"What a wonderful child!" Grandpa couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the staggered backs of several children. It should be noted that the eldest among them is only 12 or 3 years old, while the youngest urchin is less than 5 years old.
Not long after, the sweaty elderly couple bent slightly and walked slowly from the field to the shade of the tree where the old man was, while the children had already taken over from their parents and started packing.
"Daddy!" The couple called in unison.
"Hey! Come for dinner! Your mother-in-law specially brought two gourds of water from the deep well, and she wrapped it in a coat as soon as she brought it up. No, it's still cold. Drink some to relieve the heat." The old man agreed casually. vocal channel.
"Hey! Thank you, Dad." The couple casually threw the sickles in their hands into a small basket, and then each took a gourd. Under the hot sunshine, there was a layer of frost on the surface of the gourd, making it cold to the touch.
Immediately, the two picked up the gourd and took a big bite. The heat was instantly reduced a lot by the cold well water. Fortunately, the two of them, who were used to working, also knew that although the well water was good, it was not good. Drinking too much too quickly at once. m.
After drinking a few sips of ice water to lower their body temperature, the two of them tightened the lid of the gourd. Then they took the already cold food, picked a good spot under the tree, sat down, and then He leaned against the big tree and ate hungrily.
The old man looked at the two people eating loudly, with a smile on his face, and then he found a seat next to his son and sat down.
"This year's harvest is good! Your Majesty's grace, this year's tax is a few cents lower, but I don't know what the price of food is like. It would be better if it could be higher." The old man said to his son.
"Dad." The middle-aged man wiped his lips, swallowed the food in his mouth, and then said to his father: "I have already inquired about it. The price of food is incomparable to that in previous years. In previous years, the price of food has increased. Well, food prices have skyrocketed!"
"How can we compare with previous years! A few years ago, a bushel of millet rice was sold for a hundred dollars! Is that still millet rice? That is golden rice." The old man kept complaining: "If a bushel of millet rice could be sold for a dollar this year, Ten coins, that's good! A few years ago, before there was a war, it would have been ten coins per fight."
The man swallowed another mouthful of rice and said, "It must be more than that! The official who allocated the land to our family said that the king has stipulated that the minimum price of food must not be less than twelve yuan per dou!"
"Really?" The old man became interested for a moment, but then he became depressed again. He sighed softly and said: "The king naturally feels sorry for us, but the king is in charge of heaven and earth, but he can't control how others deal with it. Grain! Grain merchants are lowering prices together, even the king can't do anything about it."
"Don't worry, Dad." The man lowered his head and took another big mouthful of food: "The officials have said that my king has built Changping Granary. If the grain merchant's price is low, just bring the grain to the Yamen. The wheat keeper The quality is 12 to 15 cents per dou, no one can deceive anyone! Even if we don’t sell wheat for 15 cents, we can still get it for 13 or 4 cents!”
"Really!" the old man asked again in disbelief.
"Is there still a lie? It's what the adult who allocated the land to our family said. The Yamen also issued a notice with a square red seal!" The man finally cleared the food from the basin.
"Not only that, Your Excellency also said that Your Majesty feels sorry for us poor-legged people the most. If we can trust the officials, we only need to speak to the village elders, and the officials will bring the official buckets and carriages directly to the house to collect wheat! No need to do so! Let's go to the city." The man continued to add.
But after hearing this, the old man frowned slightly, shook his head and said, "It's better not to do it! The wheat hasn't entered the official warehouse. If the official rakes it back one day and says that we haven't paid the grain or that we haven't paid enough, there is no basis for it." We can’t say it in two official terms!”
"Hey! This gentleman has thought of it a long time ago. He said that it is the same as paying grain at the government office. There will be a voucher for paying the grain. When selling grain, the money and grain will be paid on the spot, and the losses on the road will be counted as the government's property!" He took out the water hyacinth and replied.
"It's still not good!" The old man thought for a moment and shook his head: "We are not at ease because we haven't entered the official warehouse. And will the price of food in the city be higher?"
"Yes! That's what we mean too!" The man opened the gourd, poured a well water and continued: "Not only us, but also several people in the village think so. We still have to drag him into the city to feel at ease."
"Yeah!" The old man nodded and said, "Even if you have to pay some entry fees, it's better to be on the safe side!"
"Haha! Dad! Your Majesty has already thought of it for us!" The man said with a bright smile: "That adult said, if you are worried about going to the city to sell it yourself, Your Majesty will also give us a benefit."
"What should I say?" The old man's interest was suddenly aroused.
"My lord has said: Your Majesty, I am sorry that it is not easy for us to grow grain. Anyone who comes to the city to sell grain and pay for it only needs to pay the head tax and does not need to pay the goods tax." The man wiped his wet lips and said with a smile.
"That's good! I'm afraid those businessmen will do bad things. You have to be more careful and don't let them use the big bucket as a small bucket. Go to a few more houses and see clearly before selling!" The old man continued to instruct. .
The man looked at the old man with a serious face, and continued to smile and said: "Don't worry, Dad, I just want to find the grain merchant with the highest price. In order to prevent merchants from cheating on utensils, the king ordered the use of official fighting in the market." Weighing, every morning the officials issue official fights, and there are also officials patrolling. If any family dares to do without official fights, their homes will be confiscated immediately. Your Majesty is telling us to sell grain without any worries!"
"So...so..." The old man was so excited that he didn't know how to describe it. Most of his life's experience had turned into waste in the king's new policy. How could it be possible to hand over and sell food? Become so simple and easy? It’s so easy that I can’t even believe it!
Perhaps this is what the old people in the past called the "prosperous age"!
I didn't expect that the old man would be so lucky to see the end of the prosperous age. My sister who starved to death on the street, my brother who died of exhaustion in the fields, and my parents who froze to death on the snowy night, it would be great if you were still here!
Thinking of this, the old man couldn't help but feel sour in his heart, and two lines of turbid tears broke through the numerous ravines and barriers, flowing among the traces of time.
"Dad, this is a good thing! Why are you crying!" The man looked at his father without knowing why.
During the famine, the old father led himself to dig wild vegetables, hunt wild boars, and collect herbs. He didn't cry even after his head was broken, and his arm was bitten by a wild boar. His thigh was ripped open by a rock, but he still didn't cry. In his own impression, My old father is an upright man who doesn’t know why he cries! Why do you suddenly act like a little girl?
The strong woman beside her obviously understood her father's mentality better, and then she poked her naive husband and said, "Dad is so happy!"
Some people died, but not completely...
