Traveling through ancient times, storing supplies and not fleeing famine

Chapter 104 Don’t Cry Poor

When everyone heard the village chief say this, they stopped talking.

Some people shouted anxiously

"Village Chief, my family grows it."

“Yes, I also grow it at home.”

"My family and my third uncle's family also grow it."

After one person shouted it out, the others became even more anxious. They didn't even have time to go home and discuss with their families. The right thing to do was to occupy the seat first.

"Okay, okay, come one by one, don't make any noise, it's really annoying."

Everyone gradually quieted down and listened to the village chief.

"This pepper was discovered by Xiao Xia, and it was Xiao Xia who first tried to grow it. Now I will teach you the pepper growing method and pepper seeds that I have been experimenting with for a long time for free.

Even after the harvest, we buy it from you at the sky-high price of 60 wen per pound. How great a favor is this?

You have to understand that we in the village are all grateful people, and I don't want some pests living under my nose.

You must remember that from now on, if you are able to help Xiao Xia, you must do so without hesitation. Do you understand?"

Dozens of people shouted that they understood, and many people also thanked Xia Shengsheng.

Xia Shengsheng is actually not that selfless.

We help everyone make money so that when disaster strikes, we can all resist together, face it together, and work hard to live on.

Moreover, for this time's chili peppers, he did not let Mr. Tao sign any contract or agreement directly with the villagers.

Instead, he makes a profit from the price difference, which does not make him a completely selfless person.

“You don’t need to thank me specially. After I harvest the peppers, I will make money by selling them.

But there is one thing I want to state in advance.

I can give you pepper seeds and planting methods for free.

However, these peppers and pepper seeds have not been known to outsiders in recent years.

If we plant only peppers, it will definitely have a great impact on our ability to sell the peppers.

Moreover, as long as I collect the peppers, you are not allowed to sell your peppers to others.

Of course, what will the price of peppers be in the future? I will definitely sell them to you at the market price and will never let you suffer a loss. Please also ask the village chief to bear witness to this.”

Village Chief Ma quickly said, “This is natural.

You heard it, the things originally belonged to Xiao Xia, who selflessly donated them to the villagers, allowing them to earn money together.

If any of you dare to secretly sell the harvested peppers to others, or spread the peppers and the methods of growing them, don't blame me for driving you out of the village.

When you get home, you must also take care of your wives. If anyone wants to share in the profits, then you should stop farming."

"No, no, we will definitely sell all the peppers to Xiao Xia."

"Yes! We will definitely not sell it to anyone else, nor tell anyone else."

"Yes, village chief and Miss Xia, rest assured, we are people who keep our promises."

Although Xia Shengsheng could not completely guarantee that the villagers would not secretly spread the peppers in the future, at least they would not do so this year.

Every household in the village wants to grow peppers.

Except for the old Liu family who has never appeared, even the laziest Wang Mazi family wants to plant it.

It seems that money can cure laziness.

Village chief Ma calculated that there are 53 households in the village, 52 of which are currently planting crops, and there are a total of 92 acres of land that can be reclaimed in the village.

Each family can get more than one acre of land.

Because money has to be paid to the government to reclaim wasteland, no one has reclaimed these acres of wasteland for years.

"After so many years, everyone should know that if the village wants to reclaim wasteland, it has to pay 500 coins per mu to the court..."

Before the village chief had finished speaking, someone started to protest.

"Village chief, my family doesn't have that much silver!"

"Yes, village chief, it's not the autumn harvest yet! How can there be so much silver at home?"

"My family is the same! Even if a family has one and a half acres, it would cost 750 coins! This is not a small amount of money."

Although life is not so difficult for every household now, they still manage to maintain their daily food, clothing and other necessities.

By autumn, after paying taxes to the imperial court, there was not much grain left in the family except for enough food for a year's consumption.

750 Wen is indeed a lot for an ordinary farmer.

But it’s not that most families can’t afford it, only a few families can’t afford the copper coins.

"Why are you in such a hurry? I haven't finished talking yet! Don't cry poor to me. I know who can afford the money and who can't!

You have to pay a few hundred coins now, but you can figure out how much benefit you can get in the fall.

The money is not much. If you have it at home, just hand it over. If you don’t have it, I don’t care where you go to borrow it.

All due before noon tomorrow.

Also, the wasteland closest to Xiao Xia's home is more than three mu, and at that time, all the wasteland belonged to Xiao Xia. Everyone should share the work of clearing the wasteland and planting it. Help Xiao Xia clean it up, do you hear me?"

Xia Shengsheng did not ask for the wasteland. She originally wanted to give some to the villagers, but now that the village chief has said so, she can only agree with the village chief in her heart. Who wouldn't want such a good thing as more land without her having to work?

The villagers no longer felt the same as they had just felt when they were about to pay the money. Instead, they were very supportive of Xia Shengsheng getting more wasteland, and they all thought that if each family contributed one person, they could open up Xia Shengsheng's wasteland and plant crops within a day, so they were all willing to do it.

And everyone also felt that such an incident could not repay Xia Shengsheng's kindness.

After the discussion, dozens of people in the yard went back home to raise money, fearing that they would come back too late and would not be able to get any wasteland and grow peppers.

Some people even have the urge to pull out the rice seedlings in the fields and plant peppers instead, as peppers are much more valuable than rice.

However, no matter how impulsive it is, no one actually does it.

Food is the most important thing for ordinary people.

After everyone left, Xia Shengsheng wanted to pay the money for the more than three acres of wasteland.

But Village Chief Ma refused to give in no matter what.

“You have brought so much benefit to the village, what are three acres of wasteland?

Okay, you go back first! I'll come back to you tomorrow afternoon after everything is confirmed. Aren't you still recruiting workers in the morning?

If you trust me, you don't have to come here in the morning."

"What else did the village chief say about trustworthiness and untrustworthiness?

Every time I want to do something, the village chief uncle can help me share the burden. Having such a good elder like you around makes us younger generations feel more at ease. The village chief uncle is really like a stabilizing force. "

When Xia Shengsheng said this, he was placing Village Chief Ma in the position of an elder, rather than just the chief of a village.

The village chief was also very pleased. He smiled with wrinkles all over his face and seemed a lot friendlier.

It really feels like treating Xia Shengsheng as my own child.