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Chapter 242: Autumn Fu Seven
Zhou Botao's men came up with a simple and crude method: to charm Zhou Qi directly and stuff him into Qiu Hong's bed. Then bring Chen Minggang here. Although it looks crude, it must be effective. Even if Chen Minggang knew that someone was setting up a trap, he would have to expel Zhou Qi out of face.
However, this method had huge side effects. Chen Minggang knew immediately that someone was going to deal with him. will arouse their vigilance. And after the on-site inspection, Zhou Botao felt that this matter was not easy - there were six or seven of Chen Minggang's men who were watching and guarding near Qiuhong's house, and there were four or five servants in the yard. There were too many people involved. Chen Minggang was not a fool after all.
It is also difficult to attack outside. According to the surveillance personnel's report: Qiu Hong rarely goes out. Originally, Chen Minggang wouldn't allow her to go out. She is not a local, and she has few acquaintances in the county who can move around. Lingao is a small place, there is not even a decent temple - there is no opportunity to go to the temple to burn incense, which was a common leisure activity for women in ancient society.
There's nothing you can do about hiding like this. Can't punch it in, can't pull it out. Zhou Botao couldn't think of a better way, so he had to continue to let the people in the special publicity team continue to spread rumors.
Zhou Qi himself was still unaware. After the autumn expedition began, he had many things to do. Chen Minggang left most things to him. Zhou Qi also felt that this was the master's trust in him - he was originally worried about Qiu Hong's beating, but now he felt that his trust in the master had not diminished, and he was finally half relieved.
Although this year they have played a "farm" brand, Master has already talked to them through the bottom line. The key is to "discuss the differences" with the big investors.
"Our men's interests are the first thing to be discussed." Chen Minggang instructed him, "But the Australians must also deal with it well. The original underreporting, hidden fields and the number of fields that were sent secretly will cost the big households a lot. Only when they come out can this matter be over."
As for how much each family will spit out, although the specific amount depends on the price, Chen Minggang also made a list and set a bottom line. Each family must report a number of acres according to the scale. If you want to spend money to eliminate disasters, it is absolutely impossible not to report one acre. .
Chen Minggang knew very well that if he wanted to borrow the power of the Australians, he had to actually achieve something. Relying solely on bribes to get things done would not work in the hands of the Australians.
Zhou Qi understands Master's thoughts very well, so he has been busy running around the countryside these days, basically spending time negotiating terms with people.
Of course, things are not easy to do. The conditions proposed by Chen Minggang are very harsh: not only must each family report some hidden fields, but also increase the amount of rice consumed. In the past, some grain households refused to pay or paid less. This time, Chen Minggang was uncompromising and insisted on requiring them to pay in full.
"If we don't force them hard now, there may not be such a good opportunity in the future." Chen Minggang instructed him, "Don't be afraid of being stiff, let alone harsh words. We have the support of Australian masters. What are you afraid of? We are not afraid of making a big fuss - the party is so rampant, its head is hanging at the city gate."
Although he said that, Zhou Qi was unwilling to do this. The master is the master, and he is him. It is hard to say whether he can become the clerk of the yamen in the future - as it is now, he probably has no hope. Chen Minggang has three sons, the eldest of whom is twenty years old. The master is still young, so it is not a problem to continue working for ten more years. Then he will naturally pass it on to his son. Who knows what attitude this junior brother will have towards him then?
I am not an official official, so to speak, I am just a non-black person. In ancient times, "organization" was also valued. Adhering to the principle of having many friends and multiple paths, Zhou Qi is still very polite to big investors, and always says hello first: This is arranged by "above", not his own idea.
"Young people can't help themselves," he always said with a smile on his face with the wealthy people. "You see, I am thirty years old and I don't even have a wife. I just make a living, so I have to ask the gentlemen to be considerate."
This is nothing more than a hint to everyone: the benefits are not mine. Every wrongdoer has his head, and every debt has his own owner.
Liujiazhai.
"So, how many more acres must be reported to pass the test?" Liu Guangbiao asked.
Liu Youren asked Liu Guangbiao to negotiate terms with Zhou Qi on behalf of the Liu family, so that if the talks collapsed, there would still be room for change.
"That's right." Zhou Qi nodded affirmatively, "If the Australians want to build land, they can't just thunder without rain. They won't give them any face."
"Well, that makes sense." Liu Guangbiao stared at Zhou Qi, trying to see something on Zhou Qi's face, but Zhou Qi was still smiling and submissive.
"Lao Qi, let's figure it out. How many flowers are needed?" Liu Guangbiao asked.
"I'm not busy with the number of expenses. Please tell Mr. Liu San how much Liu Jiazhai plans to report." Over-reporting and under-reporting are directly related to the amount of private expenses. You can’t go wrong with this festival.
There was an order issued to him by Chen Minggang on Saturday. In the past, I also handled food delivery for Liujiazhai. I know that the starting land tax here is less than 400 acres. Liu Youren actually owns more than 2,000 acres of land.
"How about a total of 500 acres of starting land?"
"You know better than me how much land Mr. Liu has under his name," Zhou Qi said slowly, "Besides, you can't say that such a large piece of land as Calais Ocean is only 500 acres - neither does the Prime Minister of Australia. Silly."
Liu Guangcheng understood that this meant that he could not pass the door if he offered one or two hundred acres. He said: "Old Qi, what do you mean-"
"At least half of it must be reported, one thousand two hundred acres."
"Twelve hundred acres" Liu Guang looked like he was frightened, "How can this happen, madam?"
"Liu Sanye," Zhou Qi said in a more serious tone, "Don't feel bad, there's this half, and there's the other half. If you think it's too much, the Australians will go to the countryside to investigate by themselves - I'm afraid it won't be a cent by then." Every penny has to be turned into a booklet.”
Liu Guangbiao knew that the asking price was exorbitant, so he waited for him to pay back the money on the spot. He thought for a while:
"Just give me a price, how much can you reduce at most?"
The two parties haggled for a while, and finally agreed on the price: Liujiazhai Xinbao will pay 230 acres, so the total land area will be more than 700 acres. As for rice consumption, the two parties agreed that this year, every stone will be paid with three dou and three liters - which is also an increase. In the past, the rice consumption in Liujiazhai was only one dou and two liters. One of the newly added parts is Chen Minggang's "private money". This number is also unprecedented.
After sending Zhou Qi away, Liu Youren, who had been listening in the back hall, walked out. Liu Guangbiao hurriedly greeted him:
"Third uncle, look -"
"It's okay, you handled this well." Liu Youren sighed. Although Zhou Qi's tone was respectful this week, the appetite of Chen Minggang and his gang this year is really too big. In the past, it was only possible to deal with it by giving them 12 or 8 taels of silver. This time, not only did they increase the consumption of rice and report the hidden fields, they even dared to include their personal expenses in the consumption of rice.
"This group of Australians are really harmful to people," Liu Guangbiao said bitterly, "How could Chen Minggang dare to be so rampant in the past?"
"Yeah." Liu Youren said nothing. He understood completely now. The so-called Zhangtian probably does mean what the Australians mean. However, he was used by Chen Minggang and became his tool for extorting money. Otherwise, it would be impossible to force everyone to report some hidden fields, and it would not be enough if they reported less - Chen Minggang also knew that the Australians could not just fool around, they had to show some actual results.
He just found it strange why the Australians allowed Chen Minggang and his gang to act recklessly. With their ability, they could not do it accurately by going to the countryside to farm their own land, and they would not disturb the people.
Liu Youren suddenly thought that if Australians really went to the countryside to farm their own land, then how could a big family like him do anything about it? He would probably have to report all the land in one, one, two, or two ways. Speaking of which, having a silverfish like Chen Minggang around is somewhat beneficial.
However, the disgust of being blackmailed never left him.
"You actually have to compromise with such villains," he said bitterly. It seems that if you want to avoid being bullied, you have to be directly linked to the Australians. He, Chen Minggang, is not afraid of fooling around with the Australians and openly shows his face to do things for them. He is a rich country man, what should he be afraid of when he donates prison students?
"When Chief Yun comes, entertain him well." He told Liu Guangbiao, "Build more relations with him and tell him about this incident."
"Yes, nephew understands"
"There is also the matter of Meilan. You have to pay more attention to it. I think Chief Yun will let Meilan take care of her when he comes this time." At this point, his thought was too ridiculous. Meilan is not a girl, so she can't just give it to others. On the contrary, it will make the other party look down upon.
"This nephew will come up with a solution." Liu Guang expressed his understanding.
"Her father agreed."
"It's too late for her father to like him if he can curry favor with the Australian master." Of course Liu Youren knew that his nephew was talking nonsense, and he probably used some kind of coercion and inducement. But it doesn't matter: Liu Meilan's family is insignificant in the clan, and no one cares what they think.
"When you share the rice as a sacrifice at the end of the year, give more to his family," Liu Youren said. "Meilan's dowry when she leaves the cabinet will also come from the official, so that she can marry in glory."
"The third uncle has thought carefully," Liu Guangbiao said with a smile, "Not only can his family give more, but each house can also receive a lot more rice this year. This year's harvest is really good. It's better than those nearby. Master, join the Tiandihui This is really the right step.”
Speaking of the harvest, Liu Youren felt a little more relaxed: Fortunately, this year's harvest is not bad.
Firstly, it is rare that the weather is smooth and there are no major disasters; secondly, after joining the Tiandihui, Chief Yun really tried his best and used many methods to help his family farm. Some of the methods seemed not surprising to him, but some were unimaginable. The rice fields have now been watered and dried. Although Liu Youren is a landowner, he is very proficient in farming. He saw that this year's rice ears are not only numerous but also generally heavy. He picked a branch and counted it. Not only were there many more grains than before, but there were also very few empty ears and shriveled grains. ,.
