Chastity Layman 2

Chapter 293 The Benevolent Landlord

God for good.

The weather has been sunny and sunny for many consecutive days. Although the sun is peeling, everyone is still very happy.

When the weather is good, the wheat in the field will not be spoiled.

Bundles of wheat are picked home and spread out on the drying yard.

The oxen and horses pull the wheels and grind them non-stop. People who don’t have oxen and horses, the whole family goes to threshing wheat. No matter how hot the weather is or how poisonous the sun is, everyone dare not stop for a moment, and must rush to remove the wheat.

Sanyuan County, Qinjiazhuang.

Because the Qin family also planted wheat and rice this year, the harvest seasons were separated, and all the people could be mobilized to grab the wheat. In addition, Qin Qiong bought thousands of slaves for Qin Lang from Lingwu this year, so Qin Lang's wheat harvest was also fast.

When there were still a lot of golden wheat in the field, the Qin family had already harvested it.

When the wheat was all taken back, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. While the wheat was still being milled and the dust was blowing up, the other side had already started packing it into the warehouse.

Early in the morning, several tables had been set up in front of the granary of Qin's Zhuangzi. The head of the village, the housekeeper, the handle, and the accountant sat down in a row. Everyone had a cup of tea, an abacus, and an account book in front of them.

The grain depot has already been cleaned up, the old grain has been cleared out, and now it is empty, like a monster with a huge mouth.

The butlers specially put on new clothes, and everyone was in high spirits.

"Is the bucket ready?"

"Okay!" The clerk replied loudly, and there was a row of measuring buckets, all of which were relatively high, to ensure accuracy.

The housekeeper Lao Wang nodded in satisfaction, stood up and bowed to Qin Lang, "Sanlang, everything is ready, you can collect the grain and put it in the warehouse."

"Then collect the food!"

The wheat exuding the fragrance of fresh wheat officially began to enter the warehouse, and the dealers queued up with loads of wheat.

And outside the warehouse, there are big earthen stove pots lined up in a row, and the meat is being stewed in the pot. The pig farm sent two pigs over early in the morning, both of which were about two hundred catties each. The sun is cool and slaughtered, and the meat is cut well.

Ribs were stewed in one pot, ribs were stewed in another pot, pig’s trotters were stewed in another pot, and two large pig heads were stewed in another pot.

It has been stewed for less than half an hour at this time, and the aroma of the meat is overflowing.

The arrival of new grain into the warehouse is a big event.

This is the happiest time after working hard for half a year.

The Zhuang Ding picked out the wheat that had been dusted off and dried in the sun, and some Zhuang Ding took the measure by bucket.

"Smooth it all, don't pile up the top!"

Lao Wang Chongmai's buddy shouted that the most accurate number is smoothing.

A good measure of ten buckets is a standard one stone.

"Enter the warehouse!"

The accountants over there have to take turns inspecting the wheat to see how dry or wet it is, the amount of gray grass, etc., to ensure that the grain entering the warehouse meets the storage standards.

After passing the acceptance, Zhuang Ding in his own warehouse is responsible for picking it into the warehouse.

The old Wang grabbed the wheat and said to Qin Lang excitedly, "This year the wheat is good and full, and the weather is good and it is dry."

"I estimate that our family's harvest of wheat this year is more than two stones per mu. It will be a good year!"

Qin Lang smiled, of course two stones per mu is not a small amount, this is still an average number, in fact some good lands are more than this number, the key to increase production compared to previous years is actually fertilizer.

The benefits of ecological farming have begun to manifest. The fat from raising pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and fish has made the Qin family's land fertile enough and naturally increased production a lot.

Stones of grain were brought into the granary, and the piles of grain in the empty granary were gradually piled up.

Today, the grain from the Qin family's own farm is mainly put into the warehouse, and the rent paid by the tenants who farm the Qin family's fields is arranged at the back.

In fact, the tenants of the Qin family were very active in expressing that they wanted to pay the rent, but Qin Lang was not in a hurry.

One morning, the three warehouses were all full, and each warehouse was full of a thousand shi of new wheat.

The granary is full of new wheat, and the housekeeper and others lock the door of the granary, fill it with lead and seal it, so that it cannot be opened easily.

"Let's eat lunch first, and continue after eating!"

Lotus root, soybeans, yam, beans, etc. have been added to the pot over there.

When the women in the village heard the call for dinner, they brought baskets of steamed trowels and flatbread.

"It's all made of this year's new wheat, pure flour!"

Old Wang also felt that Qin Lang was a bit extravagant and wasteful. There was still old grain cleared out in the granary, so why eat new wheat, but Qin Lang still ignored Old Wang's frugality.

It's a bumper harvest, so I'm naturally happy.

"New wheat is fragrant!"

Qin Lang didn't disclose Cheng Qian's identity to the people in the village, others only regarded him as Qin Lang's adopted sons, just like Cunxiao Cunyi, Luo Tong, Pei Xingjian and others.

Qin Lang also arranged the six regiments of imperial troops assigned to Chengqian by the emperor outside the village.

"The ribs are delicious!"

It tastes good when there are many people eating, not to mention that the meat is full and the stew is delicious.

Chengqian praised again and again.

No matter men, women or children in the village, it doesn't matter whether he is the master in charge or the slave Mike, anyway, today everyone eats meat and soup in big bowls, just enough to keep them full.

For Zhuang Ding's mikes, especially for those mikes from other places, this is simply a New Year's Eve.

Mai Ke Xiaohei squatted there eating meat, tears streaming down his face while eating.

For him, after eating today's meal, he will pay his wages, and then it's over, and he has to go home.But every year I come out to collect wheat as a wheat guest, and which one has such a good treatment, not only to eat, but also to eat meat.

The food at Qin's family these days is so good that Xiao Hei doesn't want to leave after eating so much.

"What's wrong?"

Qin Lang also squatted next to the tearful Xiao Hei with a bowl of soy stewed pig's feet.

Xiao Hei wiped away his tears, "It's nothing, it's just that the wind has caught my eye."

"Is there any difficulty, just tell me."

Qin Lang called Lao Wang, and Lao Wang was very impressed with Xiao Hei. He told Qin Lang that Xiao Hei was young, but he worked hardest. No matter whether anyone was watching, he never slacked off and worked hard. , Others cut a line, he can cut a line and a half.

"It's not a big deal, I've been working as a wheat farmer since I was a teenager, and I have been to many places to harvest wheat, and worked for many landlords' homes, but there has never been one that treats us as generously as yours. Food Don’t worry about being full, give the meat back…”

"You help me with my work and help me harvest the wheat. Of course I want to thank you."

In fact, most of the people who come out to work as mackerel come from poor families. During the busy farming season, they come out to find work with a sickle. Sometimes they can work for half a month without stopping for a day, unless it rains.

The busy half month is hard work, but I can also earn some money and food, which can be brought home to my wife and children.

"Where is your home?"

"From Luoyuan."

Luoyuan, of course, is the source of Luoshui. This is at the foot of Baiyu Mountain. To the north is Yanzhou after crossing Baiyu Mountain. Luoyuan belongs to Qingzhou. There are no plains, only continuous mountains and Gobi.

In addition, in the north, until now, Liang Shidu has separatist and ruled the hegemony, so the local people are even more miserable.

The condition of Xiao Hei's family is also very poor. His family does not have his own field, and his father is a long-term laborer for the landlord's family. He has been herding sheep for the landlord since he was a child.

"There are few fields in our area, so every time the wheat harvest comes, we go to Guanzhong to be wheat guests."

Although Xiao Hei is young, he has been a Mac for several years.

"I see that you work so diligently and hard, are you willing to stay and work in my village?" Qin Lang asked.He is willing to help those who work hard and are grateful. After all, such people are rare.

Xiao Hei was a little surprised.

"Stay here, what are you doing?"

"You can do whatever you want. You see, my village is not small, and it lacks manpower the most. If you want to stay, there are many things you can do, but no matter what you do, as long as you work hard, I will not treat you badly."

In this era, the land's ability to control the people is too strong. The imperial court tied the people to the land tightly, making it difficult or forbidden to move.

This situation is actually not a good thing for a rising noble like Qin Lang, because it means that even though he has many ways to make money, he lacks manpower to develop it.

Although Qin Qiong bought him thousands of northern slaves this year, these people are also suitable for rough work.

Xiao Hei didn't expect that a few tears would be exchanged for such an opportunity, so he immediately put down the bowl and kowtowed directly to Qin Lang.

Qin Lang quickly helped him up.

"I can't deserve such a great gift. I have to thank you for coming to do something for me. Old Wang, I will leave this brother to you. Don't treat him badly."

Lao Wang agreed with a smile.

After lunch, continue to collect food.

After several days of fighting for time, the Qin family's wheat in Sanyuan was finally put into the warehouse.

The tenants are also very active this year. After rushing to harvest, they hurriedly sent the new wheat to the farm to pay the rent.

At this time, the rent was still very heavy. Landlords and tenants in the Tang Dynasty generally entered into lease contracts. For renters, the most important thing was sharing.There are also some landlords with higher rents.Of course, there are also fixed rents, which are directly fixed rents, such as one stone per mu or so.

For example, the land given to officials by the government is actually handed over to the local people to grow and grow for rent. The rent is two to six buckets per mu according to the size of the field. You have to transport the grain to the government office in the city yourself, or you have to pay for it. The burden of these two parts is actually very high.

Of course, at this time there were still some landlords who would lease the land, that is, they leased the land to second landlords, who then subcontracted it to the common people, and were responsible for collecting rent, etc.

The lease agreement between Qin Lang Zhuangzi and the tenants was actually made by the former landlord. After Qin Lang took over the manor land, he could only continue to maintain the lease agreement with the tenants.

The rent is an agreed share, and each takes half.

And if the farm cattle are leased, another [-]% per mu will be taken.

This share, in addition to grain, even wheat grass must be divided, and even according to the customary rules, the tenants have to do a certain amount of free labor for the landlords every year.

Landlords often do some tricks when collecting rent, such as bucketing grain so that they pile up to the top, which is actually tantamount to overcharging rent.

Qin Lang was very polite to the tenants. If it wasn't for the old lease, he even wanted to lower the rent, but considering that this kind of behavior would easily make other landlords dissatisfied, Qin Lang didn't act rashly.

However, he still lowered the cattle rent this year, from [-] per mu to [-] per mu, and directly sent Zhuang Ding to bring the cattle to help cultivate the land, giving the tenants a great discount.

Although it was the tenants who came to pay the rent, Qin Lang still had people slaughter pigs and chickens, and stew meat in a big pot.

The standard buckets measure the wheat, so that the piles are not piled up, and the grain is leveled out, and the allocated grain is still the property of the tenants, and they will not be called fire consumption as their own.

The grain is put into the warehouse, and the tenant who pays the grain can bring the whole family, old and young, to enjoy a meal of new rice wine at Qin's house.

(End of this chapter)