Jian Cheng and Fang Ping arrived at the train station, bought tickets, and waited for the train there. Sitting down, Fang Ping said: "Brother, it is extremely difficult to go to Ye County to do things this time. We looked at the paper, and although the bitter lord said that he was wronged, there was actually no evidence at all. ”

Jian Cheng nodded, and sighed again: "This is the first thing that Zhongcheng did when he arrived at the Yushitai, and it was handed over to us." If you don't do it well, I'm afraid that you will be sad when you come back. Although Zhongcheng said that whatever he found out was what he was, but sending us there showed that it was not simple. ”

Fang Ping nodded, and the two sat down for a while. This kind of thing, for these two people, is really a combination of danger and opportunity, the so-called crisis. If it is found out that something is wrong, it will be a great success when you come back, and Du Zhongxiao will definitely reward him again. If you go to investigate, you won't find anything, even if Du Zhongxiao doesn't say anything for a while, you will suffer from it later.

The officials and officials in the yamen belong to two worlds, and they are the ones who actually do things, but the power is in the hands of the officials. Officials with strong ability and wide connections have to give up a few points even to officials, and some can even live richer than princes. There are not many such capable officials in the world, and if there are more, they will inevitably be cut off. Jian Cheng and Fang Ping, just ordinary officials, relied on reading and literacy since childhood to be admitted to the Yushi Tai, and have worked for many years to reach today's status, how can they fight against the long Yushi Zhongcheng? This time I went to Ye County, just hoping to find out something.

At this time, almost all the railways in the world will converge to Kaifeng Mansion, and the station is particularly busy. For the convenience of management, it is divided into four parts: east, west, north and south, and is managed separately. The two waited for half an hour before boarding the southbound train.

This railway goes to Xiangzhou, crosses the Han River and goes to Gangneung, which is the main transportation road connecting the north and south, and there are many people on board. The two of them sat opposite each other by the window, looking at the scenery outside the window, and did not speak much. I thought in my heart, what should I do when I arrived in Ye County.

When I arrived in Ye County, it was just getting dark. Looking at the traffic outside the station and the crowd surging, Jian Cheng said: "It's night, let's find a place to go to dinner." By the way, let's discuss what to do when we arrive. ”

Fang Ping agreed, and the two went out of the station together, saw that the gate of Ye County was not closed, and entered the city together. After several years of development, the small city wall of Yexian County has long been overcrowded, and a large number of households have to live outside the city. The shops in the city are next to each other, and it is particularly bustling.

Jian Cheng looked at the dense shop signs on both sides, and the other party said flatly: "When I was in the capital, I heard that Ye County was prosperous, and when I came to see it today, it was so." Let's go in and try it. ”

Fang Ping said: "What are the characteristics of this kind of place where the north and the south meet? Just find a place to eat. ”

While talking, the two walked down the street and saw a mutton noodle restaurant, which was less eaten in the capital, so they walked in. At this time, the store was full of people, and the two finally found a remote seat and sat down.

After a while, Jian Cheng saw that the soup in the bowl was rich, and the other party said calmly: "It seems that this is a conscientious shop." ”

On one side, there were a few men, dressed as outsiders doing business, with a few dishes on the table, drinking together there.

A man said: "In addition to the simple staff in the city, a factory has recently opened, specializing in manufacturing machinery for farming and harvesting wheat, and I heard that it has become big. Many states and counties on Jingxi Road have come to him to buy farming machinery, and I heard that it is very good to use. ”

Another said: "In the past two years, many states and counties have been short of manpower, and this kind of machine made by the iron supervisor has been sold. I've heard people say that if you use a machine to cut the wheat, you can plant a season of beans after the harvest, and you don't have to do anything. In this way, wouldn't one acre of land be able to harvest two acres of grain? Naturally, someone buys it. ”

When Jian Cheng and Fang Ping heard that they were talking about Jian Yuanwai, they seemed to be the parties to the Bai family's case, so they couldn't help but prick up their ears and listen to what they had to say.

In recent years, due to the lack of people and the large amount of land on Jingxi Road, and the high price of grain in these places in Ye County, many fields have been reclaimed. Lack of manpower, so the machine of the iron supervisor is used, and one person can cultivate many acres of land. Of course, the agricultural machinery used in the fields of the world is produced and supplied by the iron supervisor, and many private farms buy the machines of these small factories.

In this era, there was no developed supply system in later generations, and machines could be loaded with parts and purchases. At this time, in addition to some key components that had to be purchased from the iron supervisor, many parts had to be produced by themselves. To open a factory, you need machines, you need suitable geographical conditions, you need manpower, and you need a lot of capital to invest. Of course, the factory also made a lot of money when it was built, and many large households in Ye County slowly shifted from business to industry.

The power of the plant, it is possible to use a steam engine. However, the steam engine is too expensive, except for some large factories, many small factories, or choose to use water power. The Bai family was worried about it because of the river. Although the river is not large, the amount of water is stable, and the terrain conditions are very good. Just build a small dam upstream, you can hold back the river and drive a small factory.

A black-haired man who dismounted from his horse said: "Although the price of grain has not been too high in recent years, it is better to be stable. If you plant thousands of acres of land, it is the way to make money. I was thinking that if the price of the machine was right, I would buy a set and go back to my hometown to buy some land. ”

The rest of the people laughed when they heard it: "Even if you have thousands of acres of land, how much money can you make in a year?" The yield per mu is no more than two stones, and it is rare to be able to sell one stone after going to the tax, which is not enough for the consistent money. You have more than a thousand acres of land, gone to the robot worker, how much money is left? In our business, there are many ways to make one or two thousand dollars, so why do that kind of thing! ”

The black-haired man said, "You can't count it like this." If you buy the land, it belongs to your own family after all, and you can pass it on to your children and grandchildren. There are times when there are profits and losses in business, farming is different, and it is pure profit every year. Do you say yes or no? ”

The rest of the people shook their heads together, apparently not thinking so. Of course, farming is not a pure profit every year, natural disasters and man-made disasters, is it still less? In order to buy a pump for fear of drought, and then go to repair the canal, I don't know how much money to invest in.

In this era, there was no land system, and land annexation was not restricted, but there were many idle fields in the world, and the land price was not high. Of course, another reason is that the five generations are not far away, when wars were still frequent, landlords were frequently replaced, and the people did not regard land as an important asset for passing on their children and grandchildren. Correspondingly, the idea of relocating to a safe land is not strong, and the first pursuit of the people is to pursue profits. Buying land and building farms is really not strong in the atmosphere of the people.

The black-haired man insisted and said, "Now farming is different from before, with machines, you can save manpower." Although it is difficult to hire people, the machine is your own when you buy it, so how can you not farm the land? You're used to business, and you don't think about it. There has been nothing to do in the past few days, and tomorrow we will go to the factory outside Jian Yuan to have a look. If the machine is easy to use, it will be easy to go home and buy land. ”

Hearing this, Jian Cheng and Fang Ping glanced at each other, knowing that what they were talking about was only the Jian Yuanwai of the Bai family's case. What kind of factory makes what agricultural machines, these two don't understand, only know that they should be very profitable. When money is involved, many things that seem impossible can happen. There are no flaws in this case, and if there is money to blame, it is difficult to say.

After eating noodles, the two of them left the store, and Jian Cheng said: "It's better like this, tomorrow I will go to the Yexian County Office, check the case file, find the person who handled it at the time, and see if there are any loopholes." You go to Jianyuan's factory and take a look at what the locals have to say. This is what Zhongcheng said about the government and the people, and see if there is anything suspicious. ”

Fang Ping said: "Just do what my brother said." This Jian member heard the person just now say that he thought he was a big man, and he was a big man. ”

After discussing it, they found a hotel and rested in peace.

There was nothing to say all night, and at dawn the next day, Jian Cheng and Fang Ping separated. Jian Cheng went to the county office, and Fang Ping went to the factory outside Jian Yuan.

At this time, around Yexian County, there were few farmers who planted rice and wheat, and most of them were melons, fruits and vegetables. As soon as industry develops, it will inevitably have an impact on agriculture because of the huge gap with agriculture.

Out of Ye County, all the way west. Fang Ping noticed that the road was wide and flat, and even paved with cinders, and there were many vehicles on the road, and they didn't know what they were transporting. From time to time, houses appeared on both sides of the road, and the people inside were either banging or doing work he had never seen before.

I walked straight for more than ten miles, and in the middle of the day, there was a southward road in front of me, and a tea shop at the intersection. Fang Ping asked people, knowing that it was about this place, so he had to go south to reach the factory of Jian Yuanwai's house.

When he arrived at the tea shop, Fang Ping asked for a big bowl of tea and asked the owner of the tea shop: "Master, I heard that there is a nearby factory specializing in the production of machines for farming, is it going south from here?" ”

The owner of the tea shop said, "Yes." It was originally Bai Zhengran's land, and he has grown melons, fruits and vegetables in recent years. It's a pity that there was a drought this year, and the family borrowed money to buy a pump, and finally the family was ruined and returned to Jane. ”

Fang Ping heard this, and hurriedly asked: "Natural disasters and man-made disasters, where it is usual, why is it that this year's drought has broken the Bai family?" ”

The owner of the tea shop said: "Who can say this well? I heard that the Bai family has grown vegetables and sold well in recent years, and after buying a pump, they will no longer be afraid of drought in the future. Who knew that after borrowing the money from the Jane family, he couldn't pay it back in the end, and he suffered a disaster. ”

Fang Ping drank tea and said casually: "This person surnamed Bai really has no plan to be a person, how can he borrow someone else's money when he knows that he can't pay it back?" In this world, it is natural to repay debts. ”

The owner of the tea shop sighed: "Which one can say this kind of thing clearly!" Bai Zhengran has been there for generations, and I watched him grow up, and he has been very cautious in doing things since he was a child, and I really can't think of how he could do such a thing. And the land that bought him was Jane's outside, who knows what was inside. ”

Fang Ping said: "If something goes wrong, it is a demon, since the Bai family is not like that, there is something strange about it." ”

The owner of the tea shop said: "The people of the Bai family have sued this case for a long time, but they can't find out, and what can others say." ”