golden scales

The young man looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, his beard hadn't grown hard, it could only be regarded as a ring of soft hair.

"Official Wu! You came early today!" The village woman put aside the matter of collecting money for the time being, and greeted her with a smile.

The official surnamed Wu arrived in front of the shed, and saw that there were guests inside, and that Ni Yuanlu had an extraordinary temperament, so he didn't approach him, but only gave him a little courtesy from a distance.Ni Yuanlu looked like an old monk in meditation, but he bowed his hand and returned the salute, obviously seeing it through the cracks in his eyes.

"Sister Qiao'er, how was the business yesterday?" Wu Guanren asked, taking out a hardcover notebook and charcoal pencil, and made a record.

Sister Qiao'er went back to the shed, took out a book like a heavenly book, and reported yesterday's business one by one.

The two said one by one, which surprised Ni Yuanlu.From the "license" the woman mentioned, Ni Yuanlu knew that this shed was much more expensive than other houses.Daming has so many licenses, which one doesn’t cost money?Now seeing a small official from the county come to register the transaction, it is obvious that they want to divide according to the money.

The strange thing is that the shopkeeper didn't reject him in the slightest, he didn't cry about being poor, and he didn't hide it.

After a while, the little official surnamed Wu finished remembering yesterday's business, and went to the back of the shed to check whether the pots and pans were washed clean; whether the meat and vegetables were stored separately; When it's over, it's time to get on the donkey and drive on the road.Sister Qiao'er stopped her and said, "I have to drink some water before leaving today!"

The little official smiled wryly, and patted the coconut ladle on his waist: "Sister, a sip of water is a small matter for you and me, but a big matter for the officials. One sip of water today, one sip of wine tomorrow, and one sip of meat the day after... You can't afford it, I can’t afford it either, let’s just let it go.”

"You follow the rules," Sister Qiao'er smiled and ran back to the back of the shed, took a cloth bag and put it on the donkey's head, "This donkey does not belong to your family, so it's not a sin for me to feed it two mouthfuls of beans."

"It's from the public house. Since you fed it, it's a happy donation." Wu Xiaoli couldn't stop the donkey from eating, so he had to smile wryly: "It's a pity that I don't have a certificate for you, so it can't be tax-exempt."

Sister Qiao'er giggled and said, "If you don't want it, you will be spared."

Ni Yuanlu couldn't understand more and more, so she coughed lightly and motioned for her family to come over.

The old family members were also listening a little weirdly, and got the order from the master, and they stepped forward and said, "Never mind, trouble. The transaction is recorded here, but is it for tax collection?"

The Wu Xiaoli immediately changed his face to a solemn expression, and said seriously: "Old man, it is not for collecting taxes to record transactions here. It is to record the number of passengers coming and going. Make some preparations for road construction in the future."

"If there are many people walking, the road will be wide and hard. If there are few people walking, the road will be narrow." Sister Qiaoer explained: "But the government also said that if you can make 50 taels a year No more money. The government will pay to build me a house."

The old man let out a sigh and said, "Not many."

"Scared! Not many?" Sister Qiao'er couldn't help shouting: "50 taels! If a wealthy customer like you comes here every three days, it's not many. Although my small shed can be opened every day, it's mostly For a tea business that costs one or two pennies, how many customers do you get for fifty taels?"

The old family made a calculation in their minds, and sure enough, it was their own slip of the tongue.He didn't argue, he fainted with a smile, then cupped his hands and said, "Chengjia, Chengjia."

"I don't think the old man is a merchant?" Wu Xiaoli asked.

"My master returned to his hometown after returning to his official position." The old family stepped back a bit.

Only then did Wu Xiaoli bow to Ni Yuanlu again, and Ni Yuanlu just nodded.

"I want to let your master know that there is a rest house within seven or eight miles of the road ahead, but the rules have changed." Wu Xiaoli said: "If an official stays in office, he must have a document issued by Zhaomo of this yamen. The county and the department The yamen accounts. Those who return to their hometowns after returning to their official positions like Mr. Gui, can take the tooth card to the county yamen to issue documents, otherwise they will have to know how to pay for expenses.”

As soon as Ni Yuanlu thought about it, she knew that the post office was going to be rectified. Speaking of it, there were people who wanted to rectify it since the Jiajing period, but they didn't complete it before Jiashen, so they simply cut it across the board. Out of sight, out of mind.Unexpectedly, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince moved so fast that he had already moved to the county.

"Little brother, please come and talk." Ni Yuanlu said suddenly.

The little official hesitated for a moment, but still passed by, then saluted Ni Yuanlu, and said, "What orders does your lord have?"

Ni Yuanlu took out the tooth card and put it on the table. On the front was the word "文", indicating his status as a civil servant.Turning to the back, Ni Yuanlu's name, official position, rank, hometown, etc. are engraved, just like a letter of introduction from later generations.The little official swelled his head when he saw it, and quickly saluted again: "The humble official has seen Mr. Ni."

"Sit down." Ni Yuanlu put away the dental plaque with a gentle face, and said, "You said that there is no tax here, but the tax exemption you mentioned before is..."

"Mr. Hui, as long as the subordinates contribute to the public, they can either pay wages directly, or exempt tax at a discount. This tax exemption ticket can be exempted from industrial and commercial tax, and can also be exempted from land tax." It’s not that different from a tax credit.”

"In the future, if the government builds a house for her to sell tea and food, will they be able to collect taxes?" Ni Yuanlu asked again.

"These are two things. The house repair shop depends on the business quota and attitude of the shopkeeper. For example, if Qiaoer sister's house achieves 50 taels a year, the quota is enough. As long as the food is clean and the pots and dishes are washed well It is clean, and the customers in the past are happy, so this is the attitude. In this way, the government will set up a stable place for her and continue to do this business. If she can't do these two things, especially if the food is not clean, then If it’s good enough, if it’s short of catties, if you’re sued to the county, the house will be taken back for someone else’s use.”

"As for tax collection, as long as the business turnover is less than 300 taels per year, they are all tax-free." After Wu Xiaoli finished speaking, he added: "This is the rule set by His Royal Highness, not only our county, but also the government. , I heard that this is the case in all the places managed by the East Palace officials."

"Are you a student?" Ni Yuanlu asked, "Why don't you wear a blue shirt and a square scarf?"

Wu Xiaoli smiled awkwardly: "I have studied for a few years in a humble position. I rushed to get a first-class diploma two years ago, and I studied in Henan Administration College for three months. Then I was assigned here to be an official. .There may not be more than a hundred officials like me in the county, so there are no students."

Ni Yuanlu frowned more and more.

Wu Xiaoli sensed that the big man in the cabinet seemed to be preoccupied, so he hurriedly raised his hand to leave, and hurriedly led the donkey to another place.He cherishes his job very much. If the Crown Prince hadn’t opened up his education, with his level of education, he would have to work as a clerk in a shop in the future. After ten or twenty years, he would become a shopkeeper, and his life would be like that. up.

Ni Yuanlu didn't notice the departure of the petty official surnamed Wu at all, she just pondered over what she had just heard.I don't even remember how I got on the bus, let alone when I stayed in the post house.It wasn't until the old family came to return the tooth card, saying that the paperwork of the county government had been completed, that Ni Yuanlu came to her senses, and it was already pitch black outside the window.

"Chen Yuanlu said: I have heard about Hong Fan's eight politics, food and goods are the most important. Now the country is in turmoil, there are no invaders inside, and there are no border troops outside. At this time, it is important to have enough food and currency. The minister thinks: stop Great work, if corvee is stopped, the people will have enough strength to do farming. Therefore, the warehouses can be enriched, and hunger will be avoided. This is the way to have enough food; if the collection is reduced, the tax will be reduced, and the merchants will have more energy, and the department stores will be self-sufficient. This is the channel for currency.

"I'm returning to my hometown on this trip. I heard along the way that there are some places that don't act according to the court's laws, but take credit for being harsh. A family with an annual income of 300 taels is a tax-paying household. What a shocking statement! The southern capitals of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Wu Song, Fujian and Guangdong , the amount of merchants coming in and going out is so large, if the number is three hundred, then everyone has to pay taxes! And the merchants ask for eleven profits, and there are boats and lands, and their profits are so thin, how can they bear heavy taxes? ? The commercial roads are blocked, and the civilian use is scarce, which is a hidden danger for the country!"

Ni Yuanlu asked his family members to take out pens and paper, and wrote memorials with candles, but it was still difficult to solve the worries in his heart.He originally wanted to simply return to Beijing, and face the shame, but he was a little powerless, and it seemed that the situation was irreversible.Compared with the difficult state affairs, it seems that the family happiness in the Jiangnan water town has a stronger attraction.

Ni Yuanlu sat until dawn before carefully folding up the memorial and handing it over to his family, who asked him to quickly return to the capital and hand it over to the General Secretary.

"What about you, sir?"

"I'll stay here for a few days, waiting for you to come back." Ni Yuanlu said.

The old family thought that with Master Tianqi's two-year Jinshi qualifications, even if he became an official, the local shepherd would have to send invitations to listen to his advice, so that he would not be treated badly, so he went north again with peace of mind.But he didn't know that there were only two kinds of officials in the prefectures and counties along the way from the capital to Shandong: criminal officials who had committed crimes and meritorious service, and attendants who were born in the servants of the Eastern Palace.

The former are called criminal officials, and they are often timid and fearful people. Wearing the hat of wearing a hat of crime and meritorious service, they only dare to do what they are doing carefully and dutifully, and the rest dare not take a wrong step.The latter is a matter of background. Most of these people are freshmen, and they are rare. They have always kept a respectful distance from Jinshi, so how could they come to curry favor with Ni Yuanlu.

The Renqiu County of Hejian Prefecture, where Ni Yuanlu settled down, was born as an attendant of the Eastern Palace. He knew the importance of being an official in a local area, focusing on people's safety and wealth. Moreover, the crown prince especially tabooed official contacts, but he could not have banquets and gatherings if he had official contacts.

Moreover, because he had stayed in the attendant's room and had his own news network, he could often receive news that a certain colleague was dismissed from office, dismissed from office, and he was not charged with any crimes, only that he was contaminated with old officialdom habits.

Renqiu County thinks about his current level of writing. If he can win the second list at the age of 50, his ancestors have accumulated virtue.And a student wants to be an official in Daming?This is simply a fool's dream!Now this idiot's dream has become a reality, how can we not cherish it?What's more, Zhang Shiqi, who also came from the servant room of the Eastern Palace, has been promoted to the chief envoy of Sichuan, the real official of the frontier!I might not be able to go further.

So, how can you ruin your future because of an old man you don't know?

After Renqiu County learned that Ni Yuanlu would stay in the posthouse for a few more days, he took a pen and wrote a reply to the postmaster, saying: "Board and lodging are nothing more than money, and I am ashamed of my pocket. I will still receive them according to the regulations, and I will go elsewhere to take advantage of it."

Ps:

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