Zhang Huaiming's reflection of the situation, Yue Haohan is really the clearest, many villages in Wulong Township are in debt, and they are also owed in this way, it seems that the payment of taxes and fees on loans is a common problem; The crux of the problem lies in the fact that the burden is unreasonable and excessive, and the poorer the village, the more serious the loan and the tax payment will be, and this is a vicious circle.

Everyone was chatting, the village chief Li Rongfu, the village accountant Zhang Huailiang, came in with a big watermelon in their arms, Goudan held a sickle in his right hand and a melon in his left hand, and followed behind the two.

Li Rongfu and Zhang Huailiang arrived at the hall, put down the watermelon, greeted everyone and exchanged a few words, then pulled over the stool, sat down near the door, Zhang Huaiming picked up a watermelon, and went to the kitchen to cut it.

The watermelon was served, Zhang Huaiming asked everyone, each of them took a piece, and ate it, Guo Chenyang took two bites, nodded and said, "Okay, this watermelon tastes very good!" Much better than what I bought at the county market. ”

Zhang Huaiming said with a smile: "The watermelons in our village are all farmyard fertilizer, and the people in the village are poor and can't afford to buy chemical fertilizers, so they can only use farmhouse fertilizer, and the watermelons that grow are of course delicious." You bought it in the county market, the watermelon looks very big, it is all prompted by chemical fertilizer, how can it be compared with my melon? ”

Yue Haohan said: "The more primitive and flavorful everything is, and this crop is no exception, but the yield can't keep up with other people's fertilizers." ”

Zhang Huaiming said: "That is, I planted a few melons on my own land, and I ate them when I came to this day." ”

Yue Haohan ate two pieces of watermelon, felt no thirsty, took out the napkin on his body, wiped his mouth, took the notebook, and said: "Secretary Zhang, several of your village cadres are here, I want to know about the data of several aspects of your village, can you provide it clearly?" ”

Zhang Huaiming said: "Director Yue, is there anything unclear about those few things in the village?" If you ask, we will answer truthfully, mainly with the big accountant's answer, and Director Li and I will add. ”

Yue Haohan opened his notebook, took the pen, and asked, "Accountant Zhang, what was the average income of your village last year?" ”

Zhang Huailiang, the village accountant, looked at Yue Haohan and replied: "The average income of our village last year was 350 yuan, 300 yuan the year before last, 250 yuan the year before last, and 200 yuan in '87. ”

Zhang Huailiang said in one breath that the average income of people for four consecutive years, Yue Haohan immediately heard the doorway inside, and asked, "Zhang Dahui, how are these numbers calculated?" ”

Zhang Huailiang smiled and replied: "The average income of 200 yuan in eight or seven years comes from the annual report data directly issued by the town government, and then increases by 18% to 25% every year, and this data is calculated in this way. ”

Yue Haohan asked: "Then what is the task of agriculture and special taxes in your village this year?" ”

Zhang Huailiang replied: "The agricultural tax is 5,100 yuan, the special product tax is 1,000 yuan, a total of two taxes, 6,100 yuan, the agricultural tax has not changed for three consecutive years, and the special product tax has risen by 200 yuan every year." ”

Yue Haohan smiled bitterly, shook his head, and then asked, "What about your three mentions and five unifications?" How many are there? ”

Zhang Huailiang replied: "The three mentions and five unifications are calculated according to 5% of the average net income of the previous year, and the per capita net income of 1,800 people in our village was 300 yuan last year, and the calculation result was 27,000 yuan. ”

Yue Haohan wrote down these figures in his notebook, looked at the three village cadres, and said: "It seems that the bulk of the peasants' burden is mainly on the three mentions and five unifications. ”

Zhang Huaiming took over and said, "Director Yue, haven't you heard the smooth talk that circulates among the masses? ”

Yue Haohan looked at Zhang Huaiming and asked, "What is slipping?" ”

Zhang Huaiming replied: "The first tax is light, the second tax is heavy, and the third tax is a bottomless pit. ”

Zhang Huaiming slipped through the mouth after reading, and then explained: "The head tax refers to the state tax, that is, the agricultural and special taxes, the second tax refers to the three mentions and five unified funds within the contract burden, and the third tax is the various fund-raising fines outside the contract. ”

Yue Haohan slipped Zhang Huaiming's thoughts, wrote them down in his notebook, and then asked: "Then what year did this situation start?" You can't just open it like that, I know that in the past, when the big collective was just paying public food. ”

Li Rongfu, the village director, took over and replied: "Director Yue, I have been an accountant of the brigade for many years, and I know very well that in fact, before '87, the peasants' burdens were not heavy, that is, they began to increase year by year from '88. ”

Guo Chenyang, who was sitting next to Li Rongfu, took Li Rongfu's words and asked, "Director Li, do you still remember how much your village's agricultural and special taxes in eight or seven years, as well as the three mentions and five unifications, were?" ”

Li Rongfu replied: "Of course I remember, it is very clear, in 87 years, the agricultural tax in our village was 2,800 yuan, there was no special product tax task, and the three mentions and five were unified at 8,560 yuan, and the total of several items was 11,360 yuan, which was less than half of the burden of this year's three mentions and five unifications; Moreover, there is no arbitrary fundraising, arbitrary fines or anything. ”

Yue Haohan got up and went to the courtyard outside, went to the toilet and came back, sat down, and then asked: "Secretary Zhang, I have one last question to ask, how is the slaughter tax in your village collected?" During the New Year's holidays, when pigs and sheep are slaughtered, the tax office comes to collect it on the spot? ”

Zhang Huaiming said: "There is such a good thing, it is apportioned, our village has a slaughter tax of 600 yuan this year, no matter how much is collected, at the end of the year, it must be settled by the town tax office according to this figure." ”

After clarifying the basic situation of Zhangjiawa Village, Yue Haohan closed his notebook, looked at Li Guoxing, and said, "Mayor Li, how about we go to the farmer's household?" Look at two poor households, and then look at two wealthy rural households. ”

Zhang Huaiming got up and picked up the watermelon soaked in the basin of cold water, and said, "Director Yue, don't worry, let's cut and eat this watermelon and then visit the house, the cold water in the spring has been iced, and this one is better than the one at the beginning." ”

After a while, the watermelon was cut, Yue Haohan picked up a piece, ate two bites, it was cool, it did feel better than the melon at the beginning, he took a bite again, nodded and praised: "Well, it's good, it tastes better than the one at the beginning." ”

After eating a piece of watermelon, Yue Haohan went to the basin to wash his hands, Zhang Huaiming took another piece and handed it to Yue Haohan, and said, "Director Yue, eat another piece, we have this thing in the field, and let the dog mother pick a few more in a while." ”

Yue Haohan said: "I can't eat anymore, I can't eat again, I can't eat at night, my stomach is so big." ”

Zhang Huaiming said with a smile: "Eating watermelon doesn't take up your stomach, and when you pee out after a while, your stomach will immediately deflat." After Zhang Huaiming finished speaking, he knew that he was uncivilized, and secretly looked at Xiang Yifei, who was eating watermelon in small bites, and Xiang Yifei didn't seem to hear Zhang Huaiming speak at all.

Yue Haohan squatted down, washed his hands in the basin where he soaked the watermelon just now, put his hands into the basin, and felt that the water in the basin was cool and cold, Yue Haohan raised his head, looked at Zhang Huaiming, and asked: "Secretary Zhang, the watermelon water in your basin has been cold for so long, and it is still cool, is it well water?" ”

Zhang Huaiming said: "No, this is the spring water in the black dragon spring at the root of the mountain behind our village. The whole village in our village eats the water in this black dragon spring, the spring water is warm in winter and cool in summer, on such a hot day as today, there must be many people in front of the black dragon spring to enjoy the coolness. ”

Li Rongfu interjected: "On a hot day, it is very cool within two hundred meters around the Black Dragon Spring, just like installing an air conditioner, the most important thing is that there is not a single mosquito around the spring, and the spring water still has a sweet smell when drinking. ”

Yue Haohan stared at Li Rongfu and asked, "Is there such a good place?" ”

Li Guoxing took over at this time and said: "This is indeed the case, the town is planning to attract investment, and use the black dragon spring water to process it into mineral water for sale, this spring water has been tested in Jianghan in our town, and the mineral content is rich and the water quality is particularly good." ”

Yue Haohan said: "Then let's go to Heilongquan to have a look, if we really want to build a mineral water processing plant here in the future, the people of Zhangjiawa will definitely benefit a lot!" ”

After everyone had eaten the watermelon, the three village cadres led the way, and everyone walked towards the village, Zhang Huaiming's home was at the head of the village, everyone walked towards the village, and saw that under the shade of the trees, there were old people and children enjoying the coolness. The people who enjoyed the cool saw the village cadres leading Yue Haohan and his party over, and the old people and children felt very curious, looking at everyone, and whispering from time to time.

When passing under a big tree, Yue Haohan heard a conversation between two elderly women, one asked the other softly, have you paid the agricultural tax and retention money at home? Didn't you come down to collect the money? The other replied that my grandson, who is working outside the home, sent back 800 yuan last month, and I paid all the taxes and fees this year, and our family does not owe a cent, so I am not afraid!

Listening to the conversation between the two, Yue Haohan felt a burst of pathos in his heart, sighed secretly, and said in his heart: "How did the relationship between the cadres and the masses become like this now?" When the masses see cadres, the first thing they think of is to collect taxes and fees, and those who come to ask for money have not done anything else when they go to the village except to ask for money and collect taxes and fees? ”

Zhang Huaiming, who led the way in front, led Yue Haohan and his party to a low house, which was three mud-walled and blue-tiled houses, and there was a small kitchen made of blue bricks next to the main house; The courtyard in front of the house was very clean, the door of the hall was open, Zhang Huaiming stood at the door, and shouted into the house: "Is anyone at home?" ”

A middle-aged woman's crisp voice answered from the house: "Coming, coming!" It's Secretary Zhang. With the voice, a middle-aged woman in her forties came out of the hall, Yue Haohan looked at it, and saw that the woman was wearing a patched flower short sleeve on her upper body, and her lower body was wearing white-washed blue "Really Good" pants, and her body was neatly tied.

When the woman arrived at the door, she saw a large group of people standing in the courtyard, obviously stunned, her face was crimson, and she said timidly: "Secretary Zhang, didn't I tell you a few days ago, when the rice is sold in the autumn, I will pay the arrears." The middle-aged woman spoke in a lower voice, as if she were a schoolboy who had done something wrong, standing in front of the teacher waiting to be punished.

Li Rongfu, who was behind Zhang Huaiming, immediately picked up the conversation and said: "Ma Yufeng, you misunderstood, we didn't come to your house to ask for money, the leaders of the county party committee office came to see a few poor households, and you still didn't let the leaders into the house?" ”

Ma Yufeng reacted immediately, and let everyone into the house with a smile on his face, the hall was also very clean, an old-fashioned square table was placed against the wall, four benches were also neatly placed against the wall, two chairs were placed in front of the table, and one of them had no support on the backrest, and there was nothing else in the hall.

Ma Yufeng pulled the bench and shouted towards the inner room: "Jingyang, Jingxia, you two come out." ”

As soon as Ma Yufeng's voice fell, a boy and a girl walked out of the back room one after another, the boy looked at everyone with a smile on his face, the girl seemed to be very shy, hiding behind the boy, and secretly looked at everyone from time to time with a pair of big eyes, especially always aiming at Yue Haohan.

Ma Yufeng quickly put the bench away, instructed the boy, and said, "Jingyang, you go to our watermelon field to pick two watermelons and come back, and kill the thirst of your uncles. ”

After the boy named Jingyang went out, Ma Yufeng asked everyone to sit down on the bench, and the girl helped her mother pour boiled water for everyone, Ma Yufeng said apologetically: "Everyone will just take a break, and we don't have tea at home." ”

After sitting down, under Zhang Huaiming's introduction, everyone learned that Ma Yufeng is 46 years old this year, her husband Zhang Xuehong died of illness in the third year of high school of the eldest Zhang Jingyang, and the two children, the eldest Zhang Jingyang is now in the second year of the Chinese Department of Zhongjiang University, and the girl Zhang Jingxia is in the county No. 1 middle school, and it is time to study in the third year of high school in the fall.

Ma Yufeng's family's income depends on a few acres of rice fields, and the income of rice is basically not a few dollars left in addition to costs and taxes, and it costs more than 5,000 yuan for two children to go to school every year.

Zhang Jingyang came back with two watermelons sweating, Guo Chenyang hurriedly stepped forward to help take a watermelon, and said: "Jingyang, I just learned that you are my junior brother, I am also a graduate of the Chinese Department of Zhongjiang University, I work in the political research office of the county party committee, and when I have the opportunity in the future, come and sit there." ”

Zhang Jingyang looked at Guo Chenyang and said with a smile: "Hello senior brother, thank you!" Go sit down, I'll cut the watermelon. ”

As he spoke, Zhang Jingyang hugged the watermelon and went to the kitchen, Zhang Jingxia glanced at Yue Haohan, his face turned red, and he also went out of the hall and went to the kitchen to help his brother cut the watermelon.

After the two children went out, Yue Haohan asked Ma Yufeng: "How many acres of land does your family have?" What is the tax burden this year? ”

Ma Yufeng replied: "My paddy field is five acres and six, and the slope land is three acres, and when the paddy field rained last time, more than two acres were washed away, and I planted two acres of sesame seeds and one acre of corn on the slope. My family has a small population, and the agricultural and special taxes are 33 yuan, which was paid last month, and 45 yuan for three mentions and five yuan, and has not been paid yet. ”

Guo Chenyang, who was next to Yue Haohan, took over and asked, "Then how much do you need to spend on going to school in Jingyang and Jingxia every year?" ”

Ma Yufeng said: "Jingyang is in Jianghan, the cost of living in a big city is higher, tuition and living expenses need more than 3,000 yuan a year, Jingxia is in the county No. 1 middle school, the girl's family is economical, and the tuition and living expenses also need about 2,000 a year, and my family's expenses are mainly on their brothers and sisters." Jing Xia is very sensible, seeing that I am tired of working at home alone, I have always said that I don't want to go to work, I want to go out to work, I didn't agree, Jing Xia's academic performance is also among the best in No. 1 Middle School, no matter how hard and tired I am, I can't lose the children.