Chapter 170 Stabbing and Bleeding
Sheng An had no connection with Xujiaba, was unaware of Liu Huazhi's experiences at her husband's family home, and was also unaware that she had the audacity to run into the city in the middle of the night only to be harassed by hooligans.
Looking at the thick stack of silver notes in the box, totaling more than ten thousand taels, her hands trembled with excitement.
During his break, Sheng An couldn't wait to go to the brokerage firm and ask the broker he had dealt with before: "I want to buy a manor and a shop. Do you have any suitable ones here?"
Upon seeing that a big business had come his way, the broker was overjoyed and immediately brought out the register of estates and shops: "Madam Sheng, it's all here. Take your time to look through it, and I'll take you there when you've found what you're looking for."
Sheng An took the booklet and examined it carefully. After reading it all, he pointed to a medium-sized manor with 500 acres of fertile land and asked, "How long has this manor been on the market here?"
The broker glanced at it and quickly pulled out another booklet with more detailed information: "This estate was registered a month ago, but we haven't been able to reach an agreement because the price is a bit high."
Good farmland is relatively expensive, usually costing eight to nine taels per mu. Estates are relatively cheaper on average. This 500-mu estate is priced at four thousand taels and includes a courtyard covering about five mu.
Sheng An asked, "How much money are those buyers willing to pay?"
The broker didn't hide anything and held up three fingers: "Three thousand taels."
Those buyers somehow found out that the seller was in a hurry to sell, so they pushed the price down to three thousand taels and haven't given up yet.
Although four thousand taels is a bit high, three thousand taels is too harsh a price.
The seller promised to reward whoever helped him sell the estate for four thousand taels of silver with twenty taels of silver. Who could resist such a high reward?
Anyway, he didn't want to sell it cheaply.
Madam Sheng is a straightforward person; she might be willing to spend four thousand taels to buy it.
Ya Ren was lost in thought, his gaze toward Sheng An filled with intense longing.
Sheng An nodded: "Take me there to take a look."
We still need to conduct an on-site inspection to confirm that there are no problems with the estate before proceeding to the next step.
It was still early, and it would be a waste to only look at one estate, so Sheng'an looked at several other shops for sale, and picked out a few with suitable locations, sizes, and prices, and asked the broker to take them to see them all at once.
The broker was efficient; he immediately rode a small donkey and, together with Sheng An on horseback, headed to the farm outside the city.
The estate was not far from the city, only a dozen miles away, and there were horses and donkeys for transportation, so the two arrived quickly.
Led by the broker, Sheng An walked around the farm. Looking at the people pulling weeds in the fields under the scorching sun, she couldn't help but sigh in her heart at the hardship of farming.
The broker explained, "These 500 acres of fertile land have all been rented to nearby villagers, with the rent being 35%. Our Qingzhou is in a good location and rarely suffers from droughts or floods. After paying the land tax to the government each year, the remaining grain can be sold for a lot of silver."
The land tax of the current dynasty was not too high, but there were too many additional exorbitant taxes and levies, resulting in a final tax rate as high as 25%.
In other words, after a year of hard work growing crops, paying 25% of the land tax and 35% of the rent, the tenants only received 40% of the grain.
Sheng An sighed inwardly, thinking that no matter the time or dynasty, farmers always put in the most effort and received the least.
Just like those bees that work hard to collect honey, most of the honey they get is taken by beekeepers, and what's left is just enough for them to stay alive.
The broker noticed that Sheng An's expression was off and assumed she was frightened by the land tax. He couldn't help but say, "Actually, there are ways to avoid taxes. You can put the land under the name of a scholar or a graduate, and they will pay 10% of the grain yield per mu each year. That way, you can save a lot."
Sheng An knew that the imperial court would exempt those with official titles from taxes and corvée labor, and out of curiosity, he asked the broker, "How many acres of land can a scholar and a successful candidate in the provincial examination be exempted from tax at most?"
The broker replied, "A scholar who has passed the county-level imperial examination is exempt from tax on twenty mu of land, and his entire family is exempt from corvée labor; a scholar who has passed the provincial-level imperial examination is exempt from tax on two hundred mu of land, and twenty people are exempt from corvée labor."
Those who passed the imperial examinations and became officials were even more powerful, as they could be exempted from all land taxes under their names and from corvée labor for their entire clan.
Sheng An frowned: "If families with a lot of land all put their land under the names of people with official titles, wouldn't the land tax collected by the imperial court be greatly reduced? Won't the imperial court do nothing about it?"
The broker shook his head: "Those standing in the court are all officials. Who doesn't own thousands of acres of fertile land? Who would stab themselves in the back and bleed themselves dry?"
Upon hearing this, Sheng An realized that he had asked a foolish question and fell silent for a moment.
The broker was eager to close the deal, praising the estate repeatedly for its excellent location, convenient irrigation, fertile soil, and high yield per acre.
Sheng An was very satisfied with Zhuangzi, but he didn't show it on his face: "How about this, you help me negotiate with the seller. As long as you can get the price down to below 3,500 taels, I will give you 50 taels privately. For every 100 taels you lower the price, I will give you another 10 taels."
The broker gasped, then immediately changed his tune, pointing out a whole host of problems: "The estate is scattered across several plots, there aren't many villages nearby, it's a bit far from the river, making irrigation a hassle, and that courtyard is small and old, it can only serve as a supplementary property..."
Sheng An couldn't help but chuckle; dealing with smart people was so much easier.
Next, the two returned to the city to look at the shop.
Sheng An looked at five in a row, selected two that suited her taste, and then had the broker negotiate with the seller. The lower the price they negotiated, the more generous the commission she would give the broker in private.
The broker was overjoyed and eagerly urged Sheng An to go home and wait for good news. He would inform her at Sheng Garden after he had finalized the prices for the estate and shops.
Sheng Anle was relieved and happily rode his horse back to Sheng Garden.
As evening approached, Xu Jinnian returned home early, a rare occurrence, and Sheng An spoke to her about the land tax.
"This kind of thing has happened in every dynasty, and in the end most of the land falls into the hands of the powerful and wealthy. In years of good weather, it's fine, but once a large-scale natural disaster occurs, millions of ordinary people cannot survive, and that's when the real man-made disaster comes."
Xu Jinnian had read many historical books and concluded that one of the important reasons for the downfall of Wang Chao was that the powerful and wealthy who did not engage in production controlled a large amount of land, which harmed the interests of the common people.
Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. The common people are the true pillars of a dynasty. When they are driven to the brink of despair, rebellion is inevitable.
"Sigh, you can think of this, and so can those in power. But when it comes to personal gain, no one will cut off their own life. Even if there is a change of dynasty, it is the ordinary people who will suffer. It will have little impact on those in power."
Sheng Anxin felt a deep sense of sympathy. The people suffer when the dynasty prospers, and they suffer when the dynasty falls. This is not mere whining; it is a true reflection of blood and tears.
"Let's keep these kinds of things to ourselves in private, and not mention them to outsiders."
Xu Jinnian kissed Sheng An's cheek and gently gave her some instructions.
Sheng An snorted, "I'm not stupid."
She knows perfectly well what she should and shouldn't say.
She's tired of living, that's why she's spouting such reactionary rhetoric everywhere.
The previous life was better. Although the gap between the rich and the poor was huge, at least the people at the bottom could eat their fill and stay warm. That was the true golden age of the past five thousand years.
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