The Big Landlord

After some careful inquiries, he learned that last year, that is, in 1992, the whole country implemented the policy of re-measurement of land. His hukou has been converted into a resident's hukou, and naturally there will be no more land. The land originally allocated to his family in 1979 Several acres of land have now been distributed to others. Not only the cultivated land, but also the reserved land and the Chaishan area were also allocated, and even the homestead where the house was located was allocated to someone else, just considering that he might come back, he kept the house.

The news was so sudden that Wang Ben was stunned when he heard it. He didn't expect that he didn't return for two years, and his family didn't even have an inch of land. He felt like he was abandoned by the village.

"You just came back, there is nothing in the house, come to our house for dinner at night," Ma Yunxiu was busy in the fields, so he didn't dare to wait any longer, and he was ready to leave after greeting.

"Okay!" Wang Ben didn't refuse. This kind of thing is already unaccustomed in the village. Whoever cooks something delicious on weekdays, let everyone share it. eat at home.

A plate of loofah, a plate of eggplant, two handfuls of raw peanuts, and a small bowl of sauce meat that I usually marinate in a jar, but I don’t want to take out to eat. I’ve simmered a big pot of rice. I want to eat as much as I want. This is Ma Yunxiu’s family 's dinner.

The four of them sat around the square table, Zhou Zhongfu poured two taels of bulk sorghum wine, took a sip from time to time, and frowned. Ma Yunxiu warmly persuaded Wang Ben to add vegetables, teasing Xiao Linglong from time to time, praising the little girl for her good looks, hearing Linglong's brows and smiling, her big eyes squinted into slits, she ate two bowls of rice, and her belly was swollen. .

"Uncle Tuesday, can our team contract the land?" Wang Ben asked while eating. After half an afternoon, he had accepted the fact that there was no land, and even went to the land that originally belonged to his family. , saw the food grown by others, but he was still not reconciled.

"Do you have to stay in the village to farm?" Zhou Zhongfu asked with concern after learning about the situation.

"Yes, I don't want to go out anymore, I plan to grow vegetables and sell them," Wang Ben nodded affirmatively.

"Then go to the village and ask to see who is willing to contract the land for you to plant. After a month or so at most, the crops can be harvested, and then you can plant." Zhou Zhongfu put down the wine glass in his hand and ordered one Cigarette helped come up with an idea. Now the young and middle-aged people of some families in the village have gone out to work, and the land at home cannot be cultivated, so there are beginning to be done by subcontracting the land to others.

"What is the contracting method, can the land of my family be contracted?" Wang Ben asked eagerly, staring at Zhou Zhongfu intently. The land used by his family was about five acres in total. No matter the soil quality, sunlight, and moisture content were good, the biggest advantage was that it was close to the road, and after all, he had been busy in it since he was a child, and he had some feelings. He wanted to Contract back to plant.

Zhou Zhongfu peeled a peanut, chewed it slowly in his mouth, and said calmly: "That's not clear, you have to ask to find out, the contracted land usually doesn't say money directly, it's all based on grain. For the discount, depending on the quality of each piece of land, the price is between 800 and 1,200 catties of rice, and the tenants are responsible for the public grain, agricultural tax, and withdrawals.”

Wang Ben pinched his fingers and figured it out. Now the rice is nearly 40 cents a pound, and it is estimated that it would cost more than 2,000 yuan to contract the land used by his family! Squeezing his dry pockets, he asked unconvincingly, "Uncle Tuesday, this land is contracted, can it be paid after the harvest, or can it be paid in installments, monthly or something?"

"No, there is no such rule in the village, and it is necessary to pay for one year before contracting," Zhou Zhongfu said with certainty.

Wang Ben was speechless and continued to eat with his head down.

He still has a total of 200 yuan on him. Even if he sells iron, he can't make up the contract fee for one year.

Rural families usually go to bed early, chatting in front of the black-and-white TV for a while, picking up some green vegetables and vegetable oil that Ma Yunxiu forcibly stuffed, and Wang Ben took Linglong home.

"Okay, let's go to sleep," he said softly to Linglong after he made the beds in the two side rooms and hung up the mosquito nets.

"No, I'm afraid, I want to sleep with you," Linglong shook her body, pouting her lips in a coquettish manner.

Glancing angrily, Wang Ben reluctantly threw Linglong into his bed, waiting for the little girl to become more familiar with this place.

"The little speaker has started broadcasting..."

He thought he could sleep peacefully and wake up naturally, but he would have been woken up by a burst of music just after dawn. The radio that he had not listened to in the past few years could still be called, and it was extremely loud. Wang Ben pouted and rolled over and got up. He picked up a pole and stabbed it twice, and the world finally returned to peace.

He continued to fall asleep until ten o'clock in the morning. The sun had already risen high, and the sun had been shining through the window for a long time. The villagers should have been in the field for a long time. The door, rubbing his eyes, this kind of day is really leisurely and comfortable.

Taking Xiao Linglong to the town, I was going to buy some daily necessities to go home. Walking on the country road, looking at the green land on both sides, he was a little disappointed. Without land, everything was useless. It was really a treasure, and there was no place to play.

"Drip!"

A car horn sounded from behind, and before they knew it, they had reached the road, and a truck was coming fast from the back, bringing bursts of smoke. This kind of road not far from the land is inevitably dusty.

Wang Ben hurriedly jumped to the very edge of the road, dragged Linglong into his arms, and used his back to block the invasion of dust and smoke. After a day of getting along, he unknowingly treated this little girl as a little sister, rather than a small labor force who just served him.

Feeling a piece of softness under his feet, he unconsciously glanced at the soil on the ground. When he raised his eyes to look around, he immediately raised his eyebrows and smiled happily: "Haha, there is a way!"

"Brother Ben, what are you happy about?" Linglong raised his head and asked suspiciously.

"Let's grow buckwheat on both sides of this road," Wang Ben raised his head, very excited.

There is a narrow dirt area on both sides of this road, which is relatively soft sandy land. Next to it is a shallow ditch. It is a good place to grow buckwheat. But there are not so many restrictions in the land. You can plant as far as you want along the road. If conditions permit, you can plant for dozens of kilometers, and the traffic is very convenient. Such a good place does not cost a penny, and in the season of late summer and early autumn, it is the best time to grow buckwheat. Wang Ben can't even think about it.

"Brother Benzi, you are really a rogue. You have no land to grow vegetables and occupy the road," Linglong smiled contemptuously.

"It's empty anyway, don't need to be white, hehe!" Wang Ben raised his brows and smiled smugly.

Humph, we don't have the money to contract the land, we still grow vegetables, the first step in the rise of rural life, let's do it!