Be a little landlord

Chapter 5 Wild Vegetables

   Lin's family was originally a wealthy family that was rare in Bixi Village. The grandparents left a lot of land. Lin Lixuan's father was the only son, and all the land was inherited by him. Zhao Liniang was also good at management. A family of three can be counted as a village People are superior, otherwise they would not have spare money to send their children to read books for more than ten years.

Before Lin Lixuan was stupid and old man Lin passed away, their family had four acres of high-quality paddy fields, three acres of medium-sized paddy fields, and three acres of dry land. During the Spring Festival, the first-class paddy fields were well maintained, and the yield per mu was six to seven hundred catties. , medium paddy fields can produce 400 to 600 jin of grain, and dry land can usually produce 700 to 800 jin of grain a year.

Old man Lin is a good hand at work. Serving the fields is like serving the ancestors. The fields are well-managed. The fields are fertile. As long as there is no disaster year, the harvest is good every year. Zhao Liniang also often finds some needlework to subsidize the family. In the past, the Lin family could save nearly ten taels of silver a year for Lin Lixuan to study.

The rice they grow on their own is reluctant to eat by themselves. They sell all the good-looking and easy-to-sell grains that can be sold, and store them at home for money. The villagers advocate more children and more blessings. If there are more children, more people and less land, what aspects of the family do not need to spend money? Sending the baby to school, building a house, marrying the son to a daughter-in-law...all cost a lot of money, and if someone in the family gets sick, it will be even more bankrupt.

Poor people can't afford to get sick.

After Lin Lixuan fell into the water, he found several doctors and ate countless medicinal materials. He spent most of the money, but he could not get any effect. Old man Lin also worked hard and worried every day because of his son's illness, and he was busy going to the fields. After a while, he also got sick and couldn't stand the troubles because of his old age, so he just left, and Zhao Liniang organized a funeral for him. After this series of events, half of the property accumulated by the Lin family was lost, and a lot of land was sold.

No one would be willing to sell the land until the most difficult time, the land is their lifeblood.

This year, in order to marry Lin Lixuan a wife, Zhao Liniang sold an acre of high-quality paddy fields. Old man Lin left, and the fields could not be taken care of. A family surnamed Wang bought it. If the high-quality paddy field is well taken care of, it can usually be sold for about 20 to 25 taels per mu.

Of the seventeen taels of silver, thirteen taels of it were used as a betrothal gift, and Mrs. Ji wanted to ask her for fifteen taels of silver, but Zhao Liniang haggled for a long time, and finally each took a step back and reached a consensus with thirteen taels of silver.

There is also a reason why Zhao Liniang insisted on letting Ji Yan be her daughter-in-law.

Back then when Lin Lixuan was divorced and committed suicide by throwing himself into a river, there was a lot of noise in the village. How could Zhao Liniang not hear the villagers' gossip about her family? Introduce her son to Zhao Xiaoyun, the silly daughter of Zhao Butcher's family in Lijia Village. This Zhao Xiaoyun was so stupid because she had a high fever for several days in a row when she was a child. She said that her son and Zhao Xiaoyun are a perfect match, both of them are fools, and neither of them dislikes the other, and Zhao Butcher's family still has some wealth...

Hearing these words, Zhao Liniang almost took a broom to blow people out, but That's right, after throwing people out, she wiped away her tears with her sleeves against Lin Lixuan, who was foolish and foolish. A woman is a strong mother. Zhao Liniang was originally a weak and undecided woman, but now the Lin family can only rely on She stood up alone.

Zhao Liniang couldn't swallow that breath.

Her son, the son of her admitted scholar, will marry the best wife even if she is stupid.

Among the daughters Shuang'er in Bixi Village, Ji Yan may not be the best, but he is indeed the best-looking in the village.

It happened that Ji's family needed money again. Ji Yansheng is good, and there are many men in the village who want to marry him, but these people are discouraged in the face of the exorbitant gifts proposed by Ji's family. Only Zhao Liniang is willing to give a dowry gift of more than ten taels of silver to marry his son. Under the pressure of being stabbed in the back, the Ji family married a beautiful twin of their own to a fool.

After marrying Lin Lixuan a daughter-in-law, the current property of the Lin family is only a dilapidated house, two acres of high-quality paddy fields, one acre of medium-sized paddy fields, and two acres of dry land. Compared with before, the land has been reduced by half. Now there are only orphans and widows left, Zhao Liniang doesn't know how to farm, and Lin Lixuan, a pampered and stupid scholar, can't go to the farm. Their family's land is rented out for a family with a lot of labor in the village to farm.

Fortunately, although Lin Lixuan was stupid, his reputation as a scholar was still valid. In ancient times, if you pass the examination of a scholar, the land under your name can be exempted from tax. How did the family of officials and gentry and scholarly family come about? Under the name, use this to grow a little bit, and finally more and more land, becoming a big landlord who dominates one side.

Don't think that tax exemption is a trivial matter. Farmers' taxes are very heavy. Thirty to forty percent of the grain harvested in a year must be handed over to the government. Forty or six times a year, it means that their family can get 60% of the grain without working for a year. The family who farms the land for them is also very happy, because their family has a lot of land and can get a few more grains every year. Raise a few more people.

The best of both worlds.

But after all, life is not as good as before, Zhao Liniang sighed.

The food produced in the field can only support their family's basic daily life, so it is impossible to squeeze out money to send Lin Lixuan to study.

If Lin Lixuan was not sent to continue his studies, Zhao Liniang would not be reconciled.

She believes that her son's talent will definitely make him famous.

But how do you get more money?

Zhao Liniang gritted her teeth and calculated in her heart: I'm going to the county to pick up more needlework. By the way, with Ji Yan here, I can help with some. Although this work doesn't pay much, but try to do more. There is always some money to be saved.

She must let Lin Lixuan continue to study in the academy.

Lin Lixuan stretched his waist. It was quite leisurely after staying in the rural scenery for a long time. Not to mention, he got used to it in just two days. There are green vegetables, sweet potatoes, and fruits. The houses are not densely towering one after another in modern times. You can see far away at a glance. Layers of clouds are stacked on the edge of the distant mountain outline, just like an ink painting by a famous artist.

Far away from the flickering electronic screen, the dry eye syndrome he once seemed to have never appeared on him.

Lin Lixuan lowered his head, and added another stroke to the paper. An ink painting of distant mountains was showing on the white paper. Today, when he looked at the distant mountains, he occasionally got inspiration. In addition, he was tired from writing, so he wrote letters on the paper. After painting for a while, he has learned calligraphy and painting since he was a child. In order to cultivate patience and perseverance, calligraphy has been practiced all the time, but painting is not very good. He still looks decent in front of laymen. In fact, his paintings have no aura. In fact, he is a businessman full of copper smell.

But it is enough for leisure and entertainment.

Lin Lixuan has become more and more adapted to the current life.

However, it would be more perfect if it could be eaten better.

We can't blame him for being vulgar, but it is true that people depend on food.

In the past, he thought that he was not a person who valued his tongue, and delicacies from mountains and seas, abalone and sea cucumber were just passing clouds to him, but now, far away from everything in the past, returning to the most primitive simplicity, he really misses the past " It's delicious."

Lin Lixuan put down his pen and waved to Ji Yan who just came back, "Come here quickly."

Ji Yan had just returned from picking wild vegetables on the mountain, and his hands were still muddy. He said, "Wait a minute, I'll wash my hands first."

"It's okay, come here." Lin Lixuan took out an egg from somewhere, peeled it open Liao was about to feed the young boy in front of him, after spending two days together, he already knew that this seemingly thin boy was actually a big eater, and he would eat whatever he was fed.

He patted the boy's head. Lin Lixuan already regarded Brother Yan as his younger brother. He was an only child in his previous life, and he was not familiar with his cousins. Now that he met such a well-behaved, obedient and studious little thing, he couldn't help being more concerned. .

Facing the eggs sent by Lin Lixuan, Brother Yan had a bitter face and didn't know how to refuse. This was not the first time. The Lin family didn't have any good things, and the hens raised by Zhao Liniang laid two eggs a day. To replenish his body, facing Lin Lixuan, Zhao Liniang was willing to spend a lot of money, thinking that he had just recovered, so he would boil two eggs for him every day to replenish his body.

Although eggs are good, for ordinary people, eating one boiled egg a day is enough, Lin Lixuan really can't eat two.

"I will be scolded if my mother sees it." Ji Yan persuaded, Zhao Liniang saw Lin Lixuan secretly feeding him food yesterday, she would not say anything in front of Lin Lixuan, but in private Ji Yan was warned.

"It's okay, just don't let your mother see you." Lin Lixuan smiled slightly, an egg is nothing, wait a few days to make money, let you and Zhao Liniang eat better.

This time Ji Yan said that if he didn't eat it, he would not eat it, and went to the yard to wash the wild vegetables in a hurry. Lin Lixuan had no choice but to put the eggs back, and went out with the boy to wash the wild vegetables.

Lin Lixuan tore off the rotten leaves like a boy, and asked, "What kind of dish is this?"

Ji Yan's eyes were filled with disbelief when he heard his question, and Lin Lixuan saw his "this dish You don't even know him", he couldn't help covering his lips with his fist, and coughed, "I remembered, this is mustard greens."

The leaves of the wild vegetables that Ji Yan picked were relatively tender, only a few stems and leaves were a bit old. Ji Yan was still surprised when he carried a basket full of washed wild vegetables. Why was Lin Lixuan willing to help him wash the wild vegetables?

In their village, all these tasks are done by the daughter and Shuang'er. Which man is willing to wash vegetables and cook?

Before he knew it, Lin Lixuan had arrived for three days, and it was also the day when Ji Yan returned home.