After Zhu Pingan’s “learning from the valley”, Zhang said goodbye and left Shanghe Village, he was accompanying his wife to her mother’s home and could not stay long, Zhu Pingan and the village chief and village elders escorted him to the entrance of the village and saw him off.
After sending off Zhang Zuoren, Zhu Pingan was invited by the village chief and the village old man to the village chief’s house to make plans for the study of the valley, the village old man was more concerned about the study of the valley than the erection of a monument, and it was only at noon that Zhu Pingan was able to get out of the house.
Before he could walk to his home, he heard the sound of people in his yard, just like a fair.
“Master Zhu is back!”
Before Zhu Pingan could even enter the door, he heard an excited voice coming out from the courtyard.
Master Zhu?
When Zhu Pingan heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and only when he raised his foot to enter the door, he was surrounded by the excited crowd in the courtyard.
“The little old man is a good farmer, I implore Master Zhu to take him in and work as a cow or a horse” A patched up old man, very respectful, yet very excited, came to Zhu Pingan, his tone of voice was a little upside down.
“Master Zhu, our family is a lifting family now, no cook can’t do, I’m Erzhu Zi from Bianjia Village, I’ve been working as a big spoon in the town for more than ten years, let me come to the back kitchen of our family, cooking is guaranteed to smell good.”
A man with a big head and thick neck, and oily clothes on his face and body patted his chest and made a promise.
“I’m a rough man, but I have plenty of strength, let me be a houseboy.”
“I can also farm.”
“Master Zhu take us.” The others also gathered around, competing to be the first to recommend themselves.
“Master Zhu, these two daughters of mine are both yellow-bloomed girls, leave them to serve Master Zhu a cup of tea and pour water, they can work very well, and if Master Zhu likes them, they can also warm the bed.”
There was even an uncle who pushed his own two daughters to Zhu Pingan and recommended them to him.
Then Zhu Pingan saw two little lolitas with pigtails under the uncle’s hand, staring at themselves with big round eyes and innocent faces, one of them even biting her finger and drooling.
The older one was at most six years old, and the younger one was only four or five years old!
They weren’t even as tall as the legs of the table. At this age, they can also warm the bed, right?
Zhu Ping An had a black line on his face
Looking at the people in the courtyard who are scrambling to offer themselves as slaves and servants, the corners of Zhu Pingan’s mouth are a little twitchy, this is the casting of offerings in the Daming Dynasty. Zhu Pingan also had some knowledge about the casting of offerings. Most of the modern history book reviews are critical of it, almost defining it as a major reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
In fact, in Zhu Pingan’s eyes, the dedication should also be separated, for the country. For the state, casting sacrifices is definitely a harm but not a benefit, but for the townspeople, it is not so.
Like the voluntary dedication in front of them, if it is unfavourable to them, they will definitely not be so.
How can I put it?
This is like a means of tax avoidance, which is also the ancient wisdom of the working people studied, the court for officials, the family of the lifer are not tax, not levied corvée, so the working people thought that if I became an official, lifer family members, then it will not be the same free of tax, free of corvée, how to do it, the land to become a tenant can be, the same can also be to become a domestic slave, and so on.
In the Ming Dynasty, although the court expressly stipulated that the field tax is very low. Not more than one-tenth, but can not withstand the layers of discography layer by layer increase, the tip kick dendrobium, fire consumption, ugly San routine, the burden on ordinary farmers on the heavy. Another point, the Ming corvée is quite heavy ah, repair roads, repair bridges, escort food, and even send three melons and two dates of the corvée trekking thousands of miles to the capital have, and time-consuming and road fees, bitter.
Therefore, there were farmers who “offered” their fields to the families of officials and eunuchs. In fact, they still cultivate the land themselves, but the dignitaries have the privilege of being exempted from paying taxes, which saves them from paying taxes. Even if you have to pay rent to the gentry, as long as it is less than the court taxes and local officials’ regular expenses, he is happy to do so. This is the same as our country in the past when foreign enterprises enjoy all kinds of preferential treatment, a lot of people digging around the corner to find a foreign or offshore shareholders, hanging a foreign investment brand to avoid taxes, land dedication is similar to this.
However. In any case, the casting of dedication is beneficial but not harmful to officials and lifers, which is also an advantage for those in power, well, the so-called exploiting class.
Understandable, but
“Yaya will warm the bed.”
Drooling four or five year old little loli, waved her fleshy little paw, milky voice, repeated the words of an uncle, but also let Zhu Pingan almost didn’t have a mouthful of old blood sprayed out!
“Swine child is here, quick, come in.”
Just then, her mother Chen who heard the commotion waved her hand excitedly at the door of the house, calling Zhu Pingan over.
It was only after his mother Chen’s rescue that Zhu Pingan was able to make his way through the crowd through the courtyard to the house.
The townspeople were still very respectful towards Zhu Pingan, the Lifted Master, and when they saw Chen calling Zhu Pingan for something, they all consciously made way for Zhu Pingan.
“Quick quick swine child, look.” Mother Chen was very excited as she pulled Zhu Pingan to the inner room, pointing to the various gifts piled up on the bed and under the bed for Zhu Pingan to see.
“This is?” Zhu Pingan looked at the various gifts misplaced in the room and was somewhat at a loss.
“Just now, when you were at the Village Chief’s house for a while, one after another, a number of people came and sent these things, saying that they all wanted to put them down, and my mother couldn’t even stop them.” Chen looked at the bedroom full of gifts, her eyes were glowing.
It’s you who didn’t stop it, old mum.
Looking at Chen’s eyes glowing, Zhu Pingan silently slandered in his heart.
However, this is nothing, he is not a pedantic person, ushered in this is the human condition.
What’s more, mother Chen is still so excited that it won’t be a big deal. But in the future, you can’t accept gifts anymore.
“Oh, almost forgot, there are these land deeds, this is fifteen acres of paddy fields, this is also fifteen acres of paddy fields, well, this is more, this is fifty acres of watered land, there are also these fields from our village are quite close, all are sent by the nearby landlord. There is also a grocery shop in the town, who’s family gave it to me and these silver cheques, my mother hasn’t had time to count them yet.”
Mother Chen said suddenly remembered the land deed, from the bottom of the bed Zhu’s father’s broken shoes to touch out a small pile of land deeds, and then from the bottom of the ground under a certain brick peeled out a number of silver cheques, sitting on the bed one by one to Zhu Pingan said.
“Mother,” Zhu Pingan just opened his mouth, was interrupted by his mother Chen.
Mother Chen then a land deed firmly clutched into the hand, miser-like, with the usual confiscation of New Year’s money when the same tone, “These things, mother give you to keep.”
In the morning, Zhu Pingan waved fifty taels of silver to the village as a school valley, and came back to Chen’s heartache enough, thanks to the landowners who just arrived at home to send people to send these gifts and deeds of land and other congratulatory gifts, Chen’s mood to be able to be very good, so at this time Chen’s not to give Zhu Pingan a little bit of a chance.
Looking at his mother, Chen’s protective of the calf, Zhu Pingan was somewhat speechless, and then looked towards the gifts piled up under the bed.
“Don’t hit on the idea of those things, you are not in charge and don’t know how expensive it is, those things mother still have to give people gifts. I’ve organised them all, En, for the Wang family’s congratulatory gifts, give them back to the Zhang family; for the Zhang family’s congratulatory gifts, give them back to the Wang family.”
Mother Chen pointed to the pile of gifts under the bed, and told Zhu Pingan one by one where they belonged.
“Forget it this time, don’t accept it in the future Mother.” Zhu Pingan could only smile bitterly.
