Bang -

At noon, the big bell in the center of Taoyuan Village was ringed, and everyone hurriedly put down their work and gathered under the big banyan tree in the center of the village. Every time there is a big event in the village, the big bell will be ringed, the children of Taoyuan Village have been taught since childhood that the big bell can't be moved, there have been naughty children to knock randomly, the result is not only beaten to the flesh, but also the parents suffered. He was warned that if he committed another crime, the whole family would be thrown out of the village.

Chang Xile also hurriedly rushed over, there were already a lot of people gathered there, Li was standing on the high platform of the big banyan tree, and there was a soapman with a shoulder knife standing beside him.

When they saw the soap man, they all began to discuss.

"You don't have to pay the summer tax in advance, do you? Isn't there still a month left? ”

"Who knows, if this is the case, it will be troublesome, and our family can't pay it now."

"Isn't it, this year's ......"

Chang Xile couldn't help frowning slightly when he heard this, although because he was admitted to Xiucai's relationship, his family's field tax and the annual one-month forced labor of him and the two men in the third room of the Chang family were exempted, but there were still two people in the family who could not be exempted from the forced labor, and the forced labor was very hard and often had to leave their hometown. Not only that, but there are two laborers in the family, which is also a loss financially. Conscription is unpaid, and if you are unlucky, you have to bring your own dry food when you encounter harsh officials.

In the past, their family used money to serve as a substitute, but now in this situation, where is this 'more endowment' of money. These days, the Chang family has worked hard in the three rooms, just to make up this money, not the summer tax that Xing'er misheard before.

But if the county order collects the summer tax in advance, there are no more than two reasons, either where the war is raging, and the imperial court urgently collects taxes; Either that, the county magistrate of Taoyuan County is a mischievous person. Either way, it's not good news. It's a pity that the original body has too little memory of the county order, so Chang Xile can't get useful information.

"Joy, come here." Li Zheng saw Chang Xile and hurriedly waved to him.

Chang Xile stepped forward, and the soap clerk bowed his hand to him, and his attitude was very polite. Although Chang Xile is disfigured, he has a meritorious reputation, and he is different from ordinary people. Although the soap official has a reputation for being arrogant, he does not dare to be presumptuous in front of Xiucai. It is difficult for Xiucai to send officials, but he can also enter the county government to engage in clerical and other duties, that is, above the official service.

"This is Li Zhutou, this is the joy of our village." Li Zheng introduced, introducing Chang Xile with a proud face.

Li Zhutou saw the scar on Chang Xile's face, and a trace of pity flashed in his eyes, but his face was not obvious, "I have heard that Chang Xiucai is famous, but now I see that he is really a hero and a young man." ”

Chang Xile returned the salute, "Li Zhutou is polite, Li Zhutou is here, but what instructions does the county have?" ”

Li Zhutou directly handed the document issued by the imperial court to Chang Xile, "There is indeed something, but it is still a big deal." ”

Chang Xile took the document and looked at it, his brows furrowed and spread, and he wrinkled and wrinkled, and his childish face showed a solemnity that did not match his age.

The document said that the imperial court was going to organize people to dig a canal, which went straight from the sea area of Haizhou to the capital, passing through Pumpkin Mansion on the way, and there was a section less than ten miles away from Taoyuan Village. Now the imperial court draws Ding, and each family has to produce a strong man, and he can't use money to serve on his behalf, but he is allowed to find someone to replace him, and the whole family can be exempted from servitude that year. In contrast to forced labor, although each family was forced to pay one penny, it was paid, and each person was paid 300 wen a month, and if anyone outside the quota was willing to go to work, he could enjoy the same treatment.

"This is a great thing, it's not easy to make money these days, and the salary of 300 wen a month is very good." Li Zhutou said.

Although there is an element of instigation in Li Zhutou's words, it is not a lie.

In this world, productivity is low, and there are very few opportunities to make money, pure coolies have no other skills, and 300 wen a month is already a very generous price, and it may not be found on weekdays. The countryside was self-sufficient, and only in the towns could it be found to work, as in modern times. The difference is that there are far fewer job opportunities in this world than in later generations, and they are all divided among the people in the city, and even the people who pour night incense are 'each with their own patrons, and dare not invade; Or if there is a trespass, the dung owner will fight with it, or even after a big lawsuit by the government, it will be won.'"

Daoxiang County is not big, and there are even fewer opportunities.

Li Zhutou's voice was very loud, and everyone who was close to heard it was very surprised.

"And such a good thing? Will you still send money? ”

"It won't be a Mongolian person, in the past, when I went to conscription, I sometimes had to bring my own dry food, where did I hear that there was a payment, and it would be good not to ask us for money."

"Isn't it......"

Li Zhutou explained: "What did I lie to you, this document is clearly written, I don't believe you ask Chang Xiucai." ”

Everyone looked at Chang Xile, and Chang Xile nodded and said: "It is indeed written on the paperwork, three hundred wen per person, including food and accommodation." ”

These people all discussed one after another, and the scene was very lively. They can farm at most to make ends meet, and it is very difficult to have cash in hand, and if this thing is true, it is a great thing. They don't have the strength to find something to do, and they can make life less tight. Besides, whether you like it or not, the family has to go alone, and now you are happy to have money to make.

Chang Xile asked, "Will you really send money?" You won't fool people into the past and deduct them with all kinds of excuses, right? ”

No matter what life there is, there is no shortage of corrupt officials and corrupt officials, there are policies and countermeasures, and after layers of exploitation, there is nothing left to the bottom of the real world. Chang Xile is a talent, has the freedom to speak freely, and will not be punished for talking nonsense, so he dares to say such things.

Li Zhutou said: "The imperial court attaches great importance to this canal, and the capital directly sent Qin to supervise it, and the people in the county will not interfere, so no one should dare to do anything on it, and some of my relatives want to try it." ”

"Is the salary monthly? Can someone who is not outside the quota come back after a month? After I went there and worked for a while, can I come back halfway? ”

Li Zhutou laughed, and knew what Chang Xile had when he heard it, "Chang Xiucai is really cautious, I only know that the salary is monthly, and I don't know anything else." The county can't directly meddle in this matter, and the money is all managed by the big officials sent by the capital, so we know very little. ”

Chang Xile nodded, thinking about it in his heart.

Li Zhutou announced that he was done, and he was dragged by Li Zheng to his home for dinner, and Chang Xile was also called. The economic situation of Li Zheng's family is similar to that of the previous Chang family's three rooms, and in order to entertain Li Zhutou, there is enough good wine, good food, big fish and big meat on the dinner table, and Chang Xile, who has eaten bran and wild vegetables for a while, is beautiful, but fortunately, his usual habits make him less rude.

After Li Zhutou left, Li Zheng spoke with joy and seriousness.

"Joy, what do you think about this?"

Li Zheng rarely discusses things with ordinary joy on weekdays, mainly because he is afraid of delaying his homework, but now that Chang Xile is free, he will want to hear his opinion. Although Chang Xile is not very old, he has always been in school in the county because of his knowledge, and his knowledge is definitely different from that of people who have always dealt with the land. I have to say that Li is a knowledgeable person, but like many people, he thinks a little too highly of Chang Xile. If the original body is there, these chores really have no concept.

Chang Xile thought for a while and said, "If the imperial court is not reckless, it is a great thing for our Taoyuan Village that this canal can be built." There is a saying: If you want to get rich, you must first build roads. If this canal is completed, it will be much more convenient for us to go out of Taoyuan Village, and it will be easier to do whatever we want. ”

This canal is for the north-south circulation, to strengthen the control of the capital to the south, and to facilitate the transportation of grain and grass. Land transportation, slow speed, small volume, high cost, can not meet the requirements, so the construction of this canal. In this way, as long as it is repaired, there will inevitably be a lot of ships coming and going, and there will be business opportunities everywhere. Although it was still a long time from that time, it paved the way for the future of Taoyuan Village.

Li Zheng didn't expect Chang Xile to think so far, he just wanted to ask if the matter of sending money was reliable.

Taoyuan Village was fled here by refugees during the war in the past, and at that time, I saw that the mountains and rivers here were beautiful, the land was fertile, surrounded by mountains, and there was only one cliff pass leading to the outside, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, so I chose to settle down. At that time, there were less than 100 people, but after a few generations, the population had reached more than 1,000, and it became a large village.

The rapid increase in population has made the land scarce, and Taoyuan Village is surrounded by mountains and it is difficult to open up wasteland, so it is impossible to expand outward, so it can only guard the fields left by its ancestors. Therefore, there are strong men in Taoyuan Village who can leave the fields to work outside, but Taoyuan Village is isolated from the world, very far away from the town, and the cost of going out is very high. And there is no way out, like Chang Laosan, there have been a few in Taoyuan Village for so many years, and they can be counted with a slap. And Chang Laosan was also very wolf when he came back at that time, if he hadn't run fast, he was afraid that he would be involved in a guild dispute and would not be able to get out.

Now that he has this opportunity, as Li Zheng, of course he is tempted, but he is also afraid that the court will say one thing and do another, and if he doesn't pay money and gets people stuck there, it will be more than worth the loss.

But when he heard Chang Xile say this, Li Zheng also thought deeply.

"What you said makes sense, if we want to work, we can only go to Daoxiang County, what can we do there? If we get on board, we'll be able to go farther! Didn't Li Zhutou just say that if the ship is opened, it will take less than ten days to get to the capital from here, and it will only take one day to get to the house, and it will only take two quarters of an hour to get to the county! In this way, the canal was completed one day earlier, and our Taoyuan Village also had hope a little earlier! ”

Chang Xile smiled, the benefits are more than that. However, Chang Xile doesn't plan to say anything now, not because he is afraid that Lizheng won't understand, but because he knows too little about the world now, and he hasn't started to do anything, and he thinks it's bragging. Besides, those are still far away, and we have to do the current things first.

"Digging rivers is a big deal, and there will definitely be a lot of people to recruit. The money does not belong to the county, but the county yamen is asked to inform the people of the documents one by one, presumably because the saint did it on purpose, so that the officials in charge do not dare to be arrogant, otherwise it will be troublesome for the people to make trouble. ”

Li Zheng nodded, "That's right, but for the sake of insurance, it is advisable to have only one person from each family at the beginning, so as to save accidents." ”

Chang Xile also agrees that although digging rivers can make money, it should not invest too many people. Taoyuan Village is poor now because of its large population, but in the future, it will become an advantage because of its large population. Before the canal can be opened, Taoyuan Village must be developed so that it can be better used in the future.

However, at present, he can't make the plate so big, and the first thing to solve now is how to let the people in the three rooms of the Chang family have enough to eat.

Digging the river was an opportunity, and he had to seize it.