Chapter 222 Contribution
After Zhu Pingan's "Study Valley" move, Zhang Juren said goodbye and left Shanghe Village. He came to his parents' home with his wife and could not stay long. Zhu Pingan, the village elders, etc. They were sent to the entrance of the village and watched him leave.
After sending Zhang Juren away, Zhu Ping'an was invited to Cun Zheng's home by the village leader and the village elders to make plans for the Xueguan. The village elder was more concerned about the Xueguan than erecting a monument. , it was almost noon before Zhu Pingan was able to escape.
Before I even got home, I heard a lot of people in my yard, as if going to a market.
“Master Zhu is back!”
Before Zhu Pingan could enter the door, he heard an excited voice coming from the yard.
Master Zhu?
Hearing this, the corner of Zhu Ping'an's mouth twitched slightly, and then he walked in and was surrounded by the excited crowd in the yard.
"The little old man is a good farmer. I beg Mr. Zhu to take him in and work as a cow or a horse." A patched old man came to Zhu Ping'an very respectfully but very excitedly. , the tone is a bit confusing.
"Mr. Zhu, our family is a family, and we can't do it without a cook. I am the second pillar of Bianjia Village. I have been working as a ladle in the town for more than ten years. Please let me be our chef. , the cooking is guaranteed to be fragrant.”
A man with a big head, a thick neck, a greasy face and clothes, patted his chest in assurance.
"I am a rough man, but I have plenty of strength. Let me be a servant."
"I can also farm."
"Master Zhu, please accept us. "Others also gathered around, vying to recommend themselves.
"Mr. Zhu, my two daughters are both yellow-flowered girls. Leave them here to bring tea and pour water for Mr. Zhu. They can do their job easily. If Mr. Zhu likes it, Bed warmers are also useful.”
There was even an uncle who single-handedly pushed his two well-groomed daughters to Zhu Ping'an and recommended them to Mrs. Wang.
Then Zhu Ping'an saw the uncle's two little lolita with pigtails staring at him with big round eyes and innocent faces. One of them was biting his finger and bleeding. The saliva.
The older ones are up to six years old. The younger ones are only four or five years old!
You’re not even as tall as the legs of a table. You know how to warm a bed at this age, right? !
Zhu Ping'an has a black line on his face
Looking at the people in the yard rushing to recommend themselves as slaves, the corners of Zhu Ping'an's mouth twitched. This must be the dedication of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Ping'an also knew something about contributions, and most modern history book reviews were critical of this. This is almost defined as an important reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, in Zhu Pingan’s eyes, donations must be separated. For the country, donations must be harmful but without any benefit, but for the villagers, this is not the case. They must be separated. Come and see.
Judging from the voluntary contributions in front of them, it must be good for them, so they are so proactive. If it's harmful to them, why would they rush here?
For them, donation is a means of avoiding taxes. In ancient times, taxation and corvee were very heavy. In order to avoid taxes and corvee, the working people in ancient times came up with this method of making donations.
How should I put it? The rulers of the Ming Dynasty levied taxes and corvees on different targets. Officials do not have to pay taxes or perform corvee service, and their entire family does not have to pay taxes or perform corvee service, including masters and slaves; the same applies to the entire family. The taxes and corvees in ancient times were so heavy. This type of tax and that kind of tax were exploited layer by layer, and the burden was even heavier. As for the corvee, it was the top priority, such as building roads, building bridges, escorting grain, and even sending three melons and two dates. There were corvees who had to travel thousands of miles to the capital, which was time consuming and expensive. The working people in ancient times were miserable.
In order to survive, they came up with ways to contribute. The families of officials and civil servants do not collect taxes and do not perform corvee service, right? Then I can’t become an official or civil servant, so I can just become a slave of his family. In other words, if I farm the land and you collect land tax, then what if I don’t farm the country’s land? If the land of the Juren Officials’ House is not taxed, then I will give my family’s land to the Juren Officials’ House. Isn’t that enough? Of course, they still farm their own land, but the land has become the home of the Juren officials. They do not have to pay taxes to the state for farming. Instead, they pay rent to the officials and Juren families. The amount is much less than the tax. .
Some people are rushing over to become their own slaves and to give their family's land to their own family. How can the family of a scholar and official refuse such a good thing?
If you contribute, the people will benefit, the officials will benefit, but in the end it will be the country that will suffer.
Of course understanding is understanding, but
“Yaya can warm the bed”
The drooling little lolita, four or five years old, waved her chubby little paws and repeated the uncle's words in a milky voice, which made Zhu Pingan almost spit out a mouthful of old blood
"He's here, come on, come in."
At this moment, Mrs. Chen, the mother who heard the movement, excitedly waved her hand at the door of the house and called Zhu Pingan over.
With the rescue of his mother, Mrs. Chen, Zhu Pingan was able to walk through the yard from the crowd and come to the house.
The villagers are still very respectful to Zhu Pingan, the master of the people's education. Seeing that Chen asked Zhu Pingan for something, they all consciously made way for Zhu Pingan.
"Hurry up, look." Mother Chen excitedly pulled Zhu Pingan to the back room and pointed at the various gifts placed on and under the bed for Zhu Pingan to see.
"This is?" Zhu Ping'an looked at the various gifts randomly placed in the room, feeling a little confused.
"Just when you were at Muramasa's house for a while, many people came one after another and brought these things. They put them down no matter what, and my mother couldn't stop them." Ms. Chen looked at her full of smiles. A gift for the bedroom that makes your eyes shine.
You didn’t stop me, mom.
Looking at Mr. Chen, whose eyes were shining brightly, Zhu Pingan silently cursed in his heart.
However, that’s okay. I’m not a pedantic person. It’s just human nature to welcome and send someone away.
What's more, mother Chen is still so excited, so she won't ruin the scene. But I can no longer accept gifts from now on.
“Oh, I almost forgot, there are also these land deeds, this is fifteen acres of paddy field, this is also fifteen acres of paddy field, well, this is more, this is fifty acres of irrigated land, and These fields are quite close to our village, and they were given by wealthy locals nearby. There is also a grocery store in the town. Whose family sent these banknotes, my mother hasn’t had time to count them.”
My mother Chen suddenly remembered the land deed as she spoke, and took out a small piece of money from Father Zhu’s worn shoes under the bed. Stacked up the land deeds, then took out several banknotes from under a certain brick in the ground, and sat on the bed and told Zhu Pingan one by one.
"Mother" Zhu Pingan opened her mouth, but was interrupted by her mother, Mrs. Chen.
Mother Chen held the land deed firmly in her hand and said, like a miser, in the same tone as when she confiscated new year's money, "Mom, keep these things for you."
In the morning, Zhu Ping'an gave a big hand wield fifty taels of silver After working as a school for Murakami, Mrs. Chen was very distressed when she came back. Thanks to these rich rich people who had just arrived home, they sent people to send these gifts and land deeds and other congratulatory gifts. Mrs. Chen was in a good mood. Therefore, at this time, Mrs. Chen was not Give Zhu Pingan a chance.
Seeing his mother, Mrs. Chen, covering the land deed as if she was protecting a calf, Zhu Pingan was speechless, and then looked at the gifts piled under the bed.
"Don't even think about those things. If you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are, you still have to give those things as gifts. I've put them all away. Well, I'll give them the Wang family's congratulatory gift." The Zhang family returns gifts; Zhang family’s congratulatory gifts, return gifts to the Wang family”
Mother Chen pointed to the pile of gifts under the bed and told Zhu Ping’an one by one their destination.
"Forget it this time, don't take your mother in again." Zhu Pingan could only smile bitterly. (End of this chapter)