Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 20 Watching the Grange Sing a Love Song
The terrain on both sides of the Qinglian River ranges from low to high. Looking around, there are some fields scattered along the banks of the river.The water of the Qinglian River goes all the way to Xiaohetoubao and Sanchabao in the northwest, and the fields continue to appear on both sides of the river.The military households in Wuzhaibao had the most densely populated areas from Wuzhaibao to Xiaohetoubao and Sanchabao.

There are some farms distributed on both sides of the river. Radiation manages some surrounding fields, most of which are good fields. The large farms manage thousands of acres, and the small ones are hundreds of acres. Most of them are owned by the officers of Wuzhaibao. Among them, the best and the largest Several farms, most of which are near the river, are owned by the Huang family.

Huang Laifu got off the horse, led by Jiang Dazhong and others, and headed towards the fields by the river. Gu Yunniang still pouted and followed beside her, but she couldn't help being a little surprised to see that Huang Laifu really seemed to be doing business. Is it a sex change?

Walking through some fields, I saw that the ditches were dry, and on the fields where the wheat ears were harvested, there were cracks on the top of the fields. There were pieces of shocking crust on the surface of the fields, and some small snowflakes fell on them, which could not be seen in a blink of an eye. desolate.

Walking to the river, looking at the Qinglian River in front of him, Huang Laifu sighed.Later generations of Wuzhaibao were called Fushui County, also known as the county sitting on the reservoir.But obviously this title will be greatly discounted at this time.In Huang Laifu's childhood memory, the Qinglian River was [-] meters wide and more than ten meters deep, and the river was basically level with the river bank. place.

On the riverside, there are some water diversion tools such as keel waterwheels and chain bucket waterwheels that rely on manpower or animal power. These irrigation tools appeared in the Han and Tang Dynasties, and they were also the main force for irrigating the fields on both sides of the river.

However, at this time, the river has withered a lot, and the water surface is several people's heights away from the shore.With the ability of these waterwheels, at this time, the water source can only be led to some lower fields by the river, and there is nothing to do with the fields that are slightly farther and higher, and can only be carried by some human or animal power. The back of the hand, how useful is this?This is still a field near the river with a water source, and those villages that are not close to the water source are even more helpless.

Seeing the situation in front of him, Huang Laifu finally understood.He was surprised yesterday that the descendants of Wuzhaibao claim that the county has an area of ​​60 mu of arable land, and the annual grain output can reach 2 million catties. In addition, Wuzhaibao has not yet established a county at this time. It is all owned by Wuzhai Fort, and there is a lot of wasteland that can be reclaimed, and there will be no troublesome disputes such as military fields and civilian fields in the inland guards.No matter how you say it, with hundreds of thousands of acres of land, how could it be impossible to feed even a few thousand people?
At this time, he understood that in the Little Ice Age under severe drought and severe cold, it can be said that there are thousands of miles of red land everywhere, even in Wuzhaibao, a place with abundant water sources. of.Lack of water sources, no water irrigation, a large number of good fields have to be abandoned, let alone reclaim wasteland.

Water, need water!Huang Laifu thought deeply about the need to bring water from the river up, and to irrigate the fields not near the water source.

Steward Yang walked beside Huang Laifu, seeing the situation in front of him, he also sighed, and said: "Things are difficult, God doesn't know what's going on, it's either drought or cold, and the water in the river can't be brought up. The farmland has not been harvested year after year. If it continues like this, it will be amazing."

Gu Yunniang squinted at Huang Laifu with her pretty eyes, and said softly, "Huang Laifu, take us to see the farmland, is there any way?"

Huang Laifu saw Jiang Dazhong next to him bursting into laughter, and slapped him hard on the shoulder, making him grin his teeth, and said with a smile, "Yunniang, if I hadn't been helpless, why did I bring you here? Brother Laifu has his own plan, but right now is not the time to say it."

When Gu Yunniang heard him say "Brother Laifu", her pretty face flushed slightly, and she spat lightly.

Butler Yang watched the two quarreling with a smile. To him, Huang Laifu and Gu Yunniang were both raised by him. Although he was a servant of the Huang family, in his heart, he really regarded Huang Laifu and Gu Yunniang as their own. Look after your own children.

He said, "Master, would you like to visit our farm?"

Huang Laifu nodded.

On this side of the river, there is a farm not far to the west. It is the largest farm of the Huang family on the south bank of the Qinglian River, and it manages nearly a thousand acres of surrounding land.After a hundred years, the Huang family has occupied a total of [-] mu of farmland in Wuzhaibao. However, in recent years, the situation has not been good. Except for these fields near the river, the thousands of acres of farmland in the remote areas and not near the water source are all deserted. Throw it away.

The farm is a garden located in a field, and the front and back of the village are all fields.There is a big pond in front of the village, and the pond is full of elms and mulberry trees, but at this moment, it seems that the water in this pond has almost dried up, and the elms and mulberry trees by the pond are quite lifeless. .

Walking into the farm, because it is slack, there is no one in the farm except for a few tenants who guard the farm.There are also some arable land and some vegetable gardens in the village. Besides, most of them are warehouses, grain depots, livestock pens, grain drying fields and the like.There are also several houses for human habitation.The outside of the village is surrounded by a wall of earth and stone, and there are some fortifications, which have the taste of a military fort.

Seeing Huang Laifu coming, the leading tenant was a little trembling, and rushed forward to wait on him. Obviously, Huang Laifu had a bad reputation, and he knew it.To his surprise, Huang Laifu, the young master, had a pleasant face, and after asking about the situation of the farm, he let him go down.Let him breathe a sigh of relief.

According to him, there are 160 mu of fields around the farm, 20 vegetable fields, 3 pig pens, and dozens of sheep.There are about 50 tenants working here.In fact, there are hundreds of similar tenants in the Huang family. Most of these tenants are the remaining military families of Wuzhaibao, and some are simply the Zhengban Banner Army of Qianhusuo.These people have been working in the Huang family for decades, and they are already used to this kind of life.

In previous years, when the weather was good, the 1000 mu of land in this farm could produce nearly 30 catties of wheat a year, but in recent years, at most, it only produced tens of thousands of catties a year. This is still the best field in Wuzhaibao.Not to mention the fields of other farms.

Huang Laifu, with his hands behind his back, watched carefully inside and outside the village, thoughtfully, Jiang Dazhong and Yang Xiaolu naturally followed Huang Laifu, and they spoke softly, not daring to disturb Huang Laifu's thinking, even though they didn't understand When did the young master know about Zhuangtian?Steward Yang also followed respectfully, and when Huang Laifu asked about it, he explained softly.

Only Gu Yunniang looked at Huang Laifu from time to time, feeling suspicious. After half a day of contact, she felt that Huang Laifu seemed to be a different person now. His temperament and demeanor were different. He used to be rude and ignorant, but now he is mature. Many, with a calm and calm look, will there be such a big change after going out?Gu Yunniang was a little curious and kept squinting at Huang Laifu.

After viewing the fields on the south bank of the Qinglian River, Huang Laifu and the others left the horses in the farm, and boarded a boat to inspect some of the Huang family's manors on the north bank. When they saw that it was almost noon, they turned back.Standing at the bow of the boat, Huang Laifu saw some greenery along the river.I couldn't help but feel proud, even though the current situation is very bad, but I have the confidence to make him change.

On the shore, Gu Yunniang pouted, as if she was annoyed at Huang Laifu's neglect of her for a long time. Jiang Dazhong and Yang Xiaolu wanted to laugh when they saw this, but they dared not.

Huang Laifu glanced at her, then smiled.

Gu Yunniang snorted, and was about to say why are you laughing.

"Hey..." Huang Laifu suddenly sang.

Gu Yunniang said coquettishly: "What are you doing, you scared me!"

Huang Laifu ignored her and continued to sing: "...sister, go forward boldly, go forward, don't look back, the road leading to the sky, nine thousand nine hundred and nine thousand nine hundred and nine..."

Gu Yunniang blushed a little and said, "What are you singing?"

Huang Laifu turned his head, looked at her, and sang emotionally: "...from now on, you build that red embroidery building, throw red hydrangea, hit my head, drink a pot with you ah……"

Gu Yunniang finally couldn't resist Huang Laifu's gaze, her pretty face blushed, her head almost fell to her chest, and her voice was as thin as a mosquito: "Where did you hear this slang song?"

The folk songs of the Ming Dynasty were very prosperous, and the number was quite considerable. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was estimated that there were nearly a thousand of them.Most of the folk songs are love songs.Sincere feelings, simple language, without the slightest affectation.

For example, the popular love song "On the Moon" in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the lyrics read: "When Yuelang made an appointment to go to Yueshang, he made an appointment to see him on the top of the mountain. Hey! Fu Zhinu is on the lower mountain and the moon rises early. Hey! Fuzhirou is late on the mountain and on the moon."

The most famous is "Suo Nanzhi", which originated in the Central Plains and became popular in the north and south of the river, and it has been familiar to later generations.

"...Silly Junyong, my brother! Make two with a piece of yellow clay. Make one for you and the other for me. Make the other like a living thing; make the other to lie on the bed together. Take the clay figurine. Broken, reconciled with the water, pinch another you, and then pinch me. There is also a younger sister in the brother, and a brother in the younger sister..."

Most of these love songs are straightforward and emotional. In fact, no matter in Wuzhai Fort or in Xiwei City, Kelanzhou Town, Gu Yunniang has heard such love songs sung by boys and girls from military households. Although she is a child of a general, I live in a group of rough men, but I was influenced by those legendary dramas, wits and beautiful ladies since I was a child, and I also feel that these songs are too straightforward.

Unexpectedly, the song Huang Laifu sang at this time was even more rough and naked. The love between men and women in the song was exaggerated, which made Gu Yunniang's heart pounding and her face flushed.At the same time, there was a strange feeling in my heart.

Which girl is not pregnant?What's more, Gu Yunniang is at the age when she is in love at this time, but she has been betrothed to Huang Laifu since she was a child. Which shy military boy in Kelan Prefecture dares to sing such songs to her?So although Gu Yunniang despised those military boys and girls in her heart, she actually envied them in her heart, and could have fun with her sweetheart.

In the past, Huang Laifu could only wield knives and guns, a typical rough guy who didn't understand style, when did he care about her girl's thoughts again?So at this time, although Gu Yunniang was ashamed and angry on the outside, she was secretly happy in her heart.

Moreover, although Huang Laifu's song was rough and straightforward, and the tune was a bit strange, it was pleasant to sing, with a special charm, which was quite different from the songs heard in the Ming Dynasty at this time.In fact, Huang Laifu's song is no better than the love songs of the Ming Dynasty at this time, but it is better than a novelty.

After Huang Laifu sang a song, Gu Yunniang spat softly with a blushing face: "I don't know where I heard this weird song, it's vulgar."

Huang Laifu smiled and said, "Isn't it nice? If you want to hear it, I will often sing it to you in the future."

Gu Yunniang snorted shyly, but she didn't say that she didn't want to hear any more.

Jiang Dazhong and Yang Xiaolu watched in dumbfounded.I wondered when the young master would be able to sing love songs again, this song is strange, but it is indeed very nice and tasteful.Seeing Gu Yunniang's shy look again, the two couldn't help admiring Huang Laifu secretly, thinking that the young master has indeed changed a lot, and he has become more and more fierce towards women.In the past, he didn't even dare to show his air in front of Miss Gu.

Steward Yang was standing aside with a smile all the time. At this time, he stepped forward and said to Huang Laifu and Gu Yunniang: "Master, Miss Gu, it's getting late, let's go to the farm to get the horse."

(End of this chapter)