UGB Chapter 33 still needs training
Chapter 33 still needs training
Chu Xun was puzzled. His suggestion was intended to eliminate lazy people and ensure a good harvest.
For local officials, collecting and remitting grain production to the national treasury each year was one of the criteria for evaluating their performance.
Especially now that the emperor values people's livelihood the most, repairing bridges and roads for hundreds of miles may not necessarily make a difference in paying more taxes and grain.
Tang Shijun noticed his confusion and patiently explained, "If this opens a door, people can secretly join forces with others to drive out tenants and seize land. It will be difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Even if the truth is distinguished, it will cause panic and unrest among the people."
"These refugees have just arrived in this county and have just obtained land. I want to keep them here so that they can settle down in the future. Therefore, I have to endure the short-term pain."
"I understand your grievances, but a six-year term is a six-year term and cannot be changed!"
Chu Xun had already understood that the county magistrate didn't care whether it was true or false; he just wanted to maintain stability.
Even if they knew those vagrants were scoundrels, they couldn't be punished.
Punishing these individuals would cause resentment among other refugees.
Chu Xun sought immediate bountiful harvests from the fields, while Tang Shijun sought that six years later, the displaced people would no longer want to leave Zhangnan County.
One seeks what is near, the other seeks what is far.
There is no right or wrong, it's just that people in different positions have different perspectives on things.
However, Tang Shijun understood Chu Xun quite well, knowing that he was a promising young man and would not deliberately frame someone for a few acres of land.
Seeing that Chu Xun remained silent, he said, "If the land of those three people is left to fall into disuse because of this, I will privately reduce the wasteland tax for you. There is no need to worry."
Refuse what should be refused, and win over what should be won over.
Although this county magistrate was young, he was not completely ignorant of the ways of officialdom.
He was quite adept at navigating social interactions.
Chu Xun shook his head and said, "This is inappropriate."
Tang Shijun raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking that Chu Xun was too arrogant and insisted on punishing those refugees.
Before he could even feel displeasure, he heard Chu Xun say, "What I said earlier was short-sighted. I only thought about this year's bountiful harvest and didn't consider the county's fortune next year."
"Your words have awakened me from my dream. I feel ashamed and cannot allow you to break the laws of the court again."
"Those few acres of land, the common people will hire others to do the work. Even if it's truly abandoned, they will definitely pay the wasteland tax, not a penny less!"
Tang Shijun's brows gradually relaxed, and a slight smile appeared on his face.
"I underestimated you. No wonder you have such a fortune at such a young age. Given time, Zhangnan County may not be able to hide a shallow-water dragon like you."
"From now on, don't refer to yourself as a commoner in front of me. They can't compare to you."
Chu Xun said politely, "It's all thanks to you, sir. I have no more doubts in my heart. I'll take my leave now."
"I'll see you off."
"You're too kind, sir."
Tang Shijun saw Chu Xun off at the door. Although he hadn't left the county government office, it was already a high-level treatment for someone of his status.
Looking across the entire Zhangnan County, very few people can enjoy such an honor.
Officials are officials, and ordinary people are ordinary people; they are worlds apart.
Zheng Xiuwen, a tall, thin clerk who happened to be reporting on business, came over to the scene and asked curiously, "Was that Chu Zhongbin just now? It's such a great honor that Your Excellency personally saw him off."
Tang Shijun smiled faintly and said, "This person has both ambition and ability. He can be a help in the future. It's no problem to give him some face."
After a pause, Tang Shijun continued, "It's just that this matter has wronged him a bit. Other families may be in similar situations, and we need to find a way to appease them."
Zheng Xiuwen said, "I am but a humble countryman, why should you be so formal, sir?"
Tang Shijun shook his head: "You only see their lowly status, but you don't understand the principle that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."
------
Upon returning, Chu Xun, as promised, hired several people to do odd jobs, asking them to help cut grass, plow, and sow seeds in the abandoned fields.
However, before they had even finished half of the work, Wang Erlai and his two companions arrived again.
Holding bricks in his hand, he menacingly drove away the day laborers.
Then, speaking harshly to Chu Xun, who was standing on the edge of the field, she said, "This is the land we rented. It hasn't been six years yet, how can we allow others to trample on it? If there's no harvest this year, it's all your own fault, you can't blame anyone else!"
Several migrant workers were furious. "We give you land and money, but you don't farm properly."
Now that the employer is asking us to help, it will cost us extra money.
Not only are you ungrateful, but you've also been verbally abusive. You really don't know what's good for you!
If Chu Xun gave the order, they wouldn't be unwilling to take action and teach these people a lesson.
However, Chu Xun did not do so. When he saw Wang Erlai and the other two blocking him, he told the laborers to go back.
Seeing this, Wang Erlai and his two companions assumed that Chu Xun had become cowardly, and their laughter grew even more rampant.
"You want to take my land without paying? No way!"
Several day laborers, still indignant, ran over to Chu Xun and said, "Master, why must you be so tolerant? Even if these three scoundrels are beaten to death, the county government might not care."
Chu Xun shook his head and said, "No rush. The cycle of karma will bring its own retribution. It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet."
The day laborers didn't understand what he was thinking, and seeing his attitude, they had no choice but to give up.
After that, every now and then, Chu Xun would bring day laborers to try to cultivate the land, but each time he would be stopped by Wang Erlai and others.
After two or three years, he stopped going.
Wang Erlai and his gang used this as a source of pride. So what if you own a hundred acres of fertile land? You have nothing to lose. You'll still be humiliated in front of us.
Zhang Anxiu was furious when she heard about this.
If Chu Xun hadn't stopped her, she would have definitely led the village's strong men to settle scores with those three ruffians.
Zhang Anxiu never understood her husband's tolerance.
Chu Xun didn't explain much, and when asked questions, he only said one thing: "It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't arrived yet."
Zhang Anxiu understood, but when exactly would be the right time?
Shortly afterward, the county government issued a decree.
For all land leased by displaced people, taxes and grain levies will be waived for three years.
In this way, Chu Xun saved a lot of money by renting out dozens of acres of land.
The more land one owns, the more advantageous one becomes.
Although Magistrate Tang Shijun did not say it explicitly, Chu Xun understood that this was to compensate for the losses caused by lazy and idle people among the refugees who had neglected their fields.
Even Zhang Anxiu, who had been fuming earlier, stopped saying anything.
Two more years passed, and it was the twenty-sixth year of the Jing Kingdom.
spring.
A small vegetable garden has been cultivated in one corner of the courtyard.
Chu Xun made a hand seal, and a fine drizzle fell from a radius of about one meter.
The ground beneath my feet was damp, and several plants sprouted new buds, growing to about a foot tall.
Several field mice emerged from the soil, chirping as they looked up to greet the rain falling from the sky.
A sound came from my feet. I looked down and saw a small weasel, about two inches long, scurrying past my feet.
It raised its paws and then licked the rainwater, which contained a very faint spiritual energy, with its pink tongue.
As if sensing Chu Xun's gaze, it looked up and then ran to his feet and rubbed against him affectionately.
Chu Xun couldn't help but laugh. He didn't know which litter of weasels this was, but it was the youngest and also the boldest.
Other weasels would at most wander around outside the gate; if they wanted to catch a drizzle, they had to go to the fields.
Unlike it, which knew that Chu Xun often made it rain in the courtyard, it would often come uninvited.
Those little field mice were also brought by him, and they even made their home in the yard.
Although weasels have clean fur that doesn't feel prickly to the touch, their rear ends are incredibly smelly.
Zhang Anxiu only refrained from actively chasing away the weasel family because they had brought her good things before, but she never touched them either.
Ignoring the little creatures, Chu Xun turned his gaze to the plants in the vegetable garden.
These are seeds brought to us by the field mice the year we got married.
After several years of planting, it has been determined that the two plants are rice and black beans.
However, the quality is much better than ordinary rice, and the rice ears grown are long and plump.
If all of them could be planted in the fields, the yield could increase by at least 50%.
As for black beans, they are rarely seen near Songguo Village.
This plant is extremely adaptable, drought-resistant and can thrive in poor soil. In addition, it can improve soil fertility during its growth.
Rotating crops with rice can increase crop yields.
Although it is not a staple food and is not high-yielding, it is a good choice whether it is to improve soil fertility through crop rotation of beans and grains, to make bean porridge to supplement nutrition, or to use bean stalks and pods to feed cattle.
Therefore, Chu Xun has been carefully cultivating the beans over the past few years, and now he has accumulated a lot of bean seeds. He is just waiting for the quantity to be sufficient before he can plant them.