At this time, Su Qingluan was just surprised that her mother suddenly became depressed, and she had not yet realized the meaning behind this "depression".
She removed the coriander roots very neatly and dipped the knife in water to cut the onion - this would prevent the pungent taste of the onion from making her tears flow wildly.
Su Qingluan breathed a sigh of relief after cutting the last piece of onion, but then she came to her senses and realized that Yang had not said a word since then.
She turned around and found that Yang was also looking at her.
"Mother?" Su Qingluan touched her face subconsciously, "Is there something dirty on my face?" Why was he looking at her all the time?
Yang sighed, "Big girl, our village's harvest this year is quite good, so there's no severe drought, and the river in the village hasn't risen and flooded the fields."
Su Qingluan nodded: "Isn't that great?"
"But the rent we have to pay this year is not low at all! Although my family is not worried about not being able to pay the rent, I'm afraid that most families—even my family last year—"
Rent?
Su Qingluan was stunned for a moment before she understood what the so-called "rent" was - it was the "tax" of that era.
It's not her fault. After all, modern terms like "value added tax" and "personal income tax" are more common. The term "rent" or similar synonyms only existed in our distant childhood, when our masters and mistresses talked about their parents and even grandparents rebelling against the old times.
Su Qingluan remembered that she had borrowed knowledge related to the laws of this era from Mu Xingzhi before. He said that the country's tax rate was roughly 20% to 30% of the crop harvest. Su Qingluan converted it according to the modern tax rate and found that it was still relatively high overall.
However, strictly speaking, she was considered a "small and micro business operator" in her previous life and had to pay taxes every year, so from a physical point of view, the tax rate of about 20% was not particularly outrageous.
So she couldn't help but say comfortingly: "After all, most of the food still ends up in our own pockets, right?"
Upon hearing this, Yang looked at Su Qingluan in surprise, as if she had heard something out of the ordinary: "Most? How is that possible?"
"But the law stipulates..."
"I don't know what the law is..." Yang smiled bitterly, "I just know that the villagers in our village have to pay at least 60% rent for their land."
"Sixty percent?!" Su Qingluan screamed, "Why don't they just go and rob—Ugh!"
Before Su Qingluan could finish her words, Yang rushed forward and covered her mouth with her hands. "Keep your voice down!" Yang lowered her voice and looked outside the yard vigilantly. "Although our village is relatively peaceful, such words must never be spoken casually!"
Su Qingluan also calmed down at this time: Yes, this is no longer the era where you can "discuss state affairs at home". If you say something inappropriate at this time, it may really endanger your family.
She calmed down and her expression became much calmer. Seeing that she was no longer as excited as before, Yang slowly let go of her hand.
Su Qingluan took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and asked, "How could it be so much higher?"
60% tax! This tax rate, let alone in modern times, even compared to ancient times, can be considered "harsh taxation", right?!
This is more than just "people suffering", it is simply "people dying"!
And Yang said "at least" 60%, so the implication is that he has even encountered tax rates even more outrageous than 60%?!
It was the first time that Su Qingluan felt so deeply that this oppressive ancient feudal world was really too deceptive!
After hearing Su Qingluan's words, Yang shook her head and sighed helplessly, "How can we ordinary people say anything when the higher-ups come to collect rent? A few years ago, when Huaxi Village had more people, each household paid less rent. But now there are only a few dozen households left, and yet the higher-ups are still collecting so much! How can this be justified?"
At the end of the conversation, Yang was also a little indignant, but she did not protest loudly like Su Qingluan. She only dared to complain quietly in a voice that only Su Qingluan, who was standing nearby, could hear clearly.
Su Qingluan listened to her mother's words and pondered them for a moment. Yang Shi didn't understand, but standing at the end of history, she understood: for some unknown reason—most likely because those below them wanted to make their "achievements" look good—they boasted about good weather and abundant harvests year after year, and naturally, the higher-ups would demand more taxes.
However, in reality, there are still only so many people. Due to various natural and man-made reasons, the population of small mountain villages like Huaxi Village has even decreased.
The people above had overly optimistic estimates of tax revenue, and the fact that there were far fewer people and food than reported naturally resulted in taxes several times higher than required by the law.
Su Qingluan was in a very heavy mood.
Today's tofu rolls are pan-fried until golden and crispy, and the various spices sprinkled on them, along with the coriander and onions, bring a rich taste and special aroma that the whole family will enjoy.
Only Su Qingluan, thinking about what Yang had said to her before, couldn't swallow her food and had no taste for it.
What made her even more annoyed was that she had found an idea for developing a new series of jam, but she was not satisfied with the effect of Su Qingluan's neutralization of pure jam with the fruit peels ground into powder - the astringent taste of the fruit peels, after being heated, blended with the jam and turned into another somewhat bitter taste.
Su Qingluan didn't know what went wrong, so she became even more annoyed.
This irritable mood lasted from the first day's dinner to the next day, and even the rising sun did not make her mood better.
Su Qingluan was really a little upset, but she still remembered to write a recruitment notice and post it on the notice board at the entrance of the village, and set the start time for three days later.
Su Qingluan thought about it and decided that even though the actual construction would only take about three or four days, it would still be better to start a few days in advance to be on the safe side.
What's more, no matter what is added later to enhance the flavor of the jam, the early steps of picking wild fruits, mashing the pulp and making jam will not be changed in any way.
So Su Qingluan can at least control the work flow for the first two days.
As for the work needed abroad...
Su Qingluan decided to follow the idea that "it is better to share troubles with others than to trouble alone, and it is better to complain together with others than to complain alone". She grabbed a handful of flour and beat two eggs, cut various vegetables she could find into shreds, made a few egg and vegetable pancakes for herself and her sister as breakfast, and then went to Mu Xingzhi's place.
After Song Bo served the tea, closed the door, and left, Su Qingluan finally couldn't help but slam the table. "What the hell is this tax? 60%! Are you afraid the people down there won't revolt?"
Mu Xingzhi simply smiled faintly at Su Qingluan's "treasonous" remarks: "Then according to Qingluan, what should we do? Reduce taxes?"
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