Chapter 31 Replacement

  Liu Yitiao's heart skipped a beat, and from the news of his ability to cure the intestinal disorder being spread, he had expected that Wang Xiancheng would definitely find him. After all, for such a disease similar to the plague, the authorities would not be able to stay out of it.

  He just didn't expect it to happen so soon, he had just earned enough money for two heads of cattle.

  "Indeed, there is such a thing, an ancestral remedy that has some therapeutic effect." Liu Yitiao replied respectfully, thinking in his heart about how to handle this matter.

  "Oh? Is there a good medical case?" Wang Zhihong motioned for Liu Yitiao and Liu Ertiao to sit down, asking with the hope that Liu Yitiao could bring him some surprise. These two days he had been tormented by this intestinal disease until he was almost driven mad. A large number of cattle in the county had fallen ill, and several heads had already died. If it wasn't controlled in time, the consequences would be very serious, also affecting agricultural production after the spring began.

  Liu Yitiao replied: "Including the oxen in the common people's homes, there are already three oxen that have recovered. There are still three at home waiting for treatment."

  "Really?!" Wang Zhihong stood up again, this was good news. For the first time in days, he heard that a cow had been cured. He looked at Liu Yitiao and said: "Liu, you have such a good method, why didn't you say so earlier? Now, hundreds of cows in San Yuan County are infected, and every day there is news of cows dying, it's really heartbreaking. You have this method, are you willing to take it out to save the people of San Yuan?"

  "Do you want to catch a white wolf with bare hands?" Liu Yitiao despised Wang Zhihong in his heart and said, "Lord Wang is right, but this is what our ancestors have passed down. If it's made public, I'm afraid..."

  If I had known that Liu Yitiao would not be so quick, Wang Zhihong directly quoted the price and said: "This official knows that this is a bit difficult for people, but the common people are suffering, and it's also unavoidable. In this way, this official represents the government to offer 30 mu of permanent land in exchange for Liu Xiaoge's good prescription, how about it? I think so, even if the ancestors of the Liu family know, they will not blame again."

  "Three hundred mu?!" Liu Yitiao was shocked, how did Wang Zhihong become so generous? Three thousand mu (equivalent to about 300 mu in modern measurement) of forever land that can be passed down to future generations, given away with just one word. Is land really this worthless in this era?

  Wang Zhihong saw Liu Yitiao's expression and thought he was dissatisfied with the price, so he added: "If Mr. Liu agrees, the government will also reward him with 10 more oxen. If it's still not okay, then forget it, I'll think of another way."

  "Any other way?" Wang Zhihong's meaning was already clear to Liu Yitiao, the sweet date was followed by a big stick, if you don't eat the sweet date, then I'll serve you with the big stick, it's up to you to weigh and decide.

  However, the sweet jujube given by Wang Zhihong was a great temptation to Liu Yitiao. He had always wanted to make more money, wasn't it for these things? Thirty hectares of land and ten head of oxen were much more than he had expected.

  Moreover, the prescription for treating cow disease is too simple and crude, making it easy to be discovered. Although he had disguised himself when purchasing the ingredients, it would still be difficult to avoid being discovered after a long time. It's better to sell it to Wang Zhihong now and gain both material benefits and personal relationships.

  Liu Yitiao stood up, bowed to Wang Zhihong and said: "In that case, for the sake of San Yuan's people, I am willing to offer the prescription to help all the people in the county get through this disaster."

  "Good!" Wang Zhihong was overjoyed and didn't forget to repay Liu Yitiao's kindness, saying: "I will send someone to divide the land and cattle with you tomorrow, don't worry. Although the lands I'm granting now are all barren, I guarantee that after they're opened up, they'll all become good fields."

  "Thank you, sir!" Liu Yitiao said: "Please, sir, prepare some pen and paper for the common people. I will write out the prescription and present it to you."

  A mutually beneficial transaction was thus completed. Liu Yitiao exchanged a prescription for thirty mu of Yongye fields and ten head of cattle. Wang Zhihong used the imperial court's policy to encourage farming to exchange for a prescription to treat cattle intestinal obstruction. Both parties got what they needed, and their cooperation was also pleasant.

  As it was approaching noon, Liu Yitiao and Liu Ertiao stood up to bid farewell. Wang Zhihong also had an urgent need to stock up on garlic and liquor, and arranged for disaster relief, without saying a word to keep them.

  On the way back, Liu Yitiao passed by Liu Ertiao and only then did he understand why Wang Zhihong was so generous in giving him land and cattle. It turned out that although it is now a famous year of the Zhenguan era in history, the economy of the Tang Dynasty is far from being as prosperous as he had imagined. The war between Sui and Tang had just ended a few years ago, and many young men died in the war, leaving large tracts of land uncultivated. At present, the Tang Dynasty was in a state where all industries were waiting to be established and all things were waiting to be revived. What the country lacked most was not land, but farmers who were willing to reclaim and cultivate the land.

  Wang Zhihong was willing to give him so much land, mostly just for more taxes. However, he was willing to give ten head of oxen, which showed that he had some conscience.

  Back home, Liu Lao Shi was sweeping the floor, wanting to clear out some space. Liu Yi Tiao spoke up and said: "Dad, take a rest, don't work so hard anymore. From now on, our family will no longer accept sick cows. Now we just need to cure these three cows and that's it."

  "Why?" asked Old Willow in surprise.

  "The prescription for treating illnesses was given to County Magistrate Wang by Big Brother Zhang, and in exchange he got back 30 mu of barren land and 10 head of oxen. So starting from tomorrow, the county government will begin providing free medical treatment or charging a small amount of silver for everyone."

  "Thirty mu of land and ten head of cattle?" Liu Lao Shi stopped in his tracks, seeing Liu Yi Tiao nodding in agreement, then hesitated and said: "So much land, I'm afraid we can't cultivate it all. If we can't pay the taxes on time, it will be a lot of trouble."

  The prescription was sent out, and Liu Lao Shi did not object. He trusted Liu Yi Tiao to handle things. However, the thirty hectares of land seemed a bit too much. Originally, their family's one hundred twenty or so mu were already somewhat difficult to cultivate, how would they manage thirty hectares?

  How can someone be dissatisfied with having too much land? Liu Yitiao shook his head, don't some people not want to be landlords either? He shrugged and said fearlessly to Liu Laoshi: "Dad, you don't have to worry about this. As long as there's land, someone will come to farm it. After the new year, I'll find some people to work on it. As for taxes, the first year of opening up wasteland is tax-free."

  "Ah, that's good. You've got a plan in mind, and after the New Year, you'll be eighteen too, so you should have your own land and take charge of things yourself." Liu Lao Shi said: "Others at your age are already married with their own families and established households. If our family wasn't so poor before, we would have arranged for you to marry a wife two years ago. But it's not too late now, after the New Year, I'll definitely ask a matchmaker to find a wife for you!"

  Lao Liu's attitude was very firm, as the saying goes, there are three unfilial acts, and having no descendants is the worst. Not finding a daughter-in-law for Lao Yi had always been a heart disease for him. In the past, when the family was poor, it could be tolerated, but now that life was more comfortable, this matter of finding a daughter-in-law couldn't be delayed any longer. Seeing others having grandsons to hold, Old Liu also felt envious.