Chapter 24: The Imperial Manor (more for further reading)
Russian dignitaries have the habit of purchasing farms.
In Russia, there are 30,000 large landowners with more than 500 acres of land, owning 70 million acres of land, with an average of 2,200 acres for each large landowner.
The closer to the city and the more beautiful the scenery, the more expensive the land price.
Moscow is the second capital of the Russian Empire, and the price of land is not an exaggeration.
The key point is that you can't buy it even if you have money, and no one will transfer the farm on the outskirts of Moscow.
Since agricultural machinery has not yet appeared, the current farming efficiency is very low. On a farm of more than 30,000 acres, George thought that it would take one or two thousand people to fully utilize the land on the farm.
The result disappointed George. Including the managers of the farm, there were only 13 households of tenants on the farm, and the total population was only 101 people.
George finally understood what it means to be so vast and sparsely populated.
13 households of tenant farmers, even if they have large livestock, have limited land that can be developed.
Therefore, there are wastelands everywhere that have not yet been developed and have been cultivated. Because of the lack of manpower, it is impossible to cultivate intensively, and the yield is very low.
The income is still good.
More than 100 people farm more than 30,000 acres of land, and they can grow whatever they want to eat.
Grain is not valuable, so it is simply used for breeding. There are only 101 people on the farm, but there are more than 500 large livestock such as cows and horses, more than 1,000 pigs, and even more poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese. Much more.
This can also explain why the living standards of Russian farmers far exceed those of urban workers.
It's not that Russia has no food, but the backward transportation conditions mean that food in rural areas cannot be transported to cities in time, which is why Russian workers are so easily mobilized.
Without food, we are about to starve to death. In order to fill our stomachs, we have no choice but to rebel.
Time in the Imperial Mansion moves extremely slowly. The houses are all made of oak and are square and square. Although they are not as tall and majestic as the Yekaterin Palace, the interior decoration is still perfect.
When Ya Er was alive, he would take Ekaterina here for vacation in the summer.
Later the vacation place became France, and this place was forgotten.
Although Ya Er no longer comes to Huangzhuang, the house is still well maintained. It is cleaned every day, ventilated regularly, damaged items are replaced in a timely manner, and the curtains and bedding are also brand new. Ye Luoxin and Dalia have done so separately. After two rounds of inspections, George was allowed to get out of the car.
Although the Popular Party has been wiped out, there are still countless people who resist the tsarist rule. Just a few days ago, someone claimed that he would assassinate Alexander during his coronation ceremony. So these days, people in Moscow Security has been raised to more than one level.
As the favorite son of the late Tsar, George was naturally also on the assassin's assassination list, ranking very high, so Ye Luoxin was very cautious. He had to make sure it was safe before George could get out of the car.
This is the first time that George has come to Huangzhuang. The tenant farmers in Huangzhuang lined up in two lines at the intersection to welcome George. The first few people have white beards and hair and are wearing turbans. Bragi The women wearing aprons are the main force in the labor force.
There are almost no young adults in the normal sense, but there are more than a dozen who are about the same age as George. There were the largest number of children, thirty or forty in total. Their nutrition seemed to be good, and their clothes were fairly neat.
Dalia is very good at doing things and prepared a lot of gifts in St. Petersburg. George got off the car and distributed them one by one.
The gifts for the old man were pipes and vodka, the gifts for the women were cloth and clothes, and the gifts for the young man who was about the same age as George were a sharp dagger and a pair of calfskin boots.
The gifts prepared for the children were colorful candies. Since the number of candies was not enough, the last few children got less candies. Dalia went back to the car to get some pastries. , the children are very happy.
Everyone who gets a gift will bow to George and thank him for the gift. The children also imitate the adults and pretend: "God will bless you, noble Duke."
It took more than an hour for George to come in.
As soon as you enter the door, you will see a huge portrait of Ya'er and Ekaterina. Yekaterina is nestling next to Ya'er like a bird. Ya'er raises his head and chest, body upright, and looks at To the distance, the background blurred, like the Yekaterin Palace
“The empire has been fighting for years, and batches of young people have gone to the battlefield and buried their bones in other places. After they retire, they will stay. In the city, we will not return to our hometown." Ye Luoxin explained to George why there were so few adults in the village.
Before the abolition of the serfdom system, the Russian Empire had very strict control over serfs. The only way to get rid of one's serf status was to join the army.
If you join the army, you will become a free citizen, and you will serve for up to 25 years. If you have descendants, your descendants can also become free citizens. If not, then this person will basically be extinct.
After the abolition of serfdom, all serfs became freedmen, but they still could not get rid of their dependence on the land, but their status changed from serfs to tenant farmers.
“Don’t they have their own land?” George didn’t know much about the details of the abolition of serfdom.
“If tenant farmers want to own land, they have to buy it from the landlord, but how can they have the money? The Imperial Bank will not lend money to people without property.” Ye Luoxin sighed, this was Lian Yaer Problems that cannot be solved.
Ya Er’s decree can turn serfs into free people, but it cannot make them rich. The people who laid flowers for Ya Er at Ya Er’s funeral were nominally farmers’ representatives, but actually a delegation of landlords.
Even so, the living standards of tenant farmers have also improved greatly compared with before.
Russia has too much land, which makes people envious, jealous, and hateful. That is why Russia was isolated from the entire Europe during the ninth Russo-Turkish War.
Since we have come to Huangzhuang, dinner will naturally be Huangzhuang’s own local products.
George finally knew why the meat content in Russian ham is so high, because starch is more expensive than meat in Russia.
The milk is also the freshest. The cows raised in the manor are Holstein cows imported from the Netherlands. On average, a cow produces more than 9,000 kilograms of milk per year. No wonder the children in the manor are so well-nourished and drink milk every day. Ham, are you feeling well?
Due to the long journey, he will not exercise today. George goes to bed early in the evening and wakes up to the crisp and sweet calls of birds the next day.
The morning in Huangzhuang was quiet and peaceful. In the village not far away, the diligent women had already gotten up to cook, and the smoke lingered around the small village.
The mist was dispersed by the sunshine. There was a beautiful small lake not far from the main house. George was jogging around the lake. Ye Luoxin and Andre beside him looked wary. They both had guns. Not only Beware of assassins, wild animals are equally dangerous.
Today is the first time I have been recommended, and my performance is related to the recommendation position in the future. For the sake of Yutou being so diligent these days, please give me a ticket~~
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(End of this chapter)