golden scales

"Brother Wang, what about work?" The old man in the village walked to Wang Laowu's field, knelt down and picked up a piece of dirt, crushed it into powder with light force, and sprinkled it on the ground.This means that the ground is short of water and the soil cannot form a knot.He clapped his hands and stood up. The owner of the land was smiling silly at him, but he didn't speak.

"It's here," said the old man, "someone in the county will open a canal to bring water from the Dragon King River."

"Good thing." Wang Laowu said cleanly, still squatting in the field to weed with a small shovel.

"It's a good thing, but we need to send people." The old man crossed his hands and said: "The county provides food, and the villages who need to divert water will provide their own manpower, but there is no wages, so I ask you if you can go."

"Go." Wang Laowu chuckled, "How much money do you need to draw water to your own land?"

"You're right to think so." The old man was very happy, stood up and said, "Shandong is actually a good place, but it's short of water and it's desolate. You have half an acre of land, it would be great if you had water! Even though it has been abandoned for several years, alfalfa has been growing all the time, and the land is fat!"

"That's right." Wang Laowu smiled and said, "It's just that I haven't grown these potatoes before, so I don't know what to do."

"It's a good thing to grow! Don't worry." The old man had never planted it before, but he had already heard from Daling when he went to the county meeting that he should spare no effort to persuade farmers to reclaim wasteland and grow food.Especially the wasteland, tidal flat, rocky land, and saline-alkali land in the eyes of traditional farmers. If rice, fruit and vegetables cannot be grown, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn must be grown.

Corn is not bad, but it has been planted in old age, and it can only be mixed to fill up, but the taste is not very good.The advantage is that you don't choose land, and your life is cheap and easy to support.Potatoes came from central Beijing, and it is said that they are a good food for the emperor's family.Also do not pick the ground, throw it in the ground according to the method, and it will grow in a nest.Sweet potatoes are more delicious than these two, and they can grow in saline-alkali soil. The government also distributed seedlings according to the names on the household registration.

"Speaking of which, during the severe drought two years ago, it would be great if the county had Mr. Wang sitting in the court, and he would never starve to death." The old man sighed, and suddenly shouted: "Hey, what did you throw? "

"Grass..." Wang Laowu was taken aback.

"This is alfalfa! It's a good thing." The old man laughed angrily, walked quickly into the field, and picked up the "weeds" on the ground: "This thing is drought-resistant. It was the bread of life during the severe drought a few years ago! This year The county has been digging canals and digging cellars, and pulled a lot of ice, so it seems that it is no longer needed, but this grass is also very good for feeding livestock, fattening up!"

"Hey." Wang Laowu smiled awkwardly, and hurriedly went to the ground to pick up a bamboo basket.Throwing the plucked alfalfa into it, he said with a smile, "I'll send it to your home later, just to feed the donkey."

The old man's eyes were narrowed with a smile, and he just said, "That's so embarrassing."

"It should be, our father and I are here, and we are not familiar with the place, so it is up to you to take care of it." Wang Laowu said a long sentence: "Besides, I don't have any livestock at home."

The old man no longer refuses.He lowered his voice, as if a girl was talking about herself, and said, "Actually, I can tell, brother, have you ever read a book?"

"Hehe." Wang Laowu didn't deny it, just smiled.

"Why didn't you tell the county that you have read the book?" The old man leaned back and stared at him: "As long as you know a hundred or so characters, you can pass the exams of A, B, C, D... yes! Ding Wait for the diploma! When the time comes, I will copy and write in the county, and get money if the wind does not blow or the rain does not touch the ground, isn’t it better than digging food in the field?”

"Hey, it's just the two words I know. Don't show your ugliness." Wang Laowu shook his head and said, "I still have a piece of land and feel at ease."

"Your land is not your own." The old man said, "Your family has to plant it for 20 years before giving it to you."

"It's only 20 years, so fast." Wang Laowu said with a silly smile.

The old man also smiled: "It's really fast, it's over in the blink of an eye. Hey, your brother is also fifteen?"

"Yes. Xiao Long's."

"Then why don't you give him an independent household registration?" The old man patted his legs: "If you share the same household registration with him, he can only get four points of land. If you let him have an independent household registration, he will get eight points! You are also literate, this Why can't the account be settled? Didn't the county tell you?"

"I've said it." Wang Laowu hurriedly said: "I'm afraid that if each family leaves the Dingkou, wouldn't there be one left to take care of the field?"

"You should be careful!" The old man looked like he hated iron but steel: "The court has said that the whole province of Shandong is exempt from corvee! Do you know who told the emperor? It's Taiwei Xingjun, the prince! It's stamped with a red seal The notices are all posted in the village, who dares to speak in Latin? You have been here these days, have you heard that any man has been taken away? A few days ago, Liu Fangliang’s 10,000+ army came to fight us, and the prince himself went into battle, but also Didn't take you there!"

"That's true." Wang Laowu lowered his voice: "The crown prince is amazing."

"So, the old man advises you: Go and register your brother as soon as possible, otherwise there will be no good future if there are too many people." The old man patted Wang Laowu's hand.

Wang Laowu bowed his head to be taught, and nodded repeatedly.

"Dad! Daddy! Daddy!"

A slightly immature shout came from a distance, full of the joy of a young man jumping.

Wang Laowu and the old man looked into the distance, and soon saw a young man in green shorts running towards the ground, holding a ball of fluffy yellow balls in his hands.It wasn't until the child got close that the two of them realized that the yellow ball was actually a little chicken.

"Where did you come from?" Wang Laowu's face was serious, and there was a chill in his voice.

The old man didn't speak when he saw it, and thought: This guy's family education is quite strict, in fact, which child has never done anything like stealing chickens and dogs...

"Given to me by the teacher at school." The boy was yelled at by his father, and his previous joy disappeared immediately, and he said hastily, "As long as you want to raise one, I will give it to you."

"Tell me the truth! How can you give it to the chicken for no reason!" Wang Laowu tightly held the hoe in his hand, and raised it slightly, as if he would hit it at any time.

"Really! If you don't believe me, you can ask the master!" The young man took a step away and said in a hurry: "As long as you hand over three catties of locusts, you will give me a chick. If you raise them well, you can exchange them with locusts! Er Gou, Da Ni , and Ernie! Dad! When have I ever lied to you!"

"really?"

"really!"

"Three catties of locusts?"

"Three catties!"

The father and son asked and answered, and finally calmed down.Then the old man leaned over and said, "This locust can be fed to chickens and ducks, but don't feed it too much, or you will die from diarrhea."

"Oh! I heard what you said, sir." The young man saluted the old man, and said with a smile, "The master also said that even chicken manure is a good thing, and it can fertilize the fields."

"Ah? Huang Desu still knows this?" The old man was stunned: "This prince is really a god, even such a dog official can be trained to understand farming?"

"It's not Mr. Huang." The young man said, "It's the new Mr. Chen. From now on, Mr. Huang will teach literacy, and Mr. Chen will teach natural history."

"Mr. Chen?" The old man was stunned again: "Which village?"

"The accent sounds like Du's. He said he used to be Nanhaizi's Jingjun."

"Oh, so it's my husband from Beijing." The old man turned his head and said to Wang Laowu, "Now that the holy driver came to Shandong, everyone in the palace came. Wushu's husband is copying inside. It doesn't look scary at all."

"Mr. Chen is very kind, and his handwriting is beautiful." The young man added: "It's no worse than Mr. Huang."

Wang Laowu was not happy to hear his son say these things, and said: "Go home and put the chickens away, and review the homework you learned today in the light of day."

"Deling!" The young man took a step away and grinned, revealing a mouthful of neat white teeth.He ran backwards, and shouted, "Father! You caught locusts in the field and kept them for me! I want to raise a rooster to crow!"

Wang Laowu waved his hand to show that he knew.

The old man happily put his hands behind his back, hummed a little song, and left on his own.

Since the imperial court rebuilt Shenming Pavilion, every village has to elect a respected old man.Although this old man is not considered an official, he can take care of everything. According to the county's statement, he wants to "educate customs, mediate disputes, persuade agricultural affairs, and beautify the hometown".

Every three to five days, the bullock carts in the county will come to pick up the old people from several nearby villages. They will serve tea and vegetables and fruits. The county magistrate will accompany him for a meal and chat for a long time. Just sent it back.And not to worship an official, this was a privilege that could only be enjoyed by those over seventy. (To be continued. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to m. to read.)

ps: Please ask for a recommendation ticket and a monthly ticket~~~ This week is a strong push for the history category, but the recommendation ticket can’t be listed on the classification list...so shy...