Lin Zhennan has been frowning recently. When he thinks about going to the capital, he will stay away from his "cute" drinking friends who are unfamiliar with the place. I heard that the control in the capital is extremely strict and is known as a desert for martial arts people. Every time he thinks about the lack of people, He felt a little disappointed after bragging.
At this time, Mrs. Wang was happily taking inventory of her belongings to see what she would bring to the capital. She often heard people say that living in the capital was not easy, so Mrs. Wang went to inquire about it and found that prices in Beijing were indeed high. A bushel of japonica rice It costs 170 Wen, which is nearly half the price of Fuzhou Prefecture. The pork is even more exaggerated. It only costs 18 Wen to buy a pound, which is three times more expensive.
Lin Zhennan was walking in the courtyard, and came to Mrs. Wang's place with his feet unruly as he walked. Seeing Mrs. Wang's joyful look, Lin Zhennan cautiously said with a flattering look: "Madam, do we have to go to the capital? I I heard that prices in Beijing are very high, and there is no one to take care of the business at home now. How about I stay and take care of the grain store and cloth shop, and you two go to Beijing to enjoy the happiness? What do you think?"
Mrs. Wang's eyebrows raised when she heard this, and Lin Zhennan's tone suddenly became three points weaker. After speaking, his voice gradually became inaudible.
"Hmph! I leave the grain store and cloth shop to you. I'm afraid we, the two of us, are going to suffer from the northwest wind! When have you ever taken part in the business at home? You have always only known how to put your clothes on, your hands for food, and your mouth. You don't need to take care of the business, so don't worry. , the clan elder said he would send someone to take care of it for us."
Lin Zhennan's plan failed, but he had another plan in his mind: "When you said it, I became even more worried. I'd better stay, but I have to keep an eye on them!"
Mrs. Wang didn't know what Lin Zhennan was thinking. She just couldn't bear to let go of those bad friends, so she said.
"If you really want to stay, it's not impossible."
Lin Zhennan felt happy and said quickly: "Okay, okay, I will definitely learn how to take care of business."
"Hmph! If you stay in Fuzhou, you won't have any pocket money!"
Lin Zhennan's expression changed instantly when he heard that there was no pocket money available. After careful consideration, he still felt that pocket money was important and muttered: "Then... then I'd better go to Beijing with you. In fact, I don't really want to stay in Fuzhou." , I still can’t bear to let you go.”
After Li Jie left Baisha, he rushed non-stop to Fuzhou City under the stars and the moon. On the way, he had already thought of a way to make money. He had discussed before that the whole family would go to the capital together this time, but the prices in Beijing were higher than in other areas. Quite a few, the imperial salary alone is a bit unsustainable.
Calculated based on Li Jie's own rank, according to the regulations of the 25th year of Hongwu, the statutory official salary for the seventh rank was seven stones and five dou per month. However, after Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing, due to the inconvenience of water transportation, almost all the official salary was paid in silver. .
The salary is divided into the original color and the folded color. There are three kinds of moon rice in the original color, folded silk rice (replacement of rice with silk) and folded silver rice (replaced with silver). Regardless of the official position, the monthly salary is one stone, which can be converted into a year's salary. There are about 27 taels of silver. In terms of folding, it means that the salary payment is changed from lumi to money, banknotes, silver and other currencies, or silk, hematoxylin, pepper (you read that right, pepper) and other physical objects.
Of course, in addition to regular salaries, court officials also had the privilege of tax exemptions and exemptions. However, local officials were only half of those of Beijing officials. It was not until the Jiajing period that they were treated equally, and local officials and Beijing officials enjoyed the same amount of exemptions and exemptions.
Preferential tax exemptions can be regarded as an important supplementary income for officials in addition to official salaries. Based on Li Jie's grade, there are roughly 300 acres of farmland that are not taxed. This means that the existing farmland at home does not need to be taxed at all. Because it is high-quality mature land, every mu It can produce 3 shi meters, and the field tax in the Ming Dynasty was 1/10, which is equivalent to an additional 90 shi meters, which is almost the same as the regular salary.
In addition to the official salary and tax exemptions, there is also income from Zaoli silver. Zaoli are servants specially provided for officials and yamen. There are twelve people in the first and second grades, ten in the third grade, six in the fourth grade, and six in the fifth grade. There are four ranks, two ranks from seventh to ninth ranks, and one additional rank for Hanlin, Liuke, Shizhong, Yushi, etc.
Zaoli servants can exchange silver for servants. Those who follow Zaoli and do not want to be servants will be paid 10 taels of official food silver per year. Li Jie has three places. In one year, Zaoli will have 30 taels of silver. Of course, not every Zaoli has this. The money was used to replace the servants, because most tenant farmers and homesteaders did not earn that much throughout the year.
According to the amount of land they own, they can be divided into three categories: upper, middle and lower. The upper category has more than 100 acres, and a small landowner can be a small landowner with a little effort. The middle category has about 50 or 60 acres. The lower category has less than 100 acres. , the rice yield of the upper-grade fields is about two shi and five per mu, that of the medium-grade fields is two shi, and that of the inferior fields is one shi.
The annual expenditure of a family of five is about 50 shi. If you take the middle calculation, after deducting 10% of taxes and costs, a medium-sized household can have about 70 shi of rice left throughout the year, which is almost the same as food and clothing. Tenants deduct After losing half of the land rent, I only have 35 shi of rice left. If I don’t do odd jobs, I can barely survive starvation.
On the whole, compared to ordinary people, the salary of officials is still not low. Of course, if it is paid in full, it will not be particularly high if it is distributed at a discounted price. The price of discounted items is often higher than the market price. It will shrink by about 40%.
Although the salary is not low, the prices in Beijing are no better than those in other places, and the expenses for officials to communicate with each other are also high. In addition, the housing prices in Beijing are not cheap, and a better three-bedroom house costs hundreds of taels.
The court time in the Ming Dynasty was relatively early. Usually, the court would have to go to court just after dawn. Officials would get up before dawn and rush to the imperial city. Therefore, in order to facilitate the court, officials often chose two houses in the south of the city, especially in the east. West Chang'an Street has the most court officials buying property, so housing prices in the south of the city have also skyrocketed. They are twice as expensive as houses elsewhere, and they are often still affordable.
Although Lin Han had said before that if Li Jie buys a property in Beijing, the spending family can contribute a large part of it, but Li Jie is not too embarrassed to take advantage of it in vain. He is just too lazy to do business. This time he just uses this reason to give back. Within the clan, Li Jie is planning to hand over the brewing process of future Moutai liquor to the clan.
The craft of distilled liquor can be traced back to the exact time when it existed, but it does exist today. Soju is brewed by distillation, but the specific brewing method is a secret that is not passed down from family to family. The brewing workshop is still a traditional rice wine, and there is still a basic foundation. You only need a little guidance, but it is not difficult to master the distilled wine technology.
Although the brewing equipment is not as good as that of later generations, the wine brewed with Moutai technology is enough to beat other distilled wines of this era. Li Jie has already thought about the sales. When the mutual market opens, he will sell it to the Tatars and stuff it with bitter cold. , Tatars especially like high-strength wine, because brewing distilled wine requires more food. Li Jie does not intend to expand production capacity, as long as he does not worry about property.
