Youzhou, Changze County, Xiaquan Village.
When they woke up early in the morning, the old man brought his child to watch the sixteen goats gnawing on the spring grass.
The sixteen goats were the family's greatest wealth, and they depended on them to survive.
If there were no other special circumstances, there would be more than twenty goats by next year.
This included selling the goats to exchange for salt and food, and then the child's uncle, the old man's third son, would be able to marry a wife.
The old man planned to give out half of the goats and let the child raise the rest. When the child grew up, he would gather more goats and find a better wife.
For the old man, having a descendant and his descendant marrying a wife was something to look forward to.
Generation after generation, if there was a promising one in each generation, the family would be able to survive.
The child looked for food on the hillside next to them. There was a small stalk of garlic or large folic acid, and they could eat to their heart's content.
Further northeast was a large mountain range.
There were small mountains here, and there were flat lands and depressions between the mountains. There were weathered sand and stones that were not completely weathered.
In the past, when they drank water, they would go to the foot of the mountain to get it. There was water that gathered from the mountain.
The river was not big, but it was very clear. Sometimes, wild beasts would come to drink.
Now, there was a well in the village. It was a pressure well, connected with bamboo pipes, and used tung oil and hemp.
The person who dug the well also taught them how to maintain it. It was very simple. The pressure was small, and the water that was too deep could not be pumped up.
With the well, the villagers dug out some land next to it and planted beans.
It was difficult to plow wheat, and there was not enough water to plant rice.
The beans were easy to look after. When the time came, the bean seedlings could be fed to the goats, and the beans could be exchanged for money.
Of course, vegetables still had to be planted. After a few days, they would plant sorghum and millet seeds, which could be eaten after cooking.
There was a two-foot wide and one-foot deep man-made canal next to the old man.
It was dug out by the villagers after the well was dug. A layer of small stones was laid at the bottom, and the surrounding area was piled high.
At this moment, there was water flowing in the canal. It was obvious that someone was pressuring the water. The canal would fork, and at the fork, there were puddles dug out by the farmers.
Some people in the village wanted to water their own fields, so they pressurized the well. The water flowed everywhere and filled the holes of other people's houses.
The villagers took turns to put pressure. It didn't matter if they took a little advantage or suffered a little loss.
The people who came to dig the well did not ask for money. They only said that if a team came in the future, they could not stop them from filling the well.
The little kid seemed to have a good harvest. He grabbed a handful of doxycycline and large folic acid and ran over from the hillside.
"Grandfather, this is for you. I've already eaten." The child placed the food in his hands at the old man's feet as if he was asking for credit.
After shouting, he ran to the side of the canal. He first washed his face and hands with water, then cupped his hands and drank the water.
The old man narrowed his eyes as if he felt that this moment was all the happiness in his life.
Then, his squinted eyes widened. He stood up and looked into the distance. There were many people there, as well as horses, mules, and donkeys.
The speed at which the team was moving … was faster than that of a normal person.
"Hey old man up there, is this Xia Quan Village?" His voice echoed through the mountains.
The old man looked at himself and narrowed his eyes at the team. He felt that the other party should not be able to discover him.
But he was sure that the other party was calling him.
He took a deep breath and said: "Yes. Where are you from?"
"I'm the county magistrate, Qu Zhi. County magistrate, call your village chief Guo Shou over. Find someone to work and plant ginger." Someone shouted back.
"There's no one. I'm busy. You can plant it yourselves. Who are you planting ginger for?" The old man refused directly.
If you are the county magistrate, then so be it. We don't expect you to eat or drink. How dare you charge us rent? You can't plant anything in this broken place.
"Plant ginger for Li Family Zhuangzi."
"Which Li Family Zhuangzi?"
"Chang 'an Ba Shui Li Family Zhuangzi."
"Wait, there's someone. There's no hurry." After the old man shouted, he passed the sheep herding whip to the child and walked quickly to the village.
He did not care how much his inconsistent answer would hurt the county magistrate.
He walked quickly back to the village and shouted: "Ba Shui Li Family Zhuangzi's people are here to plant ginger. Find someone to help. Hurry up. Every family needs to send someone."
There were a total of 30 families in the village, and all of them had the surname Guo. When they heard the old man shouting, they all came out of their houses. The people who were pressing the water also stopped.
"Take something. How can we plant ginger if we don't take anything?" Someone shouted.
Everyone took a wooden spade and a stone spade. Some people even took a wooden spade with a short handle.
A person who was about the same age as the old man was holding a hen's wing and said: "Let's go. We drink their water and need to work for them."
Each family sent one person, and there was a total of 30 people. They took their tools and set off.
The well was dug under the name of Li Family Zhuangzi. When they arrived at the county, they had heard about the Li Family Zhuangzi.
They even had a few Li Family Zhuangzi coupons with them. But it was a pity that they were too far away and could not meet the Li Family Zhuangzi Dongzhu.
When the group of people arrived at the foot of the mountain, the troops had not arrived yet.
Everyone gathered together and chatted about why the Li Family Zhuangzi came so far to plant ginger.
Half an hour later, the 'troops' in front of them arrived. They took out a few pieces of caramel candy wrapped in paper from their pockets and stuffed them into the hands of the children.
"Thank you, thank you. There are a lot of ginger to plant. 30 yuan per person per day. Everyone, work hard." The person who gave the candy to the children smiled and said to the villagers.
"What? Pay? No need, no need. It's free. We have nothing to do anyway. "The village chief Guo Shou hurriedly waved his hand and refused the money.
The other villagers nodded. No, although 30 yuan was very tempting.
"It's not free. It will take a few days. You don't have enough people, so you have to find more people. 100 mu of land."
The people in the Li Family Village knew why. Along the way, they found people from other villages who said that it was free.
They thought that they should help since they drank the well water.
"It's also free. It will take a few days." Guo Shou refused again.
"There are also watermelon seedlings to plant. It's more than a thousand mu. I count on you to take care of them. When they are ripe and thirsty, you can eat them yourself."
The people in the Li Family Village proposed another crop.
Guo Shou did not dare to refuse again. The workload was too heavy. However, he was wondering if he had given too much money.
30 yuan per day. Taking care of the watermelons would not be enough. Six to seven yuan per day was more profitable than farming by himself.
He would give each person 5 yuan per day to take care of the watermelons. He would definitely take good care of the watermelons.
The child did not care whether the adults wanted money or not. He peeled off the wrapper and ate the wrapper. He was reluctant to chew the candy.
After waiting for a while, the troops arrived, including people from other villages in the Changze County.
"I'm the county magistrate, Qu Zhi." A man in his thirties came over, panting. He had found his target, the village chief Guo Shou.
"It's Qu Ming." Guo Shou only confirmed one thing.
His Xiaquan Village did not pay rent at all. There was no rent to pay. The area north of the Great Wall did not expect the county government to help.
Since that's the case, does it have anything to do with us whether you are the county magistrate or not?
Qu Zhi opened his mouth and nodded. Yes, I am the county magistrate. That … let the people from the Li Family Zhuangzi tell you.
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