Farming and reading family

Cao Geng was not sure whether Deng Yu would do so.

If these provincial officials can control the iron bucket of the government, they will become local tyrants, and even the emperor will be helpless.

"When that time comes, if I want to continue to be an official, I can only accept money." Cao Geng said helplessly.

Gao E understood that Deng Yu might really do this: "I understand."

Cao Geng glanced at Gao E with a somewhat apologetic look: "Am I being a cowardly official?"

He knew very well that if it were not for Gao E's honeycomb coal, He County would definitely be in trouble due to firewood shortage.

"The emperor is not happy either. It's normal to have some things that he can't do anything about." Gao E smiled.

Cao Geng smiled bitterly and nodded: "There is one more thing."

"Please speak, Lord Cao." Gao E felt that it was not a good thing.

"It hasn't snowed this winter, and the grain prices in He County remain high. I'm worried that they will go up again after the New Year, and then life will become even more difficult for the people." Cao Geng glanced at Gao E.

He knew that Gao E had stockpiled a lot of food, and wanted to tell Gao E in advance so that Gao E could help the people of He County.

"When Hexian County was hit by floods, a lot of land was bought by landlords. Now, in order to make money, those landlords have planted mulberry trees on the fertile fields, which will definitely lead to a decrease in grain production in Hexian County."

"If most of this grain is in the hands of landlords, they are likely to take the opportunity to drive up grain prices, leaving ordinary people with no way out," Gao E analyzed.

Cao Geng nodded: "That's the truth."

"So it's useless for Lord Cao to tell me." Gao E guessed Cao Geng's intention. "I do have some food reserves here, but I also have many people. In addition, the honeycomb coal business is subject to various regulations. I can't ignore my own people and manage others."

Cao Geng knew this was the truth: "I am the father and mother of He County. I can't just watch the people become desperate."

"If everyone in He County really has no food, we can work together and survive by relying on grass roots and tree bark. But now some people have a lot of food and are trying to use it to force others into a desperate situation. This is the problem that Lord Cao needs to solve," Gao E reminded.

Cao Geng sighed, knowing that Gao E didn't want to get involved in this matter.

The two of them didn't continue talking about this. After chatting for a while, Cao Geng stood up and said goodbye.

After sending Cao Geng away, Gao E thought seriously that if that time really came, someone would definitely target her.

There are many streams flowing down from the mountains in Batou Village, so the ground is not dry even when it doesn't snow.

But it’s hard to say about other places. If the drought continues, the winter seedlings will probably die of drought.

But if it's just a drought, there won't be any major chaos in the next two or three years.

Besides, there is Dou Shui on the side of He County, which has a large amount of water and will not dry up quickly.

After thinking about it, Gao E stopped thinking about it. People can think about the long term, but they cannot only think about the long term.

After Laba Festival, Jin Gusheng brought back a piece of news that people selling honeycomb coal in Qinzhou City started to go to Jiming Mountain to buy honeycomb coal.

After paying the supervision fee, the prefect also collected a cleaning fee. As a result, the price of honeycomb coal doubled. After calculating, they felt that the price was not as good as buying ready-made ones from Jiming Mountain, where the quality was better.

The price of honeycomb coal in Jiming Mountain has not changed, but the freight to Qinzhou City has been reduced, so it is more profitable than before.

These are all big customers, so there is not much loss, and they usually transport several large trucks at a time.

Gao E had never thought of this result before. She just thought that after the price of honeycomb coal increased, someone would go directly to Jiming Mountain to buy it, but she didn't expect that the first people to react were the people selling honeycomb coal.

In any case, this is a good thing for Gao E.

Their profits were already good at the previous prices, and they had no intention of raising prices.

Things change unpredictably, and in the end she still started selling honeycomb coal to other shops.

Nowadays, people in Jiming Mountain sell as much as they make, and they probably won’t be able to take a few days off even during the Chinese New Year.

She handed the matter over to Jin Gusheng and started to busy herself with the New Year gifts.

There was also the matter that Cao Geng had asked her about before. She planned to turn all the old grain she had bought before into marching rations and store them.

This way, even if you encounter any extreme situation, you can put it away.

I was busy like this until the Chinese New Year.

The Chen family had a recent funeral and did not hang red Spring Festival couplets or visit relatives during the New Year, so the day before the Lei family closed, Gao E invited her servants to Huanxi to cook a meal.

Yu Zhao was also invited this time. Now he is living a good life with the property he had acquired before. The two maids who follow him are also pregnant, so his life has hope.

Only You Wei and Xie Changyao were allowed to come from Jiming Village.

It's true that there is no acquaintance without fighting. Chen Jie now has a good relationship with these two people.

Everyone had a lively meal together and then spent the New Year on their own.

"My second brother hasn't come back yet. Is he not coming back for the New Year?" Chen Jie was a little disappointed.

"When your second brother was traveling, he said it might take a long time. Luo Dagang is with him, so you don't have to worry." Gao E said with a smile.

Chen Jie thought about it and nodded with a smile: "Only when you live a good life can you go far. We should be happy."

He suddenly thought that their business would grow bigger and bigger in the future, and his second brother didn't know where he would become an official, so it would not be easy for them to get together.

But everyone is getting better.

The New Year in Batou Village and Luoyun Village is extremely lively. Farmers can be happy only when the crops in the fields grow well and there is surplus food at home.

This year, Chen Ke was missing from the group of three brothers, so Chen Qing and Chen Jie found the wine tasted a bit bland.

"My second brother is really boring. He doesn't talk much and always bows before speaking. It feels like something is missing when he's not around." Chen Jie sighed.

Chen Qing laughed: "You are missing your second brother."

Chen Jie did think about it.

In fact, they don’t interact much in normal times, but knowing that the other person is well at home makes him feel at ease.

Now that I'm not at home, I'm always thinking about you.

"Your second brother will definitely be fine." Chen Qing said as if to assure.

"Well, what could happen to my second brother? Let's drink." Chen Jie felt a little disappointed.

Since Luo Dagang was not at home, Lianxin went to Gao E's house to celebrate the New Year. There were not many people at her home anyway.

Gao E feels at ease as everyone at home is familiar to her.

It’s just that there was no snow this year, so the children had less fun. The noisy ones played Cuju in the yard, while the quiet ones played Huarong Dao in the house.

As long as you get a bunch of kids together and have a few pebbles, they can play all day long.

Luo Qing'er glanced outside from time to time, as if waiting for someone.

"Are you waiting for Ji Wuyang?" Gao E asked directly.

"You are a very heartless person. You don't even come back for the New Year." Luo Qing'er was indeed waiting for Ji Wuyang.

She thought Ji Wuyang would come back during the New Year, but after the New Year's Eve dinner was over, he was still nowhere to be seen.

"If you want to see him, just go find him. It's not a big deal." Gao E said with a smile.

"I'm just worried about you." Luo Qing'er glanced at Gao E. "Without my protection, what will you do if you encounter bad guys?"

"Can't you just expect me to do something good?" Gao E said unhappily.

The two men were joking when the sound of horse hooves was heard outside.