Chapter 7 Who will you show up if you don't show up?
Chun'an County in western Zhejiang Province during the Ming Dynasty, according to official registration records, has more than 10,000 households, more than 40,000 inhabitants, and 2,600 hectares of farmland. From any angle, it can be regarded as an out-and-out small county in a remote mountainous area.
, when Fang Yingwu, who is "familiar with historical materials", is immersed in the scene, he can be forgiven for prejudging that "it's a mess here".
But at the same time, Chun'an County is indeed a strong county in the imperial examination, but scholars are concentrated in a group of scholarly families. These big families have controlled educational resources for generations and cultivated a generation of
Another generation of exam masters.
According to Wang Kui, the county's imperial examination talents mainly come from nine families. The first family is undoubtedly the Wu family in Dongyun Village, where 10% of the county's famous people come from. The others are from the Xu family in Shufu and Jinxi in the west of the county.
The Hong family, the He family in Wenchang Village in the north of the county, the Fang family in Fushan Village, the Fang family and Wang family in Fuxi in the southeast of the county, the Fang family in Jinxian River in the northeast of the county, and the Hu family in Cixi outside the west gate of the county.
Fang Yingwu stared and listened carefully, and heard three Fang families one after another. They were indeed the most popular surnames in Chun'an County. Unfortunately, those Fang families had no actual relationship with the Fang family in Shanghuaxi Village. The other Fang family was not this Fang family.
.
Like hundreds of other villages in the county, their daily life in Huaxi consists of farming, paying taxes, and serving in the military. Occasionally, talents will emerge, but they are caused by genetic mutations. For example, the largest talent that Huaxi has ever produced so far is Fang Yingwu’s father, Fang Yingwu.
In the Qing Dynasty, Mr.
Finally, Wang Kui sighed: "Most of the famous families in the county have come from these families for many years. It is difficult for those who are not within their gates to enter the county school, unless they are really talented or appreciated by the great men. The most famous one is the current prime minister.
Mr. Fu Shangge, who came from a poor family, was able to achieve three yuan in the exam, and has newly established his reputation as a businessman in the south of the county."
Fang Yingwu and Wang Kui chatted all afternoon, and they didn't leave until the sun turned to the west. Before leaving, Wang Kui praised Fang Yingwu: "My nephew is worthy of being the son of Mr. Fang. He has the ambition of an ordinary man and is determined to be his father."
Zhifeng, I’m optimistic about you!”
In fact, it was bragging, but it was interpreted as a commendable ambition, and Fang Yingwu secretly smiled bitterly. At this moment, he found that his father's image in his heart suddenly became taller and more powerful, and he no longer dared to have any resentment or look down upon his father.
It is simply unimaginable how much hard work it takes for an ordinary farmer's boy to fight his way through the "death group" in this county and gain the precious reputation of being a scholar.
You can't survive without being crazy. Without this kind of dedicated spirit, how could my father stand out and bring back a scholar to the family? The Fang family in Huaxi has never had any humanistic traditions, nor has there been any support from scholars or officials.
.
However, although scholars have a certain respectability and privileges, there is still a deep gap to be bridged between them and officials. This is a difficult problem faced by my father, and it must be the reason why my father studies so hard.
What about me now? Fang Yingwu let out a long sigh and muttered a very familiar saying in his previous life - it's hard for a newcomer to get ahead!
But Fang Yingwu has never been a person who accepts his fate easily. Otherwise, he would not have worked hard to get into a prestigious school as an orphan in his previous life. In this life, he has been blowing the big words and wants to try his best no matter what.
Through today's chat with Wang Kui, Fang Yingwu discovered that living in this isolated mountain village is really not enough. He must go out and broaden his horizons. Otherwise, if he only relies on the "historical data" in his stomach to imagine, it will be easy to end up sitting in a well and looking at the sky.
joke.
Of course, although Fang Yingwu almost made a joke, he would not admit that this was due to his strong sense of superiority.
When I returned to the courtyard, I saw my uncle scratching his head and running in circles, obviously anxious.
Fang Yingwu thought for a moment and understood his uncle's mentality. As long as the family divisions were unclear, his uncle would not be able to do farm work. Who knows whether the land will still belong to him tomorrow?
Of course, this embarrassing situation is the same for Fang Yingwu, but Fang Yingwu has enough to eat alone and the whole family is not hungry, and the worst option is to sell himself to Wang Da's family. And Fang Qingtian, the uncle who brings the family with him,
It's different. We really can't afford to waste time. If we waste these few days of farming time, the whole family will definitely starve.
When things have reached this point, I have taught my uncle enough lessons. If I continue to mess with it, I will ruin my reputation. Fang Yingwu shouted to his uncle like a winner: "I will give you two houses and five acres of land. If you agree, I will give you two houses and five acres of land tomorrow."
I went to make an appointment with my second uncle!"
There was nothing to say all night, and the next day, Fang Yingwu and his uncle went together to find his second uncle again, and asked him to be a witness. The two houses made an agreement to separate their homes. As agreed yesterday, half of the house was on one side, and the third was on the other side.
acres, two bedrooms and five acres.
Fang Yingwu got the signed piece of paper, and the housework dispute was temporarily over. But when he saw his uncle still lingering around, he knew that this uncle must have the idea of leasing the three acres of land in his hands.
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But Fang Yingwu would not rent the land to him. First of all, he really didn't like his uncle's character, and he didn't want to have any financial dealings, so as not to find trouble in the future. Who knows if he would deliberately default on the land rent by relying on his elder status?
Secondly, I don’t want to be seen as a bad person. After working hard to divide the family, if you end up renting the land to the second house, then you will be seen as too weak and easy to bully in the eyes of others. You must not let others have such an impression, otherwise who will
Everyone wants to come and take advantage.
So Fang Yingwu resolutely ignored his uncle, but he didn't want to go to the fields himself, so he quickly let the news out. In this way, three acres of land can earn about two stones and two or three buckets of rent per year, which is enough for him to feed himself.
Well, he doesn’t have to pay taxes on his land anyway.
The village is not big, so any news spreads quickly. Some people don't have enough farmland for farming, so they are naturally interested in renting the three acres of land from Fang Yingwu. But they all know that Fang Qingtian still wants to continue farming these lands, so they
Hesitated again.
Even in this remote mountain village, interpersonal relationships are a very delicate issue. Is it worth taking the risk of offending a villain in order to rent three acres of land? It needs to be carefully considered.
In the afternoon of that day, before anyone else could come to rent the land, Fang Yingwu released another message, "My family can be exempted from the corvee service of two relatives, and there is still one vacancy besides me. At the same time, my family can be exempted from the two-stone field tax, and the quota cannot be used up at all.
There is still space equivalent to one stone and seven measures of rice. From now on, whoever rents my land will be able to enjoy the above two court privileges in the name of my relatives and tenants!"
In the evening, Fang Yingwu became a favorite, surrounded by enthusiastic uncles of the same race, who crowded into his room.
In the end, it was agreed that three acres of land would be cut into small tofu cubes and rented to four relatives. Among these four people, one would be exempted from military service this year, and the other three would share the tax-free quota of one stone and seven dollars.
But what is very unusual is that the land rent is as high as 70%, but everyone is very willing.
Because Fang Yingwu divided the two-ton tax-free quota given by the imperial court to his family, except for the three buckets he kept for himself, and distributed it all to several relatives. After Fang Yingwu's dazzling and precise calculations, which were as if they were written in heaven, he came up with the 70% land rent.
This is the most beneficial way of sharing for both parties.
The interests of both parties can be said to be maximized. Several relatives rented three acres of land in the name of tenants. For each mu of land, Fang Yingwu was given an extra three dou of land rent, but in exchange for six dou of tax exemption, a blind man could see that it was a good deal.
Yes. By the way, several families have to take turns taking care of Fang Yingwu’s food.
In short, Fang Yingwu transfers the tax-free quota to others, and the beneficiary pays Fang Yingwu half of the profit as a reward. However, this behavior is relatively gray and belongs to exploiting system loopholes. For this reason, the Ming court rarely
One labor force and one stone and seven dollars in taxes.
This made uncle Fang Qingtian very angry. Why didn't he think of operating tax-free quotas in this way? He wasted eight years on the excess tax-free quotas that could not be used up.
If there are any consequences, it is that this family separation has made the whole village look at each other with admiration. Don't say this is a small matter, in ordinary people's lives, family separation is already one of the biggest things, and it is very easy.
Tangled up.
From the beginning when he was in a weak position, he overcame his uncle, and finally shared the favor of the court with the villagers, sharing the interests. Fang Yingwu's ability and ability, as well as his shrewdness and ability to make a profit, all left a deep impression on the villagers.
Everyone just thinks that Brother Qiu is worthy of being the son of a scholar. He is very talented at a young age, unlike villagers like them. He is knowledgeable, has ideas, knows how to do things, and can handle things. He is definitely a standout person in this village!
Fang Yingwu smiled at the flattery of his neighbors and impressed a few villagers and women in a remote mountainous village. There was nothing to be proud of.
After completing the matter of dividing the family and leasing the fields, Fang Yingwu completely relaxed and had a good sleep. The next morning, he leisurely walked around the village and at the same time went to the neighboring village Wang Kui.
The latest version of the county annals was borrowed there.
After reading this county chronicle, he planned to go to the county town. On the one hand, he was trying to find the county school to ask for his father's grain, and he could get as much as he could; on the other hand, he was going to visit the local customs and prepare for the future.
prepare for.
After another nap in the afternoon, Fang Yingwu saw that the weather was fine, so he planned to study in the courtyard outside. When he walked into the courtyard, he found seven or eight fellow villagers blocking the gate.
When the villagers who blocked the door saw Fang Yingwu coming out, they all shouted: "My dear husband, something is wrong!"
"Uncles, what's the matter?" Fang Yingwu stepped forward and asked.
The villagers replied: "A few government officials came from the county and arrested people in the village. They were very domineering. I will ask my husband to go and have a look!"
Fang Yingwu almost blurted out, "The government officials are here to arrest people, so what are you doing with me? What does it have to do with me?" But he held it back, "What do you need me for, uncles?"
Everyone said matter-of-factly: "My dear husband, you are a man of great ability. If something happens to the village, if you don't come forward, who will?"
Fang Yingwu suddenly understood that these villagers at the bottom may not have great wisdom, but they will never lack the cleverness to survive.
To put it bluntly, it means to hold yourself up high and push yourself out to solve problems, such as the current problem of county government officials coming to the village to arrest people. This is the survival wisdom that the people at the bottom have become accustomed to.
When they encounter problems, they always want to find a leader who can take care of things. Without a leader, they don’t know how to handle things, so they would rather suffer some injustice.
Of course, those who are usually sought are either wealthy people or gentry, but the small village of Shanghuaxi does not have either of these two. The second uncle, who is the oldest, is also an old fool. It just so happens that he has been very eye-catching recently, like a useful person, and a dignified scholar.
He was the son of the husband, so they approached him to come forward.
For thousands of years, ordinary people have been here like this. Of course, there are also times when someone is unkind. For example, if a leader rises up and shouts, there are many cases where he is dragged into rebellion without knowing it.
So what if he sees through it? The villagers all thought that this was because they thought highly of themselves, so they placed their hopes on him. Since you have the ability, who will step forward if you don't show up? Whether it can be done is a matter of ability, and whether it can be done is a matter of attitude.
If he ignores and pretends to be deaf and mute, he is afraid that he will not be able to meet people in the village in the future. Fang Yingwu is dumbfounded. Doesn't this force him to take responsibility and drive him away?
The biggest difference between this year and the twenty-first century lies in the concept of people's hearts. He has fully realized that another meaning of standing out from the crowd is that the tree is more beautiful than the forest. This hole was dug by himself.
County yamen servants are often vicious, cunning and oppressive people, and I don't know if I can handle them.