I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 32 They also have feelings
After breaking the ice, the reputation of the agricultural assistance organization gradually spread among the local self-cultivating farmers in Maoling, and the farmers gradually believed that this group of people were different from other masters.

It was freezing cold, and this group of people under the banner of "helping farmers" seemed to know that they were short of food and clothing, and were shivering and dying, and many of them were sick.

So they ran around to deliver life-saving supplies and called doctors from the county town to treat them.

For many children in farmers' families, it was the first time since they were born that they had a complete set of clothes and shoes to wear, the first time they had bedding that was strong enough to keep them warm, and the first time they ate thick enough porridge and rice.

These people really seem to be good people, and they are really just doing good deeds without seeking anything in return - it would be better to say that the farmers are so poor that they can't even afford a pair of pants, so how can they give anything in return?

Is there anything on my body or in this shabby house that is worthy of the attention of these kind-hearted people?

If there were robbers and bandits, they helped drive them away; if there were people who were in need of food and clothing, they helped find them.

The farmers gradually realized that these people were good people who came to help them without asking for anything in return and would not demand anything from them.

The simple kindness and touching feelings from the heart drive these poor people to take out the only things they have, whether it is just a piece of cake or even just a bowl of hot water, and tremblingly hold it to the people in the agricultural assistance action group, hoping that they will accept this small gift.

There aren't many things, and it's very simple.

But the emotional and spiritual feedback is just too much.

Many people in the agricultural assistance action group also felt for the first time the spiritual satisfaction brought by the actions that appeal to conscience.

Those pairs of eyes filled with gratitude were something they had never noticed.

They never noticed that the owners of those pairs of eyes were people just like them. Although they were dressed in rags and had rough faces, those pairs of bright eyes were indeed the same as those of all the nobles.

have feelings.

They originally thought that the illiterate men and women were emotionless automatic farm tools, but who would have thought that they also had feelings?
Just like what Zhao Jun felt when he came into contact with the old farmer named Zhang.

The old farmer looked at Zhao Jun with his eyes, as if he wanted to remember Zhao Jun's appearance with his heart, to remember the kind and great man he had met for the first time in his life.

Feelings?

gratitude?

Zhao Jun couldn't describe the feeling, but the simplest emotions between people were connected through the transmission of food and clothing, allowing Zhao Jun to feel the purest emotions.

how to say……

The weather was indeed very cold, and the work was very tiring and painful, running around everywhere with little chance to rest.

However, he just didn't want to stop. He just wanted to give things to more people so that they could survive this cold winter and make it to the spring to farm.

A sense of satisfaction and accomplishment gradually emerged in his heart, forming something called motivation, which supported his body to move forward continuously.

Where had he tried this before?
Where have you ever experienced such great spiritual satisfaction?

Where has there ever been an experience where spiritual satisfaction outweighed physical fatigue?

Maybe.

But rarely.

And now, it's every day.

The initial positive feedback brought by the action of conscience filled Zhao Jun's heart, and Zhao Jun's understanding of conscience also reached a new level.

Moving from knowledge to action and putting what we have learned into action has actually brought about such obvious changes.

Those who would have died, survived.

One life after another survived.

Farmers were able to survive this cold winter and avoid dying of hunger and cold.

A virtuous cycle brought about by this positive feedback is formed.

This is true for Zhao Jun and other people who insist on following Yuan Shu's practice. The three words "to conscience" seem to have different weight and meaning in the hearts of more and more people.

The driving force behind all this is Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu had anticipated all this.

He anticipated that this action would bring sufficient positive feedback to a considerable number of people to stimulate their sense of accomplishment and make them feel more deeply the significance and power of conscience, which would inevitably prompt some of these people to become his original followers.

But is that enough?

far from enough.

After a period of investigation, he found that the livelihood problems of self-cultivating farmers in Maoling County were quite serious.

Unsustainable poverty is a common situation, but the purgatory-like misery is not the same everywhere.

In some areas, perhaps the former county magistrate or some powerful landlord was more socially responsible and still had a conscience, so he donated money and manpower to build water conservancy projects. These water conservancy projects are still in use today and have not fallen into disrepair.

Under unfavorable weather conditions, better water conservancy projects ensured greater grain production, so farmers in that area were able to spend a relatively stable winter.

The farmers in these areas with higher grain production are not so miserable. Although their houses are just as dilapidated and they just as lack clothes to keep out the cold, their living conditions and home reserves are better, and they can consume more calories every day.

They have the ability to reproduce. When spring comes, they can resume production and avoid running out of food, becoming homeless and having to sell their children.

Some areas, such as the ones they first visited, were not so lucky. Water conservancy projects were dilapidated or simply non-existent, and farmers had to walk a long way to carry water for irrigation.

They do lack the ability to reproduce, or they have to pay the price of human lives in order to maintain their ability to reproduce, allowing those who do not have enough labor to starve to death in exchange for the survival of strong laborers.

Comparing the two, it reflects the sharp contrast between what the government does and what it does not do, and reflects the tremendous influence of politics on social economy.

He went further into the families of these farmers, approached them with a friendly attitude, talked to them personally, and asked them about their feelings and evaluations of their living conditions.

From the conversation, Yuan Shu summarized some key points.

For example, whether it is a relatively well-off self-employed farmer or a self-employed farmer with no means of living, the thing that people most often mention as lacking is durable farm tools.

They said it was difficult for them to get durable farm tools and they often had to use wood and stones instead.

The agricultural tools available for purchase are very few in number, of poor quality, and high in price, so people are generally reluctant to use them. As a result, farming efficiency is low, progress is slow, crops do not grow well, and the soil cannot even be turned over in winter.

After drinking the wine Yuan Shu gave them, some more experienced farmers became bolder and started talking. They told Yuan Shu that pests like to lay eggs in the soil. If they had enough farm tools, they could turn the soil in the winter, turn out the insect eggs in the soil and freeze them to death. This way, there would be fewer pests in the spring.

But they did not have sufficient quantity and quality of farm tools, so they could only watch the cold winter pass and hope that the next snow would be heavy enough to penetrate deep into the soil and freeze the insect eggs to death. If there was no heavy enough snow, it would be hard to say whether the insect pests would be severe after the spring.

This is the point where complaints are most concentrated.

Other topics they often mentioned include the lack of oxen, heavy taxes levied by officials in the countryside, and heavy corvee labor.

They said that the fields could only produce so much grain. After storing the seed grain and paying the government grain, there was not much left for food. Several people in a family were waiting to eat, but the food rations could often only be eaten by the able-bodied laborers.

Apart from the strong laborers, the elderly, women and children in the family have not had enough to eat for years, and hunger is always with them. They don't have any good clothes, so they can only lie motionless in the small shabby house all day long to reduce consumption, so that they can eat less and last longer.

But the elderly and women can still hold on, but the growing children really can't. They cry out for food and shout that they are hungry and want to eat all day long.

Almost every month they would hear news of boys and girls starving to death, and very few children could grow up to work in the fields.

Living and dying at the same time is really sad.

Yuan Shu wrote down their blood and tears word by word and brought them back to Maoling County. He held a meeting with Lu Zhi, the Thirteen Guardians and the entire agricultural assistance organization to discuss the matter and jointly look for a solution.

Faced with the bloody reality, each of them fell silent.

Because they found that there were many things they really couldn't do.

For example, matters such as taxation and corvee labor are national policies. Can they intervene and change them?
Maybe later, but definitely not now.

If one wants to start from the national policy level, even Yuan Shu, who comes from the highest family background, can't do it, and neither can his father Yuan Feng.

It is easy to increase taxes, but how difficult is it to reduce taxes?
Some members who came from privileged backgrounds couldn't help but sigh at this.

"Today I know that the livelihood of the common people is difficult, and they can't even get a pair of handy farm tools..."

And at this time, it was Yuan Shu who stood up to comfort and encourage people.

“Just because you can’t do it now doesn’t mean you can’t do it in the future. If you can’t do it now, we should keep it in mind and never forget it. There will definitely be a day when we can do it. And if we can do it now, we should work hard to do it, regardless of whether we can succeed or not. If we don’t do it, we are doomed to fail.”

"The so-called conscience is to do it, no matter how difficult or dangerous it is, just do it first. If there is a problem, think about the solution while doing it. If there is a problem, we will fight it with our own hands and block it with earth. As long as we keep on the road, there are always more solutions than difficulties. We must never stop and fear the difficulties!"

But these words were relatively superficial. Yuan Shu's dissatisfaction with all this continued to accumulate as time went by, and the Samadhi Fire in his heart became more and more vigorous and hot.

So he had something else hidden in his heart.

That sentence was said by Xu Chong.

I am not yet strong.

Compared with other words, this sentence is truly unspeakable.

He is not even eleven years old yet, and he still has more than nine years to go before he becomes an adult. He still needs more time to grow and accumulate.

So, do what you can.

As for things that cannot be done, remember, accumulate, and wait for the opportunity.

Wait till I grow stronger.

When you are strong, there will be changes!

So now, what can he do to address the peasant problems in Maoling area?

First, it is necessary to prevent some "robbers" from appearing inexplicably in subsequent agricultural assistance activities and destroying the results they have achieved with great difficulty.

In order to achieve this goal, at the suggestion of Yuan Shu, the agricultural assistance organization established a rotation patrol system.

On a daily basis, strong and martially virtuous members are sent to patrol the village with weapons to gather information and prevent thieves.

Then discuss with the farmers in the village and ask them to take action, and arrange special people to issue early warnings and report news. Once a situation occurs, early warnings and reports should be issued as quickly as possible.

In this way, these "bandits" can be deterred, and the connection between agricultural assistance organizations and self-employed farmers can be further enhanced, making both sides comrades-in-arms in a sense.

As for the second point, it cannot be solved in just a few words.

It was something about steel and farm implements.

(End of this chapter)