A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 650: Grandfather and Grandson Three

It’s wheat harvest time again.

Today the Wu family took the lead in opening the sickle, and all the Mai Ke from previous years also came.

The Wu family also slaughtered pigs and sheep early in the morning to prepare.

Wu Huaiyu changed his clothes and went to the field with Lao Wu and others, and took the lead in cutting a few rows of wheat.

The most fertile Weibei Baiqu Plain in Guanzhong is golden.
"What's the price of new grain today?"

"It's higher than last year, four or five dollars per dou," Lao Wu said to his son,

This year, the price of new grains has generally increased by about [-] yuan. This is actually because the imperial court is trying to support the market. Changpingcang has increased the price to collect grains in various places. After the war, the imperial and local government warehouses were relatively empty, so the imperial court was willing to spend money to store grains. If the price is higher than the market price, the people are naturally willing to sell their excess grain to the official warehouse.

"It's gone up a little, but not much."

The price of food is still quite low. For the people who buy food in the city, cheap food is naturally a good thing, but for those who farm, it is still too low.

In the early days of Wude, a piece of silk cost more than ten shi of millet, which was ridiculously expensive and the people were hungry. But now, a piece of silk costs more than ten shi of millet, but it is ridiculously cheap.

The biggest result of too low food prices is that the people are poor. After all, the vast majority of people in the Tang Dynasty are farmers. The ultra-low food prices make the surplus produced in the people's fields worthless at all, and they have no purchasing power. Industry and commerce are in decline, and cities are in depression.

Fortunately, in the past two years, the Tang Dynasty has generally had good governance and people. The frontiers are stable, and there are no major famines in the country. Food relief can also be mobilized for minor disasters in some places. When comparing the late Sui Dynasty and the Wude Dynasty, everyone feels Still very good.

"Our family harvested so much grain last year, will we harvest it again this year?"

"Collect, with such cheap grain, you can collect as much as you can. It doesn't cost much anyway."

It is true that the Wu family is now a big landowner, but a lot of the land is in the border areas, and the yield per mu is low.The grain produced by land reclamation in the border areas was mainly used to open up the border areas in exchange for salt and engage in salt business.

The grain produced by the farms in the hinterland, except for the Heping portion given to the court every year and the tax paid to the Yicang grain, the rest was reserved by the Wu family.

Some of the grain reserves can be loaned to people in need, and some can be collected at appropriate interest. Some can also be processed by oneself and sold in urban grain shops, or made into wine, and some can be supplied to one's own workshops and shops.Some coarse grains are used as feed for farming.

For example, sorghum, a life-saving food for ordinary people in times of disaster, is rarely eaten in peacetime because it is too unpalatable.However, the yield is high and the planting volume is large. When it is not a time of famine, it is usually used to make wine or livestock feed.

"If there is more food, we will open more breweries,"

The price of grain was very low, with a piece of silk worth more than ten kilograms of millet. For large landowners, the Wu family also had to find ways to convert grain and increase its value, and brewing wine was undoubtedly the best way.

"Brewing wine is profitable, but now wine regulations are strict and the wine tax is too high."

Nowadays, in the Zhenguan Dynasty, salt, tea, wine, and sugar are subject to the official consultation system. The court makes a lot of profits from it every year. Take this wine as an example. Liquor bureaus have been set up in various places and have a monopoly on the production and sale of distiller's yeast. Most of the wine It is also brewed and sold by the official government. Unless it is brewed for private consumption, it is generally not allowed to brew and sell it.

If the Wu family wants to make wine for sale, they must first obtain a wine-making license. If they make their own koji, they must obtain another license. This license is very expensive, and the tax on selling wine is also expensive.

Others who do not have this ability, whether they are selling wine or selling wine in restaurants, are inseparable from the imperial wine bureau. They buy wine from the wine bureau. The wine they buy is like salt, and taxes have been added to it. .

This monopoly system allowed the imperial court to monopolize most of the wine market. It not only earned money for brewing and making koji, but also levied heavy taxes on wine.

In fact, this was originally promoted by Wu Huaiyu, and the purpose was naturally to increase fiscal revenue and solve the problem of fiscal emptiness.

This set of combos is quite effective, otherwise Li Shimin wouldn't have the money to increase prices and buy grain reserves now.

The Wu family paid a high tax to buy a license to sell wine, but most people were not qualified to do so, because the court would only grant licenses without applying, and there were restrictions.

For example, Chang'an has only issued 72 liquor licenses to make wine for sale.

Even the liquor licenses are divided into local and national ones. There are four levels of liquor licenses: national, road, state and county. Different liquor licenses are only sold in the corresponding area.

The county license fee is less, but it can only be sold within the county, not across districts.The national brand is the most expensive and can be sold nationwide.

The Wu family's liquor license is universal across the country, and it costs a lot of money to pay. However, the Wu family's liquor now has many varieties and brands, all of which sell well and have a good reputation, so there is still a good profit. Even if you pay a large amount of license fees and taxes, you still have There are good profits.

The Wujia winery not only supplies its own wineries and restaurants for self-sale, but also sells it to other wine merchants and restaurants. It even sells a lot of it to the court every year, allowing them to make money as middlemen.

Nowadays, many businesses specialize in either making wine or selling wine, but there are only a few businesses as large as the Wu family.

In rural grass markets and other places below the county level, the court turned a blind eye to the extremely small-scale wine making and did not regulate it strictly. They often just paid some money to the Lizheng County officials and market orders, usually for one year. Paying once or twice a year is equivalent to paying taxes. Of course, the money will not go into the national treasury, but into the county government, becoming an additional income for the officials.

"Good brewing means high profits," Lao Wu said.

The cost of wine is low and the profit is high, especially for wines as famous as Wujia, especially those liquors such as sweet potato roast, persimmon roast, autumn pear roast, or sorghum roast, which are mainly brewed from grains. None of the nobles of the Tang Dynasty liked drinking this kind of wine.

But the people at the bottom, especially the barbarians from all over the world, like to drink it. Trade with the barbarians has always been profitable. The Wu family's liquor, like tea and sugar, has now become a few treasures in the trade with the barbarians, and the profits are frighteningly high.

"Actually speaking, it would be more beneficial for us if the price of food kept at four or five yuan per rice," Lao Wu said with a smile, calculating the accounts. Although the Wu family is a big landowner and a big grain grower, the Wu family has many workshops and shops and employs many people. There are many people, and there are even many servants in the mansion. The rations for so many people are a huge sum every year. The low price of food means that the cost of using these servants is greatly reduced.

In addition, the Wu family uses a lot of grain to make wine. The low price of grain means that the cost of wine is low, and the profit naturally increases.

You can make more money by growing grains, raising pigs and chickens.The weather is very good, the sky is clear,
The Mai Kes are working hard with their sickles to harvest. After the Mai Kes came to the Wu family to harvest wheat, they will definitely come to the Wu family every year. After all, the Wu family is generous. Not only does the food have the best, but the money is also generous. Every time they measure the wheat fields, they No matter how many martial artists there are, they won't fight with them.
Even if the wheat is lodging, the Wu family will take the initiative to increase the price.

Shi Shouxin, dressed in a long gown, stood under the shade of a tree, following Alang, watching the Mai guests sweating, and couldn't help but think of him doing the same thing two years ago.

But now, not only has he changed a lot, he can read and ride horses, and even the relatives in Shuofang's hometown are living a better life. He sent home the reward Erlang gave him, and also helped his family buy land.Even because he became a personal entourage of the prime minister, his family was taken care of by the governor and county magistrates in his hometown. They were allocated fields according to their rank, and some members of his clan also worked in state and county offices.

Now the family is no longer in poverty and is living a decent life.

"Shitou, please go home and send us food. The sun is scorching hot. Let's eat early and rest under the shade of the trees to avoid the harsh midday sun. We can continue harvesting wheat later."

"Okay Erlang,"

Shitou got on his horse and went back to deliver the meal.

The rice harvested by the Wu family is still very good, including pork noodles, mutton soup, and steamed cakes.

The wheat collectors who come to the fields to harvest wheat before dawn have been working hard for a long time, and their whole bodies are soaked with sweat. Everyone comes out to work as wheat harvesters to earn this hard-earned money. The money is calculated by the acre, and the more you harvest, the more you earn. Many, relatives and friends form groups in twos and threes.

The Wu family has always been generous. Before going to work in the morning, they treated everyone to breakfast. Each person had a few Wu family steamed buns with meat and vegetables as fillings.

After a long day of work, my stomach is empty, my chest is pressed against my back due to hunger, and I don’t care to take advantage of the cool air to relieve my sweat.

Wu Huaiyu took a big spoon and served everyone food.

First a big bowl of noodles, and then a big spoonful of pork jerky. The pork jerky is very well made, and you can see a lot of meat at a glance.

Cut the fresh meat of the fat pig that was slaughtered in the middle of the night into diced meat. Stir-fry it in a pot. Add ginger, salt, some chili powder and pepper powder, add some mature vinegar, stir-fry the oil and stir-fry until fragrant. Add some tofu, egg skin, and some seasonal vegetables and stir-fry it.

A large bowl of guillotine noodles is used as the base, then the soup is served, and then a spoonful of the fragrant sauerkraut is poured over it.

"Eat first, if you don't have enough, add more later."

The chefs couldn't help but salivate when they looked at the oily noodles and diced meat. It was so tempting.

"Thank you, Mr. Xian,"

This is like a meal,

Generally, when people are harvesting wheat, it would be good if they can have millet rice or steamed cakes to eat. The host even has to send someone to keep an eye on everyone as they eat. They can only eat but not take them with them. If they can get some pig heads, intestines, and lungs for everyone to eat, it will be great. That's pretty generous.

Holding the big bowl in both hands, he took the noodles, bowed his head and thanked her, then hurried to the shade of a tree, squatted down and slurped the noodles quickly.

The glutinous rice tastes delicious, and the jelly seeds are fragrant and greasy.
I feel like I want to stretch out my hand in my throat,
I quickly finished a large bowl of noodles and quickly queued up again.

"Give me another bowl of noodle soup,"

Huaiyu was generous, "I'll give you another bowl of noodles. There's also mutton soup and steamed cakes there, as well as stone buns. Go get whatever you want."

After making noodles for the wheat customers from Shuofang, as well as his own farm workers, and the tenants who came to help Wu's family harvest wheat, Huaiyu also squatted down to make noodles with Lao Wu.

A Duke of Jin, a Marquis of Wenshui, followed by a little kid from Sanyuan County, three generations of grandparents each holding a big bowl.

Now that Lao Wu is rich, he still maintains his simplicity. As for Wu Chengsi, who is more than three years old, he is tired and hungry from playing in the fields. This guy has a good appetite, whether it is noodles, pork dumplings, or millet. The steamed buns with yellow noodles and steamed buns with stone bricks are welcome to come and taste very delicious.

While Wu Huaiyu was eating, he looked at the wheat customers, long-term workers, and tenants. The wheat customers were still mainly from the Shuofang Lingyan area.

Wheat matures at different times in different places. Generally speaking, it matures gradually from east to west. In Guanzhong Longyou, Shandong, Henan,
In the past, wheat matured later in Longyou in Shuofang and the conditions there were more difficult, so many people in Guanlong in Shuofang would harvest wheat from north to south, from west to east, then from east to west, and from south to north to return to their hometown.

Even in those more chaotic years, the Mai Kes were actually similar to beggars. There were also some younger Mai Kes who formed groups and would occasionally act as swordsmen and robbers. They were all forced by life.

Today, there are still many Mai Kes migrating like migratory birds, but it can be seen that the lives of Mai Kes are better than before. These Mai Kes in the Wu family are basically familiar faces. As we chat while eating, we can also hear that life is better than before. .

But this is good. In fact, it only means that they no longer have to go out to beg for food and can make a living. Most people still do not have their own land, or only have very little. Many people are still carrying more or less debts, and many Mai Ke At the age of 30, he still couldn't get a wife.

In contrast, the tenants of the Wu family look much better. Not only do their clothes have fewer patches, but they also look healthier. They rent the land of the Wu family, and the rent collected by the Wu family is better, and there is nothing like that. Xiao Dou goes out and Big Dou comes in, doing various extra things, and can even lead them to jointly raise pigs, chickens, ducks, etc. In their spare time, they can also go to the Wu family's workshop or farm to do some work to earn some living money.

There are no unexpected disasters. After a year of hard work by these tenants, their family can be guaranteed food and clothing, and they can even make some savings.

The long-term workers hired by the Wu family only had ten shi of grain a year and two pairs of clothes. If they chose to share the land in a partnership, they would earn more if they worked harder.

The Wu family has now grown into a towering tree,

This side has been able to protect many people from wind and rain. It is said that everything is born when a whale falls. In fact, the Wu family is now rising strongly, which is also very lucky for the people of this side.

As a new aristocracy, the Wu family has always paid more attention to reputation and was more willing to spend money to make money. The rewards are also very good. The current Wu family has indeed become the most reputable gentry and sages in a hundred miles.

The old man, Marquis of Wenshui, is indeed highly respected here. No wonder he didn't want to stay more than a day in Chang'an last time. How could he be so comfortable in the countryside.

(End of this chapter)