Bobo had no idea that his father and mother were exchanging glances behind his back; he was watching the outside world very closely.
Although Bobo never said it out loud, she deeply admired her father, Yinzhen. In Bobo's eyes, her father was the most powerful person, holding the fate of many people in his hands, and a single glance from him could frighten people.
Bobo longs to be like his father. He is closest to his mother, Yunrong, but he trusts his father, Yinzhen, the most. He has filial piety towards his mother and respect for his father.
Bobo observes the outside world very seriously. Bobo is already studying. Although he has not been exposed to the outside world, his teacher will give some examples when he teaches. Because Bobo is being trained to be an heir, his teacher pays great attention to practicality and has given many specific examples.
When Bobo observes what her husband usually says, she sees more than just crowds and noise.
Bobo only came to her senses when she saw the carriage stop.
Yinzhen: "You'll understand better if you go down there. Let's go."
Yinzhen took Yunrong's hand with one hand and his son's hand with the other as they got off the carriage.
If you're looking for the best place to hear gossip, aside from shady places, teahouses are the place with the most news. If you're well-off, you can book a private room, or if you're not so well-off, you can sit in the lobby downstairs and have a cheap bowl of tea. It's a gathering place for all sorts of people.
The conversations in a local restaurant revolve around the latest hot topics and gossip. Yinzhen and Yunrong, accompanied by a child, were dressed in fine clothes and followed by servants. As soon as they entered, they were personally greeted by the manager.
The innkeeper, being very perceptive, greeted them with a smile, "Greetings, esteemed guests. Is there anything you require?"
As the chief eunuch, Liang Jiugong naturally wouldn't allow his master to make such a request: "Manager, open a private room upstairs and serve your shop's best tea."
The innkeeper smiled and said, "Alright, waiter, quickly take these guests upstairs."
A young boy appeared and said to them, "Gentlemen, I will take you upstairs."
As they went upstairs, there was a constant stream of voices in the lobby below, mostly talking about something that had happened in a village in the capital, and that it was related to the "Government Gazette" and "Chenxi" newspapers.
Yinzhen listened intermittently, and after going upstairs, he sent someone down to inquire about what was going on. The person who inquired came quickly and soon came back up to explain the situation.
Here's what happened: In a village near the capital, the tax collector was a relative of someone who had gotten the job through connections. He had a family member who had climbed the social ladder by marrying into a wealthy family, and he and his associates had risen in rank, managing to get the job as a tax collector.
Although yamen runners were civil servants in ancient times, they were at the lowest level, and their monthly stipends were limited, so they naturally became dissatisfied over time.
So he got the idea to manipulate the taxes. He was illiterate and thought the people were easy to fool, so he naturally raised the taxes higher each time. Although the increase wasn't much, he collected taxes from many places, which was still a considerable income.
As for the common people, most of them were illiterate and didn't know how the imperial court collected taxes, so they naturally believed whatever the officials said.
The second issue of the "Government Gazette" included information on taxation in recent years. There were also scholars in the villages surrounding the capital, though few in number and of low quality, they were literate. One villager who read the latest issue of the "Government Gazette" discovered that taxes had not been increased in recent years, and in some years with poor harvests, taxes should have been reduced considerably.
The scholar kept this matter in mind and then went to the village chief, the head of the village, the clan chief, and the elders of the clan. He told them what had happened, as it concerned his own interests and he had been deceived for so many years, so they naturally wouldn't let it go so easily.
Ultimately, the clan and village took the lead, uniting with people from other deceived villages, and escalated the matter.
Finally, the story was reported in that week's "Chenxi" magazine and spread throughout the capital.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen felt that his report had not been in vain.
Yunrong was listening in as well! In Yunrong's time, the closest thing to newspapers was the paper used to wrap some instruments in the laboratory during her student days. Later, as the laboratory was upgraded, newspapers were no longer used.
Yunrong usually reads the news online and doesn't know much about newspapers. Hearing this, she realized the power of newspapers.
It is indeed very useful. Although there is still room for maneuver internally, it has largely secured your interests. Some interests are simply untouchable, which makes life easier for ordinary people.
Moreover, because of this incident, the constable was naturally dealt with according to the law, and the relative who supported him was only because his daughter had become a concubine of a powerful family. The powerful family only doted on her because of her good looks. Now that the matter has blown up, he naturally won't cause any trouble or harm himself.
Furthermore, it will be difficult for that concubine to gain favor in the future.
After this incident, the people understood the importance of newspapers even more. Now, every village around Beijing buys monthly and weekly newspapers on time. Some villages even organize literate people to read the contents of the newspapers to the villagers at regular intervals, which is something no one expected.
As this story spread, not only did the public gain confidence in the newspaper's credibility, but even some people who usually relied on powerful figures for personal gain began to feel afraid and dared not act so recklessly.
In the past, the people knew nothing and could be easily fooled. Now that they know everything they need to know, it's time to see if you can fool them.
Yunrong looked at Yinzhen and said, "With the newspapers out, the national treasury will be able to allocate a lot of money, and we won't have to support too many corrupt officials."
Why say "there won't be too many corrupt officials"? Because Yunrong also knows that corrupt officials are impossible to completely eliminate. It's a joke to think that all officials are politically clean. They study hard for over ten years, just to one day rise to prominence and change their social status.
Besides, there are too many temptations after becoming an official. Even if you didn't have that intention at first and studied with the intention of serving the country and the people, you will eventually fall into depravity due to various temptations.
Yinzhen sighed and said, "It's a bit of a pity, there are just too many corrupt officials to get rid of!"
Yunrong: "We can think positively. If we can't cure it all, we'll treat it slowly. As long as we do it, we'll have to pay the price sooner or later. As the saying goes, justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent. Corrupt officials may be able to be corrupt for a while, but they will have to pay back as much as they have to do one day."
Yinzhen was comforted by Yunrong's flowers and said with a smile, "What you said makes sense."
They simply picked a teahouse at random and went inside. The best tea there was barely edible to them. After listening to a couple of pieces of gossip, the family of three, along with their servants, left.
Yinzhen planned to go to Liulichang so that he could broaden his son's horizons and let him "see" something new.
The things in Liulichang are a mix of genuine and fake. Bobo is used to dealing with good things, and he has never seen inferior products, so he can't make comparisons. It's time for him to learn more, which is why we came to Liulichang.
Yunrong came to Liulichang before her marriage. When her elders in the family were choosing gifts for their birthdays, she would come here and pick out some good things to take home.
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