kingnovel Chapter 438 Taxes in the North
Chapter 438 Taxes in the North
The man smiled and said, "Yes, it is impossible to guarantee it. If the weather is good next year and God is fine, how much can one acre of land produce?"
Zhou Guo had no choice but to say it bluntly: "Uncle, I'll tell you the truth. I don't know. If I tell you this, I guarantee that you can produce three or four shi of rice per acre. You use all the land in your home to grow rice. If you don't reach this yield per acre, if you harvest less than one acre of wheat, then...right, I can't afford the consequences. I won't tell you, and I won't persuade you whether to plant or not. It's up to you to plant or not. You make your own choice and bear the consequences yourself. I can't afford it. I have a small head and can't handle such a big pot. I can't afford it!"
The person who spoke suddenly felt a little embarrassed, touched himself and stopped talking.
Many people hesitated after hearing this. They have been planting wheat for many years and can plant it even with their eyes closed. They know when to sow, when to weed, when to fertilize and when to water. But it is different with rice. They are completely in the dark and know nothing.
Even if someone is leading the way, it's just like cooking. Different people will grow different things even if the steps are the same.
A family like theirs cannot afford to make any mistakes. If half of the year's harvest is lost, they will go hungry after paying the tax.
Thinking of this, many people began to back off. Although it was very tempting, they still did not dare to risk their family's livelihood.
But the families with relatively more land and better financial conditions did not have so many concerns, and shouted excitedly, "Then I will also take two acres of land to test the water. If the harvest is really good, I will plant a few more acres next year. Our two acres of land is also close to the river. It was originally very fertile, but unfortunately there was a flood a few years ago. After being flooded once, the land became barren, and it is just right to use it to grow rice."
Four families said they wanted to give it a try. They all had land close to water, but of course they were reluctant to use all of it to grow rice, so they already took half of it.
If the land is only one or two acres, there won’t be that much land, so the impact will naturally not be that big.
He clamored for Zhou Guo to leave seeds.
Zhou Guo nodded, "Okay, I'll save all the seeds for you next year."
After saying that, he changed the subject, "But, uncles, let me be frank. If your harvest is not good, you can't put the blame on me. Don't ask me to compensate you for the grain. I can't afford it."
Several people laughed. "How can that be possible? We all depend on God for our livelihood. If the harvest is really bad, that's our fate. How can we blame you? Even if we can only get the seeds back, I won't blame you."
Everyone says so.
Zhou Guo was very satisfied. As long as she was not blamed, everything would be fine.
There are fifty or sixty households in the village, but only about ten of them will plant rice next year.
Wang Fugui and his family all want to plant rice. They have been planting rice all their lives. The harvest is so good, how can they not plant it? They plan to use half of their family’s land.
There are only five or six families in the village who want to follow suit and plant the same.
The most active among them is the Chen family. They have a lot of land, about 17 or 18 acres. They plan to use four acres to grow rice, which is the largest among the local families in the village.
After counting the number of households and figuring out how much land each household wanted to cultivate, Zhou Guo began to save seeds.
To be on the safe side, she kept at least twice as many seeds.
Select the seeds to be saved for next year, and the rest are what she can eat.
When harvesting wheat, they said they would buy rice but in the end they didn't. Seeing that the rice in the rice fields was about to ripen, Li saved the money and said it would be better to buy a few pounds of meat.
Zhou Guo hasn't eaten rice for half a year.
As soon as I finish planting and selecting the rice, I can't wait to start milling it. The rice is still hot as it has just been threshed from the fields and dried.
That night, the family ate the sweet and soft new rice, which was much more delicious than stale rice!
In order to go with the new rice, Zhou Guo also slaughtered a duck. After eating the duck last time and finding it delicious, she bought six adult ducks and fifteen ducklings at the market.
Anyway, there is a river not far from the door, so I can raise ducks. When the rice is planted next year, I can drive them to the fields to eat grass and insects. Their feces will remain in the fields and can also fertilize the fields.
The salty and chewy duck meat is paired with the sweet and soft rice. Zhou Guo's eyes narrowed as he ate. Rice is still the best dish. Such a good dish is only delicious when paired with rice.
The Zhou family hadn't eaten new rice for a long time, so they ate it bite by bite with duck meat and fried seasonal vegetables, and were very satisfied. They ate up most of the steamed rice, and in the end not a single grain was left.
Li was surprised and said, "It's hot, everyone's appetite is poor, a basket of steamed buns can't be finished, but this big bucket of rice has been eaten up, it seems that rice is more delicious."
Zhou Su smiled and said, "Mom, the new rice is delicious, soft and fragrant. I ate two big bowls."
Zhou Guo touched her stomach and burped. She felt so comfortable eating. It seemed like she hadn't had such a satisfying meal for a long time. Steamed buns were fine for one or two meals, but she couldn't stand eating them every day. "Mom, the newly milled rice is finished. Let's grind more tomorrow. Grind a sack of rice. If we eat one meal a day, it will last for more than a month. In this way, the rice can last until the new grain comes in next year."
Li didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "The new rice has just been harvested, dried and stored in the warehouse, and you are planning to take next year's new grain?"
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "It's not about beating, it's about calculating. There's only so much rice, so we have to eat it frugally. We'll have to pay taxes soon, so we'll pay all the grain in the form of wheat."
Everyone nodded. Compared to steamed buns, they still prefer rice because rice goes better with other dishes!
……
Taxes in the North are different from those in other places. There are fewer miscellaneous taxes, and you only have to pay them once a year.
But even so, many people still can't afford it.
Because they had a car, they were among the first to arrive, and they didn't have to squeeze with others in the next few days.
The grain collectors were also very gentle. They would give just the amount and would not do anything shady.
Li and his group had lived for so many years, but had never seen such a grain collector.
Wang Fugui said, "No wonder everyone is fleeing to the North. Damn, is this the fiefdom of the great general? Why is it so different from ours? If you don't know, you would think I've arrived in another country. Is the taxation here always like this?"
How can anyone answer this question? We are all from the same place, and we are all country bumpkins from the South.
Someone on the side couldn't help but proudly said, "Although the Northland is not the fief of the general, it is almost the same. Many years ago, our Northland was the same as yours, with a lot of miscellaneous taxes. Think about it, the Northland has few people and the land is thin. How much food can be grown? There are also frequent wars, and the Hu people go south to rob the grass and grain. As a result, people gradually leave and flee. The number of people in the Northland is decreasing, and it is almost empty."