Chapter 20 Autumn Tax Part
After returning home, Liang Qu cleaned out the rice jar, boiled some hot water, poured the water into the jar and stirred it, then confirmed the water temperature and jumped in, put on some soap, and took a good bath.
It was true that he often went into the water, but he always felt something was missing without soap. Fifteen or sixteen years old was an age when metabolism was high, his hair was always oily, and he sweated from practicing martial arts all day, so he didn't have that refreshing and neat feeling.
During this period, Liang Qu also discovered a wonderful use of water flow. He applied soap and controlled part of the water flow to flush clean and then flow away, and there was no need to change the water at all.
At night, Liang Qu spread out his newly bought mattress and slept comfortably.
For the next few days, Liang Qu went out on the boat, practiced martial arts on the boat, and Ah Fei fished. Then they went back in the evening and pretended to fish all day. During this time, more expensive fish species began to appear, and they saved another six cents of silver.
Perhaps because he slept well, he was more energetic when practicing and his efficiency was significantly improved.
"Oh, the weather is getting colder and colder."
That day, Liang Qu hugged the quilt and didn't want to get out of bed. He just wanted to take another nap.
There is really a difference between reality and fiction. In the past, I always saw some protagonists practicing tirelessly all day long for a living, but the reality is that unless you are a robot, you really can't do it non-stop. It's amazing if you can practice for three hours in a row, and anyone else will collapse.
"It's time to collect the autumn tax, it's time to collect the autumn tax, everyone, hurry up and go to the wharf to pay the tax!"
Just as Liang Qu was about to take a nap, he heard someone shouting outside the door and shuddered.
The date for the autumn tax is not fixed, it is only a few days around, and the specific date depends entirely on the officials.
He quickly put on his clothes and went out, and found that every household had begun to carry grain to the dock.
"Damn it, isn't it good enough to pay silver? I also have to pay for fine rice, and I have to move more than 200 kilograms by myself."
It's a pity that he can only complain in private, because he has to do what he deserves.
More than a hundred kilograms of rice could not be moved in one trip and was not easy to move. Fortunately, Liang Qu saw Li Libo's family at the pier, so he asked them to help look after it and ran back again to finish moving the rice.
"How's it going? What have you learned at the martial arts gym recently?"
Li Libo sighed: "Alas, I just finished learning the ape boxing and started learning the tiger boxing. My progress has just caught up with you."
Liang Qu patted his shoulder, not knowing how to comfort him.
"By the way, why haven't you been there these days?"
"I'm still busy with the autumn tax, and I don't have anyone to help me take care of it."
"Oh."
"A Shui, my kid is stupid, you have to help him more." The old man standing nearby spoke. It was Li Libo's father Li Dakang. He had heard Li Libo say that Liang Qu had a good physique, and he also heard the news that Liang Qu had beaten the Wang brothers to a pulp a few days ago.
"sure."
Liang Qu felt that the scene before him was inexplicably similar to the scene when he was in school in his previous life. He felt sorry for the love of parents in the world.
"Next one! Chen Jiechang!"
In front of the pier, the head of the village was holding the household register and calling out the names of everyone one by one. The head of the household and the village secretary were sitting at the table, taking notes with a brush. There was also a clerk kicking the official measure for weighing grain. Every kick would cause some of the full load of rice to fall down or spill, which was a terrifying sight.
There was also a young man who wanted to pick up the rice on the ground, but the clerk shouted at him: "Don't pick it up, it's a waste! Hey, I'm talking to you, why are you picking it up!"
The official kicked the man on the ground, knocking him to the ground.
This is the famous "Linjian Kicking the Hu". The grain pile has to be stacked in the shape of a pointed pile, and a part of it will exceed the wall of the Hu. At this time, a kick can kick out a lot of rice. After kicking it, the shortfall will be made up by the people.
To put it bluntly, it is difficult to define the amount of loss. There are various transportation risks. The "Linjiantihu" policy means that officials transfer the transportation risks to the people. If the transportation loss is small, they will take it for granted, so the more they kick, the better.
"It looks like this year will be tough, luckily we are well prepared." Li Libo was still in shock, and then sighed, "It would be great if I could become a martial artist. Not only would I have tax-free shares, but I could also get money. I would be almost as impressive as a juren.
"Pingyang Town collected taxes yesterday. Ah Shui, you didn't see it. When a few warriors who had passed the level passed by, the clerk dared not kick them. He laughed so hard that his face was wrinkled."
Li Libo was secretly making fun of him, but before he could finish his words, his father kicked him hard: "How dare you say anything, kid? Shut up!" Li Libo had a sad face and said nothing.
The long team moved slowly forward, and from time to time there would be people who could not pay the taxes and would kneel down and cry. However, the result was that they would be whipped and dragged aside, and the final outcome would be to perform labor service.
Liang Qu looked at the cruel scene helplessly. All his savings were only six coins of silver and one and a half stone of rice. He could only wait quietly in the queue. When it was his turn, he handed in the rice quickly. Seeing that the clerk had left a lot of food short, he went back to get the rice to make up for it.
Liang Qu was not stupid enough to move all the more than 200 kilograms of rice he had prepared in advance and make up for it immediately when he saw that there was something missing. Otherwise, the officials would not praise you for your efficiency, but would only make things worse.
After receiving the information, Liang Qu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Li Zheng tick the box on the booklet.
Fortunately, the clerk was not so cruel as to include his dead "father" in the count. After all, he had only been dead for less than two months. If they moved it up a bit, this group of people would definitely be able to do it.
Liang Qu packed up the cloth bag and walked back against the crowd. However, before he got halfway back, he heard pleading voices coming from behind him again, followed by a terrifying sound of a whip.
"Damn it, your snot is all over my legs!"
Liang Qu originally thought that it was just another poor man who couldn't pay taxes, but when he looked back, he was surprised to find that the man who was whipped was Chen Qingjiang's father, Chen Renxing!
What’s going on? Didn’t I see Uncle Chen bringing food before? That quantity should be enough!
Something was not right, so Liang Qu quickly pulled Li Libo and said, "Brother Li, go to my house and get some rice. There are still three dou of rice left."
Li Libo was very surprised, but he also knew that this was not the time to ask questions, so he lowered his head and quickly walked out of the crowd.
At this time, Chen Qingjiang was protecting his father and begging the officials to give him some time.
"It's not that I don't want to pay taxes, but I have no choice. My child caught a cold a few days ago, and my family has no savings left for his treatment. Besides, my child is only six years old, not even seven!"
It turned out that Chen Qingjiang did not fail to bring enough taxes. His family of five, including two boys, one girl and two children, should have paid two stone and six dou of rice.
But the clerk kicked too hard, leaving a gap of seven buckets. What's more, he also counted Chen Qingjiang's eldest son, who was more than six years old, as seven years old!
A seven-year-old male has reached the tax threshold!
It's just that because of their age, their share is not as much as that of adults. They only need three dou of rice, but the gap is almost as much as one stone of rice!
Chen Qingjiang had thought that there would be a gap, but he only prepared three dou of rice, and there were still seven dou, which could not be filled no matter what.
The clerk snorted coldly, "Are you saying that I wronged you?"
"I dare not, I dare not. I only ask the master to give me more time. I will make it up to him!" Chen Qingjiang knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy. The six-year-old Chen Shun beside him burst into tears.
The crowd was silent, no one dared to speak, and no one stepped forward to help.
That’s seven dou of rice!
Converted into more than 700 copper coins, who would be so generous as to give it out?
The crying of the child made the clerk upset: "What can I do if I can't pay the tax? But it doesn't matter, Lanzhou just happens to be building a canal and is short of manpower."
Liang Qu was horrified when he heard this. He wondered how many people would die in digging the canal. Would they be able to come back after they went?
Seeing that Chen Shun's crying and shouting had displeased the clerk, he was about to whip him again.
Liang Qu rushed forward and pulled Xiao Shunzi behind him, rubbing his hands and bowing his head to apologize: "Sir, calm down. Uncle Chen was confused and forgot that there was rice at home. I will get it for you right away."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Libo came running over, shouting to make way, and poured the rice bag into the hu, which was exactly three dou.
The clerk sneered: "Only three dou, how about the fourth dou?"
Liang Qu took out the six coins of silver he had just saved and said with an apologetic smile, "I really have no choice. I've been too busy lately and have no time to buy rice. I'll give you these six coins as a token of my filial piety."
There was no gap at all, it was just an excuse for greed. Six cents of silver could buy six or seven dou of rice, a total of nine dou, which means there were still two dou more.
The clerk weighed it and accepted it calmly: "Okay, this won't happen again."
"Yes, thank you, sir."
Liang Qu wiped the sweat off his face, quickly helped Chen Qingjiang support his father, and took Xiao Shunzi's hand, and left under the watchful eyes of the clerk.
(End of this chapter)
