The first day of the ninth lunar month was a big day for the Great Sheng Dynasty.
Sixty years ago today was the first day of the establishment of the Great Sheng Dynasty, so today was established as the Great Sheng Dynasty's Chaosheng Festival.
The Asahi Festival was similar to the modern National Day, but it was not as grand and did not include paid leave.
However, this year, the new emperor has gained considerable prestige across the country because of potatoes, and he probably wants to strike while the iron is hot, so he announced some good news today.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Great Sheng Dynasty, he decided to reduce or exempt taxes!
The land tax from this winter to next spring will be reduced from 15% to 10%.
Although the exemption period is only six months and the amount of exemption is only a mere five percent, and the yield of crops in the fields from winter to spring is far less than that of the autumn harvest, when you calculate it carefully, the actual reduction is not that much.
However, everyone was still very happy, and they walked around the county town with smiles on their faces.
"In the past, when new emperors ascended the throne, I had only heard of them increasing taxes. This is the first time I've heard of them reducing them! The new emperor is truly kind-hearted and cares deeply for the people!"
"By reducing it by five percent, we can save a lot of food this winter and next spring. If my husband and I save a little more, our little one won't go hungry!"
"This is wonderful news! We should buy some delicious food to celebrate!"
Wan Shu didn't lack the 5% of food needed to fill his stomach, but he was also infected by the joyful atmosphere.
Adding to the fact that the Mid-Autumn Festival just two weeks ago coincided with the Li Chuanzong incident, the village was in a state of panic as people were trying to arrest Liang Yaozu. To avoid causing unnecessary trouble, no one at home was able to properly celebrate the festival.
Wan Shu wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the holiday again and make her five little ones happy.
Wan Shu waved to her five little ones beside her: "Come on, the weather is getting cooler now, and it's a festival today, so your mother will take you to buy some warm clothes."
Now that the family is well-off, and Wan Shu is the kind of person who doesn't like to mistreat children, if she says she'll buy them several outfits, she really will buy several for each of them so they can take turns wearing them.
Of course, she didn't treat herself badly either, picking out a few conservative, understated styles.
Firstly, she didn't like overly flashy styles, and secondly, widows often attract gossip, so it was best to avoid them if possible.
In addition, Wan's parents recently helped her a lot when they were building the house, and they insisted on not accepting her wages, so she bought two sets of clothes for each of Wan's parents.
“Mother, Uncle has helped us a lot with things before. Should we buy him a couple of outfits too?” Wu Ping suggested from the side.
The other four little ones also liked Wanfeng very much, nodding in agreement.
Wan Shu certainly liked Wan Feng, her younger brother, but after thinking about it, she still rejected the suggestion.
“Your second sister-in-law already dislikes your youngest brother. If we don’t send gifts to your eldest and second brothers, but only to your youngest brother, she will definitely be dissatisfied and find an opportunity to make things difficult for him.”
Since the last autumn harvest incident, Liu has been afraid of her, and since Wanfeng is now helping her supervise the work and earns her thirty coins a day, Liu has not spoken ill of Wanfeng to her face for a long time.
But this was only in front of her, and also because of the wages.
Behind the scenes, things are a different story. Moreover, the house is almost finished with the roof beam raised, and once the wages are gone, Liu's attitude towards Wanfeng will return to normal.
It seems we still need to find a way to give Wanfeng a stable job, or teach him a skill that will allow him to make a living.
Seeing that Wan Shu had a plan, the five little ones stopped talking and followed Wan Shu on a big shopping spree in the county town.
Pork, buy! Lamb, buy! Beef, buy! Goose intestines, buy! Tripe, buy!
Radishes, greens, cabbage, wild vegetables, tofu puffs—buy, buy, buy any delicious ingredients!
The five little ones following behind were all stunned.
"Mom, why did you buy so many vegetables?"
"We didn't buy many portions."
Wan Shu smiled and said, "Mother suddenly remembered a very interesting dish, which is especially suitable for us to eat together when it's cool now."
"What kind of food is that?"
"You'll know when you get back and make it for your mother."
Although Wan Shu didn't elaborate, the five little ones' expectations were sky-high when they saw so many dishes.
For a moment, they lost all interest in fruits and pastries and pulled Wan Shu towards the outskirts of the city.
"Mother, hurry, hurry, we can't wait any longer!"
Wan Shu raised an eyebrow at Siya, who was speaking: "Oh, Siya, you can use idioms now."
Siya proudly puffed out her little chest: "Of course! I know so many idioms now, like making a mountain out of a molehill and being happy!"
The other four kids followed behind, showing off as well.
"Mother, I can do it too! Big and small!"
"Hmph, this is too easy, I can do it too, little big big! Bustling traffic!"
"And another thing, it's like touching a blind person! I didn't know this idiom was so strange, why would it involve touching a blind person!"
They frequently went to the city and gained a lot of knowledge and learned many idioms in the county town. However, without a teacher's guidance, they still couldn't learn them properly and ended up learning them in a jumbled mess without understanding their meaning.
Wan Shu found it amusing, but instead of correcting them, he simply patted their heads and said...
"It seems you are all good students. You have learned so many idioms so quickly. It seems that your mother will have to find a tutor to enlighten you soon."
She was so busy dealing with the Li family's affairs and building a house that she didn't have time to visit her husband.
Now that everything is settled and the house is almost finished, it's time to start looking for my husband.
Finding a tutor is no small matter and must be done with utmost care. Wan Shu thought for a moment and said, "Mother doesn't know which tutors are good either. Why don't we take this opportunity to go to Dongcheng Academy and ask that young master Meng?"
Meng Wenyuan had promised that Wan Shu could ask him for help with anything, so she naturally wouldn't hesitate.
The five little brats had no objections, and the six of them were about to turn around and head to the academy when they were stopped by a kind passerby.
"Why are you still going to see Meng Wenyuan? Don't you know? He was expelled from Dongcheng Academy a few days ago by his father, Headmaster Meng, for cheating on the exam!"
Wan Shu was astonished: "Cheating? How could he do such a thing? Where is he now?"
The passerby shrugged: "Who knows? This matter has caused quite a stir in the county. He's too ashamed to face anyone, and even his own father doesn't want him anymore. He might have jumped into the river."
Having no other option, Wan Shu had to give up the idea of asking Meng Wenyuan and returned to Qingshui Village first.
When we were halfway there, Uncle Erniu in front suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my God! There's a person floating in this ditch!"
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