industrial lord

Chapter 506 Did you hear it wrong?
"Quick, catch it!"

In the freshly harvested wheat field of Chickpea Village, a black field mouse was running for its life, with several young mice clinging to its back, fleeing for their lives along with their mother.

"squeak!"

A flying lead bullet accurately hit the target, the field mouse screamed, and the whole family died in front of Baron Turgot.

Baron Turgot just glanced at it and continued to watch the professional rodent exterminator team at work.

Rats have always been the sworn enemies of humans, spreading diseases and stealing food, making their entire species vulnerable to death.

Human beings have come up with various ways to deal with rats, from traditional rat poisons and cats to specialized rat-catching dogs. Now some villagers use guns to shoot rats. All possible methods are used.

Nowadays, some people even mix cement powder, roasted wheat and oil as rat poison. When the rat eats it, the cement solidifies in the rat's belly.

But the most troublesome thing about rats is that they hide in holes in the ground. Sometimes they can survive underground for a while by storing food.

The wheat fields are about to be planted with sweet radishes and oats, and if the mice hiding in the fields are not cleared away, they will eat the seeds.

Recently, several professional rodent control teams have appeared in Weissenburg City. The team that came to Chickpea Village today used soft steel wire to push a bomb through the mouse hole, and then ran away and detonated the bomb.

The mouse hole was basically destroyed by the explosion. Except for the mice that happened to be frightened near the entrance of the hole and ran out, most of the mice hiding in the hole were killed by the shock wave, and they would have died on the spot.

It was less lively when the rodent control team went to work in nearby Lizi Village, using dry ice.

Someone once wanted to use the newly discovered chlorine gas, but Psyche stopped him.

Baron Turgot looked at the field for a while and decided to go to the drying field to have a look. .

The owner of the bakery downstairs where Baron Turgot lives is coming here today to discuss the business of purchasing flour, so he also came to investigate.

When he first arrived, he discovered that this village was different from the village in his impression. The land here was in patches, not traditional strips of fields.

During this period, the village harvested the winter wheat planted last year and the spring wheat planted this year. The tractor in the village was parked next to the drying yard, and some villagers lined up in front of the threshing machine driven by the tractor.

A dozen people gathered not far from the thresher, some squatting on the ground and some sitting on bundled straw. One of them was the village chief. Everyone gathered in a circle, apparently having a meeting.

A farmer in his thirties said: “Now that our family has too much land, we can’t take care of it.”

Another old farmer in his early fifties with a big nose also said: "Now my eldest and second son have gone to live in the city. There are only two elders in the family, my mother-in-law and me. The third son still has to go to school, and the fields can't take care of him."

After he finished speaking, many people nodded in agreement.

The old blacksmith next to him immediately said: "You might as well give up the rent and become a city dweller."

Big Nose shook his head and said: "Who knows how the boss and the second brother are doing in the city? If they don't do well, they can still come back to farm."

"Hey..." the old blacksmith glanced at him disdainfully, "If you have the ability, don't wander around the village wearing the new clothes sent by your son and holding a thermos cup all day long, telling your sons to buy less and save more."

An old bald man in the village who had grown up with them saw them starting to quarrel again and immediately said, "Okay, let's get down to business now, you guys, stop arguing."

He then said to the old blacksmith: "You envy his family's wealth, so you might as well let your daughters marry his sons."

At this time, the village spoke to stop the old blacksmith and Big Nose from beating up the old bald man. After coughing twice, he said: "Stop arguing and let's talk about business."

"There are not enough manpower now, so there is nothing we can do about it. It is the same in other villages."

"Many people have told me in the past few days that the village should buy more machines. What do you think?" Farmers like Big Nose and Old Baldhead all nodded in agreement. It is too difficult to wait in line for machines now.

When the village chief saw that no one among the people who could speak in the village objected, he said: "Now we are all selling flour, and the mills are not enough. Then buy two large mills, which will be better than the small mills we use now. And I have my own engine and don’t need a tractor.”

The farmers nodded.

The village chief continued: "We also need to buy a threshing machine. This is related to the farming season. We can't save money. Let's buy three."

At this time, the old blacksmith said: "Village chief, how much wheat could grow in the field before, how much wheat can grow now, and there will be more and more wheat in the field in the future, so buy more."

Other villagers agreed, but the village chief rolled his eyes and said to them: "The more wheat in the field, the bigger the wheat ears will be. The thresher is allocated according to the size of the field."

The old blacksmith who has never farmed does not understand this. The farmers pretend not to understand because an extra machine can reduce the queues, but the village chief understands.

The village's public funds are composed of funds allocated in proportion after paying taxes, the income from all the workshops in the village, and the rental fees for machines such as tractors, mills, and threshers. The money to buy agricultural machinery must come from here. The quantity is limited and cannot be messed up. flower.

The village chief continued: "Three threshing machines are enough. I plan to buy a large tractor and a small tractor. The smaller one can be used in the vegetable field."

The villagers think this is not bad. Although there is one less threshing machine, it is better to have a small tractor. It is more convenient to cultivate the vegetable field and it can be used during the farming season.

At this time, someone said: "Now we need to find someone to learn to drive a tractor. Who will pay for the tuition? Can the village borrow money?"

Nowadays, farmers' income has increased a lot, but they don't have much savings. The tuition for learning tractors is a large sum of money for them.

Some people want their children to study, and if they can't afford the tuition, they use the village's public funds. Many people with the same idea agree.

"Let my family take care of this." The old blacksmith raised his hand, "I can't make iron anymore, and my two daughters must make a living. I saved some money and will send them to Oak City this afternoon."

As soon as the village chief heard that there was no need to use public funds, he immediately said: "Okay, I will give them a letter of introduction and they will have a living allowance in the school."

Those who were interested in using the village's public funds had nothing to say. They paid for it themselves, so there was no reason to object.

No one said that women can't learn to drive a tractor. Angela from Lizi Village nearby was named and praised by Archduke Wesson in the newspaper for learning to drive a tractor. She also came to the village to help, and she worked cleanly and neatly, no worse than men.

When the village chief saw that things were almost done, he said: "Two large mills, three threshing machines, one large tractor, and one small tractor, that's all."

"I'll go to the city tomorrow to ask for a price, and then the village will hold a meeting to make a decision."

Baron Turgot has been listening nearby. With his hearing level, he can understand what they are saying, but he seems to think that he heard wrongly.

He couldn't help but think of a major tractor-related incident that happened in Le Havre.

The Lord of Le Havre, Count Volpe, bought a tractor during last year's World Exposition. Thanks to the fact that this city is a port city, this tractor became the first tractor assembled and put into use in the Kingdom of Gaul.

Count Volpe was very attached to this tractor. Even if His Royal Highness Louis, who came back from the ship, wanted to touch it, he would take out a handkerchief and let the Crown Prince wipe his hands clean first. Baron Turgot could only watch from a distance.

Later, it was even more lively when choosing the driver. The knights under Count Volpe were all gearing up, vying to conquer this steel machine.

What is the situation in this village now?
I want to buy two tractors at once, and more importantly, women can drive them?

Baron Turgot suspected that he had heard wrongly.

(End of this chapter)