An eight-year-old kid emptied his scumbag father's warehouse and followed his grandparents into

"Village Chief Li, my father asked me to prepare a small gift. I hope you will accept it."

Li Cunzi took the food box handed to him by Jing Changning and casually placed it on the tea table without even looking at it.

But when the piece of rice paper was handed to him, he immediately touched the first piece, then his eyes lit up, and he turned around and carefully placed it on the wooden shelf behind him.

Even the Hu brush was examined a few more times. Although he didn't know how to look at it, he knew it must be a good thing, so he still placed it carefully next to the rice paper.

After putting it away, he turned around with a faint smile on his face. He was in his early fifties and had been the village chief for more than 20 years. He knew countless people, so it was naturally not something that ordinary people could do. Although he was a small old man, his eyes were extremely shrewd.

He warmly invited Jing Changning to sit down: "Please! Please!"

Jing Changning poured him a cup of tea and took a sip. The strong old tea was a little smooth in the mouth and had a light orange fragrance, which was rare in the village.

Jing Changning: "This tea is good. It's sweet on the palate, and the aroma of the tangerine peel is refreshing."

The village chief was surprised: "Do people in the north also drink tangerine peel tea?"

Jing Changning said frankly, "In the past, there was an official from Lingnan who would often make a cup of tangerine peel tea when he was on duty. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to taste it."

Speaking of officials, the village chief's eyes lit up and then narrowed. Seeing that Jing Changning was wearing a long gown of ordinary material today, but he was well-mannered, with elegant manners and humble courtesy, he tentatively said: "It seems that the young master also had an official title in the past."

The only information handed over between the village and the county government was the simple names, genders and number of people. The specific circumstances of the prisoners were not clear, so they could only guess.

"I am a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Daqing." Jing Changning was too modest to tell anyone his ranking in the imperial examination, but he still had to know what he needed to know. After all, he would be the main person they would deal with in the future. He no longer had an official position and his fame was cancelled, but his vast knowledge was still in his mind.

Being able to read and write and serving as an official in the court will always make you look up to others. Scholars in all dynasties have been the most respected, so there is no need to deliberately conceal it.

After hearing this, the old village chief did not fully believe it, but his words and actions became respectful.

Seeing that his teacup was empty, the village chief poured him another cup, which made Li Xian next to him look at Jing Changning differently. He even moved his butt forward, which had been sitting down.

Later, seeing people coming in one after another, the two stopped talking and Jing Changning smiled slightly. This was also the reason why he arrived early.

There were two brothers who came to Jing Changming's house. Jing Yongjian brought Jing Daqing with him, and only Jing Yongqiang came alone.

The land contracts are drafted, and each family has a copy, which cannot be changed, so there is no need to discuss it at all.

Seeing that they all knew how to read, I let them take a quick look at it and then sign their names.

When taking people to see the land, Village Chief Li did not go out, and the village chiefs from each village still led the way.

Before leaving, Village Chief Li specifically asked his daughter-in-law to pack a bag of dried tangerine peel for Jing Changning, and personally told him: "Many people suffer from acclimatization problems in Lingnan. They suffer from dry mouth, itchy throat, cough, and poor appetite. Drinking a cup of tea every day can relieve these symptoms. Dried tangerine peel is also very good for making soup."

Jing Changning happily took it, thanked him, and handed it to Dalang as he went out.

Since they had nothing to do at home, the two boys followed after eating. Dalang, as the eldest grandson of the Jing family, knew that he had a heavy responsibility and wanted to see what kind of land his family would get. Erlang followed purely out of curiosity. However, since there were five more people in their family, they did not go in and waited at the door.

Seeing the village chief politely escorting people out, Jing Changning's handsome appearance and the large number of people following him naturally piqued his curiosity. When they went to look at the land again, several village chiefs were very respectful to Jing Changning. They also wanted to get close to him, so Jing Changning answered every question. He took this opportunity to introduce these people in his family and build a closer relationship with them, so as to avoid difficulties in getting things done in the village in the future.

The head of Majiatun also asked Jing Changming and his brother about the situation of their families. Jing Changming answered them one by one. As for the closeness of their relationship, he said they were all relatives.

I thought we would separate after we went out and be taken to our own villages, but I didn't expect that four village chiefs would come together and let them follow us. They were heading in the direction of Xiushui Village yesterday, and the road became more and more familiar as we walked.

After a little inquiry, Jing Yongjian found out that all the uncultivated land in the village was to the east of his home, and that the land of several families was connected together.

Jing Changning chatted with Li Xian as he walked, and took the opportunity to ask him some questions.

Li Xian: "As long as the rent is paid in full, the county government won't do anything. But they'll come every ten days to count the number of people, and during the busy farming season they'll come to urge you to pay. If you can't grow enough crops and can't pay the rent, you'll be punished. In serious cases, they might even send you to a farm. But no one in the village has ever been punished like that."

Jing Changning: "Isn't there usually anyone watching?"

Li Xian: "How can the higher-ups have so much free time? They've handed it all over to the village. Even the village chief has to report regularly, and he has to bring the paperwork and forms for your work, and he also has to get the signatures of every household head."

Jing Changning breathed a sigh of relief. This way, the county would delegate authority to the village for management, and become a hands-off boss. That would make things much easier for them.

You must pay enough food, and then maintain good relations with the village chief and the head of the town, so that there is no chaos among the neighbors.

This result is much better than they originally imagined. They should be able to do something of their own during the slack season.

The land they were allocated was four or five miles away from Jing Yongjian's home. It was also a sandy land common on the seashore. Grandpa Xiaobei went up and grabbed a handful of soil and squeezed it with his hands. The soil was still a little moist, but it fell apart as soon as he let go after squeezing it hard. It had no stickiness at all.

He said, "This soil is fine for growing sweet potatoes, potatoes, and radishes, but not rice."

Jing Changning knew something was wrong and quickly asked Li Xian, "We can't grow rice? Why is the rent we signed in the contract for rice?"

Planting radishes and vegetables and having to pay for rice, isn't this a scam? The others were also shocked, thinking they had been dug a pit and were jumping into it.

Li Xian was slightly embarrassed, but he also spread his hands and said: "The county government only accepts rice, there is nothing we can do."

Another village chief nearby also explained: "The exiled prisoners all signed the same contract, there is no bias in the village.

Even if you are a tenant who rents land, there is no reason for you to send radishes and vegetables to the landlord's house."

After listening to this, Jing Changning began to understand a little bit.

Li Xian said kindly, "I've rented the land to you. You can try to grow more and harvest more. We can grow two crops of rice a year, but the yield is not high. The annual rent you just signed is 300 kilograms per mu, and the yield is also calculated at a low level. It's not a loss.

I suggest you plant a variety of crops. If you work hard and plant more and harvest more, the harvest will be just as good as rice. You can also feed your family with these grains, and when the time comes, you can sell them and exchange them for rice to pay the rent."

Seeing that they were silent, except for Jing Changning, the other families were full of thoughts. After measuring the land, several village heads also left. Before leaving, they were all polite to Jing Changning and asked him to come over for a drink when he had time.

In front of me was a piece of uncultivated land, but there were not many weeds and no big rocks. It was very flat and it was not difficult to cultivate it.

Jing Changning also explained the rent payment issue to everyone. Everyone understood the meaning and knew that the contract could not be changed, but they were still worried about the problem of not being able to make ends meet.

I am also worried about what to plant. Every family has many elderly, young women and children. How can I plant so much land?

PS: This year has passed so quickly, and the new year is about to begin. Remember to give me your pink votes.