Crossing the green wheat ears

After resting for the night, after breakfast the next day, everyone started their own actions.

Wei Cheng took the plug and asked the craftsman to show how to repair the county government's back house and how much money it would cost.

Xiyuan took Li Dong along for a seemingly aimless stroll in Anqing City. After a day, besides buying a lot of food and drink, he also had a preliminary understanding of this small and not prosperous county.

Anqing City is not as big as Yansui University, there is only one main street in the middle, several restaurants on both sides of the road, two cloth shops, three or four grocery stores... No matter what kind of store, there are very few people in it. Basking in the sun in front of the door, chatting with acquaintances in nearby shops or passing by, and chatting for a while.

If you don't consider economic benefits, life here is very leisurely.

The main street is not long, and it takes half an hour to walk around. The road is a gravel road, but there is only sand and gravel in the middle, and the land is exposed on both sides. Don't worry about it on rainy days, just designate a muddy area.

The main street is like this, not to mention the others.

There are few shops, not many goods, and few buyers. In broad daylight, there are not many pedestrians on the road. No matter how you look at it, it is a depressed scene.

Looking at such an Anqing city, Xiyuan couldn't even imagine how the people here make a living. There are not many decent houses in the whole city. Dishes, poor clothing.Most people's faces are numb, which is the numbness of hopelessness in life.

well!What kind of mess has Xiaowei picked up!Xiyuan couldn't help sighing.

After walking around, I took Li Dong around a few times. At the back door of the county government office, Da Mao was playing with some children, while the nanny and a girl looked after him.

"The houses here are too dilapidated. They are not as good as the dens of our family's Sirius." From far away, Xiyuan heard Da Mao's voice. Don't tell me, that small voice is completely inherited from his father Xi Wei when he was a child. , very penetrating.

"Bragging! Then where do you live if you don't live in a house?" The older one among the few hairy heads retorted Da Mao.

"Cut! Who cares about living? There are so many ants on the window sill that they have grown wings. My eldest daddy said that we will not let the child suffer, so let's live in a carriage." Da Mao raised his neck, as if living in a carriage was something to be proud of.

"Ah? You still have a carriage! Do you have a horse?" Several children rushed to ask, maybe they were all boys, and they were born with a special liking for horses.

"Of course there is. My house has such a big stable, and there are many, many horses in it." Da Mao said, stretching his two small arms as wide as possible.

"Really? There are so many!" The other Maotou's eyes widened in astonishment.They heard from the adults that the family of the richest man in Anqing City only had ten horses.Isn't Da Mao's family richer than the rich man's family?

"Well, my second daddy's horse is called Zhuifeng, and it runs very fast, suddenly. When I'm free someday, my second daddy said he would take me to ride a horse." Da Mao stared wide-eyed with a pair of black eyes.

Xiyuan looked at his nephew who was frightened by the old backyard yesterday and cried, but now he is alive and well in the blink of an eye, and couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Big daddy." Seeing Xiyuan, Da Mao didn't care about his new friend anymore, he kicked, kicked, spread his short legs, and ran towards big daddy.

"Hey, have you been tired of talking in vernacular for a long time? Come, go home with Daddy." Xiyuan picked up Damao, and took a few pieces of candy from the food and drink bought today for the other children.

The other children in the family did not follow, and Da Mao had no playmates. Of course, Xiyuan wanted to help his nephew win "people's hearts".

"This is my big daddy." Da Mao put a small arm around his big daddy's neck, watching the other children take candy and couldn't help putting it in their mouths, but he didn't forget to introduce his big daddy, how busy he was.

Seeing Da Mao's smug little face, Xi Yuan was depressed for a whole day, and suddenly became enlightened, and couldn't help kissing his nephew's round face.Then, he led everyone into the courtyard.

In the yard, the few people who had been left behind had tidied it up neatly.The kitchen for cooking has also been tidied up, and Dani is leading the cook and another girl to work by the stove.

Both the cook and the nurse were hired by Wei Cheng to take good care of the two children when Wei Cheng came back. Later, Wei Li and Wei Lian grew up, and both the nurse and the cook expressed their unwillingness to leave such a good master's house and wanted to stay.

Xiyuan considered that his mother was getting older every year, and the number of people in the family was getting bigger every year, so he kept them and found jobs for their families. Work at home is more at ease.

An old man who is familiar with it has an understanding of his temperament and temperament, and he is also reliable.This time Xi Wei was an official, Xiyuan's mother was worried, she said she would take everything with her, and she chose two [-] or [-]-year-old girls from Zhuangzi to help Dani together.

The back house is peaceful, so the old son can devote all his energy to the affairs of the yamen.Niang Xiyuan doesn't understand the more profound truths, but these ways of life are relatively familiar.

At night, when it was dark, Wei Cheng and Xi Wei came back one after another.

Early in the morning, Xi Wei went out of the city and went to the countryside for a private visit with the hired master. This was discussed by the three brothers yesterday.

Xi Wei came a few days earlier than the official time required by the court, so yesterday he told the big and small officials who greeted him that he was tired all the way, he had to rest for a few days, declined all visits, and officially took office on the day.In fact, I want to make a time difference and learn about the local situation.

Everything happens for a reason, Anqing County is so poor, there must be a corresponding reason, Xi Wei went out of the city today just to visit one or two.

"Master, this place is poor. There is really no way to cure it. It's all saline-alkali land. The crops don't grow well, and the yield per mu can't even reach half of our Yansui." At the dinner table, master Wang Liang sighed, and he left with Xi Wei today. I went to several places, just in the early spring, many villagers were preparing the fields, sitting on the edge of any field, chatting, and getting familiar with the situation.

Mr. Wang is 38 years old. He was once a scholar, but failed to pass the exam several times. It was recommended by Mr. Ye. Wei hired as the master.

"Then tax?" Xiyuan asked, it stands to reason that such a barren land, the corresponding tax should also be reduced.

"It's a reduction, but there's not much difference." Xi Wei continued, and after speaking, he remembered something and couldn't hold back his joy.

Everyone: "..." It seems that there is nothing to be happy about!

"It's okay, I just remembered a jingle I heard outside today." Xi Wei put a chopstick of food into his mouth, watching everyone look at him, explaining while eating.

"What jingle?" Wei Cheng scooped up a small bowl of soup and put it in front of Xiyuan.

"From Anqing to Mingda, I have big yellow teeth." Xi Wei said happily.

"Fifth Lord, what do you mean by that?" Li Dong hurriedly asked with a curious face after hearing this.

"This is not a saline-alkaline land. The water you drink is naturally alkaline. People live here for a long time, and their teeth turn yellow. Brother, go back with your second brother tomorrow. I think it's better to take Da Mao back, otherwise , when the child grows up, once he returns to his hometown, he will open his mouth to talk, okay, he will have big yellow teeth, and the old family will laugh at him to death." Xi Wei said with a smile.

"Yes, Mingda is Linxian County in Anqing, and it is also a saline-alkali land." Master Wang added.

other people:……

I can't wait to finish my meal right away, go back and look in the mirror to see how yellow my teeth are.

"The yield per mu is small and the taxes are heavy. No wonder the people live in such a difficult situation." Xiyuan thought about the words of Master Wang and Xi Wei.

"Yes. The previous county magistrates, whether they were years-consuming or skinny dogs, no matter whether the people lived or died, it is said that there were several who planned to work hard to govern, but they were helpless in the end." Master Wang said with emotion after taking a sip of wine.

Xiyuan didn't say anything more, after dinner, when only three brothers were left, he tentatively asked Xi Wei: "Why don't we stop being the unlucky county magistrate, and go back to Lianhua Village with a seal?"

To put it bluntly, Xiyuan regretted asking his younger brother to be an official, and began to feel distressed. Even if such a poor place with bad mountains and rivers can be managed well, I don't know how much effort it will take.His younger brother has been raised in the palm of his hand, how could he be willing to let him suffer such hard work.

"But, brother, I'm here and I don't want to give up halfway." Although Xi Wei also scratched his head, his attitude was very firm.If he went back now, he said that he was an official and magistrate, but he ran back to his hometown in a few days, and he would not be laughed at to death.Moreover, in the dictionary of the brothers from the West family, there is no such thing as giving up when encountering difficulties.

"Okay, since that's the case, let's think about how to solve these problems." His own brother, Xiyuan could not understand, so he didn't try to persuade him.

"Brother, the most urgent thing is to settle the place first." Wei Cheng thought for a while, and then expressed his thoughts.

"Why..." Xi Yuan and Xi Wei looked at Wei Cheng suspiciously together.

"I asked a few craftsmen today, and calculated the cost of repairing the house according to our standards. The result is almost as much as building a new one." Wei Cheng frowned.

"Then, why don't we see if there is any suitable house, and let's buy one?" Xiyuan asked thoughtfully, instead of spending money on repairs, it's better to buy a private house, even if Xi Wei won't be an official in Anqing in the future, it's okay If you sell it, the money will not be spent in vain.

"Brother, I inquired about it during the day and saw a few things for sale. I think you think it's enough to match." Wei Cheng knew his brother 120 times. How precious is Xiao Wei, how can he bear the family's comfort in his hometown, and ask Xiao Wei to suffer outside.

However, according to the standards of my hometown, there are absolutely very few houses in Anqing City that can meet the standards. Even if there are, the key people may not necessarily sell them.

"Then buy a piece of land and build a new one. Just let those officials see that our family is not short of money. After saving money, let's give Xiao Wei some good things. Others will think that Xiao Wei came here through corruption." Xiyuan made a decision after listening to Wei Cheng's words.

Wei Cheng nodded, looked at Xi Wei and smiled, he guessed it was like this, if his brother's heart could be divided into two halves, definitely give half to him and half to Xiao Wei.Fortunately, Wei Cheng also loves this younger brother, otherwise, there must be endless vinegar.

The next day, Wei Cheng led people to buy various materials for building the house. At the same time, it took a few days to build a few wooden houses. Fortunately, the weather is not cold, so it is okay to live in wooden houses.

The point is that men like them can make do with it, but women and children can't. They can't always make a carriage tent their home.

And Xi Wei, accompanied by his elder brother and master, went further to the folks to understand the situation, tried to prescribe the right medicine and find a good solution.