Kai Fu Han

Chapter 139
Liu Xinqi continued to say to Lu Ren:

"The Inspectorate is also very important. Grain reserves have always been a place where corruption is most likely to occur. This requires effective supervision by the Inspectorate to reduce the loss of public assets of the Xinghan League. If we don't have enough manpower, you can borrow it from Xu Zhong, and I will tell him I will fully cooperate with you."

"Thank you, Alliance Leader, for your support." Lu Ren stood up again to accept the order.

……

July [-]st, Chen hour.

Liu Lizhen came to Beiqin Village to the west of Penglai City. Today he is responsible for collecting and guarding summer grain in this village.
A summer grain collection point has been set up in the village entrance square of Beiqin Village.

The people from the tax department sit behind the table at the summer grain collection point, register the summer grains handed in by each family, and issue tax payment certificates.

There were officials from other departments and soldiers from the infantry battalion nearby to help.

This year's summer grain collection, in order to reduce the burden on the people, the Xinghan League set collection points in each village.

In fact, even if one of the current tax officials of the Xinghan League is responsible for one village, they cannot cover the entire Penglai County at once, so they can only start with the villages to the west of Penglai City.

For this summer grain collection, the entire government of the Xinghan League was mobilized, and all officials who could be spared were transferred to the summer grain collection work.

Those who are literate can do some work such as recording and weighing, while the illiterate big-headed soldiers guard the collection points and also help with some labor work within their capabilities.

Liu Lizhen didn't have to participate in these tasks, but all his new soldiers were transferred away to guard the food collection point or escort the tax and grain. He had nothing to do, so he simply came down to take a look.

Watching these villagers leave their homes, they can reach the tax collection point and hand over the tax grains within a short distance of walking. In most portals, the tax can be paid with one or two bags of grain without the need for a car.

Seeing this, Liu Lizhen couldn't help but think of his life in Liujiabao, Qizhou. Every year, the Liujiabao family was required to mobilize to deliver food.The tax food of the whole family needs to be loaded into hundreds of wheelbarrows, and the tax food can be transported to the tax collection point in the city at one time.

This is because the Liujiabao ethnic group is large, and there are people in the county. The official gave them a discount, so they could pay for their own food.Like those in small villages and villages, if grain collectors come to collect grain, there will inevitably be a lot of losses.

"You are so lucky. You have come across a good world." Liu Lizhen said to an old man in front of him. This old man had little land. He only had three acres of dry land to his name. He only paid half a bag of grain to pay the tax. He took the tax certificate issued by the tax clerk. After receiving the tax payment certificate, I stood there in disbelief, a little dazed.

"Liu Qingzhen is the reborn parent of us people." The old man had suffered a lifetime of hardships, but in the end he encountered such a good thing that had not happened in a thousand years. He was so excited that he couldn't help but kneel on the ground and headed towards Penglai City. Kowtowed.

Liu Lizhen hurriedly stepped forward to help him up: "Elder, you must not do this. Our alliance leader cannot bear your great gift."

"I can't bear it. I thought I would not be able to survive this year alone. I don't know when I would starve to death. Now looking at the hundreds of kilograms of grain in the grain urn, every day feels like a dream." The old man was helped After getting up, he still kept mumbling.

"What's your surname, elder?" Both of them had nothing to do, so they simply walked aside to chat so that the people queuing behind could continue to pay for their food.

"What's expensive or not? The old man's life couldn't be more cheap. The old man's surname is Qin Mingmu. Sir, you can just call me Mr. Qin." Old Man Qin replied.

"Seeing that you are older than me, I will call you Brother Qin. My surname is Liu, so you can just call me Brother Liu." Liu Lizhen said, and then asked: "Why is there only one person left in the family?"

"There were originally five people in the family. My wife passed away the year before last. The youngest daughter got sick when she was seven years old and could not survive. The eldest son was drafted into the militia by Penglai County. When the Dengzhou Navy uprising, he and the Dengzhou Navy were in Penglai. He died in the battle in Hong Kong, and the second brother was later conscripted. He said he was going to Jinan to answer the order, but now there is no news." Old Qin said this very calmly, especially when talking about the Battle of Penglai Port, there was no Resentment.Liu Lizhen was a little surprised when he heard that Old Qin's eldest son was killed by the Xinghan League, and asked: "Brother Zhuang, don't you hate us?"

When Old Man Qin heard this question, his excitement finally calmed down. He was silent for a while and then slowly said: "Why don't you hate me? I hated you so much before that you wanted to go to the city to avenge your son."

"But there is still a second son in the family, and I don't even know who killed my son, so I just let it go."

"Later, my second son was drafted and went to Jinan to answer the decree, and then Penglai was occupied by the Xinghan League. Then one good governance was implemented one after another. I gradually understood that it was not you who were wrong, but the world."

"Now I just hope that you can win until the end, save this world, and let my poor second son, if he comes back, be able to live a peaceful life."

Old man Qin said that he broke down in tears at the end. It was very painful to live alone.

Liu Lizhen couldn't help but think that if the second son hadn't received any bad news, the old man would probably have killed himself long ago.

"You have to live well. Maybe your second son will come back that day. By then, we can rent twenty or thirty acres of public land from the Xinghan League, have enough food and clothing, and marry a wife. There is still hope for you to become a grandson." ." Liu Lizhen comforted.

"Hopefully, this is my old man's only thought." Old Qin said, but there was not much hope in his tone.

Since ancient times, one's life cannot be controlled by one's own control when one goes to the battlefield, and now it happens to be a time of trouble.

In the era of cold weapons, medical conditions were poor, and a small incision could be fatal. There was not much hope for the second son of Old Qin Qin to come back safely.

……

"Some people reported just now that a landlord in this village still forcibly collected [-]% of the land rent from his tenants, and he still hasn't paid the summer tax up to now, and he previously asked his tenants to pay for the cultivated land he leased. Tax." An official reported next to Liu Lizhen.

"How many households of tenants are involved?" Liu Lizhen stopped chatting with Old Man Qin and asked.

"This landowner has 430 acres of arable land. His family cultivates 410 acres, and the other [-] acres are rented to [-] households of landless people."

"Did you find out what his background is?" Liu Lizhen was a little confused. He only owned more than 400 acres of land, so he was not considered a big landowner.

"I haven't heard of any background." The official replied, and continued: "But I heard from the people that this landlord is a prodigal son. Three years after the old landlord passed away, the new landlord lost nearly a thousand acres of his family's land. Down to 430 mu."

"Looks like he's a fool." Liu Lizhen said with a confirmed expression.

"Let's go meet him."

After saying that, Liu Lizhen removed a team of ten people from the guards at the scene, and the officials led the way to the landlord's house who was resisting the tax.

(End of this chapter)