To the south of Zhuangzi is a river, named Nanhe, which is more than one zhang wide and the water is also one person deep, and flows into the Jinshui River to the northeast. Despite this year's drought, there is no shortage of water in the river.

In fact, there was no shortage of water in the Central Plains at this time, swamps were everywhere, there were many ponds, and the groundwater level was high. It was very different from the situation in later generations, when the Central Plains was heavily waterlogged. This is the sequelae of the flooding of the Yellow River, and then the imperial court desperately diverted water to the surrounding area for the sake of Kaifeng's water transportation, and there was no smooth drainage system, so it was strange that there was no waterlogging. The reason why the grain is not harvested due to the drought is not that there is no water, but that there is no way to bring water to the ground.

Along this river, there are vegetable fields and orchards in the village, and there are also hundreds of acres of land, which are cultivated by the villagers in normal years.

Further south, there is a small swamp, and to the south of the swamp is the area of the original Chunze Prison, and now there are a few farmers here and there, and the others are the places where the cattle and sheep division graze sheep. Chunze Jian belonged to the Herd Husbandry Division, and his background was much harder than that of the Cattle and Sheep Division, and it was only after they withdrew that the Cattle and Sheep Division slowly expanded its territory.

Xu Ping went to the vegetable field by the river, found a vacant land, and said to Xu Chang: "Everything, you find someone to make a ridge." ”

Xu Chang's task now is to look at Xu Ping, don't let him get into trouble, and let him follow him if he wants to make trouble, and call a Zhuang guest named Sun Qilang and let him dig the ground according to Xu Ping's instructions.

Xu Ping said the size requirements, and then walked around the vegetable garden. As expected, I saw some species that I only had in my previous life, such as Chinese cabbage and green beans, which were planted as vegetables. At the edge of the field, there were peppers, sunflowers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and a row of a dozen corns, all sprinkled there as garnishes. On the ridge of the vegetable garden, there is also a large puff of alfalfa, accompanied by a few cotton plants. Although this is not a later species, these varieties were improved by later generations.

After turning around, Xu Ping began to think seriously about this question. Judging from the way they are planted, it is not like someone brought them on purpose, because except for the Chinese cabbage and green beans that meet the taste of this time, the others are not planted with care. Like corn and potatoes and sweet potatoes, this era is not as valuable as later generations, this is suitable for the northern and southern mountains of China, at this time the northern population is not large, the southern mountains are still only mountainous, undeveloped, until a few hundred years later in the Ming and Qing dynasties overcrowded, the value of these crops is fully revealed. The taste cannot be compared with wheat millet, and of course it will not attract attention.

Corn, in particular, is highly dependent on fertilizers, and the varieties here have deteriorated significantly, making it not a high-yielding crop compared to wheat at this time. As for the formation of two crops a year with wheat, there is no need at all in this era, there is too much land to plant, the fertility of the land is not allowed, and there is a lack of manpower to rush to harvest and grab seeds, how can it be planted and waste land resources?

Could it be that this world has a passage with the world in which you live, and these crops came here by chance? After Xu Ping figured it out last night, he became optimistic, just think that these are the benefits brought by his own crossing.

I picked a chili pepper and held it in my hand, and when I bit it gently, it was quite spicy. The habit of eating spicy food is not developed in a day or two, especially in ancient times. In fact, in the previous life, it was only popular in a few specific regions for a long time, and it was only a few decades after the frequent exchanges in the whole country.

When I returned to the place where I was digging, I saw that Sun Qilang had already dug out a ridge and was commenting with everyone, and he was enthusiastic and spitting.

Xu Ping looked at the soil ridge, but it was porcelain of porcelain, loose of pine, uneven on the upper part, uneven on the side, how awkward it was.

Stepping forward and taking the hoe in Sun Qilang's hand, Xu Ping said: "Seventh brother, I don't think you are a person who makes a living, how can you do farm work?" ”

After speaking, he bent down and waved his hoe, re-raised the ridge, and the end was as straight as a line, the width was the same, and he got up and said to Sun Qilang: "This is the intention." Go back and get the rake, and level it out. ”

Only then did he find that the people around him looked at him strangely, and his eyes were extremely strange, so he said to Xu Chang: "Everything, don't look at me in Tokyo City, I can only fight horses and dogs, just treat me as an unobtrusive person." That's where heroes are useless, and my talent is in farming. ”

Sun Qilang went back to get the rake, Xu Chang put away his weird expression, and said to Xu Ping: "Da Lang is really doing a good farm job. However, this ridge is only used to divide the furrow and keep out the water, does it need to be like this? ”

Xu Ping pursed his lips and ignored him. Agricultural technology is really backward, where do you know the benefits of planting on ridges? Peanut ridge cropping, can increase the yield of one or two percent, don't understand?

After a while, Sun Qilang came over with a rake and leveled the top of the ridge. He was afraid of being ridiculed by Xu Ping again, so this time he was extra attentive, as flat as a mirror.

Xu Ping asked Xiuxiu to find a small shovel, dig a small pit in front, sow seeds in the back, and bury the seeds carefully.

There were not many seeds, only two short rows.

After cleaning up, Xu Ping said to the crowd around: "Do you see it?" Farm work must be done in order to do life, and this grange has a future. ”

Everyone didn't speak, just looked at Xu Ping with strange eyes. This vision has two meanings, one is to appreciate Xu Ping's agricultural work is indeed authentic, which is natural, and he was originally from agriculture in his previous life. Another meaning is that I don't believe the bells and whistles that Xu Ping said, do you really have to do farm work?

Xiuxiu stood beside Xu Ping and whispered, "Official, you took out the seeds and soaked them in water, can you still sprout?" How embarrassing it would be if you couldn't get out. ”

She grows peanuts at home with the skin, digging a pit in the ground and burying them.

Xu Ping didn't want to talk to her about this carefully, because this was a peanut variety from his previous life, so he planted it like this. As an excellent variety, Shandong big peanut is not only large and full of seeds, high oil yield, but also has a very important characteristic for peanuts, that is, long dormancy period. The original peanuts have a short dormancy period and germinate in the ground before harvesting, resulting in a large reduction in yield. Shandong peanuts have a long dormancy period, which can ensure that they do not germinate when they are taken back home. But correspondingly, in order to ensure the emergence rate, it is necessary to soak the seeds to promote germination when planting.

At this moment, a big man came from the back of Zhuang, six feet long, with a large waist and a round waist, wearing a lotus leaf scarf on his head, and his shirt was open, revealing his muscles like iron lumps. Pulling away the big stride, the end is a tiger and a tiger, and there is inexhaustible strength on the body at a glance.

When he arrived in front of everyone, Dahan said, "Brothers, do you hire people here?" ”

Xu Chang looked at Xu Ping with the meaning of inquiry.

Xu Ping whispered: "This big man is really the only one I have seen in my life. If he is innocent, he will be hired, and he will not lose more than 20% of his salary. ”

Xu Chang stepped forward and said to the man: "The village naturally hires people, but it must be innocent." Where are you from? What is the last name? How did you get here? ”

Dahan said: "Xiao Gao Daquan was originally from Yuncheng, Jeju, Jingdong, because of the disaster at home, the imperial court recruited him as a box army. Originally on the Wuzhang River to do Cao Yun, later transferred to the group of herdsmen to herd horses, here Chunze supervisor. Because the imperial court locked up this horse herding prison, he lost his livelihood and has been begging for a living nearby. I heard that the owner of the village here is Xu Daguan, who opened a restaurant in the original Tokyo city, and has always had a good reputation, so he came to defect. ”

Xu Chang muttered: "If someone is a guarantor, then it is the best." ”

Gao Daquan said: "This is also done." I have a few good brothers, one of whom has dozens of acres of land nearby, and one who is now the head of the cattle and sheep division, another who is the sheep estimator, and the other who is the slaughterer, all of whom are white families and can be guaranteed. ”

Xu Chang turned his head to look at Xu Ping, Xu Ping nodded, and said to Gao Daquan: "That's good, we are short of people in the village." As long as you spare no effort, our owner is naturally generous, eating and living in the village, and the monthly salary has always been economical. If you can really use it for a lot, it is possible to give you enough money consistently. ”

Hearing this, several of the bankers standing around them became noisy. Their wages are 700 a month, which is a fair price in the neighborhood. This big man has a consistent province, that is, 770 Wen full money, a whole 70 Wen more, and it is possible to have a consistent full money, then 300 Wen more.

Speaking of money, Xu Ping felt that the egg hurt, and there were two ways to say that the money in the Song Dynasty was enough to save money. The money is the same money, but if it is not specifically said to be full money, it is a province, which means that it tells you a hundred wen, but in fact it is only seventy-seven wen. This is an official price, and different industries have different provincial laws, which is simply anti-human.

Sun Qilang sighed while holding his hoe: "It's a pity that you don't have the good muscles and bones of this big man." ”

Everyone looked at the tendons and flesh of Gao Daquan's body, and then looked at themselves, and then closed their mouths.

Gao Daquan hesitated for a while, and said to Xu Chang: "The price given by the cadre is naturally fair, and the small one has nothing to say." However, I have a big belly since I was a child, and I eat more than ordinary people, but I have to say this in the front. ”

Xu Ping said with a smile: "As long as you don't eat and don't work, who is afraid that you will eat a lot!" ”

Xu Chang introduced Gao Daquan: "This is our petty official, and it is also your blessing to bump into us." Since that is the case, then it is decided that we will go to the contract together tomorrow. ”

Gao Daquan was busy giving Xu a parallel salute.

Xu Ping waved his hand, looked at his muscles, rolled his eyes and said, "I see that you have a lot of strength, I don't know how to work." I have planted two rows of peanuts here, and I'm about to water them, so it's up to you to do it? ”

Gao Daquan crossed his hand to Xu Chang: "I am tired of finding a bucket for the small one, this way is rising, and it is just time to move my hands and feet." ”

Xu Chang smiled and asked people to come out of the village to pick up a bucket.

Xu Ping looked at Xu Chang, but he was a little depressed in his heart.

To say that the servants of the Song Dynasty did not have the consciousness of the later Qing Dynasty to call themselves slaves, they were all hired and paid on time. Although during the employment period, the status of the master and servant is different, for example, if the master violates the law, as long as it is not a major crime such as treason, the servant cannot sue him. For example, there is a big difference between a master beating a servant and a servant beating a master. But fundamentally speaking, they are all good people, and they can not do it if they are unhappy, so the villagers in the village are not respectful to Xu Ping, and they work and eat to get money, that's it.

As for why there are so many people willing to be bankers instead of cultivating the fields and becoming yeoman farmers at this time, the reasons are also very complicated. There are only two big ones: one is that there are no farm tools, and there are many inconveniences in renting farm tools; The other is the identity of the customer. Although he is a good citizen, the customer does not pay taxes according to the laws of the Song Dynasty and basically does not serve, which is a great benefit.

According to the rules of the Song Dynasty, customers only have floating wealth and no fixed assets. If you have fixed assets, you have to pay taxes, and as long as you pay even a penny, you will become the main household, and in addition to taxes, you will also have to bear errand work. For the lower classes, servitude is a terrible burden, and if you don't get it right, you can put your life into it. In the Great Song Dynasty, the errands of the official family were not so easy to do, and the Xiuxiu family was an example.

And a servant like Xu Chang, who has a bit of status, is even more incredible. It can be seen from the title that they are all in charge, and this is an official title, and it is not a small official title. The so-called seven-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, that is not to the Song Dynasty, in my Great Song Dynasty, how can the prime minister's house be called a seven-grade official? They have always been one or two levels higher than their masters. The master is Langzhong, so you have to call them Shangshu, the master is a Shangshu, then Situ Taifu can focus on it.

Later, Xu Ping became an official himself, and he was proud of his youth, and he struggled for half his life to catch up with Xu Chang's official title. Let your subordinates not be higher than yourself in terms of official title, this is a very good minister.