Zhan Zhumen

Chapter 102 Dendrobium
After Yang Fu left, Huo Xi climbed onto the grain bag to check the grain.

I found that the oilcloth was well covered and not damp, so I was relieved.As soon as the sun came out, the tarpaulin was lifted again, exposing the grain bag to dry in the sun.

"Boy Huo, didn't you go ashore with your uncle?" Yu Jiang asked her from the bow of his boat.

"Good morning, Uncle Yu. I want to stay and see how the food is delivered."

Yu Jiang smiled, thinking that the kid had gone ashore with everyone to watch the fun.

In the middle of the day, the sun has risen high.

He Feng, who hadn't seen him for a day, rowed over, and Huo Xi greeted him: "Brother He."

He Feng smiled and nodded towards her: "It will be Bingzi's turn in a while, and as soon as the boat ahead moves, you all row the boat over."

"Okay, Brother He, don't worry."

Seeing that He Feng was about to leave, Huo Xi stopped him again: "Brother He, if there is nothing wrong with unloading the food later, can you return by yourself, or do you want to return together? Do you have any ideas?"

He Feng then said: "Before, when you were packing grain in Jiangning County, you had a bamboo stick. When handing over, you presented the bamboo stick to the supervisor, and handed over the grain on the bamboo stick. After the handover, I will give you Take a bamboo stick that has been redeemed, and you take it back to the Hebo Office for registration, and at the end of the year you can get a certain amount of fishing tax discount on this sign."

Seeing that Huo Xi nodded, he said again: "After the payment is over, you can return on your own, but the stay should not exceed the time limit. The tank boats behind are still coming to Huai'an, so don't affect the grain delivery of the tank boats behind."

"Yes, thank you Brother He Feng."

He Feng nodded to her and left by boat.

After waiting for a while, the boat ahead moved, Huo Xiyao woke up Huo Erhuai, and the father and daughter quickly rowed the boat to the pier.

"Bingzi No. [-], stop the ship."

Huo Erhuai hurriedly stopped the boat.Immediately, someone set up a gangplank on the boat, and supervisors boarded the boat to inspect the grain and check the bamboo sticks.

"Bingzi No. [-], eighty stones!"

As soon as the words fell, Huo Xi saw a dozen or so porters boarding her family's boat. Someone climbed onto the grain bag and unloaded the grain. There was a porter with his back to the grain bag, and stretched his hand behind to take the grain bag. He picked up the bag on his back, bent down again, and walked to the shore after carrying the grain.

On the wharf, a steward stuffed a bamboo chip into the porter's hand, and the porter carried the grain to the grain exchange place at the wharf.

Huo Xi saw that every porter received a bamboo chip at the pier for every bag of grain he carried.Look at the waist of the porter, there is a bag tied to it, containing several, dozens of bamboo chips.

"Xi'er, what is the bamboo stick in the porter's hand for? Is it the same as our bamboo stick?"

Huo Xi shook his head: "It should be counted. After moving the food, it will be used to settle wages with bamboo chips."

Just like when she and Yang Fu were moving goods at the wharf in the outer city, some boat owners would also give bamboo tokens to the movers, and after the shipment of goods was finished, the bamboo tokens would be used to settle the copper bills.

"Then why don't you just hand out the copper plates?" Yu Jiang was also on the Huo family's boat, very puzzled, isn't this superfluous?
"The distribution of copper coins is easy to lose. If they are lost on the way to move the goods, it will be a waste of a day. And it is not easy to settle and distribute. Those porters will finish their work in a day, take bamboo chips to the settlement window, and change the copper coins before returning home. In this way It is not easy to lose or be stolen. It is convenient for those who settle wages, and it is also convenient for porters.”

Yu Jiang nodded after listening.This trip has really gained a lot of insight.

Huo Xi turned his gaze to the pier again.

I saw those porters carrying the grain bags onto the wharf, stacking them in one place, and then the supervisors on the shore opened the grain bags one by one and poured them into the official dens.

The grain inspection officer next to him stood aside to check the quality of the grain, to see if there was any fraud, missing catties, or the grain was damp and moldy.

After the inspection of the grain, the guards will shovel up the grain, raise the chaff, and then bag the grain.

Then, according to different types of grains and different purposes, they are pulled by porters or carts to different warehouses for storage.

This is slightly different from when farmers pay grain taxes.

Both the previous dynasty and the current dynasty stipulated that farmers should not pay gold and silver when paying grain taxes, but only grain, and they should pay it themselves.Transport taxes and food to the destination by yourself, and bear the expenses and losses along the way.

Some county governments want to be greedy for taxation, so there is a word called "Linjian kicking Dendrobium".

It is to ask farmers to pour grain into the dendrobium. The official dendrobium is a vessel used by the government to measure the amount of grain.One dendrobium is ten dou, one dou is ten liters, ten dou is one stone, and one dendrobium is one stone.

When pouring grain into the dendrobium, it is only considered a "dendrobium" when the tip is piled up.

Not only that, but when the government servants collected taxes and grains, they kicked Dendrobium vigorously with their feet.In this way, the pointed part of the grain in the dendrobium will fall, and this part of the fallen grain is "loss".

This part of the loss will be put into the government's pocket openly.

So for this kick, for the peasants, if they had to pay a grain tax of one shi, they happened to bring only one shi, so it was over.It is definitely necessary to go back to get food to make up for it, or to hand over copper coins to the guards, and this is the end of the matter.

Most farmers are aware of this trick, and they will bring more wasted grain to prepare for the exploits of the servants.

And for the yamen servant, this kick is also very skillful.You can't kick too hard, kick the Hu down, and have to reload.If you kick too little, you won't be able to achieve your goal, but if you kick too much, it may arouse public resentment.

At that time, the people's grievances will boil, and if they can't be suppressed, they will be finished.

So this kick is really a technical job.

The "style" of this kick needs to be fast, precise and ruthless, short and flat.Many yamen servants need to practice before taking office.

Huo Xi also wanted to see this kind of kick, fearing being exploited, that's why she didn't follow Yang Fu and others ashore.Her house is equipped with [-] shi grains, my dear, if this is kicked, her family will have to make up a lot of lost money!

But I didn't expect that the Huai'an wharf, the supervisor and the official to inspect the grain, would not come here?

Strange.

Is it because their grain was transported by the capital?And it was escorted by the garrison of the capital?Huaian Cang dare not take action to be greedy?

Or is it only a few months since the new emperor ascended the throne, and he dare not make any big moves?

This is the first year of the new emperor's ascension to the throne, and he restarted his journey northward to collect and transport grain. The new emperor liquidated the old people from the old dynasty.

Huo Xi heaved a sigh of relief without looking at it.Otherwise, if there is no money for this journey, and you have to pay for losses, that is called an injustice.

Huo Xi was afraid that he would vomit blood all over his face.

After more than an hour, the Huo family's boat was emptied of [-] shi of grain.Huo Erhuai also got the signed bamboo strips.

The father and daughter let out a long sigh of relief.

This is the sixth day out, so it's over.

"Father, let's row the boat forward."

There are grain ships waiting to be delivered behind, so don't block the way of others.

"Hey. It's finally over. Dad is relieved after talking all the way. After a while, you and Fu'er will go to the shore for a stroll, buy some good things for your mother and Nian'er, and bring them back to make them happy. Happy."

"Well. Dad won't go with us?"

"Father wants to look at our boat, there are many good things on board."

As Huo Erhuai said, he rowed the boat forward and found a place to stop.After tying it up, I saw Yang Fu happily looking for it.

"Brother-in-law, Xi'er!"

"This Fu'er, why are you so happy? Could it be that you found a cloth merchant to collect the silk cloth?"

Huo Xi cheered up and looked towards Yang Fu.

　There are easter eggs~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)