Within the same clan and clan, blood is connected, and mutual help and support are the bonds and guarantees for the long-term survival and development of a clan. The clan gives its own children resource support, and after the children get ahead, they will naturally give back in return, which is a matter of course.

Chen Xunzhou was just a small official in Xuzhou Mansion at the beginning, whether it was the relationship between leaving the government office on an errand, or donating the money spent when he was a famous prisoner, it was inseparable from the Chen clan's paving and dotting on him.

Listening to Chen Peishi say that in order to make up for the imperial court's grain tax this time, he even did not hesitate to resist the pressure of the clansmen and forcibly increase the rent of the tenants, which Gu Yunji did not expect.

After chatting about Chen Xunzhou's rent increase, Gu Yunji pulled the topic back to the purchase of chili peppers, and told Zhang Cuiying: "The purchase of chili peppers is to be carried out for a long time, and this year's drought is great, the purchase price during this period can be raised, and the requirements for quality can also be lowered, so it is regarded as our spicy fairy giving back to the township." ”

"When this difficult period passes, the quality requirements for the purchase of chili peppers must be improved, otherwise it will only mess up the reputation of Spicy Fairy in the long run. Different quality chili peppers, given different purchase prices, the price can continue to increase, but the purchased chili peppers are not much in the essence, and the real good chili peppers are nothing if they are given to twenty or thirty wen a catty. ”

Zhang Cuiying was taken aback: "Twenty or thirty wen a catty? If the pepper material alone is so expensive, then our cost will also rise, and the profit will not be as high as it is now. ”

Gu Yunji said: "It doesn't matter. High-quality chili peppers can be made into other chili products, which are sold separately from the existing chili sauce, such as the best chili peppers for chili powder, medium chili peppers for chili sauce, and slightly inferior chili peppers for chili oil...... Wait a minute. ”

"All in all, we have to buy for a long time, if we can't use so many chili peppers, we will raise the purchase standard, and the purchase volume will naturally decrease. Of course, if the standard is raised, the price must also be increased accordingly, so that the people who grow peppers cannot suffer. ”

Zheng Cuiying muttered: "Our business has been expanding, and the spicy fairy capital has been opened to other state capitals, but there is no situation where the chili peppers are not used up." Take care of adults, you say this, we have been buying chili peppers, not the quantity, only the quality, and at the same time raising the price, isn't it equivalent to encouraging the people to plant chili peppers? ”

"After all, scattered planting, can only produce a few catties, and the quality is generally not good, after a while when we improve the purchase standards, they will not be able to sell money. Only those who scale up and grow peppers in large quantities are more likely to produce high-quality and better-looking peppers, and they can make more money. ”

Gu Yunji smiled slightly: "Yes, that's exactly what I mean, I just want to encourage the people to plant chili peppers in disguise, because in this way, it can lead to the two most direct results." ”

"First, a large number of farmers came to expand pepper planting, spontaneously select and breed, from the original rice farmers to the 'pepper farmers' specializing in pepper planting, and promoted the pepper planting industry in Xuzhou Prefecture to be at the forefront of the country. Maybe when the chili peppers and spicy fairies spread throughout the summer in the future, Xuzhou Mansion has become a nationally famous 'hometown of chili peppers'. ”

"Second, the high profitability of chili pepper cultivation will naturally prompt many farmers to give up rice and wheat planting and turn to chili peppers. And peppers, like artichokes, are crops with a high yield per mu, and with only a few fields, they can produce high profits. ”

Zhang Cuiying listened for a long time, and then found that the topic had turned back to the tenant rent, and suddenly realized: "I understand, do you want to use the encouragement of pepper planting to force Chen Tongzhi to reduce the tenant rent, so as to improve the life of the tenants?" ”

Gu Yunji smiled: "The profit of planting chili peppers is high, and the profits of planting rice in tenant fields are low, compared with the two, there will be a large number of tenants who give up the stable life of planting rice, and would rather take the risk of planting chili peppers than rent Chen Xunzhou's field." ”

In order to attract tenants to come back to farm, Chen Xunzhou had to reduce the tenant rent and return it to a normal level. And from now on, he will not dare to raise the rent at will - after all, if the tenants are unhappy, they can pick and choose to plant peppers, and they will not let him oppress them. ”

Zhang Cuiying listened to it and said in admiration: "I really didn't expect that a small purchase of chili peppers by our Spicy Fairy could have such a big impact, and it could actually change the tenant rent of the entire Xuzhou Mansion." Master Gu, you start from the inconspicuous subtleties, pry the whole body with a little bit, and have a long-term vision, which is really accurate! ”

Gu Yunji shook his head and smiled: "I'm not a wise man who has no last resort, the acquisition of chili peppers is in my plan, as for the subsequent series of effects, it is just incidental." Don't look at the acquisition of chili peppers is just an inconspicuous small matter, I don't know how many upstream and downstream industries will be generated and risen in the future. ”

In the final analysis, the reason why Chen Xunzhou was able to raise rents unscrupulously was that he recognized that the tenants had no choice but to go against the grain, and there was only one way to rise up and rebel. But rebellion is too risky, and no one will do it unless it is absolutely necessary.

Although pepper cultivation is highly profitable, it also requires certain costs, such as planting technology, planting conditions, etc., and not everyone can meet the entry standard. However, in addition to chili peppers, there are also artichokes, and only one acre of land can be used to grow the rations that the whole family needs.

In this way, the people have more choices, go to the mountains to reclaim wasteland, or set up half an acre of land in front of and behind their houses, and plant potatoes and peppers, which can basically meet the food and drink of the family.

In the future, Chen Xunzhou and other squires dare to arbitrarily raise tenant rents and force taxes, and the tenants will be able to pick and choose at any time.

In the south of the Yangtze River, especially in the area of Hangzhou, where the silk weaving industry is developed, the status of tenants and proprietors is simply reversed. The proprietor not only did not dare to increase the rent at will, but also had to be polite to the tenants.

Otherwise, if the tenant farmers are not happy, they can leave their hoes and go to the city to do odd jobs on the spot. Or simply idle at home, relying only on the female dependents of the family as weavers, they can earn the family's rations.

The tenant farmers have confidence, and their waists will naturally stand straight. Gu Yunji didn't ask the tenants of Xuzhou Mansion to be treated like Jiangnan, but at least he could leave them one more way out, so that they would not be oppressed and persecuted and did not dare to resist, so they could only endure it silently.

After talking about the acquisition of chili peppers, Gu Yunji flipped through the account books of Spicy Taste Fairy again and took a look at the recent business situation. Although the weather is hot and the sales of chili sauce have entered the off-season, the expansion of Spicy Fairy has not slowed down.

From the opening of the first store at the beginning of the year to the present, in just half a year, Lawei Xian has opened five branches in Xuzhou Mansion, and the branches of other nearby state capitals are also in preparation.

At this time, Xu Dong came in from outside and said: "My lord, Governor Yan and Chen Tongzhi sent people to say that the tax and grain collection for summer this year has been completed, please go to the government office to discuss the relevant tax payment matters." ”

(End of chapter)