"You can continue to farm those pieces of land from now on.
No one will come to collect the land tax in the future, but this year the food in the fields belongs to the book, so don't argue with the book.
You can use these few taels of silver to buy food and spend these months first."
Pang Yu took out three taels of broken silver and said, "If the bookkeeper or the village chief asks why you are farming the land in the future, just say you are farming for me."
Sun Tianxiu stood in Pang's pharmacy with tears on her face, watching Pang Yu just cry and put her hands behind her back instead of picking up the money.
Zhou Yueru came over and hugged Sun Tianxiu gently, "My dear, take it quickly, your uncle gave it to you."
Pang Yu handed the money to Zhou Yueru, "I can't stand this, come and persuade her."
Zhou Yueru stared at Pang Yu, reached out to take the money, and then said to Sun Tianxiu, "You have been in the county seat for three days. Aren't you worried about your father?"
"Worry."
Zhou Yueru continued, "Then quickly collect the money and go back to see your father. Your two younger brothers are still at home. From now on, the whole family will depend on you."
Sun Tianxiu bit her lip and nodded repeatedly, then shook her head and choked, "But we owe uncle too much, and we can't afford it."
Pang Yu touched Sun Tianxiu's head: "Uncle is a good person. As long as you live a good life in the future, you will be repaying my uncle by not making him worry.
If you really want to pay it back, wait until you grow up and make a lot of money before paying it back."
"Then I will pay my uncle back after harvesting the grain every year. I will repay some every year. Maybe I will be able to pay it back when I get old."
Pang Yu smiled and said, "In this way, I will have new rice to eat every year. Since everything has been agreed, you should go back with your second uncle quickly."
Sun Tianxiu knelt down and kowtowed to Pang Yu, and then kowtowed to Zhou Yueru, Pang Yu's mother, father and others in the courtyard.
Pang Yu's mother pulled Sun Tianxiu up, looking reluctant to give up.
Because Pang Yu was afraid that his second uncle would sell Sun Tianxiu, he kept Sun Tianxiu in the drug store for the past two days. Sun Tianxiu was also very well-behaved. He would do whatever he saw in the store and he could learn anything as soon as he was taught.
Both parents love this little girl.
Pang Yu's mother hugged a large bag of medicinal materials. While crying, she looked at Suntian Xiudao, "Such a lovely girl, I wanted to keep you, but you still have your own home. With this bag of medicine,
Just think of it as a gift from your mother-in-law."
Dad interrupted with a hum, "How can anyone give medicine to people? It's not a very good thing."
"Oh, that's not what I meant."
Pang Yu interrupted, "Okay, okay, I have to go back early. Nantangli is not a county after all."
After saying that, he pulled Sun Tianxiu out of the drug store. The second uncle was waiting at the door, and Pang Yu handed Sun Tianxiu into his hands.
"I gave her to you, and you are not allowed to sell her in the future."
The second uncle quickly defended, "It's his father, it's not my fault..." Pang Yu waved his hands and didn't bother to listen to his explanation, "His father is bedridden. You, a niece, are in a lot of troubles for a little girl. As the second uncle, you have to help take care of it. No.
If you give me money and food, you should always help with the things in the fields."
"Don't worry, Mr. Chai. Money and food can't help you. Those who can contribute are not to mention the rural people who are not lacking in strength.
It's just that we don't have the land deed in our hands. If someone comes to register and ask..." Pang Yu knew that the second uncle wanted to take the land deed in his hand, but Pang Yu was not yet at ease with him. At the same time, he was also worried that once it was given to him, it would be easy to register.
I thought about it and thought it would be safer to hold the land title myself.
"If in the future the secretary or the head of the village asks why you are farming, just say that you are helping me farm. If he has anything to say, ask him to come to me."
"Hey, I remember it, little man."
The second uncle did not dare to continue asking for the land deed, so he had to agree. He glanced at Sun Tian Xiuhou and said, "This girl has been blessed to meet Mr. Pang. Can you let her become a godfather to Mr. Pang?"
Before he finished speaking, Pang Yu said without hesitation, "I'm a few years older than her, and I don't have any children yet, so I can't accept her as my daughter. It's getting dark, so you should leave the city as soon as possible."
The second uncle was stunned for a moment. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was still noon, so it was already getting dark.
However, Pang Yu kept urging, so the second uncle had no choice but to take Sun Tianxiu to Yiminmen.
They had just walked not far when Pang Yu suddenly stopped them again.
Pang Yu caught up a few steps and looked down at Sun Tianxiu's dirty bare feet. She couldn't help but smile and said, "Uncle, I'd better give you something else."
Pulling Sun Tianxiu forward to Aunt Xu's shoe store, she shouted into the shop, "Aunt Xu is buying shoes."
Because the land in Tongcheng is fertile, the economic level of the people in Tongcheng is relatively high in the entire Ming Dynasty. Most urban families can wear shoes, but the proportion of people in rural areas who do not wear shoes is still higher. Especially those with heavy family burdens regard shoes as very important.
necessity.
Aunt Xu, who was guarding the shop, responded quickly. When Pang Yu came to the door, she couldn't close her mouth with laughter. She asked Sun Tianxiu that it was Sun Tianxiu who bought the shoes. After looking at the size of her feet, she casually took out a pair of black cloth shoes.
Pang Yu pointed to the stand and said, "Aunt Xu should change into that pair. The little girl should wear something more beautiful."
"Brother Yu is very discerning," Aunt Xu clapped her hands and took out the pair of lucky-toe shoes, "Brother Yu, look at these pairs. The front is made of two layers of auspicious clouds pasted with cotton, and the edges are sewn with silk thread buttons. You
Look at the word "福" in the middle. It is embroidered on it. It can only be done by women with tight red scarves. Look at these two layers of fish. The cushions are made of silk, and the shoe collars are made of satin.
Those silky shoes don't scratch the instep, and they match the fur soles of the eight-layer cloth..." Pang Yu quickly interrupted, "Aunt Xu, you are used to being a matchmaker, and a pair of shoes is the introduction to a girl.
Just like this, let the little girl try it."
Sun Tianxiu's face turned red and said, "My feet are dirty, so I won't try them on. I'll buy them if they are stained by my aunt..." In the end, Zhou Yueru came over to persuade her to no avail, so she did a rough size comparison and bought Sun Tianxiu his first pair of shoes.
Sun Tianxiu never thought that she could own such a pair of beautiful shoes. These kind of lucky-head shoes are usually worn by rich women. Rural people rarely wear them. She held the shoes to her chest like a treasure, for fear of falling.
.
Pang Yu knelt down and looked at Sun Tianxiu's excited little face, "I like little girls without bound feet the most. I give you these lucky shoes. I hope you will have a good life and get lots of blessings in the future."
Sun Tianxiu grinned and nodded vigorously.
..."Second brother, is this how you do big business?"
He Xianya smiled half-heartedly, "He went to rob Xinhe Pawn Shop with his head high and gave away the land for free. In the end, he lost a few taels of silver to buy things for others."
Because of the delay in Yue Ji's matter and the time spent helping Sun Tianxiu, Pang Yu defaulted on a lot of work.
It was lunch time again. Pang Yu was short of funds recently, so he canceled lunch and took He Xianya to work overtime.
Pang Yu shook the cattail leaf fan vigorously a few times, and then slapped it on the table, "It's all my fault, this damn woman Zhou Yueru, for making me end up in such a mess for no reason. I will never do it again in the future."
He Xianya agreed, "We must not do it anymore. It has already delayed the progress of our surrender. This time Master Tang gave Liu Shuli the silver cabinet. It is 13,000 acres of land, which is larger than many miles."
"I'm fighting for my head for the counter, but it's only a thousand or two cents off."
"Brother, I would like to advise the second brother. He is a writer with many years in the sixth house. He wants to go to the household house to ask for a job but can't. Not only did the second brother go, but he also got the attention of Mr. Tang. That's why there is smoke rising from the ancestral grave.
Everything is difficult at the beginning. We will make one li this year and two or three li next year. As long as Mr. Tang values and the county magistrate appreciates it, the second brother will donate two or three years of money as a tribute. When it is vacant, it will be a model.
Officer, I have a bright future with my second brother."
Pang Yu looked at He Xianya's excited face and sighed, "There are 11,000 households in Tongcheng's money and grain book, 58,000 people, land tax, labor silver, and regular silver for each house, and give it to all the adults in Anqing Mansion and Xianyu in the department.
Silver, Zhuangban silver, delivery silver, horse grass converted into silver, and materials converted into silver must all be spread among them.
As for the ten or twenty people in the household, it is really difficult for the colleagues in the household to do their calculations with just abacus.
It is not easy to be a clerk, and it is not easy for us to be a calligrapher either.
Think about your future slowly, and first finish writing the thousands of tickets in front of you before talking about anything else."
There are only five scribes in the household, plus a few Zaoli who do odd jobs, and there are less than ten people engaged in text work. These scribes are the core staff of the household, but they are far from enough to complete the work of the household.
, so everyone has help.
There was a lot of work to be done in the household before tax collection, so although Pang Yu was a newcomer, he was also used as a writer because he could write and do calculations.
The biggest task assigned to him was to make tickets, also known as green tickets.
The ticket is divided into three parts, one part is given to the flower household, one part is used to deposit the money in the locker, and the other part is reserved for the household.
Since the number of tickets is huge, the format is printed, but because it is collected on a per-household basis, the amount for each household is different, so each household has to fill it out manually. A large part of the workload of household houses is this kind of writing work.
The workload of checking the fish scale album is too huge. Every household has money and grain books from various villages and districts. If there are no changes, they are copied. If there is a transaction, the money and grain books need to be revised.
Pang Yu studied in Hufang for a few days and helped other people write a lot, which was a bit of practice.
In addition to the tasks assigned by the household, there is also the cabinet assigned to him. According to the unspoken rules of the household, he needs to write it himself. Naturally, it is impossible for others to help him as a newcomer.
After writing the invoice, you need to give the money to the local people first, and let them distribute it to the flower households. Let the flower households know how much tax they have to pay this time, and prepare the money first.
It was almost the middle of the year, so Pang Yu was very pressed for time. In addition, he was very slow in writing calligraphy, so he had to work overtime with He Xianya. It felt like his hand was about to break. Even tonight, he might have to burn the midnight oil, and he couldn't help but take advantage of him.
Mom saved money on lamp oil.
He Xianya was a little discouraged when he heard the word "youpiao". This kind of repetitive and boring work really tests people's patience. He also stopped his brush and fanned twice with a cattail leaf fan and said, "Speaking of the number of households, during the Hongwu period, Qing Dingkou
It seems so different now. Today there are still 11,000 households with a population of more than 58,000. In the more than 200 years of this dynasty, Tongcheng has been almost free of soldiers and bandits. Who can believe that the population of Ding has not increased at all? What about Ding Yin?
The common people also want to take advantage of the imperial court on the matter of moving into their own land. The village chiefs, the village records, and the township contracts help hide the children, so that they can take advantage of both sides. It is also thanks to them that we can write less, otherwise we will share it with me.
The two households are not more than 1,000, but probably more than 3,000 each."
Pang Yu shook his head and was about to speak when Tang Weimin opened the door and walked in. After seeing Pang Yu, he said, "Master Yang is going to Anqing Mansion in the afternoon to report to Master Pi about the autumn grain supply. He ordered Master Zhao and Tang to lead two people in the household."
Along the way, something happened unexpectedly. The tickets assigned to them were not ready yet, so they had to ask Brother Pang to help with it."
Pang Yu scolded He Xianya for his crow's mouth in his heart, and said happily, "As long as the adults assign it, it is the villain's responsibility. The villain will definitely prepare the tickets on time."
The two writers who came in behind Tang Weimin took the money and food booklets from their respective places, came over to tell Pang Yu what was left unfinished, and then left in a hurry to make preparations.
Tang Weimin tidied up his seat and brought two smaller booklets. Pang Yu had seen them on weekdays. They were all about money and food, and he kept them with him for reference.
"Not long after Mr. Yang came to Tongcheng, he was acting as the county magistrate for the autumn grain this time. Magistrate Pi was probably not at ease, so he asked Mr. Yang to take the county magistrate, Dianshi, to inspect the county before collecting the autumn grain."
Pang Yu understood as soon as he heard this. Pi Yingju, the prefect of Anqing, was worried that Yang Fangqian was new and a short-term agent. He was worried that the second official and Dianshi would not cooperate with his work. In order not to affect the autumn grain collection, he specially called all the team members to Anqing.
, support Yang Fangqian in person, so that the Tongcheng team can unite and handle the major issue of autumn grain.
"How many days will Sir be away?"
"When we go on the 17th, we will probably have to check with the Household Department of the government office. If the Household Department wants to check the atlas, it will take a long time. If we walk slowly on the road, it will take about twenty-seven or eight directions to go back and forth."
"The county magistrate, Dianshi, Zhao Sili, and Tang have all gone to Anqing Mansion. If something happens in the yamen, who should we call?"
Tang Weimin said as he was cleaning up, "Your Excellency, the storage and prison affairs are all entrusted to Wang Jiaoyu. Generally speaking, there is nothing to do. Each room can just do its own errands. You can prepare your own ticket. What I mentioned last time is to surrender.
I will explain it carefully to you when I come back."
Pang Yu quickly agreed, and Tang Weimin collected his things and went out. Hearing horses neighing in the horse gallery behind the Kuaishou room, it must be the groom preparing horses for Yang Fangqian and others. Pang Yu sent Tang Weimin to the Yimen to say goodbye.
.
Tang Weimin did not want Pang Yu to wait for long, so he sent Pang Yu back to his house.
When Pang Yu walked onto the bridge in front of the hall, there was a figure sweeping the floor on the bridge. Pang Yu didn't pay attention to it, but suddenly heard someone talking as he passed by.
"Brother Yu."
Pang Yu didn't expect that a sweeper would call him. He turned around to look. He was stunned for a moment before he recognized it. He couldn't help but said in surprise, "Gu Xiaowu, you're back from the patrol shop... Why are you here?"
Gu Xiaowu's eyes were red, "The last time Wang Dazhuang sent me to Beixiaguan to inspect the shop, it lasted more than ten days. When I came back, I said that the county school was short of a sweeper.
I was asked to clean the county school, but I had to clean everything from the stone pavilion to the eight-character wall in the county government office."
"This Wang Dazhuang has gone too far."
Gu Xiaowu choked up and said: "If my father was here, how dare Wang Dazhuang look down on others..." "Then..." Pang Yu originally wanted to ask Gu Xiaowu to come to the house to help, especially since he really needed help with the surrender, but when he thought that Gu Xiaowu was being taken over by Zhao
After being pushed out by Secretary Zhao, he could not involve Gu Xiaowu in the household, otherwise it would be a provocation to Secretary Zhao.
Gu Xiaowu wiped his tears with his sleeves, glanced in the direction of Yimen and said, "Brother Yu, there's no need to worry about my brother. I'm in good health. The opportunity I told you last time is about to come."
"What chance?"
Pang Yu said in surprise, "Brother Xiao Wu, have you donated your official position?
congratulations!"
Gu Xiaowu said with some annoyance, "I just said that every time I told Brother Yu, you didn't listen carefully. Brother, I don't want to say anything now. You will naturally know about it next month, and by then, brother will naturally not forget you."
.”
After he finished speaking, he picked up the broom and left. Pang Yu slapped himself on the head, "What chance did he mention, but he has no impression at all."