Chastity Layman

  Chapter 293 The Merciful Landlord

  God is beautiful.

   The weather has been sunny and sunny for many consecutive days. Although the sun is peeling, everyone is still very happy.

  When the weather is good, the wheat in the field will not be spoiled.

  Bundles of wheat are picked home and spread out on the drying yard.

  Oxen and horses are constantly grinding the wheels. People who don’t have oxen and horses, the whole family goes to threshing wheat. No matter how hot the weather is or how poisonous the sun is, everyone dare not stop for a moment, and must rush to remove the wheat.

  Sanyuan County, Qinjiazhuang.

  Because the Qin family also planted wheat and rice this year, the harvest seasons are separated, and all the people can be mobilized to rush to harvest the wheat. In addition, Qin Qiong bought thousands of slaves for Qin Lang from Lingwu this year, so Qin Lang's wheat harvest is also fast.

  When there were still a lot of golden wheat in the field, the Qin family had already harvested it.

  When the wheat was taken back, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. While the wheat was still being milled and the dust was blowing up, it was already being packed into the warehouse there.

  Early in the morning, several tables had been set up in front of the granary of the Qin Family Zhuangzi.

  The grain depot has already been cleaned up, and the old grain has been cleared out. Now it is empty, like a monster with a huge mouth.

  The housekeepers specially put on new clothes, and everyone was full of energy.

   "Is the bucket ready?"

   "Okay!" The man responded loudly, and there was a row of measuring buckets, all of which were relatively high, and the accuracy was guaranteed.

  The housekeeper Lao Wang nodded in satisfaction, stood up and bowed to Qin Lang, "Sanlang, everything is ready, you can collect the grain and put it in the warehouse."

   "Then collect the food!"

   The wheat exuding the fragrance of fresh wheat officially began to enter the warehouse, and the dealers queued up with loads of wheat.

And outside the warehouse, there are big earthen stove pots lined up in a row, and the meat is being stewed in the pot. The pig farm sent two pigs over early in the morning, both of which were about two hundred catties each. The sun is cool and slaughtered, and the meat is cut well.

   In one pot, pork ribs are stewed, in another pot, ribs are stewed, in another pot, pig's trotters are stewed, and in the other pot, two large pig heads are stewed.

   At this time, it has been stewed for half an hour, and the meat is full of fragrance.

  It is a big event for new grain to enter the warehouse.

  Having worked so hard for half a year, this is the happiest time.

   Zhuang Ding picked up the wheat that had been dusted off and dried in the sun, and some Zhuang Ding held bucket by bucket to measure.

   "Smooth it all, don't pile up!"

  Old Wang Chongmai's buddy shouted that the most accurate number is smoothing.

  Measure ten buckets, which is the standard one stone.

   "Enter the warehouse!"

  The accountants over there have to take turns inspecting the wheat to see how dry or wet it is, the amount of gray grass, etc., to ensure that the grain entering the warehouse meets the storage standards.

  After passing the acceptance inspection, Zhuang Ding in his own warehouse is responsible for picking it into the warehouse.

  Old Wang grabbed the wheat with his head and said to Qin Lang excitedly, "This year's wheat is good and full, and it is dry even when the weather is good."

   "I estimate that our family's harvest of wheat this year is more than two stones per mu. It will be a good year!"

  Qin Lang smiled, of course two stones per mu is not a small amount, this is still an average number, in fact some good lands are more than this number, the key to increasing production compared to previous years is actually fertilizer.

  The benefits of ecological breeding have begun to manifest. The fat from raising pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and fish has made the Qin family's land fertile enough and naturally increased production a lot.

   Stones of grain were brought into the granary, and the piles of grain in the empty granary were gradually piled up.

   Today, the grain from the Qin family's own farm is mainly put into the warehouse, and the tenants who are tenants of the Qin family's fields pay the rent and arrange it later.

  Actually, the tenants of the Qin family expressed their willingness to pay rent, but Qin Lang was not in a hurry.

  One morning, the three warehouses were all full, and each warehouse was full of a thousand shi of new wheat.

  The granary is full of new wheat, but the housekeeper and others lock the door, fill it with lead and seal it, and don't open it easily.

   "Let's eat lunch first, and continue after eating!"

  In the pot over there, lotus root, soybeans, yam, beans, etc. have been added respectively.

  When the women in the village heard the call for dinner, they brought baskets of steamed trowels and flatbread.

   "It's all made of this year's new wheat, pure flour!"

  Old Wang still felt that Qin Lang was a bit extravagant and wasteful, there was still old grain cleared out in the granary, so why eat new wheat, but Qin Lang still ignored Lao Wang's frugality.

   It’s a bumper harvest, so I’m naturally happy.

   "New wheat is fragrant!"

  Qin Lang did not disclose Chengqian's identity to the people in the village. Others only regarded him as Qin Lang's adopted sons, just like Cunxiao Cunyi, Luo Tong, Pei Xingjian and others.

  Emperor Qin Lang arranged the six regiments of imperial troops assigned to Chengqian outside the village.

   "The ribs are delicious!"

   It tastes good when there are many people eating, not to mention that the meat is full and the stew is delicious.

   Chengqian praised again and again.

  No matter men, women or children in the village, it doesn’t matter whether he is the master in charge or the slave Mike, anyway, today everyone eats meat and soup in big bowls.

  For Zhuang Ding’s mikes, especially for those mikes from other places, this is simply a New Year’s Eve.

  Maike Xiaohei squatted there eating meat, tears streaming down his face while eating.

  For him, after eating today’s meal, he will pay his wages, and then it’s over, and he has to go home. But every year I come out to collect wheat as a wheat guest, and which one has such a good treatment, not only to eat, but also to eat meat.

  The food at Qin's family these days is so good that Xiao Hei doesn't want to leave after eating so much.

   "What's wrong?"

  Qin Lang also squatted next to the tearful Xiao Hei with a bowl of stewed pork knuckles made of soybeans.

  Xiao Hei wiped away his tears, "It's nothing, it's just that the wind is blinding my eyes."

   "Is there any difficulty, just tell me."

Qin Lang called Lao Wang, and Lao Wang was very impressed with Xiao Hei. He told Qin Lang that Xiao Hei was young, but he worked hardest. No matter whether anyone was watching, he never slacked off and worked hard. , Others cut a line, he can cut a line and a half.

"It's not a big deal, I've been working as a wheat farmer since I was a teenager, and I have been to many places to harvest wheat, and worked for many landlords' homes, but there has never been one that treats us as generously as yours. Food Don’t worry about being full, give the meat back…”

   "You guys help me with my work and help me harvest the wheat. Of course I want to thank you."

  The people who come out to be mackerel are actually mostly from poor families. During the busy farming season, they come out to find work with a sickle. Sometimes they can be busy for half a month without stopping a day, unless it rains.

  The busy half month is hard work, but I can also earn some money and food, which I can bring home to my wife and children.

   "Where is your family?"

   "From Luoyuan."

Luoyuan, of course, is the source of Luoshui. This is at the foot of Baiyu Mountain. To the north is Yanzhou after crossing Baiyu Mountain. Luoyuan belongs to Qingzhou. There are no plains, only continuous mountains and Gobi.

  In addition, in the north, until now, there are Liang divisions separatist and hegemony, so the local people are even more miserable.

  The condition of Xiaohei’s family is also very poor. His family does not have his own field, and his father is a long-term worker of the landlord’s family. He has been herding sheep for the landlord’s family since he was a child.

   "There are few fields in our area, so every time the wheat harvest comes, we go to Guanzhong to be wheat guests."

  Although Xiao Hei is young, he has been a Mike for several years.

   "I see that you work so diligently, are you willing to stay and work in my village?" Qin Lang asked. He is willing to help those who work hard and are grateful. After all, such people are rare.

  Xiao Hei was a little surprised.

   "Stay here, what are you doing?"

   "You can do whatever you want. You see, my village is not small, and it lacks the most manpower. If you want to stay, there are many things you can do, but no matter what you do, as long as you work hard, I will not treat you badly."

  In this era, the land has too much control over the people. The imperial court tied the people to the land tightly, making it difficult or forbidden to move.

  This situation is actually not a good thing for a rising noble like Qin Lang, because it means that even if he has many ways to make money, he lacks manpower to develop it.

  Although Qin Qiong bought him thousands of northern slaves this year, these people are also suitable for rough work.

  Xiao Hei didn't expect a few tears to be exchanged for such an opportunity, so he immediately put down the bowl and kowtowed directly to Qin Lang.

  Qin Lang quickly helped him up.

   "I can't deserve such a big gift. I have to thank you for coming to do something for me. Lao Wang, I will leave this brother to you. Don't treat him badly."

   Lao Wang agreed with a smile.

  After lunch, continue to collect grain.

   After several days of fighting for time, the wheat in the Qin family's Sanyuan was finally put into the warehouse.

  The tenants are also very active this year. After the rush harvest, they hurriedly sent the new wheat to the farm to pay the rent.

  At this time, the rent was still very heavy. Landlords and tenants in the Tang Dynasty generally entered into a lease contract. For renters, the most important thing was to share the rent. There are also some landlords with higher rents. Of course, there are also fixed rents, which are directly fixed rents, such as one stone per mu or so.

For example, the land given to officials by the government is actually handed over to the local people to grow and grow for rent. The rent is two to six buckets per mu according to the size of the field. You have to transport the grain to the government office in the city yourself, or you have to pay for it. The burden of these two parts is actually very high.

  Of course, there are still some landlords who will lease the land at this time, that is, they will lease the land to the second landlord, and they will subcontract it to the common people and be responsible for rent collection.

  The lease agreement between Qin Lang Zhuangzi and the tenants was actually made by the former landlord. After Qin Lang took over the manor field, he could only continue to maintain the lease agreement with the tenants.

  Tenant rent is an agreed share, each takes half.

  And if the cattle are leased, another 10% per mu will be charged.

   In addition to grain, even wheat grass must be divided into this share. Even according to the customary rules, the tenants have to do a certain amount of free labor for the landlords every year.

  Landlords often do some tricks when collecting rent, such as fighting to measure grain so that they pile up to the top, which is actually tantamount to overcharging rent.

  Qin Lang was very polite to the tenants. If it wasn't for the old lease, he even wanted to lower the rent, but considering that this kind of behavior would easily make other landlords dissatisfied, Qin Lang didn't act rashly.

  However, he still lowered the cattle rent this year, from 10 per mu to 10 per mu, and directly sent Zhuang Ding to bring the cattle to help cultivate the land, giving the tenants a great discount.

  Although the tenants came to pay the rent, Qin Lang still had pigs and chickens slaughtered and meat stewed in a big pot.

  Standard buckets measure the wheat, without heaps or heads, and the amount is well leveled, and the allocated grain is still the tenants’, and they will not be called as fire consumption.

  The grain is put into the warehouse, and the tenant who pays the grain can bring the whole family, old and young, to enjoy a meal of new rice wine at Qin's house.

  (end of this chapter)