vrcanaries Chapter 1288 Pay an extra 5 jin of grain tax!
Chapter 1288 Pay an extra 5 jin of grain tax!
The county residents were so enthusiastic that Xin Ji's shoes were trampled off.
By the time he hopped out barefoot from the crowd, Shen Zheng and the others had already vanished.
He stood there, holding his shoes, utterly bewildered.
The chatter around him reached his ears: "Why does this kid look so familiar?"
"With your face all bruised and swollen, what can you possibly tell from that?"
"Hiss, I remember now! That night, the day the county was robbed..."
Xin Ji quickly covered her face with her shoes.
"Xinhaili!"
Just as he was at a loss, he suddenly heard someone calling him in a low voice, "Here! Here! Come here quickly!"
Looking towards the street corner, Fang Ziyan's hand had already left afterimages.
Immediately, tears welled up in his eyes.
He knew that Lord Shen was reluctant to really abandon him.
After all, he is the son of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner!
Xinji!
......
Outside the public fields where sweet potatoes are planted, there is a drying ground. Because the ground is shaped like a pear, the locals call it "Guozi Dam" (Fruit Ground).
Guoziba belongs to the county government.
Before Shen Zheng became the county magistrate, this drying ground was just a pretty but useless decoration for the county residents—the county government preferred to leave the ground empty, letting the autumn wind whistle over it, rather than allow them to dry their grain on it.
It wasn't until last autumn harvest, when Shen Zheng ordered the opening of Guoziba, that the county residents dared to carry their loads and step in.
By the time the autumn harvest arrives this year, the county residents who come to Guoziba to dry their grains are already quite familiar with the process.
Chen hour and five quarters.
The sky was golden, and the ground in the dam was also golden.
The rice was spread out evenly, and the people chatted and laughed loudly as they turned it over with bamboo rakes.
"I'm almost fully sunburnt, so I won't be able to keep you company tomorrow!"
"So fast? Let it dry for another two days! Otherwise, the millet will get moldy when the rainy days come later!"
"No way! Lord Shen gave us such good rice! It won't get moldy so easily! I just want to quickly harvest 20% and send it to the county government so I can pay the grain tax as soon as possible!"
Xin Jigang had just followed Shen Zheng into Guoziba when he heard these words.
He stared in astonishment at the golden carpet on the ground before him: "Are the people of Tong'an County all so eager to pay their grain taxes?"
This is simply unbelievable.
Although he had never been an official, he knew that every autumn was the time for local government offices and the people to outwit and outmaneuver each other.
He racked his brains trying to figure out how to pay less tax.
They were racking their brains trying to figure out how to collect an extra two pounds of tax.
Where else can you find a place like Tongan County?
As Xin Ji was still in surprise, he saw several county villagers huddled together in front of him, looking rather sneaky.
His intuition told him—something was fishy!
Ignoring Shen Zheng's disapproving gaze, he tiptoed closer.
But one of the villagers said in a secret: "I'm planning to... hand over an extra twenty jin!"
"?"
Xin Ji picked at his ear.
You must have misheard.
He leaned closer and heard another county resident say, "Only twenty jin? I discussed it with my wife last night and we're going to pay fifty jin more."
"Fifty catties?!" Before the surrounding villagers could even express their surprise, Xin Ji shouted, "Are you and your wife alright? Fifty catties of rice, you just tell us to pay more than we should? Has the county government cursed you?"
"Ouch—!"
Several villagers were startled, clutching their chests and turning around: "Who are you! Who told you to speak ill of our county government?"
Xin Ji: "?"
"No, are you all alright?" He deliberately waved to attract their attention, preventing the villagers from noticing Shen Zheng's figure behind him, and then said, "Why pay more grain tax? Keep it for yourselves! If you can't finish it, you can sell it!"
"What's it to you?" The villagers, looking wary, backed away and said, "This year, every household harvested several thousand catties of grain. What's fifty catties? We just want to make the adults happy, so what?"
Upon hearing this, Xin Ji straightened his neck, opened his mouth, and was completely speechless.
Paying more grain tax... just to make Lord Shen happy?
crazy.
The world is crazy.
He turned around, wanting to praise Shen Zheng for his "effective governance of the people," but saw that Shen Zheng and his entourage had already bypassed the drying ground and were heading towards the gate of the public field.
"Wait for me!" He quickly strode after him.
The voices of several villagers abruptly ceased as they rubbed their eyes in unison: "That...that over there...is that our sir?"
......
"Lord Shen! Lord Shen!"
On the ridge between the fields, Xin Ji caught up with Shen Zheng, his steps uneven: "Do you want to know what those farmers said just now?"
Shen Zheng shook her head, observing the crops in the field.
radish.
Chinese cabbage.
They're all pretty good-looking.
"You really don't want to know?" Xin Ji pressed on relentlessly.
Just as Shen Zheng was about to speak, another person caught up from behind: "Lord Shen! Lord Shen!"
Before Xin Ji could even turn around, he was pushed off the edge of the field by this person.
The man, wearing a straw hat, ran up to Shen Zheng and hurriedly bowed, apologizing, "I didn't know you were coming. I'm late, please forgive me!"
Looking at the dark figure before her, Shen Zheng was momentarily dazed: "Wang...you are blessed?"
On the day the sweet potato seedlings were planted, Xu Yunyan specially went to Wangjiazhuangzi to pick someone to look after them, and that person was Wang Youfu.
Wang Youfu was overjoyed: "Yes! I am Wang Youfu!"
He never expected that Lord Shen would still remember him...
Shen Zheng smiled and walked towards the sweet potato field.
From a distance, the two acres of potato fields looked like a yellow-green felt spread across the field.
As you get closer, the vines intertwine on the ground, with brown old vines making up the majority, looking brittle and almost lifeless.
"These vegetables are all dead." Xin Ji had just been pushed off the ridge by Wang Youfu and was still holding a grudge. He openly tried to discredit Wang Youfu: "Tsk, Lord Shen, the manager you found is no good either. He can't even kill the vegetables on such a small plot of land."
Wang Youfu's eyes widened in fright, and his face flushed red: "You, you mustn't be talking nonsense, this crop is just like that!"
"Is that all?" Xin Ji didn't believe it at all.
The vegetable leaves are all withered and dead, what's the point of eating them?
He walked to Shen Zheng's side and said earnestly, "Lord Shen, although you understand rice, you may not understand these vegetables. Look, the leaves are yellow; they're inedible. Don't be fooled by him..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Youfu's lips twitched slightly, and his back relaxed.
Well, it turns out this kid is a complete novice.
If even Lord Shen doesn't understand vegetables, then there's no one in this world who understands vegetables!
Shen Zheng ignored Xin Ji's words, squatted down, picked up a piece of old vine to examine it, and then raised her hand to push aside the vines covering the soil.
Many fine cracks have already appeared on the sandy ground.
The seam was created by the swollen potato tuber.
Shen Zheng was now completely confident.
After getting up and walking around the sweet potato field, she smiled and said to Wang Youfu, "Keep a close eye on the field these days. Remember, don't turn over the vines, don't water it, pinch off the tender shoots, and clear away the weeds. It will be ready to harvest in about half a month. I will come over then."
Wang Youfu wrote them down one by one.
Xin Ji scratched his head beside him.
reward?
What are you collecting?
Are these dry vines in the field?
After pondering for a while, he guessed that these vines might be some kind of precious medicinal herb.