A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 666 Make friends
"Guys, it's getting late. Let's have a meal first. We have a simple meal in the countryside. I hope you'll forgive me."

Yuan Wai Li's grandson came over to invite him, saying it was just a simple meal. In fact, Yuan Wai Li had already arranged for people to go to Longqiao Street eight miles away to buy fresh chicken, duck and fish, and also bought back a leg of mutton.

Fan Zhiheng said, "When we came, we brought rice and salt. We can borrow some firewood from the servant's kitchen."

"How can there be such a thing? It's all done. Please come quickly."

"These are all new regulations from above, and we don't dare to make mistakes."

Fan Zhiheng declined. In fact, he was a little dissatisfied with the regulations. How could he go to the countryside to run errands and end up having to carry salt, oil, soybean rice, etc. from the yamen to cook for himself.

Several people were tugging at each other.

Mr. Li came to invite him in person, but looking at a table of eight dishes that had already been prepared, Fan Zhiheng almost swallowed his saliva. But looking at the working group, he didn't know who would turn around and fight with them. Small report, still have to refuse.

Several people borrowed the kitchen and made a fire to cook.

In the hall over there, Mr. Li and his sons were sitting there, looking at a table of delicious food. They were also very surprised. They thought they were just being polite, but who would have thought that they actually refused to eat.

"It's unprecedented, unheard of."

Mr. Li sighed and said that in his early years, he also liked to travel and make friends, but later he became a bad man and ended up in the officialdom.When he was getting old, he took advantage of the change of dynasty and even found a county captain. Now he is also an official, a local gentry and a wise man.

I have had a lot of experience in my life, and I know all the yamen quite well, but it is really the first time that subordinate officials go to the countryside and do not eat the food of the common people.

There are three types of people in the yamen: officials, clerks, and servants. Officials make decisions, clerks handle documents, and servants provide dispatches.

There are eight people in this working group, three officials, one student, and four servants. Whether they are from Chang'an, Sanyuan County, or the countryside,
After all, you shouldn’t say not eating.

If you have the opportunity to go to the countryside, you should normally immediately ask for food and drink, or even extort money. Even if Mr. Li is not an ordinary citizen, these subordinate officials do not dare to do anything wrong, but it is customary to grab some food and drink on the way.

"When they finish cooking, bring half of this table over."

"Take half?"

"Didn't they say you can't eat food from people's homes? Then let's just say we eat the leftovers."

"Leftovers, isn't that bad?"

"Just dial half of it and don't mess with the other half,"

Li Yuanwai's eldest son couldn't help but ask, "It seems that Prime Minister Wu is really very capable to make these subordinate officials so honest."

"Hmph, it goes without saying that we have been neighbors with the Wu family for more than ten years. We didn't have much contact with the Yuancong Forbidden Army in the past. The sudden rise of the Wu family in the past four or five years is due to the ability of Mr. Wu. ?”

Of course, besides being an old officer, I used to work in a yamen. I know that no matter how noble you are, you may have a high official position. But in the yamen, sometimes the subordinate officials are so cunning and treacherous that they still dare to deceive the superiors and subordinates, and even take down some officials who are not familiar with the world. Elevated.

They dare to act recklessly right under their noses, let alone come to the countryside.

But now that those guys are so honest, it can be seen that this is not only the Prime Minister's authority that overwhelms others, but there must be other advantages.

"Call your cousin Houwen and I'll ask him."

In the kitchen, three servants were busy setting fire to cook, while Li Houwen and the others were checking the facts.There is a huge difference compared to previous years.

The actual information reported by Yuan Li this time, whether in terms of number of people, acres of land, slaves, cattle, horses, etc., was much greater than that reported last year.

But Li Houwen is also from Xiaoli Village, so of course he knows whether the uncle's report is hydrated.

"Honwen, what is the origin of this Fan Lingshi?"

"I heard that he was born in the Fan family of Fanyang, Hebei Province, but he was considered a minor. He had previously studied arithmetic in the Imperial College, then entered Sinong Temple, and then was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He had also worked in the Zhidushi Yamen before. We are related to Lu Chengqing, the governor of Yongzhou,"

"anything else?"

"I don't know much about other things, either."

Mr. Li twisted his beard and pondered.

Li Houwen couldn't help but said, "Uncle, you reported a lot today, but there are still many things you haven't reported."

Officer Li looked at his nephew, "What, you want to exterminate your relatives and expose me?"

"No, it's just that this time it seems to be coming in a serious way, and I want to take serious action. I will naturally cover for my uncle, but after I report my hand, I have to verify it, and then I have to ask the village chief and the neighbors. Maybe I can even hide it this time. A second group of people will come to check soon.
Moreover, it will have to be publicized at that time, for fear that someone will report it.

And I heard that there will be secret visits. "

"I'm afraid that if I can't hide it, I'll be in trouble if I get discovered."

Li Yuanwai's eldest son said dissatisfied, "Aye has already taken the initiative to report a lot this time. Do you still have to report everything clearly?"

"I don't believe it. The big households in Sanyuan County are all so honest. Our family also paid at least [-]%."

Although the veteran had a premonition that this time was unusual, it was still a piece of meat after all. He indeed reported more people, slaves, fields, etc. than he had originally concealed last year, but he still concealed about [-]% of the fields. As for the copper coins and silk The food supply was only a small amount.

"I will give Fan Lingshi twenty bolts of silk later. Remember not to give it directly. Write him a note and ask him to pick it up at any time at our shop in Longqiao or Chang'an."

"Give Li Hongda fifteen horses. Hou Wen, you are one of your own, so you will also take ten. As for the child of the Li family, give him a set of the Four Treasures of the Study, which is more valuable. Just give each of the four servants twenty dollars."

"Boss, you go to the Longqiao County Government Office tomorrow and take care of things. Spend the money as you should."

I don’t believe that cats don’t steal fish.
Fifteen bolts of silk cost [-] yuan, which can cost nearly [-] shi of millet. For a wealthy country man, this is still a relatively big gift.The veteran was not afraid of Fan Zhiheng. He mainly wanted to take this opportunity to make friends with Fan Lingshi, who was related to Lu Chengqing.

Chatted for a while.Li Wenhou took his cousin and took half the table of dishes to the front yard.
Half of each dish was left, but it was not turned over.
"There is some food left, don't dislike it, don't dislike it."

Li Hongda couldn't help but swallow his saliva when he looked at the half roasted chicken, large pieces of boiled mutton, etc. They borrowed the Li family's kitchen and made some corn rice, and then the Li family gave them some vegetables. It was simple, nothing. What oil and water.

Fan Zhiheng was still refusing, but Li Hongda had already accepted it with a smile, "Brother Fan, these are just some leftovers. They don't violate the regulations. We are running errands in the countryside and the conditions are limited. Don't be so rigid. Eat it quickly. It's still hot. Still waiting."

The officers were already drooling. They were all ordinary people who took their turn to serve in the yamen. How could they have the chance to eat roasted chicken, stewed mutton, etc.

Li Houwen over there also immediately helped divide the dishes.

When Fan Zhiheng saw this, he didn't say anything more. The half-roasted chicken drumstick was given to him in his bowl. He refused after a few times and became rude.

Just eat corn rice, roast chicken, stew mutton, and boil meat and duck. The meat vegetables are oily and fragrant, and are a hundred times more delicious than pickles.

Everyone was very satisfied with the meal.

The oily throat feels so good.

For example, Fan Zhiheng, the official of the Chang'an Department in the capital, actually has a very meager salary. Officials have the ninth grade, and there are also subordinate officials who have been exiled and those who have been exiled are not counted. In short, they are still in the third, sixth or ninth grade. This salary is natural There are highs and lows.

Fan Zhiheng's salary is only eighteen dan per year, which is one and a half dan per month.But from the rank of ninth-grade official, it only costs thirty shilumime per year.

It’s just that officials in the capital still had their job fields, and later officials who didn’t have their job fields also had job fields to rent and grain from. In addition, the officials’ permanent field, as well as their monthly salary and miscellaneous materials, etc.,
If you include gray income such as receiving gifts, you will still have a lot of extra income without corruption.

Officials like Fan Zhiheng mainly rely on gray income, but living in Chang'an and raising a family is actually very hard. Renting a house is expensive, rice and food are expensive, and even raising a donkey is expensive, and you have to hire a donkey. Two messengers.

He was born in the Fan family of Fanyang, which was considered a famous family in Hebei, but he was from a side branch, so he could only use his name to lend some kudos.

Usually it is rare to eat meat several times in ten days.

This time I left Beijing to go to the countryside and received two thousand yuan and three stones of food, which was an unexpected and generous income.

However, he was still a little surprised when Yuan Li's son gave him a stamped and monogrammed note, saying that he could pick up twenty bolts of silk at any time from their Li family's shop in Chang'an or Sanyuan County.

It's worth four thousand qian. If you buy last year's warehouse grain, you can buy hundreds of dan.

You can also replace your old donkey with a young and powerful green mule, or even a horse.

"A little care is not enough to show respect. I, Aye, admire the Fan family in Hebei very much. I also admire Brother Fan and want to make friends with him."

Looking at the sum of money presented to him, Fan Zhiheng refused.

"Brother Fan, I have no other intention, I just want to make friends."

Fan Zhiheng still refused.

After taking a rest after the meal, Fan Zhiheng asked the Li family to take them to the fields to check the conditions of the fields.
Over there, Mr. Li was listening to the eldest son's report.

"That Fan Zhiheng refused to accept it, but Li Hongda accepted the fifteen bolts of silk, Li Sihao also accepted the paper and pen given to him, and the poor man and the middle man also accepted the money. They were all very happy and grateful."

There were eight people in the working group, most of whom were Li Wenhou, so they naturally accepted the ten pieces of silk.

But only Fan Zhiheng confiscated it.

"Sure enough, people from a well-known family, even if they are from the sidelines, have much higher standards." Li Yuanwai knocked on a few boxes, "Add ten more pieces of silk."

"Aye," Li Dalang was a little reluctant to part with it. Thirty pieces of silk were worth six thousand yuan. Now Chang'an Dou rice only sells for five yuan. It's still rice, not grain. Six thousand yuan can buy 120 shi of rice. "Aye, for the land our family rents out, we can only receive so much rent per year for one hundred acres of land."

"If six thousand dollars can help you make friends with Fan Lingshi, it's worth it."

"What if he still refuses to accept it?"

"Ten more horses,"

Fan Zhiheng, led by the Li family, checked the fields with Li Hongda and others outside Xiaoli Village during the day, and did not return until the evening.

It's only eight miles away from Longqiao, so I still go back to Longqiao to stay at night.

Before leaving, the Li family cooked soup cakes and mutton dumplings for them. This time, Fan Zhiheng just declined a few times and ate them.

When I was about to leave after dinner, I said hello and thanked the senior staff.

In the next few days, they had to check it out in Xiaoli Village. Li Dalang handed over the note again, but this time it had turned into a stack of money notes. The notes were anonymous and could be redeemed with a face value of thousands of dollars, also known as banknotes. Tickets, six in total.

Tickets from Baoxinglong Bank, a very famous bank in Chang'an, backed by Prime Minister Wu's family, with good credit.This kind of banknote issued by Baoxinglong has an amount ranging from one guan, five guan to ten guan. It can be redeemed as soon as it is issued. It is paid with the ticket. It is not registered and is convenient to use.

These banknotes were issued by Mr. Li at the Baoxinglong counter. The Li family deposited money into Baoxinglong, paid a handling fee of 5.00%, and then received the unnamed banknotes issued by the bank. These banknotes are convenient to use, but there is no interest. You still have to pay for the tickets.

Fan Zhiheng naturally recognizes this banknote. It is a new business that has only emerged in Chang'an in recent years. Six thousand dollars is only six pieces of paper, which is easy to carry.Six pieces of money would weigh dozens of kilograms, and six pieces of silk would weigh a large roll.

Baoxinglong's credit is also very good. Although their banknotes include registered and unnamed banknotes, some are interest-free in the near future, and some can bear interest after the forward maturity, they are all very good at preventing counterfeiting, especially It has good credit and can be redeemed at any time. Even now, it can be redeemed in seven or eight big cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang, which is very convenient.

It is extremely convenient and secretive to give away this kind of unnamed banker's ticket directly.

"To make friends!"

Six thousand dollars to make a friend, Fan Zhiheng hesitated.
When Li Dalang saw this, he stuffed it directly into his hand. He declined a few times, but finally Fan Zhiheng accepted it.

At dusk, the working group returned to Longqiao. No one said a word, but everyone was actually very excited. This trip was very rewarding, and Mr. Li was very generous.

(End of this chapter)