My eunuch godfather

Chapter 41 Going to the Countryside to Harvest Land

More than two months have passed since the start of construction at the river engineering camp.

Zhang Kun left Yang Desheng, Sun Shoucheng, and Zuo Liangyu to oversee the main camp of the river engineering camp.

He took Xu Xin, Cao Meng, several servants, more than a dozen soldiers, and Deng Wenqi from Feiduan, Xuanbeifang, and went to the countryside to harvest the fields!

Five months earlier, when Zhang Kun was about to head south to recruit river workers, he had given instructions to Deng Wenqi.

Let Deng Wenqi lower the price of fertilizer ahead of time, so as to entice more small farmers to borrow money from the fertilizer company to buy fertilizer.

Due to the disaster, this year's winter wheat harvest is very poor.

Before the winter wheat is sown the following year, the beans or millet planted in the fallow area also yield poor harvests.

Countless farmers have been burdened with debt or even gone bankrupt as a result, and have been forced to sell the land passed down from their ancestors, and even their children.

The exorbitant interest rate lent out by Feiduan in Xuanbeifang was only a little over two thousand taels of silver, yet it, along with the disaster, crushed hundreds of farming households.

Because Zhang Kun had given prior instructions, Deng Wenqi did not resort to any special methods, and even took the initiative to lower interest rates and grant more leeway.

But Deng Wenqi also wanted to advance his career, so he bought a lot of debt from his fellow loan sharks to help Zhang Kun acquire land.

"This area is nice."

The tanbagu master, who was hired from the south at great expense, walked to a field not far away, bent down, picked up a handful of soil, and squeezed it.

After looking around, he returned to the horse team, spoke with a heavy accent, pointed to the field, and said to Zhang Kun with a smile:

"The soil is loose and fine, and the terrain is high, so it is not easy to be flooded."

"Plant another crop of beans, and we can start planting tampons next March!"

Zhang Kun turned to look at Deng Wenqi, who had already found the relevant entry in the account book and said respectfully:

"This family owns about 24.8 mu of land and owes 19 taels of principal and 4.75 taels of interest to Fei Duan."

The interest rate is as high as 60% per annum, far exceeding the 36% per annum stipulated by the laws of the Ming Dynasty.

But in Beijing today, this is considered a low interest rate; some competitors even dare to charge an annualized interest rate of 120%!

"Mark this spot."

Zhang Kun nodded to Deng Wenqi and continued, "Which other farmers in the surrounding area are still in debt?"

"besides......"

"Master!"

A loud shout suddenly came from afar!

It's late August now, and the lingering heat of late summer is still raging.

However, in order to plant winter wheat, farmers had to work in the fields under the scorching heat.

The direction from which the shouts came was from a middle-aged farmer who had collapsed and was unconscious due to heatstroke.

"Let's go take a look!"

Zhang Kun turned his horse around and led his cavalry away. He stopped at the edge of the field, dismounted, and walked quickly over.

"Master, Master, wake up!"

A short boy, crying out for his father, tried to drag him toward a shady spot nearby.

Seeing Zhang Kun's signal, Xu Xin and two servants ran over and helped the boy carry the middle-aged man to a shady spot.

Zhang Kun had Xu Xin prepare salted and sweetened mung bean soup for the horse team in advance, and had also taught them how to deal with heatstroke, which came in handy now.

Farmers from nearby fields also came over one after another, but dared not get too close because of Zhang Kun and his group.

The middle-aged man slowly woke up. Deng Wenqi walked to Zhang Kun's side, looked at the account book, and said:

"This household only has seven and four-tenths mu of land, and owes us five taels of principal and one tael and two and a half fen of interest."

I also received this debt from another household, totaling seventeen taels, four mace, and two candareens in principal and interest.

Nowadays, there are too many land sellers, and the land price is only about 3 liang per mu.

The household's debt is close to twenty-four taels, and even selling all their land wouldn't be enough to pay it off!

Deng Wenqi's voice wasn't loud, but the boy still heard it.

The boy, his eyes bloodshot, pushed aside Xu Xin and the servant, and shrieked at Zhang Kun and his group:

"Are you debt collectors?!"

Upon hearing the words "debt collection," the farmers nearby changed their expressions drastically, picked up their hoes and other farm tools, and stared at them with hostile eyes.

"good,"

Zhang Kun took out the money deeds from Deng Wenqi's account book and showed them to the boy:

"Your family owes our shop twenty-four taels of silver. We are worried that you are unable to repay it, so we have come to collect the debt ahead of schedule."

"You heartless, despicable skinner!"

Upon hearing Zhang Kun's admission, the boy immediately jumped up and cursed:

"You beasts are more venomous than locusts that cause disasters! All you want to do is suck the blood out of us farmers!"

Last year you borrowed one shi (a unit of dry measure), this year you'll be charged two shi and two dou (another unit of dry measure), a debt of extinction!

I have no money, but I'll take your life...

"A trick!"

The middle-aged man, now awake, struggled to his feet, grabbed the boy's sleeve, and urgently stopped him, saying, "Don't talk nonsense!"

"Sir, these beasts are here to collect debts!"

The boy turned to look at his father, but actually shouted loudly to the farmers in the distance:

"They're going to take our grain, seize our land, and demolish our houses!"

The farmers, spurred on by the boy, united in their hatred and drew closer together, some even running back to the village to call for reinforcements.

"Master Kun?"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Deng Wenqi lowered his voice and said to Zhang Kun.

"Fellow villagers, we've come to collect debts to help you!"

Zhang Kun gripped the hilt of his knife, his voice drowning out the boy's, and shouted at the farmers and the father and son:

"How was your last wheat harvest? How was this crop of beans and millet? It was terrible, wasn't it!"

If the debt continues to accrue, the interest will snowball. Can we afford it?

Don't worry, we won't steal grain or demolish houses! We'll also rent out the land we receive to you to cultivate!

I'll say it again: we won't steal your food or demolish your houses, and you can still cultivate your land!

"You're letting us farm the land again?" "Really?" "What percentage of the land will you take as rent?"

The harvests have been terrible these past few years, and every farmer is in debt.

Hearing Zhang Kun say this, he was both surprised and doubtful, with a hint of joy in his surprise and doubt. What if it was true?

"You liar!"

Ignoring his father's advice, the boy shrieked at Zhang Kun:

"You're all money-grubbing bastards, how could you be so kind? You'll definitely take 70-80% of the rent as a dead-end rent!"

Then they'll turn the outstanding rent into debt and take away the rest of our land!

Indeed, this is what many debt collectors do today.

By slowly draining the farmers' blood, their ability to resist is gradually weakened.

"No rent, and we'll even provide food rations!"

Zhang Kun once again drowned out the boy's voice and continued shouting at the farmers and the father and son:

"We are here to harvest the land so that we can plant medicinal herbs that have been introduced from the south!"

In the first year, no matter how much or how little you plant, I will provide you with food rations!

One mu (unit of land area) provides one dou (unit of dry measure) of grain, and it's given every month!

I'll repeat myself: one dou (a unit of dry measure) is given per mu (a unit of land area), every month, totaling one shi (a unit of dry measure) and two dou (a unit of dry measure) per year!

Hearing the conditions Zhang Kun offered, the farmers were even more surprised and suspicious, but also more excited:

You should know that, given the current crop yield, it's quite normal for many fields to yield less than a bushel of grain after deducting the cost of planting it!

"It must be fake..."

The boy tried to argue, but his father, who had regained his strength, covered his mouth.

Zhang Kun smiled at the boy's father and said, "Let him go, I want to hear what he has to say."

The middle-aged man chuckled dryly, not daring to let go, and Xu Xin walked over and pressed down on his shoulder.

"You're definitely lying!"

The boy, released by his father, shrieked at Zhang Kun:

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Even if you gave me a bushel or two, I'd probably still consider it a debt!"

"That's right, I won't give you this benefit for nothing!"

Zhang Kun smiled and nodded at the boy, then spoke loudly to the farmers:

"The first year is to teach you how to grow medicinal herbs, and the second year I will harvest them."

Five catties of fresh leaves are equivalent to one bushel of grain. I'll buy as much as you have, or you can pay me!

If the fresh leaves weigh less than 100 jin, then he will be considered to be in arrears on rent...

Seeing that Zhang Kun did not stop the boy's questioning and that the conditions he offered were reasonable, the farmers became increasingly convinced.

Just then, several riders appeared in the distance, followed by dozens of people, who were probably the people the farmer had called back to the village.