"Sell it. This policy was set by the higher-ups. We don't know if it will get better or worse. We'll just take the loss if we suffer."
Just a few days after everyone harvested the soybeans, it started to rain from time to time. Chunxiao counted the days and found that Qingming Festival was approaching again. Time flies so fast.
March 6th was a cloudy day. The family's fields had been completely prepared. Chunxiao checked the soil and prepared to go to the farm tomorrow to transplant the cotton seedlings. Dongsheng's eight acres of land had also been prepared and fertilized. The villagers felt that since Dongsheng became their long-term farmhand, their family's fortunes had improved. There were even some unpleasant gossips, but Chunxiao remained as calm as ever. Let them talk, as long as they stayed out of her sight.
According to her previous instructions, the soybeans should have been sold. She didn't know whether they were applying base fertilizer to the land outside or had started transplanting these days. She was thinking about things in the farm when she heard Shuduo's voice suddenly coming from outside.
"Auntie, auntie, hurry up! The village head is calling everyone to go to the threshing ground and he said we need to hurry."
Chunxiao walked out of the field quickly, "Is there something important?"
"I don't know. I heard from the villagers that someone from the government office had come. They just told everyone to hurry over. Grandma told you to hurry up."
Chunxiao ran back to the yard to wash her hands, said something to Xingfu Meiman, and then pulled Shuduo towards the village. The people from the yamen had come for some big thing, but what was it? The taxes had already been paid, and the only thing they had to deal with the yamen for was paying taxes.
There was no one on the road, so everyone should have left long ago.
When Chunxiao and the others arrived, the threshing ground was already full of people. They found Zhou and stood with her family. There were so many people but no one dared to speak. Chunxiao looked around and saw that in addition to the head of the village, there were indeed quite a few officials standing on the platform in front, about ten of them. There were also a few horse-drawn carriages parked nearby. It looked like something must be happening.
Everyone waited for a while, but no one showed up. "Have all the people from Yanjia Village arrived?"
The village head looked at the people below and said, "Sir, many people in the village are working outside. Those who are not working are all here."
The official nodded and took out a piece of paper. "I'm here today for one thing: the superiors have ordered corvée labor."
When the people below heard this, they started to get uneasy. This corvée labor was not a good thing. It was either donating grain, money, or people. The most serious one was military service. They didn't know what it was this time. Why were they being forced to perform corvée labor? It hadn't happened for many years.
"Everyone, be quiet. We have to go to other villages after this announcement. Don't waste time. Please remain silent while I speak. If you have any questions, please wait until I'm done." The leading officer looked at the people below and took a deep breath. "The announcement from above is complicated, so I won't bother you. Let me just get to the point. This corvée is for conscription."
Before he finished speaking, there was a gasp from the audience.
Chunxiao's heart twitched, and then he had a bad premonition.
"All men between the ages of 15 and 50 must obey the imperial order and enter Qinghe Pass to serve under the command of the Hejian General. One male per household may be exempted, but a subsidy of 20 taels of silver is required. The government office has a record of your household registration details, and no falsification is allowed. If you are not present, please spread the word. Please report to the government office within three days for enlistment. If you exceed the deadline, you will be treated as a deserter. Let me remind you that deserters will have their entire family imprisoned. The above is the content of the announcement. If you have any questions, please ask as soon as possible. If you don't, we will leave."
The people below were like cold water poured into a hot oil pan, and it exploded all of a sudden. Several women fainted.
Zhou almost fainted. According to what had just been said, one of Yan Dashan and Yan Bingfa had to go to the battlefield. What should she do?
Tian's tears fell, "Mom, what should I do?"
"Sir, one person in this family can be redeemed with money. If you pay extra money, can you spare two people?" As long as it is possible, hundreds or even thousands of taels must be paid. The money can be earned later, but once people go to the battlefield, they are in danger of death.
Everyone stood up and looked at the group of officers.
But he was met with a cold "no". Seeing that the scene was noisy and no one was asking any more questions, the official got in his carriage and left quickly.
Many villagers looked anxious and surrounded the village head. "Village head, what should we do? This news came so suddenly. It seems like they are killing us."
"The battlefield is the most hopeless place. Once you go there, you'll be killed. I'll let it go, but my son just got married. What should I do?"
"If I had known this would happen, I would have split up earlier. Even if I had to borrow money, I could have redeemed a few more. Now what can I do?"
There were cries of crying coming from the threshing ground.
Zhang was fine, as the Dahe family had already been divided, so she only had to pay 20 taels. But her father-in-law and eldest brother might be in trouble this time.
Tian and Zhou were in a depressed mood. Chunxiao saw that they looked really bad and there was crying everywhere. It was not a place they could stay for long, so she and Zhang each took one person back. Zhang was still holding the child in her arms. Fortunately, the child was asleep at this moment.
As soon as they got home, Tian burst into tears. She knew that Dashan was doomed this time. "What should we do, mother and sister? What should we do with Dashan? He doesn't know the news yet. What should we do if we know? Why can't we redeem him with silver? We can pay more, 200 taels, or even 500 taels. Why can't we pay silver?" The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. Suddenly, she remembered something and burst into tears. "What should I do with my mother's family? My elder and second brothers haven't separated from the family, and my eldest nephew is already 15 years old. What should I do?"
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