"Why?"
Chen felt a little distressed. Zhu Ping'an had passed the imperial examination this time, and he had received so many gifts in just half a moment. There would definitely be more in the future.
"The law stipulates that accepting gifts is equivalent to bribery..." Zhu Ping'an said softly.
Upon hearing this, Chen felt that the banknotes and land deeds in her hand were very hot, so she threw them all on the bed without thinking.
"Then I will return them all immediately."
Although she was a little reluctant, Chen was still anxious to return all the things. In her heart, her son still came first, and she couldn't let her son's future be affected by the gifts.
"It's nothing this time, it's still a favor. But in the future, don't accept it. Don't worry, your son will be filial to you, and you can eat well and wear warm clothes without accepting gifts."
Seeing his mother Chen's reluctance but anxious to return the gift, Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but comfort Chen with a smile.
"Is everything really okay this time?" Chen picked up the banknotes and land deeds and asked hopefully.
Zhu Pingan nodded.
"Then mother will put it away for you." Chen's mood immediately changed from gloomy to cheerful, and she happily put all the things under the pillow, and hid them when no one was around.
Zhu Ping'an had his own ideas about the villagers who came to the yard to make offerings after hearing the news. After communicating with Chen in the house in advance, Zhu Ping'an walked out of the house and came to the yard.
"Thank you all for your kindness, but as you can see, my house is small with few rooms and a small yard, so I really don't need servants or chefs. If you need anything in the future, I will definitely bother you all."
Zhu Ping'an walked out of the house and bowed to explain to everyone in the yard.
This inevitably disappointed many villagers who came to offer themselves as slaves or servants, but fortunately Zhu Ping'an responded to the land donation, which made the villagers who had been waiting for a long time very happy.
The voluntary donation was just to avoid taxes and corvée. Those who donated land in the courtyard had a hard life and were tortured by corvée and taxes. Donating land was beneficial to them. Therefore, Zhu Ping'an accepted the land donation from the courtyard.
The court strictly prohibited the donation of land. Although it was popular on the surface, it was still a problem if someone found out. Zhu Ping'an was careful in his habits and did not leave any handle for others. He signed two contracts with the villagers who donated land in the yard.
Two contracts. One is a contract for the sale of land, which is a real contract but does not need to be fulfilled, avoiding the contribution;
The other is a tenancy contract, which roughly reads as follows:
Liu Erniu, the tenant of the contract, now rents a certain field under the name of Zhu Ping'an and cultivates it. It is agreed that the rent shall be paid a certain amount each year, and the rent shall be reduced by a certain amount in case of flood or drought. The rent shall be paid on time after the autumn harvest, and the tenancy shall be permanent, without any limit on the number of years or months. Since there is no proof after all this, this land allocation contract is given as a reference.
The villagers were very happy to receive the second land tenancy contract. With this written contract, they were nominally donating the land, but in fact they were cultivating it themselves. In addition, Zhu Ping'an specially added the agreement of "tenanting forever. No limit on years and months" to the contract to comfort the villagers. This meant that the land actually belonged to the villagers.
"What is the typical rent?"
Zhu Pingan asked this question while writing the contract.
"11"
"28"
The villagers gave different answers, and looked at each other in bewilderment. Tenth means one tenth of the rent, and twenty-eight means two tenths. Generally speaking, the agricultural tax collected by the Ming Dynasty in the name of the state was lower than tenths, but the landless peasants who became tenants paid money and grain to the landlords as rent, which was usually slightly higher than the state's legitimate agricultural tax. Unscrupulous landlords might raise it to thirty-seven or even fifty-five. The villagers gave different answers, which should vary from landlord to landlord.
After listening to the villagers' answers, Zhu Pingan set the rent at 5 cents when writing the tenancy agreement, which was half of the lowest rent the villagers answered.
Such low rent made the villagers who got the tenancy agreement almost cry with joy, and they thanked Zhu Pingan again and again.
The villagers' thanks made Zhu Pingan, who had obtained nearly 100 mu of fertile land for no reason, feel a little embarrassed. He said that he had obtained nearly 100 mu of fertile land for no reason and was collecting rent, but the other party thanked him endlessly. It felt like Fan Wei's classic thank you back then.
After lunch, in order to avoid people giving gifts and making donations, Zhu Ping'an slung his schoolbag across his shoulder and headed for Shanghe Village to take shelter for a while.
Before leaving, my mother Chen said that if anyone came, she should say that she was reviewing for the imperial examination.
"Mr. Zhu is here. Congratulations to Mr. Zhu on getting into high school. Please come in. It's cold outside. Please warm your hands."
Uncle Li, the doorman of the rich man Li's house, was more enthusiastic than ever. He opened the door with a small iron stove in his hand and stuffed it into Zhu Ping'an's hands as soon as he opened the door.
After finally getting rid of the enthusiastic Uncle Li, Zhu Pingan walked towards the study. The door of the study was closed. Zhu Pingan knocked on the door from outside and soon heard footsteps approaching and someone opened the door.
A little maid with a chubby face poked her head out from the study and saw Zhu Ping'an's little mouth turned round in surprise.
"Zhu Pingan... Master."
Hua'er, the chubby-faced maidservant, habitually called Zhu Ping'an's name. However, after calling Zhu Ping'an's name, she remembered that Zhu Ping'an was already a juren, and hurriedly added the word "master" at the end in annoyance.
The word "master" felt so awkward that the little maid Hua'er's chubby face wrinkled.
"Just call me by my name." Zhu Ping'an's mouth twitched slightly.
"This is what you asked for, don't regret it." Hua'er, the chubby-faced maidservant, obeyed readily, her eyes curved into crescents.
"Hua'er, you little bitch are so naughty. The cold wind outside is blowing in."
Just then, a lazy female voice came from the study, like a lark flying into the house in winter.
"Miss, Zhu Ping'an is here to borrow a book." Hua'er, the little maid, explained to her mistress, then turned around and quickly whispered to Zhu Ping'an, "Come in quickly."
Zhu Ping'an nodded and went in. The chubby little maid Hua'er quickly closed the door and scooted up to her mistress by the hem of her skirt.
The study and the outside were like two different seasons. The study was kept warm by several charcoal braziers. Zhu Ping'an felt warm and comfortable as soon as he entered the study.
"Oh, I thought someone passed the imperial examination and was dissatisfied with our Li family because of its low threshold."
The lazy female voice spoke again, in a weird and sarcastic tone.
Zhu Ping'an looked up and saw a girl with bright eyes and white teeth lying on a recliner covered with fur of unknown animal in the study, rolling her eyes at him.
In addition to the girl who rolled her eyes and the chubby little maid Hua'er, there were two old women and two maids in the study who were watching over the charcoal brazier and making clothes.
"Why don't you say anything? I just hit the nail on the head. Humph, you're just a juren, why are you so proud?"
Seeing Zhu Pingan looking at her without saying anything, the girl rolled her eyes again and sneered again. (To be continued.)