Disastrous year!Before the whole family is wiped out, a little blessing falls from the sky!

Soon, a notice was posted on the bulletin board in front of the Yamen. Two literate officers, carrying waist knives, read the notice loudly to the people who gathered around.

Most of the people had never read books, but they knew what the word "corvee" meant. When they heard that they would gather together in three days, and if they refused to do the corvee, the fine would be doubled, everyone started to quarrel!
"Why on earth is the corvee required? This is the autumn harvest, and everyone is busy. Do we have to throw the grain into the fields to build roads?"

"Yeah, it's really unreasonable, it's almost life-threatening!"

"Take one for two, this is too cruel! There are five people in a family, at least two of them are gone? Even if they can come back alive, what will happen to the family? If God doesn't open his eyes, a rain will ruin all the food! "

"In the past, we used to draw one out of three!"

"It's over, it's over, I really can't live anymore!"

Everyone was talking a lot, no one looked good, but they hurried away without saying a few words, looking for relatives and friends to convey the bad news.

Zheng corvee was like a bowl of ink spilled in a basin, quickly infiltrating the entire Tai'an County.

There are horse-drawn carriages in Taijia Village that travel between the county town and the village. Even if the autumn harvest is busy, there is always one trip a day.Originally, Yongning and Yongfeng were prepared to go home at any time, but today they came in handy...

Mr. Tai sat under the big tree at the entrance of the village, pulled off his tobacco leaf purse and stuffed it into his brother, and said with a smile, "Everyone worked hard and cleaned up the fields as soon as they saw it. Even if it rains tomorrow, I'm not afraid anymore!"

"Yes, my heart has finally come to fruition!" Mr. Tai was very happy. He pinched some tobacco and stuffed it into the pot of his pipe. He soon started smoking, blowing out a mouthful of green smoke, and his brows relaxed. .

Sesame Ball was being chased around by Zhuzhu, and when he happened to run nearby, he sneezed when he was choked by the smoke, and the dog hair all over his body was trembling.

The old man laughed and stretched out his hand to rub its head. "Sesame Ball has suffered a lot this summer. It was so hot that it stuck out its tongue every day. Now that the weather has turned cold, it feels better."

"Haha, who made it grow hair? Is it possible to wear a fur coat without getting too hot in the summer?"

"Fortunately Sesame Ball is not a purebred mastiff. I heard that purebred mastiffs have hair that is half a foot long and can only hide in the grass in summer."

"I've heard about it too, but it's a pity that my old arms and legs can't go to the grassland to see it with my own eyes. I can only listen to the boys in the village and make spittle fly everywhere!"

The two brothers were talking lively, and Zhuzhu ran up to them, holding a red bean cake and eating it slowly.

The old man was sitting on his lap with his granddaughter in his arms, and when he was about to talk, the village carriage came running back!
The old man driving the cart shouted from afar, "Chief, something happened! The corvee is being collected, the corvée is being collected!"

The old man and Mr. Tai stood up together and looked at each other, feeling like the dust had settled.

The old man who drove the car was still shouting, "This time, one will be drawn from every two men. If you don't do the corvee, you will be fined twice the silver! Chief, please think of a way, this is a serious matter!"

Mr. Tai San replied, "What can I do but pay the fine? The whole county knows that all the young and old men in Taijia Village have gone out!"

The old man driving the car was stunned for a long time, and then looked at Mr. Tai with a sudden realization, "Chief, this... this..."

It has to be said that as people grow older, he has already thought of the reason why the whole village was kicked out of the border.

No wonder he felt that the clan leader was a little too aggressive in mobilizing troops. No matter how much he valued the corn seeds for the border guards, he couldn't abandon his family and business and let all the young men in the village help transport them!The old man waved his hand, indicating that he should not tell anyone if he knew the details, and whispered, "I will go to the county tomorrow to see how much fine each family needs. Although it will cost you money, it is better than losing your life!"

The old man who drove the car nodded repeatedly. He was also a man who had experienced corvee labor, and he absolutely did not want his children and grandchildren to hang out in front of the gate of hell again!
"Okay, we must lose money and avoid disaster. Nothing is more important than life!"

Just as they were talking, Tai Yongning and Yongfeng actually hired a carriage and ran back. As soon as they landed and saw the old man driving the carriage, Yongfeng complained, "Fourth Grandpa, we just saw your carriage run away, so we hired the carriage because we really had no choice. The carriage has been driven all the way!"

The old driver laughed and felt very embarrassed.

"I'm too impatient. I'm afraid that the clan will find out too late and won't respond. Next time, I'll wait for you next time!"

Tai Yongning couldn't care about this and hurriedly said to his grandfather, "Grandpa, I asked my husband, our family is not divided. My reputation as a scholar can exempt our family from corvee!"

Mr. Tai smiled and patted his grandson on the shoulder, and responded, "This grandpa knows that Yongning has become successful and can protect the family!"

Tai Yongning blushed a little. He turned to look at Third Master Tai and stopped smiling. He saluted and said, "Grandpa Third, I will study hard. When I pass the exam, our whole family will no longer have to do corvee service."

"That's good," Tai Sanye was not greedy, but told Yong Ning, "No one can eat a fat man in one bite. It's already good that you can be admitted as a scholar at a young age. Let's take our time with the rest, don't get tired The brain is serious!"

Mr. Tai also said, "Your third grandfather is right, this is not something to worry about. Now the family is not like before, and there is no way to do anything when things happen."

After saying this, he handed Zhuzhu to Yongning for a hug, "Go inside and see your mother and the others. Grandpa is still busy."

Yongning nodded and teased his sister into the yard, while Yongfeng also went home.

Third Master Tai discussed the matter with his elder brother for a long time. When all the old, young, women and children in the village came back in the evening, they discussed the matter under the big tree.

None of the young, old, women and children have read, and most of the men have the final say in the family.Now that all the men are away, and such a big thing happens, naturally everyone has no backbone.

So, they did whatever Mr. Tai ordered.

There was still some fear and worry, but because the whole village was in a unified situation and acted in a unified way, it dissipated!

Early the next morning, the old man took a carriage into the city, found Manager Min, and then went to look for the official responsible for collecting corvee labor.

People who can make a living in the county government are as scheming as a sieve. Moreover, before the Tai family set off with great fanfare, everyone in the city knew about it. The official guessed the old man's intention almost immediately.

The old man did not hesitate and went straight to the point, "Brother, you should have heard that most of the young and old men in our village are not here. Who would have thought that corvee would be suddenly called for at this time? No way, we can only pay a fine."

"But I don't know how much to pay, and whether it will be possible to eliminate corvee labor in the whole village. I have to ask my brother to help me, and give me accurate information!"

After that, he directly stuffed the officer with a banknote of ten taels, "Brother is busy now, so I won't waste much time. Please keep this small gift and buy a cup of tea when you have free time."

The officer squeezed the banknote, feeling satisfied, but said a few polite words, and then hurried to Houya. (End of chapter)