The exam is over, the exam is over, finally over. Regardless of the results, I feel relieved! I wrote this chapter a little hastily, and I need to recover my thoughts and make adjustments. Please forgive me, friends.
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Regardless of whether the emperor was wise or foolish, regardless of the disputes in the court, the bureaucratic feuds, or the officials' selfishness, living in the Ming Dynasty meant that every day would change.
In fact, even the days that people think are monotonous are not exactly the same every day, there will be some changes.
However, this change is very slight, or in other words, it does not make any sense to oneself, so it is regarded as a daily replication.
This is the same as in later generations. Many people think that they are living a boring life, repeating the same routine of going to work, getting off work, going home, eating, and sleeping day after day.
For ordinary people, this feeling should be even stronger. After all, they are busy supporting their families, and it is not easy to keep themselves from freezing or starving.
Those powerful and wealthy people have the time and money to seek novelty and excitement, and to eat, drink and have fun in different ways.
To put it bluntly, having money and free time will keep you from feeling bored and repetitive. You don't need to go on a spontaneous trip; even if you go out for a drink every now and then, it will make you feel happy.
But the ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty felt more and more changes and felt the changes in their lives.
What else did the common people want? As long as they could make a living, they were quite satisfied. However, as the common people of the Ming Dynasty were at the bottom of society, they were the first to notice the changes in their lives.
Maybe it was just a tax reduction for one year, but for them, it meant they could eat more meat, buy household items they had wanted to buy for a long time but had no money, and it meant they could have a good New Year and eat meat-filled dumplings.
Why did such a change occur? The common people may not be able to say nice words to compliment the "wise Emperor", but they are not ignorant or unaware.
Ordinary people either saw with their own eyes or heard rumors about which wealthy gentry in the vicinity was severely punished for concealing and evading taxes, or which officials were confiscated and exiled for corruption.
Perhaps in the past they just watched and listened, and uttered a few words of resentment, because it really had nothing to do with them and they did not gain any benefits.
But things are different now. The court has money and can reduce or exempt taxes, apparently because those evil gentry and corrupt officials have been severely punished.
If there are fewer corrupt officials and evil gentry, everyone's life will be better. Isn't that the truth?
Look at those clerks who are usually as ferocious as wolves and tigers, and those wicked slaves who take advantage of the power of others to bully others, they seem to have become much more honest!
The common people could not figure out the court's intentions, but they simply attributed the reasons to this and gradually began to pay attention to the downfall of corrupt officials and evil gentry.
"Those students don't seem so arrogant anymore, do they?"
"Scholars are no longer popular!"
"Who says it's not popular? The imperial court has issued another decree, saying that starting next year, there will be an elementary school exam. Well, it's a bit like a Tongsheng (a student) exam. Whoever's child passes the exam will have some tax reductions or exemptions."
"It starts next year, and my kid hasn't even started school yet!"
"It's not just one year, it will be every year. Start studying, it's never too late."
"Really? Hey, look! Here comes the traitor..."
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Zhou Laosi tiptoed into the house, but was still discovered by his wife. If she hadn't been afraid of disturbing the sleeping child, she would have definitely scolded him loudly.
After being glared at by his wife, Zhou Laosi chuckled twice and raised his hands to let his wife see the rouge and powder he bought.
The daughter-in-law's expression softened slightly. She turned her head to look at the child who was sleeping soundly, got up and walked quietly to the outer room. Zhou Laosi also followed her.
"Going to Caishikou to watch a murder again—" The wife took the rouge and powder, sniffed it, and complained unhappily, "It's all bloody and scary just thinking about it, and you still have to watch it?"
Zhou Laosi scratched his head and said with a chuckle, "Killing a traitor is a relief, isn't it?"
"What are you venting your anger about? You're just looking for a chance to drink with some people." The wife curled her lips, not believing that her husband was so patriotic and indignant.
Zhou Laosi scratched his head and said with a smile: "I only drank a little, but I heard a lot of news, good news!"
"Tell me about it." The daughter-in-law was very satisfied with the rouge on her nails, and her expression became more relaxed.
Zhou Laosi attentively brought a stool to his wife, and then he said, "The emperor has issued an edict that any child who can pass the primary school entrance examination will have his taxes reduced or exempted, including the head tax..."
As the wife listened, she turned around and looked at her husband with a strange look. Zhou Laosi shut up and then laughed, saying, "Are you saying that our son passed the elementary school entrance exam? He's still a little kid who can't walk properly and can't speak a complete sentence!"
"Growing up is just a matter of a few years!" Zhou Laosi scratched his head sheepishly, but still looked very confident. "Even if our son can't get the top scorer in the imperial examination, won't elementary school be easy?"
The wife laughed and said, "It's comfortable to hear that my son is my own son. Even though it may have been six or seven years, or even more than ten years ago."
Zhou Laosi pointed to the salt jar beside the stove and said, "The salt on the market has dropped in price. It's better than what we eat at home. It's from the Changlu Salt Factory. Shops are all pooling their money to buy salt, and many people are thinking of buying it together!"
"It's a good thing to get a bargain." The wife was not interested in this. When she heard a noise in the house, she quickly got up and walked in, admonishing him as she walked: "You should work hard at the weapons bureau and don't mess around with others."
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