In June of 1917, the villages and towns under Yingkou were all covered in golden wheat waves. When the warm wind blew, it would shake continuously. The end of the horizon seemed to be filled with the joy of a bumper harvest. Compared to last year, there were still many people who didn't believe in Zhang Hanze's new crop seeds and phosphorous fertilizer mixture. This year, more than ten villages and towns under Yingkou had basically changed to these new seeds. The results were self-evident.
Xiaojie Village was located at the easternmost part of Yingkou. A little further east was Liaodong. At five or six o'clock in the afternoon, the newly built primary school at the entrance of the village rang the bell for the end of the class.
Not many children walked out of the school gate.。
In this day and age, having a full meal was sometimes the greatest luxury. Although schools had been established, some parents would not let themselves go to school. Firstly, they wanted to save money, and secondly, they wanted to have an extra labor force at home.。
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Even a seven or eight-year-old child could climb up the stove, start a fire, cook, chop wood, and fetch water for the family…
The newly-built primary school was also divided into two rows. From grade one to grade four, the children of the nearby villages basically all went to school in this primary school.
"Let's go, sister. We still have to help our parents cook when we get home.。”
Xu Xiaojin and Xu Xiaoxue were twins. After the New Year, a young teacher went to every house to persuade children of the right age to go to school. Fortunately, the parents of the two little guys were more open-minded. Although the two little guys were already eight years old, they still started learning from the first grade. Like Goudan's father, the teacher told him several times but he couldn't go to school. When he wasn't busy with farming, he would help the family work. When he wasn't busy, he would go to school to play with him.
"Brother, Dad said that our family's four mu of land this year can produce more than 2,000 catties of grain.。”
Xu Xiaojin was carrying a patched school bag with a pencil, two textbooks, and his own exercise book.
"I also heard from my mother that it's all because of the new seeds in the town. As long as we use those new seeds this year, every family will have a bumper harvest.。”
"Does that mean our family can eat steamed buns every day?。”
"Definitely. Dad and Mom said that as long as we work hard at farming and study hard, our family will have to eat pork once a month!!”
When Xu Xiaoxue heard the word 'pork', she couldn't help but lick the corner of her mouth. It was during the New Year that her mother made some fat pork. Every time she ate, she would only steam a very, very thin slice of pork.。
However, the pork was really fragrant. She could eat a bowl of rice with just a slice of pork and some soy sauce and sesame oil.
"Dad, Mom, dinner is here…"
They were not the only family in the field. The entire Xiaojie Village was busy harvesting. There was no other way. If the wheat was left in the field for too long, it would be difficult to harvest if it was really windy and rainy. Naturally, they had to hurry and take advantage of the sunny days.
"In my opinion, Old Ding, you should send the children to school. Look at Xiaojin and Xiaoxue. They know a lot of words now.”
Xu Xiaojin's father also bit into a big steamed bun and dipped it in sauce. He ate it very happily. The middle-aged man opposite the field also asked suspiciously.
"Jinzi, how are the teachers in the school?”
"Uncle Ding, our teacher came from Fengtian City. He knows a lot of things. He even said that he would bring us to Fengtian City to watch the trains during the summer vacation…"
"The teacher also said that many of the school's expenses are being subsidized by the county. However, many parents are still unwilling to send their students to school. After hearing that, the county will take compulsory measures to force their children to attend school.”
When the farmer surnamed Ding heard Xu Xiaojin, this child, talk about great principles one by one, he panicked. As expected, he went to school. In the past, he was not as smart as his own child.
"Fine, looks like I really have to let that little brat go to school. Otherwise, he'll stay at home and cause trouble for me all day!!”
On the other side, there was a group of people standing on the path in the fields, staring at the farmers without moving.
"It's that Zhao family's dog-skin plaster again. We shouldn't look at their faces this year. 40% for 40%. Anyway, the rest is enough for our family of four to eat.”
"Yes, the child's father, there will definitely be enough rations this year!!”
This group of farmers would not care about the annoying Zhao family.
"Nougats, a bunch of nougats. I didn't expect that this year's harvest of these starving peasants would be so good. Damn it, with so much wheat, who would still rent our Zhao family's fields in the future!!”
On the ridge of the field, a man was holding a rice bowl with a chicken drumstick in it. He looked like he came from a wealthy family. This man was the youngest son of the rich man in this town, Zhao Wuliang. He also had an elder brother called Zhao Wude. Over the years, he had relied on his ancestors 'inheritance and his family's large amount of land to occupy a lot of land in the nearby towns.
If there was a famine, there would be a large number of commoners who would rent their fields from his family. Every year, they would take 40% of the harvest from the fields. As time passed, many commoners would become his family's.
However, it was different this year. Looking at the large golden wheat waves, these nobodies were really going to make a comeback. Even if they really took 40% of the profits, the rest would be enough for them to eat.
"Young Master, it's all because of that mysterious Battalion Commander who came to Ying Kou County last year. Now, the entire Ying Kou is praising him. Pei, if it wasn't for our Zhao Family being willing to receive these bumpkins, these people would probably have starved to death in the wilderness.”
Zhao Wuliang instantly felt that the rice in his mouth was no longer fragrant, and the big drumstick was also tasteless. What a f * cking son of a b * tch. Who exactly was that new Battalion Commander? He had heard his father say it several times, telling him not to act rashly.。
"I don't even know why father is always afraid of that Ying Kou's little battalion commander, that son of a b * tch. My sworn brother is the leader of the Green Stone Ridge!!”
Bluestone Ridge was a continuous mountain range between Yingkou and Liaodong. The mountain with the largest number of horse bandits in Liaodong probably had one to two thousand people.
Zhao Wuliang might have thought that the Zhao Family would be able to become brothers with the horse bandits of the Bluestone Ridge by paying tribute money every year. Little did he know that in the eyes of those horse bandits, the Zhao Family was the most popular. As for those commoners, what was there to rob? Even if they robbed a hundred families, they would not be as good as the Zhao Family.
"No, we have to think of a way to get more food from these nobodies. With so much food, they might have leftovers after eating for a year. How can our Zhao family merge the land in the future?。”
Zhao Wuliang's brain worked quickly, but he used his intelligence elsewhere…
Soon, the corners of Zhao Wuliang's mouth curled up. He deliberately walked in front of a group of farmers who were harvesting and threw his chicken drumstick on the ground. He called his big black dog to quickly eat the chicken drumstick.
Then, with his croaky voice, he said something that shocked the entire eastern part of Yingkou.。
Zhao Wuliang would never believe that this small action of his had made the entire Zhao Family the first target of Zhang Hanze to be killed as a warning to the others.
"Eat quickly, eat quickly, or someone will snatch it from you!!”
"Listen up! This year, the Zhao Family has changed the rules. The grain rent this year has increased from 40% to 60%. All of you have a bumper harvest this year, but don't you think about it? If it weren't for the fact that our Zhao Family was willing to rent the land to you, you poor bastards would have gone to see the King of Hell long ago!”
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