After Guo Kang explained to everyone, Yang Lao Baihu and others politely thanked him. However, they did not have much of an emotional change because of this.

"I'm sorry for you. But even if it's farther away, it's longer, and we don't care. Yang Lao Baihu explained: "Our Xianggongmiao Village is not an ordinary Zhuangzi. You can't take so many benefits and not do anything. ”

Guo Kang thought about it and could understand this.

In this village, their main business is actually to participate in the war as soldiers. Other industries in the village are side hustles for them. Therefore, it may be a good thing that the war lasts longer. After all, the longer the time, the more opportunities there are for meritorious service. So much so that for most of the previous year, when the Khan's court had not sent anyone to inform them of the conscription plan for the next year, they began to be a little anxious.

On the next road, Yang Lao Baihu happened to lead them through the village, and at the same time introduced the village industry according to the custom. The situation here also probably verified his idea.

The distribution of houses and facilities in the village is not much different from other places, but the situation is different in the fields outside.

"The terrain on our side is not very flat, and the flat land below near the river is used to grow food. Elsewhere it's not so suitable, it's all about planting something else. "Yang Lao Baihu gave a general introduction.

"Is there wheat in the field now?" Guo Kang asked.

"Yes, it was planted in the fall." Yang Lao Baihu replied: "We mainly grow winter wheat here, and then mix various beans and plant them in rotation. During the intervals, or on the plots that come down in rotation, some vegetables or pastures are also planted. ”

"But these are mainly for reserves. It's those things that really make money. He pointed around the hill: "It's all vineyards over there." These are our main outputs. ”

"Our grapes are famous. Back then, when Guo Yuanting was settling the village here, he personally climbed the hill to observe the surrounding mountains and rivers, and finally told everyone that this small hill can be planted with grapes. At that time, we in Rome had already figured out the techniques for growing grapes and making wine. So, everyone quickly got busy and opened up this plantation. ”

"It's been so long." Guo Kang sighed.

"Not the longest, actually. On our side, we are the third batch of plantations in Rome. Yang Lao Baihu thought for a while and said: "The first batch was when the account was built, and on the Hebei side, Liezu Lao Khan personally surveyed and organized the development. The second batch is in the south of us, on the northern slope of the Balkan Mountains, which was reclaimed by the people organized when the imperial court had just recovered it. ”

"But the quality of the wine in our area is better than theirs." He said proudly: "Moreover, we have also stained the light of your family, so our fame is not small, especially overseas." So, it's been selling well. ”

"And this saying...... "Guo Kang doesn't know much about wine, and the only knowledge he has may be to listen to what Tuohuan said." As for the reputation overseas, it is even more unimpressive.

"Our family, starting with my father, has a vine cane in his hand, all from this vineyard." Guo Ru told him: "This time, I just asked Uncle Yang to cut one for you to prepare." In the future, you will also be the one who will lead the troops. ”

"We'll go later." Yang Lao Baihu said: "In the garden over there, there are some old vines, the longest of which are 50 years old. Go back to a few of you boys, and cut them off. ”

"Those vines, we were supposed to keep them as memorials. Because grapes also have a lifespan, after a long time, the yield and quality will decline, generally at most 30 years, you must replace a batch, and the people who go to war are almost the same. But later, we discovered that the grapes from the old vines also have a special flavor. ”

"Moreover, we also took the opportunity to make propaganda and told the Italians who came to buy wine that our vines are very special, and the scepters in the hands of the generals and marshals of the past generations came out of this vine. The merchants liked it so much that they bought it for many years, and called it the 'Marshal's Staff,' and sold it to their hometown. Especially after the first Khan crossed the sea to conquer Italy, the prestige of Rome became more and more known to the people there, and even the price of this wine was hyped up by them. ”

"Didn't we go to beat them, why did they pay more for wine?" Guo Xianwen, who had been silent, asked curiously.

"Italians are not a gang, that's just a general term, in fact, they don't like each other." Yang Lao Baihu explained: "Moreover, even if they attack their own city-state, it will not hinder them from doing business. These profiteers only think about raising prices. ”

"It's weird." Guo Xianwen scratched his head.

"It's good to be famous." Guo Kang is very open.

"yes." Yang Lao Baihu said happily: "The profit over there is actually enough to maintain the entire village." Therefore, even if we go on an expedition, we will not delay the food and clothing of the family. ”

"Who is running the vineyard? Yourself? Guo Kang asked.

"Yes. These jobs are quite demanding. Starting from grafting, basically every process is exquisite. Not only do you need to be competent and careful, but you also need to have knowledge and experience. Yang Lao Baihu replied: "When I went to work there, I had to read a lot of books temporarily, so as not to be unhelpful, but to cause chaos for others." Now, we often keep notes and share the information we write with people in nearby monasteries. This kind of work naturally has a threshold. ”

"Our current master was specially invited through the relationship of the church. The plantation and winery are also selected by the village to work, so don't worry about handing them over to unreliable people. ”

"That's understandable." Guo Kang nodded: "Planting grapes and making wine are both technical work. And on your side, it's no ordinary plantation. ”

"That's for sure. Nowadays, some plantations, in order to save money, are hiring people everywhere. We're different. "This is the most orthodox Roman plantation, and we will not use any Gentiles as laborers for the sake of cost savings." Therefore, we can always maintain such a good quality and reputation. ”

"If you really want to save money, there should be slaves." Guo Xianliang asked.

"Slaves can't even grow vegetables, let alone what we're doing." Yang Lao Baihu told him: "Speaking of which, we have many acquaintances in the military department, but we have never bought slaves to work. The industries on our side belong to agriculture, how can they withstand the destruction of slaves. ”

"...... like this"

"On our side, the competition is still fierce." Zhang Baihu also said: "Although the other villages around us often send troops with us, they are somewhat greedy. Especially the people in Majiazhuang, from time to time, they say some strange things, saying that we are not good at growing food, and we deal with businessmen every day. If we don't work hard, we won't do it. ”

"They grow staple food?" Guo Kang asked.

"Yes, they were merged by two villages, so there were many people in the village, there were 500 households." Yang Laobaihu nodded: "The terrain over there is also good, so the government requires all staple grains to be planted, and the annual output is also a lot." After a long time, they used this as a reason to brag about themselves and ridicule us, saying that we were not serious. ”

"Although we are eligible for exemption from land tax, we also pay a lot of tribute to the imperial court every year." Zhang Baihu also complained: "Although the field tax is not collected, there are still tariffs on selling wine, and we have never been less." In terms of value, it is estimated that it is higher than them. ”

"Do they have any treatment?" Guo Kang asked curiously.

"Their village is new, and they have the right to tax exemption, and there are only a few in the province, so there is nothing so far." Zhang Baihu said: "Of course, they are not very willing. ”

Everyone talked about it and shook their heads.

"It's not a good thing to have such a big industry as vineyards right now. You can unite with other villages and have a variety of other kinds of things. It's not a bad thing for everyone to find more ways together. Guo Ponu took advantage of the situation and said, "You can find my brother." He's studied this too. ”

"Oh?" Yang Lao Baihu and others were a little surprised: "Is the son so wide-ranging?" ”

"Which one do you say? Have I ever done it? Guo Kang himself doesn't know very well.

"The last time I went to the monastery, the monks were planting peas in the field. I asked why you planted here, and they said you arranged it. Guo Ponu said: "Are you busy and forget?" ”

"That's right...... That's okay......" Guo Kang didn't know what to say for a while: "We actually did such a research." But the church does have some experience, and I can talk about it if you need it. ”

"Right now I'm busy with textiles. If you want to find a better job for a woman, you can tell me. I'm recruiting people and I'm going to find a few places to try it out first. ”

"Our village shouldn't need it. There was a lot of manpower in the vineyard, and the women had to help. Zhang Baihu said: "The income of the job over there is relatively high. And they have been doing it for so long, and they have some skills, so they don't necessarily have the interest of changing careers. ”

"However, other Zhuangzi can try. Let's go back and ask. He thought for a moment and said, "If the benefits are okay, everyone should be interested." ”

"They can't do it over there, the woman still has to farm, or what will happen to the annual food?" Yang Laobaihu asked.

"Let's rent out the land." Zhang Baihu said: "Actually, I think we can rent out a few pieces of flat land." Some young men are not this material, and they are not learning this craft, so they don't feel good if they are hard. Why don't you go to the town and build armor equipment, isn't it also a serious job? ”

"You're a blacksmith, and you want everyone to make iron with you." Yang Lao Baihu didn't believe it: "Why do you need so much iron?" ”

"There will definitely be more and more in the future." Zhang Baihu is quite confident in this: "The price of iron ore has begun to decline now. I think the overall trend is clear. We don't need to dwell on it, we can do whatever is suitable for everyone. ”

"It's true." Guo Kang also agreed: "Iron is too important, and our consumption is estimated to surge in the future." Learn these things, and you will definitely not worry about eating and drinking in the future. ”

"These crafts are also taught in the army, and I myself learned them from the eldest brother in the team." Zhang Baihu nodded: "When I am idle now, I also bring young people from other villages, and I take orders not only from our village." If someone can hire us to do some work, we can also hire someone to help. ”

So I thought that I could at least find a few reliable plough teams first, sign a contract with them, and book a long-term lease. It is also feasible to contract out some of the work first. It's not that we can't plow the fields now, but the efficiency is really not as good as others, because there are so many things in the village that we really don't have the heart to take care of the horses anymore. He briefed the crowd on the situation.

"I've been there before. The horsemen of the plough team, from the selection of stallions, to the purchase of feed, to the daily feeding and maintenance, are much more professional than ours. We do it ourselves, and we can't always do it best. There are not so many animals in the vineyards, so the villagers are always reluctant to spend more money in this place. Unlike others, after signing the contract, even the veterinarian and substitute horses are prepared in advance. It's better to let people come directly, we can't just make money from all the businesses in one village. ”

"That's okay...... Yang Laobaihu hesitated, but still gave up other requirements, and just insisted on the final bottom line: "If you are really busy, you can also contract to others - you can't rent to people in Majiazhuang, you can talk about the rest." ”

"Not really. Majiazhuang uses cattle ploughing, which is not suitable for our side. This soil is different. Zhang Baihu looked confident.

"You're really asking?" Yang Lao Baihu was surprised.

“……”

Everyone discussed it again, so that Guo Kang and the others also had a general understanding of the situation.

He estimated that Majiazhuang has a lot of momentum because of its large number of capable people. Although they did not expect to replace the special status of Xianggongmiao Village, they still felt a lot of pressure.

However, these are things that often happen in the local area, and he doesn't have to worry about them. It's better to say that if the neighboring villages have never quarreled or fought in a group, it may not be normal.

And these people in Xianggongmiao Village also tried their best. Although the salary is indeed high, it is linked to their extremely high service rate. And people are really desperate when they fight.

You know, the flag bearer looks honorable, but it is also a high-risk profession. Looking at the state of their exhibition, most of the people who were the standard-bearers in the village probably did not come back in the end. Like Lu Laosan, who can still disarm and return to the field, he is already a very powerful person in every sense.

And here, the father-in-law discussed with a few people around him, and decided to go to the vineyard first, prepare the rattan, and let Guo Kang and others meet with everyone at that time, which can be regarded as getting to know each other in advance.

The whole process didn't last long. Soon, the crowd came to the vineyard. By this time, the grapes had already been picked, and they had selected a few bare vines, ceremonically cut them, and cleaned them up.

"I'll take it first, and when the documents of the Ministry of War come down, I'll officially grant it to you." The father-in-law said to his sons and nephews, "From now on, it's up to you." ”

"Don't worry, uncle, I will fight hard and come back with more heads!" Guo Xianwen said loudly.

Guo Xianliang was about to speak, but he was preempted, he didn't know what to say for a while, scratched his head, held back for a moment, and had to say: "I, me too!" ”

Everyone laughed, Guo Ru blushed, picked up the note and gave it to him first. Guo Xianliang hurriedly took a step back and hid directly behind Guo Kang.

Guo Kang also laughed with everyone.

"It's good for everyone to do their best. If you really have the ability, you don't have to worry about not having a chance. He rounded up.

Others joined in.

But at this time, someone hurriedly ran up and shouted: "Uncle, uncle, Ma Shizhu and people are also here!" Brother Lu asked them to go, but they were not happy, and said that we would run away. What should I do? ”

"I&)*^*......" Yang Lao Baihu popped out a local swear word that Guo Kang couldn't understand.

"Let's go see, let's see." Guo Zhaowen and the others were all happy, pushing the dazed father-in-law and Guo Ru, who was still trying to pump his son, and rushed down the mountain.

(End of chapter)