Granny Zhang had already heard her little son shouting as soon as he came back, put down the needle and thread in her hand and went out of the house.

"I heard you yelling from afar, what's wrong, what's the good thing?"

A simple table and two benches were placed under an old locust tree in the courtyard, and Zhang Wensheng pulled her to sit down.

"Mother, you sit down first, and wait for your son to tell you slowly."

"Okay, okay, sit down, mother......"

There was a teapot on the table, Zhang Wensheng picked it up, he didn't even ask for the teacup, he poured it down as soon as he tilted his head, poured most of the pot before putting it down, then wiped his mouth and said:

"Two things, this is the first one, the yamen issued a notice two days ago, saying that the people are encouraged to sell their own grain, and now the red lotus rice in our county has become tribute rice, and the price has increased several times. My son thinks this is not right, our tenant Miss Wu's land is still planted with red lotus rice, and this year I see a bumper harvest, in addition to the rent to be paid, there is a lot left, and it can be sold at a good price. ”

Granny Zhang's face was happy: "Really? Can it really be sold for a good price? ”

Zhang Wensheng nodded and said, "My son has inquired about it, there are several rich families in the city who are competing to collect it, and they have all received eight coins of silver and one stone today!" ”

"What? Eight money! Granny Zhang's eyes widened, and she couldn't believe it: "Really eight dollars? ”

"Is that still fake? And people have said that they will receive as much as they want. This is only the mill opened by the locals, not counting those foreign grain merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the price they give is even higher! I searched...... Borrow a carriage and go to several state capitals around Yingtian to see if you can get a better price. ”

Granny Zhang was overjoyed, and her eyes couldn't help but burst into tears: "It's really good, our family has today, and it's all thanks to Miss Wu's blessing." ”

Zhang Wensheng heard the old lady mention Wu Yan, and he couldn't help but sigh: "Yes, if it weren't for her, my eldest brother and I would probably still be digging stones in Yuhuajian today; If it weren't for her, how could our family have rented such a good land and only charged so little rent; If it weren't for her, our family wouldn't have planted this red lotus rice, let alone thought that it could be sold for a good price. ”

"My mother remembered that she said that she loved to eat rice here, so I don't know if she can eat our Liuhe rice after she goes to the capital? My mother has been thinking about asking someone to give her some red lotus rice. ”

Zhang Wensheng suddenly remembered, and said: "My son heard that Aunt Xi and Mama Zhang have returned to Liuhe, or ......."

"That's a good feeling!" Granny Zhang almost jumped up with joy: "Son, hurry up and send them all the new rice from our family, just say that this year's new rice will be given to Miss Wu's family to taste!" ”

Zhang Wensheng smiled and said, "Okay, I also have this idea...... Oh, by the way, mother, and the second thing, it's also a good thing. ”

"Okay, okay, this good thing comes in pairs, then you can tell your mother about it."

"I just took our family's money and grain book from the governor, this year's tax to be paid, the yamen has reduced a lot, my son summed it up, just the tax layer, our family can also save a few taels of silver, save these few taels of silver can let the eldest brother's child my big treasure go to the county to study."

"It's this reason," Granny Zhang's face bloomed with a smile, as if there was joy in the folds, "It's so good, to say that this county order is really a good person!" ”

"Also, I discussed with my eldest brother, and I plan to go to the official field in the tenant county next year to plant, just now I also asked the lieutenant chief, and he said that our family is completely in line with the requirements, and if he decides to share, he will go to Master Huang to talk about it."

"Naturally, I want to be a tenant, and my mother also heard about it, saying that the rent is very low, and it will be repaid in ten years...... If that's the case, it's more cost-effective than buying your own land. ”

"It's just that there are more rules, and you can only grow crops, you can't grow mulberry tobacco, you can't change tenants, you can only grow your own ......"

"That's not right, anyway, our family only grows crops and nothing else, with Miss Wu's land, plus the tenant's official field, just plant this red lotus rice, as long as there is a harvest in the field every year, in three or five years, our family can also build a big house."

Speaking of building a big house, Zhang Wensheng also had a trace of expectation in his heart, he looked back at his earthen house, remembered the scene in April and May last year, and couldn't help but sigh......

Fortunately, I met Miss Wu...... Now that they have survived, seeing that the days are getting better day by day, Zhang Wensheng's heart is like a fire, and his whole heart is warm.

"By the way, the matter of selling grain, my son discussed it with a few people in the village, and planned to borrow two carriages to go to the markets around Yingtianfu to have a look. The wagon was going to pull some grain first, and if the price was right, it would be sold directly. ”

"Son, can't you go to the market here in Liuhe? Didn't you just say eight coins and one stone? ”

"It's not that no, now that this red lotus rice has become tribute rice, the starting price of the sale, my son wants to sell it at a good price. Several large markets in our county are mostly locals, and there are fewer foreign businessmen after all, so we charge eight yuan here, and maybe it is possible to collect nine yuan and one tael in other places. It is convenient to have a carriage, you can call back and forth on the same day, in the past, the people could not afford to raise horses, but now, just look at our Qingxi Village, there are several families equipped with carriages, and my son is very envious. ”

"Hehe..."Granny Zhang smiled, "Yes, in the past, whoever had a cow in the family was amazing, but now you see, if someone's family is equipped with a carriage, it can be blown for a long time." ”

"Next year, if the harvest in the field is still good, and our family also raises a horse, then I don't know if the road can be repaired? It is indeed much more convenient to have a carriage, the key is to be fast and carry. ”

"That's a good feeling......"

The mother and son chatted until the sun went down, Zhang Laohan and his eldest son's family, who had been busy in the field for a day, also returned, and the small courtyard was instantly full of joy, the children's slapstick, and the woman was busy in the kitchen, preparing the family's dinner.

Zhang Wensheng looked up at the sky, the colorful sunset illuminated the sky, accompanied by the curling smoke, a good picture of a grand event and peaceful scenery, at this moment, in his heart, a sense of satisfaction that he had never felt before was filling the entire heart......

Two days later, Zhang Wensheng rushed back from nearby Yangzhou, carrying the silver obtained from selling grain in his arms, just like that day, shouting before he got home:

"Mother, I'm back! Guess how much I sold......"

In the same few days, Fan Xiucai felt that the sorrows and joys that he could experience in his life had been experienced in these few days.

After returning from Wang's house that day, he felt like a walking corpse, and his whole body was shrouded in great sorrow. When I returned home, I didn't dare to tell my mother in detail, but I just made up lies to 'deceive' her, saying that there were many buyers who fancied my own land......

However, just when he felt extremely desperate, people from the yamen actually came to his house to look for him, and he was caught off guard by the news that followed...... The whole person was groggy, so he signed a temporary resale contract with the yamen.

In the past few days, Chen Lin, the chief bookkeeper, has been busy surveying the official land that is about to be auctioned, and once again determining the four solstices, as well as reclarifying the ownership of the field at the bottom of the field, so as to ensure that the auctioned land is a whole piece of land with complete procedures. Originally, there were one or two pieces of private land totaling about ten acres sandwiched in it, and the original landlord was also found and a resale agreement was signed.

An announcement has been posted outside the yamen, and the time is set for August 28, and the venue will be held in the praise hall of the yamen. Fang Siwei did not disclose the reserve price of the land auction, nor did he invite Shangguan to attend, only Zheng Dajue attended as a guest...... Named a guest, but in fact a superintendent.

He still had too many worries in his heart.

If you want to ask the rest of the Yamen what they think about this, in fact, no one is optimistic, except for Master Huang. The main concern is that the price is too high, even though this price is already half the price of Wu Lang's rental horse farm.

In the past few days, Fang Siwei has almost been sleepless at night, and he has not rested well, so he naturally feels more and more haggard. He thinks too much, and his heart is like two devils fighting, one is constantly encouraging him and giving him courage and confidence; And the other kept hitting him, making him give up on this ridiculous decision......

Cao Shuyu got the five million taels lent by Wu Yan, in fact, so far, the Cao family has eaten a lot of land. The five million taels borrowed were intended to be used to pay for the land auction...... He does have plans to auction this official land, and he will eat this land regardless of whether there is a bid or not.

Handelsblatt also reported on the public auction, but the reaction of all parties seemed to be one-sided, and they basically regarded it as a joke.

So the whole Liuhe, shrouded in such a strange atmosphere, soon came to August 28.

The auction is scheduled to officially start in the next morning, but from early in the morning, the street in front of the Yamen in Liuhe County has been lively, with a lot of traffic, and all of them are luxurious carriages, coming from the direction of Yangzhou and Chuzhou. There were also giants from the direction of Nanjing, who carried a huge amount of money, hired someone from the dart bureau to escort the dart, and directly carried a box full of silver into the county office.

It happened that the ear rooms on the left and right sides of the Zanzheng Hall, one was the book warehouse, the other was the silver warehouse, and boxes of silver were directly carried into the silver warehouse for temporary storage.

This scene greatly surprised everyone, and everyone who saw it was blinded, including Fang Siwei himself! I thought it was an embarrassing scene, but I didn't expect it...... It's like all the rich people in the world have gathered in such a small place as Liuhe.

The people vaguely knew that there was something important going on in the yamen today, but they were not allowed to enter the yamen, so they could not witness the moment when the miracle happened.

The street inspection department has also started patrolling to maintain the stability of the market. The Kuabu Inspection Department has now been promoted to a sub-division of the Terracotta and Horses Division in Beicheng, Nanjing, and its personnel have increased by more than 100 people compared with the previous Qu Qu people.

The Zanzheng Hall was rearranged and many screens were added, not only to block people's curious eyes, but also to ensure that the auction could go smoothly.

The only 'outsiders' allowed to enter were the 'reporters' of the Nanshang Daily, and the other ones were some of the more famous local gentlemen who were invited.

There are also some people who have not been invited again, but they want to forcibly enter the yamen to watch the auction, to be honest, even Fang Siwei is not easy to stop, that is, the son of the wealthy eunuch family in Nanjing who is soaked in the racecourse all day long, headed by Gu Jue.