Xu Qinghan then sighed: "Also, if he refuses to marry the Xiao family, he will become a thorn in the Xiao family's side! As long as the daughter does not marry him, the Xiao family will not hate him so much. I, I really don't want my daughter to live all day long.
In fear! If I don’t meet them directly today, I’m also worried that something will go wrong with them on their way back to Beijing.”
"You, you always think about others." Zhang Ling put a hand on Xu Qinghan's shoulder and said softly: "Then do you think our Xue'er struggled all the way to the edge of death? Does she regret it? Is she afraid?
You think so now, and I kind of understand what my father thought back then. But didn’t you offend everyone in the court? Why didn’t you think about it for me? "
"I……"
"If you weren't like this, I would really look down on you! When the child is older, let her make her own choice." Zhang Ling smiled and tapped Xu Qinghan's forehead with her slender fingers. Her charming smile hung on that disguise.
The rough face is really a bit funny.
Ever since the news of Xu Muxue's disappearance came, Xu Qinghan had not seen Zhang Ling's smile for a long time. Although he had received Zhang Ling's letter a few days ago, he still felt uneasy in his heart. When he saw this smile, he couldn't help but smile.
Er said, "Then let's take a look. Yang Zheng is such an adopted son, so he should be well protected."
"I think he is more cunning than Yang Zheng, and more cheerful than He Qingshan. He should be able to protect himself. Alas, my unfulfilled wish was snatched away by that girl Xiaoxue... What are you looking at? You are jealous too.
ah!"
…
Breakfast was golden millet porridge with pickles. He Qizhou, squatting among a group of civilians, had nothing to do and listened to their chat. His appetite had increased in the past two days. After one bowl, he asked Jiang Damin to help him add another half bowl.
"Well, I have some good news for you." A civilian husband said mysteriously.
"What's the news? Wait until I swallow this." said a person next to him.
"I heard that I'm going to have to pay my wages again soon."
"No way, didn't we just get married? It seems like it's worth traveling a little more and working with Mr. Xu. It's worth celebrating, go get another bowl." A strong man said.
"It's not just us, the whole province is supplementing it. I said, can you eat less? If you eat like this, you shouldn't be paid."
"Small, why don't you say that one of my work is worth three of yours?"
"Haha, you can eat as much as five of them!" someone next to him laughed.
"Go, go, that's great. I haven't even sent a penny to my family during the festival. I will definitely cut two kilograms of meat when I go back so that I can eat meat too." The strong man said happily.
"I can also pay off the debt and plow those two acres of wasteland in the spring," said the messenger.
He Qizhou couldn't help but interjected and asked: "How many outstanding deeds do you still have?"
"No, no, we only have the last one. This time we will clear everything." Many people laughed.
The citizen who announced the news said: "When I was passing by the entrance of the ancestral hall, I heard two adults from the Ministry of Works talking about it. They said that the unpaid deed was issued last month and can be paid in these two days."
"What?" He Qizhou was shocked. After looking at Xu Mu next to him, he asked in disbelief: "Have you paid off the two-year deed?"
"What two years? The longest we have is eight months. Last month we settled the one from half a year ago, and the day before yesterday we settled the one from three months ago. We only have the one from the first month on hand." Min Fu said.
.
Someone else chimed in: "The imperial court agreed to reduce the land tax for three years. After I finish this work, I don't even plan to ask the Ministry of Works to issue an IOU. It will be regarded as a donation to the imperial court to fight the Northern Zhou Dynasty!"
"Donate!" "I will donate too!" The man who was eating suddenly became excited.
"Wait a minute, why did I hear that the people in Wenshui County have accumulated deeds for nearly two years? Many people sold them at a 30% discount!" He Qizhou said anxiously.
"We are all from Yanggu County, but we have heard of someone who has been owed for about a year, but I have never encountered one that has been owed for such a long time. We have sold it at 40% off or 30% off, but how can we sell it at 30% off? What a waste of money.
"The strong man replied.
"Do any of you know the situation of employed laborers in Wenshui County or neighboring counties?" He Qizhou asked again.
“There hasn’t been much harvest in the fields in the past two years. For example, all counties are rushing to complete the projects of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, so we usually only use the labor of the county. For example, when we go to other counties to work, we have to open roads overnight and no one wants to go.
, so I don’t know what the situation is in other counties.”
"So what about the tax exemption? When did you know about it?"
"The list was released before the Chinese New Year. I heard that the tax arrears in many places in Shanxi and Hebei have been written off. Starting from this year, taxes will be exempted for another three years."
"This is unreasonable!" He Qizhou knew that he had been deceived by Wenshui County Magistrate, and he was so angry that he almost broke his steel teeth.
…
Throughout the morning, Xu Qinghan's small courtyard was busy with employees from the Ministry of Industry coming in and out. Since work was started in more than ten places at the same time, problems encountered in various places would be summarized here in the evening, and replies would be sent out the next morning.
Or give instructions. He would appear at the construction site in person every afternoon. Years of experience told him that even if he broke his throat, it was better to roll up his sleeves. It was a rare time to take a rest at noon. After breakfast, He Qizhou
Till now.
"Uncle, so the Ministry of Industry allocates ICBC money to each province, and each county receives the money from the Ministry of Household Affairs at almost the same time, so there is no two-year arrears?" He Qizhou confirmed again.
Xu Qinghan said: "Yes, the last amount of money was sent through my hands a few days ago. All the money owed for more than three months has been sent to various county governments. There is indeed a problem in Wenshui County. I want to send people to check it out.
Already."
Xu Qinghan had already explained in detail to He Qizhou and Xu Muxue the process of the Ministry of Industry's issuance of debt deeds and the return of debt owed.
For every project where the Ministry of Industry needs civilian labor, the local county government will issue a list to recruit them. After the roster is compiled, Yao laborers and hired workers will be distinguished.
If the Ministry of Accounts does not advance the money, the Ministry of Works will issue deeds in batches and give them directly to the employees. Each deed will be numbered and stamped, with the name of the employee, the amount owed, the date of issuance, etc. written on it. In addition,
At least two handlers from the Ministry of Household Affairs will stamp their private seals. The Ministry of Industry will compile a detailed inventory of outstanding deeds in batches, one copy will be handed over to the local county government, and two copies will be retained.
The Ministry of Works then applies for work payment from the Ministry of Household Affairs based on actual expenditures. After the work payment is allocated, it is handed over to the counties. The counties collect the outstanding deeds and return them to the Ministry of Works. After verification, the Ministry of Works submits an inventory to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Keep one copy, and the process will be completed. The head of the Household Department who is in the same hospital as Xu Qinghan does exactly this job of writing off unpaid deeds.
"Uncle, do you know whether the imperial court has reduced or reduced the taxes owed by Wenshui County?" He Qizhou asked again.
"Even Yanggu County here is exempted, let alone Wenshui County. Alas, it is most difficult to check accounts like this where the deed has been recovered. We only use the deed as the criterion. You and I can't tell whether it is a hired worker or not.
I paid attention to the county government's announcement of the results and missed the date, or the county government deliberately concealed it from the employees." Xu Qinghan replied.
"The county magistrate said that he would charge 20% as tax subsidy for the deeds collected at a discount. I wonder if I can check it from here." Xu Muxue suggested.
"Difficult! If you think about it, you will know that he will not pay much. How can we distinguish which ones are handed in by the people and which ones are collected by the people he sent out? The county magistrate can deny it and say that the people paid it themselves. Even so.
All the people said they sold it to the deed collector, but there is no evidence for their claims, so how can we convict the county magistrate?" He Qizhou said with a bitter face.
"Damn it!" Xu Qinghan growled and slapped the long case in front of him hard.
"My lord, my lord, the bank check from the Ministry of Finance has arrived. It is said to be in full without any discount. Should we ask the counties to send people to collect it?" A member of the ministry cheered and ran in from the front yard.
"Okay, let the Lord go and sign for it in advance." Xu Qinghan cheered up a little and said to He Qizhou: "The total amount coming this time is more than 70,000 taels. This is the wages of more than 20,000 employees in nine counties last month.
.”
"Why is it so fast this time?" Xu Muxue asked.
"Your father has used all kinds of tricks, except that he has to fight with the Minister of Household Affairs." Zhang Ling said with a smile.
"If it hadn't been for the emperor's words, there would be no point in trying our best. This time is urgent and it is related to the war, so the Ministry of Revenue does not dare to delay." Xu Qinghan said.
"Come here!" Xu Qinghan suddenly remembered something, rushed out of the door, and said to a member of the department who came over: "The person who escorted the banknotes hasn't left yet? Call the people from the Ministry of Revenue and the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
Xu Qinghan immediately entered the back room and said to the three of them: "In this case, Wenshui County will definitely not dare to publicly release the results after receiving this money, because if the people know that all the deeds owed three months ago have been settled, there will definitely be trouble. I
Let the people from the Ministry of Revenue and the Metropolitan Procuratorate secretly bear witness to see how he deceived the superiors and concealed the truth from the subordinates."
"Good idea. The county magistrate thought I was from the Ministry of Industry at first. No wonder he wanted to see me in such a panic." He Qizhou suddenly said: "But it is still impossible to verify how much he has been greedy before."
"Let's find out the crime first. Then let's see who is sent by our Ministry of Industry. We should also investigate secretly. Even you are aware of this matter. They usually have contact with civilians and know the information. If they don't report the information, they will definitely be punished.
The county magistrate benefits! Just wait in the inner room for a while." After saying that, he and Zhang Ling walked into the outer room.
"Sir, people are here."
"Invite them in."
"For your humble position, please see your Lord Assistant." The people responsible for escorting the banknotes were people from the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Both of them were junior officials of the eighth rank. When they saw Xu Qinghan, they saluted at the same time.
"No need to be polite. You two have had a hard time traveling. Please sit down."
"My lord is working hard, and I don't know what I have ordered. I will do my best to serve you even though I am humble in my position." The clerk in the Ministry of Household Affairs was a little frightened. Normally, he would not be able to talk to such a high-ranking official.
"I remember that the banknote issued to Wenshui County this time was more than 11,000 taels. I would like to help you two accompany us from the Ministry of Industry on a trip to Wenshui County... If it is confirmed that the county magistrate is indeed corrupt
, Xu personally asked for credit for the two of them!" Xu Qinghan immediately told the story of Wenshui County's possible deprivation of civilians, and hoped that the two of them would observe in secret and bear witness.
The two of them thought that if they returned home only ten and a half days late, they would be praised by the high officials of the court and would kneel down to express their gratitude. How could they miss such a good opportunity? How could they agree to it?
He asked again: "Are the ten guards I brought with me going too?"