Chapter 8 Everyone has their own thoughts
Daddy Li’s anger is obviously effective.
The rest was uneventful. The whole family was busy harvesting. In half a month, they finally took back ten acres of rice, dried it in the sun and put it into the warehouse. It went smoothly.
This year is a good harvest year. God is kind to me. Except for two days of heavy rain, the rest of the time is sunny. The rice is dry in the sun. It can be stored in the warehouse for several years without fear of spoilage. Fungus-infested.
Of course, no one’s grain can last for more than a few years. After paying taxes on grain, the whole family can chew it until next year and harvest grain without starving, then it is already a wealthy family.
The village school officially started. Li Rongtan carried a book bag sewn by his mother Wu herself and jumped into the village school under the expectant eyes of his father Li. He started to recite the Three Character Sutra while shaking his head along with the old boy.
The Li family was also busy taking back home the sweet potatoes, peanuts and beans left in the fields.
Seeing that it was getting cooler, the county clerk rode a donkey to the village and informed the head of the village when the grain tax would be sent to the county this year.
Yes, during the Jin Dynasty, grain taxes were collected by the people themselves and sent to the county government warehouse. Many farmers had never been to the city and did not even know where the official warehouse was. The grain tax matter is a panic, and to avoid chaos, usually the head of each village will go to the county town together with the villagers.
There is strength in numbers, and the taxes and grains brought with them can be better protected.
The tax rate of the Jin Dynasty was three measures of grain per mu. The emperor never raised taxes during his reign, but just in case, Father Li brought more taxes and grains on top of the calculated amount. Two sacks of grain, every year.
Paying taxes and grain will go smoothly when you meet a good official, but when you meet someone who loves to find trouble, you will probably be able to measure out a bucket and a half as a bucket. .
Can they, ordinary people, resist the officials?
Of course I can't. I can only suffer a small loss and just pay the tax smoothly.
This is all the experience that Mr. Li learned from his grandfather. After so many years, he has not gone to deliver taxes and grains in person, but has also warned his sons countless times that it is okay to suffer a little loss, as long as When people are fine, they are better than anything else.
He is not afraid of things.
It is said that when he was a boy, one year he went to the city with his father and elder brother to pay the grain tax, and they met a person from an unknown village in front of him, because the little official who was measuring the grain had a bucket full of food. He couldn't help but choked. As a result, the clerk refused to collect his taxes and grains and kicked him out of the team.
There is an example in the Jin Dynasty. After the time for paying taxes and grain is set, it must be paid within one month. If the tax and grain are not paid within one month, the whole family will be punished. Not only will your Their fields were confiscated and they were punished with hard labor.
If the petty officials want to deal with you, they don’t need to beat you. As long as they don’t collect your taxes and grains and make you overdue, they can deal with you clearly and you will have no way to complain.
So, it doesn’t matter if you receive more grain and suffer a little loss, as long as it goes smoothly.
After all, the people do not fight with the officials.
Dad Li once again gave careful instructions to his four sons and eldest grandson who were about to pay taxes and rations. He did not forget to say: "While waiting in line to pay rations, I also walked around. Let’s see if we can find some part-time workers.”
It’s getting cold now, and there’s not much work in the fields. There are so many mouths that need to eat every day. If you have this free time, it’s good to find some part-time workers to earn some money. .
It's like this every year. It's not easy to go to the city. I'm going to the county to deliver taxes and grains, so I just let this matter go around. I can find the best one, but if I can't, forget it.
The brothers of the Li family naturally nodded in agreement to Father Li's instructions.
But during the evening break, similar conversations were going on in the two rooms next to each other to the west. The room on the left was occupied by Mr. Li Jigui and Mrs. Jiang. Mrs. Jiang specially stretched out her ears to listen to what was going on around her. Knowing that everyone was asleep, she pulled the man and muttered, "Why don't you take the initiative tomorrow?" Go find the day laborers and ask the elder brothers to line up to guard the food.”
Li Jigui shook his head without thinking, "We have to leave before dawn tomorrow, and we have to walk such a long way. How about I just sit in the pile of grain and take a nap to rest? What's the cost? Legs? Let the eldest brother and the second brother do it!”
It was the same in previous years.
Chiang knows that her man has always been lazy when he can, so it would be better to give him a beating than to make him bother.
He immediately said hurriedly: "I don't want you to waste your legs. If you leave the team and find a corner sheltered from the wind, I can take a nap!"
Li Jigui looked puzzled, "Isn't that selling water by the river? I took a nap in the team Okay, we are all acquaintances before and after."
Ms. Jiang was so angry that she couldn't help but pinch him, "Are you stupid? Just listen to me and go find a part-time worker tomorrow. When the time comes, they will say they can’t find it. This year Just let the cat in the house die!"
This time Li Jigui figured out that he would rather not work part-time. Without thinking about it, he immediately grinned, "Okay! My wife is smarter than before! Why didn’t you think of that? I listen to you!”
Last year, he was so tired from working part-time to build a house for others. This year, he also wants to stay at home and do nothing. Come on, have a good rest.
Seeing that the man agreed, Mrs. Jiang couldn't help but smile.
Men don’t know much, so she doesn’t have to explain it to him. In short, the money from this part-time worker is not given to the big house. If it weren’t for nothing, she wouldn’t even want to weave every day. It’s over!
Don't talk about her, it's not like she didn't notice that the third sister-in-law, Huang, used to be very good at weaving, but now she can't weave as fast as she used to. Isn't that intentional?
After the couple finished speaking, they squinted for sleep, and Ms. Huang, who was separated by a wall, was still angrily pinching the man, "I asked you to go find a day laborer tomorrow, so you can go." What are you doing?”
Li Jifu muttered angrily, “My eldest brother and second brother are the ones who look for part-time workers every year. How can I find any part-time workers? I can’t do it!”
Mr. Huang said: "I just asked you to look for it, but I didn't ask you to actually look for it! It's the best to find such a part-time worker!"
Li Jifu stared at him, "What's the point? If you can't find a part-time worker this year, it's the best!" , Dad had to get angry at home and talk all over the place. Wow?”
When Huang heard this, he couldn’t help but break it up and said, “Now that I’m weaving every day, it’s not like our house has no energy. According to me, I won’t do any part-time work this year. Okay, you should have a good rest at home. This year has been more than Hard work? Besides, all the money earned from part-time work should be given to mother. What will mother do with the money?
Don’t forget, dad will support Brother Tan to go to Fan School next year. Family school, that’s a lot of money! Anyway, we won’t cheat! The workers have food to eat, so they can live with it, why bother to help others? "
Li Jifu is simple-minded, but he has never thought of so much. Five ounces of money is just five ounces of money, and the money is not in his hands anyway? The hand is not his.
He waved his hand, "I'm not going, let Big Brother and the others find it. I'll stay in line and rest my legs as I did in previous years. There's nothing wrong with working part-time. If you can find a job building a house for a wealthy family, I'm tired, but I have to take care of the food!"
Huang:.
She raised her eyebrows, "You. If you don’t listen to me, don’t touch me in the future!”
When Li Jifu heard this, he was so anxious that he couldn’t touch his wife. He had to respond: “Okay, okay, I’ll listen to you!”
After answering, I couldn't help but mutter, "You don't even know how to feel sorry for me. How tired you are from running around and your legs are so nervous——"
Mr. Huang heard this and glared at him: "You can just walk around twice! It's rare to go back to the city, so just take it for a stroll!"
(End of Chapter)