Need for money

Hearing that Zhang Jia was so careful in order to find the gap in the river, Lin Jingzhi nodded in satisfaction, not for anything else, just seeing how serious and cautious he is about his work, it can make people feel more at ease, after all, in this era , Opening up wasteland and digging canals are extremely huge projects, and they must not be sloppy.

"Mr. Zhang, this wasteland seems to be very large. How much fertile land do you think can be leveled out?" Lin Jingzhi pointed to the direction of the wasteland and asked the answer he wanted to know most.

The benefits that the Lin family gets are directly proportional to the area of ​​the open land, which Zhang Jia naturally knows, "Mr. Lin, how much waste land can be opened here, Zhang and several assistants have done many measurements, but due to The area is too large, Zhang can only give you an approximate figure."

Lin Jingzhi nodded when he heard the words, motioning for him to continue talking.

"If you develop flat fields according to the drawings drawn by someone, you can develop about 3 hectares of fertile fields at Jieshi, and 1 hectares of second-class fields, and the largest area of ​​mountain fields at about 28 hectares. In an instant."

After listening to Zhang Jia's report, Lin Jingzhi secretly calculated that if the fertile land is between 3 hectares, based on the land price at this time, one mu of fertile land is calculated at 15 taels of silver, converted into silver, the total price is about 45 taels to 9 taels between.

The second-class field is 1 hectares, calculated on the basis of 8 taels of silver per mu, the total price is between 8 taels and 12 million taels.

Yamada is the cheapest, but one mu is also worth four to five taels of silver. If the area is between 28 hectares, calculated on the basis of four taels of silver per mu, the total price converted into silver taels will be between 112 million taels and 132 million taels .

Calculated according to the most conservative figures, there are 3 hectares of good farmland, 1 hectares of second-class farmland, and 28 hectares of mountain fields. The silver taels add up to 237 million taels of silver.

However, the Lin family spent 3 taels on the land, and only 4 taels on food, plus the tens of thousands of taels of silver they bribed officials. silver.

Of course, the Lin family may not rush to sell the wasteland after opening it. If it can be rented out to tenant farmers, the benefits will naturally increase.

In this era, there are no formulas for multiplication and division, and one must use pen and paper to calculate accounts, or do calculations on the ground with a branch. Zhang Jia naturally couldn't guess what Lin Jingzhi was thinking when he frowned, and said: "Mr. Lin, these The number is the result of someone Zhang measuring it dozens of times, so there shouldn't be too much deviation."

"Besides, the composition of the soil is different in different regions. Food crops have never been planted here before. It is normal that the area with poorer geology is larger. Of course, Mr. Lin does not need to worry about this. There are many secondary Waiting fields are also high-quality, so as long as the water conservancy is convenient and rented out to tenant farmers for three to five years, the land will naturally become a good field."

After Zhang Jia finished speaking, he felt a little thirsty, so he came to the bank of the Luo River, squatted down cautiously, picked up a handful of clear water with his hands, and took several sips from his mouth.

The sun had already risen high at this time, and Lin Jingzhi rode on the horse for another hour. He was also tired and thirsty at this time, so he also walked to the bank of the Luo River.

The Luohe River in front of me is more than 30 meters wide. The current is fast and the waves are tumbling. When you get close, you can clearly see the underwater riverbed. , took two sips.

The river water was cold, with a hint of sweetness, and it slid into his throat, making him feel a lot better when he was hot.

"Mr. Zhang said that it would be more cost-effective if we could rent these fields to tenant farmers and let them plant them for a few years before selling them out. By the way, apart from the fields that can be reclaimed, there are several hills here. ?” Lin Jingzhi asked again after wiping off the water stains around his mouth.

"There are more than 30 large and small hills here, but you don't have to worry too much about this, as long as you dig the canal according to Zhang's blueprint, you only need to dig through five small hills at most. It won't take much man-hours." Zhang Jia replied.

Lin Jingzhi responded and was very satisfied. Digging hills is not as expensive as flat land, and it is quite time-consuming and labor-intensive.

After finishing speaking, Lin Jingzhi and the others led the horses and walked down the wasteland slowly. While walking, Zhang Jia pointed to the topography and explained to Lin Jingzhi one by one, while Lin Jingzhi nodded while listening.

"Mr. Zhang, last time I saw the drawings in your mansion, the direction of the canal seems to turn here?" Time passed quickly, and the few people chatted while walking. It was already afternoon, Lin Jingzhi pointed to a relatively Ask in the direction of the big hill.

There are several smaller mounds on the left and right of the hill, and there is a large piece of wasteland in the back. After that, there is a small mountain with a height of [-] meters. At the foot of the small mountain, there are small mounds one after another. , ups and downs, about a dozen.

Zhang Jia was so familiar with the land and the blueprints he had drawn that he didn't even need to think about it, so he nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Lin has a good memory. Turning northeast, you can return to the lower reaches of the Luo River."

"Oh, if you turn a corner here, what about the wasteland behind the hill?" Lin Jingzhi asked with a horsewhip, pointing to the wasteland behind the hill.

"Zhang had thought of bringing water there before, but the terrain here is too complicated, there are too many hills, and for such a small piece of wasteland, it is really uneconomical to dig through a hill. .”

In fact, the late Lin Jingzhi also came here to investigate and was quite familiar with the terrain here, so Lin Jingzhi now has a general opinion on the direction of the canal. The reason why he didn't say anything before was just to hear more It's just Zhang Jia's opinion.

The last time he saw the blueprints in the Zhang Mansion, he felt that this place was very different from what he thought. Of course, if it is only about the design, Zhang Jia has done a good job, but it is only for the future of the Lin Mansion. , he obviously thought more, "Mr. Zhang, I don't have any objections to the first half of the canal you and your assistants designed, but I hope you can make some changes when we get here."

Lin Jingzhi said while pointing to the direction of the hill ahead.

Zhang Jia saw that Lin Jingzhi had been listening to him very much before, and did not express any different opinions. He also thought that Lin Jingzhi was quite young, tolerant, and not a smart person, so he liked him again. Sheng, when he heard this sentence at this time, his heart 'thumped', secretly screaming that something was wrong.

The blueprint of this canal was drawn by him and several subordinates over three years. The issues to be considered are very complicated. Often, if one modification is made, it may implicate three or five places in other places, so unless it is absolutely necessary , he really didn't want to modify it.

If he hadn't taken Lin Jingzhi's money, he would have lowered his face and talked to Lin Jingzhi loudly. After all, this blueprint was the crystallization of his brainchild after three years of painstaking efforts and countless pairs of shoes. Can it be easy for people to point fingers, and change it as soon as they say it?

Moreover, Lin Jingzhi's words were flat, and he didn't pay attention to the fruits of his labor at all!

Although he also knew that he was working for the Lin family, but he was angry in his heart, and his tone would inevitably be a bit aggressive, "Change? How to change? Mr. Lin, do you think there is something wrong with the blueprint drawn by Zhang and others?"

Seeing a trace of unhappiness on Zhang Jia's face, Lin Jingzhi realized that he had not been cautious just now, but no matter what, in order to attract some people to fight against Tian Ji, Wang Meng and others' conspiracy in the future, this canal The direction of the future must be changed!