With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

Lijiazhai.

Wang Erzhu got up very early today.

As the first place occupied by the new army and subjected to a series of military control plans, the atmosphere here is distinctly different from other places.

The Li family of Lijiazhai was completely wiped out by the new army. The Li family members who were once like local tyrants and could arbitrarily control the villagers of Lijiazhai were all arrested one by one during the grievance meeting.

Serious crimes resulted in immediate execution, while minor crimes resulted in being sent to military labor camps for reform through labor.

However, none of that mattered. What mattered most to the villagers was that the new army had sent a few junior cadres to manage the village, and after measuring the land, they actually distributed the land equally among everyone.

The moment Wang Erzhu and other desperate farmers received land, their goodwill towards the new army exploded.

Due to the fact that Fujian has few plains and many mountains and forests, the new army allocated land according to the principle of five mu of land plus two mu of mountain forest per person.

If you don't want the mountain forest land, you can reclaim wasteland. The new army will lend you tools, and the reclaimed land will be tax-free for three years after registration.

Wang Erzhu's family had only two people left, so they were allocated ten mu of farmland and four mu of mountain forest.

I got up early today to go to the city to buy some salt and rent tools for land reclamation.

"Yu'er, remember to keep an eye on the field, catch some bugs, and make sure they don't bite the vegetables. If you get tired, take a rest."

"Okay, Daddy."

Wang Yu, Wang Erzhu's only remaining son, got up from the bed and replied with a smile.

The child was only eleven or twelve years old, with a sallow complexion and was extremely thin, but his appearance was much better than when he was nearly starving to death.

Originally, his son was about to starve to death, but after the new army arrived, they defeated the big tyrant and came to his door every day to deliver relief food, which saved Wang Yu from starvation.

Wang Erzhu felt grateful and now had the energy to do anything. When he heard that there was going to be a war, he went up the mountain overnight and cut over a hundred catties of firewood to give to the new army for free.

He repaid the kindness of the new army in his own way.

"Erdan, Pighead, go to town to get your tools."

"Erdan, your family must have acquired quite a bit more land, right?"

On the way, Wang Erzhu inquired about his friend Erdan's family situation.

"Yes, we have a lot of people in our family. Including my parents, children, and wife, we were allocated a total of thirty mu of farmland and twenty-four mu of woodland." Erdan smiled broadly. With more land, his family had a greater sense of superiority compared to Wang Erzhu's family.

Wang Erzhu pursed his lips, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

Pighead, standing to the side, laughed and said, "Wang Erzhu, don't feel uncomfortable. I heard from Captain Wang that our village still has land quotas. As long as you have a child, you will be allocated land. If there isn't enough land in the local area, you can move to another place to get more."

The Captain Wang mentioned by Pighead was a team leader who managed Li Family Village.

"Is that so!?" Wang Erzhu's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He wondered if he should marry another wife and have a few more sons. After all, in the countryside, there is strength in numbers, and most importantly, he was still young.

"I just got the news from Captain Wang last night. This rule should be announced today," Pighead replied.

Before long, the group entered the city, arrived at the gate of the Ministry of Agriculture, and lined up to receive land reclamation tools.

"Name, address, what do you need?"

Behind a counter, a young man, head down, held a calligraphy brush and asked a question.

Wang Erzhu quickly stepped forward and replied, "Wang Erzhu, number 23, Lijiazhai, I'm here to collect tools for clearing land."

"How many acres of land should be reclaimed?"

"Twenty mu."

The young man quickly registered the information; "Take this ticket to the warehouse over there, and someone will give you the tools."

Following the directions, Wang Erzhu arrived at a warehouse where several people were guarding it. A middle-aged man reached out and took the ticket from Wang Erzhu.

"Twenty acres of land, you must have farm tools at home."

"have……"

Before Wang Erzhu could speak, the pig-headed man behind him kicked him, giving him a subtle hint, which Wang Erzhu immediately understood.

"Not many, we only have a sickle and a hoe at home."

The warehouse keeper pretended not to see what was happening; "One plow, one mule, one plough, Xiao Sun, take this brother inside to get the tools."

"Alright, brother, come with me." A young man led Wang Erzhu to collect the tools.

The whole process was quick, and Wang Erzhu obtained a mule and a bunch of tools.

Of course, these tools must be returned after the land clearing is completed.

"Hey, just tell them all your farm tools are broken, and they'll give you everything. These sickles and hoes made in the army are much better than the broken sickles and hoes you have at home."

Pighead also received his tools and caught up with Wang Erzhu, feeling sorry that he hadn't gained any advantage.

Wang Erzhu smiled foolishly; "I didn't think that much about it."

"Let me tell you, if you don't want to return these farm tools, you'll have to buy them back later, otherwise you'll suffer a huge loss. That's all the advice I can give you."

Pighead patted Wang Erzhu on the shoulder as a friendly reminder.

I learned all this information from Captain Wang. The Ministry of Agriculture won't care whether you take more or less tools; these are all benefits.

Dog Egg caught up with him, and after being reminded by Pig Head, he took a whole set of farm tools.

The three of them bought some things in the city and then headed home.

"This salt is much cheaper now. Will the new army make a profit selling it at this price?"

In the past, the price of salt fluctuated, sometimes around 20 coins and sometimes as high as 70 or 80 coins. But the salt sold by the new army was only 10 coins per catty, which was very cheap.

"Why are you worried about this? Don't worry, the new army won't be short of money," Pighead said with a chuckle.

Halfway there, the three were walking along the ridge of the field when they suddenly noticed a group of people standing together ahead, seemingly arguing about something. Wang Erzhu and the others exchanged glances and decided to go over and see what was going on.

"How dare you! We chased you away yesterday, and you still dare to come back. Do you know whose land this is?"

"This land belongs to the Zhu family!"

"Do you know who Zhu Juren's ancestors were? They were Zhu Xi, descendants of the Sage Zhu! If you dare to measure even a single plot of this land, you are showing disrespect to the Sage!"

Zhu Da was the steward of the Zhu family, responsible for managing the family's estate. Behind him stood seven or eight tenant farmers. When the steward told them that these people were going to take their land, the tenant farmers were furious and came to help him.

"Yes, this is the land of the Sage Zhu; you cannot touch it."

"You all look like scholars. Aren't you just tampering with the ancestral temple's sacred site by doing this?"

"Pooh."

These tenant farmers all had unfriendly expressions, but they were much more polite today because Yuan Hua, who had come to measure the land, was accompanied by several armed soldiers.

Yuan Hua's face was grim, and he was furious. "How many times have I told you? We are redistributing the land! Please cooperate!"

However, the tenant farmers seemed deaf and didn't hear them, only continuing to obstruct them.

"Huh, nine and a half?" Wang Erzhu seemed to recognize someone and greeted them.

Nine and a Half got his nickname because one of his fingers was cut off in half when he was young.

Among the tenant farmers, a middle-aged man named Nine and a Half also saw Wang Erzhu.

"Erzhu, you're not dead? What's going on?" Nine and a Half looked Wang Erzhu up and down. He was leading a mule with brand-new, sharp farm tools hanging on its back. The two people next to him were also dressed in the same way, their equipment luxurious. Nine and a Half looked on with envy.

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Nine and a Half ignored the argument around them and turned to chat with Wang Erzhu.

"Hehe, didn't the new army get a dozen or so acres of land? After that, I wanted to cultivate more wasteland, but I didn't have enough farm tools, so I borrowed some from the Ministry of Agriculture. Are you dividing up land?"

Nine and a half responded with an "Mmm," still processing Wang Erzhu's information.

Did the new army really distribute land?

How many acres of land could Wang Erzhu's family get?

How did their family become living a good life so quickly?

For a moment, Jiu Ge felt a little anxious or worried, worried that his friends would live a good life while he was still struggling.

"You guys go ahead with your work, I'm off." Wang Erzhu, Gou Dan, and Zhu Tou led their mules back to Lijiazhai.

After the nine and a half finished talking, he turned to look at Zhu Da and his group. Instead of going back, he stood to the side.

Both men had loud voices, and everyone around them heard what they just said. Many people were still hesitant, but when they saw the real mules and horses that Wang Erzhu and the others had, they believed Yuan Hua's words even more.

Some people even plan to go to other villages today to inquire about the situation.

Seeing this, Yuan Hua realized that the tenant farmers seemed to want to avoid paying attention to them.

"If you dare to resist during the land survey, you'll be arrested as a spy."

"Let's do it!"