After traveling through time, she still led the villagers to make money as a county magistrate

What Gu Niannian lacks now is someone who knows how to make candy. She understands the basic production process and has seen villagers make it before, but after all, she has never made it herself.

I always feel a little panicky

After all, many things are one thing in theory, but another thing in practice.

As the saying goes, "What you learn from books is always shallow; you must practice it to truly understand it."

But Xu Yingfeng shook his head and said, "I've never made it. I've seen the method in a book. During the Autumn Examination this time, I had the opportunity to try it. It's really delicious. Compared to brown sugar, it's purer and has a more delicate taste."

"The price was too high. It cost one tael of silver to buy one tael of sugar, so I only bought one tael."

Gu Niannian naturally knew that the price was expensive. "It's expensive, so you can make money and our county can become rich."

"Come on, take us to see the sugarcane first. If it's possible, we can start the sugar-making workshop."

After saying that, Gu Niannian walked out of the door. The other three followed closely behind.

……

Gu Niannian looked at the fields of sugarcane, her heart filled with joy. She broke off a piece, tore off the green skin, took a bite and chewed it carefully.

"Hmm~ It's not sweet enough yet, but it will be almost sweet in two months."

Gu Niannian held the sugarcane, put her hands behind her back, and walked slowly on the edge of the field.

At this time, the first season of rice has been harvested on the ridges of the fields, and the second season of seedlings has just been planted.

Xu Yingfeng caught up with Gu Niannian and said, "Thanks to your advice this year, the people have grown a lot more rice than they used to pay taxes. Now almost every household can eat rice."

Gu Niannian, who had been lowering her head, suddenly raised it with a sharp gaze, "Do your tenants and servants have enough rice to eat?"

Xu Yingfeng was suddenly questioned and was unable to answer. Before that training, his parents never let him take care of the farm work. So he didn't care much about such things.

After that study, I came back to teach those tenant farmers how to farm, so I had to go to the fields. After talking with them, I found that there are too many people in the world who have no choice. Selling themselves into slavery is not what they want. Most people are forced by the situation. They also want to have land to farm and be free.

He asked his father, "Why don't they have land to farm?"

The father just touched his head and said, "We are employers, and they are hired slaves. They are either immigrants who don't have any land, or they have sold their land because they owe money. We pay them to work, so they have a way to make a living, and our land is cultivated by people. How can we have the best of both worlds?"

"So we helped him?"

Father Xu stroked his beard and said, "You can say that they can at least survive here with us."

"If they want to redeem themselves, can they do it?"

Xu Yingfeng continued to ask questions

"Of course, as long as you have money, they can redeem themselves with the same amount as I paid them."

Father Xu frowned, and his tone was slightly angry.

"But they don't get paid here, how can they redeem themselves?"

Yes, you can make a living by working for the Xu family, but there is no salary. However, this is considered good there, as there are many people who beat and scold tenants at any time.

"Son, I shouldn't have let you attend that training. After you came back, you kept asking me some strange questions."

"Many things have been around since ancient times, and the rules were set by our ancestors, so how can they be changed?"

Father Xu calmed his tone and explained patiently:

"Just because it has existed since ancient times, it is correct?"

Xu Yingfeng's words made Xu's father angry again

Father Xu cursed as he stroked his chest, "Rebellious son, rebellious son, are you trying to go back to your ancestors..."

Xu's mother hurried forward to help her husband calm down. No matter how much she doted on her son on normal days, she couldn't bear to see it. "Yingfeng, don't talk back to your father anymore. Go back to your room... and reflect on the past."

Xu Yingfeng also truly reflected on himself for a while, but after thinking about it, he still believed that he was not wrong. How could the rules set by the ancestors be guaranteed to be correct?

But he also learned to be smart and tried not to go against his father.

Seeing that Xu Yingfeng didn't say anything, Gu Niannian realized that her words were too sharp. In this era, it was very normal for rich farmers to have slaves and tenants. Didn't she also have slaves in her own family?

This was inevitable in the feudal period, and she was also a beneficiary of it. Moreover, people's thoughts cannot be changed overnight.

Xu Yingfeng wasn't the main person in charge, so Gu Niannian walked over and patted Xu Yingfeng on the shoulder. "I heard your family opened a chili workshop. Can you take me to have a look?"

Xu Yingfeng raised his head and said, "Sir, may I ask you a question?"

"Say"

Gu Niannian continued to walk slowly with her hands behind her back

Xu Yingfeng followed beside him, his voice resonant and powerful, "The rules set by our ancestors are correct? Can't they be changed? Just because they have been in place since ancient times, they must be right?"

Gu Niannian paused when he heard this. He didn't expect that this young boy would ask such a question. Logically speaking, they were all educated and raised under the feudal etiquette system, and they respected the ancestral etiquette and rules the most.

He had to think carefully about how to answer so that this young and courageous boy would understand and accept it. Gu Niannian paused and continued to walk slowly forward.

After a long while, so long that Xu Yingfeng thought he couldn't answer, Gu Niannian finally spoke slowly, "Why do you ask that?"

Xu Yingfeng recounted the content of his conversation with his father one by one.

After listening to this, Gu Niannian slowly said, "Ancestors are also human beings. They were just born a few decades or hundreds of years earlier than us. They are worthy of our respect. In dozens or hundreds of years, we will also be the elders of the next generation. Ancestors, can you guarantee that the rules you set now will be suitable for the next generation?"

Xu Yingfeng shook his head, "I can't guarantee it."

Gu Niannian said, "That's right. When there's not enough food and famine hits, people can't eat and have to sell themselves into slavery to get enough food. This is human nature. But if there's enough food and everyone can eat their fill and wear warm clothes, will they still be willing to sell themselves into slavery and work like slaves for others? Will the power of life and death be in the hands of others?"

Xu Yingfeng paused and lowered his head in thought.

By the time he figured it out, Gu Niannian, Li Jing and Xu Minghao were already walking towards his home.

He quickly quickened his pace to catch up.

"Do you understand?" Gu Niannian asked when she saw him catching up.

Xu Yingfeng pursed his lips and nodded, "Yeah"

"Come on, take us to see your workshop."

……

Xu Yingfeng's home was not far from Xu Minghao's. When he was a hundred meters away from the door, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a navy blue robe and a Putou hat looking out the door.

Xu Yingfeng ran over and asked, "Dad, what are you doing at this door?"

Father Xu had already noticed the person behind Xu Yingfeng and pulled him aside.

"My dear gentlemen, I am sorry for not coming to greet you. Please come in."

Although Father Xu had never met the county magistrate, he had met the county magistrate Li Jing. Who else could stand in front of the county magistrate except the county magistrate?

After the three of them walked inside, Xu's father grabbed his son and asked, "What's wrong with you, rebellious son? Why did you come here with the county magistrate?"

"We happened to meet. When my son went to Minghao's house, the adults were there."

Xu Yingfeng put on an innocent expression

Father Xu pointed at his son and said, "I'll settle the score with you later."

Then he followed her into the door