Winning the examination was a great joy. After the excitement of the exam passed, Liu Quan hurriedly went to a shop to buy some good tea.
Nowadays, my husband is also a person of status, and distinguished guests will inevitably visit the house. As for the cheap tea that my mother-in-law bought for cheap, how can I have the nerve to serve it to the guests?
You should change it to something better!
Oh, I guessed it correctly and bought the right tea.
Starting from the next day, there was an endless stream of guests coming and going at home, and the good tea really came in handy.
There are all kinds of people coming, and there are all kinds of people.
There are petty officials from the government office, as well as teachings, instructions, and classmates from the government school. There are even some "relatives" who are out of reach, and they also come over to recognize their relatives.
Of course, they didn't come empty-handed, they all came with congratulatory gifts.
Liu Quan had no choice but to learn to be reserved and treat each other with courtesy.
In particular, I haven’t learned the ritual of folding my hands. Should I press it to the left? Or to the right?
Forget it, forget it, just follow the same example, and no one will blame you anyway.
However, Mrs. Zhou quietly ran into the storage room. After seeing more and more gifts piled up, she felt extremely happy.
She also told her daughter-in-law in private which family had more gifts, which family had less gifts, and whose gifts were shoddy.
In fact, Liu Quan had already memorized it in a small notebook, so how could it be messed up?
This is the benefit of literacy.
…
For the government, this is a cultural and educational event.
In just two days, the imperial examination report spread quickly throughout Yongchuan Prefecture.
There was an uproar in every county and district.
In the words of ordinary people, the current Yongchuan Mansion has really become a Wenquxingzhatui!
No!
After this subject, Yongchuan Prefecture won a total of eight candidates, including a Ya Yuan and a Ya Kui. It has truly become a place worthy of the name of outstanding people and a place where talents come out in large numbers.
Some old boys lamented that such good news had not happened in many years. It is not an exaggeration to call it a grand occasion.
Especially the barren and remote Lanshan County has become famous this time. I heard that Yayuan and Yakui are both from here.
wrong!
Another well-informed person refuted it.
They said that Mr. Qi from Yakui has now separated from the Qi family and settled down in Shifucheng to buy property. Therefore, he can no longer be regarded as a person from Lanshan County.
Oh, I see!
Everyone was stunned.
On this day, Liu Quan counted on his fingers and estimated that his husband would be back soon, so he prepared some chicken and duck ingredients to replenish his health when he came back.
necessary.
I heard from those old scholars that the provincial examination is very difficult. A strong man will peel off his skin after passing it, let alone a husband?
Bang bang...
Suddenly someone knocked on the door.
Could it be that he rushed back?
Liu Quan quickly took off her apron and ran to open the door.
But he saw two men standing outside the door, one old and one young.
It was none other than the old patriarch of the Qi family, Qi Zhuchang, and his grandson Qi Yuanzhen.
Huh?
Why are they here?
Haha, I must go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing!
The two of them were about to take a step into the house, but unexpectedly, Liu Quan took a step forward and stood in the middle of the door with his hands on his hips, as if he didn't welcome visitors.
Ahem!
Qi Zhuchang straightened his chest and coughed dryly, still acting like an elder.
Liu Quan's face was neither happy nor worried, and he just said coldly: "What are you doing?"
This is so cool!
Qi Zhuchang's face froze when he heard this, but he still managed a kind smile and said: "I said my grandnephew's wife..."
Before he could say anything, Liu Quan grabbed the conversation and said proudly: "The title is wrong, you should call me - Madam!"
lady?
Do you want me, an elder, to bow down to your wife?
So embarrassing~~~
Qi Zhu is an old man, pretending to be confused despite his understanding, and still said kindly: "Haha, we are all a family, why are we so different?"
"Family?" Liu Quan laughed upon hearing this, "Then tell me, where is my home now?"
"..."
"Sister-in-law, how can you talk to your elders like this? Do you still know how to respect your elders?" Qi Yuanzhen showed a sullen expression.
However, Liu Quan's face tightened and he said: "Why are you so mean? Are you so mean at the gate of my house? Do you still have the nerve to say respect for elders? Why do you respect elders? My husband-in-law even moved his ancestral grave here, Taohua
Are there any 'old' people in the village?"
After that, there was another moment of embarrassment...
"Sister-in-law, you can't just let us stand here, right? Why don't you let us have a cup of tea?"
"Oh? You want to enter the house? Haha, I'm not welcome!"
"I said my grandnephew's wife..."
"Call me—ma'am!"
…
As a last resort, Qi Zhuchang had no choice but to bend down and say respectfully: "Madam, is your Aman at home?"
"Huh?" Liu Quan was unhappy again, "Can you call me Ah Man? You have to call him Mr. Qi!"
Ahem! Isn’t this a mess?
Liu Quan doesn't dislike this at all.
Being called old? It doesn't matter, as long as my husband doesn't think I'm old!
After that, it was quiet again.
"Well... I said, Master Qi, is he at home now?"
"Master, he went out and hasn't come back yet. If you have anything, you can tell me, madam!"
Qi Zhuchang's face was as red as an eggplant. After struggling for a while, he bowed and said, "Old man, I came all the way here to ask for something."
Oh, did you bow?
Haha~~
Liu Quan deliberately refused to give in and accepted the offer calmly.
"Do you have anything to ask for?"
"Yes, ma'am."
clang!
The ten cents were thrown on the ground.
Liu Quan smiled and said: "Well, since you have spoken, I will do my best to help you. Don't be too little with the money, just spend it!"
this……
Why do you feel like you are sending a beggar away?
Such a stimulus made Qi Zhuchang's old face even redder. He suppressed his anger and said sarcastically: "Madam, my family has more than fifty acres of fertile land, and I have not yet been reduced to begging! The main reason I came here this time is to let you
Ah Ma...oh, no, I want to ask Mr. Qi to write a page of documents."
Documents?
Liu Quan was very curious and couldn't help asking: "What is the document for?"
Qi Zhuchang said: "It is a document used to protect the Qi family members. For Mr. Qi, this is just a trivial matter."
shelter?
What's the meaning?
Liu Quan thought about it carefully for a moment and then suddenly realized.
I have heard my husband say before that a juren is a matter of fame and status and enjoys some legal privileges. To be more precise, a juren can protect the entire family and forgive the tax on four hundred acres of land. In addition, he can also be exempted from taxes.
corvée.
Could it be that they wanted to be exempted from the food tax, so they came to ask for help?
Humph, what a stingy family they are, not even willing to pay thirty-one tax for the national royal grain?
Do you still want your husband to protect you?
It’s weird to help you!
So, Liu Quan laughed and said: "You can't be too stingy! Before I came here, my mother-in-law and husband-in-law depended on each other, and even their orphans and widowers could pay the grain tax. How could you have a bunch of big men in your family?"
Can’t we pay it yet?”
Qi Zhuchang was startled, shook his head and said: "What I came here to ask for is not to forgive the grain tax, but to be exempted from the corvee!"
…
The so-called corvee refers to unpaid labor performed in response to national conscription, including manual labor, miscellaneous labor, military service, etc.
Generally speaking, this kind of decree is usually promulgated by the Ministry of Industry of the imperial court, and local officials will select men according to the household registration books. The most common corvee services include: building dams, building roads and bridges, building city walls, etc.
Qi Zhuchang bowed again and begged, "Please Madam, please take care of me."
But Liu Quan shook his head and said: "It is a state law, and you have to do the corvée that you have to do. If you don't want to do it, can't you spend money to redeem it?"
Yes, corvée can be redeemed with money.
No matter when the time comes, money will come in handy.
"This time I am not doing ordinary corvee work, I am building the Great Wall!"
!!
Build the Great Wall?
Among all the corvee projects, this is definitely the most frightening project. Who is not afraid of it?
Building the Great Wall is not only hard work, but also kills people.
The most famous one is the Qin Dynasty. The First Emperor carried out a large-scale labor levy across the country, and the people were so exhausted that corpses were everywhere. It is said that under the Great Wall, all the dead bones were piled up.
In addition, in the third to fourth years of Emperor Yang's great career in the Sui Dynasty, he built the Great Wall east of Yulin. He mobilized 1.2 million men twice, and more than half of them died.
Even storytellers know these tragic events by heart. Who doesn’t know?
However, this Great Wall has not been repaired for hundreds of years, why is it suddenly being conscripted now?"
Could it be that there is going to be a war?
Seeing that her face was serious, Qi Zhu thought that she had persuaded her, so he begged again: "Building the Great Wall is not as good as digging mountains and building roads, which will kill people, and the redemption of corvee is not ordinary expensive, enough to bankrupt the family."
oh?
It’s ‘enough’!
That is to say, the family still has money, but they are reluctant to spend it?
Haha~~
Liu Quan smiled and said: "I can't help you, so you'd better hire someone else!"
"you!"
Qi Zhuchang was so angry that he couldn't hold it back, but he didn't dare to let it out. That's right, now that he was in power, he couldn't be bullied, he couldn't be bullied, he couldn't be scolded, so what else could he do?
If you don’t want to help, then let’s go!
So, the grandfather and grandson left in despair.
After walking less than a hundred feet, Qi Yuanzhen said angrily: "This damn woman is really hateful! Humph, why didn't the fire burn her to death?"
Qi Zhuchang also gritted his teeth and said: "You should also take part in the imperial examination. If our family becomes powerful one day, let's see how I deal with them!"
"..."
Liu Quan looked at their departing figures and smiled proudly.