Chapter 61 Absurdity
There was no need to wait until night. Before noon, Qin Fangniang, Gan and the other two returned from the county, looking very unhappy.
Sang Luochu thought that the goods were not sold out, but when she looked, she saw that the basket was empty, so she asked Qin Fangniang, "Aunt, what happened?"
Qin Fangniang's face turned pale. She said, "When I was leaving the city, I saw a notice posted by the yamen runners at the city gate. It seemed that we had to pay rent and taxes. But we already paid the rent and taxes in early spring this year. Why do we have to pay it again?"
Feng Liuniang still didn't quite believe it: "Could it be a mistake? No one could read at that time, and it was only spread by people who heard it before."
Qin Fangniang was a little distracted: "I hope it's a mistake. I have to go home and tell them first, and then let my father go and ask Muramasa to check it out."
Gan was obviously also in a hurry to go back, and she was a little more clear-headed, so she ordered the tofu needed for the next day. Qin Fangniang and Feng Liuniang then came to their senses, told them the quantity of tofu needed for the next day, and said they would send the money later, and then left in a hurry.
Sang Luo had just finished making two drying racks and didn't have the heart to continue working, so she simply followed them down the mountain and went to Chen's house.
…
"Pay rent and taxes?" Old Man Chen shook his head as if he was listening to a foreign language. "That can't be possible. We have already paid the rent and taxes for this year. Did the yamen runner read the notice to you?"
Qin Fangniang shook her head: "We left the city late, and the yamen runner who posted the notice was no longer there. I heard people talking about it and asked around. They said they were going to pay rent and taxes."
The new grain was still in the drying yard and had not yet been stored in the warehouse. When he heard about this, Old Man Chen walked around the room a few times and could not stay any longer: "I'm going to Zhou's house."
As soon as he walked out of the gate, he ran into Shi Erlang and Old Man Lu who came with him. When the three of them met, Old Man Lu saw Old Man Chen walking out and asked, "Are you going to Zhou's house?"
Old man Chen nodded: "Let's go over and find out what's going on."
The two of them didn't need to go into Chen's house, so they just followed him to Zhou's house. They walked in silence all the way.
On the day of drying the millet, Zhou Cunzheng did not have to work outside, so he was able to rest at home today. When he saw Old Man Chen and his two companions coming, he was stunned at first, but then he thought that these three families might have someone setting up stalls in the county. He vaguely guessed something and had an even worse premonition.
Thinking of this, he stood up and walked a few steps forward: "Uncle Chen, Uncle Lu, how come you come to my place together?"
He greeted Shi Er again and invited the three of them to sit inside.
Old Man Chen didn't want to be polite, so he told his daughter-in-law what she had heard in the county. "We don't believe it. Didn't we pay this year's rent and taxes this spring? Why do we have to pay it again? I think there was no one who could read near the notice at that time. Could it be a rumor? I came to you to ask if you have heard any news."
Zhou Cunzheng pondered for a moment and shook his head: "I haven't received any news here, but I vaguely heard that several states in the north were severely affected by disasters this year, and the situation outside is not very good."
He had some guesses, but he didn't dare to be sure, so he could only say, "Let's wait a little longer. If what the notice said is true, the head of the village should come to inform us this evening, or tomorrow at the latest."
How could Old Man Chen and his companions wait until evening or tomorrow? They would become anxious if they waited any longer.
After tightening my belt for half a year, I just saw hope, but now I am told to pay rent and taxes. Who can accept this?
Just when they didn't know what to do, they heard three gongs in the distance and someone shouted loudly, asking everyone to go to the village drying yard to listen to the notice.
They would be asked to go to the drying yard in the village. Most of the time, it was the head of the village or the village chief who had something to say. The village chief was right here, so who was beating the gong and calling for help?
This just proved what Zhou Cunzheng said before. The hearts of the four people present sank, and the last bit of luck was shattered.
"Let's go and take a look."
Zhoucun was asking Old Man Chen and Old Man Lu to go ahead, and he would follow beside them.
From afar, I saw the man standing in the drying yard. Who else could it be but Zhou Lizheng and the two village heads?
The villagers were still coming over. Zhou Cunzheng went to Zhou Lizheng first and said, "Seventh Brother, what's going on? Are they really going to collect rent and taxes?"
Zhou Lizheng glanced at him and asked, "Have you heard about it?"
Zhou Cunzheng nodded, without saying where he heard it. He just looked at him, waiting for an answer.
Zhou Lizheng waved his hand and said, "Wait a minute, I'll tell you later."
…
Sang Luo came with Old Lady Chen. Coincidentally, she bumped into Shen San and his wife who were coming out of their house after hearing the gong sound.
Shen San glanced at Sang Luo, snorted, and walked ahead first.
Sang Luo: ...
What's wrong.
Old Madam Chen patted Sang Luo's hand and said, "Don't bother with it. Go and listen to what's going on. They're not really going to ask us to pay taxes again, are they? The government can't do this, right?"
Sang Luo's heart was hanging in the air. She did not forget that the rent and taxes had already been paid in advance once this spring. Being able to pay in advance once meant that there was a first time for everything. Since the bottom line had been moved, if it had to be moved again, it was not impossible to put her mind on the second time.
People gradually gathered, men, women, young and old, filling the small drying yard.
Zhou Lizheng cleared his throat and finally agreed to speak. He took out a notice from his sleeve and read it first.
Of course, few people could understand the flowery notice, so after he finished reading it, he folded the notice and explained it again in plain language.
The general meaning is that natural disasters have occurred frequently in various states in recent years, and last year was particularly severe. The court has difficulty in providing relief from all sides, and has no choice but to ask everyone to pay next year's rent and taxes in advance so that the court can overcome the current difficulties.
No matter how beautiful the writing is, it is still a mouth that can eat people.
The crowd suddenly became noisy.
"It's impossible to collect next year's rent and taxes in advance. The rice in the fields won't grow next year's food in advance."
"How can we live if we have to pay rent and taxes twice a year? The new grain has been harvested, and we haven't even tasted it yet, but they are coming to take it away."
"The court is in trouble, the officials are in trouble, so do we have no need to live?"
Someone started to cry as he spoke: "This world is like cannibalism, cannibalism."
The adults cried, and the ignorant children were frightened and started crying too. For a moment, it seemed that even the air they breathed into their lungs was filled with despair.
Sang Luo stood beside Old Lady Chen. For the first time since she had traveled through time, she felt completely cold from head to toe.
He was not afraid of whether he could pay the rent and taxes this time, but he was afraid of the time and space, the era, the world he was in, and the court that controlled the fate of the people.
In the original body's memory, he only knew his own corner of the world, but in the notice just now, natural disasters occurred frequently year after year, and the states were not the states and counties of the original body's hometown.
As for the so-called relief from all parties by the imperial court, Sang Luo had never found any trace of it in her original memory.
Wars, successive natural disasters, an inactive court, heavy taxes and levies, this is definitely not a sign of a prosperous age. If it continues like this... Sang Luo's hands and feet were cold, she couldn't even imagine it.
She had not experienced turbulent times, but she also knew that it is better to be a dog in peacetime than a person in chaos.
Zhou Lizheng is still working on everyone's business, meaning that if they pay this year, they don't have to pay next year. First they reason with the emperor, then they use intimidation. This is the imperial court's intention. All under heaven belongs to the emperor. If you don't pay rent and taxes, you will be exiled to forced labor. You can decide for yourself whether you will be able to go or not.
Then he handed a list to Zhou Cunzheng: "This is the list of people to be paid in your village. Let the millet dry for a few more days. In the next few days, you should do your work according to the list. The yamen runners will come to our villages on the ninth day of the first lunar month. Don't delay paying by then. After the seventh day, you will have to deliver the rent and taxes to the county yourselves."
"Every family has just harvested their grain, so no one can fail to pay. Let's do it quickly. There is no benefit in dragging it out. The last tax payment deadline in our county this fall is September 15th. If you miss this deadline, it will be no joke. Those who refuse to pay will be forced to serve the hardest labor. If there happens to be a war, they may be thrown into the frontier army at any time."
Zhou Cunzheng's cheeks were tense as he took the list from Zhou Lizheng.
Zhou Lizheng saw that he was depressed and said, "Okay, this kind of thing is not something people like us can control. We can only do it. You go ahead and do your work. I'm going to another village too."
After saying this, he called the two village heads who had come with him and was about to leave.
Zhoucun was looking at the villagers on the drying yard, some were crying, some were howling, some were wailing to the sky, and some were wiping tears silently. He saw his wife and children among them, who were also in grief.
He was depressed, but there was nothing he could do. As old country farmers, they had no right to interfere in matters decided by the imperial court.
Thinking of this, he opened the booklet Zhou Lizheng gave him, and after a few glances, he realized something was wrong, so he flipped through a few more pages. Zhou Cunzheng ran after him.
Zhou Lizheng had not walked far, and Zhou Cunzheng was catching up with him, shouting, "Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother."
Zhou Lizheng stopped and turned around to wait. When he got closer, Zhou Cunzheng ran too fast and was a little out of breath: "Seventh Brother, this list is wrong."
Some villagers had already seen Zhou Cunzheng shouting and chasing Zhou Lizheng, and looked over here.
Zhou Lizheng glanced at the villagers in the drying yard, then looked at his cousin: "What's wrong?"
"Shi Dalang, Chen Dashan." Zhou Cunzheng flipped through the list, pointed at two names on the first page, and then turned the pages again and again: "There are many more, Chen Lie, Lu Jiaerlang, Li Jiasanlang, and more than a dozen people who were conscripted from the village before. They all died on the battlefield. Why are they still on the tax list?"
Some careful villagers had pricked up their ears and heard the noise and were coming over here.
Zhou Cun was looking at his cousin, waiting for his answer.
Zhou Lizheng lowered his eyes, and when he raised them again he asked Zhou Cunzheng: "Who said they were killed in action? Where is the death certificate? Is there one?"
Zhou Cun was stumped by his question. He moved his lips for a while before saying, "Seventh Brother, the court has not distributed any of the money to those who left."
Zhou Lizheng let out a very light breath: "That's it, without the death certificate, how can we prove that they died in battle?"
Zhou Cunzheng glared at him and said, "Seventh Brother, it was the imperial court that didn't issue it. You clearly know it. We went to each village to ask and found out. You can plead for them."
"I don't know. What do I know?" Village Chief Zhou interrupted him. "I am the village chief, but I can only follow the rules. What can the words of one or two veterans who have returned from the battlefield prove? How can I appeal?"
"Without the death certificate, it cannot be proved that they died in battle. That means they are still alive, still men, and must pay taxes." Zhou Lizheng looked at his cousin and said word by word: "This is the law, Laojiu."
He stuffed the list back into Zhou Cunzheng's hands and left.
Old man Chen was the first one to notice Zhou Cunzheng's movements, and was also one of the few who vaguely heard everything he said. He stared at Zhou Lizheng's back, then turned to look at Zhou Cunzheng. His face was full of wrinkles and his eyes seemed to have lost focus in an instant, as if they were blank and didn't know where to look, all of which were filled with absurdity.
No, it's absurd.
Old man Chen tilted his head and murmured, "Nephew Jiuzhang, what did you say? Did I just hear that my Dashan was on the tax payment list?"
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