Chapter 134： Purchasing cottonseed (asking for monthly recommendation votes)

At the end of the inspection, Magistrate Wu returned to the county government office.

His carriage contained not only two gourds, one large and one small, but also a basket of grapes and a basket of yellow pears.

Mr. Liao, who was squeezed out of the carriage, could only huddle in the donkey carriage with the two clerks, holding a pear in one hand and chewing on it while thinking.

His hometown is a small village in Zhouhe County, which is about the same size as Chuanhe Town here, but the life of the people there is very difficult. They are not only forced by life, but also oppressed by local gentry and petty officials.

His family used to have a relatively easy life, but since the clan members offended their upright relatives in the countryside, their family has fallen into trouble.

Li Zheng will find various reasons to increase taxes on the Liao family. His family bought a new sickle and raised a chicken, and even if they were in the right township, they would come to collect taxes. Even if a child wears a flower in his head during the New Year and festivals, he will be reported and paid taxes.

In the end, his parents had no choice but to sell their land and come to Qinchuan County with him, barely surviving on his meager income.

Although his parents and he lived in poverty in Qinchuan County, they finally didn’t have to worry about it, but his eldest and second brothers were still struggling to survive in that small village.

It would be great if their family could live in Chuanhe Town. The people here are simple and honest, and the villages are upright and upright. With me watching over them, they won't have to worry about living a difficult life.

Sigh, when I return to the county government, I will talk to the Ming government and see if they can allow the Liao clan to come and settle here.

If possible, he would let his tribe take root in Chuanhe Town, even if they were allowed to go to the barren mountains to clear up wasteland, it would be better than struggling to survive in Zhouhe County.

Dongchen Village.

As soon as the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty left, someone came to the East Village and asked to buy cotton seeds.

These people are dressed in rich and noble clothes, and they look like stewards of wealthy families.

The people of Dongcun have been told by Rizheng and Murazheng that they are not allowed to sell cotton and cotton seeds to outsiders, so they ignore these outsiders who seem to be in charge.

Unexpectedly, these people did not give up and raised the price of cotton seeds to one tael of silver per catty.

Now the villagers were in an uproar.

Someone could not resist the temptation and secretly sold fifty kilograms of cotton seeds and got fifty taels of silver.

After opening this hole, the steward came to him again and again, asking him to sell more cotton seeds.

So the man sold another hundred pounds of cotton seeds to the steward.

The paper could not contain the fire, this matter was finally discovered and told to Muramasa Chen Sanyou.

Chen Sanyou was so angry that he immediately went to his elder brother Chen Fu and asked him to give an explanation to the whole village.

That’s right, the cotton seed seller is the second son of Patriarch Chen.

Chief Chen was also very angry. He immediately called his second son, Chen Jiazhen, and asked him why he was selling cotton seeds privately.

"It's just a hundred pounds of cotton seeds, what's the big deal." Chen Jiazhen said nonchalantly: "You can also sell it, for one tael of silver per pound, which is more cost-effective than selling gold ears. Who is not a fool, who can see whether the money is profitable or not? "

Chen Fu angrily picked up a stick and chased him to beat him.

Chen Sanyou was also furious. He pointed at his nephew and shouted: "Do you know that this is what the county magistrate asked for, and you are short of that little money?"

Chen Jiazhen hid her old father's bamboo stick with her head in her arms, but did not forget to reply: "Can the county magistrate give us one tael of silver per catty? I am not mentally ill, so why do I have to sell it to the government at a low price when I have money but I don't make any money?" ?”

Chen Sanyou was speechless for a moment, but he agreed with the county magistrate's words.

Once the cotton seeds are collected by a wealthy family, it will be difficult for other people in the village to grow cotton.

Chen Sanyou didn't bother with his second nephew, and said directly to his eldest brother Chen Fu: "How much cotton seeds do you still have in your family? Take them all out. The cotton seeds were all given by Jiang Sanlang at the beginning, so I will return them all to the Jiang family. From now on, Don’t grow cotton in your family. Otherwise, if something like this happens again, it will embarrass our entire village.”

The yamen came back to collect cotton seeds, but found that not a pound was lost. Where could I put my old face?

"Why?" Before Chen Fu could say anything, his second daughter-in-law Han Miaoniang jumped up, "Those are all from our family, why should they be given to the Jiang family?" Chen Fu slapped the table angrily, "Shut up!"

Pointing to the cotton piled in the room: "These are my cotton, it's not your turn to make the decision!"

The family planted six acres of cotton in total and harvested more than 2,000 kilograms of seed cotton. It is estimated that one thousand kilograms of cotton seeds can be peeled out.

Next year he plans to plant another 30 acres. If one acre of land costs ten kilograms of seeds, he will need more than three hundred kilograms of cotton seeds.

The rest was originally sold to the county government at the request of the Ming government, but this happened.

My old face has been completely disgraced by the unfilial son.

Our family is still considered a first-class household, and is much better than those third-, fourth- and fifth-class village households. But what the second son did was not even as good as someone from a fifth-class household. It was so embarrassing. How could he have the face to face others in the future?

Chen Jiazhen and his wife did not dare to say anything when they saw that their old father was really angry, and squatted on the ground without making a sound.

Chen Fu said to his younger brother Chen Sanyou: "You can ask people to transport all the cotton seeds. Just leave me three hundred catties. If you leave them all at home, what trouble will happen if you don't keep them all?"

Chen Sanyou waited for his elder brother's words, and immediately called a few people to transport all his cotton seeds to Jiang Sanlang's house for weighing.

In the next few days, Chen Sanyou worked non-stop to collect cotton seeds and transported them to Jiang Sanlang's house for temporary storage.

Those in the village who have not planted cotton want to plant it next year, Chen Sanyou asked them to register and reserve cotton seeds.

After the registration is completed, give the remaining cotton seeds to the county officials and ask them to transport them away quickly. It is up to the county magistrate to worry about who should be distributed.

As soon as the autumn harvest was over, Sun Lizheng came again to urge taxes.

However, the people of Dongcun did not need to press, they just took out their money to pay the tax, which was not much more than a penny.

Sun Lizheng said cheerfully: "It would be easier to come to your Dongchen Village to collect gifts. You don't have to rush me a second time."

Li Dayong, Li Eryong and others also laughed: "It's all thanks to our third brother Jiang. If we don't grow golden ears, how can we get the money to pay the tax?"

"That is."

Sun Li was asking with his hands behind his back: "I see that many people in your village have built houses on the south slope. I will come over next year to take a look."

The assessment period for households is once every three years. Next year will be the three-year period. It is estimated that many households in Dongchen Village will have to re-evaluate their grades.

“Don’t mention it, Uncle Li Zheng, our house is just a mushroom shed on the south slope, not a house for people to live in.” One person defended.

Once a household is rated as a middle-class or upper-class household, the annual taxes will increase a lot, and the villagers are not willing to upgrade to this household level.

Moreover, in times of famine, when the court provides disaster relief and other matters, upper-class and middle-class households cannot receive food. Only lower-class households can receive relief food.

Sun Lizheng rolled his eyes at him, "The bacteria shed is also your family's property, and it is also planned as a tax item."

In fact, Li Zheng is very coveted for the golden ear from Dongchen Village, but the people in this village are very clumsy and are unwilling to sell the vaccine.

But the cotton in their village is also good. I secretly got some cotton seeds from the government officials, and I can plant some next year.

Sun Lizheng came to Jiang Sanlang's house and saw his little girl lying on the table under the fruit tree teaching the two girls how to read.

Ying Bao raised his eyes and saw Li Zheng coming, and stood up quickly: "Grandpa Li Zheng, are you here to see my father?"

Sun Li was waving his hands and asking with a smile: "Ying Bao, where is your big gourd?"

He came here today to get a signature gourd for his second son's shop.