I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 24 Huangzhuang (more updates for further reading)

Russian dignitaries have the habit of purchasing farms.

The thirty thousand large landowners in Russia who own more than 500 dessiatines own 7000 million dessiatines of land, with an average of 2200 dessiatines per large landowner.

The closer you are to the city and the more scenic the area, the more expensive the land is.

Moscow is the second capital of the Russian Empire, and the price of land cannot be overstated.

The key point is that you can't buy it even if you have money, and no one will transfer the farm on the outskirts of Moscow.

Since agricultural machinery has not yet appeared, the current farming efficiency is very low. On a farm of more than 30,000 acres, George thought that it would take one or two thousand people to fully utilize the land on the farm.

As a result, George was disappointed. Including the managers of the farm, there were only 13 households of tenants on the farm, and the total population was only 101 people.

George finally understood what it means to be so vast and sparsely populated.

Even if 13 households of tenant farmers have large livestock, the land they can develop is limited.

Therefore, there are wastelands everywhere that have not yet been developed, and those that have been cultivated cannot be cultivated intensively due to lack of manpower, and the yield is very low.

The income is still good.

More than 100 people farm more than acres of land, and they can grow whatever they want to eat.

Food was not valuable, so it was simply used for breeding. There were only 101 people on the farm, but there were more than 500 large livestock such as cows and horses, more than 1000 pigs, and even more poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese.

This can also explain why the living standards of Russian farmers far exceed those of urban workers.

It's not that Russia has no food, but the backward transportation conditions mean that food in the countryside cannot be transported to the cities in time, which is why Russian workers are so easily mobilized.

If you don't have anything to eat, you're going to starve to death. In order to fill your stomach, you have no choice but to rebel.

Time is extremely slow in the Imperial Mansion. The houses are built of oak and are square and square. Although they are not as tall and majestic as the Yekaterin Palace, the interior decoration is still perfect.

When Ya Er was alive, he would take Ekaterina here for vacation in the summer.

Later, the place of vacation became France, and this place was forgotten.

Although Ya Er no longer comes to Huangzhuang, the house is still well maintained. It is cleaned every day, ventilated regularly, damaged items are replaced in a timely manner, and the curtains and bedding are also brand new. Ye Luoxin and Dalia have done so separately. After two rounds of inspections, George was allowed to get out of the car.

Although the People's Popular Party has been wiped out, there are still countless people who resist the tsar's rule. Just a few days ago, someone claimed that he would assassinate Alexander during his coronation ceremony. Therefore, in the past few days, Moscow's security has been increased by more than one grade.

As the favorite son of the late Tsar, George was naturally also on the assassin's assassination list, ranking very high, so Ye Luoxin was very cautious. He had to make sure it was safe before George could get out of the car.

This was the first time for George to come to Huangzhuang. The tenant farmers in Huangzhuang lined up in two lines at the intersection to welcome George. The first few people had white beards and hair and were wearing turbans. Bragi was also wearing an apron. Women have big shoulders and round waists, and they are the main force of labor.

There are almost no young adults in the normal sense, but there are about a dozen who are about the same age as George. There are the largest number of children, thirty or forty in total. Their nutrition seems to be good and their clothes are neat.

Dalia was very good at doing things and prepared a lot of gifts in St. Petersburg. George got off the car and distributed them one by one.

The gifts for the old man were pipes and vodka, the gifts for the women were cloth and clothes, and the gifts for the young man about George's age were a sharp dagger and a pair of calfskin boots.

The gifts prepared for the children were colorful candies. Since the number of candies was not enough, the last few children got less candies. Dalia went back to the car and got some pastries. The children were very happy. .

Everyone who gets a gift will bow to George and thank him for the gift. The children also imitate the adults and pretend: "God will bless you, noble Duke."

It took more than an hour for George to come in.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw a huge portrait of Ya'er and Ekaterina. Ekaterina was nestling next to Ya'er like a bird. Ya'er raised his head and chest, his body was straight, his eyes were looking into the distance, and the background was blurred. Yes, it seems to be the Yekaterin Palace
  "The empire has been fighting for years, and batch after batch of young people have gone to the battlefield and buried their bones in foreign lands. After they retire, they will stay in the city and will not return to their hometown." Ye Luoxin explained to George why the adults in the village There are so few people.

Before the abolition of serfdom, the Russian Empire had very strict control over serfs. The only way to get rid of one's serf status was to join the army.

If you join the army, you will become a free citizen and serve for up to 25 years. If you have descendants, your descendants can also become free citizens. If not, then this person will basically be extinct.

After the abolition of serfdom, all serfs became freedmen, but they still could not get rid of their dependence on the land, but their status changed from serfs to tenant farmers.

"Don't they have their own land?" George didn't know much about the details of the abolition of serfdom.

"If tenants want to own land, they have to buy it from the landlord, but how can they have the money? The Imperial Bank will not lend money to people without property." Ye Luoxin sighed. This was a problem that even Ya Er could not solve.

Ya Er's decree can turn serfs into free people, but it cannot make them rich. The people who laid flowers for Ya Er at Ya Er's funeral were nominally farmers' representatives, but actually a delegation of landlords.

Even so, the living standards of tenant farmers have improved greatly compared with before.

Russia has too much land, which makes people envious, jealous, and hateful. That is why Russia was isolated from the entire Europe during the ninth Russo-Turkish War.

Since we have come to Huangzhuang, dinner will naturally be Huangzhuang’s own local products.

George finally knew why Russian ham contained so much meat, because starch was more expensive than meat in Russia.

The milk is also the freshest. The cows raised in the manor are Holstein cows imported from the Netherlands. A cow produces more than 9000 kilograms of milk per year on average. No wonder the children in the manor are so well-nourished. They drink milk and eat ham every day, and their health is not good. .

Due to the long journey, he did not exercise today. George went to bed early in the evening and woke up to the crisp and sweet calls of birds the next day.

The morning in Huangzhuang was quiet and peaceful. In the village not far away, the diligent women had already gotten up to cook, and the smoke lingered around the small village.

The mist was dispersed by the sunshine. There was a beautiful small lake not far from the main house. George was jogging around the lake. Ye Luoxin and Andre beside him looked wary. They both carried guns. We must guard against not only assassins but also wild animals. Equally dangerous.

　It’s the first time today that I’m being recommended, and my performance is related to the recommendation position in the future. For the sake of Yutou being so diligent these days, please give me a vote~~
  　　
  

(End of this chapter)