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Chapter 304: Harvesting Potatoes, Harvesting Hope (Second Update!) )


Chen Laoshi's performance was perfect and the audition was a success.

He was immediately hired and became a member of the art team.

Chen Laoshi, who is about to start a new life, feels a little at a loss.

He still feels unbelievable until now.

That's why I was hired Chen Laoshi had never had any acting experience before and was just an honest farmer.

He stayed in the fields all day long, facing the loess with his back to the sky, and relying on the earth to dig for food.

His only wish is to own a few acres of land of his own and no longer have to be a sharecropper for others.

Now this wish has come true.

Chen Laoshi got his own land by reclaiming wasteland.

The only problem is that this year's harvest may not be very good.

But it doesn't matter.

Things will get better in the next few years when the fertility of the land increases.

Having enough food every day and having enough food at home are all Chen Laoshi's wishes.

He never thought that one day he would be able to eat royal food and earn two taels of silver a month.

That's two taels of silver.

If food prices no longer skyrocket, two taels of silver can buy at least one stone of rice.

Although it is not as good as it was during the Wanli period, food prices are generally stable and have not reached the point where the people cannot survive.

Besides, joining the art team does not affect his continued farming.

There are only ten performances a month, and even including rehearsal time, there is still a lot of time left for farming.

Chen Laoshi is not afraid of hard work.

On the contrary, he is a restless person.

If he were left there to rest and do nothing, he would still feel awkward.

If you farm by yourself, you don’t need to buy food.

Even if the other expenses add up to four taels of silver a year, you can still save twenty taels a year. twenty taels Chen Laoshi felt dizzy when he thought of this number.

He never thought in his life that he would one day have so much money, but now he can save so much in one year.

It’s really a good time to catch up.

Chen Laoshi is determined to perform well in the art team, work hard in acting, and keep his job no matter what.

The first potatoes ripen in May.

The Imperial Garden was busy.

Zhu Cixiang personally went to the fields to collect potatoes.

Under the inspiration of the emperor, all the eunuchs and guards also started working hard.

This scene was unimaginable in the past.

If it is seen by the censors and officials, they may not be able to express their opinions.

Although the emperor of the Ming Dynasty also dug the ground, he only pretended to do so during the sacrificial ceremony.

But now Zhu Cixiang is actually going to the fields to harvest potatoes, just like an ordinary farmer.

Of course, no one can understand Zhu Cixiang's mood at this moment.

If potatoes are promoted on a large scale, it will solve the problem of feeding millions of people.

Why could the Manchu Qing Dynasty feed hundreds of millions of people?

Isn’t it because of the promotion of high-yielding crops like potatoes?

There is no problem with potatoes as a staple food, even in Europe.

Let’s see which European dinner table lacks potatoes.

French fries, fried potatoes, hash browns, mashed potatoes Compared with rice and wheat, potatoes are certainly considered a coarse grain, but they have advantages that these two crops do not have.

Potatoes have very low land requirements and can be grown on any piece of wasteland.

They are also extremely drought and cold-tolerant, making them suitable for the climate of Little Glacier.

Although Zhu Cixiang is currently doing his best to curb the rise in food prices, food prices are still twice as high as during the Wanli period.

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Zhu Cihong felt sad when he thought about the many people who starved to death because they could not afford food.

But after promoting potatoes, you no longer have to worry about this happening.

The yield of potatoes per acre is very high, and even if the weather conditions are harsh, the yield will not be seriously reduced.

Poor people who cannot afford rice and noodles can always afford potatoes.

At present, we must first solve the problem of food and clothing, and then pursue the quality of life.

Zhu Cihong was sweating profusely in the fields.

Liu Chuanzong felt distressed when he saw him.

He wanted to go forward and use a square towel to wipe Zhu Cihong's sweat, but Zhu Cihong refused.

"Liu Banban, please step aside and wait for me to finish my work for a while."

Liu Chuanzong said helplessly: "I obey my command."

Although Zhu Cixiang attached great importance to daily exercise, often practicing bow and horse, and playing a set of Wuqinxi every day, he was still very tired.

The farmers are working really hard.

Zhu Cixi was just harvesting potatoes, but farmers had to work in the fields every day.

The physical exertion was staggering.

No wonder they needed to eat a lot of grain every day.

Ordinary people in this era don't have much oil and water, so they naturally eat more staple food.

This further strengthened Zhu Cixiang's determination to increase commercial and maritime taxes.

Compared with farmers, businessmen, especially maritime merchants, are really extremely wealthy.

The biggest problem of Chongzhen was that he only focused on farmers and was too indulgent on businessmen.

Zheng Zhilong can earn 10 million taels a year by collecting customs taxes, so why can’t the imperial court?

Businessmen have already made a lot of wealth, so they should pay more taxes and fulfill their responsibilities.

As for the mining tax, it must be strictly collected.

Since Zhu Cixiang announced that the country's mineral resources would be returned to the imperial court, he has received two million taels of silver in less than half a year, and a conservative estimate of five million taels of silver in one year.

This is big money Next, Zhu Cixiang plans to take action on the salt industry.

Salt merchants are a group of extremely wealthy people who are no less wealthy than maritime merchants.

Each one of them is rich enough to rival the country.

As a monopoly resource, the income of salt merchants can be guaranteed.

The Ming Dynasty had very strict management of the salt industry and relied on selling salt to control upstream resources.

The quantity of salt is fixed, so the amount of salt that each salt dealer can distribute is certain.

But in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the salt quota system was abolished and private salt was everywhere.

Especially in the coastal provinces, private salt drying is everywhere.

The government basically turns a blind eye and only takes filial piety to treat you well, me well, and everyone.

But this seriously damaged the interests of the court.

During the Chongzhen period, the annual salt tax could only collect several hundred thousand taels.

How ridiculous is this?

Even with a conservative estimate, the salt tax should be several million taels a year.

These salt merchants really treat the imperial court as a fool.

Zhu Cixiang is not willing to be such a fool Now that the opening method has been abolished, it is necessary to come up with a new method.

Zhu Cixiang's initial idea was to establish an organization such as the Huangming Chamber of Commerce as the sole responsible department for managing the salt industry.

This kind of organization is neither a court department nor a private chamber of commerce, but an organization in between.

Of course, this organization is directly responsible to the court and the emperor.

This is equivalent to establishing an entry barrier in this industry.

In the past, this threshold was Shiobiki, but now it is membership.

To join this organization, you must pay a huge deposit and undergo regular supervision and pay taxes.

Of course, salt merchants can still sell private salt in their own way.

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But the court would no longer compromise.

Zhu Cixiang decided to order the army from all over the country to strictly investigate the illegal sale of salt, and to arrest and execute them immediately if they were discovered, so as to rectify the national law

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