Chapter 233 Thoughts
The voice, with a bit of trembling, belonged to Old Man Lu.
After this statement, several people responded: "Yes, we have met good officials and a good court."
Those years were so hard, with layer upon layer of exploitation. I had only seen evil officials and cruel runners who took away even your life-saving food, but I had never seen any officials and their families use their own belongings to subsidize the people in this way.
Those who had experienced it, such as Mrs. Chen and Mrs. Lu, even pressed their eyes. Mrs. Chen smiled and said, "Good days are coming. They will be good days in the future."
The official was also an ordinary citizen, and he could understand the mood of the people in front of him. After the discussion died down, he smiled and said, "Okay, today we have two things to do. You can choose the village chief. Once you have chosen, go there early. The earlier you go, the more likely you are to be chosen first."
The poultry and livestock have traveled a long way, and not all of them are in good spirits, so the best ones should be picked out first and sold early. When they are in the hands of the people, they will be better cared for than in the straw sheds outside the government office's warehouses.
Of course, he would not say this clearly, so the officer looked at the crowd and asked, "Is there anyone who still does not understand?"
Of course there were. In addition to cattle, people were also concerned about the price of poultry and asked about it one after another.
The official had obviously taken note of his homework before he came, and he had answers to every question. The price of poultry was not that low, at least it was relatively on par with the current prices of rice and meat. It was easy to imagine that the governor's wife was taking into consideration the farmers' spring ploughing, and the oxen really took care of everyone.
After the official left, the people gathered together did not leave for a long time, and they were all talking about the price of the cattle.
In other words, they were talking about the governor and his wife.
Sang Luo, who had spoken to the governor at close range and was said to be half a fellow villager of the governor's wife, was naturally called over for questioning.
Sang Luo said, "We are half fellow townsmen. That was because Governor Zeng gave us a compliment. But judging from our Governor and his wife, they really care about the people. It is also a blessing for the people of Shezhou."
"You only think that the price of the cattle was taken care of by the governor's wife. In my opinion, the poultry and grain were all taken care of by our governor and his wife."
In fact, no one really understood what was said, but at that moment they all thought that the governor and his wife were great, and they nodded in agreement and praised them needless to say.
Sang Luo smiled, and Shopkeeper Xu smiled and helped explain, saying, "A Luo is right. Our governor is from the Zeng family of Taiyuan, and his wife is from the Fan family of Chenliu. Taiyuan is thousands of miles away from our Shezhou, and Chenliu is not close either. Whether these things were transported from Taiyuan or Chenliu, not to mention their own value, the cost of transporting them is unknown."
This price is really no different from doing charity.
Only then did people like Old Man Chen and Old Man Lu react.
Yes, they were conscripted to build the dike and transport grain, and they carried a lot of dry food along the way. When he calculated the thousand miles that Manager Xu had mentioned, he thought carefully and finally had a clear understanding of what Sang Luo said.
Another round of emotion is inevitable.
…
As for who would be the village chief, everyone thought that this matter should be discussed after Chen Lie, Chen Dashan and Shi Dalang came back together, so the first thing they discussed was the issue of buying cattle.
A village can only buy one cow, so this is not just the Xu family’s business, every family has to be asked.
A cow weighs fifteen taels. There are nine households in the village, no, maybe ten households, including Lu Dalang who has not been brought back yet. Each household has to share the cost, with each household paying no more than one tael but less than two taels.
Before, the Shi and Lu families might not be able to pay, but they took on jobs in the government office right after leaving the mountain, and each earned seven and a half taels. No, when Chen Dashan came back later, each person on this trip could earn five taels. So everyone could really afford this money.
The cattle were designated for purchase.
Not to mention the Chen family, the Shi family, and the Zhou family, even Uncle Xu and Wei Qinghe. Uncle Xu's share was paid for by Shopkeeper Xu, and Wei Qinghe's share was paid for by the Wang family, so all the things left by his parents were returned to him. He also had some wealth, so he bought some too.
Shen Jin's brothers were there too. The three brothers had food, chickens, ducks, sheep and rabbits, but no money. Sang Luo patted his head and said to Shopkeeper Xu, "We and Xiao Jin's family should buy some too."
One tael and five cents of silver. Shen Jin knew how to count money. He subconsciously looked up at Sang Luo. Sang Luo said, "I'll help your family with it first. You can give me more money later."
When it was the Lu family's turn, Old Man Lu pondered for a moment and said, "Let's pay two shares, and one for the eldest wife."
Although the people have not been taken out yet and it is not known whether they are all safe, the household registration and land allocation have been notified to Xing Ye early on, and will be settled in Daxing Village. How can the old couple not hope for the best for their children and grandchildren? Back then, the second and third sons and Dashan helped to ensure adequate protection, and Shuanzhu and others also learned from Shen Lie for some time. Old Man Lu did not dare to think about anything else, but only hoped that everyone could come out safely.
Therefore, he opened his mouth and helped the eldest son to advance the money, which could be considered a good luck.
Manager Xu said, "That's ten households, one ounce and five cents of silver per household. When the village chief is selected later, you can take the silver and money to the government office."
…
Sang Luo went home first, poured some water on the tree bark that was drying, and took the bamboo slips to continue copying books.
Chen Lie and Shen An were returning home. They were afraid of the smell of blood, so they washed their hands outside for a long time before entering the house. They did not dare to get too close to Sang Luo. They just took out the purse from their arms and gave it to Sang Luo, saying, "I sold it for five taels and seven cents of silver. You keep it."
Then he asked Sang Luo, "Has any official come here?"
Sang Luo looked at him: "You know that too?"
Chen Lie nodded: "I went to the back yamen and saw the notice at the gate of the yamen."
Sang Luo heard this and said, "Don't give me the silver. Take it with you. The livestock and poultry that the governor's wife brought will be sold to the people at a low price. There are nine households in our village, plus the eldest branch of the Lu family, so ten households will buy a cow together. Our family will pay one tael and five cents of silver. I promised to help Xiao Jin and the others with their share, so it's three taels."
"I'm thinking of buying another goose. You can go there this afternoon with a little more money. If chickens and ducks are available, buy them and see if you can exchange them for geese."
Raising chickens, rabbits and a few geese in the mountains is very useful. Geese can chase away weasels and make them doubt the existence of rats.
Chen Lie nodded and put the money bag back. He looked at Sang Luo copying the book, hesitated for a moment, and asked Sang Luo: "Do you think this book given by Governor Zeng can be passed on to others?"
Sang Luo paused writing and looked at him sideways: "Do you want to make a copy for Wei Qinghe, Wen Zheng and the Xu family?"
Chen Lie nodded: "The books we have read in recent years were also copied by Yun Zheng for us. Let's not talk about Qinghe for now. Yun Zheng is really talented. If he had this half of the annotations, I think he would be able to walk a better path in the future. But I heard you say that the Zeng family's book is extraordinary. I don't know if it is appropriate to let them copy it."
After all, it was not their thing, and the book was very important to the Zeng family, so Shen Lie was hesitant to make up his mind.
It's not that Sang Luo hasn't thought about this problem. She came from the modern era, and what she values more is the dissemination rather than the monopoly of books and knowledge. These days, she has asked Shen Ning to copy a book each. Firstly, the scrolls are easily damaged, so she wanted to let Shen Lie and Shen An have a bamboo slip manuscript; secondly, they can read it carefully during the copying process.
He never made his plan known out loud, but after reading it himself, he would continue to teach these children in Zhuangzi.
Five people passed the state exam this year. Are these children in the village going to be left to farm?
Of course not.
Books should be read, no matter what the purpose is.
However, it was just this plan that she sent it out to be copied directly. Perhaps she was too clear about the significance of this book to the Zeng family in Taiyuan. This was something Sang Luo did not dare to think about at the moment, so it was a subconscious avoidance.
What she wanted more was to let Chen Lie discuss some of the insights and knowledge in the book with Wang Yunzheng and others through communication, so as to pass them on.
Now that Chen Lie asked about this, she lowered her eyes to think about it, and found it funny again. The children in the village might be suitable for her to explain slowly. Not every child is suitable for this level of course. It is most appropriate to teach students in accordance with their aptitude. As for Wang Yunzheng and others, there is really no need to be so roundabout, because the result will be no different.
Thinking of this, I felt relieved.
"Give it to me. Take the ones I have copied first and explain clearly where the books came from. As for Governor Zeng, I had some concerns at first, but now it seems that we may have underestimated this Lord Zeng. Since he gave the books away and did not tell them not to pass them on, I think he does not mind these things. If there is a chance in the future, perhaps I can repay them for their kindness."
Chen Lie looked at Sang Luo: "You mean..."
Chen Lie did not mention the word "paper", but he had seen the two bamboo slips hidden by Sang Luo. One scroll faithfully recorded the results of papermaking and the resulting paper samples using different methods of processing tree bark, and the other scroll was about ideas for improving various papermaking methods.
She just didn't have a relatively safe space to make further attempts, but she never stopped making various assumptions and calculations. Chen Lie even saw with his own eyes Sang Luo stacking the papers made that day together and pressing them hard like tofu to make the papers smoother.
He looked a little nervous, not because he was reluctant to give up the papermaking recipe, but because it was too sensitive.
Sang Luo knew what he was worried about and shook her head: "Not necessarily, and not now. Let's wait and see. I know what I'm doing."
Before today, she had never had such an idea in her mind, and now... she would have to wait and see.
Sang Luo knew very well that people had to live according to the survival rules of each class, especially in an era when human life was nothing but grass in the face of power.
Sometimes crossing the line may only bring disaster.
Before Shen Lie and Shen An had sufficient status, she could be a peasant woman or a small businessman, but she must not show off too much because she did not have an unbreakable foundation.
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