Chapter 716 of Song Xu's main text, Zhao Xu can't sleep, but Li Ke can't sleep.

He knew that he could not find anything in Yingtian Mansion, so he simply left the city and went deep into the countryside.

It was getting late and he stayed in a farmhouse.

This is a family of seven, two old men, two sons, daughter-in-law, and one older grandson.

The old man was very enthusiastic and smiled with Li Ke: "Some people often get lost or can't hurry to enter the city. It's not a big deal. There are not many other children, and there are still empty houses."

Both sons are quite thin and envious and awe of scholars. Looking at Li Ke's clothes and his words and deeds, he knew that this person must be a scholar and had an official position!

The difference between being an official and an ordinary person is that one is in the sky and the other is underground. The two brothers stood aside, with a restrained and pleasing expression.

Li Ke had already seen this family, inside and outside the house, and quietly took out more than 20 coins from his arms and said, "Don't worry, my father-in-law, we won't live in vain. These are just used as tea money, don't refuse."

The father-in-law was not reserved and smiled and took it down, saying, "You are not polite. Boss, go buy a chicken, and then make a pot of wine. The second wife, go and clean up the bedding and other things, and take the little girl to take a look."

Li Qing was particularly happy with such a small courtyard. He jumped up and walked out with a smile.

Li Ke watched his daughter leave, and then pretended to be around and said, "Brother-in-law, you should have a good family background. You need to have a good harvest, right?"

The father-in-law seemed intentional, shook his head calmly and said, "We have no land. We are all tenants for big households. There are very few people assigned to us. We have to work for big households to earn some money and grain. Throughout the year, we can barely stay hungry."

Li Ke was stunned and said, "You have so many houses here, don't you have any food stored? Your family has no land? Didn't your ancestors distribute it to you?"

The father-in-law couldn't help but smile and said, "The guest was from a wealthy family. The ancestors actually had not much. Not to mention that they had a bad harvest, they had to borrow from the big households without food. After a while, there were a lot of them. They said that if they had an illness, or a wedding or funeral, they were a big sum of money. That little bit of land was not enough for a family to eat. The only way was to be a tenant for the big household. At least they had a guarantee for a long-term worker. It would be better than planting that little land..."

Li Ke was stunned when he heard this. He couldn't accept this logic for a moment.

Instead of farming, it is better to sell the land to large farmers and farm for large farmers?

If you don’t make a profit in farming, what will the big dealer want? You have to work as a long-term worker and give you wages?

Li Ke thought for a while and said, "Then, would it be better if you gave you enough land?"

The father-in-law laughed and said, "The guest was joking. If our family wants to support it, it takes at least a dozen acres of land. If you want to be stable, you can withstand some natural disasters and man-made disasters. At least thirty acres. If you want to be better, you have to be fifty acres. Where can you give us that land?"

The youngest son couldn't help but mutter, "Zhang Dahu, there are more than 600 acres in our village. If he can share them with us, we will have them."

The father-in-law glared at him angrily and said, "Why should Dahu Zhang share the land with you? Can you take it out if you fish for a dozen acres of land?"

A dump of money is enough for a small family like them to eat and drink for a month.

The second brother was so cowardly that he didn't dare to speak, but he looked slandered.

Their family originally had more than 20 acres of land, but because of the pest failure one year, they had to borrow food from the big households. After a while, the land was gone.

If you have more than ten acres of land, even if you have seven or eight acres of land, it will be dozens of dollars. How could you borrow some food and lose it?

It wasn't that big dealer who used a trick and used sky-high interest rates to force them to sell the land to him at a low price and become his tenant.

Li Ke pretended to drink a sip of water and said, "There are a lot of land in Yingtian Prefecture and relatively small populations. Not to mention that each family is divided into 30 acres, it is possible that even 100 acres are 100 acres. However, can you plant 100 acres?"

"Why can't you win!"

The second brother was anxious when he heard this and said, "Give me one hundred acres and I'll show you!"

Li Ke saw that this second child seemed dull, but he was a good at working.

The father-in-law ignored the second child and hesitated with Li Ke, and said, "The guest is not an ordinary person at first glance. The old man knows that making this request is a bit too much. I would like to ask if your mansion needs an errand or something. I will not say anything else, but I will do things seriously and steadily, and I will definitely help you."

The second son immediately understood the father's intention, and he kept his face tight and refused to speak. He was a little unwilling to do so, and looked at Li Ke with some anxiety.

He wanted to farm, but he didn't want to have other ways out, so he didn't want to stay here all the time.

Li Ke didn't expect that the father-in-law would make this request. He was fine to take in a servant and said casually: "I may be on Jingdong Road or Bianjing in the future. Generally speaking, I would like to ask, I heard that the government wants to measure the land, is there any movement here?"

When the father-in-law saw Li Ke agreeing, he was inexplicably happy. He could not only find a future for the second child, but also make the family less open. He said more sincerely: "I heard from the old man last time he went to the city, but no one came to the village. It seemed that no one in each village was measured, and he was still the same."

Li Ke nodded, took another sip of water, listened to his daughter cheering outside, smiled, and said, "Almost all the fields in your village are in the hands of large households. Are other villages the same? Why haven't you ever thought about moving away?"

The father-in-law smiled bitterly and said, "The tree will never leave its roots. If it is absolutely necessary, the old man doesn't want to leave his hometown. Besides, where can he go?"

Li Ke thought something.

He actually knew this kind of thing before. After the pressure given by Zhao Xu, he understood it more carefully and seriously. In short, he was very thoughtful.

He was thinking in his heart that if these people's lives were like this and would become more and more serious, then the problem of the Song Dynasty would not be a small problem and would probably threaten the country's destiny!

Li Ke understood Zhao Xu's intention a little and began to reflect in his heart.

Compared with the "Shaosheng New Policy", when I looked at the old man in front of me and the family who were struggling to survive, my expression became more and more serious.

The father-in-law looked at Li Ke's expression and said with concern: "Customer, are you feeling uncomfortable?"

Li Ke smiled with a reluctant prestige and said, "It's okay, my father-in-law, I don't have any cows or pigs at home?"

The old man's second son couldn't help but say, "Everyone can't eat anymore, so where can he raise pigs and cattle? It's good to raise some chickens..."

Li Ke looked a little embarrassed, he forgot this.

The father-in-law glared at his second son and smiled at Li Ke and said, "Don't mind the guest. He is so kind, he is not bad, and he is reliable in his work. Just feel at ease and just give him some food."

Li Ke smiled and looked at his second son and said, "When you enter my mansion, you will have a house to live in, you can wear decent clothes, you will have no worries about three meals, and you will have monthly money every month. If you do it well, it will be not difficult to come back and buy some land."

The second son suddenly looked overjoyed and said, "How much land can he buy?"

Li Ke couldn't help but laugh and said, "I have been in my mansion for five years, save some flowers, and I can buy at least twenty acres when I come back."
Chapter completed!