During the New Year, there are quite a few people walking around Ye Xiaotian's mansion, but most of them come to visit and connect with each other during the New Year's Eve, such as county gentry, yamen bureaucrats, resident officials, cottage chiefs, who can really come and go freely , is Ye Xiaotian's friend or confidant.
Among these people, the tycoon was busy taking care of his children and couldn't leave the house. Su Xuntian, Zhou Bantou, Li Yuncong and others were the only ones who often visited Ye's house. On this day, Li Yuncong came to Ye Mansion again, with his right arm held out, and a big colorful bird with flamboyant feathers resting on his wrist, swaggering like a dandy.
Ye Xiaotian couldn't help laughing when he saw it: "Haha, brother Li is driving an eagle and leading a dog, and he really has the prestige of a tax ambassador."
Li Yuncong blushed, and said with a sneer: "Second Master, don't make fun of it. This parrot is a filial piety for your subordinates. I don't like to raise birds in a lowly position. I see that the Second Master's family has a large courtyard, and they keep King Kong and Pixiu. I think he will like it." , and brought it to you."
As Li Yuncong said, he raised his arms, and the fluffy parrot flapped its wings and flew up, but Li Yuncong had a shiny silver iron ring on his thumb, and a thin iron chain on the ring was tied to the parrot's feet, so it couldn't fly very well. Far away, the parrot spread its wings in the air and screamed: "Hello, sir, good luck, sir."
Ye Xiaotian was stunned for a moment, and laughed loudly: "Brother Li has a heart, I like this parrot very much!"
Li Yuncong is one of Ye Xiaotian's shrewd disciples. He is neither as casual as Su Xuntian nor dull like Zhou Bantou. Big, he really has nothing to give away. Don't give it away, it seems too casual, so every time he visits the door, he carefully picks up some small things.
The maid in front of the hall saw that the bird was beautiful and could talk, and she was very happy. She hurried forward and took the iron ring from Li Yuncong. Put it down!" As he said, he pulled the iron chain, and the parrot flew back, followed the chain, and landed on the little girl's arm.
The little maid happily took away the parrot, Ye Xiaotian asked Li Yuncong to sit down, and asked: "Is everything under control over there?"
Li Yuncong leaned forward and said, "It's okay, especially around the New Year's Eve, the post road is not busy, and everything is going well." He cleared his throat, and said, "However, there will be a big event in the next year, and I'm afraid we have to make preparations early. , otherwise I’m afraid there will be trouble.”
Li Yuncong, the tax ambassador, was recommended by Ye Xiaotian. In official circles, the recommender must be recorded in the resume of the recommendee. It is easy to recommend, and it is only logical that the referee receives this great favor and is regarded as the referrer.
Now that Li Yuncong has just taken up his duties, if something goes wrong, it means that Ye Xiaotian doesn't know people well, so Ye Xiaotian is also very concerned. The Tax Ambassador has no direct affiliation, and it's not exactly a formal occasion, but it's a debriefing, to be precise.
Of course, the Department of Taxation is not only responsible for commercial taxes, but Huxian County is not an important economic pillar except for post and road trade. Especially as a large agricultural country in the feudal era, the proportion of agriculture in this county is extremely low. But low does not mean no, so this is also part of the tax department's responsibility.
Before Xu Boyi initiated the activity of changing his surname, Ye Xiaotian picked the peaches. The credit goes to him, and the responsibility naturally goes to him. Now that the Chinese New Year has passed, it is time to fulfill the obligation.
To collect taxes this year, it is necessary to strictly calculate the taxes that have been exempted by those who have changed their surnames in response to the call of the imperial court. These are to be deducted from the total taxes that should be collected. How to distribute the amount of relief from the government every year, how much relief money can be obtained from the superiors, and whether to give relief to families that have been exempted? These are all higher-level issues, and it is true that Li Yuncong, the tax ambassador, can't decide, but he can't ignore it, because if something goes wrong, he will be directly responsible, and even Ye Xiaotian will be implicated .
Ye Xiaotian heard him finish, and said decisively: "Families who have already been exempted must also participate in receiving relief. They were exempted because they responded to the call and accepted Yisu, and it has nothing to do with their family's poverty. If you exclude them once, the court favor they received before will become a dead letter. There is no doubt about this. You should let the wind out first to calm people's hearts. As for how much relief you can get from Shangfeng and how to distribute it, it is up to you. As soon as the office is opened, I will immediately discuss with the county lord!"
Li Yuncong can't decide this kind of thing, he came here today to ask Ye Xiaotian for help, after hearing Ye Xiaotian's words, Li Yuncong was determined, and the business was over, the two of them talked about some light topics. As a result, an extremely loud roar was heard at this moment, which was the voice of the giant ape.
Ye Xiaotian heard that voice seemed to be coming from the courtyard where Yaoyao lived, so he left the seat and rushed to the corridor, looking curiously into the courtyard where Yaoyao lived. In the distant yard, the parrot dragged a length of chain and flew over the yard, scolding coquettishly: "Fool! You fool!"
Presumably, it also learned this sentence from other places, and it may even be the words used by its master to scold it when it first learned to speak. It may not understand the meaning of this sentence, but from the tone and demeanor, it can probably understand the occasions when it should be used. Sometimes it is used to scold the giant apes.
The big man roared and cursed like a King Kong with angry eyes, and jumped into the air from time to time, stretching out his giant palm like a cattail leaf fan to slap the parrot, but it was like a cannon hitting a mosquito, and it couldn't get close to it.
This gigantic ape was huge and invulnerable all over the body. It ran rampant in the courtyard, jumped high and low, smashed a lotus vat, and collapsed a corner of the rockery. In a rage, he rushed to the corner of the courtyard and pulled out the weeping willow. The dust was flying all over the sky, Yaoyao and the two little maids ran away one after another, but Fuwaer never got tired of it, running around behind the big man who was jumping up and down, seemed to find it extremely interesting.
Ye Xiaotian led Li Yuncong into the yard in a hurry, seeing King Kong and the parrot fighting fiercely, he was stunned, Ye Xiaotian exclaimed in surprise: "What's the matter, how can such a small thing get into trouble with a big man?" ?”
Hiding far away behind the pillars in the corridor, poked out his little head, and said aggrievedly: "I don't know, although this parrot's mouth is a bit broken, but it is quite cute, but big people don't like it, the parrot is only on its head. After taking a bite, it flew into a rage..."
At this time, there was only a bang, and the leaping King Kong fell down and hit the top of the wall, crushing a wall. The parrot was dragging the chain, so it didn't fly very high, but King Kong didn't know how to grab the chain, and the thin iron chain might not be able to catch it with its huge palm.
Seeing the parrot flying towards him, Ye Xiaotian quickly jumped up, grabbed the chain, and dragged the parrot towards him. Seeing the mess in the courtyard, Li Yuncong said awkwardly: "Second Master, it's a humble job that doesn't think well, this parrot..."
Ye Xiaotian shook his head and sighed: "Beasts don't understand human affairs, so what does it have to do with you? That's all, this broken mouth and big man don't like each other, so just keep them in my room."
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At the foot of the mountain, in the back house of the county government office, Huazhi County listened carefully to the roar of the giant ape on the short mountain gradually subsiding, and then continued to talk to Master Bai. "Master Bai, after the Lantern Festival, the Yamen will be open. After the Yamen is attended, you should go to Tongren Mansion."
Walking next to him is Master Bai Hongbai, who was invited by the Hua Zhi County today, so he knew something was wrong. Hearing this, he hurriedly took two steps, and humbly asked the Hua Zhi County for advice: "I don't know if the Elder Master sent an official to What is the official business of Tongren Mansion?"
This Bai Hong used to be the magistrate of Jiangpu County, and he was a first-class county, his status was higher than Hua Qingfeng's. Now that he is the master, he really can put down his figure, his figure is slightly short, and he is extremely respectful. Perhaps the setback in his official career has dealt him a lot of blows, resulting in a change in his temperament.
Huazhi County Fuxu said: "When the New Year is approaching, the imperial court allocates a sum of money. You also know that the land in Guizhou is mostly barren, and it is difficult for the counties to complete the tax collection. Every year, they have to accept the imperial court's relief. This sum Call it down, there are more wolves and less meat, if you don't make a move earlier, once the first month comes, and then go to the government office, I'm afraid it will be divided up by other counties and counties, so we have to start early."
Bai Hong suddenly said: "Ah! I understand now. If that's the case, I will rush to Tongren immediately after the Lantern Festival."
Hua Qingfeng glanced at him, nodded and said: "This is the best! Master Bai, don't blame the county for being unkind. It is a last resort to send you to travel in the first month. The people in this county are fierce, There was always a lot of trouble for a little relief, but last year many local people responded to the court's change of customs and got exempted from money and food. Therefore, the situation is more complicated. I am afraid that the customary distribution has never changed, and those who have not received benefits before are envious and jealous, and it is inevitable that the dispute will become worse. If we can ask for more money and food, it will be safer."
Bai Hong came to Hu County to gain qualifications. He does not seek meritorious service, but seeks no merit. This is his creed for being an official. Although Hua Qingfeng only chattered lightly, Bai Hong sensitively noticed that "the people's customs are aggressive and aggressive." " and "worse right and wrong", Bai Hong immediately asked for advice nervously, and when Hua Zhixian said it, his heart was half cold.
It is said that the situation of the counties and counties under the jurisdiction of Tongren Prefecture is more complicated. Most of them are the heads of Tuzhi County. Zhang Zhifu is the Tuzhifu. , Hu County has set up Liuguan, which is equivalent to being a member of the court. In the eyes of Zhang Zhifu, it is inevitable that he will become a child of someone else's family. In this way, who is far and who is near
Therefore, the imperial court allocated the relief money to Guizhou Prefecture, and Guizhou Prefecture allocated it to Tongren Prefecture. Zhang Zhifu has always been able to distribute it through his real lineage. Hu County has always just made a fuss. Might get more.
This has always been the case in previous years, but this year's situation is different. Last year's Yisu move, the imperial court exempted the people who responded to Yisu's money and food. Then it would be hard to avoid.
At that time, the people will be dissatisfied with the reduction of the salary. Those who have been exempted will continue to receive relief. Those who have not been exempted will inevitably be unbalanced. If this delays the payment of salaries to officials and subordinates, the entire yamen will also be dissatisfied. Well, Bai Hong is just an official who has just taken office and has no prestige in the county. How can he bear so much dissatisfaction.
Bai Hong immediately became nervous, and quickly shied away: "Ah! I never thought that there are so many problems in it, which are related to the stability of the people in Hu County. How can I take on such a heavy responsibility when I just arrived in Hu County? , the county lord must choose another wise man."
Hua Qingfeng frowned when he heard this, and said embarrassingly: "Master Bai, as the master, this is your duty. If you don't go, who else can the county entrust to you? Besides, if you go If the government is fighting for relief funds, if your status is not as good as yours, then there is no hope of success."
Who else in Hu County has a higher status than Master Bai? Apart from Huazhi County, there is only Ye County Cheng, and Bai Hongfu was so heartbroken that he immediately said: "My lord, Ye Xiancheng initiated and succeeded in Yisu, and Ye Xiancheng is also a student of Tongren Zhang Zhifu, so he is the best candidate. !Look..."
Hua Qingfeng glanced at him, and said in his heart: "As for Ye Xiaotian's details, you are completely clear." Hua Qingfeng caressed his beard and hesitated: "Is this... this county can go and talk to Mr. Ye for you, but After all, you should be responsible for this matter, I'm afraid Master Ye..."
Bai Hong immediately said: "I will go to Ye's mansion right now, and ask Ye Xiancheng to help me with this. This matter is related to the people's livelihood in my Hu County. I believe that Ye Xiancheng will put the overall situation first."
Hua Qingfeng smiled slightly, nodded and said: "Very good! If Ye County Chancellor is willing to help you with this, the county will naturally open the door to convenience."