Chapter 14: Playing like a cat and trying to be like a tiger to raise money ()
As soon as Li You heard this, he understood why Mr. Huang entertained Wang Langzhong of the household department with great hospitality.
Only one of the princes, who eats, drinks, and whores, is given a reduction of thirty thousand yuan? Li You was thinking about something and casually said: "The construction of pond weirs, supplemented by ditches, will not only protect the land along the river from the harm of floods, but also increase the benefits of irrigation. Each mu can
Receive 50 cents from ICBC to help repair water conservancy projects.”
Chen Zhixian said in an upright tone: "Is this how you see it? You have to set up a new name, impose excessive taxes, and abuse the people. This is not what you want!" He calculated in his mind that even if he collected tens of thousands of acres at 5 cents per mu, it would only be 20-30%.
A thousand taels is a drop in the bucket and only ruins the official reputation. It is better not to accept it.
"Is there any big philanthropic person who donates money to help the workers?" Li You asked.
"There are only a few people who respond, only a few thousand silver."
Li You gritted his teeth and used the ultimate weapon known to everyone in later generations, and said: "The Xu River leads to Taihu Lake in the west, Suzhou in the east, and Changshu in the north. More than a thousand boats pass by every day. Nowadays, the water flow is unbridled and the river is not smooth.
There are many inconveniences, and complaints are recorded in the road. Money is wasted to build water conservancy projects, and the lake water flows down the river. Later, cargo ships and ships can save time and effort, and enjoy the convenience. How can we get this benefit in vain? Repair the river channel
, the county magistrate can build a port and customs in Hanoi, and all cargo ships and sailing ships will receive river repair money."
Chen Zhixian was enlightened, this was a solution. Li You was not good at anything except poetry, he was a bit talented.
"Assuming that each large ship collects 50 taels, or 200 ships a day, you can get 3,000 guan a year. Among them, the cargo of a cargo ship can often be hundreds of taels. If you collect more money for cargo ships crossing the river, it will be more than 5,000 guan every year. There are
With this income, there should be wealthy households in the county who are willing to use this money to jointly build a building. The money will be divided according to the shares every year, and the county government may also be able to get thousands of dollars."
"Big business owners invest 40,000 to 50,000 yuan in silver and get 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a year, but the profit is less than 10%. I am afraid that this merchant will not look down on him."
Li You continued his analysis: "Set up a water barrier and sit on the ground to collect money. There is no danger of rivers and lakes and no pain of running around. You can sit back and wait for the money with peace of mind. Even if you get 60 or 70 cents in profit, there will be someone willing! The purchase price of an acre of farmland in our county is more than ten
Two. If rented to tenants for cultivation, the annual income is only one tael, and they are still flocking to it. If it is still not enough, you can give the county government's profits and make up a 10% profit to attract rich households."
"You go down and wait for me to discuss this matter with Mr. Huang." Magistrate Chen had already forgotten the purpose of beating Li You, and waved his hand to let Li You go out.
Li You took a long breath when he got out, wiped his sweat again, and luckily passed the test. He borrowed money to build roads and insisted on charging fees for a hundred years. In later generations, everyone knew that he was just copying a cat and imitating the tiger. Fortunately, Xujiang County has this
This section of the river is a very busy waterway, otherwise he would not be able to think about it.
He also lamented that he was so popular that he was jealous of others, and he didn’t know that he had no grievances. What was Yan Xiucai looking for? Not only was Yan Xiucai famous, but his family was also a super landowner with thousands of acres of land as tenants.
He is rich and powerful, and his behavior is scary. I hope his letter this time is just a moment of anger and will not be endless.
After hearing this, Mr. Huang said to County Magistrate Chen: "It's wonderful. We can collect money in these few months. After the autumn harvest, we will collect civil service from the whole county. If there are not enough people, we will recruit wandering workers from neighboring counties. It will be completed in the next year. We will set up river gates to collect money. There may be problems between the government and the public."
Disputes about right and wrong should be of no serious concern. After all, building a twenty-mile stone pond without spending any effort on the part of the people can ensure the peace of the county for decades. There is no greater good."
At dusk, Li You returned to his residence. Why is it dusk again... When a clerk is on duty, the rules are that the sun comes up to go to work and the sun sets to go to work. You are not allowed to leave the county office casually if you have nothing to do. This is happier than being a yamen servant, but there is no wind and sun.
It was just a hardship. Although it was so boring that he could read a newspaper fifty times, but in order to raise a little girl with two taels of silver and one stone of rice every month, he would also have to raise a wife in the future, so Li You endured it.
A figure poked his head at the door, and Li You shouted: "Who is here!"
But he was a handsome boy of sixteen or seventeen years old, with a bit of childishness. When he came up to him, he kowtowed to Li You: "Uncle and grandpa are well!"
It turns out it's you... Li You recognized the person who came. He was a member of his own clan, and his name was Li Zheng. Although Li Zheng was only one year younger than Li You, he was two generations younger. He called Li You uncle.
Grandpa. We usually talk and laugh, and we have a harmonious relationship.
According to etiquette, if you haven't seen an elder with the title of "Master" for a long time, you have to kowtow and salute. Li Zheng bent over and knelt down unusually slowly, giving Li You ample opportunity to support him.
Li You smiled and remained motionless.
Li Zheng raised his head and said with a grimace: "Uncle! I wore new clothes today. It's a pity that they are dirty. Why don't I just send this and kneel down."
Li You laughed and said, "You already owe me twenty-three debts. One day I will let you kneel down to your heart's content."
After leading Li Zheng into the house, the maid Xiaozhu came up to Li You and whispered in Li You's ear: "This man is such a scoundrel. He told nonsense that he was your grandson, and the lies were not complete. He was sneaking outside the door and stayed all afternoon.
Even if you don’t want to leave, the slave family is so nervous that they don’t even dare to go out, so they have locked the door tightly..."
Li Zheng said helplessly to the little girl: "I am really your master's grandson... no, grandnephew..."
Li You said: "I'm hungry, let's have dinner together first."
Xiaozhu screamed, he had an extra mouth, and the food was not enough, so he ran into the kitchen to cook again.
Taking advantage of this time, Li You asked Li Zhengdao: "Why are you here, my dear grandson?"
Li Zheng looked solemn, "My father has been selling gauze and silk in recent years and has accumulated a family fortune. He does not require me to work hard to make a living. He allows me to study and earn a name that will bring glory to my ancestors. In the past few years, I feel that I have been successful in studying. I want to
I’m going to take the county exam this year. What do you think?”
"You might as well go and give it a try." Li You said.
Li Zheng suddenly said a little flatteringly: "Well, I heard everyone talking about it, and they all said that you are a confidant of the magistrate. And this county examination is conducted by the magistrate. That, ah ha..."
Li You glared at him and said seriously: "If you want to get the title of scholar, you have to pass the county examination, the government examination, and the college examination before you can enter school. You can only get lucky for a while. When you get to the government examination, what can you do in the college examination?"
"Studying hard at schoolwork is the right way!" - Shuangqi. I have been taught various lessons in this life, but it turns out that teaching people with an upright attitude is so comfortable.
Having said that, I still have to help. This is an era when relatives are not helped, and there are state-owned, national, legal and clan rules. If Li You really ignores such a big thing as a test of merit, he will be punished by his clan relatives later.
It is possible to poke someone in the spine, poke a hole in the chrysanthemum door, or in serious cases be sent back to the ancestral hall to reflect and not be given food.
While he was talking, another visitor suddenly came to visit. Someone outside the door said in a strange and strange voice: "Is Mr. Li Langjun at home under the moon? Grandson Ji is here to visit!"
Li You welcomed the guests and met Sun Bangxian, chatting and joking.
Sun Ji took out a gold-painted cardboard invitation from his arms and handed it to Li You, saying: "Li Huan is about to leave the cabinet. It will be tomorrow night. I invite you to watch the ceremony."
Isn't it the first time for a prostitute to work as a prostitute... The whole commemorative ceremony was made like a wedding. Li You declined: "I won't go." Recently, his reputation in the brothel was too loud, and he was also beaten by his father.
I have been scolded and complained by scholars, so I’d better keep a low profile and cultivate my character!
"You picked up this ring with one hand. You are a distinguished guest of your mother's family, why don't you go?" Sun Ji said in surprise, not expecting Li You to refuse.
Li Zheng, who was standing next to him, came over and said excitedly: "But what about the two-branch plums in our county, the snow plum and Li Huan? Recently, people have been talking about the two plums in our county, the Jiangmei, Yao Xing'er, Xuemei and Li Huan."
"I heard that Li Huan's royal leave fee has been raised to a sky-high price of eighty taels of silver!" He then said to Li You, "I heard that my uncle is their guest in bed. How about taking me to watch the ceremony."
Li You pushed Li Zheng away and said to Sun Ji: "It's obvious that Sister Li Mei and Madam Xie made a big fuss together. I could only write two poems. I'm really inconvenienced."
Sun Ji said seductively: "Do you know who won the first prize for Li Huan? He is a famous talent in this county. Many scholars will come to support you. You are also talented and famous. Don't you want to make friends with them? Once you join this circle, you will also
You can become a celebrity in this city."
What a waste of friendship! Li You said angrily: "What can those showmen give me? Give me an official position? No! No!"
Sun Ji's face was wrinkled with pain. He had been entrusted by Sister Li Mei to invite Li You, so he went because of Li You's reputation and would definitely make Li Huan look good, so he just kept pestering Li You.
Li You had no choice but to say, "Please leave the invitation and I'll think about it again." But he made up his mind not to go.
