Wanli Xinming

Chapter 377 Tax Reform ([-])

When the osmanthus flowers in Shunde County are fragrant, the fishmongers all over the street are pulling wooden barrels with donkey carts, shouting "fat fresh fish", and walking through the streets to sell.

"Brother Yi, are you going back to the county town? How many osmanthus fish are fat this year?"

"Go back!" Zhang Xiaoyi cupped his hands perfunctorily, while answering the neighbor's question, he frowned and rushed home.The neighbor looked at him in a hurry and said with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "It's hard to get money, little brother Yi!" The word "oh" had an upward provocative sound, as if it was provocative.

Zhang Xiaoyi turned a deaf ear and entered the black door on his own.The housekeeper Zhang Gui greeted him, looking at him with a question in his eyes.Seeing that Zhang Xiaoyi didn't mean to talk to him, he told the matter: "I want to teach you that the old man Ping'er has only been here to polish Xuan'er for a long time, and he has to wait for the master. If you ask him what's going on, it is that the Guangzhou affair is over. Father Qiao asks the master to come and sit tomorrow when he is free."

Zhang Xiaoyi nodded to indicate that he understood, looked at Zhang Gui and asked, "Is my uncle coming home?"

Zhang Gui hurriedly replied: "My uncle has been here for a while, in the old lady's room." Zhang Xiaoyi took the hand towel he handed over and wiped his face, then instructed him: "There are fish sellers outside, you can pick a few. The fat ones have been rectified so that Uncle and Master can take them when he leaves."

Zhang Gui agreed and went out.Zhang Xiaoyi took two quick steps to the main room where his mother lived.

Standing at the door, Zhang Xiaoyi took a deep breath and said to the room, "Mother, my son is back."

Mrs Wu heard in the room, "Come in quickly! Your uncle is here too."

Zhang Xiaoyi opened the curtain and entered the door to meet his uncle Wu Yun first.Wu Yun waited for Zhang Xiaoyi to sit down, and Fang asked, "Xiaoyi, what does Master Sun say?"

Zhang Xiaoyi took a sip of tea and said with a wry smile: "Master Sun didn't say anything. The new Wang Zhixian heard that his nephew was in the sixth room, so he sent someone to call his nephew." : "I heard that this magistrate came back from Burma. He was born as a scholar and is vulgar, is it true?"

Zhang Xiaoyi shook his head and said, "Uncle, don't listen to those Dongfang nonsense! This Wangxian Zun is a ruthless character! This person has no pretence at all, but in a few words, he tells the income and expenditure of our factory almost the same."

Wu Yun frowned upon hearing this.He twisted his thumb and index finger and middle finger, looked at his nephew and asked, "Can you—?"

Zhang Xiaoyi said with a wry smile: "First I called the poor, the reason was that the ranunculus silk factory was closed the year before, and there was a famine. I earned a few silver in the past two years, and I paid off the debt. If the tax doubled, I would have to drink the wind. Later, I said Give some sponsorship to the county, but he waved his hand and refused."

Speaking of this, he looked sad and imitated Wang Zhixian's tone: "I know the situation of my worthy brother's family! But the pilot program in Guangdong is the imperial decree of the court, and the urging is urgent, but there is no way to do it. The Silk Cutting Factory is one of the best in Shunde, and since it is a role model, the official will surely be rewarded."

Hearing his son learn words like this, Mrs Wu spat and said, "It's polite and nice, what can he repay? Bai Huahua's money was given to him, but he was a waste of money, and he only suffered for us."

When Wu Yun heard it, he looked at his sister and smiled: "It's only been half a year since your strange illness has healed, so don't get angry again. Even if this tax is doubled, your family will also make money - you can't say anything about suffering."

After finishing speaking, Wu Yun said to Zhang Xiaoyi again: "I don't know what reward Wang Xianzun said?"

Zhang Xiaoyi sighed and said, "If we pay the taxes as much as possible, we will give a plaque of 'Honorable Taxation' to honor the lintel of the gate. He also said that if our family's reputation is not bad, we will give the title of 'Virtuous Country Squire' again next year. You can enter the county council."

Wu Yun smiled and interjected: "This county council started doing it after the big reform. After so many years, I haven't heard of any councillor taking advantage of it, but it's repairing bridges and making up roads, and taking out more when giving porridge and medicine— - But it's not fake to have a good reputation, and it can also boost the reputation of the family."

Zhang Xiaoyi frowned and said, "What's the use of those false names? My nephew did a detailed calculation yesterday. If the raw materials and ex-factory prices of our silk-cutting factory remain unchanged, according to the new tax system, we need to pay an extra [-] yuan per year."

Wu Shi, who was beside him, was taken aback, a sip of tea choked in his throat, and he coughed desperately.Zhang Xiaoyi hurriedly stood up and let An Nan's maid, who was standing beside her, gently pat her mother's back.Wu shi coughed for a while, blushed and panted, "We're working hard, and we're only going to make a lot of money in a year, who's going to do it even if we pay taxes?"

Zhang Xiaoyi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Mother don't have to worry. The one thousand and five I said was silver dollars, not silver taels." Wu sighed in relief after hearing this.

Seeing that his mother had stopped, Zhang Xiaoyi frowned and continued: "The county magistrate said that as long as the tax is paid in full, the subsequent 'miscellaneous sect' and 'apportionment' will be eliminated. Seven hundred - just don't know how far he can land."

Hearing this, Wu Yun frowned and sighed: "It's hard! Last month, Mr. Song Xunzong visited the county. The three-foot-tall old county gentleman sent a post to my house that day. I brought out a fresh pig and two fresh sheep. , six urns of fruit wine, twenty catties of first-class Dahongpao, four knives of gold paper, and 16 taels of silver—the county welcomes and sends them, and it is us merchants who contribute money and effort. coming?"

Zhang Xiaoyi nodded, took the words and said with a smile: "What uncle said is true. It was also last month, when Liu Tixing from the mansion came to the county, he must live in Chunfenglou - it's a good way to investigate the case by playing tea and drinking flower wine Surprisingly. To say that what Xialao Xianzun did is even more ridiculous. A post was posted to the nephew. It is said that the nephew’s family has a silk-suppressing factory, and the miscellaneous sweat towels are 160 square meters. , gold dots, emerald greens and flowers and phoenixes, necklaces, pearls, broken eight treasures, etc., eight styles of 30 square meters each—it cost my nephew about [-] taels."

Before Zhang Xiaoyi could finish speaking, both the Wu siblings couldn't help laughing.Mrs Wu spat hard on the ground and said, "When a man sees money, it's like a fly sees blood. If the tax system is changed, they will not eat this miscellaneous acre of land, but the sun is coming out from the west!"

After laughing, she sighed again: "Oh, everyone said that this is a peaceful and prosperous world, and the great reform is good. We can live by our two mothers guarding Sangmu, how can there be such a bad thing now! Burma - we have to pay money, how can we ever see a half benefit!"

Wu Yun's face was strange when he heard the words, and he looked at An Nan's maid who was standing behind Wu's and smiled without saying a word.Seeing her brother looking behind her, Mrs Wu blushed and said, "Although this slave is cheap, she is clumsy and clumsy. I don't know how much she has shattered!" After speaking, she glanced at the little girl and said. : "Another day, find someone to sell you!" The little girl was so frightened that she knelt down and kowtowed, and her head shook like a rattle. Both Wu Yun and Zhang Xiaoyi laughed.

After laughing for a while, Wu Yun lowered his voice and said to Zhang Xiaoyi, "I heard that there are scholars in the mansion who encouraged the city to stop, is there any movement in the county?"

Zhang Xiaoyi also turned serious, shook his head and said, "I didn't hear what they said. But I heard from Section Chief Sun of the Sixth Household that our new county magistrate was ruthless when he was in Burma - the head can build a Beijing temple. He He brought a companion surnamed Huo, and he fired Ma Dianli as soon as he took office, and let this surnamed Huo become an official."

Wu Yun heard this and said in surprise: "Although the official is not in the mainstream, he is also registered in the official department. How does this partner get the official status?"

Zhang Xiaoyi said: "This surnamed Huo has worked with him in Myanmar for five years, and it is not easy to get an official position in Myanmar? It's a pity that my nephew didn't have that insight back then, otherwise he would have gone into the official skin, which is much better than that of ordinary people. Angry."

When Wu Yun heard the words, he couldn't help but digress: "I can't be envious of this. You only saw them eating meat, but you didn't see them being beaten—how many people have died in Myanmar over the years? I read the newspaper a few days ago, saying that a certain place in Myanmar killed an official. They rebelled and tied the Han people to the beach to feed mosquitoes, and the magistrates were bitten to death by mosquitoes.”

When Wu heard this, he was so frightened that he chanted Buddha.Wu Yun turned the topic back and said, "I don't know what the imperial court is in a hurry? The new tax law that was published in the newspaper in May was said to be soliciting public opinion. It will be tried in Guangdong in less than four months - our province is also considered unlucky, what's the matter? We can be the first one, and Zhang Heizi used a whip back then, and we were also the first batch."

Zhang Xiaoyi smiled and said: "Who told us that we have more money. A few years ago, it was said that the taxation of the imperial court should be paid to the southeast - in fact, we Guangdong and Fujian are the soles of the silver, and the imperial court knows everything."

Wu Yun whispered again: "What Xiaoyi said is. I heard that the emperor wanted to set up a tax bureau in order to collect taxes. There are national tax and local tax, and there are tax soldiers. This soldier was trained by Yu Dayou in the two Huaihe Rivers. - The newspaper said that tax resistance violates the national law - I don't know which kind of national law, but I am afraid that in the future, there will be house raids and beheadings."

After hearing this, Mrs Wu continued to chant Buddha.

(End of this chapter)