Zhou Shuren took out two deeds from his arms, put one away and put it back in his arms, opened the other and handed it to Boss Zhou, "Sixty acres of land, paddy fields are 8 taels of silver per acre, dry fields are 5 taels of silver per acre, thirty acres of paddy fields, thirty acres of dry fields, a total of 390 taels of silver, the money for changing the name and exchanging the red deed will be paid by the Zheng family, and the house is 100 taels, and the money for changing the name and exchanging the deeds will also be paid by the Zheng family."
Boss Zhou was calculating quickly in his mind, "Dad, is the price the Zheng family offered too low?"
Now the first-class dry land is five taels and two cents, and thirty acres is six taels less, and the money for the deed is not small. Although he didn't move into the Zheng family's house, it occupies a large area, but he only got one hundred taels
Zhou Laoer felt that there was a problem. The key point must be on the deed that his father had put away. His father put it away because he didn't want to say it. "Dad, the Zheng family is in such a hurry to sell the property, they will move out soon!"
Zhou Shuren nodded. "The fleet and the boat have been hired. They will set off in a week. The Zheng family has already left as a group, and Mr. Zheng will be the last."
The third wife left last in order to arrange the house. She left when he went to Pingzhou.
Zhou Laoer frowned and said, "Dad, we are going to Pingzhou next year, and my brother-in-law can't take care of the sixty acres of land and the house by himself."
Zhou Shuren had already considered this. He looked at Zhou Lao Da and said, "The land is in Lijia Village. There are many men in your wife's family. When the land is transferred, you can go to your wife's family and ask who will help farm our land. You can keep 25% of the grain per acre. If the grain yield per acre does not exceed the average in the first year, I will take back the land."
To put it bluntly, it is exchanging grain for labor wages. The harder you work on the farm, the more grain you will harvest, and you will get more in the end, thus avoiding the trouble of being lazy as much as possible.
Zhou Shuren's method was not like the landlords who rented land to tenant farmers in order to squeeze out more profits. The tenant farmers worked hard all year round, paying rent and taxes. Sometimes they did not even have enough to eat and drink, and the landlords squeezed out more of their labor. If the years were bad, they could not even make ends meet.
Zhou Shuren's method is that as long as the land is taken good care of, farmers can get food without taking any risks. The better the land is taken care of, the more they get. There are many boys in Lijia Village and a lot of surplus labor. Anyone who is not stupid will not miss the opportunity.
Zhou Laoda was surprised on behalf of Li. There were so many young men in Yue's family, but there wasn't enough work for them to do at home. Yue's mother was worried every day. This time, the young men's labor was useful. If they were well taken care of, they could save a lot of money by exchanging the grain they got every year for silver. She understood that Dad was helping Yue's family. "I want to thank Dad on behalf of Li."
Zhou Shuren did not give the Li family a bargain for nothing. His in-laws were in Lijia Village, and almost everyone in Lijia Village had the surname Li. People with the same surname were all relatives. When their family moved to Pingzhou, they would still have to rely more on the Li family to take care of the house.
Zhou Shuren said, "Okay, I've said everything I need to say. Your mother and I will take a break. This ox cart is very bumpy."
Boss Zhou: "... Dad, I'm going out first."
Zhulan waited for her two sons to go out and close the door, then she stretched out her hand and said, "Let me see."
Zhou Shuren took out the deed, "This is the real deed. The sixty acres of land was half sold and half given to our family. The paddy fields and dry fields were four taels of silver per acre, and the sixty acres of land were two hundred and forty taels. They wanted to give it to our family for free but asked us to make a promise. I refused and talked about other benefits. The Zheng family asked me not to sell the house and hoped that I would pass it down from generation to generation. If the Zheng family comes with a token, we will return the house."
Zhou Shuren took out a seal and said, "This is a token of trust. I have half of the seal here, and the other half is in the hands of the Zheng family. Because the house will be taken back by the Zheng family, they didn't ask us for money, and none of the furniture in the house was taken away. They gave it to us for free. However, in order to avoid trouble, the Zheng family's house can only be occupied by us and cannot be sublet."
Zhulan fiddled with the seal, which was made very complicated. "We can guarantee that we will keep our promise as gentlemen. Our sons will have no problem with that, but we can't guarantee that for our grandchildren. We can't take care of the future after we die. What if our descendants don't pay us back? Isn't Mr. Zheng afraid?"
Zhou Shuren touched the seal. After meeting Mr. Zheng today, he realized that there are always people better than you, especially ruthless people. "Mr. Zheng is a ruthless person. He killed his own brother with his own hands. Do you think he has no backup plan?"
He seriously suspected that his descendants would not keep their promise, and he would probably be without descendants. Oh yes, it was his original body who was without descendants. Pie in the sky is never easy to catch, and it is easy to kill yourself.
Today, Mr. Zheng kept smiling, and his smile made his back feel cold. For the first time, he felt very close to death. He knew the secret of the Zheng family, so he didn't have the chance to refuse. Even if he refused, he didn't have to think about it, because he and Zhulan would definitely die.
Zhulan knew that Mr. Zheng was not a simple man, but she didn't expect him to be so cruel. "I didn't lie to you?"
"Do you think that's possible?"
Zhulan, "... ..."
Zhou Shuren said dimly, "Every family has one or two bad guys. I guess the Zheng family was exiled because of Mr. Zheng's brother."
Mr. Zheng didn’t tell anyone. Yes, he told him, he really didn’t want to know!
Zhu Lan glared, "Aren't you afraid of the Zheng family? If we threaten you now, will you betray us in the future?"
Why did Zhou Shuren think Zhulan was so cute? Zhulan was angry that he was threatened. He hugged Zhulan and said, "Because Mr. Zheng gave me enough to use, the Zheng family's house had been coveted by someone a long time ago. Mr. Zheng personally handled the deed to express that we are protected by the Zheng family. This old man has not been idle for more than 40 years. I always feel that there are many hidden lines in the county. Otherwise, how do you think the Zheng family built such a big house and no one occupied it!"
Zhulan: "... ...We seem to have encountered a hidden boss?"
Zhou Shuren chuckled, "It just happened that Wang Ru went to her death and Zheng happened to move here. She was familiar with our family. The Zheng family investigated me and thought I was the most suitable person, but I did encounter a hidden ruthless person."
Zhu Lan narrowed her eyes. To put it bluntly, the pie she received today that almost choked her to death was still caused by Wang Ru. Zhu Lan had always been curious about Uncle Zheng, "Does Uncle Zheng's family have a general from the northwest?"
Zhou Shuren nodded, "The Zheng family fled in two groups. In order to prevent future troubles, they separated without leaving any way of contact, only the general direction. The eldest branch went to the northwest to hide their identities. Later, the dynasty fell and there was war. The family was originally military generals, so they served as soldiers at the border. After the establishment of the new dynasty, they climbed up for several years before they became the current fourth-rank captain. The northwest has been unstable in recent years, with constant small wars. People above them can get military merits, and the Zheng family went there to fight for their future."
This is also the reason why the Zheng family left so decisively. The Zheng family lived in hiding in the Northeast, and their descendants were not yet capable of studying. The Northwest was the most suitable place for the Zheng family to survive.
Zhulan thought about what Zhou Shuren said just now, that he refused the free land and exchanged it for other benefits, "What benefits did you and Mr. Zheng exchange for?"