to Li Hongjun. Faced with such a reaction beyond the scope of understanding, Li Hongjun asked with great vigilance: "Why did you agree so happily?" ”

The landlord still had a sad face, and his tone was uncomfortable, "I think Mr. Li knows that the public land reform has been implemented in Jiangnan Thinking. The government buys the land at a low price, and it is said that the price given is only 20% of the market price. Even so, he did not give cash, but gave some degrees. Looking at the appearance of the government, I don't know what it will become when it is our turn. ”

In the Great Song Dynasty, religious sites were tax-free, so great monks and Taoist priests often had a lot of temple properties. It is more of a business license than a certification document for religious people. In big cities, every portion is worth a lot of money. From the words spoken by the landlords, Li Hongjun heard a kind of despair. As a cadre of the Navigation Guild, Li Hongjun can understand this despair. Just like Li Hongjun himself, he knows that the properties of the great monks and Taoist priests can be tax-exempt, but Li Hongjun does not have it now, and he probably will not have the desire to become a monk in the future.

The same is true for these landlords, who go to monks' temples or Taoist temples to ask the gods and Buddhas, ask for divination, and spend money to seek psychological comfort, rather than using religious places to make money after becoming monks. The landlords in the countryside knew what kind of crops to plant, how to cultivate, and at what price they sold their agricultural products to whom. But they don't know how to find specific people who need it, and they don't know how to sell it.

After chatting for a while, the landlords drank too much and talked more. From their words, we can know that these landlords were indeed affected by the reform of public land, and the result of the impact was not the conservative and cautious expected by the Navigation Guild. At least they are not in the mood to continue operating on a large scale this year.

Seeing that the landlord was telling the truth, Li Hongjun signed a land lease agreement of 100,000 mu with them. Under the introduction of these landlords, Li Hongjun easily rented 50,000 mu of land. The situation is so fierce that Li Hongjun no longer dares to assert himself, these landlords have given up on themselves this year, and after the situation stabilizes, they will also resume their previous calculations. What will happen then? This is land calculated in 10,000 acres, and if something happens, it will be a big deal.

After returning to Fuzhou with these lease contracts, Li Hongjun found that Song Jie had also rushed back to Fuzhou, and the two made a report to Zhao Jiaren.

The quality of the land is generally not high, and the only benefit is that it is contiguous. Some of the more sensitive landowners in the Lianghuai region are looking forward to more cooperation with the Nautical Guild. They also want to be able to grow cotton profitably...... Li Hongjun's report can be described as a gentle drizzle.

Song Jie said that in more than a month, he went from Rizhao to Dengzhou on the Jiaodong Peninsula. After the Mongols eliminated Li Pu, they carried out a very brutal killing of Li Pu's subordinates, and more than 10,000 of Li Pu's 20,000 elite subordinates were killed. In addition, the Mongols took this opportunity to abolish the privileges of the Han military princes, and they were probably able to lead some family members to be in the Zhuangzi, and they had to obey the government after leaving the Zhuangzi.

As a result of this reorganization, a great deal of hatred arose between the local landlords and the bureaucrats dispatched by the Mongol court. After Song Jie helped kill people, he got the cooperation of four former Han military marquis. The marquis of the Han army promised to grow soybeans for sale, and also got the intention of cooperation in the sale of hawthorn and timber in the Dengzhou area.

After listening to Song Jie's introduction, Li Hongjun asked in surprise: "Will those people rebel like Li Pu?" ”

Hearing such a question, Zhao Jiaren couldn't help but chuckle. Li Hongjun knew that Zhao Jiaren didn't like this problem, but he didn't understand why Zhao Jiaren looked at it like this. Song Jie couldn't help but scratch his head and replied, "If they dare to rebel, how can they ask me to help kill people." Ask me to kill people because I won't betray them, and if I kill someone and leave, the local government can't find out who did it. In the final analysis, because these people no longer have the heart to confront the Mongols, they want to ask me to do it. ”

Listening to this analysis, Li Hongjun suddenly felt some jealousy in his heart. Song Zhe is younger than Li Hongjun, but his ability to distinguish is probably stronger than Li Hongjun. The landlords of Lianghuai could tell their reasons, the former Han military marquis of Shandong could not tell their inner thoughts, and the young Song Jie was able to make an analysis that Li Hongjun agreed with very much.

Of course, Li Hongjun didn't feel about Zhao Jiaren being younger than Li Hongjun. In the Great Song Dynasty, if a Jinshi is not as good as an ordinary person, it is a surprising thing.

Seeing that Li Hongjun had no opinion, Zhao Jiaren said: "Whether it is Shandong or Lianghuai, we will cooperate with these people." As long as those who make money through labor, there is a basis for cooperation. Especially those who are willing to grow cotton, we need to cooperate. ”

After saying this, I heard Li Hongjun cough twice. Zhao Jiaren's heart moved, and he felt that Li Hongjun obviously didn't want to do it. As soon as his thoughts turned, Zhao Jiaren remembered that Li Hongjun had said before he set off that he would not leave Fujian Road after coming back this time. If Li Hongjun is allowed to go to Lianghuai, it obviously does not meet Li Hongjun's expectations. Thinking of this, Zhao Jiaren didn't continue to speak, but asked everyone to continue to be busy first.

The one who wants to continue to be busy among the two people is actually Song Jie, and when Song Jie leaves, Zhao Jiaren said to Li Hongjun: "You said that you wanted to stay in Fujian, I promised, I will tell you now, and I will not send you to other places again." ”

With a long sigh of relief, Li Hongjun's heart finally settled down. Without waiting for him to say anything, he listened to Zhao Jiaren continue: "You can't do nothing if you stay here, I have an errand I want you to do." ”

"What errand?" Li Hongjun asked.

"Build a house!" Zhao Jiaren replied very simply.

The next day, Zhao Jiaren led Li Hongjun to Mawei. On a high slope away from the river, a large area of land is being cleared. Those who tidy up the land don't look like people from the Nautical Guilds, because the Nautical Guilds never wear sackcloth clothes. Even if you wear it, you won't wear such inferior linen clothes. I don't know how long the linen cloth has not been washed, and it is very dilapidated from sweat.

Zhao Jiaren didn't care at all, these people seemed to him to be the same as those migrant workers when the city was being built rapidly. Zhao Jiaren will not disrespect them, but he will not pay special attention to them. Pointing to this large piece of land, Zhao Jiaren said: "Right here, I want to build the first residential area. ”

Just looking at the area where construction has begun, there is about one-tenth the size of Fuzhou City, Li Hongjun couldn't help but smile and said: "If you repair it like this, how long will it take to complete it?" ”

In ancient times, it took decades or hundreds of years for a city to rise, and just a few years were not enough to change the appearance of a city. Faced with Li Hongjun's serious statement, Zhao Jiaren nodded with satisfaction, "So I built several hydraulic brick factories by the river at any cost." What is lacking now is coal for the kiln. If I can't do it now, I'll have to transport coal back from the Japanese country. ”

These words made Li Hongjun stunned. It took thousands of miles to transport coal from the Japanese state, and the purpose of traveling thousands of miles was only to burn bricks and build houses in Fuzhou. The novelty of this idea made Li Hongjun wonder if Zhao Jiaren was crazy. He hurriedly asked, "Isn't it okay to burn wood?" ”

Zhao Jiaren said with a smile: "When the coal is brought back from the Wa Kingdom, as soon as we settle the account, you will know whether it is cost-effective to burn wood." ”

“…… Headmaster, let's see what the house to be repaired looks like. Li Hongjun decided not to discuss this crazy question with Zhao Jiaren, which was too evil to hear.

The two walked for most of the hour, talking about Ryukyu Island and Iwo Jima beyond. These two places are rich in sulfur, and with the sulfur from the Wa Kingdom, there is no shortage of sulfur on Zhao Jiaren's side. Unexpectedly, Tianzhu, which is rich in natural resources, is actually short of sulfur, and such a mineral branch makes Li Hongjun, the former owner of Ryukyu Island, have to sigh that 'creation makes people'.

At this time, the two of them arrived at a place that was still a little away from the school, where a small three-story building stood. At the foot of the roof made of stones, Li Hongjun praised the design as very reliable at a glance. Fuzhou is very humid, and the closer it is to the ground, the greater the moisture. After entering, Li Hongjun found that the ground was actually a wooden plank. Those planks have a beautiful texture, and when you reach out and touch them, it is probably because of the tung oil, and the planks are smooth to the touch.

The house has its own staircase, and when you look up, you can see that several large beams have been erected with rafters. Going up the stairs to the second floor, the floor is still painted with tung oil boards. Each floor is divided into several rooms. When I went up to the third floor, I don't know if it was a psychological reason, Li Hongjun felt that the third floor seemed to be different from the first floor. The first floor is hot and humid, and the third floor is refreshingly moist.

"This ...... How much does it cost to build a building like this? Li Hongjun asked Zhao Jiaren, he already felt that he wanted to build such a building. This feeling alone makes a big difference.

Zhao Jiaren did not say the specific price, he asked: "Guess where these floor slabs come from?" ”

Since it is such a big deal, Li Hongjun feels that Zhao Jiaren must have to do something amazing. Let his thinking begin to expand, Li Hongjun thought for a moment and then his face changed, "Principal, it can't be true, right?" ”

Zhao Jiaren smiled proudly, "It's true, these timbers are the timbers after Jeju Island has been processed." I'm ready to build a big ship with tens of thousands of materials, and this kind of big ship doesn't need to be fast, but how much it can be transported. When the time comes, a shipload of lumber will be able to lay hundreds or thousands of houses with planks. Do you think it's cheap or expensive? ”