The happy little days of the Ye family

Cleaning up rivers was originally a good thing, but it was too hard.

He wakes up earlier than a chicken, goes to bed later than a dog, and doesn’t have enough to eat every day. Those who are slower will be whipped.

Most of the people who came back from the corvee were almost peeling off a layer of their skin, and those who were in poor health could not survive it.

In the past few years, everyone has had more fields, and they have also planted red dates and honeysuckle with the Ye family, and they have also saved some money.

Two taels of silver can still be taken out through gritting one's teeth, and many people are planning to pay to be exempted from the corvee.

However, this year's exemption from corvee costs five taels of silver, which makes it difficult for the people in the village.

Five taels of silver is enough to cover the expenses of a family for a year.

The exemption from corvee was suddenly increased from two taels of silver to five taels, and Ye Qiushi also felt that it was unkind.

But this was a notice issued by the government, and there was nothing he could do, so he had to persuade everyone earnestly.

"Everyone, please be patient. I know it's not easy for everyone, but there is nothing we can do. The rivers must be dredged."

"The Luohe River has not been dredged for several years, and now a lot of silt has accumulated. If it is not dredged again, it will be prone to flooding if there is heavy rain next year."

"This time the corvee lasted half as long as in previous years, and it cost a lot to dredge the river. Everyone has money to contribute and is able to contribute."

Everyone also knows that there are many heavy rains here, and if the river is not dredged in time, floods will easily occur.

The government organizes river cleaning every three to five years, and the money allocated by the court is definitely not enough.

The gap was naturally filled by those who did not want to do corvee service. The main theme is that those who have money will contribute money and those who have strength will contribute.

Seeing that everyone's discussion gradually became quieter, Ye Qiushi reminded again:

"The corvee is tiring. Let's prepare some durable food in advance and take it over to start a small stove. Before setting off, let's make some meat at home to replenish our health."

"We all belong to the same village. We should look after each other when we go out. Help those who are in need and come back neatly."

After spending a lot of words, Ye Qiushi comforted everyone, and then told another piece of news that was not good for everyone.

"In addition to corvee service, the government has also issued a notice that military service will be required this year. Every household must have an adult male, and he will set off after the beginning of spring."

"Families without adult males are exempt from military service. Those who do not want to serve in the military can pay to be exempted from military service. One quota is exempted for 30 taels of silver."

As soon as the people below were comforted, the news of military service exploded, and everyone started talking again.

Some people are already thinking about which member of their family is suitable for military service, and those selected are mostly the least favored members of the family.

People who originally wanted to spend money to exempt themselves from corvee service no longer cared about it.

I was silently thinking about how much money my family had and whether it would be enough to be exempted from military service.

Corvee labor is tiring, but it doesn't kill anyone. But military service is different. After narrowly escaping death, many people borrowed money on the spot.

Ye Xilin and Tang Xiaojing were originally standing in the corner, but were quickly found out.

The people present were all veterans. Seeing that the two were young, they all wanted to borrow money.

But the two of them are not stupid. It is easy to lend the money, but it is difficult to get it back.

These days, it’s all the uncles who owe money, and even if they borrow money, they’re still in trouble.

"Uncles and uncles, it's useless for you to look for me. I don't have any money, it's all with my mother."

Ye Xilin was so stupid that he directly said that he had no money. He also took out the purse he had just prepared in advance and showed it to everyone.

There were only about a dozen copper coins in the dry, flat purse.

People in the village don't know that the Ye family has a rule that they can keep half of the money they earn. Seeing that Ye Xilin was young, he didn't doubt what he said.

Ye Xilin escaped, and everyone turned around and looked for Tang Xiaojing.

"I, I don't have any money either. Xilin's sister is in charge of my family's money. I only have a few copper coins as pocket money every month."

As he spoke, he followed Ye Xilin's example and took out his wallet.

Ye Xilin was young and not yet married. When he said he had no money, people in the village still believed him. Tang Xiaojing said he had no money, but no one believed him.

But Tang Xiaojing insisted that he had no money, and no one could do anything about him, so they couldn't just grab it.

Seeing the mess below, Ye Qiushi quickly knocked on his hand several times.

"Everyone, please be quiet. Anyone who speaks again will be fined."

When they heard that they were going to be fined, everyone quickly became quiet and no one dared to speak out.

It was his father who had the foresight to say that his throat-breaking shouting was not worth a light fine.

"Those who are doing corvee service will be leaving in five days. Whoever in the family is going to do corvee service should come to my place to sign up as soon as possible. Those who want to be exempted from corvee service should also come and pay the money as soon as possible."

"In addition, although the military service will start in the spring after the new year, the list must be submitted in advance. When the corvee list is submitted, the military service list must also be submitted together."

"Everyone in the family should quickly discuss who will serve in the military. Once the quota is handed in, it cannot be changed."

When it comes to the quota for military service, the palms and backs of the hands are full of flesh, and everyone has a headache about the quota.

"It's getting late. Let's go back early and discuss who from each family will do corvee or military service. Those who don't want to go should come over and pay the money."

When Ye Xilin returned home, he saw everyone happily playing with Xiao Qi.

I thought to myself, if I had known he would not have gone to this meeting.

Seeing Ye Xilin coming back, Father Ye asked very perfunctorily.

"What was said in the meeting?"

"In three days, officials will come to collect the grain tax and poll tax. In addition, there will be corvee and military service this year."

"Every household has to send someone to perform corvee and military service. The list will be submitted in three days. After five days, those who have served will set out to clean the river. Military service will not start until spring."

Mother Ye naturally didn’t want Father Ye or his two sons to suffer, so she said directly:

"Our family will still contribute the same money as before, and the money for exempting quotas will still be the same as in previous years, right?"

Ye Xilin shook his head, "Corvee service is worth 5 taels of silver per quota, and military service is 30 taels of silver per quota."

Hearing this, Mrs. Ye couldn't help but exclaimed:

"In previous years, corvee service was 2 taels of silver and military service was 20 taels of silver. Why did it suddenly increase so much this year?"

"I don't know about this. Anyway, it's a notice issued by the government." Ye Xilin also felt sorry for money.

However, Old Mrs. Ye only complained a little, but she still had to pay the money that should be paid, and she was reluctant to let the children at home suffer.

The money for corvee and military service has increased a lot this year, and Ye's father accepts it well.

If you have money, give money; if you have power, give effort. Even if you don’t want to contribute, you should spend more money.

As he got older, his two sons saw Gao Dao working but couldn't do it, so they stopped holding everyone back.

Father Ye made the decision directly, "The 35 taels of silver will come from the public account."

Father Ye was very happy when he paid the money. He took the money to the village chief's house early in the morning.

Father Ye thought he was early enough, but he didn't expect that several families had already arrived, and Tangshan was also there.

The people who came here early in the morning all came to pay, and they were all from relatively wealthy families in the village.

People who are going to serve in the military or Yao service are still discussing who will get this quota.

When Ye's father came over, he heard several families quarreling over the quota for corvee military service. Two brothers got into a fight.

For a time, because of the military service, everyone had a lot of thoughts.