Chapter 5 005. Exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes
"Wherever one's ambition goes, there is no limit. There is no limit to the distance between mountains and seas."
"This means that people must be determined and ambitious, and they must achieve even though they are infinite."
In the evening, at the desk in the north room, Ren Pingsheng was answering questions for twelve-year-old Xiaowan.
Xiaowan is young, but has a lot of experience and is more mature than other children of this age.
She cherishes her current life very much. Ren Pingsheng asked her to read more and study more, so she became literate and studied hard.
"Master, what is your ambition?"
Xiaowan asked curiously.
Ren Pingsheng shook his head.
The peaceful life was broken by the golden right hand obtained by chance. He could not leave the one kilometer radius of his residence on the earth. In this strange world, Ren Pingsheng only knew a superficial knowledge and did not even have an exact goal. Where could he go?
What ambitions have you set?
"What about you? Xiaowan, what are your ambitions?"
Ren Pingsheng asked.
With almost no aim, the arrow shot out with a whoosh, hitting the human-shaped straw handler's head.
The village chief shook his head in dismay.
Ren Pingsheng raised the corner of his mouth and reached out to touch Xiaowan's little head.
Ren Pingsheng handed the bow in his hand to the village chief.
The light rain continued until the evening, and the temperature started to drop, fearing that it would freeze in a few days.
"If you like it, I will give it to you if I have a chance in the future."
There is hard labor in peacetime, but it is too difficult to catch strong men in wartime.
Master Ren put his bow and arrow on his back and went out, heading towards the village martial arts field.
Xiaowan has already put away the herbs that were dried in the yard.
Xiaowan is obedient.
The two of them were under the dripping roof. Xiaowan was reading a book while peeking at Ren Pingsheng doing strength training while lifting two dumbbells. Ren Pingsheng was doing strength training while reading a small bowl. Occasionally they looked at each other and smiled at each other.
.
When Ren Pingsheng arrived, there were more than a dozen young people competing with Shi Suo there, making loud noises.
The village chief only shot a few arrows and returned the bow to Ren Pingsheng.
The martial arts arena is just east of the crossroads in the village. It is said to be a martial arts arena, but it is actually a relatively flat open space.
Ren Pingsheng shook his head.
At this time, it started to rain lightly in the sky, mixed with snow.
"When the weather gets cold, more refugees outside will die, and living corpses may cause another disaster."
It was a little off. It turned out that Ren Pingsheng shot at the straw man's head.
"village head."
Eggs, flower rolls, spicy soup, and ground soy milk.
While we in Liujia Village are farming, we also have to go hunting in the mountains frequently to survive."
"This bow is easy to use and powerful. It's much easier to use than the bow I had when I joined the army!"
Ren Pingsheng also placed an outdoor power supply and electric mattress in Xiaowan's room.
After agreeing on a time, bidding farewell to the village chief and militia team, Ren Pingsheng braved the drizzle and returned to his small courtyard.
"Um."
After all, the village chief had served as a soldier, worked for a long time, had seen the world, and was capable. Under his leadership, Liujiacun was considered an easier village in the entire Qingcheng Town, but most of the villagers still had insufficient food and clothing.
body.
Girls develop early. Xiaowan, who is already twelve years old, is less than 1.4 meters tall. If she doesn't grow up, she may be less than 1.5 meters tall in the future.
The village chief came over and looked at the bow in Ren Pingsheng's hand with hot eyes.
Xiaowan went back to her side room to sleep a little depressed.
Ren Pingsheng had long wanted to do some research in the town and immediately agreed.
The village chief liked it very much.
"Master, it's getting cold now. Let me warm your bed."
It's almost the beginning of winter, and it's considered a slack time for farming. In two days, there will be less prey in the mountains, and by then the people in the village will be even more idle.
Ren Pingsheng smiled and nodded, put on the cowhide finger protector, stood sideways, bent his bow and arrow, aimed at the grass handle ten meters away, and released his two fingers.
Ren Pingsheng couldn't help but sigh when he thought of the refugees he met on the road.
The weather was a bit gloomy the next day. When Ren Pingsheng got up, it was already almost nine o'clock. Xiaowan had already prepared a meal for him while he was waiting for him to get up.
Hate electric mattresses!
Ren Pingsheng also fell asleep in the warm electric mattress.
"The imperial court also charges money to suppress demons. Are there really demons in this world?"
"Need not."
"Mr. Xiao Ren, do you want to practice archery?"
"Drink more milk and you will grow taller."
Ren Pingsheng said with a smile.
Ren Pingsheng pushed a box of milk to Xiaowan.
This 75-pound glass slide bow is not only heavy in strength, but the wooden grip is also very comfortable. The black glass slide bow is also embossed with silver moire, which is very beautiful.
Ren Pingsheng shot five times in a row. When he shot the sixth arrow, his arm trembled and he missed the target. The shot hit the wall behind and there was no feather left.
"Haha, I'm an old man, so let's forget it. Making such a good bow is more difficult than a blunderbuss, so it will be a waste if you leave it in my hands."
"By the way, didn't you say you wanted to visit the town? Tomorrow happens to be the Qingcheng Fair. Now that it's getting cold, the village plans to sell some leather."
There are even poorer households who have no clothes to wear, so whoever has something to do can only go out to wear clothes, and when they have nothing to do, they can lie down at home to maintain their strength and save food.
"oh."
"Good bow!"
Ren Pingsheng saw the village chief who was lame on one leg teaching two teenage boys how to stand, so he said hello to him.
"Yes, these exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes make it difficult for people to live.
Xiaowan said seriously.
"good!"
After eating, Xiaowan was left to clean up the dishes.
Qingshui Town used to be an important trade town connecting the north and south because it relied on the Qingshui River, with carriages, boats, horses, traders, and pawns. Now, although the business activities have decreased significantly, it has long lost its past bustle, but the horses are thin and hairy, and in Qingshui County
It is still a big town second to none.
Everyone ran to the doorway under the adobe city wall not far away to take shelter from the rain.
"I have an electric mattress."
"Try the village chief?"
Ren Pingsheng shook his head.
Xiaowan didn't understand: "But I heard that other people's maids have to warm the young master's bed."
The village chief said again.
Ren Pingsheng threw the question back.
The village chief looked up at the rain and snow falling from the sky, with a sad look on his face.
"Um."
The word "sir" was obtained by Ren Pingsheng's superb and rejuvenating medical skills in the past two months.
"A harsh government is as fierce as a tiger."
The village chief took the glass slide bow enthusiastically, rubbed the bow lightly, and then casually pulled out an arrow at his feet. He didn't pay attention to his stance, he was very familiar with the bow and arrow, and shot it smoothly.
"What is the young master's ambition? My ambition is to follow the young master's direction."
Under such an environment, Ren never dared to eat and drink openly in his life. He had to close the door every time he ate to avoid being jealous of the villagers.
"call out!"
Xiaowan looked at Ren Pingsheng expectantly and said.
Especially in recent years, in addition to regular taxes such as land tax, there are also head taxes, corpse extermination pay, demon suppression pay, donation pay, and military training pay. Our county magistrate has also come up with car donations, cattle donations, and charity donations. In addition to
Taxation, and layer upon layer of exploitation by corrupt and ruthless officials.
"I've never seen anything like this. I'm afraid it's just an excuse from the imperial court."
When the village chief saw it was Ren Pingsheng, he smiled and greeted him.
The arrow had already hit Cao Bazi's chest.
An outdoor power supply can store 1.5 kilowatt hours of electricity when fully charged. It is also equipped with a folding solar panel. There is no problem in powering an electric mattress in winter.
Previously, just buying two outdoor portable power supplies cost Ren more than 10,000 yuan in his life.
At night, the north wind blew outside the window and blew in the small courtyard. Xiaowan was lying on the warm bed, with a smile that couldn't stop her lips.
The electric mattress is great!
After a night of silence, Ren Pingsheng got up unusually early the next day, put on a mountaineering bag, and went to join several militiamen in the village under the watch of Xiaowan.
