After receiving Qian Xun's praise, the guard was very happy, and proudly raised his chin to his companion Chasing the wind.

Chasing Feng's brain is not as good as taking pictures, he is very self-aware, and he doesn't feel ashamed, so he simply asked Qian Xun without any taboos: "Lord Qian, then to what extent can we find out to be 'confident' and be able to connect with local officials?" ”

Zhaoying was amused by his innocent and straightforward question, Qian Xun was good-natured, and patiently replied: "The main thing is to look at the growth of crops in the farmland, the wetness of the land, as well as the height of the riverbed, the degree of exposure, the geometry of water storage, etc., which are all criteria for judging whether the drought is serious or not." ”

"Of course, our trip is not only to see the drought situation, but also to see the governance of officials. So if you have the chance, it's best to ask a local person for details. ”

Chasing Feng nodded as if he didn't understand, searched around for a while, suddenly his eyes lit up, and he pointed not far away and said, "Eh, my lord, then there is a peasant man who is planting rice, why don't we go and ask him?" ”

Qian Xun also had this intention, so he led the group towards the farmer.

"Big brother, can I ask you a few questions?"

The farmer shrank in awe, looking at these people in brocade clothes with extraordinary backgrounds, and hesitated to answer.

Zhaoying was very eye-catching, took out half a piece of broken silver from his sleeve and handed it over, and said, "Don't be afraid, we have no malicious intentions, we just ask you a few questions." You don't need to know who we are, we don't know who you are, we just leave when we're done, and that's what you get paid for answering our questions. ”

As soon as he saw the silver, the farmer's cloudy and wooden-like eyes glowed with a moment's brilliance, and he happily took the silver, and nodded busily: "If a few nobles ask, I must know everything." ”

Qian Xun nodded and asked, "When I was in the field before, I heard that the drought in Shuzhong was very serious, how about it?" Is there some relief now? Is the reduction in grain production serious? ”

Speaking of the drought, the farmer couldn't help but sigh and said: "Of course the drought is very serious, from spring sowing to mid-May, three months before and after, that is not a drop of rain has not fallen!" Although the rain has eased, the reduced grain production cannot return. ”

"Like our family's land, the original yield per mu was more than 300 catties, but as soon as the drought came this year, the yield per mu was less than 200 catties, and there was nothing left after paying the grain tax. We can only plant another crop of late rice in full swing, and if it hurts fertility, it hurts fertility, and a family has several mouths to eat, what can be done? ”

The farmer's words were similar to the situation that Qian Xun had seen all the way, and he had a number in his heart, and asked, "What about the tax situation of the imperial court?" The imperial court did not say that the summer grain tax would be reduced or reduced, and the pressure to pay taxes should not be small, did the government force taxes? ”

The farmer shook his head: "This is not true, it is still a grain tax of 20%, as long as the grain is paid enough, the government will not increase the tax and forcibly collect it." But we are lucky, although there are not many fields, but it is our own land, and we don't have to worry about it after paying the taxes of the imperial court. And those tenants in Xuzhou Mansion this year, that's pitiful! ”

Qian Xun's eyes froze: "Why do you say this?" ”

Crop Han said: "They rented the Chen family's land, and it was good in previous years, but this year, I don't know why, the Chen family suddenly increased the rent halfway, and the rent of thirty percent increased to fifty percent!" Some tenants have seriously reduced their production, and the grain they have laid down is not even enough to pay the rent, so the head of the village violently collects rent, forcibly breaks into people's homes and snatches away the grain, and the tenants cry and grab the land, which is really pitiful! ”

Qian Xun said: "The Chen family? Which Chen family? ”

Zhuang Han said: "The Chen family with the most influence in Xuzhou Mansion!" The Chen family has a well-known Chen Xunzhou, who has taken advantage of his power to do a lot of things to oppress the people. Chen Xunzhou himself is also a black-hearted person, and he used to say that he was a good person, but this time he realized that it was his idea to raise the rent sharply! ”

"Tongzhi Chen Xunzhou......" Qian Xun read it several times and silently wrote down the name in his heart.

The farmer is a good talker, and he couldn't hold it back as soon as he opened the chatterbox, and he muttered a lot of words, and sighed at the end: "Seriously, if it weren't for the fact that every household planted artichokes, I don't know how many people would die in Xuzhou Mansion this year." ”

"Artichoke...... What is it again? ”

Qian Xun originally only wanted to ask a few words, but he didn't expect that a random farmer would know so much information, first talking about the high tenant rent, then involving the same knowledge of the house, and now talking about artichoke, Qian Xun felt that his brain was almost unable to remember.

"Noble, you are outsiders, haven't you heard of it? I'm telling you, the artichoke is a good thing......"

Speaking of artichoke, the farmer was obviously excited, and talked a lot about it, from its origin and background to growth habits, planting essentials and precautions, as well as a variety of ways to eat......

Qian Xun listened in a fog for a long time, and finally understood that the artichoke is a high-yield and adaptable food crop, and saw that the croppers knew that the artichoke originated from America, and he said unexpectedly: "Do you still know Armerica?" Listen to you, you must have been growing potatoes for a long time? ”

The farmer touched his head embarrassedly: "I'm a man from a farmer's family, how can I know what America is, I listen to what Gu Tong said, and if I hear too much, I will memorize it." ”

"And this artichoke, we haven't planted it for long, Gu Tongju only started to promote it in late autumn last year. At that time, many people didn't think so, but this year's spring sowing encountered a major drought, and it was too late to regret it. It was Gu Tongju who worked tirelessly and ran around again to keep an eye on the potato sowing, and we really began to plant a large area. ”

"Gu Tong sentenced ......" Qian Xun thought for a while, and suddenly his heart moved, "But Jingfeng's five-year Tanhualang - Gu Yunji?" ”

Hearing this, the farmer was a little dissatisfied, looked him up and down, and said in a stiff tone: "This nobleman, you should be a businessman who traveled the Yangtze River to Xuzhou Mansion to do business, right?" I don't know if Gu Tong's sentence doesn't matter, but as ordinary people, should you and I avoid Lord Gu's name, so that we can call Gu Tong's judgment? ”

Previously, the farmer also scolded his fellow acquaintance Chen Xunzhou, but at this time, Qian Xun just called him by name, which immediately aroused his dissatisfaction, and his words were very defending, which showed that his impression of Gu Yunji was very good.

Qian Xun didn't want to show his identity, so he had to confess again and again, saying that he was just unintentionally saying something and had no intention of offending.

After saying goodbye to the farmer, Zhaoying recalled Fang Cai's conversation and said, "I feel that Gu Yunji's reputation among the people is not bad, he should be a good official?" However, it is not easy to judge, after all, there are many officials who specialize in managing reputations. ”

"Jingfeng's five-year Tanhualang ......" Chaifeng thought about it, and his eyes lit up, "Eh-Lord Qian, Gu Yunji and you are the same year?" You should have seen it, how about others? ”

Qian Xun's face was a little unnatural: "...... I've seen him, but it's just a one-sided acquaintance, and I don't know much about him. ”

It's really just one side, but it's not an ordinary side, but quite dramatic.

Later, Qian Xun, who knew about it, wanted to find a crack in the ground every time he thought about it.