North and South groceries

Regarding the road construction, Ma Feiyang was in the south this time and heard a lot about it.

The south is no better than the north. Because the north has always been the political and economic center of the country, all kinds of infrastructure are naturally relatively complete. In addition, there are often wars on the northern border. Even for the convenience of soldiers' marching and food transportation, road construction Things also have to be done.

Compared with the situation in the north where there are many official roads, there are many privately paved roads in the south. Most of these roads are not free for people to walk on, and usually have to pay tolls.

Ma Feiyang heard from his friends that those who collected tolls would sometimes act as robbers and robbers depending on the situation. In this era of traffic congestion and inconvenient communication, if you kill those people casually, you usually don't worry much about being investigated by the government. come out.

Although the official roads in the north also charge tolls, they are collected by the government anyway. Even if they encounter black-hearted officials, at most they will charge more money and silk. Murder and robbery are rarely heard. Compared with the south It is said that the law and order in the north is still much better.

So at this time, many northerners are very afraid to go to remote areas in the south. At this time, there are still many virgin forests in the south, full of miasma, local people are more xenophobic, and the social order is relatively chaotic. Outsiders often have to live in such places. to guarantee.

But from this trip to the south, Ma Feiyang still saw a lot of business opportunities. After returning to Lishi County, he immediately heard about Champa rice from his brother.

Champa rice may be grown in Lishi County to eat fresh, but in the south, it is definitely a good tool for grain production. This kind of rice can be grown in dry land, it is quite resistant to barrenness, and the growth cycle is relatively short. It is perfect for some southern mountainous areas.

Ma Feiyang discussed this matter with his elder brother. The two brothers believed that if their Ma family could bring this kind of rice seed that can be grown in dry land to the southerners and can be grown twice a year, they would definitely be able to compete with those southerners. Indigenous relations.

Speaking of which, it has not been a day or two since the Ma family wanted to expand the market, especially those places that ordinary merchants cannot reach, where the benefits are the most lucrative.

I haven't seen the Zhao family in Shuozhou. It's just that after decades of accumulation, both in terms of financial resources and local influence, they are better than their Ma family. It's just that the business in Chang'an City is not as good as that of the Ma family. .

So Ma Feiyang's real purpose in coming to Xipo Village this time is not cement, but the Champa rice seeds in Luo Yong's family.

The origin of this rice seed is also a mystery. Not long after Nadu Gou came to Xipo Village, Ma Silang heard about Champa rice, so he started to inquire about it, but with the relationship network of his Ma family, he did some research. After contacting, there was nothing to gain.

Ma Silang guessed that the seeds of Du Gou either flowed from a certain tribe in the south, or came from overseas. He heard that the Kunlun area can also produce rice.

The Ma family wanted the rice seeds in Luo Yong's hands, but they couldn't speak directly, so they decided to let Ma Feiyang come to Xipo Village to find out the direction of the wind. If Luo Yong didn't value the seeds very much, they would spend money from him They can be bought or traded on other terms. On the contrary, if Luo Yong values ​​these seeds very much, then the Ma family will have to find another way.

Now the matter of the seeds has not progressed, but it has involved road construction. Luo Yong even promised Ma Feiyang a pair of rubber-soled leather boots.

In fact, regardless of whether they have these boots or not, the Ma family will definitely help Luo this time. This matter has to be handed over to Ma Feiyang's elder brother, Ma Silang. Compared with Ma Feiyang, he is more able to talk to those merchants and wealthy households in the city.

This matter is also simple to do. Ma Silang asked a few merchants and wealthy households in the city, sat in a restaurant for a while, and told them about the matter, and then someone immediately said:

"Building roads is a good thing to accumulate virtue and do good deeds. Although a certain person is not talented, he is willing to do his best. Saburo has done so many things for us in Lishi County. How can we make things difficult for him about building roads? We A few people get together."

Several other people agreed one after another, and of course some people complained in their hearts that all the beautiful words were finished by this old boy.

Building roads is a good thing to do good deeds and build a reputation. It is not unusual for them local gentry and merchants to do it. Besides, this matter is related to Luo Sanlang. None of these people here want to sell Luo Sanlang well.

Early the next morning, these people took Qianbo and drove their own ox carts to Xipo Village together. This team was much stronger than yesterday in the wine shop. They got the news later and were determined to work together with everyone. of.

When the group rushed to Xipo Village, they encountered many villagers building roads outside the village. This road started from the cement factory, and now it has been repaired to a point in front of Xu's guest house.

Two days ago, after discussing with Ma Feiyang, Luo Yong went to their village to talk about the matter, and then said, after all, it is a matter of the village, and one cannot wait for others to contribute money and effort. The crops in the field have also been harvested, and the taxes have been paid, so let's start busy with road construction.

Tian Cunzheng also thinks this is the reason. He also said that even if someone is willing to raise funds and donate money, the people in his village will have to work hard. In the past two days, he will go to the first few villages to meet the people in those villages. People, discuss with them, everyone has to be responsible for the road construction, and it would be great if someone can help pay for the cement. Everyone must do the road paving by themselves, and they will never sit around at home by themselves. , but asked others to spend money to hire labor to help build roads in several villages.

From Xipo Village to Lishi County, the total distance is only thirty or forty miles, which is really not that much if divided into several villages. When this road is repaired, it will be much more convenient for the villagers to travel.

In this era, many people live in only one village from birth to death. For farmers, the land is the foundation for them to live and work in this world. They will never leave easily until they are desperate, and because of insufficient business Developed, with strict household registration management, it is rare to go out to work.

For these people, if there is a chance to build a better road near their village, everyone is naturally very willing. If they have too much money, they can't afford it, and it's not a problem to put in some effort.

While paving the road for the past two days, the villagers of Xipo Village were also worried, fearing that the people in the city would not pay the money.

With Luo Sanlang's financial resources, I am afraid that it is not enough to support the laying of the entire road, and they can't just watch Luo Sanlang go bankrupt and build roads for everyone.But if they are asked to pay for it themselves... It is not easy for country people to earn a little money. It is okay to take a little, but if it is too much, it will be too distressing. Besides, not every household can afford it.

Seeing so many groups of people coming in front of them now, everyone was very happy, and everyone was so enthusiastic.

Luo Yong happily invited these people to Xu's guest house, and served many delicious dishes. From Lishi County to Xipo Village, it happened that they should be hungry, so everyone discussed the fundraising for road construction while eating. thing.

Luo Yong told them what he and Muramasa meant. Later, Tamurazheng also rushed over and told everyone about the results of his discussions with several other villages in the past few days.

What everyone means is that I am very grateful to someone who is willing to donate money to them to build the road. At that time, they will divide the road into several sections. Whoever pledges the donation will erect a merit monument on the side of the road. .

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, as long as the road can be repaired, what's the matter with those false names." Everyone said that the monument of merit is not important.

As a result, when it was time to pledge, the section of road from Lishi County and the section of road from Xipo Village were robbed madly by people. If you have money but no status, you can't even try to snatch it. , What are you saying that a false name is not a problem, and you are scrambling to pledge donations for these two sections of the road?

After a long time of quarreling, when these people had enough to eat and drink and returned to Lishi County, the matter of pledging donations was basically settled.

From tomorrow onwards, these people will arrange porters to come to Xipo Village to pick up cement, send it to the road section they pledged, and hand it over to the villagers there to pave the road. As for the corvee, the autumn harvest is over at this time, so it is not difficult to hire some laborers, and the wages are not high.

Since it is the road section that I pledged to donate, it is natural that it should be paved better. The road from Lishi County Road to Xipo Village is not only used by their locals, but there are many foreign merchants every day, and there will be some from time to time. The sons of the gentry who were studying abroad came here especially for the name, and it was definitely a glorious thing to be able to erect their own stele there.

Luo Sanlang is not an ordinary person in everyone's mind. It is very possible that his name will last forever. Can the road leading to their village still be an ordinary road?The more I think about it, the more I feel that this donation is the right one.

On this day, Ma Feiyang heard that Luo Yong had finished the rubber-soled leather boots that he had promised him earlier, so he happily rode his horse to Xipo Village to pick up the boots.

When Luo Yong invited people to Xipo Village to make boots two days ago, he had already heard about it, and his heart was scratching, but he still held back and didn't go to join in the fun. Now that he heard that the boots were ready Yes, I went happily.

However, the road was being built recently, and the road from Lishi County to Xipo Village was running and stopping, much slower than usual.This road is not slow to be repaired. At this speed, it may be completed before the snow falls.

Everyone is also following the example of Xipo Village, repairing half of it first, leaving the other side for walking, and repairing it later, so that the road will not be blocked, even if you are running, you will encounter a group of road repairers Villagers, on the road, often encounter some porters who carry burdens, and the speed is always slow.

As Ma Feiyang was running, he met a group of people erecting merit monuments in front of him. The merit monuments were quite impressive. Ma Feiyang rode his horse and leaned over to take a look, which made the corners of his mouth twitch.

"Is this stele carved by someone in your village?" Ma Feiyang asked with a smile.According to the original agreement, the wealthy merchants in the city pledged to donate these road sections, and then the nearby village paid for the stele and found someone to make it.

"Originally, our village also said that everyone should collect some money and find someone to carve a stone tablet, but this Wu Langjun is really polite, and he understands that it is difficult for us country people to earn money, so he refused to ask us to pay for it." Face said gratefully.

"..." Ma Feiyang reckoned that this stele of meritorious deeds could not be engraved by a villager. Looking at the inscription on it, from the eighteenth generation of his ancestors all the way to his current grandchildren, how studious, progressive, filial and polite, As for the seven or eight grandchildren, they all praised each one.

And the life of this Wu Langjun is almost enough to write a storybook. With so many characters, a small stone tablet must not fit, so the merit tablet of his family is very big. Look at this guy , It is estimated that there is no seven or eight hundred catties. It is really difficult for the two cows pulling the cart.

Ma Feiyang thought about it, and then went to the city again. Anyway, Luo Sanlang promised him the rubber-soled leather boots early on, and he couldn't run away if he left them there for a while. He has more important things to do now.

"Brother, the stele of the Wu family's merits and virtues is so magnificent that it can stand up to two of ours." As soon as he got home, Ma Feiyang told his elder brother about it.

"Really?" Ma Silang didn't expect that those old boys would be so coy, didn't they just buy some cement with money, and still make such a big merit monument for themselves.

"Of course, I saw it with my own eyes. His family's merit monuments are now erected." Ma Feiyang said.

"Hmm..." Ma Jiashiro pondered.

"Should we make our family bigger, or other people's houses will be full of large monuments of merit and virtue, and only our family will be small. I don't know how small our family is, and we still think our family has little money. "Ma Feiyang said anxiously.

"Then you go and talk to the person who carved the stone tablet, if the money and food are not enough, you can make up for it at that time." His elder brother ordered.

"Hey." Ma Feiyang agreed, and was about to go happily, still thinking in his heart that his family's merit monument must be done in a grand manner.

"Find a few more people." Ma Si ordered.

"What?" Ma Jiu was puzzled.

"In the place where the stele is erected, build a gazebo. In case of severe cold and hot summer, people can also avoid the scorching sun and wind." Ma Siyan said.

"..." Ma Jiu was taken aback for a moment, and then happily said, "It's still my elder brother who is thoughtful!"