Zhao Guihua and the others simply assumed that the children were curious about what an imperial edict or an emperor was, and did not think too much about Xingxing's unusual reaction.
Ten days have passed in the blink of an eye, and the rice harvest in Yegou Village is basically over. Now it's time to dry the threshed rice. Xingxing no longer has time to go up the mountain to search for wild food with her brothers, so she stays at home drying the rice.
Because Yegou Village is surrounded by mountains, there are many birds. When drying rice, you have to keep an eye on them. If a large flock of sparrows suddenly appears, you have to take a broom and chase them away. Xingxing has a great responsibility, accompanying her mother to dry rice every day.
With the rice almost completely dried, Zhao Guihua and Zhou Laoda started worrying about paying taxes. They had to pay grain tax on the harvested grain, with 40% going to the imperial court and the remaining 60% to themselves.
"To be fair, Emperor Taikang treated the people quite well. Since he ascended the throne, the Great Jin Dynasty has been plagued by various natural disasters, both major and minor, which has been very unlucky. However, the tax burden has never increased, which shows that he still cares about the people."
Previously, I was worried that with the continuous natural disasters, the imperial court would impose heavy taxes and levies to exploit the people. However, the situation has improved significantly in recent years; there haven't been any natural disasters for over four years, and the people have survived. Unfortunately, natural disasters have started again this year. I just hope there won't be any more tax increases this year.
Zhao Guihua's concerns were not unfounded. After all, many prefectures in the south had suffered from floods, and she had heard that many places in the north were also experiencing droughts. Only the prefectures around them were in a better situation.
Although the rice harvest in the second half of the year wasn't a bumper crop, it wasn't bad either. The only concern is that their grain might be used to fill the government's granaries for disaster relief. If taxes are too heavy, everyone will have a hard time.
Old Zhou didn't think too much about it. "We have plenty of dried meat and dried fruit stored in our cellar. The rice is all dried now. Tomorrow we'll take the kids up the mountain and pick as many wild fruits as we can. We'll also see if we can get any game. With grain and game, we won't have to worry about not having enough to eat."
“We only have daughters so we don’t have to worry about going hungry. But what about the other people in the village? What if we’re the only ones with rosy cheeks and everyone else is thin and pale? I’m afraid something bad will happen,” Zhao Guihua said worriedly.
“Then you can’t come up with a solution no matter how much you worry. Since you can’t change it, you might as well not think about it at all. Thinking too much will only make you worry yourself to death.” Old Zhou always felt that his wife was prone to overthinking. Although it’s not wrong to think ahead, ordinary people shouldn’t think about problems that they can’t solve, lest they only add to their troubles.
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