His several grandsons had it more difficult, but his granddaughter had the skill of tailoring and was very likely to work permanently at the clothing shop, becoming a fixed long-term worker. Then she could earn much more.
He told all this to Zhao Mingming.
He didn’t know why he was telling Zhao Mingming this. Although he was simple and honest, having lived through chaotic times and seen people around him leave one after another, he still had his guard up and knew the principle of not flaunting wealth. Yet squatting together with Zhao Mingming, when she asked a question, he couldn’t help but tell her.
It was even the kind where she asked one question and he couldn’t help but answer with three.
By the time he finally finished chatting with Zhao Mingming, having poured out both the happy things and troubling things at home, the sky was nearly dark.
Zhao Mingming enthusiastically wanted to invite him to dinner and have him stay overnight at home.
The old man hurriedly refused. “We farmers can temporarily stay at the Charity Hall when we come to town. I’ll stay there.”
“How can the Charity Hall be as comfortable as home? It’s all my fault for talking and forgetting to watch the time. Old sir, please stay at my place tonight. I have spare rooms at home.”
The old man still refused. Zhao Mingming said, “Fine, if you won’t stay, you won’t stay. But you must have a meal. Come, come, come. Our yamen has public meals. I can take them home to eat.”
When the old man heard this, the words of refusal stuck in his throat. Delighted, he went with Zhao Mingming into the county yamen to get food. Government food—it would be a waste not to eat it!
Zhao Mingming took a two-layer large lunchbox. Whether getting rice or dishes, she filled it to the brim. Before leaving, she even ran to the staple food window and sweetly took several steamed buns and flatbreads.
The old man held her lunchbox and followed behind. Seeing her grab five or six flatbreads with one hand and pinch seven or eight large steamed buns with the other, he immediately smiled so widely his eyes disappeared.
Zhao Mingming led him toward her public rental housing.
The old man followed behind her and asked in a low voice, “Young lady, you’re alone getting so much food. Don’t your superiors have any objections?”
Zhao Mingming said, “I have a big appetite and eat a lot to begin with. Plus, regardless of rank, every official has three opportunities each year to bring family members to tour the yamen. This extra portion is for family members.”
There were so many talented people in the world, and they didn’t necessarily have to become officials, especially after officials also had to pay taxes and lost many benefits.
So to attract talent, besides giving some financial benefits, Zhao Hanzhang ordered local yamens to build public rental housing. This type of public rental housing was specifically rented to local officials and clerks. The rent wasn’t high, and the housing layout was reasonable.
In addition, officials could receive family members to tour their work yamens each year, and local yamens held family activities every year to make their families proud and encourage more aspiring young people in society to choose the Recruitment Examination and enter office as officials.
The effect was decent.
The old man was extremely envious, gazing at Zhao Mingming. “My several sons aren’t good at studying. I don’t know what the children they have after marrying will be like. If even one person could be like you, young lady, and pass into the county yamen, our family could be considered to have changed our fortunes.”
Zhao Mingming smiled. “It’s not that exaggerated. I’m just a junior clerk in the county yamen. When you have grandsons and granddaughters, have them study seriously. As long as you’re willing to support them, I think the county examination and commandery examination are quite easy to pass.”
To Zhao Mingming, the county examination and commandery examination were truly not difficult. Roughly understanding the Four Books and Five Classics, arithmetic and natural studies also just tested some elementary knowledge. What remained were policy essays and writing and summarizing official documents—very simple.
At this time, Zhao Mingming hadn’t yet noticed the huge gap between herself and ordinary students. The parts that weren’t difficult for her were precisely the items where they had the most difficulty scoring. The poetry, prose writing, and analytical essays on the Four Books and Five Classics that gave her some headaches were instead the parts where excellent students in the county examination and commandery examination excelled.
Zhao Mingming invited the old man for a meal, then personally escorted him to the Charity Hall. Only after seeing him check in did she leave.
The Charity Hall was also built by the court. Basically every county had one.
Its nature was similar to low-rent housing, except that low-rent housing was long-term rental for local poor families, giving them a place to live.
The Charity Hall was short-term rental housing, for farmers coming to the county town, people temporarily hungry and poor, and others to stay in. Staying there didn’t cost money and didn’t even require household registration documents, but they would be asked the reason.
For old people like this who came to town to sell some agricultural sideline products and take a look at the announcement wall, the managers didn’t like to ask much. They assigned rooms and didn’t care further.
What the managers liked most were those who, when asked the reason, had confused faces, or were directly there because of poverty, no money, and came to stay in hunger and cold. When asked again, they didn’t even have household registration. Then the managers were delighted.
This meant they could create achievements—keep the person, register household status, settle them, distribute land…
You should know that since the seventh year of Zhenyuan, it had become very difficult to find black households without household registration outside. There weren’t even any refugees.
As soon as refugees appeared anywhere, the county magistrate was overjoyed and would immediately keep them. Keeping one person meant their county’s new population increased by one. Asking about their original registration, they could even write to impeach the original county magistrate.
How poorly must that county’s magistrate be doing for common people to become displaced refugees under Her Majesty’s administration?
You should know that permanent estate land couldn’t be bought or sold! How could common people lose their land and become refugees?
It must be that the local county magistrate and gentry landlords had done great evil deeds. Exposing them would be an achievement!
Because the summer harvest had ended, many farmers had recently come to town to sell goods and check for news, so the Charity Hall was full.
Zhao Mingming wandered around the Charity Hall for a while. Farmers gathered in groups of three or five, loudly discussing this year’s harvest and taxes.
A farmer who had done well in literacy class was already counting on his fingers, calculating for everyone the tax amount to be paid this summer.
Zhao Mingming listened for a long time, forcibly holding back the urge to go forward and correct them, turning to silently leave.
She had already walked out of the Charity Hall when the voices from behind still caught up with her. “Listen to me, you’re right. Your family of five people’s land should prepare eight stones of grain. Definitely no mistake.”
“But my family only paid six stones and three pecks last year. I heard this year it’s only forty-to-one, even less than last year. Why would we have to pay more? And there’s still autumn tax. Taxes are collected twice, so summer tax shouldn’t be this much, right?”
“Don’t listen to him, don’t listen to him. He calculated wrong.”
“Bullshit! In my literacy class of one hundred and two people, I’m third. Would I calculate wrong?”
“You clearly recognize the most characters, first in literacy. Why are you still ranked third? Because your arithmetic is poor! Old Chen, let me calculate for you…”
“Stop arguing, stop arguing. Old Chen, this year it’s your family’s turn to escort the tax tribute, right? Who from your family will go?”
A heavy, worried sigh sounded in Zhao Mingming’s ear. “Haven’t decided yet. I want my eldest to go, but he earns the most money. Going for two months might delay the farming season.”
“Your family is still good. You have many adult males. You can send anyone. My brother-in-law’s family is unlucky. Only my brother-in-law is an adult male. This year it’s also his family’s turn. Once he leaves, leaving behind mother and child, my family still has to look after them. My wife has already told me that this year for autumn harvest, we’ll combine forces with my brother-in-law’s family. The two families will work as one. I don’t know if it will delay the farming season.”
Zhao Mingming stopped listening and strode toward the public rental housing.
Fan Lianyin and Zu Daozhong, who had just returned from overtime work, were sitting on the steps holding tea, staring blankly with vacant expressions.
Seeing Zhao Mingming return, the two lazily stood up to greet her. After Zhao Mingming indicated no need for formalities, they sat down again, staring blankly with vacant expressions.
Zhao Mingming pulled over a chair and sat opposite them. “Are you this tired?”
The two nodded together.
—