Chapter 401: Koroja pays taxes
The changes in the Green Bee District made Shang Yanwen feel a sense of unreality.
He hasn't been back for four years, why does it feel like a different world?
Not to mention four years, even in the past forty years, the Green Bee District has not changed so much. In the past era, in the lower hive area of the hive city, the faces of people changed one by one, but apart from the people, the buildings, the streets, the ceilings covered with pipes above... all seemed to be imprisoned by time and never changed.
Before going to Feiyi Star to study, Shang Yanwen had personally experienced the reform policies brought about by Mayor Ispsi, which enabled the people in their neighborhood to have enough food to eat, to have jobs, and to have a future. When he was studying on Feiyi Star, he also read in some newspapers that the alliance's reforms were still deepening, and that the major nests on Korojia had undergone great changes.
However, can the impact of what you see through words and photos in newspapers be the same as seeing with your own eyes the great changes in your hometown?
My hometown has changed a lot and is no longer what I remember. But Shang Yanwen is not sad at all, he is just happy and excited.
He only hopes that such changes will come faster and more frequently!
He regrets that he has not been able to witness the changes that have taken place over the past four years; he is excited that he will not miss it again in the future.
To cheer himself up, he went back home to see his parents and siblings.
Needless to say, his family was very surprised, but he himself was even more moved.
Originally, there were seven people in his family. Except for an older brother who died young, the remaining four children, including him, were raised by their parents with great difficulty.
And now, everyone is fine.
His father and mother both work in the supply and marketing mall that opened in the neighborhood five years ago. His father is a cargo loader, while his mother is responsible for shopping guide work in the mall.
In the early years, the two elders were both rated E5 at first, but now they have risen to E8. The benefits of food and daily necessities, plus the allowance, are enough to support the family. The family also moved into a newly built collective apartment. In addition to him, the four people in the family were allocated a 60-square-meter apartment.
The house has three rooms, a bathroom, and an open kitchen that can be used as a small dining room.
My parents live in the master bedroom, and the two small bedrooms are big enough for my younger brothers and sisters to live separately.
The whole environment is still a little small and cramped, and there is no decoration to speak of, just some simple furniture and cabinets. But at least, every family member has a place to sleep and their own space. They can cook their own meals, have a table to eat together, and have a set of kitchen utensils and tableware.
This was already much better than the 'home' he had grown up in.
My sister used to work in a textile factory as a clerk thanks to her literacy and some knowledge of mathematics and accounting. She married a young man two years ago and has moved out to live with her husband.
My brother-in-law is from another place. He is a clerk in the neighborhood and is currently in charge of the construction of a new supply and marketing mall. The two of them already have a child and have been allocated a 60-square-meter house. Their little niece is now over one year old and healthy. The couple can see that they will have a prosperous future.
My sister and brother are studying. Although my sister's grades are not as good as his back then, she is now a good student in the neighborhood middle school. She has a chance to get a place in the community high school. Although it is a bit difficult to get a scholarship, as long as she is ranked E4 or E5, the benefits can guarantee her life, the allowance can supplement part of the burden, and the tuition can probably be covered by an education loan, which she can pay back after she gets a job.
Generally speaking, as long as you have an E8 grade or above, you can pay off your tuition loan in two or three years of work. And the E8 grade is not difficult for graduates of community colleges. Moreover, with her grades, it is not impossible for her to apply for a local university in Korojia after graduating from high school. Although the tuition pressure is quite high, Shang Yanwen is back and he can help support her.
My younger brother is not doing so well. He is not focused on studying and it seems that he can't even go to middle school. I estimate that after finishing primary school in two years, he will have to find something to do when he is fourteen years old.
Although there were some worries - such as his younger brother's studies and future issues - but overall, Shang Yanwen was pleased to see that the family situation had been getting better and better during the years he was away.
He spent a lot of time chatting with his parents at home, and they also prepared a meal together. When it was time for dinner, his sister, who had heard the news, also rushed back, and brought her husband and daughter to have a lively family reunion dinner.
He spent the night in his brother's room. The single bed was a bit crowded, but it wasn't a big problem.
Before going to bed, the two brothers chatted a lot. His younger brother's name is Shang Yanwu, and you can tell from the name that they are brothers.
Shang Yanwu received some encouragement from his brother.
What Shang Yanwen said about the university life on Feiyi Star was not bad, but the description of the sea of stars in particular really made Shang Yanwu feel envious.
But he was also somewhat frustrated. He thought he was not good at studying, unlike his brother or even his second sister, who could concentrate on studying and even feel the joy of knowledge. He would feel sleepy when reading, but would be full of energy when he put down the book.
By late at night, the topic had ended, and Shang Yanwu suddenly raised a question in the darkness:
"Brother, what do you think about me joining the army?"
"To be a soldier?"
"Yes, the navy is best!"
"That's good." Shang Yanwen said, "But you can't be anything like this now. The selection of the Alliance Army is getting more and more strict now. I'm afraid you won't even be able to join the Planetary Defense Force... You still have to work hard. It would be best if you can get into the Naval Academy."
"But it's too difficult!" Shang Yanwu became frustrated again. "The Naval Academy is the best even on Feiyi Star, right? I can't get in no matter what... Is there any way to become a naval sailor? This is much easier than getting into the Naval Academy, right?"
Shang Yanwen felt that his brother was right.
Even though his grades back then were invincible, it was actually quite difficult for him to be admitted to the Feiyi Naval Academy.
Not to mention his brother is like this.
However, applying to the Naval Academy is a path to becoming a naval officer. If you just want to be a naval soldier, a sailor, or even a marine, then the difficulty is completely different from becoming a naval officer.
It is difficult for the Pegasus Fleet to enter, as their size is relatively fixed. Although the Governor's fiancée is a general of the Pegasus Fleet and is fighting on the front lines, the naval forces fighting on the front lines do not receive reinforcements from the Pegasus Star Region in the rear.
Moreover, there is a special feature of naval warfare. Generally speaking, the loss of personnel is not large, but if there is a loss, it means the annihilation of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people on the entire ship. To replenish, new ships must be built and then replenished.
However, since the Pegasus Fleet cannot enter, the Alliance Navy should have a chance. According to the information currently available to Shang Yanwen, the Alliance Navy will face increasingly severe pirate challenges in the future, and the production capacity of the two major shipyards of the Alliance is also sufficient. In addition to the part paid to the imperial tax, there is still a lot of surplus production capacity.
These production capacities will never be wasted.
It can be predicted that the alliance’s naval fleet will continue to expand.
My little brother really has a chance to get in.
Shang Yanwen also knew the dangers of joining the army.
If possible, he also hopes that his younger brother will always be with his parents, even if he can just be an ordinary worker or find an ordinary job. Under the current alliance system, as long as he works hard, he will definitely not have to worry about future life problems.
However, since his brother has such ambitions, Shang Yanwen thinks that it is not a bad idea to join the navy. It is dangerous, but it is definitely not a bad thing for a good man to have the dream of the stars and the sea.
It’s still early. The little brother is only twelve years old. There are still at least five or six years left. He will help keep an eye on it.
But at the moment, he still warned: "Even if you are only going to be a sailor, you should work harder to learn something now. If you can't even go to middle school, everything will be in vain."
…
On the second day, Shang Yanwen said goodbye to his parents and went to report to the government in the Green Bee District.
His commissioned unit is Promise City. He has already reported to Promise City and they have arranged for him to work in the office in his hometown.
As soon as he entered the door, he was warmly welcomed.
The head of the Green Bee District government is from Korojia, but not from Promise City. He came from Mingyan City, where he also worked on deepening reforms in a community. He was recently transferred here to be in charge of a larger district.
The man named Moody is a middle-aged man with a slightly bald head.
"Comrade Shang, you've come at the perfect time! We are in desperate need of top talents like you!"
"I won't say any more polite words. Right now, I'm the busiest. I'm sorry I didn't have time to welcome you. You'll need to take up your responsibilities soon."
"That's why I'm here. Please give me your instructions, leader."
"good!"
After listening to Moody's explanation, Shang Yanwen quickly understood what the first important task he had to do when he arrived in his hometown was:
Imperial tax.
Upon hearing these three words, Shang Yanwen could only feel nervous.
The imperial tax was a very deep memory in his past.
Every time the imperial tax comes, which lasts for two years, the people of Koroja's Lower Nest District suffer.
Various materials will begin to be tightened in the early stages of paying imperial taxes. Food will become insufficient, and various daily necessities will become tight. In addition, every family may be tasked with paying population taxes.
His grandfather, his uncle, and his uncle were all collected as population taxes and were never able to return.
Their family was lucky, but if Governor Gu hadn't led the alliance to save Koroja, in six years, their family might have to pay personal taxes again, either his father, him, or his sister.
After the Alliance took over, Koroja was turned into a war zone and no taxes had to be paid for six years.
Up to now, six years have passed, and Koroja will once again return to the normal situation of having to pay imperial taxes.
However, under the rule of the alliance, the payment of imperial taxes should not be an insurmountable hurdle like it was in the past, right?
That's true.
Now, the imperial tax has nothing to do with civilians, and has completely evolved into an obligation of the government and enterprises - except for those places that have not yet completed the reform. But even in the forty hives of Koroga, there should not be many such places now.
In places where the reform was completed, the people were assigned ranks, arranged jobs, and enjoyed benefits and allowances. Of course, with Shang Yanwen's current knowledge, he understood that these benefits and allowances were not as much as the wealth created by the people.
But he still clearly understood that the opportunity to create wealth itself was given by the Union government.
Moreover, the general public who created wealth only had the obligation to work, abide by the law, enjoy welfare and allowances, but not the obligation to pay taxes. The extra value they created was taken away by the Union government, so the Union government should guarantee the people a peaceful and stable life, guarantee that hard work can lead to upward mobility, and guarantee that they will no longer go bankrupt and suffer because of undue taxes.
In the Green Bee District, where the reform has been initially completed, this concept is fully implemented.
Government officials in the block must carefully take inventory of all production situations in the block, connect various enterprises, factories, soilless plantations and other production organizations, and complete a series of tasks including inventory, warehousing and transportation of all production proceeds.
This is indeed a big project.
Shang Yanwen immediately got busy.
The district government has also summarized some of the experience. Although it is the first time to pay the imperial tax, in the past four years, there is no need to pay taxes, but the alliance system itself is still in operation. The production situation and material operation in the enterprise are the responsibility of the government, and these work processes are ready-made.
It's just that during tax season, this part of the work will become more onerous.
And Shang Yanwen did play his role in this process.
After the initial period of being unfamiliar with the process, he became very fast at processing all kinds of documents and affairs. Moreover, he was able to use the management knowledge he had learned to detect some inefficient and time-consuming parts in their current work processes, and was able to propose practical modification plans through participation in practice.
Although it is just some detailed changes in working methods and does not involve major modifications, it has indeed made the operation of the entire organization smoother and more efficient.
This was also praised by Moody's.
“Top students are different!”
Shang Yanwen is very modest about this: "I still have a lot to learn, and there are still many areas where I can contribute to the alliance."
(End of this chapter)
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