Chapter 63

When the plucked ears began to become fuller, Ji Gaochi came again, looking at the large pieces of rice ears hanging down, greedy light shot out from his cloudy eyes.

"It stands to reason that your Jiahe Village has to pay food tax, but this official interceded for you, and the tax will be exempted for the first year."

Zhang Moyuan twitched the corner of his lower lip slightly. He remembered that the State Governor obviously brought this up on his own initiative, but when it fell into Ji Gaochi's mouth, it became what he said.

He pretended not to hear Ji Gaochi's hint, and said lightly: "Thank you, Mr. Ji."

Ji Gaochi's face changed slightly.

The master next to him coughed, put on a fake smile, and said, "Scholar Zhang, our lord has spent a lot of effort on your Jiahe Village matter, you should be able to understand, right?"

Zhang Moyuan nodded, "Xiaomin understands, after the harvest next month, adults will see the sincerity of our Jiahe Village."

The master said happily: "No wonder our adults value you so much."

Ji Gaochi's expression also eased, he stroked his beard and continued to look at the large rice field in front of him leisurely.

After walking forward for a few words, he suddenly stretched out his hand to pinch an ear, and the owner of the rice field trembled in distress.

Usually, these tassels look like eyeballs, and anyone who touches them will quarrel.

But when the county magistrate came, he directly pinched a plant for him.

Zhang Moyuan said in a deep voice, "My lord, the rice fields were fertilized just yesterday, so you should stay away."

When Ji Gaochi heard this, he immediately took his hand back.

The master said with some reproach: "Scholar Zhang, why didn't you talk about such a big matter earlier, what if your body is damaged?"

"I just didn't remember it for a while, so I ask you to make amends."

Ji Gaochi coughed lightly, and the master immediately handed over a silk handkerchief, and just as he was about to move on after wiping his hands, he heard Zhang Moyuan say: "My lord, our fertilizer is farm manure, and a lot of human and animal fertilizers are added to it."Feces, you should wash them thoroughly."

Ji Gaochi's face turned green all of a sudden.

The master pointed to the paddy field and tremblingly said: "Here, human and animal feces, with this pickled thing added, how can you eat it?"

Zhang Moyuan smiled, "Master, don't worry, the rice is wrapped inside, so it won't get contaminated."

"you you you……"

Master, you didn't know what to say for a long time, so you could only respectfully say to Ji Gaochi: "My lord, it's getting late, let's go back."

Ji Gaochi was already feeling unwell, and as soon as the master finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and walked quickly towards the official sedan chair in the distance.

Zhang Moyuan raised his heel calmly.

As soon as he left, the people behind quickly surrounded him and said in a low voice: "See, that dog county magistrate just now has an ugly face."

"Haha, it's so funny, who would sprinkle fertilizer on the tassels, that dog county magistrate is so foolish."

"That's right, Lao Li, take a quick look at your Miao Miao. If there is any problem, please ask Scholar Zhang to take a look."

"After seeing it, I plucked a little ear tip. Fortunately, it's not a big problem. If my seedlings are destroyed, I have to, I have to..."

"Why, you still dare to fight the county magistrate dog?"

There was a burst of laughter from the crowd.

Old Li blushed, "Then, then I can't let him destroy my Miaomiao."

After Zhang Moyuan sent Ji Gaochi away, he came back to help Lao Li check it out, and made sure there was nothing wrong with it.

Lao Li said gratefully: "Scholar Zhang, today is thanks to you. That dog county magistrate has never been in the fields himself. How does he know how much effort we have to plant these fields?"

Zhang Moyuan smiled, "Don't think too much, next month is our expected harvest period, you just have to keep an eye on the rice fields."

Old Li nodded again and again, "I see, Scholar Zhang."

Zhang Moyuan has been living in Jiahe Village for the past few days. The closer the harvest period is, the more tense the atmosphere in Jiahe Village becomes.

Originally, he didn't care much about it. At first, it was because Lin Yan wanted to do this, so he tried his best to find a way.

But after being busy for more than a year, his mood has changed a lot.

Like everyone else in Jiahe Village, he was both nervous and looking forward to it.

Pushing open the courtyard door at home, Zhang Moyuan was suddenly stunned.

In the yard, the two bullock carts were neatly placed in the same place, and the voice of Brother Lin Adie and Brother Lin was faintly heard in the room.

Walking a few steps inside, saw Zhang Nuonuo's stroller and Haike's small wooden ball.

This room used to be lived by Zhang Moyuan and his mother. After his mother passed away, he lived here alone for three years.

Later, after he and Lin Yan got married, the Lin family moved here together.

At that time, Zhang Moyuan only felt that the room was more lively, except that he would feel satisfied when he was with Lin Yan, but he didn't feel much at other times.

But until now, he didn't realize it later, and it turned out that he would also be nostalgic for the feeling of being together as a family.

Lin Yan came out of the house, and just as he was about to pour water, he saw Zhang Moyuan standing at the door, and said with a smile, "Sir, are you scared? Let's come back to harvest rice together."

Zhang Moyuan slowly revealed a smile, "What about the shop?"

"It just so happens that the eldest brother and the others are also a little tired, let's rest for a while."

"Ok."

Zhang Moyuan followed Lin Yan into the house.

Du Yuan, sister-in-law of Adie Lin, was busy tidying up the various rooms, while Hai Bei and Hai Shell were talking around Zhang Nuonuo.

Zhang Nuonuo giggled from time to time.

"Sanggong, you go take a bath first, and you can eat when you come out."

"it is good."

Nuonuo hadn't seen Zhang Moyuan for several days, and as soon as he heard his voice, he started to wander around looking for someone.

There were two sounds from the mouth.

Lin Yan simply hugged Nuonuo and put him in Zhang Moyuan's arms, "Take him to wash together, he just learned to turn over and was sweating a lot."

Nuonuo likes to take a bath very much. Lin Yan specially prepared a small wooden basin for him. He likes to lie in it and play with water. He needs someone to support his head.

Zhang Moyuan washed Nuonuo first, then soaked himself in the big wooden barrel, stretched out his right arm to protect Zhang Nuonuo, and watched him play in it.

After a while, the water in the tub was cleaned up by Nuonuo, and the surrounding ground was wet.

Zhang Moyuan picked him up and played with him in the barrel for a while, then washed him again.

After coming out of the bath, Nuonuo tightly wrapped Zhang Moyuan's neck with her two small arms, looking very intimate.

And he also needs Zhang Moyuan to feed him.

Lin Yan handed the bowl to Zhang Moyuan with a funny face, "Come and feed him."

Nuonuo immediately opened her mouth and waited for the milk to come in.

Zhang Moyuan found a stool and sat down, let Nuonuo lean in his arms, and then started to feed.

Before the first mouthful, Nuonuo suddenly closed his mouth again.

Zhang Moyuan wondered: "What's the matter, don't you drink anymore?"

Lin Yan's eyes were complicated, "Maybe it's his cheeks that are sore."

Every time open mouth so wide, it's no wonder that cheeks are not sore.

Sure enough, Nuonuo opened his mouth again the next moment.

Zhang Moyuan: "..."

"Hey, I'll go inside to help daddy and sister-in-law."

Zhang Moyuan responded, and continued to lower his head and concentrate on blowing the goat milk in the spoon.

Zhang Nuonuo's cheeks were sore again, so she closed her mouth and rested, and opened her mouth again after resting.

Zhang Moyuan's eyes were full of smiles.

Then he speeded up as much as possible to relieve the pressure on Nuonuo's cheek.

Nuonuo is clearly very pleased with his service.

Seeing that the rice is getting yellower and yellower day by day, everyone's hearts slowly settled down.

But the eagerness for the harvest is getting worse day by day.

Almost every day, people came to knock on the door of Lin Yan's house, asking when they could accept it.

Lin Yan said that he had to wait until most of the leaves turned yellow.

When all the ears of rice turned yellow, it was mid-August. Lin Yan and Zhang Moyuan carefully inspected each paddy field to make sure that the grains were full and full.

Lin Yan straightened up and glanced at Zhang Moyuan, who nodded at him.

Lin Yan smiled.

The village chief hurriedly said, "What, do you want to observe again?"

"No, you can take it."

The village chief was stunned for a moment. They had been waiting for this sentence since the ears of rice started to turn yellow, but now their first reaction was unbelievable.

Zhang Moyuan said, "Village chief, the rice harvest will start in the afternoon, and everyone will go back and find the sickle later."

I don't know who said, "The sickle is always at hand, don't look for it, I'll go back and get it."

As he said that, he rushed home quickly.

With him taking the lead, one after another, more than half of them ran quickly.

The village chief said excitedly, "I've really waited for this day."

Lin Yan nodded, "Yes, I didn't expect to grow so well."

Zhang Moyuan looked at the village chief and asked, "The people from Yuan Province taught how to use the sickle before, does the village chief remember?"

The village head nodded, "Remember, Scholar Zhang, don't worry about these trivial matters, just leave it to me."

Zhang Moyuan nodded.

Soon someone brought back the sickle from the family, which was bought by the village chief at the iron shop in the town when he organized the big guys to go together.

When everyone arrived, the village head found a high place and said loudly: "Big guy, look at my hand. This thing is called a sickle. Everyone has it. Let me make it for a while, and then go to cut rice."Seedlings, be careful not to cut the tassels.”

"understood."

"Village chief, teach us quickly."

Everyone was so anxious that they began to urge the village chief.

The village head was actually in a hurry, so he didn't say much, and took everyone to his family's inferior fields.

"Be careful, don't step on my Miao Miao."

Aunt Qin reminded her while preventing someone from jumping into her field.

"Just look up there."

The village head found a plant that the big guy could see clearly, and started to demonstrate.

"Look, like this, grab this position with your left hand, then aim the sickle here, and cut."

The sickles are all new, so they are naturally very sharp. When the village chief uses his strength, the rice plants immediately fall down.

Everyone cheered excitedly.

The village chief continued to cut the rice stalks, holding back his excitement. After cutting a bundle, he stopped and tied it up with the rope he had placed before.

"See clearly?"

Everyone said in unison: "See clearly!"

"Okay, let's all go to our own fields and get busy."

Everyone dispersed quickly, lest they be left behind.

Although Zhang Moyuan said afternoon, everyone couldn't wait.

Lin Yan and Zhang Moyuan didn't need to guide the next steps. Those who came from Yuan Province before had taught the threshing process, and the village chief would.

The two walked around and looked around, and then went back to their own fields.

The harvesting of the Lin family started from the inferior fields, just like other families.

Everyone was afraid that the top-ranking field would be ruined if the movements were unfamiliar, so they all took the top-ranking field to practice their hands.

But it still looks cautious.

The three elder brothers of the Lin family all went down, and Mrs. Lin and Du Yuan went home to cook for them.

Lin Yan also wanted to go down, but was stopped by Brother Lin, "Yan'er, take Hai Ke back, Nuonuo is still waiting for you at home."

At this moment, Dad is taking Nuonuo at home.

Zhang Moyuan still has to sort out the recorded materials, and then sort out a report to the State Governor, so he needs to go home first.

Lin Yan thought about Nuonuo at home, and still took the sea shell and left with him.

Hai Bei can help by staying here.

When Lin Yan went back, he happened to see Mrs. Lin and Du Yuan walking out carrying a few baskets. The two walked hurriedly, with excited smiles on their faces.

"Yan'er, the rice is in the pot, you eat it yourself."

Lin Yan responded, and the two had already walked away.

In the house, Father Lin was feeding Nuonuo, looking out while feeding, obviously a little absent-minded.

Seeing Lin Yan coming in, Father Lin gave him the bowl, "Yan'er, come and feed Nuonuo, Father will go to the field to have a look."

"Daddy..."

Before Lin Yan could say a word, Father Lin had already run away.

Lin Yan smiled helplessly.

Nuonuo let out an ah, and looked at the direction Apa Lin was leaving in a daze.

Lin Yan walked over and explained while feeding him, "Grandfather has gone to the field to harvest rice, and we will have our own white rice to eat from now on."

Nuonuo grinned happily when he heard the word "eat".

After Lin Yan fed him the goat milk, he put him aside, then took out the rice from the pot, and ate it with Hai Shell.

Hai Ke's eyes sparkled, "Uncle, do we really have white rice to eat?"

"Yes, does Haike like white rice?"

Hi Shell nodded, "I like it, and my brother likes it too."

Lin Yan picked up a piece of meat for him, and said with a smile, "Then you should eat more in the future."

"Ok."

In the evening, Lin Yan prepared dinner, but no one came back after waiting.

But Zhang Moyuan, who had been busy in the room all afternoon, was over.

"Brother, they haven't come back yet?"

"Yeah, it's getting dark."

Zhang Moyuan glanced out, "I'll take a look."

"it is good."

About half an hour later, Zhang Moyuan came back.

Du Yuan followed behind him.

"Yuan'er, where are Dad and the others?"

Du Yuan was sweating profusely, apparently he had been busy working in the field till now.

"Father and the others won't be coming back tonight, I'm here to bring them dinner."

Lin Yan: "..."

Is this the rhythm of staying up late and working hard?

"Our family's seven fields can't be harvested in a short while, so let's do it tomorrow."

Du Yuan shook his head, "It's not just us, my father and the others haven't gone back yet, everyone wants to finish harvesting the rice soon."

Lin Yan turned to look at Zhang Moyuan, Zhang Moyuan shook his head at him, obviously tried to persuade him, but it was useless.

After Du Yuan finished speaking, he went to the stove to prepare food.

Zhang Moyuan glanced at Nuonuo who was playing with Hai Ke next to him, and lowered his voice, "I'm going to the provincial capital tomorrow."

Lin Yan nodded. Zhang Moyuan had to present the things that Zhang Moyuan had sorted out to the State Governor. It is not surprising to go to the provincial capital at this moment.

"If all goes well, when I come back, Ji Gaochi's execution should also come down."

The felony of selling illegal salt was punished quickly.

Lin Yan was stunned for a moment, he still remembered the last time he saw Ji Gaochi, he was majestic and determined that he would be promoted soon.

Zhang Moyuan didn't do anything until the harvest was ready. Let a person receive a fatal blow when he was at his happiest, it was really cruel enough.

But to a dog official like Ji Gaochi is to be ruthless.

Lin Yan smiled and said, "Sister Xiang is really amazing."

For the next three consecutive days, the entire Jiahe Village was busy harvesting the rice in the fields, for fear that it would be flooded when it rained.

In addition to bringing Nuonuo, Lin Yan also went to help in the field for a while, but Father Lin thought he was too slow and sent him back.

Half a month later, all the rice grains had been husked, and the Lin family got a total of nearly 40 shi of rice in seven fields.

As soon as this number came out, Lin Yan himself was shocked. This output is definitely not low, and it is even higher than the output of those rice fields outside.

This is still the first year, the first year when the seaside soil quality is the worst, and there will be more and more in the next year and the next year.

The people in Jiahe Village were very happy. The most common conversation they heard these days was how much is your family and how much is my family.

They were all grown by Zhang Moyuan's stare, and the harvests of fields of the same level naturally did not differ much.

Some people didn't pay enough attention to it at the beginning, and few people went home, so those who were only allocated one or two fields regretted it to death.Seeing that other people's homes are full of food in the yard, but there is only such a little in my own, my eyes are red with envy.

But when they thought of the Tan family, they felt much better.

In the entire Jiahe Village, only the Tan family did not participate in the reclamation of land from the sea. Their family is small, but the Tan family does not have a single grain of rice.

And over the past year or so, almost every family in Jiahe Village has changed their faces, either by rebuilding or renovating old houses, but the Tan family has nothing.

What was considered a good family in the village turned out to be the worst in a blink of an eye.

"Last year, his family Tan Xin was arrested and taken to the county. I heard that he was beheaded together with that young master Qiu."

"I've heard you say that all the time, is it true?"

"Of course it's true. Some people in the town saw it with their own eyes. When the knife fell, the head immediately rolled off. I heard that they didn't even close their eyes."

The onlookers were all frightened by this scene, and quickly changed the topic.

Wang Xiu heard that all the rice in Jiahe Village had been bagged, so she rushed to visit.

When she saw the forty or so large bags in the Lin family's yard, she couldn't close her envious mouth.

"That's too much, too much."

What the Lin family ate for lunch was white rice grown by their own family, and Wang Xiu also served a bowl. Wang Xiu held the steaming bowl and was reluctant to eat it.

"This bowl costs a lot of money."

Father Lin smiled brightly, "There is a lot in the pot, no money."

Wang Xiu took Lin Yan's arm and said eagerly, "Brother Yan, next year, our Wangu Village will be able to eat the white rice grown in our own fields like your Jiahe Village, right?"

Lin Yan smiled and said, "If you follow what Moyuan said, there should be no problem."

Wang Xiu was too excited to speak.

Father Lin packed ten catties for her when she left, and Wang Xiu's footsteps were floating when she went out.

The voice of the village head suddenly sounded outside the courtyard.

"Brother Yan, mother-in-law, are you at home?"

Father Lin went to open the door and said with a smile, "Why is my father-in-law here?"

The village chief glanced inside, "I'm here to discuss something with Brother Yan."

"Come in, there's white rice stewed in the pot, how about a bowl?"

The village head quickly waved his hand, "I just came out after eating it, and the white rice I ate at home."

After speaking, both of them laughed. For the past two days, every family in Jiahe Village ate white rice.

White rice, which used to be a luxury item, is now cooked in one pot, and a guest can still have a few bowls of it.

This is something that was never even dreamed of in the past.

"Village Chief, are you looking for me?"

When Lin Yan was in the main room, he heard the village chief say he wanted to find him.

"Brother Yan, that's what happened. The shopkeeper of the rice shop in the town said he wanted to collect the white rice from our village, and the price he gave was ten cents a catty."

Lin Yan frowned slightly. He still remembered that when he went to buy rice last year, the cheapest white rice cost eighteen cents a catty.

They have freshly harvested rice in their hands, and they can be sold for at least twenty-five cents a catty in rice shops.

Now the shopkeeper accepts it from them, but he is only willing to pay ten cents a catty.

Father Lin said angrily: "It's only ten coins, why don't we sell it ourselves."

Lin Yan shook his head, "There is no way for us to sell it ourselves. If the government accepts it at that time, we will never return."

He thought for a while and asked, "Village Chief, how much is it for a catty to the government?"

The village chief was stunned for a moment, "I'm not too sure about this, we never sold it before."

"Go and find out what price the white rice from other places sells to the government."

The village head responded, "I'll go and inquire now."

This matter is simple, the village head quickly inquired, and told Lin Yan, "Brother Yan, I have inquired clearly. The government charges ordinary white rice for seven renminbi a catty. This is the first harvest of sea rice, and we may be able to pay a higher price."Go up some."

Lin Yan nodded. No wonder the shopkeeper of the rice shop was not in a hurry. It turned out that the government's price was so low.

Aunt Lin was stupefied when he heard the price, "It turns out that ten coins is already considered a high price."

"Although the price given by the government is low, they charge more, but the rice shop in the town is only so big, can it eat so much rice in our Jiahe Village?"

The village head nodded, "That's right."

Lin Yan continued: "And I'm sure, the shopkeeper must have charged more than ten yuan from other places. We can negotiate the price with him again."

After the village chief conveyed Lin Yan's intentions, the manager of the rice shop came to find him in person.

The shopkeeper and Lin Yan are also acquaintances. A while ago, they went to the Lin's shop to buy barbecue and raw pickles.

When the shopkeeper saw Lin Yan, he said helplessly, "Brother Yan, I knew I would be stuck with you."

Lin Yan smiled, "You misunderstood, it's really not that I got stuck on purpose, it's just that there are too few words."

"You also know that in order to grow these white rice, our village has been busy for more than a year, building and defending the sea weir, soaking the fields repeatedly, adding fertilizers in the middle, and being careful and careful, and finally got this pointWhite rice."

"The price you gave, I really can't explain it to the big guys."

The shopkeeper's expression changed slightly, but he still didn't let go, "Your village head went to inquire about the official price, right? Seven cents, my ten cents is quite a lot."

"The government asks for a lot. If you can take them all away at once, how much can your rice shop eat?"

The shopkeeper said embarrassingly: "I can't eat it, I don't want it all."

Lin Yan went to the house and grabbed a handful of rice, "Look, this is the rice we grow."

The shopkeeper looked down, "Why is it different from the usual one?"

The sea rice that Lin Yan and the others planted is longer and shiny, and the tip of the rice is a little red.

It may have something to do with sea water.

"We have all tasted it. This sea rice tastes more fragrant than ordinary rice."

The shopkeeper was surprised, "Really?"

"Of course it's true. I can also give you some. You can go back and try it yourself."

"How about it, you increase the price, we will follow you. My husband-in-law has gone to the provincial capital. Maybe the State Governor will accept some submissions. We can't sell too many."

The shopkeeper squeezed a grain of rice and twisted it lightly with his fingertips. After selling rice for so many years, he naturally knew that Lin Yan's rice was indeed good rice.

Put it in his shop, at least it can sell for more than 20 yuan.

He thought for a while, gritted his teeth and said, "Thirteen coins a catty."

"Fifteen texts."

Shopkeeper: "..."

The two stalemate for a while, and finally the shopkeeper compromised.He felt that Lin Yan had grasped his psychology, and he was indeed very attracted to the sea rice in Jiahe Village.

The village chief was overjoyed when he heard the price, and he quickly counted the rice in his home, but found that he couldn't count it.

"Village chief, please tell the big guys to keep some. I have agreed with the shopkeeper of the rice shop. This part will be reserved for the government first. If the government doesn't want it in the end, it will be sold to the rice shop. The price is still fifteen yuan."

The village head nodded again and again, "It's still your thoughtfulness."