"It's not as painful as starving to death," Chen Lin said, "but the people's lives are not as good as before."
As long as the people in Nansha Village had the surname Chen, their lives were pretty good. No matter how poor a family is, they can still have enough food and clothing. The family will take care of medicine when they are sick, and give them a coffin when they die. When it comes to ancestor worship or New Year celebrations, you can also share a few pieces of Taigong's meat.
Tenants, machinists, and long-term workers who are not named Chen naturally do not have such a good life, but they can still survive.
But this time he came back, even though it was only a few days, the people in Nansha were living very hard lives.
The looting by soldiers and bandits was indeed the main reason, but his second uncle could also be said to have added fuel to the flames.
But he didn't dare to say this to the female veteran. One thing that was obvious was that Li Yaoer trusted his second uncle very much, and this trust was not "blinded trust". The second uncle was serving as the local card player. As obviously very popular with Australians.
In the past few days since Chen Xuan came back, he has learned a lot about his sister and the Chen Qing family where he stayed.
Since Nansha officially came under the jurisdiction of the Australians in April 1635, Chen Xuan relied on the chance encounters during his escape and years of "mixed society" to develop a set of ingratiating skills that discern the appearance of the Australians he encountered. The chief coaxed him to "the dragon's heart was overjoyed." It didn't take long for him to become a "liaison officer" in Nansha, and then he was appointed as Nansha's "Paijia", that is, the village chief.
Originally, he was not very popular when he came to power. Both tribesmen and villagers scorned this former "prodigal son" and "local stick". Many elders even said that Chen Xuan's position as Card A was a "big joke". If he Just for the village to deal with the Australians, the village clan can still tolerate him. If he really wants to get involved in the affairs of the clan, he will be expelled from the clan by opening an ancestral hall, let alone living in Nansha.
Unexpectedly, Chen Xuan is also a ruthless character with many tricks. Not long after he took office in Nansha, he organized the long-term and short-term workers and hired workers from other places who were at the bottom of the village to form a militia. He also specially selected four strong men from other places who had been in Nansha for a short time and had no connections. Be his bodyguard. Everyone is a simple sword. On weekdays, he stands guard at the village office and works as a follower when going out to do errands. Anyone who dares to contradict Chen Xuan will be punished with a stick. No matter which clan you belong to or which generation you belong to, you will be beaten to death.
Since then, no one in the clan or village dared to offend Chen Xuan's "official authority". Not to mention expelling him from the clan, he was forced to become the head of the ancestral hall and manage all the property affairs of the clan. Even the ancestral hall was grandly occupied by him for use as a village official.
Chen Xuan is well aware that all his power in Nansha depends on the Australians. Since he became the first player, he has been "enthusiastic" about all the affairs arranged by the Australians. Whether it is the collection of "reasonable burdens", payment of errands, "public security rectification..." All the tasks arranged by the Xiangshan County Government are done with all their heart and soul. Within a few months, Nansha Village in Xiangshan County has become something that even Mr. Wen knows "Model Village".
Being a model village naturally comes with a price. In particular, the Senate began to fall into a public security war in Guangdong. A large number of national troops were formed in Guangzhou, and in addition to being transferred from Lingao, many of their food and salaries came from the counties under the former Guangzhou Prefecture.
In addition to grain requisition, logistical supply transfers also involve a large number of manpower and ships, which are also distributed to counties and villages through "subordinates."
Guangdong's land tax burden was very light under the Ming Dynasty, accounting for only 2.01% of the national land tax burden. Although there have been three salary increases and various local floating charges, with the Chen family controlling the grassroots, it is not a big burden for the powerful local families who also have considerable influence in the county.
But for the Senate, the taxes in Guangdong were too light. According to the opinions of Wang Ju and others, Guangdong's current land tax has "very great potential" and is worthy of "deep exploration". This "reasonable burden" amount is not so "reasonable" for the Chen clan people in Nansha, and it seems a bit extortionate.
This cannot be said to mean that the Chen family is deliberately crying for poverty. After all, the soldiers and bandits have caused great harm to Nansha, and they have caused heavy losses to the Chen family's accumulation over the years, both public and private. Now we are faced with reasonable burdens and expenses, which makes us feel embarrassed.
In the past, many of the burdens of the official family, especially the burdens on branch offices, were mostly passed on to people with surnames outside the village. But now that the foreign surname is in power and advocates "equal distribution", the Chen family has the most males, so naturally there are more distributions.
Whether it is "reasonable burden" or frequent "payments", it will naturally affect Nansha's agricultural production. In addition, there are widespread rumors that Australia will implement "375 rent reduction" and "progressive tax system". The Chen family is frightened and unwilling to work hard to manage the fields. Although tenants with foreign surnames have hope, operating the land often requires borrowing. They originally asked for loans. Lending loans to tenants is a good business with a guaranteed profit and no loss. When tenants ask for loans, it can be said that everything they ask for is answered. Nowadays, most of the landowners of the Chen family refuse loans on the pretext that they suffered heavy losses due to being robbed by bandits. Firstly, it is true that their money was damaged, and secondly, the "burden" and rumors of "rent reduction" have made them lose interest in operating their fields. Many middle- and upper-class families with commercial properties in the county or other places simply ran away, leaving their land to their clansmen. There are actually many abandoned fields in Nansha.
Nansha has spent a whole year in this atmosphere of doubt and uneasiness. Farmers cannot get loans, and their rental of cattle and purchase of fertilizers are affected. Coupled with the heavy expenditure, although the weather was acceptable, the harvest throughout the year was mediocre.
The promised rent reduction and progressive taxation did not come, but the number of reasonable burdens increased a lot. Although Chen Xuan is said to be good at running errands for Australians, he has little ability in running the business. He relies on "strict urging" to collect the reasonable burden for this year. After collecting reasonable burdens twice a year, the financial resources of each Chen family were almost empty.
But he didn't dare to say these words to Li Yao'er. To be honest, Li Yaoer also has a share in the embarrassment that the villagers are living nowadays: in order to restore fertility and resume production, the villagers are required to pay for the "tax pay" of their own rations to burn bricks and transport wood... Many people complained.
He thought for a moment and then said tactfully: "The villagers were revolted by the military last spring, and all their houses were empty. The spring silkworms were also destroyed. Every household's vitality was severely damaged..."
"Are you saying that the burden on the people of Nansha is too great now?" Li Yaoer said with a smile.
Chen Lin's face turned red. He was a little embarrassed that his little thoughts had been discovered. What's more, he was also afraid of offending his second uncle. He said hurriedly: "After the chaos, the people are hungry and tired. If we can show a little compassion, it will be a good thing for the country and the people."
Li Yaoer tilted his head and looked at him with interest, which made Chen Lin's scalp numb for a while. Fortunately, the gaze did not last long. She only heard her say: "How many days have you been back to Nansha?"
"Two... two days..."
"Then how do you know that the burden on the people of Nansha is too heavy and their families are completely depleted?"
Chen Lin was sweating on his head. He was afraid that the elders who wrote to him, Chen Qing's family, and his sister would be implicated, so he said in a panic: "The villain is also just talking about hearsay, hearsay..."
"Don't be afraid," Li Yao'er said, "Although you are just hearing this, you are not making it up. The people of Nansha have indeed suffered a lot in the past year. Some people's wealth is indeed empty..." "Some people are really empty." "She said these words quite playfully. Chen Lin broke into a cold sweat again.
"...However, there should be no one here who is so poor that they can't afford to eat."
"This...it's true..." Chen Lin nodded quickly.
"It should be said that in Nansha now, some people's lives are not as good as in the past." Li Yao'er said, "But for some people, life is probably better now than in the past."
Chen Lin hurriedly said: "Yes, yes..."
Li Yaoer changed the subject: "However, the Senate came to Nansha not to ask everyone to have food together and then be done with it. But to want everyone to live a better life than before. The silk factory in front of them is counting on - Fengsheng and If our business succeeds, the people will have more than just food and clothing."
"Yes, I know." Chen Lin smiled bitterly, thinking that you were just making cakes to satisfy your hunger! Nowadays, it is true that the people of Nansha have food to eat, but the food they eat is just the same as in the past. If the second uncle is allowed to continue doing this, he will not even be able to raise silkworms this year! What about reeling and weaving silk?
He was originally just dealing with Shi Li Yao'er's questions, and he was somewhat cautious. At this moment, the passion of the young man in his heart was aroused, and he added: "What the chief said makes sense. It's just that it's past New Year's Day. After the beginning of spring, people need seeds for spring plowing. People who have no cattle need to have cattle, and people who raise silkworms also need seeds. Capital... After the war, all businesses will be in ruins, so I'm afraid we have to find ways to raise them. Please pay attention to the chief..."
Li Yaoer was stunned. When she came to Nansha, the news she got was that "it's a prosperous village." So she didn't care much about the situation in the village. From the glimpses of the activities of himself, the guards, and the students in the village, he probably knew that although the village was invaded by bandits, it was not a problem for the people to have enough food and clothing.
Since food and clothing were no longer a problem, agricultural production was operating normally in 1635. Nansha Village has been cultivating for more than half a year. Agricultural production should not be a problem this year. It is natural for them to promote new silkworm seeds and plant mulberry trees. The young man in front of me said that he "needs to raise funds"? !
She hesitated and asked: "How was the harvest last year? When I came to Nansha, they said there were no disasters and the harvest was acceptable."
"Chief, I don't know what the harvest is like in the whole village of Nansha. Not to mention the fields under my family's name, last year's harvest was only 60% of the previous year. Although other villains don't know, it's probably the same."
Li Yaoer's expression changed. She often works in rural areas to promote silkworm breeding and mulberry trees, and she understands the key points of agricultural production. If Chen Lin had not been alarmist, after the spring of this year, it would be difficult for Nansha to carry out production and business activities in the new year without the Senate allocating loans.
