Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Chapter 1153 Guan Zhuangzi

That's really rare. Even if she were to do something like this, she might not be able to do it.

She started doing business at the age of eight and has been doing it for so many years. Except for the old lady she met in the first year when she was looking for Zhou Su and Zhou Dacang, she has never supported any elderly person in these years.

She would rather sell them fertilizer, teach them how to farm and be self-reliant, than take in an old man.

All the old people who were accepted as part of Wu Jiang's group became servants of her Zhou family and signed a contract.

Elder Chu said: "Not all of them. There are only about ten people like this. The others are the brothers' parents."

These were things they picked up on the road. They looked really pitiful and they were kind people. I felt that this was not the way they should be in their old age.

Zhou Guo said: "That's already amazing. In this world, it's rare to be able to take in a few elderly people who are not related and can no longer work."

Food is so hard to come by now.

Especially in the south, there have been wars and conquests year after year, and people have been wiped out. Large tracts of land are left fallow and no one is farming. Where does the food come from?

Wu Lazi said, "Sir, it's nothing. There's plenty of land on the mountain. We just need to open it up. Don't look at these old people who look sick and weak, as if they will fall down at the slightest gust of wind. But they are not bad at farm work at all. They are better than many young people. They can support themselves on the mountain and don't cause much trouble to others."

Xiong Lao San nodded, "That's right, especially those old hands, they are very good at farming, the things they grow are better than those grown by others, I don't know what secret they use."

Zhou Guo didn't say anything. The old man had been farming for his entire life, year after year, so naturally he knew more farming tricks than the young people.

She had visited several cities last year and there seemed to be quite a few people there.

I didn't expect that there would be so few people along the way.

She asked Wu Jiang, "How common is this situation in the south?"

Wu Jiang nodded. "Many, but the prefecture and county towns are not very obvious, especially in the countryside like this. These villages, especially those near the official roads, are only one in ten. There is no one in the village. The weeds are taller than the houses. It can be seen that no one has lived there for many years."

Zhou Guo didn't say anything.

Wu Jiang continued, "Master, in a place like this, it has been dry in recent years. It is not easy to sell our fertilizer. There is no one."

The prerequisite for harvesting grain is that there must be people. If there are no people, how can ghosts plant the land?

Zhou Guo sighed. Once the world is stabilized, those injured logistical personnel in Xu's army can be resettled and sent back home.

With a few acres of land, some salary, and two thatched houses, you can live a stable life.

She looked at the sky, hoping that day would come sooner.

After walking for three days, at noon that day, the team only had the last bit of food left. If the lunch food was finished, there would be no dinner yet.

There was a large group of people waiting in front, and when they saw them coming, they all stood up.

A man on horseback came galloping over, and stopped his horse a few feet away from Zhou Guo. Seeing Zhou Guo, he laughed loudly, "Boss, are you really here?"

Zhou Guo laughed and said, "Why are you white again?"

Qian Duo said, "You don't know, I have been planting your cloud ears on the farm these days. My wife brought them from the north, and they are quite effective. By next year, we will be able to plant a large number of cloud ears on our farm, and we can make a lot of money by selling them."

Wu Jiang said: "Let's find an open space to rest and eat something."

Several people said goodbye.

Chu Dangjia and Xiong Laosan who were standing by were a little stunned. They heard Qian Duo calling her "Big Boss" all the time. It turned out that she was really the bandit leader, just like them. They thought she might be deceiving them before.

Zhou Guo said to Qian Duo, "Come, let me introduce them to you. This one is the head of Wu, this one is the head of Xiong, and this one is the head of Chu. They are all brothers in our Haoguo Escort Agency now. We are all in the same industry. You should tell them about the Escort Agency in the future."

Qian Duo looked at them and bowed, "I've heard a lot about you. I'm the second in command of our village. I can't compare with you guys who are the big bosses."

Mr. Chu returned the greeting and said, "I don't deserve it. What department do you manage in the escort agency?"

Qian Duo laughed, "I don't manage the escort agency. I can't do that. Our Third Master is the chief escort. He just returned to the Northland not long ago. Otherwise, you can ask him for more advice."

When several people heard that he was not from the escort agency, they were even more surprised, "I wonder what the second in command is doing now?"

I haven't heard that Zhou Guo has other things to do. I only heard that he owns a few snack shops in the north, and he should also have some land. If he can't be the shopkeeper, he can't go farming, right?

Qian Duo laughed and said, "I am now the head of the village. It is quite fun. It is much more interesting than being the second in command."

Several people were stunned. Did he really go to farm?

What else does the head of the village do if not farming?

Zhou Guo looked at the expressions of several people and smiled: "He likes to do this, he likes to stay on the farm. In addition to managing the farm, he also takes care of other things."

Before Wu Jiang came, several prefectures in the south were all borne on his shoulders. Now that Wu Jiang has come, he can't take care of so many things, so they are now in charge of two people.

Several people nodded, finding it incredible that someone would like to stay on the farm. Isn't that just doing farm work?

When you go out in the mountains, you see nothing but mountains and soil. They deal with soil every day, and what they grow in the fields cannot feed so many people, even if there is no tax to pay in the mountains.

They had to think of other ways.

Zhou Guo said: "We are all family from now on. We will have many more places to interact with each other. Get to know each other better. Ask whatever you want to ask. Don't worry too much."

Qian Duo said: "You are right. If you don't understand something in the future, just ask our chief steward Wu. He knows much more than me and is very capable. You can ask me more about the farm and the farmland. I won't tell you anything else. I am afraid that even the head of the family cannot compare with me in terms of farmland affairs."

Zhou Guo smiled and said, "It seems that you manage the several manors in the south very well. I have to go and take a look."

Wu Jiang said, "Master, the cloud ears of the Qian family have been planted. There are quite a lot of them. There are fruit trees planted on several hills on the farm, and the ground under the trees is used to plant cloud ears."

Cloud ear fungus is not cheap in the south either. A pound can be sold for at least 60 or 70 cents. If you grow it in large quantities, you can't expect to make as much money as flower mushrooms and sheep mushrooms, but you can at least make some money.

She asked Qian Duo, "If you grow these cloud ears, how much do you plan to sell them for per pound?"

Qian Duo was stunned. "Isn't this your business? I am only responsible for planting, not selling. I am not good at selling things!"

Wu Jiang said, "I've inquired about it. Cloud ears in the south are also divided into grades. The top-grade cloud ears taste different from the ordinary ones. One pound can be sold for seven or eight hundred coins. The best ones are four or five, the medium ones are two or three hundred, one or two hundred, and the lowest ones are dozens of coins, not less than fifty coins per pound. The ones that are fifty or sixty coins per pound are not of very good quality."