Chapter 203 The situation of tenant farmers
Su Tai agreed, "How much should we buy?"
Shen Yi said: "One acre of wasteland costs 500 taels, and one hundred acres has 50 taels. I want to get 200 acres, which is exactly 100 taels. Then I can build a few yards on the village for the tenants to live in. How about that?"
According to his plan, he didn't even need to spend three hundred taels.
Su Tai had a deep obsession with the land, so she nodded wildly, "Your idea is a good one, I have no objection to it."
After the couple agreed, Shen Yi immediately went to Dahe Town.
Buying land is not a big deal, but the commotion caused by two hundred acres of wasteland is quite big. Shopkeeper Li of Jixiang Inn and Uncle Qi from the dyeing shop have all heard about it.
Shen Yi went over to deliver the goods, so everyone had to ask more questions.
Shen Yi asked them about some reliable work experts in the town.
He actually asked dozens of questions.
These people are the middle ones in the family, with older brothers above and younger brothers below, their father does not love their mother, and they are the most stupid and unlovable ones. When they get older, they cannot marry a wife and their family members do not care much about them. They can only rely on themselves and strive for self-reliance. .
Either there are too many mouths to eat and too many people to work at home, coupled with the lack of land, life is so difficult that it is almost unbearable.
There are also a few who grew up without their parents and had nothing to rely on.
Most of these people are honest people.
Shen Yi asked shopkeeper Li and Uncle Qi to help the shopkeeper select 60 people and sign tenant deeds with them.
They have to clear land and build houses before the winter snows, and they have a lot to do.
Shen Yi had to find other people to help build a house, and those people worked hard to open up wasteland.
While busy, the first winter snow fell this year.
Two hundred acres of wasteland on the outskirts of Dahe Town were opened up in time, and houses were built. They were stone houses built in a unified manner. On three sides of the field, there were a total of sixty small yards, each with one main room, two bedrooms, one stove house and one There is a woodshed, a typical sparrow, although it is small and has all the internal organs.
The sixty people were already in a bad situation, so they moved here as soon as the house became available.
Of course, some of the tenant farmers' relatives had some evil intentions when they saw how well they lived. Fortunately, Shen Yi had written in the deed in advance that this yard was only for the tenant farmers and their wives and children to live in. Only those whose parents had no brothers to support them could move in with them.
The farm does not like outsiders to enter, even the relatives, brothers and sisters of the tenant farmers are not allowed to enter.
With these restrictions, many people were frustrated and often cursed Shen Yi behind his back.
The tenant farmers are increasingly grateful to Shen Yi. They can finally get rid of their leech-like relatives. Although they cannot sever ties with them, they can at least live a clean life without being looked down upon by others.
Fang Wei came to Shen Yizhuang to work as a tenant farmer because he was squeezed out by his brothers.
The Fang family gave birth to four sons. The eldest was the most valued, the fourth was the most favored, the second was sweet and coaxing, and the couple would pay more attention to them. Only he, the third eldest son, was least liked by the couple. Even the other brothers ostracized him.
The house at home is tight, so he can only sleep in the firewood shed. In winter, he sleeps in the stove house and keeps warm at the stove. He works more than cows and eats less than chickens. Even so, he still can't pay back. Now he is seventeen, and his parents She had no intention of making arrangements for him to get a wife. Instead, she used the money she saved to build a house, saying that she would use it to find a wife for his brother.
Fang Wei's heart was really cold. He happened to hear that Shen Yi was looking for a tenant farmer, so he came out of Fang's house without saying a word and taking nothing with him. When the old couple of the Fang family saw that he was disobedient, they even threatened to disown their son.
Fang Wei really gave up, so he went back to the town official and asked for a split.
Shen Yi gave him a small courtyard, so he didn't have to worry about his household registration.
The elder couple of the Fang family became angry and threatened that if they dared to divide the family, they would not recognize their son and would not give him anything.
Fang Wei still insisted on dividing the households. In the end, he got his wish and completely broke up with the Fang family.
I don’t know where his second brother Fangyou found out about Zhuangzi’s situation. He actually brought a whole family over. When they saw him living alone in such a nice courtyard, they started making trouble, calling him unfilial and asking him to hand over all the money he had. come out.
Fang Wei was penniless to begin with, so he was not afraid of their troubles at all, and even invited the village chief and township chief over.
Someone from Zhuangzi also testified for Fang Wei, proving that he indeed had nothing, so the Fang family had to admit it, and turned around and said they wanted to live in Fang Wei's yard.
Fang Wei took out the deed, but the entire Fang family was reprimanded by the town official, and they dared not make any mistakes again.
I just felt resentful and unwilling to give up, and the other party said many heartless words.
Fang Wei asked the town official, the village head, the village head and other tenant farmers to testify, and asked them to seek justice on the grounds that his parents were partial and separated the family and left the house.
The Fang family couple never expected that their honest and honest third son would become so heartless when his heart hardened, and he began to behave miserably again.
Fang Wei was unmoved.
Because what he said was true, in the end the town official only asked him to give the Fang family 500 cash and two pairs of clothes a year, and he didn't have to worry about other things.
The entire Fang family was dissatisfied with this result, but they were reluctant to divide Fang's things, so they could only admit it with their noses pinched.
With Fang Wei's tough tactics and the attitude of the town official, township chief and village chief, the other tenant farmers' families finally calmed down.
After Shen Yi learned about Fang Wei's situation, he asked Uncle Qi to help inquire. After confirming that his character was good, he made him the superior steward of Zhuangzi.
This decision was an unexpected surprise for Fang Wei. He was so excited that he couldn't speak clearly, "Boss, I. I will do my best and I won't let you down."
Shen Yi smiled with satisfaction, his expression a little more solemn, "I told you before that if you plant my land, I will charge two levels of rent, and the remaining grain will be yours after paying the tax. Since you have paid the tax for I am in charge of Zhuangzi, so I naturally have to give you another salary, five hundred wen per month for the first year. In the future, depending on your performance, if you do well, your monthly salary will be increased. If you cannot bear this burden, I will only I can find someone else.”
Fang Wei was heartbroken and quickly promised, "Don't worry, boss, I won't let you down."
With this job, he can save at least five taels of silver a year. Not only will he have money for his parents, but he can also marry himself a wife after two years.
The more he thought about it, the hotter his heart became, and he wanted to go to work now.
After Zhuangzi's arrangements were completed, it was November. Su Tai had harvested a crop of sugar cane in October and made a batch of brown sugar. Liu Ming, the steward of the prefect's house in the twelfth lunar month, arrived.
When he saw Brown Tang, he took her away without saying a word. Then he and Shen Yi bought dozens of baskets of greenhouse vegetables, fresh live fish, cakes and breads, loaded them into twenty or thirty carriages, and returned home with a full load.
This year, there were suddenly more businesses selling fireworks and firecrackers in Zhaohua County, and even hawkers walking around the streets had the goods.
Mrs. Xu went to inquire about it, and then she found out that a large fireworks and firecrackers workshop had opened in the county, and people from the government were watching. The items were very safe, high-quality and low-priced.