When he arrived in the courtyard, Xu Dai glanced at Xu He behind him, beckoned to him, and the two of them didn't go out of the courtyard and got into the carriage when he came.

It is estimated that no one can hear what is said in this place, so Xu Dai said: "Xiaohe, your uncle sent me here this time, there is something important to tell you!" ”

Xu He saw that his face was serious, and his heart was even more uneasy.

Xu Dai said: "Yongfeng Cang has seen the bottom, but there is still no news from the grain ships of the imperial court, Chen Hua has sent three groups of people to Huai'an Mansion, but after coming back, they all said that Chang Yingcang refused to allocate grain!" ”

Xu He said angrily: "This is the will of the imperial court, hundreds of thousands of victims in Huaizhong are waiting to be fed, how dare they?" ”

Xu Dai saw that he was in a hurry, so he whispered: "This news was told to you by Chen County's order, and those people inside don't know it for the time being, so you whisper." ”

Xu He saw that Xu Dai seemed to be really thinking about things on his side, so he sincerely asked: "Second uncle, you have assisted the eldest uncle to take charge of the Xu family for many years, if you force these people to borrow food on behalf of the eldest uncle today, is there any hope?" ”

Xu Dai thought for a moment and nodded: "Most people will borrow, but how to borrow and how long to borrow, there is a saying for this!" ”

Xu He understood what he meant, that is to say, these people will all give in in the end, but they are obedient openly and stumbling secretly.

Crying poor, borrowing less, and borrowing food for a short time are all imaginable troubles.

Although the Xu family is a family that is both prosperous and loss-making, it is related to interests, and each small family has its own abacus.

Even the patriarch Xu Song couldn't force everyone to bow their heads and drink water.

For a while, there was silence in the carriage, and the weather was hot, and the outside knew that there was no stopping, Xu Dai opened the folding fan irritably, and fanned the wind desperately.

After a while, Xu He suddenly smiled and said: "Second uncle, if I have a way to turn these people's land into cotton land, it can be turned into a good paddy field in ten years, but they want to give me the public grain of the people for free, do you think they are willing?" ”

Xu Dai shook his head again and again when he heard this: "You mean the beach here?" Aren't you messing around, you give people rent free for ten years on the beach, and the stoves have less reeds, how can they dry salt, they are the first to refuse! ”

Xu He nodded and said, "Don't worry, I mean, if the stove leaders agree!" Is it possible? ”

Xu Dai still shook his head: "I know that cotton can be grown in this kind of thin salt land, but first, you have to isolate the beach field from the river channel where the sea water is backfilled, and then raise the soil to level the beach, and finally divert the river water to irrigate, the cost of one acre of land is too high, and in the end you can only grow cotton!" Not cost-effective, not cost-effective! ”

Xu He asked rhetorically: "In our Jiangnan area, almost all of them are good paddy fields, but these fields have been occupied, if we take this opportunity to work for relief, let's ask the cooks to help transform the beach into a good paddy field, this is a good land for heirlooms!" ”

Xu Dai couldn't help but be moved when he heard this, the Xu family was the big landlord of the two Huai, but the Xu family started late and made a fortune for only two generations, so the field that could be bought, in addition to the paddy field in the countryside of Hailing, was the original ownerless beach field between the two Huai.

If you can really operate like Xu He, this year the beach will be transformed into acres, and then after five to ten years of washing, the originally worthless beach can be immediately turned into a good paddy field.

Xu He saw that he was moved, and then persuaded: "Second uncle, do you want to turn the water into a fertile field, you are the biggest hero of our Xu family!" ”

When Xu Dai heard this, he immediately thought about it, the beach fields in the hands of those people in the house were still small, and between the two Huai, the beach fields of himself and his eldest brother were more than 3,000 acres.

If all these fields were converted into paddy fields, what would happen ten years from now?

When the time comes, what books will you read and what officials will you do?

Children and grandchildren can live on fine clothes and food just by collecting rent!

Thinking of this, he couldn't hold back the ecstasy in his heart, and asked in a deep voice: "Our horse Pingchuan, taking soil is a problem!" ”

Xu He said confidently: "We, including the Zao Ding family, every family has a boat, on the one hand, a part of the people are assigned to dredge the river, and the cleared silt is directly dumped on the beach with a boat. ”

"The second is to dig irrigation ditches, take soil and dump it on the beach."

"The third is these places in Nantong Prefecture, take hilly soil!"

Xu Dai was taken aback by him: "Do you still want to move the beach in Tongzhou?" ”

Xu He smiled: "What? The second uncle's family has no land in Tongzhou? ”

"Yes, yes, but you're going to use a lot of people!"

Xu He nodded: "The stove leaders will help us level the ground, and at most we will be transferred to the next one to officially take up our duties, and time waits for no one!" ”

Xu Dai was completely moved this time, he couldn't sit still anymore, and said to Xu He on the side: "I can't be the master of this matter, I have to go back and discuss it with your uncle!" ”

Xu He nodded, for such a big project, the Xu family estimated that it would not be possible to empty all the food accumulated over the years.

Coincidentally, taking this opportunity, Xu He followed Xu Dai back to Hailing.

Xu Dai went to Fenghuangdun to discuss the matter with his eldest brother, and Xu He went straight to the county office.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the county office, he was stopped by Menzi.

"Young Master Xu, the eldest lord is talking to the county gentry in the second hall about borrowing grain, you stay outside the second hall for a while, and when the eldest master is done, I will help you go in and report!"

Xu He bowed his hand slightly to the door: "I'm tired!" ”

Menzi invited him to the gatehouse to wait, Xu He waved his hand and waited under the eaves of the porch.

At this moment, suddenly the sound of slapping the table came from the second hall and said: "All of you here are all well-known figures in the county, and I, a foreigner, still know how to cherish the people of Hailing, why?" You guys are a little too cold-blooded at this time, right? ”

Xu He heard that this was Chen Hua's voice, and it seemed that borrowing grain was not very smooth.

Sure enough, another familiar voice came out: "Lord Chen, it's not that we are cold-blooded, but in this year of catastrophe, our own food is not enough to eat, and there are so many tenants waiting to be fed in each family, and the grain is lent to the county, starving to death of these villagers, and they are not scolding us?" ”

"yes, yes! What Brother Huang said is exactly what we are worried about, if we lend it to the county, we won't be able to live at home! ”

"Yes!"

"That's right!"

For a while, there was a noise in the two halls separated by a wall.

Chen Hua probably saw that these people were biting to death and refused to let go, so he sighed and said tiredly: "Everyone, at this time, this county thinks that it is better for everyone to work together, you go back and think about it, and I will invite you to come to Yali to discuss in two days!" ”

"Good, good!"

"Master Chen, let's go!"

After a while, a group of people came out of the second hall, and Xu He happened to be standing next to the pillar, and this group of people came out and didn't see Xu He.

I saw one of them chirping: "It's like urging classes every day, is there such a way to borrow food?" ”

"Hehe, who made the family Bailihou!"

"Brother Huang, everyone thinks of you as the horse's head, what do you think, let's do it?"

Xu He saw a fat man at the head, it was Huang Youcai and his father Huang Dewang.

I saw Huang Dewang's face full of meat and a cold smile: "From ancient times to the present, what disasters and what difficulties, what does it have to do with us, people like us point to the bigger the disaster, the better!" ”

When several people heard this, they immediately burst into laughter.

At this moment, suddenly, Xu He turned out from behind the pillar.

As soon as everyone saw that it was him, especially Huang Dewang, his face turned black in an instant!

Xu He gritted his teeth at a few people, and the big white teeth made several people panic.