Zhang Yuan's family has 120 acres of fertile land on the east bank of Jian Lake. Since they punished the domestic slave Zhang Dachun last year, their autumn grain field rental income has doubled. The fields on both sides of Jian Lake are rich and fertile, and one season of wheat can be grown in a year.

and two-crop rice. After the late rice is harvested in late autumn, sow small crops immediately.

Wheat, by April of the following year, harvest wheat and rush to plant early rice. As long as you are diligent, this kind-hearted land will produce unstintingly, except for natural disasters -

Since the beginning of spring in the 41st year of Wanli, although there has been no rain in most places in Shaoxing Prefecture, there is still a bumper wheat harvest. The heavy snow last winter nourished the wheat fields, and wheat is also drought-tolerant. After the wheat is harvested, early rice must be planted. Those affected by drought

It is this rice that is affected——

Early in the morning on April 18th, Zhang Yuan went to Jianhu Farm to watch the tenants planting early rice seedlings. Shi Shuang and Wu Ling followed. The eldest girl Yi Ting also went because she was more familiar with the situation in the farm. She used to collect farm rent.

Yi Ting accompanied Zhang Yuan's mother, but at that time Zhang Dachun, Xie Qifu and four other tenant farmers teamed up to deceive the host's family. Zhang's mother, Lu, was from a Taoist family and was kept in the dark. Although Yi Ting was suspicious, she did not say anything.

,The situation is very different now, who can deceive Zhang Yuan?

Yi Ting invited Mu Zhenzhen to accompany her, and together with Zhang Yuan, five people rented a awning boat to Jian Lake via Dongdachi. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ma Zhen, the prefect of Kuaiji, dredged Jian Lake and Na Kuaiji. Thirty-six of the two counties of Shanyin

Source water: In the early years, Jianhu Lake was said to have a radius of 800 miles. Since the Jin and Tang Dynasties, the lake mud has gradually silted up, and wealthy families have surrounded the lake to occupy their fields. Now the water area is only more than a hundred miles wide. It has not rained in the past few months, and the water level of Jianhu Lake has dropped several feet.

, there is a large area of ​​silt on the shore of the lake. Zhang Yuan's family's farm is on the east bank of Jianhu Lake, not far from Taishou Ma's Temple. Zhang Yuan and the other five people boarded a boat on the east side of the lake and only had to walk half a mile to get there.

The east bank of Jianhu Lake was originally a lake area. After the lake water receded, there was a large area of ​​Pingchou wilderness. Now it has been cultivated into fertile fields. People working hard can be seen everywhere in the farmland. In some fields, the wheat has been cut off, and in some fields it is still heavy.

The wheat ears are golden, some are driving oxen to plow the fields, and some have already planted seedlings——

Farmers are hardworking and have to be busy starting from the first month, clearing the soil, pitting manure, and stripping mulberry trees. In February, they tidy up the field ridges. In March, they select seeds and plant rice seedlings. In April, they get very busy, cutting wheat, cutting hemp, cultivating fields and transplanting rice seedlings. Zhang Yuan

When they arrived, Xie Qifu and other four households of tenant farmers had just planted more than 100 acres of early rice seedlings with their wives and children. They were having some free time and were preparing to celebrate the Young Seedlings Festival at the head of the field. When they saw the owner's family coming, Xie Qifu and others were a little panicked, thinking that

Zhang Yuan had to come to collect the wheat rent so early, and the wheat had not yet been threshed and dried.

Zhang Yuan hurriedly said: "I just came to take a look today. The wheat rent will still be paid in early June. There is no rush. There is no rush." ​​Xie Qifu thought that Zhang Yuan wanted to increase the rent after seeing that this year's wheat harvest was good, so he complained: "Zhang

Master, we are witnessing a severe drought this year. The rice seedlings have been planted this morning, but who knows if there will be a harvest." Zhang Yuan smiled and said: "Lao Xie, don't complain yet, I'm not here to collect rent or increase rent.

Yes, let me see how much impact this year's drought will have on our land, and I will reduce your grain rent as appropriate." Xie Qifu and the other four tenant farmers were overjoyed and said: "The young master is kind-hearted, the young master is kind-hearted." Sincerely.

ji.

Xie Huangfu led Zhang Yuan and the other five people to go to the fields to have a look. Yi Ting did not dare to walk on the thin field roads. Mu Zhenzhen said: "Sister Yi Ting, you can walk in front, I will protect you from behind.

I won't let you fall into the rice field." Yi Ting said: "You really want to protect the young master, you have no time to care about me."

Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "Am I a foot-bound woman? Although the field road is narrow, it is only one foot wide. I walked with great strides." He added: "Imagine that woman who bound her feet, and her good feet became half-disabled.

After a lifetime of pain, Sister Yi Ting and Zhen Zhen are not restrained. They are so lucky."

Yi Ting said with a smile: "That's because young ladies and ladies are lucky enough to have their feet bound. How can they take such a road? They just take a boat or a sedan chair when they go out."

Zhang Yuan said: "Only ladies who don't bind their feet have a good life, otherwise I think they are not as good as you." Sometimes maids are indeed much more free than other ladies. For example, Zhenzhen can follow him to a restaurant, and those

Although the boudoir lady is being cared for and has no worries about food and clothing, it is difficult for her to go out, which is equivalent to being under house arrest——

Yi Ting looked at Zhang Yuan and said with a smile, "Young master, you are praising my young lady who has never been born in the family for her good life, right?" Yi Ting also knew that Shang Danran had not bound his feet.

Zhang Yuan nodded and said: "Yes, it's really rare."

Yi Ting and Mu Zhenzhen both laughed. Yi Ting said: "Miss Shang is of course blessed to marry such a reasonable man as the young master. Both Zhenzhen and I have a hard life. Zhenzhen still has a father. I don't even know who my parents are."

You know, she sold me when I was six years old. Fortunately, my mistress was kind and I didn't suffer much." As Yi Ting said this, he and Mu Zhenzhen walked on the field road one after another. The weather was bright and clear in the summer.

Although it has not rained for several months, the Jian Lake has not been affected. The grass on the field ridges is green, the fields are lined with mulberry trees, and the large rice fields are glowing under the early summer sun. You can smell the grass, seedlings and green air in your nose.

, at this moment, the two maids Yi Ting and Mu Zhenzhen felt that their fate was not bad. They had grown up safely, and their master treated them well. They were walking on the road in the field, feeling really good——

Zhang Yuan, Shi Shuang and others followed the tenant farmer Xie Qifu around the more than 100 acres of farmland. Zhang Yuan saw that the canal that diverted water from Jianhu Lake was blocked. If the water level of Jianhu Lake dropped another foot, the lake would not be able to divert the water.

The seedlings would wither quickly without water, so he said to Xie Qifu and the four tenant farmers: "Your water truck must be ready. It will not work without diverting water to irrigate the fields. Also, the ditch must be dredged."

Xie Qifu said that both waterwheels were broken. He had just rented two oxen to plow the fields and paid official taxes. The four families could not raise money for the time being. Zhang Yuan went to the thatched shed to take a look. The two waterwheelers were

The cart was made in the 12th year of Wanli. It has been rarely used and has not been well maintained. It has become rotten. He then said: "I will help you four families with one tael of silver. If you don't have enough, you four families can pool their money together and quickly find a carpenter to build a water cart."

This cannot be delayed, and we must work hard to dredge that section of the canal so that water can be diverted."

Xie Qifu and the other four were overjoyed and quickly kowtowed to thank each other.

It was already lunch time. Xie Qifu had already ordered his wife to kill a chicken and take a nap.

Village brewing, five or six dishes were put together to entertain Zhang Yuan and the other five. When Zhang Yuan came this time, he specially asked Shi Shuang to buy two baskets of cakes and desserts for the children of the four tenant farmers. How could the tenants buy such cakes in the past?

It was given to the children, so the six or seven children of the four tenants ate the cakes happily.

Shi Shuang and Yi Ting did not dare to dine at the same table with the young master. Zhang Yuan said: "How about I let Lao Xie and the others cook another table for you? Sit down, sit together." Shi Shuang and the four people sat down around the square table and walked around.

After traveling all morning, the five of them were hungry and had a great appetite. Zhang Yuan said with a smile: "Farm food is delicious." In fact, the fish, meat and vegetables in Shanyin City are also picked up by villagers from the suburbs and sold in the city.

, could it be that Shi Shuang’s wife Cuigu’s cooking skills are not as good as Xie Qifu’s wife?

After lunch, Zhang Yuan went to the nearby Ma Taishou Temple to burn three sticks of incense on the statue of Ma Taishou. The temple was somewhat dilapidated. After wiping away the remaining monuments, Zhang Yuan saw a poem written by Wang Shipeng, the champion of the Southern Song Dynasty, when he rebuilt the Ma Taishou Temple: "

Since the time when the prefect of the Eastern Capital Dynasty succeeded to the throne, the construction of Kuaiji has never been able to make the people of Yue nostalgic for their virtues, and even today the temples are built in Hejiahu."

The weather in the mountains has been good for many years, and there are no droughts or floods, so no one would think of offering sacrifices to Taishou Ma. It is estimated that the temple of Taishou Ma will become more popular in the future.

The red sun was setting in the west, and the awning boat was rowing across Jianhu Lake towards Shanyin County. The sculls hit the water rhythmically. Zhang Yuan closed his eyes and listened to the sound of water under the boat. He was thinking about the natural disasters of the Little Ice Age, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He is not a local official, and even a local official has limited role. Even water towns like Shaoxing are suffering from drought, and the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty is really in decline. All Zhang Yuan can do now is to take care of his several households of tenant farmers and help them survive.

In a famine year, it is estimated that even if the fields near Jian Lake are hit by a disaster, the harvest will not be lost. Also, a charity warehouse has been set up. This matter must be reported to Zhang Rushuang, the ancestor of the clan. The establishment of a charity warehouse to stock up on disaster relief grains must be implemented as soon as possible——

In the evening of that day, Zhang Yuan went to Xizhang Beiyuan to meet his uncle Zhang Rushuang after dinner. He told about what he saw when he left the city today and the fact that Lu Yunpeng and others thanked him for the land deed and money that day, and he wanted to use it to establish a charity warehouse. Zhang Rushuang frowned and said: "

You are only sixteen years old, and studying is your main business. Isn't this a bit over-attentive?"

Zhang Yuandao: "My descendants believe that in knowing there is action, and in doing there is knowledge. They read the books of sages and sages to understand the principles of the world, and they want to apply them in practice. This kind of knowledge is true knowledge. They read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles, and just immerse themselves in the study."

All I have learned is stale knowledge, how can I help the world at the same time?"

Zhang Rushuang laughed, nodded and said: "You have an open mind and great ambitions. It's very good. My uncle is willing to help with this matter. Can you think of what to name this charity warehouse?"

Zhang Yuandao: "I'm just going to borrow my uncle's reputation. Please give me a name."

Zhang Rushuang thought for a moment and said, "How about calling it Yanghe Yicang?" Yanghe was the nickname of Zhang Yuanshuang's father, the number one scholar Zhang Yuanbian.

Zhang Yuan said happily: "Very good."

Zhang Rushuang said: "The preparations for the construction of the warehouse must be reported to the Minghou County Magistrate. The Hou County Magistrate is your teacher. You tell him yourself that if you want to use my name to do things, I will follow you, but these things have to wait for the government."

Let’s talk about it after the exam results are released. If you pass the prefectural exam, you were born a child, and I will donate rice and three hundred stones to the charity warehouse. If you fail the prefectural exam, then don’t mention anything."

Zhang Yuan crossed his hands and said, "Yes."

But Zhang Rushuang laughed and said: "If you are lucky enough to win the government examination case, then I will donate 500 shi, haha."

Zhang Yuanxin said: "The current price of rice is about one tael of silver and two shi. Five hundred shi of rice is two hundred and fifty taels of silver. Two hundred and fifty doesn't sound good, but the price of rice will rise soon. In a few months, the price of rice will double."

It’s not surprising at all.”

Zhang Yuan returned to Dongzhang's house. It was already dark and the moon had not yet risen. Da Shitou came to report that the magistrate Hou had sent a disciple to summon him for questioning. Zhang Yuan didn't know what was going on, so he hurriedly followed him with Wu Ling.

That man went to the county government——

For the Shaoxing Prefectural Examination, there are tens of thousands of candidates and 20,000 eight-part essays. Calculated as 400 words per article, that is 8 million words. The marking and evaluation must be completed within half a month. If Xu Shijin, the prefect, is responsible for it alone, then

It was absolutely impossible to complete. Xu Shijin summoned the county magistrates and county academic edicts from the eight counties of Shaoxing Prefecture to the government office to review the papers together. In this way, together with him and the Shaoxing Fuxue professors, there were eighteen people. The burden was greatly reduced, and each county

The county magistrates and magistrates are responsible for the examination papers in their own counties. There are 300 preliminary candidates, and a total of 2,400 candidates are selected in the eight counties. After the preliminary selection is completed, the eight county magistrates and magistrates each return to their respective counties, and the remaining grading will be done by

Xu Shijin and Professor of Fu Xue completed——

On April 9th, all candidates from the eight counties finished their government examinations. On the 12th, the preliminary examinations began, and on the 18th, the preliminary examinations were completed. Hou Zhihan, the magistrate of Shanyin County, returned to the county government and asked his disciples to spread the news that Zhang Yuan had met Zhang Yuan. Hou Zhihan said

: "Zhang Yuan, today's prefectural examination primary election has ended. Of the more than 1,600 candidates in Shanyin County, 300 have passed the primary election. Then Xu Zhifu will admit 120 children from these 300 people. The children are

There is a quota limit. Shanyin and Kuaiji are large counties, with 120 people, and the other six counties all have 100 people. I called you here today because I want to ask you how you solved the two eight-part essays.

?”

Zhang Yuan then recited the breaking and leading themes of the two art pieces "Zhao Meng's Place" and "A Gentleman Yu Yuyi" to the county magistrate Hou. Hou Zhihan frowned and said: "It seems that these two art pieces are not among the 300 people I selected.

, what’s going on, did I miss something?”…

Hou Zhihan has high hopes for Zhang Yuan. If Zhang Yuan fails to pass the preliminary examination, he will be very frustrated. He promoted Zhang Yuan to be the head of the case. If Zhang Yuan cannot pass the examination, it means that he has no knowledge of people.

Ming, but based on his memory, it seemed that he had never read Zhang Yuan's two eight-part essays, so he asked Zhang Yuan to recite the two eight-part essays to him completely to confirm that he had never read this examination paper——

Hou Zhihan thought to himself: "Could it be that Xu Shijin deliberately suppressed Zhang Yuan and took away Zhang Yuan's test papers? This is too much!" He asked Zhang Yuan about the situation when he handed in the papers that day, and heard Zhang Yuan say that Xu Zhifu had done something to him.

He appreciated the craftsmanship of the article, and Hou Zhihan laughed and said: "You didn't tell me earlier, which made me worry about you in vain. It seems that Xu Zhifu has already adopted you as a child. Well, you go back and wait for the good news."

Well, I've been so tired these days that I feel dizzy. I need to take a rest early.

Zhang Yuan returned to his house and spent the next few days reading, practicing calligraphy, playing with his two nephews, and waiting for the government examination results to be released.

Before noon on April 24, Zhang Yuan was reading the 23rd volume of "Selected Works of Zhaoming" in the west building study. This volume selected ancient poems from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The poetry of the Wei and Jin Dynasties has a kind of straightforwardness. It is really exciting to read good poems.

Feeling refreshed and refreshed, I couldn't help but recite loudly: "The Qiu Qiu has a beautiful and serene appearance, and the flying giant sounds far away. The thin sky is ashamed of the clouds, and the river is sinking into the abyss. I am weak in virtue and wisdom, and I have no power to return to the farm. I am partial to wealth and rebel.

The poor sea is lying on the empty forest. The pillow is still unclear about the festival, and the race is open for a while. I listen to the waves with my ears, and look up at the rugged landscape. The first scenery changes to the wind, and the new sun changes to the old shade. Spring grass grows in the pond, and the willows in the garden change.

Ming

…”
To be continued...