SFS Chapter 143 Distribution of Rice Seeds
Chapter 143 Distribution of Rice Seeds
After they figured out how to distribute the crops, Shen Tang began to prepare for planting.
The planting time for cotton and rice is similar, so we should start preparing to build the workshop first.
The Wu and Liu families were engaged in water business, so most of their family properties were fertile farmland.
Da Qi had well-developed waterways, so both families had extremely strong capital.
The Tao family's tea garden is actually quite large. Although it's called a tea garden, it's actually a small hill.
In recent years, the tea business has been bad and all the tea gardens are empty.
After all, hiring a tea-picking lady costs a lot of money, not to mention the subsequent roasting.
This tea mountain is not small, but it has been deserted in the past two years.
We will have to prepare for spring planting in a few days, and time is running out.
After the tea garden is cleared, it is almost time for spring ploughing.
Not far from the Qingshan Town Wharf, next to the Qingshui River, the Wu and Liu families also began building workshops.
Shen Tang said that this water-powered loom is large in size, so the workshop near the river must be built tall.
For this purpose, the boss of the Wu family specially asked someone to find a very experienced master in Lin'an City to undertake the construction.
In March, the south of the Yangtze River is already brimming with greenery. Amidst this vibrant life, the depths of winter are gradually being eclipsed.
Shen Tang sent someone to tell Shen Lizheng a few days in advance that he would go to Shenjia Village to distribute seeds to each villager in a few days.
Because the seeds were valuable, Shen Tang didn't dare to keep them at home easily, so she hid them in the system's backpack compartment.
He also used ordinary seeds instead of rice seeds and kept them at home, thus hiding it from everyone.
Outside the Shenjia Village School.
Shen Lizheng brought his men to wait for Shen Tang and the others early in the morning.
Liu and Shen Dashan haven't been home for a long time, so they came back together today and planned to stay for a while.
Besides, spring planting will start soon, and there are still several acres of land waiting to be planted at home!
Because everyone had experience, when Shen Tang arrived at Shenjia Village, he found that the villagers had already lined up consciously.
"This rice is being distributed to you today, but there are conditions."
Shen Tang looked at everyone in Shenjia Village.
"As you all know, the imperial court values rice highly. Therefore, the rice distributed to you today will be collected by the imperial court after it is planted and harvested."
"Also, families who plant this rice this year will have their taxes waived."
"Anyone who is willing can come and sign the deed and take the rice."
The purpose of planting this batch of rice is very clear, which is to leave more seeds.
Therefore, all the seeds that Shen Tang sold wholesale and that have been planted this year must be recalled.
"How much will the court give for one pound of rice then?"
"Twenty cents per pound."
Some people in the crowd gasped. This is much taller than rice!
Moreover, rice seeds with husks will be heavier.
"Grow! By then, these more than a thousand catties will be worth more than twenty taels. This silver can buy a lot of food!"
Aunt Fugui spoke quickly.
Naturally, everyone in Shenjia Village thought the same. This was not a matter of getting a bargain, and they didn't have to pay taxes.
When Shen Tang harvests the rice, no one will be able to tell that he has missed out on an acre of rice.
Shen Tang now has more than 2,000 kilograms of seeds, so everyone in Shenjia Village can get about 2 kilograms of rice seeds.
It’s just about the amount needed for one acre of land.
As for the extra rice seeds, after Shen Tang distributed them to everyone in Shenjia Village, he distributed them to other people in the workshop.
But at the same time, Shen Tang also mentioned that the court wanted to take it back.
Each family used fine cloth bags or wooden buckets to carry the goods.
When I was packing the seeds, I accidentally dropped one on the ground and I felt so sad.
After distributing the rice seeds, Shen Tang went back, while Shen Dashan and Liu stayed in the village.
They waited until spring planting was over before returning.
But the next day, Shen Dashan sent someone to deliver the news that since Shen Tang returned from distributing seeds yesterday, many unfamiliar faces have appeared outside the village.
When Shen Tang heard the news, he went directly to the county government office.
"You want to borrow soldiers? And for half a year?"
County Magistrate Lin looked at Shen Tang who was sitting beside him drinking tea and spoke in surprise.
"Yes, after I returned to Shenjia Village yesterday to distribute rice seeds and left, there were many strangers outside the village."
Everyone knows that Shen Tang is now a county marquis. Although some people may come with the mentality of taking a look, it is better to be cautious just in case.
"But if the prefectural capital borrows troops, won't the county government be empty?"
When County Magistrate Lin heard Shen Tang's words, his expression became solemn.
If anything were to happen to these rice seeds, his life wouldn’t be enough to compensate for it!
"How about this, I'll lend you half of the county government's soldiers, and I'll keep half of them for the county government."
Shen Tang nodded and went to select people himself.
Shen Tang picked the strongest one and hurried to Shenjia Village with his men that afternoon.
When the people in Shenjia Village saw so many unfamiliar faces yesterday, they didn't dare to sleep at night.
After all, they have signed a contract and there can be no accidents.
Sure enough, after Shen Tang brought his men to Shenjia Village, the surroundings suddenly became clean.
The soldiers moved into the former soap factory and began patrolling the rice fields in three shifts every day.
Shen Tang also paid out of his own pocket to give them some extra money and found a skilled cook.
The soldiers were naturally happy, as patrolling the farmland was the easiest job.
However, the families with girls in the village were very happy.
The soldiers who came were all young and strong, and many of them had a lot of ideas in mind.
"Thank you all for your hard work over the past six months. After the rice harvest, Shen Tang will definitely reward you handsomely."
Shen Tang promised solemnly.
The soldiers also said politely:
"You are too polite, Lord. We are here to protect the rice."
"Besides, the Lord has already given us a lot of subsidies."
Who understands? The monthly subsidy given by the county marquis is much higher than their monthly salary in the government office.
I heard that when it’s night patrol duty, the workload is doubled!
From then on, soldiers were stationed in Shenjia Village, and Shen Tang began to busy herself with her cotton business.
The rice seeds have been distributed, and soon it will be the cotton's turn.
The wealthy families all had many tenant farmers. Long after Shen Tang signed the agreement with several of them, they each sent people to clean up the fields.
Shen Tang rushed to the Tao family without stopping.
The head of the Tao family had already been waiting with the tenant farmers.
After entering the tea garden, Shen Tang first checked the condition of the soil.
As early as half a month ago, Shen Tang sent a message to the heads of each family, asking them to water the soil in advance and plow it carefully.
When planting cotton, the soil must be kept moist and not become compacted.
Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly plow the land to break up the plow bottom layer, break up the compacted soil, improve the soil properties, and facilitate the root growth of cotton in the future.
Shen Tang carefully explained to several tenants the things they needed to pay attention to when growing cotton.
The tenants following Boss Tao are all the most experienced farmers in the Tao family, and have been dealing with the land for decades.
As soon as Shen Tang said that, everyone understood the habits of cotton.