In the remote suburbs of Wucheng, beside a village, under a big tree, Wang Yuezheng, the assistant of the Trade and Commerce Academy, talked with his entourage. In front of them was a large area of ​​farmland. Now it was spring plowing, and a group of people were busy beside the fields, preparing to plow the fields.

Wang Yue did not pay attention to how these people prepared, but looked at the large dry land in front of him and couldn't help feeling relaxed and happy.

There are many large households in Beizhou, each with thousands of hectares of fertile land under its name. But now, the largest landlord in Beizhou is not a human, but a trading company.

The main business of "Jiahesheng" trading company is to operate steam pumps, while the second main business is to operate a farm.

To be precise, it is to rent land to operate a new farm.

The years of sluggish grain prices have made farmers in Hebei (Yongji Canal) region short of money. After weighing the pros and cons, they rented their land to a powerful large trading company, and "Jiahesheng" was one of its choices.

Land is the lifeblood of farmers and will not easily be affected by others. Since it is willing to rent the land to Jiahesheng and other trading houses under the witness of the government, it is of course profitable for farmers.

First, rent the land to a trading company, and there is a land rent income every year. The rent can be food, money, or both;

Secondly, after the trading company rents the farmers' land, the farmers' annual rent (land rent) and the trading company includes all the shares. This is a contract recognized by the local government, not a fraud;

Third, after farmers rent the land to the trading company, they can buy various daily necessities from the trading company at a low price, even iron pots. This discount is not affected by the decline in grain prices.

Fourth, after the trading company rents the farmer's land, it will assume the other party's labor service. When the government wants to collect the men and women of the household, the trading company will send someone to replace him.

The first three points are actually limited in attractiveness, and land is a priceless treasure. Even if it is rented out, it is hard to give up. However, because the fourth point is enough to make most farmers tempted:

These days, rent adjustments are more heavy and can be afforded, and labor is the most deadly thing.

It is natural for the people to serve labor, but once they encounter ill-minded clerks, they can easily be destroyed. Although they can pay for "mediocrity" and spend money to avoid labor, the government will still try to recruit farmers to "rescue" in different ways.

Therefore, since ancient times, farmers have brought land to large households to become hidden households, and their main purpose is to avoid labor.

Nowadays, there are trading companies that are willing to take care of their labor. No one believes this kind of thing, but it seems that there is a little credibility when the government testifies.

Facts are better than words. When farmers who rented land to traders really exempted rent and labor, their neighbors couldn't help but be moved.

In addition, grain prices have been falling year by year, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with daily expenses by farming alone, so more and more farmers choose to rent out land, and the rental targets are of course the "Rixingchang" cabinet shops with good reputation... introduced by "Jiahesheng" and other trading companies.

The farmland that Wang Yue looked at at this time was the land rented by "Jiahesheng". It has now been connected into pieces. Because the right to use belongs to one family, all the ridges disappeared, and it was a large area of ​​flat farmland.

The lease is ten years. After the expiration, the lessee has the priority to renew the lease. During the land lease period, if the farmer wants to sell the land, he can only sell it to the lessee at a price not lower than the current price.

This is a contract recognized by the government, and a high penalty for breach of contract is required.

At first glance, the trading company that rents the land is simply doing a loss-making business, paying rent, taking on rent, and relocating labor. How can it afford to rely on the output from those lands alone?

It is normal for people who don’t know the truth to think so, but Wang Yue and others don’t agree, because no one will do a loss-making business. The “new-style farm” led by the Trade Institute is not something that traditional farms can confront.

Even when the food prices are very low, such new farms can still make profits.

"Time is here, time is here, let's start!"

With a few shouts, the people gathered by the field dispersed. The two horses, originally surrounded by the crowd, pulled a strange iron plow with wheels into the field and plowed the ground.

Because it is dry land, it is not too difficult for the horse to walk on it. The two horses leaned against the new yoke cover on their bodies and dragged the wheeled iron plow behind them. The iron plow plowed the soil of the farmland and moved much faster than that of the cattle.

When Wang Yue looked at the scene in front of him, he couldn't help but think of a large number of "new-style farms" that have appeared on a large scale in Henan. These farms are all dry fields and have already promoted horse ploughs. Because of the new-style wheel plow and the special iron horseshoe, the horse ploughing farming (ploughing field) efficiency is more than three times that of ox plowing, and it saves labor.

The dry fields that are cultivated by horses are planted, and alfalfa is also planted between two seasons of wheat, which is used as feed for horses and can be used to fatten the fields.

Or instead of growing alfalfa, some cash crops are planted interspersed with them. This method of taking turns to plant crops and cash crops is the so-called "turning farming".

The more flat dry land, the more powerful the horse farming will be. The large area of ​​farmland that is cultivated uniformly requires much less manpower than when these lands are dispersed.

With complete water conservancy facilities and steam pumps, new farms can ensure drought resistance and flood resistance. The same area of ​​land has significantly reduced operating costs, while the output has increased significantly, and the profits are quite considerable.

Horse trench, wheel trench, wheel trench, these are the profit points of new farms run by trading companies such as "Jiahesheng". This practice has been promoted in Henan and has a very good effect. Many new farms with trading companies as the "head of households" have achieved profitability.

Part of the wheat produced in new farms is offset as rent, part of it is offset as necessary expenses, and part of it is used to dump, continuing to lower grain prices.

Such a new farm has a competitiveness that cannot be competed with by the original manor.

For farmland that rotates and farmland that plants a single crop, the former is better;

When the dry fields are also cultivated in flat areas, horses and oxen plowing, the former will win;

Selected high-yield wheat varieties, ordinary wheat varieties, the former wins;

The similar farmland area, similar fertility, and farming costs vary greatly, and the types and yields of crops are also significantly different.

Trading companies that acquire land everywhere along Yongji Canal can obtain cheap coal through waterways, and then use steam pumps to irrigate the farms under their name. Such farms can also be divided into labor and cooperation:

In the same year, Farm A planted grain and Farm B planted cash crops. After two years, the exchange was made.

Use the income from growing cash crops to maintain expenses.

Under such operations, in the face of the continuous decline in grain prices, new farms can make profits, while those large and small manors can only lose money.

Before the emergence of new farms in Henan, no one expected that agriculture could be managed like this. The trading company that merged (leased) a large amount of land for farming had its own sales channels and could "deeply process" the agricultural products and sell them at a good price.

The wheat grown in a new farm can be ground into noodles and made into ale wine, and sold at a good price; you can also plant dye crops such as purpura and bluegrass, and you don’t have to worry about selling them at most; you can also plant rapeseed oil, and you don’t have to worry about selling them.

Trading companies that can rent land to operate new farms are already part of a huge sales system. Even in the face of ultra-low grain prices, they can still obtain a lot of profits from the land by planting cash crops.

Can those aristocratic families and wealthy families make these profits?

cannot.

Trading companies have their own business paths. Now they rent land and run a farm. The farm is like a factory. A small number of workers use efficient farming methods to "produce" the "commodities" that the trading company will sell. How can ordinary manors do this business model?

Since we can't do it, why should these large and small manors compete with the new farms of trading companies?

For farmers, the low grain prices that have lasted for many years are unbearable. Instead of relying on wealthy families to become hidden households and transferring their land, it is better to rent it out to a strong trading company. At least the ownership of the land is still in their own hands.

Farmers sublease the land to a trading company, and they have a stable income every year. They can also work and make money. They do not need to face natural disasters or crooked officials. When they urgently use money, they can also find Rixingchang and other counters to help them, so they are not afraid of being involved in usury.

It is also a land annexation, and the trading company will accumulate the land (leased into the land) and will not affect the tax revenue of the court (rental and mediocre). So it goes without saying which kind of annexation the court will support.

This is the emperor's method. It not only engages in dumping, but also uses labor for relief, but also promotes new farms, "drives" some farmers from the land to industry and commerce, and suppresses the owners of large and small manors. Wang Yue and others admire him so much that they are full of energy.
Chapter completed!