"Listen to what your elder brother has to say."
Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Mr. Zhu stood up at this time. Mr. Zhu was still considering the entire Zhu family in his heart, at least that's what he thought. Zhu Ping'an was his proud grandson, and he didn't want Zhu Ping'an to get into trouble, but things had already happened, and now it was important to consider the entire family.
Apart from Zhu Ping'an, the only one who can bring honor to the Zhu family is the eldest brother.
In addition, after listening to what the eldest brother said when he just came, Mr. Zhu still agreed with his proposal. After all, he is a scholar, knowledgeable, calm and active in the face of things.
This is the Ming Dynasty, the peak of the feudal dynasty, an era dominated by feudal etiquette and patriarchy. Old Master Zhu is the head of the Zhu family. Although Zhu Ping'an's family has been separated, his identity as a member of the Zhu family cannot be erased.
After Mr. Zhu spoke, although his mother Chen was extremely angry with her uncle Zhu Shouren, she could only consider Mr. Zhu and endured the pain.
Seeing that Mr. Zhu was in control of the situation, Uncle Zhu Shouren picked up the teacup in one hand, pulled his sleeve with the other, and took a sip of tea in a very elegant and refined manner. Then he put down the teacup, put on an attitude of wholeheartedly considering the future of the Zhu family, cleared his throat, and said seriously:
"Second brother, sister-in-law, I understand your feelings. Zhu'er is our Zhu family's unicorn. I don't want anything to happen to Zhu'er, but there are unexpected events in life. When something happens, we have to think about the future. I think even a smart guy like Zhu'er would do the same."
There are unexpected changes in the weather, and people are subject to misfortunes and blessings at any time? !
When she heard this, Chen's eyes glared at her uncle Zhu Shouren so hard that sparks almost flew out, and her anger almost ignited the air around her.
"I wonder if my second brother has ever calculated how much tax your family's land pays every year?" Uncle Zhu Shouren ignored Chen's gaze and looked at Zhu's father calmly and asked.
"My family doesn't have to pay taxes." Father Zhu shook his head slightly.
"Yes, you don't have to pay taxes now, but what about in the future?" Uncle Zhu Shouren stood up and walked around with his hands behind his back, and said after a while. "You don't have to pay taxes because of Zhu'er's achievements, but if Zhu'er is gone, you will have to pay taxes and bear corvée labor."
Zhu'er is not here?!
This sentence irritated Chen again. She gritted her teeth and glanced at her uncle Zhu Shouren coldly, saying coldly, "Don't worry, brother. I have the sixth-rank imperial decree of Anren."
The uncle shook his head upon hearing this. He sighed and said, "According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, your sixth-rank Anren Imperial Edict only provides you with courtesy treatment, such as not kneeling when meeting an official, etc. However, you have no real power, and there is no exemption from taxes and labor service."
"So what?" Chen's tone was very impatient.
"Not counting the tens of thousands of acres of land that the Li family brought as a dowry today, even if your family already has some land, if you have to pay taxes on it, it would cost at least a hundred taels of silver a year. This is not a small amount." Uncle Zhu Shouren said in an exaggerated tone.
Although my uncle Zhu Shouren didn't know the exact amount of land owned by Zhu Ping'an's family, he knew the approximate amount of land owned by Zhu Ping'an's family. After Zhu Ping'an passed the imperial examination, Zhu Ping'an's family bought land once. After Zhu Ping'an passed the imperial examination, Zhu Ping'an's family bought land again. This time the amount was large, and many people donated land. The total amount was not small. In addition, after Zhu Ping'an passed the imperial examination, Zhu Ping'an's family bought even more land. Even if we only count these lands, the taxes would be hundreds of taels of silver.
The more land you own, the more taxes you will have to pay. This is an obvious truth. Zhu's father glanced at his uncle Zhu Shouren and said nothing.
"This is just the land you already own. If you add the 10,000 acres of land that the Li family gave as a dowry today, the tax will have to increase several times." After saying this, uncle Zhu Shouren opened his mouth and sighed.
The land as a dowry? That was the dowry of the second daughter-in-law, Li Shu. It was Li Shu's private property! It was Li Shu's personal property, and it belonged only to Li Shu.
"What do you think, brother?" Chen glanced at her uncle Zhu Shouren and asked sarcastically.
"It's not a brilliant idea. But it is still a method. The land was exempted from taxes in the beginning because of Zhier's achievements. Now if we find another person with achievements and transfer the land to his name, wouldn't it be possible to exempt taxes as before?" Uncle Zhu Shouren's eyes sparkled and he made an inflammatory suggestion in his tone.
"Where can I find such a person?" Chen asked knowingly, with contempt in her tone.
"After all, you have so many properties. If you find an outsider, you will not feel at ease. It is better to find someone you know. As the saying goes, brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons fight in battle. Family members do not talk behind each other's backs. You cannot write two red characters with one stroke of the pen. There is nothing more reassuring than family members. It is better to transfer your properties to my name. In this way, I will be exempted from taxes and labor service, and you will not need to pay taxes on your properties. The properties are still your properties, but they are under my name. I will not touch a penny. It can save hundreds of taels of silver every year. What can't I do?"
Hearing this, the irony in Chen's eyes became even stronger. The fox's tail was exposed. After all, it turned out that he was planning to take the family's land.
I really despise him. He is so old, but he doesn't study hard and thinks about these crooked ideas all day long. He never thinks about working hard with his own hands. He has been eating food for decades. When Zhier was in elementary school, he was already a student. When Zhier passed the examination, he was still a student. Zhier passed the examination to become a scholar, a juren, and now he has passed the examination to become the top scholar. His uncle is still a student. If he doesn't work hard, I think he won't be able to pass the examination to become a scholar even if he is given a few more decades.
"Oh, the land will be transferred to you, and the taxes will be exempted. Well, why not transfer the land that came as a dowry today to you. Oh, let me think about it. By the way, there are also shops in the town. Well, many of the shops that came as a dowry today should also be transferred to you." Chen said lightly.
What
Even the dowry was transferred over
Are the shops also coming over
Happiness came so suddenly that uncle Zhu Shouren could hardly believe what he heard. He thought Chen was the most difficult to deal with, but he didn't expect that Chen agreed after just one statement. It turned out that she was short of knowledge. The excited uncle breathed rapidly, and the veins on his forehead were exposed.
The aunt and Zhu Pinganjun's wife standing by both had smiles on their faces.
"Second brother's wife, you are not kidding, are you?" Uncle Zhu Shouren asked with some disbelief.
"You were the one who started the joke..." Chen sneered, full of contempt.
"You..." Uncle.
"If I remember correctly, eldest brother is not a scholar yet, right? You still have to pay taxes. It's better to wait until eldest uncle becomes a scholar." Chen glanced at her uncle Zhu Shouren and sneered with disdain.
"From a woman's perspective, I'm sure to pass the imperial examination this time. Lord Liu and the others have promised me that. In addition, someone introduced me to the steward of the academician's family and I left my name on it. According to convention, all those who leave their names on it are sure to pass." Uncle Zhu Shouren said excitedly, as confident that passing the imperial examination would be as easy as taking something out of a bag.
It was the same old story again, something about a guaranteed pass, something about a strong connection, these were things his uncle had been saying since he first took the exam for the scholar degree, and he had said them no less than ten times. Every time he made a solemn promise, but every time he failed, only the old man and the old lady believed it.
Using connections, going through the back door, all kinds of crooked ways, never thinking of relying on oneself.
Chen rolled her eyes in disdain.
"Let's wait until eldest brother passes the examination to become a scholar." Father Zhu looked at his eldest brother and said in a deep voice.
"You... you don't know what Zhu'er did in the capital yet, Zhu'er is so confused..." Uncle Zhu Shouren would not give up until he achieved his goal. When one plan failed, he would come up with another one. He spoke with a heavy face and then repeated the story of Zhu Ping'an's impeachment of killing Liang and taking credit for his crimes, exaggerating the danger.
"Whatever Zhi'er does must be right. I believe in Zhi'er." Chen was unmoved.
"Why? Zhi'er was deceived. The general..." Uncle Zhu Shouren repeated what he had done to convince Grandpa Zhu.
"If I don't trust Zhu'er, how can I trust outsiders?" Chen retorted to her uncle Zhu Shouren, which was completely different from Mr. Zhu's reaction at the beginning.
"We and Zhu'er are a family, so we must share both good and bad times. As Zhu'er's parents, we don't have any ability, but we are not afraid of trouble. If someone comes to cause trouble for this, we will seek justice for Zhu'er." Zhu's father also replied in a deep voice.
Uncle Zhu Shouren...
"That tax is not a small amount." Mr. Zhu reminded.
"Dad, firstly, my eldest brother has not yet achieved the title of a scholar, and secondly, the land produces more than the taxes. If we have something to eat, you two old men won't starve." Chen explained calmly. (To be continued.)