Rise From the Humble

  Chapter 223 Went to the Li family again

   "Why?"

   Mrs. Chen felt a little distressed. This time Zhu Ping'an won the election, so many congratulatory gifts have been received in just a short while, and there will definitely be more in the future.

   "The law stipulates that accepting gifts is equivalent to accepting bribes." Zhu Pingan said softly.

  When Mrs. Chen heard the words, she felt that the bank notes and land deeds in her hands were very hot, so she threw them all on the bed without thinking about it.

   "Then I will return them all quickly."

  Although she was a little bit reluctant, Chen was still anxious to return everything to others. In her heart, her son still came first, and she couldn't delay her son's future because of gifts.

   "It's nothing this time, it's still a human relationship. But in the future, don't accept it. Don't worry, the son will be filial to his mother, and he can make her eat well and wear warm without accepting gifts."

   Seeing his mother Chen's reluctance but anxious to return the gift, Zhu Pingan couldn't help smiling to comfort Chen.

   "Are you okay this time?" Chen picked up the bank note and land deed, and asked hopefully.

  Zhu Ping'an nodded.

   "Put it away for you, mother." Chen immediately turned from cloudy to sunny, and happily put the things under the pillow, and then hid them later when no one was around.

   Zhu Pingan had his own ideas about the villagers who came to contribute after hearing the news in the yard. After communicating with Mrs. Chen in advance, Zhu Pingan walked out of the house and came to the yard.

   "Thank you uncles for your kindness, but everyone has seen that my house is small and the yard is not big. I really don't need servants, chefs, etc. If there is a need in the future, I will definitely bother you uncles."

  Zhu Ping'an went out of the house and clasped his hands to explain to everyone in the yard.

   This made many villagers who came to offer their slaves and servants somewhat disappointed, but fortunately, Zhu Pingan responded to the land donation, which pleased the villagers who had been waiting for a long time.

  Voluntary donation is just to avoid taxes and corvees. Those who donate land in the yard have a hard life, and are tortured by corvees and taxes. It is beneficial to them to donate land. Therefore, Zhu Ping'an still accepted the offer of land in the courtyard.

  Contribution is strictly prohibited by the imperial court. Although it is popular on the surface, it is also a matter of being found out. Zhu Pingan used to be considerate in his work, and he did not leave any excuses for others. He made two contracts with the villagers who contributed land in the yard.

  Two contracts, one is a land sale contract, which is a real contract that does not need to be fulfilled, avoiding investment;

  The other one is the land lease contract, the general content is as follows:

  Liu Erniu, the person who made the lease agreement, now works in a certain place under Zhu Ping'an's name. It is agreed that the rent will be paid every year, and the rent will be reduced in case of floods and droughts. There is no proof after learning, so I will give this Butian Wenyue a photo.

  The villagers were very happy to get the second land lease contract. With this document, the land is nominally donated, but actually cultivated by himself, and in order to comfort the villagers, Zhu Pingan specially added the agreement of "permanent farming, no limit to the number of years" in the contract, which is equivalent to In fact, this land is no different from that of the villagers.

   "How much is the general land rent?"

   Zhu Pingan asked a question when writing the contract.

   "Pick up one"

   "Two Eight"

  The villagers gave different answers, and looked at each other after answering. Ten one means one-tenth of the rent, and twenty-eight means two-tenths of the rent. Generally speaking, the agricultural tax collected by the Ming Dynasty in the name of the country is less than a tenth, but the landless peasants who become tenants pay money and food to the landlord as land rent, which is usually slightly higher than the legitimate agricultural tax of the country, and unscrupulous landlords may raise it To thirty-seven or even five-five. The villagers gave different answers, probably because it varies from landlord to landlord.

  After listening to the villagers' answers, when Zhu Pingan wrote the lease agreement, he set the land rent at 5%, which was half of the minimum land rent answered by the villagers.

  Such a low land rent made the villagers who got the tenancy agreement almost cry with joy, and thanked Zhu Pingan repeatedly.

Thanks to the villagers, Zhu Pingan, who got nearly 100 acres of fertile land for no reason, couldn't help but blush. He said that he had obtained nearly 100 acres of fertile land for no reason and still collected rent, but the other party thanked him endlessly. It felt like Fan Wei's classic sentence back then Like thank you.

  After eating at noon, in order to avoid people who gave gifts and donations, Zhu Ping'an took his schoolbag across his shoulders and went to Shanghe Village to stay away from home for a while.

  Before leaving, mother Chen said that if someone came, she would say that she was reviewing and preparing for the exam.

   "Master Zhu is here. Congratulations to Master Zhu for high school. Please come in. It's cold outside."

  The concierge of Rich Man Li’s house, Uncle Li, was more enthusiastic than ever. He directly opened the door with a small iron stove, and put the small iron stove into Zhu Ping’an’s hand as soon as he opened the door.

   After finally getting rid of the enthusiastic Uncle Li, Zhu Pingan walked to the study. The study door was closed, Zhu Pingan knocked on the door from the outside, and soon heard footsteps approaching, and someone opened the door.

  A little girl with a bun face poked her head out of the study, and saw Zhu Pingan's small mouth grow into a round shape in surprise.

   "Master Zhu Pingan."

  The bun-faced little girl Hua'er habitually called Zhu Ping'an's name, but after calling Zhu Ping'an's name, she realized that Zhu Ping'an was already a Juren, and added the word "Master" to the end in annoyance.

  I feel that the word master is so awkward, and the little maid Hua'er's face is wrinkled.

   "Call me by my name." The corners of Zhu Pingan's mouth twitched slightly.

   "This is what you asked for, don't regret it." Hua'er, the little maid with a bun face, was obedient, her eyes bent into crescent moons.

   "Hua'er, you stinky girl is skinny, the cold wind is blowing in from outside."

  At this moment, a lazy female voice came from the study, as if a lark flew into the room in winter.

   "Miss, Zhu Ping'an is here to borrow books." Baozi's little maid Hua'er explained to her lady, then turned her head and whispered to Zhu Pingan quickly, "Come in quickly."

  Zhu Ping'an nodded and entered the door, Baozi's little maid Hua'er quickly closed the door, and rubbed her skirt in front of her young lady.

  The study and the outside are like two seasons, the study is warmed by several charcoal pots, and Zhu Pingan feels warm and comfortable as soon as he enters the study.

   "Yo, I thought that someone won the exam and disliked our Li family for having a low threshold."

  The lazy female voice spoke out again, full of sarcasm and yin and yang.

  Zhu Ping'an looked up and saw a reclining chair covered with the fur of an unknown animal in the study, a young girl with bright eyes and bright teeth was rolling her eyes at herself.

  Besides the girl who rolled her eyes and Hua'er, the little bun girl, there were two old mothers and two maids in the study who were making clothes by the charcoal brazier.

   "Why don't you talk, but I said what I really mean, hum, isn't it just a Juren, what a pride."

  The girl who rolled her eyes saw that Zhu Pingan looked at her silently, so she couldn't help but rolled her eyes again, and said sarcastically again.

  (end of this chapter)