Chapter 1198: Coming to Big Bird Village Again
The conscription was in full swing, causing a stir in Yuanlu.
When the poor people heard the consultation, they just said "oh" and continued doing what they were doing, as they were used to it.
When the wealthy families heard about the conscription, they wanted to find someone to replace them according to the previous default rules. However, the head of the neighborhood and the village head severely warned them that they could not find someone to replace them privately this time.
If you want to avoid labor service, there is only one way, which is to go to the yamen in person and pay the "labor assistance silver".
When the rich man heard this, he immediately went after the head of the neighborhood and the village chief to ask questions, and secretly cursed the government office.
In the past, if you didn't want to serve in the army, you had to pay 5 taels of silver to the government office.
If you pay 5 taels a year, you can still pay it with gritted teeth, but there are two conscriptions a year, so you have to pay 10 taels.
The government doesn't want to rob?
Smart people have long thought about problems beyond the problem itself.
It would be better to find someone to replace the servant privately, paying 5 taels a year, and a bunch of poor men would come to replace him. Some could even find replacements for only 3 or 2 taels.
It greatly reduces the burden on families who do not want to serve in the military, and at the same time creates jobs.
The families of those who substitute for the service only earn a few taels of silver a year, and they wish that rich people would not go to serve and let them take their place.
Now that the government has directly blocked this road, it would be a lie to say that no one has any complaints.
Then the head of the village and the village chief said that the farming tax would be reduced from 5 taels to 4 taels.
He also said that those who did not want to serve in the army should go to the government office to register as soon as possible, so as not to miss the payment deadline and have to serve in the army.
Hearing that the additional tax was one tael less than usual, everyone couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
But secretly he still cursed the yamen officials a thousand times and ten thousand times, making them pay more money for nothing.
Sun Shan doesn't care what the people think.
At this moment, I appeared in Da Niao Village, and saw a group of villagers kneeling tremblingly in front of me.
Sun Shan smiled and said, "Everyone, please stand up."
Actually, I want to say: Hi, folks, long time no see, how are you doing recently?
The village chief led a group of villagers to stand up tremblingly. They glanced at Sun Shan, who was wearing a green official robe, and their hearts were pounding.
Emma, I never thought that the short, thin and weak old man turned out to be a high-ranking official.
I always thought he was special and different from everyone else, but I didn't expect he was actually a local official.
Emma, I'm so scared and excited at the same time, what should I do?
Sun Shan stepped forward, gently helped the village chief up, smiled slightly, and said in a modest manner: "Village chief, how are you? How are you these days?"
The village chief was gently lifted up, and his whole body shook even more.
I tried hard to recall when Lord Sun went on a secret visit. Did I offend him? Did the villagers offend him?
After thinking about it again and again, I realized that not only did I not offend him, I also treated him well.
So Lord Sun definitely didn't come here for revenge this time.
Thinking of this, my heart calmed down a little.
The village chief replied tremblingly: "My dear parents, I am fine."
After a pause, he added: "The villagers, the villagers, are also very good."
After hearing this, Sun Shan nodded and said, "As long as you are fine."
Then he smiled and said, "We came here for the bird droppings in the back mountain. Big Bird Village is closest to the bird droppings pit. So this place used to be bustling with people coming and going. Village chief, you should be prepared."
Speaking of the guano pit, the village chief has never understood what it is used for.
Sun Shan had sent people over before to ask them to keep an eye out for strangers and check on the situation at the bird droppings pit on the back mountain.
If there is anything special, report it to the government office.
During this period, two groups of strangers came to Da Niao Village and asked them to lead the way to see the bird droppings on the back mountain. They also said that they were sent by the government.
The villagers were naive and actually saw them wearing yamen runners' uniforms, so they took them to the back mountain.
No one came since then.
The village chief asked curiously, "Sir, what is the use of bird droppings?"
Not only Sun Shan came today, but also County Magistrate Wang, Chief Secretary Wu, and even Teacher Deng brought a group of students to visit.
The entire Big Bird Village was packed with people.
This is probably the busiest day since the establishment of Da Niao Village. There are more people and it is noisier than when a daughter gets married or a son gets married.
The village chief and villagers didn’t know what was going on. Why did so many powerful and wealthy people come?
Sun Shan smiled and said, "This bird droppings is a good thing. If we use it as fertilizer, we can harvest a few more bushels of rice from our fields.
The village chief was about to retort, thinking back to when he had put bird droppings in the fields, which resulted in the death of the seedlings.
If you ask the village chief to imagine that bird droppings can be used as fertilizer, he would never believe it.
Sun Shan immediately knew what the village chief was going to say, so he didn't give him a chance to speak: "Village chief, that's because you don't know how to use it. After the government's research, this bird droppings is a good thing. You will know it later."
Then he held the village chief's hand tightly and said, "Village chief, you have known me for a while, and you know what kind of person I am. If I say that bird droppings can be used, then it must be useful. I never speak nonsense."
Sun Shan's words were so powerful that the village chief had to believe him.
Sun Shan had said before that Xiao Yazi’s father could only live for half a year, or at most a year.
Sure enough, half a year later, Xiao Yazi's father passed away, and the prophecy came true.
I heard that scholars know everything. Mr. Sun is not only able to be an official, but also a doctor. Maybe bird droppings can really be used.
The village chief nodded seriously and said, "Sir, you are right. You are so capable, there is nothing you can't do. If I had met you earlier, my crops wouldn't have been burned to death."
Sun Shan couldn't help laughing when he saw the village chief's sad face.
He looked at the pairs of curious eyes again and saw many familiar faces were secretly looking at Sun Shan.
When some of the little kids' eyes accidentally met Sun Shan's, they were so scared that they hid behind their father and mother's backs.
Sun Shan was in a good mood seeing this.
The next morning, Sun Shan put on casual clothes and led a group of officials, teachers and students into the mountains.
There were more people leading the team this time. Villagers of all ages came in and followed the village chief.
Gui Ge'er said cheerfully, "Brother Shan, these villagers are really gossipy. They must have followed him just to watch the fun."
Sun Dali keeps his eyes and ears open, always paying attention to the crowd.
He led his brothers to surround Sun Shan and said with a smile: "Brother Gui, the villagers in our Sunjia Village are all the same. Haha, when encountering such a big event, they will definitely come to take a look."
Sun Dingnan said with regret: "It would be great if there was a big guano pit behind the mountain in our Sunjia Village. Alas, it's a pity that there is nothing on our mountain, not even many wild fruits. You live by the mountain and you live by the water. Sunjia Village has nothing to rely on. We can only eat porridge and sweet potatoes."
Then he continued, "Fortunately, there are scholars in our Sunjia Village. Haha, our lives are much better now.
The scholar here of course refers to Sun Shan.
This made Sunjia Village a well-known village of Jinshi in the surrounding area.
Sun Shan followed the village chief and the villagers and crawled along with difficulty. It was even more difficult for the county magistrate Wang, the chief minister Wu, and the weak scholars Deng Jiaoyu who were behind him.
At this moment they really regretted following along out of curiosity.
With such towering mountains and steep cliffs, it’s no wonder that roads had to be built immediately.
If there is no road, there is no way to transport it out even if there is gold and silver inside.