After the autumn harvest, the grain was harvested and the people were free.
Fortunately, no one came to collect taxes this year. Whether they were squires or government officials, they seemed to have disappeared.
This period is also the most comfortable period for the people. There is no entertainment in this era. Everyone gathers together during the day and night, chatting on small benches under the big tree.
And at night, the most primitive entertainment of mankind begins.
This is also a way to ensure the population, especially this year when no one comes to urge food, and there is a lot of food piled at home. Every household looks at the piled food, and feels happy and smiles, so they work harder at night.
In the evening, the sun sets in the west and casts a blush on the sky, which is particularly beautiful.
Since the building area was built, Tangjia Village has had an additional square. This square is located at the entrance of Tangtangjia Village Area and is paved with bluestones.
The original thousand-year-old banyan tree is still there, and the scenery is unique. It has become a good place for the village to spend their leisure time. The whole village gathers together for a short chat.
"You think, can we pay taxes this year?"
This is the issue that the villagers are most concerned about. The people are busy all year round, and the food is actually enough, but excluding the tax revenue from the court, it is a bit stretched.
Often at this time, officials and squires would come down to make a report, concentrate on a period of time, prepare the grain, and hand it over uniformly.
However, when it was time to pay taxes, there was no movement. Everyone was happy, but also worried, and felt confused.
"It seems that there is a tax-free policy, which is hung on the plaque at the gate of the dormitory. But it is not for us, but for those who turn over the acres to the dormitory government."
Said a man in his fifties who could read and write.
This man's name is Fu Xingye. He is one of the few literate people in this village. When he was young, his family still had some acres of land, thirty or forty acres of land. The family was pretty good.
However, if farmers want to turn over, there is a way out: studying.
When he was young, his family was fairly well off, and they gave him a private school instead of farming, which started his path to the imperial examination.
However, even if such a small farmer has a little surplus food, he can't win over the scholars of those wealthy families. The wealthy families have thousands of books and have the guidance of famous teachers. They can even operate in secret.
The most important thing is that children from wealthy families are stress-free and can concentrate on studying, while those from rural families still have life pressure and social pressure.
Therefore, Fu Xingye was in his forties and had not even passed the government examination. He was not even a child. Compared with ordinary farmers, he only knew more words.
And because he spent money studying, all the land in his family has been sold, and now he only has three acres of land left, and he doesn't even have a wife.
A year's work is only enough for him to eat and drink, and there is too much land for him to plant. He has not done farm work since he was a child, and has devoted himself to studying, so he cannot bear the hardship.
In fact, there are many such people, and most of them do not end well, because they are literate and understand some principles, but they are far away from becoming officials in the imperial examination.
How can it be so easy for tens of millions of people to squeeze into a single-plank bridge?
If you are knowledgeable, knowledgeable, and have a high vision, it will be easy for you to get things done. Farming is a torment.
Yet there is no middle ground.
There were many such people in the Ming Dynasty.
But now, this middle ground has emerged.
The Shedi District Yamen is undoubtedly a means of livelihood for this type of knowledgeable people.
Therefore, Fu Xingye sold the land from the beginning and passed the test of the dormitory district yamen. Because he was literate and understood the truth, he became a dormitory member.
"Fu Xingye, you are the one who handed over the land, right? Your father left you fifty acres of land, but you only lost three acres. Now even three acres of land will be taken away."
one farmer quipped, before the others laughed.
In rural areas, anyone who cannot even marry a wife will most likely be the target of ridicule and a marginalized figure.
In the past, Fu Xingye would have been ignored by no one and would have just waved his hand and told him to go and have fun wherever he wanted.
Fortunately, now that Fu Xingye has become a dormitory member, he will receive a monthly salary from the court, and people have started to come to him to negotiate matchmaking.
"That's wrong."
Fu Xingye had never known how much cynicism he had received since he was a child. How could he care about this? He smiled and said: "Li Xiao, the imperial master of the Ming Dynasty, was not only a farmer, but also did not obtain any honors. Now he is a national master and a duke. My Fu Xingye is now Becoming a clerk in a yamen can be regarded as entering the officialdom, who says there is no chance?"
Although these words are arrogant and arrogant.
But the people didn't dare to say anything. After all, this person had changed and was indeed different, and he could still control them now.
A villager asked: "Okay, okay, Mr. Fu, tell me, do we still have to pay taxes today?"
Fu Xingye was very proud to be called Mr. Fu and began to say: "Everyone, there is no news from the court, but what can be confirmed is that as long as you hand over the fields in your hands to the court, you don't have to pay taxes. No. Everyone should be very aware of the feeling of paying taxes. Look how happy I am now, how happy I am every day, and I don’t have to pay taxes.”
A woman said: "Fu Xingye, you are very happy. Your family only has three acres of land, so just hand it over. Our family has more than ten acres, and we still expect to live on this small amount of land."
Now that Fu Xingye has become a dormitory member, his heart is naturally towards the imperial court. He smiled and said: "Folks, let me settle the accounts for you."
After saying this, everyone pricked up their ears.
Fu Xingye found that he had transformed into an official uniform, and everyone began to listen to him, feeling very comfortable.
It’s like a gorgeous turn in life.
In the past, others despised him and ridiculed him, but now everyone has restrained themselves.
The reason is that he is wearing official uniform.
The Chinese people have always been ruled by dynasties, and they have a servility, submissiveness, and submissiveness in their hearts. They have a natural fear of people wearing official uniforms.
Because people who wear official uniforms, no matter whether they are big or small, represent the court and authority.
Fu Xingye, who had never been so respected before, wished he could sell his life to the imperial court. In his heart, he felt gratitude and invisible admiration for the Imperial Master Li Xiao, who had never been masked before.
Of course, he will cherish this hard-won opportunity even more.
Fu Xingye continued: "I have explained it to you many times before, and I am not afraid of wasting my words today. Let me explain it again. After everyone hands over the land, it will be tax-free in the future, and you will no longer have to pay any tax, including the past. You don’t have to pay the capitation tax anymore. You can have as many sons as you want. At the same time, the court will also give you compensation, twenty taels of silver per acre of land. After you pay the land, you can still farm, okay. Renting land at the community government office is not very expensive. It’s like getting a lot of money out of thin air.”
The villagers said: "But our fields are gone."
Fu Xingye explained: "Your fields are not gone, they are just sold, and the money is in your hands. In addition, the fields will be redistributed. If you farm in the future, the land will be better planned and planted, making it easier to plant. Gain more.”
Aunt Zhang said in confusion: "But there are so many of us, and according to the method you said, the land is not enough to be divided."
Fu Xingye smiled and said: "Aunt Zhang, your family now has six sons. Your family's 30 acres of land will be divided into 30 acres. In seven or eight years, the sons will get married. Is that enough land?"
Aunt Zhang shook her head: "Not enough."
Fu Xingye said: "Yes, as the population increases, even if everyone's land is not sold, it will not be enough to divide it. For example, Aunt Zhang's family has six sons and the old Zhang family has nine sons. Will your land be enough to divide it in the future? Not only is it not enough, With so many of you, you have to pay more taxes. If there is a disaster, will you be able to survive? Then we will have to sell the land and end up becoming the tenants of the Tang family. "
The words fell.
The faces of the villagers changed drastically, and their words were rough and unreasonable. This was indeed the case.
In fact, these principles were not realized by Fu Xingye, but he learned these principles after entering the She District Yamen for training.
Land annexation is such a simple principle.
Suppose there are only thirty households and one hundred people in a village at the beginning. Each household has thirty acres of land, and each person has ten acres of land.
But in the peaceful and prosperous times, the population grew upward.
One family would have several sons. When the sons grew up, they would marry wives, and then they would become several families.
As time goes by, the original thirty households in the village may have grown to ninety households. The area of cultivated land remains the same, but the land distributed equally to each household has become less.
Less land means less food, which means less ability to resist risks.
When faced with natural or man-made disasters and unable to survive, the land can only be sold.
At this time, whoever had more money and food could purchase land, so gradually the land came into the hands of a small number of people, and these people became landlords.
Landowners have a lot of land and strong ability to resist risks. Therefore, the land is getting bigger and bigger, and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and wider. The poor starve to death, but the rich can eat and drink every day.
The villagers discussed with each other and felt that this was the truth.
But the reason is clear, but the solution is not.
At this time, another smart villager asked: "Fu Xingye, according to you, there is still so much land. Even if we sell the land to the court, it will not be enough."
Fu Xingye smiled and said: "This is the power of our Imperial Master. Of course the land is not enough to be divided. Those with a large family can contract the land to make money, and those with a small family can go work."
"Part-time job? What is part-time job?"
The villagers were stunned and heard a new word.
Fu Xingye explained: "Working means being a helper."
The villagers were puzzled: "Isn't that why I have become a tenant of a wealthy family?"
"No." Fu Xingye said, "I work as a tenant for the imperial court. Bah bah bah. A tenant is a worker, which is different from a tenant. The salary is large and the life is no worse than farming."
The villagers shouted: "Hush, who knows whether what you say is true or false."
However, at this time, Yu Qian, the head of Tangjia Cottage District, came over.
Although it is not working time now, the work of the masses is to be on call 24 hours a day to serve the people regardless of whether they are on duty or off duty.
"Master Yu."
"Master Yu is here."
"Master Yu, please explain to everyone."
The villagers shouted one after another.
During this period, Yu Qian had to do everything himself. In addition to building the yamen and recruiting members, his main job was to deal with the villagers.
Because he pays attention to fairness in doing things and thinks about the people in everything, everyone respects him.
For example, the families whose houses and land were occupied by the yamen received corresponding compensation and were promised land to build new houses later.
Yu Qian waved his hand and said with a smile: "Villagers, good news. Our first village enterprise in Tangjia Village will officially recruit workers tomorrow."
During this period, Yu Qian was busy with village enterprises. If there were no village enterprises to share the employment problem of the people, it would be impossible for them to hand over the land willingly.
"Village enterprise, what kind of treatment is it?"
Some people asked.
They are no strangers to the word "enterprise". After all, there has been a wave before.
The power plant in Peiping was recruiting a large number of workers, and many people went there.
And I heard that the salary is very good, 3 taels of silver per month. As time goes by and you become more skilled, the salary will steadily increase.
But most of those who left were tenants, because tenants had no houses, land, and no worries, so they just left. It was much better than being a slave in the landlord's house.
Even the slaves of many wealthy families also left. The imperial court stipulated that all household registrations, including those of slaves from wealthy families, should be abolished directly.
When those people got the news, they immediately ran away secretly and went to work as workers in the power plant.
Again, if there is freedom, who would want to be a cow or a horse?
However, most of the people who own land and real estate have not left.
In fact, it is not just the reluctance to part with the land, the main reason is that Chinese people are homesick for returning to their roots. No matter how high the salary is, they are not willing to leave their hometown, relatives, friends, familiar environment, and all relationships.
But now that this village enterprise has appeared, it’s different.
Village enterprises, to put it bluntly, still work in the village and do not need to leave their hometown.
At this time, Yu Qian said loudly: "Tangjia Village Brick Kiln Factory, the salary is one or two silver dollars per month. As the efficiency of the brick kiln factory improves, I, Yu Qian, promise that everyone's salary will increase. If you are willing to work, come to the county government tomorrow." Sign up.
But the premise is that you cannot own land in your hands. Those who own land need to sell the land to the court. We will not delay the compensation and deliver it to you on the spot according to the market price. You will not lose money.
After all the land was collected, the district government began to plan and allocate it. There were 500 fields in total, with each household having 200 acres. If the family had a large family, it was recommended to farm, and if the family had a small family, it was recommended to work.
You don’t have to worry about money not being able to buy food. Nanjing has built a large grain depot. The court will spend money to collect grain reserves every year. In times of disaster and famine, the court will also stabilize grain prices and suppress profiteers from raising prices. In short, no matter which choice you make, your future life will be very good."
Yu Qian patiently explained for a long time.
In fact, we need to do ideological work for the villagers and instill a new idea into them.
"It seems good, but our village does not have 100,000 acres of farmland."
"No, there is. With the tens of thousands of acres of farmland owned by the Tang family, it seems to be one hundred thousand acres."
"There are a total of 100,000 acres of land. Does this include the land of the Tang family? Does Yu Qian dare to harvest even the Tang family's land? If all the Tang family's fields are harvested, then I will also hand it over."
"If you don't want to farm, working in a brick kiln factory is pretty good. The income is about the same as farming."
"There are only three people in my family. Working is a good choice. Besides, I won't have to pay taxes in the future. I can also get a large sum of money from selling the land. Maybe I can do some small business. I heard that Nanjing now supports small business. Buy and sell.”
The common people began to discuss with each other in their respective homes, and they were obviously a little moved.
After all, the land is not taken away for free, but paid at market price.
That’s a lot of money coming into the account.
After that, if you want to farm, you have to pay rent to farm.
The rent is not high, and it is almost the same as the previous tax, which means it is still the same as before, but there is a lot more money for selling the land.
Then, if your family is not prosperous, you can also choose to work in a village enterprise. The income of one tael of silver per month is almost the same as farming.
However, everyone was still hesitant and undecided.
Yu Qian was also a little helpless. It was difficult to persuade them with his words. He could only do this one step. Those under him still needed to be guided slowly.
"Here it comes! The film team is here."
At this time, Yu Qian saw the arrival of the mobile film team, as if he had seen it, he already knew the content of the movie.
As the saying goes, seeing something is better than hearing it a hundred times.
What this movie plays is the real picture of the human world, allowing them to see how the people of Peking live.
Yu Qian believes that as long as these people see the movie, they will yearn for the lives of the people in the movie.
"Don't leave, everyone. There is something good to watch tonight. This movie is better than singing and opera. If there is anyone at home who is not here, please call quickly!"
Yu Qian said hello, and then began to ask the people to come out of their homes.
Let’s watch this documentary film that took a year to make.
(End of chapter)
