The beginning of the fifth year of Xuanjing is a day worthy of being recorded in the history of the penal colony Waicheng.
It was also a carnival for the sharecroppers.
Pier 12 sent word that starting from this year, the contracts with all tenant farmers will be terminated, and the land in the outer city will no longer be privately owned by Pier 12. Everything will be done in accordance with the laws of the country, and ordinary people can get it by clearing wasteland.
How many wastelands have been opened and reported to the government for registration, and in the future, taxes will be paid to the court according to the tax rate!
Before the Lantern Festival had passed, the news spread throughout the penal colony. Everyone rushed to tell each other, and the inner and outer cities were boiling.
When the news was delivered to the border town yamen, Xiang Qian was sipping tea and snacks with his legs crossed in the back yamen. He was so frightened that he almost choked to death.
His eyes were as wide as copper bells, and the fat on his belly kept trembling along with his body, "Really? It's really someone from Pier 12 who came to deliver the message? Did you hear that right? Did you read that right?"
How dare the yamen lie? "Sir, it's absolutely true! The one who came to deliver the news was the head of the Hall of Pier 12. He said that all the former tenant fields at Pier 12 have been given to the tenant farmers, and the yamen can send people to register now. ! From now on, the income earned by farmers in the exiled areas will be taxed to the imperial court according to imperial laws!"
Xiang Qian's breathing was rapid, his face flushed with excitement, and he kept spinning his hands behind his back, "It has been five years since the new emperor ascended the throne, and the three-year amnesty period has passed. According to the laws of Dai Viet, prisoners in the place of exile are required to clear up wasteland, and thirty taxes per one..."
This is not the point.
The point is that no matter how much the grain tax is, this time it is really in the hands of the government and the money he paid!
How many years has Yongzhou Penalty been released? Since he was demoted to this place as an official, he has never received a grain of food from the exile!
Neither did at least two officials before him!
Now that the matter is settled, the penal colony actually had rules when he was still in office! Reporting this matter to the higher authorities will be a real political achievement! Promotion and salary increase are just around the corner!
Thinking of this, Xiang Qian immediately straightened his official hat on his head, lifted up his robe and walked out, "Go, take someone with you, and go to the exile to register now!"
After he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped at his feet. He didn't know what he thought of. He cleared his throat and walked back, sitting back in his chair. "You will send a message to the master now and ask him to take people to the place of exile in person. The number of farmers and the amount of paddy and dry land owned by each household must be registered and then reported. The master is my right-hand man, so it is most appropriate and reasonable to leave this matter to him."
When the officer delivered the order to the master, the master immediately slapped the table and threw the stool, his eyes threatening to kill anyone at any moment.
Hurrah! He didn't dare to step into the dragon's den and the tiger's den in the exile place, so he was told to die?
Is the life of a subordinate not life? !
"You go to the bookkeeper immediately and ask him to get this done! It is his duty to keep accounts and make books. Let him be more careful. If something goes wrong, the adults will blame him and no one will dare to intercede on his behalf!"
Yamen, "..."
Ah.
What can he do as a little guy?
The person above kicks the ball to each other. He follows the order and runs around, picking up the ball and passing it out!
Anyway, it’s not him who takes the blame in the end!
…
At the end of the first month, the ice and snow have not yet melted, and the outer city of the penal colony has begun to become as busy and lively as only spring plowing can.
The tenant farmers have been held down by heavy shackles for more than ten or even decades, and they never dare to imagine that one day they will be able to straighten their backs and breathe free air.
The ecstasy was too intense and too fast, sweeping away the twilight energy accumulated on their bodies, bursting out with powerful vitality and motivation.
From being in disbelief when they received the news, to crying with joy and crying with their loved ones after the news was confirmed, after they recovered, countless tenant farmers rushed into the fields with their farm tools and worked with all their strength.
Can't wait!
Can't wait a moment!
The frozen ground was as hard as stone, and each swing of the hoe required more strength than usual, which did not dampen their enthusiasm.
From now on, every drop of sweat shed here is for yourself!
Happy!
The people of Tubei Village were liberated earlier, but this did not prevent them from joining in the fun.
Villagers went out of the village in groups to see the scene of land reclamation in the ice and snow. They squatted on the edge of the fields and chatted with the former tenant farmers for a long time without feeling tired.
Many people also distributed some grain seeds from their homes to send to people they knew.
Every day after the new year is extremely lively.
In the main hall of the Su family, the women sat together to warm themselves by the fire and do some handiwork, with smiles on everyone's faces.
"I wasn't very touched when I heard it, but when I saw it with my own eyes, it felt really different." After the eldest princess got acquainted with the women of the Su family, she liked to run here, mainly because her son spent more time here.
She smiled and teased, "Every day when I ride a carriage back and forth on the road, I can see the scene of land reclamation on the roadside. There are so many people as if they are going to a market, and there are even shirtless people working! Only then did I know that your son-in-law used to be a big landowner. . I’m very curious as to how you, an honest and responsible person, came to be with Gang Leader Hu?”
When Mrs. Su heard this, she couldn't help laughing, "It's true, when I hear you ask that, I think about the past and I really don't know how we became a family, hahaha. When we first arrived in this place, we only knew that there were three groups in the penal colony. The big forces are overbearing and unreasonable, controlling the inner city and the outer city. Ordinary people have no real skills and can't survive here. My son-in-law is in charge of Pier 12. You must not know what we are like. We know each other.”
Thinking back to that time, it was already more than ten years ago.
But the past is still fresh in my mind.
Liu Yuelan and He Daxiang listened to their mother-in-law reminisce about the past, and their emotions fluctuated with the past events, including laughter and tears, emotions and sighs.
"As soon as we settled here, Pier 12 came looking for trouble. They came many times. Fortunately, there were people helping to protect our family every time, so we were safe."
"Later, Du Lao and Duan Dao also came to Tubei Village. They fought with Twelve Pier. In the end, Twelve Pier all suffered the loss."
"The knot got bigger and bigger. I thought there was no solution, but then a lot of things happened, and the big guys were slowly twisted together."
"In the end, Ah Kuan helped the children at home a few times. After going back and forth, he fell in love with our Xiu'er. After going round and round, if I really want to give a reason, it's probably fate."
The eldest princess was fascinated.
Her son's shadow is everywhere in these stories.
Although those stories have been heard once by the children, but when told by another person, it is a different experience.
She loves to hear it.
There were bursts of laughter in the main room, floating across the partition wall into the vegetable garden.
The girl squatting and working among the vegetable ridges in the yard would sometimes curl her lips with laughter.
Bai Yu was still dressed in white clothes with sleeves, squatting next to her, not caring that the hem of the robe would get dirty if it rubbed on the ground, "Two wooden boxes are enough?"
"That's enough, it's just been verified." There were two square wooden boxes in front of Tianbao.
Each wooden box was filled with soil, half garden soil and half space soil.
The configuration of the two boxes is the same.
After filling the soil, sprinkle the vegetable seeds evenly.
