Mrs. Chen felt a little distressed. This time Zhu Ping'an won the election. He received so many congratulatory gifts 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 this, she felt that the banknotes and land deeds in her hands were very hot, and she threw them all on the bed without thinking.
"Then I'll send them all back immediately."
Although she was a little reluctant to give up, Ms. Chen was still anxious to return everything to others. In her heart, her son still came first, and she could not delay her son's future because of gifts.
"It's nothing this time, it's still a favor. But in the future, don't accept it. Don't worry, my son will definitely be filial to his mother, and he can make her eat well and wear warm clothes without having to accept gifts."
Seeing his mother, Mrs. Chen, reluctant to leave but anxious to return the gift, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but smile and comfort Mrs. Chen.
"Is everything okay this time?" Mrs. Chen picked up the banknotes and land deeds and asked hopefully.
Zhu Pingan nodded.
"Mom, put it away for you." Mrs. Chen immediately turned from cloudy to sunny, and happily put the things under the pillow, and hid them again later when no one was around.
Zhu Pingan had his own ideas about the villagers who came to donate after hearing the news in the yard. After communicating with Mrs. Chen in advance in the house, Zhu Pingan walked out of the house and came to the yard.
"Thank you uncles for your love, but as you all have seen, my little house and small yard are not big, so I really don't need a servant, a chef or anything like that. If there is a need in the future, I will definitely bother you uncles."
Zhu Ping'an left the house and explained to everyone in the yard.
This made many villagers who came to donate their land as slaves and servants a little disappointed. Fortunately, Zhu Pingan responded to the donation of land, which made the villagers who had been waiting for a long time happy.
Voluntary donation is just to avoid taxes and corvee. The people who donate land in the courtyard have a relatively hard life and are tortured by corvee taxes. Donating land is beneficial to them. Therefore, Zhu Ping'an is very important to the courtyard.
The one who donated the land still accepted it...
Donating land is strictly prohibited by the imperial court. Although it is popular on the surface, it is still a problem if someone finds out. Zhu Pingan is always considerate in his work and does not leave any clues to others. He has established a good relationship with the villagers who donated land in the yard.
Two contracts.
There are two contracts, one is a land purchase and sale contract. This is a real contract that does not need to be performed, avoiding the need for dedication;
The other is a tenant land contract, the general content of which is as follows:
Liu Erniu made a tenant contract, and now he is going to farm some fields under Zhu Ping'an's name. It is agreed that he will pay a certain amount of rent every year. If there is flood or drought, the rent will be reduced by a certain amount. After the autumn harvest, the rent will be paid on time, and the land will be farmed forever, regardless of the year.
After learning that there is no proof, I will give this Butian document as a photo.
The villagers were very happy to get the second land contract. With this contract, they nominally donated the land, but actually farmed it themselves. Moreover, in order to comfort the villagers, Zhu Pingan specifically added "permanent farming land" to the contract.
, no limit to the year and month" agreement, which is equivalent to the fact that this land is no different from that of the villagers.
"What is the typical ground rent?"
Zhu Pingan asked this question when he was writing the contract.
"pick up one"
"Twenty-eight"
The villagers gave different answers. They looked at each other after answering. The first one said that the rent collected was one tenth, and the second eighty said that the rent collected was two tenths. Generally speaking, the agricultural tax collected by the Ming Dynasty in the name of the country was less than ten percent.
First, landless peasants who become tenants pay money and grain to landlords as land rent, which is usually slightly higher than the national legitimate agricultural tax. Unscrupulous landlords may raise it to 37 or even 55. Villagers gave different answers. It may be because
It varies depending on the landowner.
After listening to the villagers' answers, Zhu Ping'an set the land rent at 5 cents when writing the tenancy agreement, which was half of the minimum rent given by the villagers.
Such low land rent made the villagers who received the tenancy contract almost cry with joy and thank Zhu Ping'an again and again.
The villagers' thanks made Zhu Pingan, who had received nearly a hundred acres of fertile land for no reason, blush a little. He said that he had received nearly a hundred acres of fertile land for no reason and still collected rent, but in the end, the other party thanked him endlessly. It felt like Fan Wei's classic saying back then.
Like thank you.
After lunch, in order to avoid people giving gifts and offerings, Zhu Pingan took his schoolbag across his body and headed to Shanghe Village to stay away from home for a while.
Before leaving, my mother, Mrs. Chen, said that if anyone came, she would say that she would review and prepare for the exam.
"Mr. Zhu is here. Congratulations to Mr. Zhu for high school. Come in quickly. It's cold outside and warm your hands."
Uncle Li, the concierge of Rich Man Li's house, was more enthusiastic than before. He directly opened the door with the small iron stove and thrust the small iron stove into Zhu Pingan'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 outside. Soon he heard footsteps approaching and someone opened the door.
A little maid with a bun face poked her head out of the study room and was surprised to see Zhu Ping'an's little mouth growing into a round shape.
"Master Zhu Pingan."
The bun-faced maid Hua'er habitually called Zhu Pingan's name, but after calling Zhu Pingan's name, she remembered that Zhu Pingan had already been elected, so she added the word "master" to the end in annoyance.
The word "master" felt so awkward that the little maid Hua'er's face wrinkled up.
"Just call me by my name." Zhu Pingan's mouth twitched slightly.
"This is what you asked for, so don't regret it." Hua'er, the little maid with a bun face, obeyed her kindness and her eyes turned into crescent moons.
"Hua'er, you stinky girl is so skinny, the cold wind outside is blowing in."
At this moment, a lazy female voice came from the study, like a lark flying into the house in winter.
"Miss, Zhu Pingan is here to borrow books." Hua'er, Baozi's little maid, explained to her lady, then turned to Zhu Pingan and whispered quickly, "Come in quickly."
Zhu Ping'an nodded and entered. Baozi's little maid Hua'er quickly closed the door, held up her skirt and walked towards her young lady.
The study and the outside were like two seasons. The study was warmed by several charcoal basins. Zhu Pingan felt warm and comfortable as soon as he entered the study.
"Oh, I thought someone had won the prize and disliked our Li family's low threshold."
The lazy female voice spoke again, sinister and full of sarcasm.
Zhu Ping'an looked up and saw a bright-eyed girl with white teeth lying on a reclining chair covered with the fur of an unknown animal in the study, rolling her eyes at him.
In addition to the girl who rolled her eyes and Baozi's maid Hua'er, there were two old ladies and two maids guarding the charcoal brazier making clothes in the study.
"Why didn't you say anything? But I told you what was in your heart. Humph, it's just a matter of lifting people up. Why are you so proud?"
The girl who rolled her eyes couldn't help but roll her eyes again when she saw that Zhu Pingan was looking at her without speaking, and said sarcastically again. (To be continued)