I never imagined that honest people could benefit from this.
Their eyes reddened. "What a kind man, Boss Chen."
Boss You: "I'm going to town to file a complaint with the county magistrate."
A dozen or so yamen runners, all dressed in black, rode up on horseback.
"Imperial edict has arrived!"
The villagers of Qingxia were all somewhat bewildered.
Chen Gui, who had been watching the show, widened his eyes and poked Qingshan.
"Son, the imperial edict?"
"Is that Magistrate Su?"
A sharp voice rang out, and a pale-faced, beardless man chuckled: "That's Chen Xian? Kneel down and receive the imperial decree."
Chen Qingshan ran wildly through the village, howling at the top of his lungs.
"Come out and receive the imperial edict."
The clan elders, who were nearing seventy, were basking in the sun at home when they heard this and were somewhat bewildered.
"Young man from Qingshan, what is the imperial decree?"
Chen Qingshan rarely showed patience. He is one of the most influential elders in the village. Apart from being hard of hearing, he is in excellent health and can walk two miles in one go.
"Seventh Master, it's an imperial edict!"
"Saint what?"
"Imperial decree!"
"Huh, toilet paper?"
Chen Qingshan was speechless and muttered under his breath, "Come on, you can go pee and play in the mud somewhere else."
Seventh Master raised his hand, grabbed a broom, and slapped it down next to Chen Qingshan.
"You little brat! I used to hold you when you were a baby. Now you're complaining that your old man is too old and useless, huh? You dare to curse me! You dog, even your father wouldn't dare talk to me like that."
Chen Qingshan covered his head and ran away like a rat, howling loudly.
She stormed out the door, looking utterly aggrieved!
"Are you doing this on purpose, sir? That's not hearing loss; it's clearly selective deafness!"
Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the villagers gathered together, staring wide-eyed at those people.
Chen Gui quickly grabbed Chen Xian, then cursed at the men who were still watching the commotion, "All of you, kneel down! What are you standing there like idiots for? Accept the imperial decree!"
"The Emperor decreed that this summer, Yingzhou Prefecture suffered from drought, followed by a locust plague. Fortunately, Chen Xian, a villager from Qingxia Village, boldly advised the county magistrate, allowing hundreds of villages and towns in Yingzhou Prefecture to harvest wheat ahead of schedule, thus saving tens of thousands of bushels of grain and making a great contribution. Chen Xian is hereby granted the title of Wensanguan Jiangshi Zuolang, a set of official robes, and a thousand taels of gold."
Chen Gui's head was buzzing. What did "Jiang Shi Zuo Lang" mean? Was that an official position?
It's not over yet.
"Qingxia Village Chief is bold and responsible. He is hereby granted a formal position as the Village Chief, under the management of the county government, with a monthly salary of one hundred cash and one hundred taels of gold."
ah?
Upon hearing this, Chen Qingshan was initially confused. Xian Ge had obtained an official position, but there seemed to be no precedent for a farmer becoming an official.
I felt a deep sense of envy.
Officials, from then on, were no longer peasants and were no longer required to kneel before them.
But when he heard about the village head system, he immediately stood up.
It's a government-affiliated position, the kind where you get a monthly salary, and as long as you don't make any mistakes, you can keep getting paid.
In addition to the copper coins they received, they also had rice to eat every month, and rice, flour, and cooking oil were provided during the Lunar New Year.
It's also a symbol of status; from now on, we'll be living off the government.
Then it occurred to him that he might work there for several decades and then pass the position on to his son.
The villagers were dumbfounded.
"Goodness, what rank is a Junior Officer?"
Mr. Zhou came out when he saw the commotion, and happened to witness the scene.
He knew that there was a man in the village who had rushed to harvest the wheat, as the county magistrate had mentioned, but he had never inquired about him; he only knew that such a person existed in the village.
He always thought it was Chen Gui, but he never expected that it was him who suggested rushing to harvest the wheat.
Tiger's Mother: "Mr. Zhou is here, can you explain to us?"
Looking at the villagers with their eager expressions of curiosity.
Mr. Zhou chuckled softly.
"Rank nine is the lowest official position. A nominal official is a position where one receives a monthly salary but does not have to work regular hours."
That's an official position! In the entire Qingxia Village, there's no precedent for this. The farmers didn't take the imperial examinations; they got official positions because of their meritorious service.
From then on, he rose to prominence overnight, escaping his status as a farmer. Even when faced with a slick petty official, the official dared not provoke him.
Kneeling in the crowd, Seventh Master looked excited. The old man, who had a very strong sense of collective honor, kept grinning foolishly.
Others thought the old man had gone mad.
A thought welled up in his mind: this was an honor for the entire village, and even more so for the Chen family.
The more I thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
The eunuch smiled and said, "Chen Shilang, receive the imperial decree."
Chen Xian grinned and tsk tsk, it seems this emperor isn't so bad after all. After making meritorious contributions, he really does give you an official position.
He quickly took it and said with a smile, "Father-in-law, the journey is long, why don't you rest at my humble abode for a while?"
The eunuch looked weary and waved his hand, saying, "Never mind, His Majesty is waiting for my reply."
Chen Xian quietly took out a ten-tael silver note from his pocket and handed it over, smiling as he said, "You've worked hard, sir. This is just a small token of my appreciation for your tea."
The father-in-law smiled and said, "Ah, this man is indeed shrewd."
Hey, this farmer is really generous!
My face felt increasingly hot.
"Chen Shilang, His Majesty has praised you quite a bit in the study. You should do your best to share His Majesty's burdens in the future."
Chen Xian smiled amiably.
"That's for sure. This humble subject... no, I will certainly share your burdens, do my duty, take care of the farmland, and strive to increase grain production."
It was just a casual remark, and my father-in-law didn't take it seriously.
Is increasing grain production such an easy thing?
Even many officials in charge of agricultural affairs couldn't solve this problem, so how could you, a mere farmer, possibly be joking?
Of course, he was also secretly thinking to himself, "They gave me so much silver. For a countryman like me, ten taels is more than enough. One should be content."
"Here! This is a thousand taels of gold."
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