When Wu Haogu hurried to the dripping eaves of the outer courtyard, he saw Wu Chengzhi and his own brother Wu Haowen already standing in front of him with a smile, and there were more than a dozen people in front of him, all of them dusty and roughly dressed, carrying large bags of luggage and local products from the countryside of Luoyang.

An old man who looked to be in his fifties, with a thin figure and a scruffy beard, was holding Wu Chengzhi's hand and saying Luoyang dialect: "When will my brother go back to Baibo Town to have a look?" There are more than 80 brothers in our generation, and it belongs to the elder brother who gets ahead, and the so-called wealth does not return to his hometown, such as brocade clothes walking at night, who knows......"

This old man actually called Wu Chengzhi "brother", which is not the meaning of "so-and-so brother", but his age is really younger than Wu Chengzhi...... But this face also looks old, right?

Wu Chengzhi said: Looking old, most of the days are hard! In addition to being frightened in the prison of Kaifeng Mansion, his father is a blessed person in this life, otherwise he would not be so well maintained. And this old man is actually younger than his father, it seems that this Baibo martial artist is not very mixed.

Seeing Wu Haogu come out, Wu Chengzhi smiled and beckoned to his son: "Da Lang, come and meet your seventh uncle." ”

Wu Haogu smiled and stepped forward to greet the old man: "The little nephew greets his uncle and congratulates him on his birthday!" ”

"This is Dalang, right? Uncle has heard of your name in Baibo Town. As the old man spoke, he handed over a string of copper coins worn with colored ropes, "This is the New Year's money that the uncle gave you." ”

The custom of pressing New Year's money first existed in the Han Dynasty, and in the Tang Dynasty, it evolved into the custom of scattering money in spring, and later it evolved into pressing New Year's money to younger generations on New Year's Day. Generally, it is only given to the younger generations who have not started a family, and they do not need to be given after marrying a wife.

Wu Haogu accepted the New Year's money, thanked him, and stood behind his father Wu Chengzhi. Wu Chengzhi smiled at his second son and said, "Second brother, you first take the brothers of the good generation to settle down in the West Cross Courtyard." ”

The West Cross Courtyard is a mansion for Wu Haowen's family to start a business, and it is still empty. Because Wu Haowen was alone, there was no need to occupy the yard alone, so he lived with his parents. So this courtyard is just used to house distant relatives from Luoyang.

Wu Erlang led a bunch of brothers with good characters to leave, and Wu Haogu accompanied Wu Chengzhi together, and invited the old man who was the same generation as Wu Chengzhi into the inner guest hall of Wu Chengzhi's courtyard, and then sat down the guests, and the maid of the Wu family immediately served the fragrant tea and snacks for the guests.

"Is your hometown okay?"

After a few words of greeting, Wu Chengzhi inquired about the situation in Luoyang's hometown. He hasn't been in contact with Luoyang for many years, so his impression is still a few decades ago.

This Bai Bo Yimen Wu Ke is also a big family in Luoyang, known as "2,000 people of the Ju clan, living together for 300 years", I think it was still the so-called "first in Luoyang", and it was also very beautiful to think about. But when I met my relatives from Luoyang today, Wu Chengzhi felt that they were very down-and-out, not like the first in Luoyang......

After listening to Wu Chengzhi's question, Wu Chengchang, the old man who gave Wu Haogu New Year's money, shook his head again and again: "I can't hold back a Jinshi for many years, it's bitter!" ”

The Great Song Dynasty did not raise people and show off their talents, and if they couldn't pass the Jinshi exam, they were poor and big! Don't say anything about a scholar with a high status, who is not famous as a scholar, what kind of scholar is he?

The so-called "Shinong Industry and Commerce" was very clear in the Tang Dynasty, and the Shi were the Shi clan, which was to be reincarnated with real skills! There are special people in the imperial court to revise the "Clan Chronicles", and those who are listed on it are the scholars. Agriculture and industry are also clearly distinguished, industry and commerce have "city registration", and the industry and commerce at the end of industry and commerce are city registration industry and commerce, not scholars to do business and open workshops.

But in the Song Dynasty, the rank of "shi" was actually a bit foamy. Let's say that a scholar is a scholar, this standard is too nihilistic, and it is difficult to prove...... How many books have you read to be a reader? And how to prove it?

Later in the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, Xiucai had a "supervision license" that could prove the identity of Xiucai and Renren. However, the Song Dynasty did not have this system, and the Liberation Examination was only one exam, which only meant that it was eligible to participate in the Ministry of Rites Examination for the following year - only once! If you don't pass the test, you will have to retake the exam next time.

In addition to the fact that it is difficult to prove the identity of scholars, the imperial court actually does not give any preferential treatment to scholars. The so-called not killing scholars and doctors refers to civil officials!

And the scholars who do not have official status and are not likely to be reincarnated are actually "agricultural businessmen" and the like. If you look down on the end of industry and commerce and disdain it, then it is "agriculture". The so-called Bai Bo Yimen Wu is just a group of farmers who gather and live without separation.

In the early years, when the Baibo martial arts family was more prosperous, there were officials in the clan, and there were also priests and scribes in Luoyang, and there were many people, but they were also local tyrants.

However, after decades without a single jinshi, the power of the Baibo martial arts family inevitably declined. And because Bai Bo Yimen Wu is really a "Zhenyi Gate" who eats big pots of rice without separating families, it is not suitable for business and commerce, and can only rely on the land to feed the entire family and the children in the family to study.

However, the income from the land was very limited, Luoyang was not a rich land, and the samurai family gradually lost their political power, so they had to pay all kinds of harsh taxes according to the standards of ordinary farmers, and their financial resources became increasingly difficult.

At the same time, the population of the tribe is increasing day by day. There are many people but the land is not increasing, and the Baibo martial arts family is naturally declining day by day. The landlord class, which a few decades ago lived on rent, has now become a self-employed peasantry.

In this case, the Baipo family school of the Baibo martial arts family has reached the point where it is unsustainable, although it is still open, but the education level is too low, it is just to let the children of the clan recognize some words and read a little, and they can't train jinshi at all. It is the liberation test that entered Luoyang Mansion in the west, and it has also become a roadblock to the rise of the children of the Baibo martial arts, and there are very few children who can pass the liberation test every time.

Therefore, the letter sent by Wu Chengzhi caused a sensation in the Baibo martial arts...... 5,000 acres of school land! You can always collect a few hundred stones a year (one stone in the Song Dynasty is 92.5 Song Jin, equivalent to 59.2 kilograms), right?

Although the Baipo Family School cannot be restored to the situation of its heyday, it can always cultivate a lot of children who can pass the examination, and if one of them is in high school, then the Baiba Yimenwu will be able to regain its former glory.

Therefore, Wu Zhongyi, the patriarch of Bai Boyimen's martial arts, sent his eldest son Wu Chengchang to bring more than a dozen children (bringing so children to pick back the copper coins donated by Wu Chengzhi) and went straight to Kaifeng Mansion.

"I really don't want the life of my hometown to be so difficult...... Wu Chengzhi also shook his head after listening to the grievances of his brother who had never seen before.

Wu Haogu, who was sitting on the side, interjected at this time and asked, "Seventh Uncle, I don't know how many dingkou there are in my hometown now?" ”

"There are more than 1,300 men alone," Wu Chengchang smiled bitterly, "guarding a thousand acres of fields." ”

1,000 hectares is 100,000 acres, and it is divided among more than 1,300 people, and on average, there are more than 70 acres per capita, which seems to be a lot. But the more than 1,300 refers to men, that is, middle-aged men plus adults, plus women and boys who have not yet reached middle-aged men, and more than 60 years of broken age, and the per capita arable land is probably not even 30 acres.

Moreover, most of Luoyang's fields are dry fields, and they are not fertile, even if they are in a good year, one acre of land can harvest a hundred catties of wheat. After deducting all kinds of taxes and the cost of farming, and then leaving seeds, it is too much to save 30 catties, and the net income of 30 mu of land in the harvest year is 900 catties of wheat, which is less than 10 stones, and if it is sold in the rural areas of Luoyang, there are almost 6 copper coins...... This is the income of the peasants who are the basic of the four people, or the rich peasants! And it is also the income of a good year, not an average income, if you want to consider the good year, the normal year and the famine year, this income has to be halved!

However, such a meager income is already very good among the farmers of the Great Song Dynasty. Therefore, to this day, Bai Bo Yimenwu can still maintain the façade of cultivating and reading heirlooms. Of course, Bai Bo Yimenwu can maintain the education of his children with such weak financial resources, which also has a lot to do with the rules of the game.

Under the rule of taking scholars from the tip of the bull's horns, scholars do not need to allow literature and martial arts, nor do they need to study practical studies, but only need to concentrate on learning Confucian scriptures and making articles, and the cost of learning is compressed to a minimum.

The Yimen, who practiced egalitarianism and compulsory education within the family, adapted to the imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty, which could educate the largest number of children at a relatively low cost, and use the method of planting widely and harvesting small incomes to win the fame of the family as scholars.

The high-cost elite education of Yunwen Yunwu and practical learning, under the rules of article selection, is quite detrimental to the prosperity of the family. Because a high-cost education does not guarantee a large enough number of people unless they are particularly wealthy.

For example, Baibo Yimenwu, per capita is only 30 acres of land, and the harvest year is only a few copper coins. And a horse in the northwest of the Han Fan Hushi at least a few dozen, after being led to Luoyang, how can it cost more than a hundred! Ma can't afford it, and you still want to Yunwen Yunwu?

The number of people who receive elite education is smaller, and the probability of being admitted to the Jinshi is naturally lower...... Even if the future after high school is better, it is a loss-making business with high input and low output, and there are naturally fewer people who are willing to do it.

But Wu Haogu is a person who is willing to lose money and make money!

"Seventh Uncle," Wu Haogu said with a smile, "I don't think it's a way for the martial arts family to go on like this...... With 5,000 acres of school land, how much income can there be in a year? How many good students can be taught? ”

"Who's to say it isn't!" Wu Chengchang smiled bitterly, "But what is the way?" ”

Wu Haogu smiled: "There is a way." ”

"What?"

Wu Hao Gu said: "The tree is dead, and the person is alive!" ”

"Nuo? Where to go? ”

"Move to Haizhou and Xuzhou!"