Chapter 43 Dingjiazhuang (1/2)

After having a good meal and a good drink, Mu Feng and Wang Ying accompanied Er Gouzi to stroll around Dingjia Village.

"Mr. Zhang, what do you think of Dingjia Village?"

Mu Feng pointed to a large golden rice field in front of him and asked Er Gouzi.

"It's very good, very rich, much better than any village I've ever seen."

"But I don't understand one thing, isn't there a tenant in Dingjia Village?"

This is what he has been puzzled about since he entered the village.

Tenants are generally ragged and skinny, and can be identified at a glance.

Since he entered the village, he has not seen anyone who looks like a tenant.

"Hahaha... In this whole village, except for Mr. Ding's family, everyone else is a tenant."

Mu Feng and Wang Ying laughed at the same time and grabbed a passerby.

"Zhao Laosi, do you think you are a tenant?"

The man was tall and strong, carrying a hoe and rolling up his trouser legs. He had obviously just returned from the fields.

"Of course I am a tenant of the Ding family. As long as Mr. Ding doesn't despise me, I am willing to be a tenant of the Ding family for generations."

"Why is that?"

Er Gouzi couldn't understand. What kind of mentality was this?

Tenants have no land. They have to hand over at least half of their harvest every year. They can barely survive by eating bran and vegetables.

He used to dream of having a piece of land of his own. If it weren't for the last resort, he wouldn't even want to be a tenant.

The man in front of him was a tenant of the Ding family, and he was actually very proud of it, and planned to be a tenant for generations.

"Being a tenant in Dingjiazhuang is naturally very different from other places."

"Even if you grow your own land, you need to pay at least 30% of taxes to the government.

But as tenants of our Ding family, you only need to pay 20% of the rent, and the rest is all yours.

Where else can you find such a good thing if you leave the Ding family!"

After hearing this, Er Gouzi thought about it and soon understood.

The head of the Ding family is a military candidate, so he doesn't have to pay taxes to the government. He only collects 20% of the land rent. Even if he earns less, he will definitely not lose money.

"Mr. Ding is kind and righteous. When everyone encounters some difficulties, Mr. Ding will help them. He never charges interest on loans..."

When Zhao Laosi talks about the benefits of Mr. Ding, he talks endlessly, as if he has endless things to say.

Finally, when Zhao Laosi left with a hoe, he was still unsatisfied, and the three continued to play around the village.

The tenants they saw were similar to Zhao Laosi, and each of them exuded a different spirit.

"Mr. Ding is kind and righteous. Several of us have lived in Dingjiazhuang for a long time, and we can get five liters of spiritual rice every year."

At this time, Mu Feng said proudly, and at the same time, he looked at Er Gouzi, but unfortunately he could not find a trace of surprise and envy on Er Gouzi's face.

"Brother Zhang may not know that the rice we just ate was mixed with a little spiritual rice."

"Spiritual rice absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and matures once every ten years, with very little yield.

Ordinary people can eat it to strengthen their bodies, and we warriors can eat it to improve our cultivation, sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and become immortals."

Mu Feng and Wang Ying sang in unison, explaining to Er Gouzi the magical and rare nature of spiritual rice, in order to shock the country bumpkin in front of them.

They received five liters of spiritual rice every year, which they regarded as a treasure.

The pot after cooking the spiritual rice was scraped to a shine, and even the rice spoon had to be licked several times.

In the end, the rice spoon and chopsticks had to be thrown into the pot to boil a large pot of soup, and not a single bit was wasted.

However, after Er Gouzi heard what they said, his expression remained unchanged.

The two were very disappointed, and even felt a little frustrated.

Is this person a blockhead!

"Have you two sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth now?" Er Gouzi asked with a little curiosity. As long as you sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, you will enter the first level of Qi training and become a cultivator, and you will be free from the mortal world. He remembered that he seemed to be 14 years old when he successfully sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and became a cultivator. "Not yet." The two felt more frustrated, and felt that the most vulnerable part of their hearts was poked. "We have only joined Dingjiazhuang for a short time. There are several older martial arts scholars who have sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The strongest one may have cultivated to the second level of Qi training." It seems that Dingjiazhuang usually does not show its strength, and its overall strength is no worse than that of the Sima family. "What does the seedling of this spiritual rice look like? Can you take me to see it?" After a moment of silence, Er Gouzi finally asked again, which made the two feel much more balanced. "Of course no problem." "But there are special people guarding the spiritual field, and outsiders cannot get too close." The two immediately led Er Gouzi to the large rice field. "Look at this cat-tooth rice. It is actually a new variety cultivated by the ancestors of the Ding family by planting spiritual rice and ordinary rice together."

Er Gouzi picked a rice ear and peeled off the husk. The rice inside was pure white, small and pointed, and indeed looked a bit like cat teeth.

Throwing the rice grains into his mouth and chewing them carefully, there was a fragrance, which contained a faint spiritual energy.

There was not much spiritual energy, which was slightly better than nothing, but if consumed for a long time, it should also be able to strengthen the body.

Er Gouzi followed the two people, put the remaining rice ears into his arms, and hurriedly caught up.

The entire Dingjia Village is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and there is a large plain in the middle, all planted with cat-tooth rice.

There is a bluestone canal between the rice fields, flowing down from the top of a mountain.

The three climbed all the way to the top of the mountain along the canal.

Standing on the top of the mountain, they found that there was a lake with a radius of several miles on the top of the mountain, and there was a lush island in the middle of the lake.

This lake is not natural, but a large reservoir surrounded by mountains was formed by using a large amount of earth and rocks to block the gap between several mountains.

A canal draws water from the reservoir on the top of the mountain to irrigate a large plain below.

Farming depends on the weather, and there are few years with good weather and good harvests.

For example, this year is a bit dry and rainy. The 50 mu of land rented by Ah Hu's family used to yield 200 shi, but this year it only yielded more than 170 shi.

This is still good land close to the water source, and the harvest in other places is even worse.

Dingjiazhuang has such a large reservoir. Even if there is a drought for two or three years, or even three to five years, it is enough to ensure the irrigation water for the plain below.

"To build such a large reservoir, at least hundreds of thousands of people will be mobilized, right?"

Er Gouzi couldn't help but marvel at the huge project.

You have to know that the population of the entire Anchang County is only more than 100,000.

It is equivalent to mobilizing the population of several counties to build such a large reservoir.

In addition to manpower, these hundreds of thousands of people also need food and drink.

It is almost an impossible project.

"Hundreds of thousands are not necessary. The first ancestor of the Ding family is an old ancestor in the foundation-building period. He personally uses earth-based magic and can replace 100,000 civilians."

"However, the construction of this reservoir was completed after several generations of efforts by Dingjiazhuang, and tens of thousands of civilians were mobilized before and after."

Mu Feng said this, proudly clasping his hands behind his back and looking up at the sky, as if he had changed his surname to Ding at this moment.

Er Gouzi was attracted by the words "foundation-building ancestor". As far as he knew, the current county magistrate had not reached the foundation-building level.

"Is the ancestor of the Ding family a foundation-building ancestor?"

"Yes, this is recorded in the Ding family tree, but it's a pity! There has never been a strong foundation-building person since then. The current head of the family has a great chance of impacting the foundation-building realm."

At this time, Er Gouzi looked at the artificial lake in front of him again and felt that it was not so strange.

A strong man who builds foundation casts a spell himself, and with the efforts of several generations, it seems natural to build an artificial lake.

"The Ding family built a lake with the power of the whole family to benefit the local area, which is really admirable."

Er Gouzi's words came completely from the heart, and his impression of Dingjiazhuang was greatly improved.

Wang Ying said, squatting by the lake, scooped up a large handful of water and drank it, and wiped his face again.

"The water of this lake is clear and sweet, brother Zhang, do you want to try it?"

"The whole Dingjiazhuang drinks the water here. The water contains a little spiritual energy. Drinking it for a long time can strengthen the body."

Er Gouzi was interested and also scooped up a handful of water to drink. Sure enough, it also contained a very light spiritual energy.

The three of them got on a small boat by the lake and went to the island in the lake.

The moment he stepped on the island in the middle of the lake, Er Gouzi felt a shock in his spirit. The spiritual energy on this island was much richer than other places.

Mu Wang and the others also took a deep breath of spiritual energy, and seemed to enjoy it very much.

"Mu Feng and Wang Ying, this is a family important place, why did you bring an outsider here?"

The three of them had just landed on the island when a man came out from behind a big rock and looked at Er Gouzi with a gloomy face.

Er Gouzi actually felt a hint of danger from the other's cold eyes, as if he was facing a beast that could bite at any time.

"Ding Yi, this Zhang Xiucai is the guest of the master of the family. We are here on the orders of the master to accompany the guest to look around."

"So you are the guest of the master of the family. I'm sorry! Please!"

Ding Yi arched his hand, stood aside with a gloomy face, and made way for him.

Mu Wang and the other two led Er Gouzi around a small stone forest, but saw a large patch of thorns blocking the way.

This kind of thorn is about one person tall, growing luxuriantly, and densely forming a thorn wall.

In addition, this kind of thorn is densely covered with many inch-long thorns, and there are barbs on the thorns.

What a ferocious appearance, if anyone accidentally enters it, he will definitely be in a dilemma and unable to escape.

"This is an iron thorn. It looks thin, but it is actually hard and flexible, and it is difficult to be damaged by ordinary swords.

It was found by the ancestors of the Ding family from the ancient ruins of immortal cultivation. After years of cultivation, it has grown into a thorn wall."

Er Gouzi's heart moved. If there were such thorns around his Shekou Mountain, he would be more assured when he went out in the future.

However, he could only ask the head of the Ding family for this thorn seed with good words, or buy it with silver.

If it really didn't work, he could only think of stealing it.

With the idea of ​​thief in his mind, he began to look at the surrounding terrain and figured out how to start.

In the thorn bush, there were some teacup-sized flowers sparsely blooming, and the petals were layered and beautiful.

Looking beyond the thorn wall, there was a large rice field behind.

These seedlings were taller than people, and the stalks were thick, but the rice ears on them only had a few grains sparsely, and the yield was not high.

However, the grains were larger than ordinary rice.

"This is the Linggu rice field. We will probably be able to harvest another batch this year."

"In the entire Anchang County, Dingjiazhuang has the largest output of Crescent Moon Lingmi and the best quality."

The three walked around the Lingtian through the thorn wall. It was at least five acres wide.

"There is still a lot of land on the island. Why not plant all the Linggu?"

Er Gouzi saw that there were still many empty spaces on the island that were abandoned, with only some crooked trees growing on them. He felt that the land was wasted.

"You don't know that Linggu needs to continuously absorb spiritual energy during its growth.

There is a micro water spiritual vein here, and then the lake is used to gather the surrounding water spiritual energy, which is enough to cultivate these acres of spiritual fields.

If too many spiritual objects are planted, they will compete for spiritual energy, and eventually lack spiritual energy, and nothing will grow well. "

"With these five acres of spiritual fields, it is enough to ensure the prosperity of a family. "

When the two Mu Wang said this, they looked at the spiritual fields with envy.

"There are only a few spiritual fields in the entire Anchang County, and they are all in the hands of a few big families. Others can't get involved. "

"For ordinary warriors like us, if we are not lucky, we may not be able to eat spiritual rice once in our lifetime. "

"Yes, we two only ate spiritual rice after we took refuge in Dingjiazhuang, otherwise how could we have such a great blessing! "

When the two of them said this, they began to sing in unison again, looking at Er Gouzi's expression from time to time.

However, the result disappointed them again.

Is this person really a blockhead!

If other people heard about this good thing, they would definitely be envious, and then shamelessly ask them for advice.

Under the kindness, the two of them could reluctantly give a few pointers and introduce Er Gouzi to join Dingjiazhuang.

Then Er Gouzi would be grateful to them.

The Er Gouzi in front of them just nodded perfunctorily to show his agreement, and then there was nothing else.

But you have to be loyal to your master and do what the master has told you to do.

"Mr. Zhang, are you interested in joining Dingjiazhuang like us?"

"Let me tell you, there are many benefits to becoming a guest of Dingjiazhuang. In addition to the spiritual rice, there are also 100 taels of silver, one old ginseng over 10 years old, 10 pieces of cotton cloth, one piece of silk, 50 catties of pork, 10 stones of ordinary rice, and 5 dan of firewood every year. "

It is really tempting to hear that there are so many benefits to joining Dingjiazhuang.

If Er Gouzi had not obtained the yellow gourd, he would never have hesitated.

But now, he has the yellow gourd, and he has planted more than ten acres of ginseng in Shekou Mountain. The gourd can also enhance the spiritual energy of ordinary food.

There is no need for him to rely on others for five liters of spiritual rice.

The two of them saw that Er Gouzi hesitated for only a moment, but remained unmoved, and continued to add.

"There is another point. All of us who learn martial arts dream of one day being able to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, draw the energy into the body, and become a cultivator."

"But the secular cultivation techniques have long been confiscated and destroyed. The techniques in the hands of the government are not so easy to obtain. At least you have to make great contributions."

"Even if ordinary people successfully sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, there is no corresponding immortal technique to practice, and there are all kinds of magical immortal spells, and there is nowhere to learn them. "

This time, the two really hit Er Gouzi's sore spot.

He searched the library of Zhengwu Hall, but couldn't find a book on cultivation techniques.

Li Banxian, the only one who could teach him the immortal techniques, also left, and he might not come back for a long time.

Seeing that Er Gouzi was finally moved, the two continued.

"The ancestors of the Ding family have built foundations, so there is no shortage of techniques and spells. If you join Dingjiazhuang, you will have the opportunity to obtain immortal techniques in the future."

"You also know that the court law stipulates that immortal techniques cannot be passed on privately. Mr. Ding has the title of Juren, and no one will hold him accountable if he passes on some to his own followers."

Er Gouzi was indeed very moved. He had no shortage of ginseng or money, but he lacked techniques and guidance from masters.

"Have you two learned the techniques for cultivating immortals? "

The two of us were silent again. This guy just kept talking about things that were not related to the topic, and he always tried to touch people's hearts.

Mu Feng could only laugh dryly: "We have been here for a short time, our cultivation is not enough, and we have not made any contribution to Dingjiazhuang, so we are embarrassed to ask for it."

"Well, as long as we can successfully sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, we can still ask for it from Master Ding. "

After hearing this, Er Gouzi fell into deep thought, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

Since he took the Wu Xiucai exam, there have been many people and forces trying to win him over.

But in comparison, Dingjiazhuang is the most sincere.

The county lieutenant called Er Gouzi over, he sat, Er Gouzi stood, he ate and drank, Er Gouzi watched, a large table of delicious food only let Er Gouzi smell a little.

The Dianshi called Er Gouzi over, he didn't even smell the taste of the food, and he had to beat and threaten him severely.

As for Daoxuanzong's winning over, it was a business that would cost his head, and from then on he could only hide in the dark.

Why should he, a dignified man of seven feet, be sneaky all day long?

Only the owner of Dingjiazhuang was kind and friendly, without any airs, and even had a meal with him.

Moreover, the whole Dingjiazhuang gave him a good feeling.

There is also a chance to obtain the immortal way of practice.

It is really tempting!