Seeing more and more people responding, Qiao Xin raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said with a smile: "I wonder if you have come to the wrong place. I am just an ordinary old woman. Don't treat me as a turtle in a wishing well and make wishes for me.
You think too highly of me! We all earn a little rice today and a little oil tomorrow. If we work hard every day, isn't it only a matter of time before we earn a lot of money by the end of the year? Why should I make a wish?"
Li Zhong's mind was full of big yellow cattle, and he could no longer listen to anything else.
He jumped up with his arms raised and began to shout, "Yes, yes, follow the old lady and you can lead the ox by the end of the year! Did everyone hear me? Don't be shy when doing things. If you hold back your energy and are not active in your work, you have a problem with your thinking. If you don't want to make progress, I will clear you out of Laohu Town sooner or later and replace you with a diligent and honest person to be our neighbor."
Qiao Xin:........
Li Zhong, you are really good at taking things out of context. When did I say that I would guarantee that every family would earn a large sum of money? Do you really think he is a god?
But the villagers in Lao Hu Town just wanted to hear what she said.
The young wives and old women felt that this wish was just what they wanted, especially those whose husbands were useless or had no labor at home. They all nodded their heads like chickens pecking at rice and believed it without a doubt!
Emperor Wu and the others who were watching the fun saw Qiao Xin standing there in a daze, and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Your mother has also suffered this day!"
Seeing their own mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law shouting loudly, the masters of each family felt ashamed and stood up and shouted at them to go back.
A wife who had no husband to support her asked Qiao Xin: "Madam, we are not afraid of hardship. If we save money, can we really earn enough to buy a cow? That's more than 60 taels of silver!"
The person who asked this question was the poorest widow Wu in the west of the town. Her husband died on the battlefield. She was a woman with three children and lived with her parents-in-law who were in poor health. Even if someone helped the village, it was still very difficult.
There are many families like this around Laohu Town.
As soon as Qiao Xin saw their faces, she knew what she was planning. She was afraid that they would do something extreme, which would not only make them suffer, but also make them sick. If they got sick, the only pillar of support would collapse, and the family would be completely ruined with only the old and the young left.
Qiao Xin sighed, forget it, she still gave a few more instructions: "That being said, sisters, don't be too stingy and don't be reluctant to eat anything. If something goes wrong, how will the old and the young survive. Sixty taels seems like a lot, we can save it for two years if we can't save it in one year.
Life is nothing but eating and drinking. If you don't eat and drink well, how can you have the energy to do anything? The little money you scrape out from between your teeth will benefit no one in the future.
Sisters, we should save what we should save and spend what we should spend. At least buy yourself a flower for the New Year. Besides, you have three children, and that is the time when they grow up. You can temporarily stop buying flowers, but children only have a few years to grow up. If you miss it, you will never have another chance in this life. We should think carefully before doing anything, don't put the cart before the horse! "
Seeing that she was still hesitant, Qiao Xin threw out some good news: "Don't worry, after the Qiao family's livestock are used up, they will be loaned out to everyone by lottery like in the spring.
Wu Dashan's wife, I have good news for you. Your husband followed our eldest brother to defend our country and sacrificed his life. He is a man of integrity. We reported this to His Majesty, and His Majesty praised him as a hero.
His Majesty also said that your men shed blood before the war, and their families must not be allowed to shed tears in their hometown. Therefore, His Majesty intends to set up a pension organization for fallen soldiers. Every year, one tael of silver and two hundred kilograms of grain will be taken out from it to subsidize your family until your eldest son reaches the age of sixteen.
Widow Wu stood up suddenly, looking at Qiao Xin in disbelief, and asked after a long while: "Really...really? Your Majesty really said that? Old lady, don't try to fool me. The saint is busy with all kinds of affairs. Would the paint pay attention to our man's worthless life?"
"It's true. My eldest brother has a list of names. All the soldiers who lost their lives on the battlefield are listed on it. The people who followed him out of Laohu Town and never came back are now under the care of the Qiao family.
This money is only left to the closest relatives. For those who are not married, it is given to their parents as a pension. For those who are married and have children, it is left to their children or daughter-in-law as a support fund, and no one can claim it on their behalf.
As soon as Qiao Xin finished speaking, everyone below burst into tears.
Emperor Wu looked at Qiao Xin in astonishment. How come he didn't know when he made this decision? Was Old Madam Qiao always acting like a bully and casually conveying the emperor's will?
The two brothers of the Qiao family looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering what their mother was up to.
Why don't they know what rosters they have? Isn't that for the military logistics of the army? All the drunken words are in the Ministry of War. If you want to find these lists, you must get the consent of His Majesty before you can copy them from the Ministry of War. They can't keep them privately.
Besides, to subsidize every soldier who died in battle would be an astronomical sum, and once it was started, it could not be stopped. The imperial court could not possibly pay for it. Could it be that A Niang paid for it herself? Where would the money come from?
Seeing that the people below were crying non-stop, Li Zhong had to persuade them: "Enough, if you keep crying, you won't have to do anything today. This is a good thing, right? Hold back your tears. We are still having a meeting in such a mess."
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