Chapter 79 Jinjiang First Release Chapter 79 [Second Update] Do you know...
Along the way, Yu Qinglong and Fang Shu were wondering what had happened to the new garrison commander. Or had Ma Qinsui and Yan Xikuan finally found the opportunity to deliver the letter they had left behind, and the new garrison commander had read it and found it inappropriate?
But isn't this new governor a strict and honest official?
The couple arrived at the yamen gate without any idea of what was going on, but they saw the new garrison commander Cao Kuo sitting upright reading official documents.
Yu Qinglong and Fang Shu bowed and said, "This humble servant greets Lord Cao."
Cao Kuo raised his eyes, his gaze sharp: "Sit down and talk."
Yu Qinglong and Fang Shu: “?”
Soon, a yamen runner brought two chairs. The couple sat down next to each other, and Fang Shu said, "Thank you, Lord Cao. I wonder how my husband and I can help you."
Cao Kuo said, "Since April, you two have taken care of Yu Dagui and Yu Qingfa, dealt with the Wu family, and even dispatched two bandits in my name and the magistrate's. Last month, when the officials went to collect the land tax, you drew something called a 'tax table.' Am I mistaken?"
Fang Shu said, "It is true. However, we did not harm any innocent people, and we had no choice but to do this to save our own lives, as we did not want to damage the reputations of the two lords. I hope you will understand."
"Don't be nervous. I just asked you to come here to give me some advice."
"Advice?"
"Exactly. This year, disasters have been frequent across the country. While His Majesty wishes to alleviate the burden on the people, there are too many people to support them, so the local authorities must find a solution on their own."
"But my husband and I are just ordinary people. What can we do?"
"A month ago, the higher-ups issued a directive allowing local governments to establish their own official treasuries. Local governments will contribute 10-20% of the treasury funds, which can be used to purchase farmland or invest in other businesses. As long as the profits and losses are self-sufficient, the goal is to increase local government revenue to prepare for emergencies. I summoned you two to hear if you have any ideas for making money. You've been traveling frequently in the county town lately, switching from a single carriage to a three-horse carriage, and staying in a small inn to a large inn. This isn't some free lunch."
Fang Shu and Yu Qinglong: "..."
Yu Qinglong coughed lightly and said, "But you are the governor. If you want to make money, don't you have people to help you?"
Cao Kuo said, "I want people who are honest and work for the government and the people to gain real benefits, and who will continue to do so for a long time, not people who use the reputation of working for the government to seize the opportunity to gain benefits for themselves."
If he had only heard from his subordinates that the couple had lent money to several people who were unlikely to pay it back, or if he had only heard that the couple had drawn up a "tax table", he might not have thought of asking them for advice.
But these two did both, and Fang Shu was a scholar. Coincidentally, Yan Xikuan and Ma Qinsui delivered another letter, which mentioned the bandit problem in the Fuhu Mountain area.
Ordinary people were busy making a living and had no time to care about anything. If there was no loss, who would care about these things? He tried to get information from various sources. This information was not a big deal, and he actually found out a lot about these two people.
If you can successfully solve a problem once or twice, you can call it good luck. But if you can solve it every time without any damage, then it is more than just a matter of luck.
Yu Qinglong thought to himself, "You just want us to work but not benefit from it? What are you talking about? Innocent."
However, it is rare to have an official who cares about the people like this.
If a corrupt official takes government money and lends it out at high interest rates, he can do so regardless of whether there is an official treasury system or not. This kind of situation was very common in ancient times.
Fang Shu asked, "I wonder how much silver is available in the Qixia Town treasury?"
Cao Kuo said, "That's about 81 taels of silver and 317 dan of grain."
So little?!
Yu Qinglong almost blurted out.
But if you think about it, this year's disaster meant the grain harvest was already several percent less than in previous years, and not everyone could borrow the money to cover the tax. Furthermore, Cao Kuo had also said that the government could only take 10-20 percent of the silver from the government, so the amount above was perfectly normal.
Yu Qinglong asked, "Sir, may I ask what percentage of taxes the local government sends to the capital each year?"
Cao Kuo said, "Sixty percent."
That means four at the local level and six at the central level.
But there's not much you can do with eighty-one taels of silver plus more than three hundred dan of grain... All of this would be less than two hundred taels of silver in cash.
Fang Shu said, "Master Cao, all the garrison commanders who have served in Qixia Town have been in charge of the four towns. So, is the treasury silver pooled together or does each town have its own arrangements?"
Cao Kuo said, "This matter has not yet been concluded. If we gather together, we can do more, but the risks will also be greater. Does Scholar Fang have any ideas?"
Fang Shu said, "Not yet. This is a serious matter, and I dare not make any rash comments."
"What about Mr. Fang?"
"My husband's thoughts are mine."
"So you don't want to contribute."
"It's not that I don't want to contribute, but I'm not able to," Fang Shu said. "My husband and I are just ordinary farmers. But what you're talking about concerns the survival of the people in this area. If we're not careful, their hard-earned money will be wasted."
"Nothing in this world is completely certain. When it comes to profit, there are always risks involved," Cao Kuo said. "But it's true that this happened in a hurry. You can go back and think about it slowly today. Later, the Japanese officials will send someone to summon you two for a long talk. By then, I hope to hear different answers. There's no need to panic. I'm just asking you to come up with a solution. Whether it's used or not is not your decision."
"Thank you, Lord Cao, for your generosity. In that case, we will both take our leave."
Fang Shu hurriedly took Yu Qinglong out, and when they looked out, they saw a carriage in front of the door, but it was not the same one they had been in before. But the good news was that after getting in the carriage, they found that all their belongings were inside.
It seems that he really wants to ask them for some advice.
Yu Qinglong took a long breath and was about to say something when Fang Shu immediately covered his mouth.
Fang Shu pointed to where the driver was, and Yu Qinglong immediately understood.
The couple waited until the carriage returned to the village.
The family was so anxious that their hair was turning gray. The first time he went out and didn't come back for two days, they couldn't help but worry that something had happened.
It was already dark at this time. If I didn't come back, I might have to wait until tomorrow.
Fang Wu and Fang Dingman were worried, and Zhou Yuehua, who stayed in the side room to help take care of the children, was also worried.
Fang Wu sat in the room and said, "How about I go and heat up the steamed buns?"
Now that winter has arrived, there's no need to work. Plus, the days are shorter and the nights are longer, so they've switched to eating two meals a day. The steamed buns should be cold by now.
Fang Dingman said, "It will turn yellow even if it gets hotter. Maybe I can go back tomorrow."
Fang Wu said, "What's yellow about it? Those are fresh, frozen steamed buns!"
As soon as they finished speaking, they heard the neighing of horses. Their eyes lit up simultaneously, and they said, "Here they come!" and hurried out in their slippers. As they reached the door, they saw the children returning.
Fang Wu said, "You're finally back. Come back to the house quickly. Are you cold?"
Yu Qinglong said, "It's not cold. Mom, there are still a lot of things in the car that need to be moved in. Dad, why are you wearing so little? Don't catch a cold."
Fang Dingman said, "Let's go to the house. I'll take the things in."
Then I looked inside and was like, oh my god, why are there so many?!
Fang Wu also saw it: "Are these all from our family?!"
Fang Shu said, "Yes, let's move together, quickly."
Several people worked together to get all the things in, and when they opened the box in the main room, they were all dumbfounded.
There are actually rolls of silk!
Fang Wu asked, "Where did this come from?"
She knew her son and her husband weren't the type to spend money recklessly. If they really had a lot of money, buying one or two horses would be possible, but buying so many didn't seem like something they could do.
Fang Shu said, "Mother, these are gifts from Long Ge'er and me as a thank you for the advice we gave them. These are the cloth, wine, and bacon, all of them."
Fang Wu said, "Oh my god, you guys are amazing."
Fang Shu felt a little guilty, but on the way his husband repeatedly asked him to say it this way and not just say that it was his own credit, so he had no choice but to obey.
Yu Qinglong didn't want his father and the others to think it was strange. Making bags and pen holders was fine, but if something was too extreme, it would arouse suspicion.
But even so, Zhou Yuehua was still very happy. The child had been married into the Fang family for three months, and there was still no good news in her belly. She had always worried that the child would have a hard time in her husband's family. But seeing the in-laws' attitude, he felt at ease.
"Do you want to eat something?" Zhou Yuehua asked.
"Eat. I'm starving," Yu Qinglong said honestly. He could have returned earlier, but Cao Kuo had someone take it away, which frightened him into losing so much food. He was already starving on the way here. If the car wasn't so inconvenient, he would have taken a bite of the roast goose Guo Qingshan had sent him.
"Then I'll go heat up the buns, you guys chat." Zhou Yuehua said.
"No, no, I'm going." Fang Dingman said, "You guys chat. You've been thinking about this for a long time."
"I'll make them some soup. Please just sit down, dear."
Zhou Yuehua has been here recently and is often busy in the kitchen, so she is already very familiar with the place.
Fang Dingman did not compete with him.
Yu Qinglong didn't stop his father because he also wanted to talk about the house.
Although he and Fang Shu had gotten the house through their own efforts, he didn't want to hide it from his parents-in-law. He felt it would be like stealing and there was no point in doing so, so he told his parents the truth.
He said, "Father, Mother, my eldest brother and his wife are staying here temporarily, and Father and Daddy renting from Li Zheng's house isn't a long-term solution. Since we have this opportunity and we know how to defend the city, we're going to buy this house. If you two have no objection, I'd like to have them pack up and move in sometime."
Fang Dingman said, "That's a good thing. The Lu family's house was well built. They had two daughters, but Lu Tianda loved to show off, so he built the house big. Three rooms are more than enough for your father and his family to move in."
Fang Wu said, "Do you have any money left? If you're short on money, I'll give you some more."
Yu Qinglong said, "No need, mother. We have enough. And here are these cloths. You can pick out the ones you like and make clothes. I picked out the ones that suit your skin tone, but I don't know if you like them."
Fang Wu said with a smile, "I'm already old, and you still made me such beautiful cloth. How could I bear to wear it?"
Yu Qinglong said, "Mother, you are still young. Who says you are old? When we earn more money in the future, we will dress you in the finest satin."
"These kids are so sweet!" Fang Wu was a little worried about the children's money at first, but after hearing what her husband said, she finally understood. A family can't harbor jealousy, or it won't last long. Besides, the children's ability was a good thing, and she should be happy.
"Then Shoucheng and I will go wash and prepare dinner. Mother, please take a look at the cloth and decide what kind of clothes to make."
"Go ahead. I'll pick some out and share them with your father, brother, sister-in-law, and brother. There's so much, how can we ever wear it all?" Fang Wu said as she looked at each one. After the children left, she said to her husband, "Our husband is really very shrewd. I can tell at a glance that he buys this material based on everyone's preferences. But you see, he always asks us first."
"That's why he's so smart."
"Of course. Although I have to give it away, I can't help but feel happy about it. Fortunately, you helped Shu'er speak up, otherwise I would be so upset that I couldn't marry such a good husband."
Fang Wu was happily dividing the items. If there were two portions, one would be given directly to the Yu family, and if there was only one portion, it would be cut in half and shared.
At this time, Yu Qinglong took advantage of Fang Shu going to boil water and found Zhou Yuehua to talk about the house.
Zhou Yuehua hadn't thought about what to divide. When he heard that his youngest son had bought them a house, he almost thought his ears were broken: "Long Ge'er, what are you talking about? Why are you asking him to buy us a house?"
Yu Qinglong said, "I'm not talking nonsense. I just bought it. It used to be the Lu family's house. I heard it's not far from Zheng'er's house, only two doors away. It's close, and it has three rooms. You'll know when you go see it tomorrow. We even brought the keys back."
Zhou Yuehua: “…”
Yu Qinglong was unconvinced. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Dad, why would I lie to you about this? It's true. Go with me tomorrow to check it out. If you think it's missing anything, add it. We can move in when the time is right."
Zhou Yuehua still felt it was impossible.
That was a house, a big one with three rooms! Even if their family saved money every year, it would still take them six, seven, or eight years to build a house like that!
Yu Qinglong didn't bother explaining any further. He just had to take his parents to see it tomorrow morning. They'd have to believe it even if they brought the deed with them.
Zhou Yuehua then asked, "Is heating four steamed buns enough?"
It's cold outside now, and the steamed buns are all ready and placed outside. I just lit some firewood and put a few on the steamer when I want to eat. If I heat them too much, they won't taste good the next day.
"Four isn't enough, Dad? We need at least six."
"You and the city guards have three people each, isn't that too many? It's night time."
"Not much, just four of us and two of them. We don't go to bed that early at night because we still have things to do. We need to eat more." Yu Qinglong thought about it and said, "Forget it, you should just heat up eight of them. I still need to eat at night."
Zhou Yuehua: "...Son, do you know how big the steamed buns are in your house?"
Yu Qinglong said, "I know. Eight, don't worry, Dad, I can eat. It's cold, and I'll be hungry if I don't eat."
Zhou Yuehua thought, it's normal to eat in cold weather, but isn't this a bit too much? "Are you pregnant?"
Yu Qinglong said without even thinking: "No."
Aren't there supposed to be some pregnancy reactions? Nausea, dizziness, or a loss of appetite, or a craving for something sour or sweet. He didn't have any of those. He was perfectly fine, and everything he saw tasted delicious, no matter the sweet or sour taste. He wanted to eat anything.
Zhou Yuehua said, "Why don't you go see Doctor Mo?"
Yu Qinglong thought about it. It had been a while since he'd been to his master's house. The person he felt most ashamed to see was his master. He wanted to continue studying medicine, but time was tight.
"Then I'll go to Master tomorrow afternoon." It just so happened that I had something else I wanted to ask.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: The second smaller theater is taking a break [smirk]
Fang Shu, Qing Long: See you tomorrow, aunties [Let me check it out]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
