During the season when sweet-scented osmanthus blooms in Shunde County, fish sellers all over the streets use donkey carts to pull wooden barrels, shouting "fat and fresh fish" and sell through the streets.

"Brother Xiaoyi, are you coming back from the county town? There are plenty of sweet-scented osmanthus fish this year. How many fish can you pick out?"

"Come back!" Zhang Xiaoyi cupped his hands perfunctorily, and while answering the neighbor's questions, he frowned and hurried home. The neighbor looked at his hurried appearance, raised a smile at the corner of his mouth and said, "Hey! Money is hard, Brother Yi!" The word "oh" has an upward pronunciation, as if it is provocative.

Zhang Xiaoyi turned a deaf ear and entered the dark door on his own. The butler Zhang Gui greeted him and looked at him with questioning eyes. Seeing that Zhang Xiaoyi had no intention of talking to him, he reported the matter and said, "Master Qiao knows, Father Qiao." Jia Ping'an'er has just been polishing the spinner here for a long time, and he has to wait for the master. When I asked him what happened, he said that the matter in Guangzhou was over, and Dad Qiao asked the master to come over and sit down when he is free tomorrow."

Zhang Xiaoyi nodded to indicate that he understood, looked at Zhang Gui and asked, "Will uncle come home?"

Zhang Gui hurriedly replied: "My uncle has been here for a while. He is in the old lady's room." Zhang Xiaoyi first took the hand towel he handed over and wiped his head and face, then told him: "There are fish sellers outside, go and pick a few. It's fat. Once it's trimmed, I'll let my uncle take it with him when he leaves."

Zhang Gui agreed and went out. Zhang Xiaoyi walked quickly and reached the main room where his mother lived.

Standing at the door, Zhang Xiaoyi took a deep breath, stood solemnly and said to the room: "Mother, my son is back."

Mrs. Wu heard in the room: "Come in quickly! Your uncle is here too."

Zhang Xiaoyi opened the curtain and met his uncle Wu Yun before entering. Wu Yun waited for Zhang Xiaoyi to sit down and then asked: "Xiao Yi, what do you think Mr. Sun said?"

Zhang Xiaoyi took a sip of tea and said with a wry smile: "Master Sun didn't say anything. The new magistrate of Wang County heard someone say that his nephew was in the sixth room, so he sent someone to call his nephew." Wu Yun heard this and leaned forward and said : "I heard that this county magistrate came back from Myanmar and was a scholar, but he was vulgar. Is this true?"

Zhang Xiaoyi shook his head and said: "Uncle, please don't listen to Dong Heng's nonsense! This Mr. Wang County is a ruthless character! This man has no airs about his officialdom at all, but in a few words he explained the income and expenditure of our factory accurately."

Wu Yun frowned when he heard this. He crossed his thumb, index and middle fingers, looked at his nephew and asked, "Can you——?"

Zhang Xiaoyi smiled bitterly and said: "I first called me poor because the Buttercup Silk Factory closed down the year before last and we were hit by famine. I have earned a few dollars in the past two years and paid off my debts. If the tax doubled, I would have no choice but to suffer." Later he said I offered some sponsorship to the county, but he waved it down."

Speaking of this, he imitated the accent of Wang Zhixian with a worried look on his face and said: "I know the situation of Xiandi's family! But the pilot project in Guangdong was just an imperial edict from the imperial court. It was urgently urged, but there was nothing we could do about it. Zhang Xiandi's The Silk Cutting Factory is one of the best in Shunde, so I set an example and I will definitely be rewarded."

Mrs. Wu heard her son's imitating words and spat: "It sounds polite and nice. What can he give in return? I gave him a lot of money, but he is a good person. He only made us suffer."

When Wu Yun heard about it, he looked at his sister and said with a smile: "Your strange illness has only been cured for half a year, so don't get angry again. Even if the tax is doubled, your family will still make money - it's not hard to say."

After saying that, Wu Yun said to Zhang Xiaoyi: "I wonder what the reward that Mr. Wang said is?"

Zhang Xiaoyi sighed and said: "It is said that if the taxes are paid in full, we will be given a plaque saying 'It is an honor to pay taxes' to light up the lintel of the door. He also said that if our family's reputation is not bad, we will be given the title of 'virtuous squire' next year. You can enter the county council to discuss affairs."

Wu Yun smiled and interjected: "This county council started doing it after the big reform. After so many years, I haven't heard of any member taking advantage. Instead, they took more out of the house to repair bridges and roads, and when giving soup and medicine - —But it’s true that you have a good reputation, and it can also boost your family’s reputation.”

Zhang Xiaoyi frowned and said, "What's the use of those false names? My nephew did a detailed calculation yesterday. If our silk-cutting factory keeps the raw materials and ex-factory price unchanged, it will need to pay an extra thousand and fifty dollars per year according to the new tax system."

Mrs. Wu on the side was startled. She choked a mouthful of tea in her throat and started coughing desperately. Zhang Xiaoyi quickly stood up and asked Annan's maid who was standing aside to pat her mother's back gently. Mrs. Wu coughed for a while and turned red. He sighed heavily and said, "We work hard, and this is what we can make in a year. Who will do anything after paying taxes?"

Zhang Xiaoyi couldn't laugh or cry and said, "Don't worry, mother. The thousand and a half I mentioned are silver dollars, not silver taels." After hearing this, Mrs. Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that her mother had calmed down, Zhang Xiaoyi frowned and continued: "The county official said that as long as the tax is paid in full, all the 'miscellaneous factions' and 'shared factions' will be eliminated. I have calculated that this can save sixty-six dollars a year." Seven hundred - I just don’t know how far he can go.”

After hearing this, Wu Yun frowned and sighed: "It's hard! Last month, Mr. Song Xunzong went to the county for inspection. That day, the three-foot-tall old county official sent a post to my house. I got one fresh pig and two fresh sheep. , six jars of fruit wine, twenty kilograms of first-class Dahongpao, four knives of gold paper, sixteen taels of silver - the county welcomed and sent them, it was us merchants who contributed money and effort, could it be that after the tax was paid, these posts not coming?"

Zhang Xiaoyi nodded, took the words and said with a smile: "That's what my uncle said. It was also last month. When Liu Tixing came to the county, he made sure to stay in Chunfeng Building - in this tea circle, drinking flower wine can help investigate the case. It’s surprising. What Mr. Xia Xia did is even more ridiculous. He sent a message to his nephew and said that his nephew’s home has a silk-cutting factory. The miscellaneous sweat towels cost 160 square meters. The sesame seeds cost gold and the purple grape color dropped. Sichuan damask, gold and emeralds pierced with flowers and phoenixes, pearls and eight broken pearls, etc., totaling eight styles of twenty square meters each - it cost my nephew about thirty taels."

Before Zhang Xiaoyi could finish speaking, both the Wu siblings couldn't stop laughing. Wu spat hard on the ground and said: "A gentleman sees money like a fly sees blood - if the tax system is changed, let them not eat this garbage." acres of land, but the sun is coming out in the west!"

After she finished laughing, she sighed again: "Well, they say that in this peaceful and prosperous age, the Great Reform is good. We can live together with our mother and father, and we won't have such troubles now! The emperor will attack Annan today and tomorrow. Myanmar—all wants us to pay for it, but it has never seen any benefit!"

Wu Yun had a strange look on his face when he heard this. He looked at the Annan maid standing behind Wu and smiled without saying a word. Seeing her brother looking behind her, Wu blushed and said, "Although this slave is cheap, he is clumsy and clumsy. I don’t know how many household items she broke into pieces!” After saying that, he glanced at the little girl and said, “Someday, I’ll find someone to sell you to!” The little girl was so frightened that she knelt down and kowtowed, her head shaking like a rattle. , Wu Yun and Zhang Xiaoyi both laughed.

After laughing for a while, Wu Yun lowered his voice and said to Zhang Xiaoyi: "I heard that there are scholars in the government who are instigating a strike. Is there any movement in the county?"

Zhang Xiaoyi's face turned serious, and he shook his head and said: "I didn't hear what they said. But I heard from Section Chief Sun of the sixth room that our new county magistrate was very ruthless when he was in Myanmar - his head can build up a whole city. He

He brought a companion with the surname Huo, and as soon as he took office, he fired the official Ma Dian and made this person named Huo the official."

When Wu Yun heard this, he was surprised and said: "Although the official is not a high-ranking official, he is still registered in the Ministry of Personnel. How did this companion get an official status?"

Zhang Xiaoyi said: "This guy surnamed Huo has worked with him for five years in Burma. Is it not easy to get an official position in Burma? I hate that my nephew didn't have that knowledge back then, otherwise he would have been an official. How much better than ordinary people would he be?"

Angry."

When Wu Yun heard this, he couldn't help but digress: "I can't help but envy you. You only saw them eating meat, but you didn't see them being beaten - how many people have died in Myanmar over the years? I read the newspaper a few days ago, saying that officials were killed somewhere in Myanmar.

They rebelled and tied the Han people to the riverbank to feed mosquitoes, and the county magistrate was bitten to death by mosquitoes."

When Wu heard this, she was so frightened that she recited the Buddha's name. Wu Yun changed the subject again and said: "I wonder what the court is so anxious about? The new tax law was only published in the newspapers in May, saying it was to solicit public opinion. It was trialled in Guangdong within four months -

Our province is also unlucky because we can always be the first to take the lead in everything. When Zhang Heizi got a whip, we were among the first."

Zhang Xiaoyi smiled and said: "Who said we have a lot of money? In the past few years, they said that the imperial tax and taxes should be given to the southeast - in fact, we in Guangdong and Fujian are the ones who have the most money, and the imperial court knows everything."

Wu Yun whispered again: "What Xiao Yi is talking about is. I heard that the emperor wanted to set up a tax bureau in order to collect taxes. There are national taxes and local taxes, and there are tax soldiers. These soldiers were trained by Yu Dayou in Lianghuai.

——The newspaper said that resisting taxes is a violation of national law—I don’t know what kind of national law it is, but in the future I am afraid that people will have their homes raided and their heads executed.”
Chapter completed!