Otherworldly Days

Chapter 479 Officials

There hasn't been a drop of rain since the spring in Beidi, and the sun in the sky is getting more and more fierce, with several circles of light, the eyes of the people watching the place are dazzled.The ground was dried out, and the crops planted gradually withered. I was afraid that there would be no hope for this year's food.

The tenants who leased the landlord's land may not even be able to pay the landlord this year's rent.

"My lord, please give us a few more days, the family really can't afford any food..." The old man's crying did not get the pity of the official, and he kicked the old man who was holding his leg away. Ah Mo said viciously, "You let us give you a few days, who will give us a few days?"

The old Ah fell to the ground but didn't dare to make a sound, the kid who was huddled in the corner ran back.The old grandson hugged his grandson tightly in fear, and scolded him for why his grandson came out. The boy remained silent, leaning in his grandma's arms, staring at the officials rushing into their house like wolf cubs, It's full of hate.

"Go into the house and search!" With an order, the officer in charge went into the house and rummaged through the house. Except for a little coarse grain in the rice vat, there was no other grain found.There are a few earthen eggs and a handful of wild vegetables hanging in the small kitchen. They are the food that the grandma and the grandson went out to find together, and they are their food for today.

The old grandma knew that the remaining half of the rice in the tank could not be kept. It was the rice grain they ate for the past two days. If it was gone, it would be gone. The people took his grandson away.

The official servant who took away the rice grain in the tank had no valuables in the house. When he went out, he saw two hens raised in the yard, and several people surrounded them to catch them.

"Ah, ah..." The little grandson pointed to the two hens that had been taken away, and hurriedly wanted to get them back.The old grandma hurriedly covered his grandson's mouth, watching the ferocious officer leave, he looked away, took his little grandson back to the house and closed the door.

The officials who left went to the next one, and they rummaged through boxes and chests to find food.

The imperial court wants to collect taxes, and the people have no food in their hands. The officials who go to work can't find any food, so they just take away the valuables from the people's homes to pay for it. They have the final say on how much they owe. If you owe it, come back tomorrow. See you later. Anything of value is taken away.

The sky is high and the emperor is far away, and the old emperor has no time to control them, and the officials below are not without fake public affairs for personal gain.

What people are most afraid of is not the court collecting taxes, but even more afraid of corrupt officials.

Under the governance of Prophet Zhao, Fenshui was well-organized, and the officials who worked under him were fairly well-behaved. These people had been rectified and beaten one by one when their master came to take office.Even the cunning master didn't dare to bully their new master, knowing that their master was not as easy to bully as the meek and weak scholar on the surface.

It is close to the river area, and the grain output in previous years was not bad. Even if the weather is bad this year, the crops in the field can be regarded as long-lived.The officials who went to collect taxes did not go back empty-handed. Many people have rice and grain in their hands to pay taxes, which saves them trouble.

"Masters have worked hard. If you don't mind it, it's not too late to come in and have a cup of tea." When the official came to collect taxes, Cao Xiangnan came back to his house and invited the official to come in for a drink.

In the past two years, when the officials came to collect taxes, he was not at home, so this was the first time Cao Xiangnan met an official who came to collect taxes.

The leading official knew that this was not an ordinary house, and it was considered a rule to go inside. He didn't even enter the door of the house, and just stood outside.

Seeing that no one was going in, Cao Xiangnan gave Liu Guizhong a wink and asked Liu Guizhong to bring tea outside, and poured tea for some officials who came to collect taxes. He smiled and asked how the officials were collecting taxes.

After drinking such a bowl of tea, the dry-mouthed officials who walked along the road improved their mood, and chatted a few words when they were in the mood.They have traveled to many places along the way. Tax collection is a hard and tiring job. Some of the poor people even turned upside down. This tax collection is not an easy job.

Caojiacun was inside, they were the last ones to leave Caojiacun in previous years, and this year they were no exception.In the past, the taxes in Caojia Village were the most difficult to collect. Nine out of ten families could not afford food, so they were the last ones.It's just that in the past two years, Caojia Village's tax collection has been the fastest, and few people refuse to pay them, which saves them a lot of trouble.

Speaking of this, the faces of the officials who came to collect taxes all had smiles on their faces, and they pointed to the grain truck outside the door and said, "Master, have you seen that the grain truck outside the door is just ordering grain like this, many people in your village Those who were given knew that the copper coins were worth it, but no food was given.” This saved them from having to work hard to get them back.

It's better to give copper coins, it's convenient and easy for them.

The official who was asked about it poured out the situation of the remaining villages. For the villages that were difficult to harvest rice, the official sent a few words.It's just that now that the magistrate has changed, all of them follow the master's orders and don't dare to mess around.

"Oh, yes, this saves a lot of trouble." Cao Xiangnan responded, took out the prepared silver taels from his pocket, and said, "The grain planted this year has not been harvested, and the family does not have so much grain, so yes, My family’s fields will also be paid to you in copper coins per mu.”

In addition, he also took out two slings of money, handed them to the leading official, and said, "With this money, I will invite the brothers to drink tea, don't be polite to me." He stuffed it into the other party's hand, and pressed He held his hand, and there was no chance for him to refuse.

This family has sent money to you, the official smiled twice, thanked you and didn't keep any more, and the person who took him left.

The smile on Cao Xiangnan's face subsided when he saw the officials outside the door pulling the grain carts away.

It seemed that many people in the village did not use grain to offset taxes as the village head and Li Zheng had reminded him, so he felt relieved.

The harvest of the previous year was not very good, so some people took copper coins to offset taxes. I think many people in the village still have a little food left in their homes. He can’t say how much, but generally everyone has enough. There is food.I just hope that this year's food can be collected smoothly, so that everyone will have food in their hands, so that they will not be hungry.

Cao Xiangnan also just came back to the village and went home by the way. He brought some eggs to the town to eat. The hens raised in the backyard laid eggs and brought them over there for the children to eat in the morning.Coincidentally, the official who collected the tax came and paid the tax. Liu Guizhong and the Liu family were left to guard the house, and he went to the town.

I went to Prophet Zhao's place, had a cup of tea with the county master, and chatted for a while.

The imperial court conscripted soldiers in the first step, and collected taxes in the second step. It really took away all the things in the hands of the common people.The Feng Dynasty is so big that many places below the court can't control it. It is inevitable that there will be corrupt officials rampant and harming the people. The court has to collect this year's tax in advance. Some people began to rebel, but this time it was only a small sign, and was suppressed by local officials.

In comparison, the land of Fenshui is still peaceful, but the people’s lives have been greatly affected by the government’s collection of taxes. There is no money in their pockets, and there is not much food in the rice tank. These days are sad. up.

But if it continues like this, there will always be a day when it cannot be suppressed.

There are more people doing business in the town, but there are fewer people buying things. Many people brought things from home to the town, thinking they could sell them for some money, but there were not many people buying things. This business is difficult.For those who opened shops to do business, some small shops did not have many people come to them in a day, and no one opened in a day, so the business could not continue.

In the past, Aning's business was pretty good, but these days he hasn't even made any money back, and his face is very sad.His children are growing up day by day, and there are more places to spend money. The father and son came here, and they don't even have a home. Now they live in the backyard of the shop where they live. He just wants to save a few Buy a small yard in this town with a little money, and take the children to live in their own home, instead of living the life of being dependent on others all the time.

Even if others don't say anything, he still wants to give the child a home in his heart. Although he couldn't give the child the same wealth when he took the child away, if he can't even give the child a home, then he is incompetent.

Is it difficult to realize even such a wish?Thinking of this, he sighed.

Ah Ning also wanted to save more money and let his children study more, so that his Xuanxuan would not have to rely on any fame in the future, even if he did business like Cao Xiangnan.At least he won't be hungry, and his life will be stable and stable in the future. Marry a brother and give him a few grandchildren, so that he can experience what it's like to be a grandma.

"Ah Ning, don't be so sad, your face is almost turning into a bitter face." The two people connected to each other when they saw the shop. Anyway, there was no business in the shop, so the two of them sat together and chatted. His face was almost screwed together, and he couldn't help but smile.

Aning gave Qi Wanfeng an angry look, but his brows loosened, and he asked, "What do you think should be done?"

"I also told Xiang Nan about this yesterday. What he meant was that we can decide whether we want to continue driving or close the door for a rest." Business is not easy at this time, pray Wanfeng could also understand what Fu Lang told them to close the door for a rest.

"But if we want to continue driving, there is no way."

"Oh, is that so? Is there any way?" Aning suddenly recovered and asked.

Qi Wanfeng told Ah Ning what his husband meant. There are two shops here, one makes Mala Tang, the other makes pastries, and the food in the two shops is optional, he said, "So if we want to continue to develop, we should make cheap, satisfying and delicious food, so that there will always be people who are willing to spend a few dollars to eat."

His husband said that food is the most important thing, and eating is the biggest thing. They are definitely better than others in the food business.

Cheap but delicious and full stomach?Aning thought seriously.

The latter two shops merged into one family. Qiwanfeng no longer made those exquisite pastries that would not fill his stomach, but started a noodle shop together with Aning, not to mention Aning's skill The skill of making noodles, coupled with their special seasonings, all the brothers who have eaten here once like the food in their store.

In the past, most of the people who came to the store to buy things were brothers, and most of the people who came to eat here later were brothers who came with their children.The business finally came back gradually, and both of them had smiles on their faces.