Su Muyao squatted down and started digging. After Su Sanlang came down from the tree, he saw the little figure not far away, squatting on the ground and digging pits.
The tuft of hair on its head twitches, which is quite cute.
"Sweetie, what are you doing?"
"Dad, come quickly and help me dig this out."
The third brother, Su, didn't recognize it. What was this thing? Seeing that his daughter liked it, he decided to dig it out for her.
"Hey, Dad, be gentle, don't damage its roots. You need to dig it to the side."
"Okay, okay, okay."
Nearly 15 minutes later, the two finally managed to dig out the ginseng.
Su Sanlang was thinking of digging up some wild vegetables to take back, but his little daughter insisted on digging up these inedible wild grasses herself.
There was nothing they could do until the two of them got home, only to find that their family had brought back a cup of unfamiliar weeds.
They just thought she was their own precious child, and no one bothered her if she wanted to play.
Su Mengyao wanted to give her family a surprise, so she started processing and drying the herbs herself.
I learned all of this online before I came here.
"Sweetie, are you tired? It's time for your afternoon nap."
Grandma Su wiped Su Muyao's forehead, saying, "You're almost like a little kitten."
The little dumpling gave her grandma a bright smile, then washed her hands and skipped happily back to her room.
I've made it a habit to take a nap since I came here.
Su Muyao tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. She looked around at the house: mud walls, mud floors, a thatched roof that let in drafts from all sides. Sigh.
Before, it was because I couldn't even speak and therefore couldn't change the situation, but now it's different.
After considering the idea of selling medicinal herbs, he saved up the money and sent his older brothers to school.
Then I'll go into business and earn money to build a new house.
Just as Su Muyao was drifting off to sleep, she was suddenly awakened by shouts outside.
The sound of gongs was very loud outside. After rubbing his eyes and going outside, he saw someone coming to ask Old Man Su to come over for a meeting.
"Village Chief Su asked each household to send one person to the meeting."
"Okay, I'm coming right away," Old Man Su said as he took off his shoe heel and walked out.
She had only just reached the door when a soft, sweet voice stopped her.
"Grandpa, I want to go too!"
The old man said that when he saw that his granddaughter had actually woken up, he quickly picked her up and carried her outside.
"Be a good boy, okay? Your village chief is going to have a meeting later, so you'll stay in my arms and behave. Don't run around, okay?"
Su Muyao nodded quickly, but thought to herself, "I'm not a little baby, why would I run around like that? Besides, I've always been very well-behaved, okay?"
…
Once the village chief saw that almost everyone had arrived, he began to talk about the main purpose of the meeting.
"Fellow villagers, I've just returned from town, and I have two very important announcements to make."
The people below were buzzing with discussion, each wondering what the announcement would be.
"Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me. The village government has issued a notice that this year's tax revenue will increase by 20%, and any family that cannot pay its taxes and has a male member will be conscripted into the labor service."
Upon hearing this news, the people below immediately began to lament.
Three years ago, there was a drought, and the river had long since dried up. That year, I survived almost entirely by eating tree bark and weeds.
Things started to improve slightly last year, and some grain could still be seen in the fields, but now they're suddenly saying they'll raise prices by another 20%.
This is just letting them starve to death. A mu of land can't produce much grain to begin with, and now the imperial court is doing this.
"That damned emperor, he's not letting us live!"
A man below covered his mouth after he finished cursing.
"Shut up, what nonsense are you spouting? How dare a commoner like you discuss royal matters?"
The village chief was truly enraged. If others outside overheard this, he could be beheaded!
"Listen, everyone, our emperor also loves his people. As the map shows, those who can't pay will be conscripted into the 'Soaring Cavalry' program, but at least they'll have enough to eat, which is the only thing they can be thankful for."
"With the border in turmoil, if you don't go on the 'Soaring Banner' campaign, and if I don't go, nobody else will either. Then who will fight those barbarians?"
Listening to the village chief's words, everyone agreed that it was indeed true; those who performed corvée labor were different from others, as they were all destined for the battlefield.
But it is precisely because they have to go to war that they do not want their husbands and sons to go!
Su Mengyao listened quietly in Old Man Su's arms.
Yes, if no one wants to go, what can we do if they attack?
Then, the village chief announced something even more disheartening.
"There's one more thing you all need to know: the price of food in the city is gradually rising."
"So my advice to the team leaders is that if you have money, try to exchange it for grain, so that there won't be any grain left to eat after it's been collected and handed over."
Due to the severe drought three years ago, almost all the money in their households had been used up, and now all they had left was a small amount of money that they had just saved up in the past year.
"Alright, that's all for these two things. Everyone, let's go home and discuss it further."
The crowd gradually dispersed and left.
Old Su returned, carrying his granddaughter and sighing.
What's wrong with the old man?
"Alas, this year is going to be tough for this old woman again. The imperial court is demanding a 20% increase in taxes this year."
"What the hell? A 20% price increase? Is the government trying to kill us common folk?"
"Shh, keep your voice down."
"What can we do? The crops in those fields aren't even enough to cover the tax revenue, and they're growing so poorly."
Su Mengyao's eyes widened. Could it be that she misheard? Wasn't the 20% harvest based on how much of the crop grew?
It's clearly not as simple as I thought.
Seeing that the elderly couple were already troubled, Su Mengyao didn't want to add to their distress.
He went outside to the yard by himself and started arranging the herbs.
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