"Why?"
Mrs. Chen felt a little distressed. This time Zhu Ping'an won the election. He received so many congratulatory gifts in just a short while, and there will definitely be more in the future.
"The law stipulates that accepting gifts is equivalent to accepting bribes..." Zhu Pingan said softly.
When Mrs. Chen heard this, she felt that the banknotes and land deeds in her hands were very hot, and she threw them all on the bed without thinking.
"Then I will send them all back immediately."
Although she was a little reluctant to give up, Ms. Chen was still anxious to return everything. In her heart, her son still came first, and she could not delay her son's future because of gifts.
"It's nothing this time, it's still a favor. But in the future, don't accept it. Don't worry, my son will definitely be filial to his mother, and he can make her eat well and wear warm clothes without having to accept gifts."
Seeing his mother, Mrs. Chen, reluctant to leave but anxious to return the gift, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but smile and comfort Mrs. Chen.
"Is everything okay this time?" Mrs. Chen picked up the banknotes and land deeds and asked hopefully.
Zhu Pingan nodded.
"Mom, put it away for you." Mrs. Chen immediately put the things under the pillow, and hid them again when no one was around.
Zhu Pingan had his own ideas about the villagers who came to donate after hearing the news in the yard. After communicating with Chen in advance in the house, Zhu Pingan walked out of the house and came to the yard.
"Thank you uncles for your love, but as you all have seen, my little house and yard are not big, so I really don't need a servant or a chef. If there is a need in the future, I will definitely bother you uncles."
Zhu Ping'an left the house and explained to everyone in the yard.
This made many villagers who came to donate their land as slaves and servants a little disappointed. Fortunately, Zhu Pingan responded to the donation of land, which made the villagers who had been waiting for a long time happy.
Voluntary donation is just to avoid taxes and corvee. The people who donate land in the yard have a relatively hard life and are tortured by corvee taxes. It is beneficial to them to donate land. Therefore, Zhu Pingan still accepted the donation of land in the courtyard.
Dedication was strictly prohibited by the imperial court. Although it is very popular on the surface, it is not easy to be found out. Zhu Ping'an was accustomed to being considerate in his work, leaving no clues to others, and made two contracts with the villagers who donated land in the yard.
Two contracts. One was a deed to buy and sell the land, which was a real contract that did not require performance and avoided a dedication;
The other is a tenant land contract, the general content of which is as follows:
Liu Erniu was appointed as a tenant, and now he is working in some fields under Zhu Ping'an's name. It was agreed upon how much the rent would be paid each year, and how much the rent would be reduced in case of floods and droughts. The rent would be paid on time after the autumn harvest, and the tenants would farm forever, regardless of the number of years. After learning that there is no proof, I will give this Butian document as a photo.
The villagers were very happy to get the second land contract. With this contract, he nominally donated the land, but actually cultivated it himself. In order to comfort the villagers, Zhu Pingan specifically added the agreement of "permanent farming. No limit to the number of years" to the contract. This is equivalent to This land is actually no different from belonging to the villagers.
“What’s the typical ground rent?”
Zhu Ping'an asked when he was writing the contract.
"pick up one"
"Twenty-eight"
The villagers gave different answers and looked at each other in confusion after answering. Shiyi means that the rent collected is one-tenth, and 28 means that the rent collected is two-tenths. Generally speaking, the agricultural tax collected by the Ming Dynasty in the name of the state was less than 10%. However, landless farmers who became tenants paid money and grain to landlords as land rent, which was usually slightly higher than the legitimate agricultural tax of the state. Unscrupulous landlords may raise the tax. to 37 or even 55. Villagers gave different answers, probably depending on the landlord.
After listening to the villagers' answers, Zhu Ping'an was writing the tenancy agreement. The land rent was set at 5 cents, which was half of the minimum land rent answered by the villagers.
Such a low land rent made the villagers who received the tenancy contract almost cry with joy and thank Zhu Ping'an again and again.
Thanks to the villagers' thanks, Zhu Ping'an got nearly 100 acres of fertile land for no reason. I couldn't help but blush a little. I said that I got nearly a hundred acres of fertile land for no reason and still collected rent. However, the other party thanked me endlessly. It felt like Fan Wei's classic thank you.
After lunch, in order to avoid people giving gifts and offerings, Zhu Pingan took his schoolbag across his body and went to Shanghe Village to stay away from home for a while.
Before leaving. My mother, Mrs. Chen, said that if anyone comes, she will say that I will review and prepare for the exam.
"Mr. Zhu is here. Congratulations to Mr. Zhu for high school. Please come in. It's cold outside and warm your hands."
Uncle Li, the concierge of Rich Man Li's house, was more enthusiastic than before. He directly opened the door with the small iron stove and thrust the small iron stove into Zhu Pingan's hand as soon as he opened the door.
After finally getting rid of the enthusiastic Uncle Li, Zhu Pingan walked to the study. The study door was closed. Zhu Pingan knocked on the door from outside. Soon he heard footsteps approaching and someone opened the door.
A little maid with a bun face poked her head out of the study and was surprised to see Zhu Ping'an's little mouth growing into a round shape.
"Zhu Pingan...Master."
The bun-faced maid Hua'er habitually called Zhu Pingan's name, but after calling Zhu Pingan's name, she remembered that Zhu Pingan had already been elected, and added the word "master" to the end in annoyance.
The word "master" felt so awkward, and the little maid Hua'er's face wrinkled up.
"You'd better call me by my name." Zhu Pingan's mouth twitched slightly.
"This is what you asked for, don't regret it." Hua'er, the little maid with a bun face, was as good as she could be, her eyes curled into crescent moons.
"Hua'er, you are such a stinky girl. The cold wind outside is blowing in."
At this moment, a lazy female voice came from the study, like a lark flying into the house in winter.
"Miss, Zhu Pingan is here to borrow books." Hua'er, Baozi's little maid, explained to her lady, then turned to Zhu Pingan and whispered quickly, "Come in quickly."
Zhu Ping'an nodded and walked in. Hua'er, Baozi's little maid, quickly closed the door, held up her skirt and walked towards her young lady.
The study and the outside were like two seasons. The study was warmed by several charcoal pots. Zhu Pingan felt warm and comfortable as soon as he entered the study.
"Hey, I thought someone had won the prize and disliked our Li family's low threshold."
The lazy female voice spoke again, sinister and full of sarcasm.
Zhu Ping'an looked up and saw a bright-eyed girl with white teeth lying on a reclining chair covered with the fur of an unknown animal in the study, rolling her eyes at him.
In addition to the girl who rolled her eyes and Baozi's maid Hua'er, there were two old ladies and two maids guarding the charcoal brazier making clothes in the study.
"Why didn't you say anything? But I told you what was in your heart. Humph, it's just a matter of lifting people up. Why are you so proud?"
The girl who rolled her eyes couldn't help but roll her eyes again when she saw that Zhu Pingan was looking at her without speaking, and said sarcastically again. (To be continued.)
