Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 367 How about I arrange a marriage for you?

Achoo!

Yang Shaofeng suddenly sneezed, then muttered to himself, "Who's cricketing at me from behind?"

The lame man beside Yang Shaofeng lowered his head and thought to himself: With your reputation in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, you shouldn't be wondering who is talking behind your back, but rather who isn't.

Yang Shaofeng, unaware of what the lame man was thinking, simply wiped his nose with a handkerchief and led the lame man and Lu Buping, the magistrate of Qixia County, toward the village ahead.

The village in front of us is not big, with only about twenty households at most. There are no tall gates or large courtyards in the village; all you can see are low and cramped thatched houses.

Like the villages Yang Shaofeng had seen elsewhere, this village also had a large willow tree at its entrance. However, it was already late winter, and only some withered leaves remained on the branches of the willow tree. A cold wind blew by, adding to the desolate atmosphere.

Yang Shaofeng sighed softly, randomly chose a house, and stood at the gate of the courtyard, calling out loudly, "Is anyone home?"

A man came out of the house. As soon as he saw the official robes on Yang Shaofeng and Lu Buping, he hurriedly came out of the courtyard to greet them and bowed to Lu Buping, saying, "This humble commoner, Niu Er, greets Your Excellency."

Niu Er?

This guy might clash with me!

As Yang Shaofeng was pondering this, Lu Buping quickly said to Niu Er, "Niu Er, this is Prefect Yang of Dengzhou Prefecture."

Niu Er panicked and, when he bowed to Yang Shaofeng, he completely forgot the three words "Prefect Yang" that Lu Buping had just mentioned. Helpless, he knelt down with a thud and said, "This humble commoner Niu Er greets Your Excellency."

Your Excellency?

Tsk tsk, if I were to get promoted one day and become the Vice Minister of Shandong Province, wouldn't I become a very, very powerful official?

Yang Shaofeng found it amusing, but he helped Niu Er up and said with a smile, "Brother Niu Er, the reason I came here with Magistrate Lu is twofold: first, to ask for a bowl of water, and second, to take a look around Qixia County."

When Niu Er heard Yang Shaofeng say he wanted water, he became even more uneasy.

The master wants to drink water. Should I invite the master and the other master to come inside first?

But this dilapidated house is so low and broken, what if the master and lord get upset when they come in?

Besides, we only have three bowls at home, two of which are broken and chipped. The water in our water tank is also very dry. What are we supposed to use to serve water to our master?

Niu Er became increasingly nervous as he thought about it, while Yang Shaofeng, on the other hand, strode into the courtyard as if they were old friends. After looking around, he went straight into the house.

Once inside the house, Yang Shaofeng looked around again.

There was a bed on the east side of the room. I don't know what was underneath it, but there was a thick straw curtain on top, which I guess was for keeping warm in winter.

In the center of the room was a table, next to which were two wooden stools serving as benches, and next to that was a worn-out bench. In the southeast corner of the room was a water vat and a wooden basin.

Yang Shaofeng sighed inwardly, walked directly to a wooden stump, and then waved to Niu Er, "Come on, Brother Niu Er, sit down first, let's chat for a while."

Niu Er was so nervous when Yang Shaofeng entered the room that he didn't know where to put his hands. Now, when he suddenly heard Yang Shaofeng tell him to sit down, he hurriedly waved his hands, "Your Excellency, please sit down. I'm used to standing, I'm used to standing."

Yang Shaofeng laughed and said, "If I tell you to sit, then sit. If you don't sit, how can Magistrate Lu of Qixia County have the nerve to stand?"

After saying that, Yang Shaofeng reached out and grabbed Niu Er, pressing him down onto a wooden stump. He then sat down on another wooden stump and said with a smile to Lu Buping and Bo Wu, "Find a place to sit down yourselves."

Lu Buping and Lame Wu sat down directly on the dilapidated bench, and Yang Shaofeng looked directly at Niu Er and said, "Brother Niu Er, has the county government allocated land to you?"

Upon hearing the words "land distribution," Niu Er's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded repeatedly, replying, "It's been distributed, it's been distributed! The master has given me fifteen mu of land, and I remember there was a young man with me at the time."

Yang Shaofeng smiled and nodded, then continued, "Have all these plots been cleared? How many acres have been planted with wheat? And how many acres have been reserved to plant sorghum and beans in the spring? And how is the soil fertility?"

As Niu Er listened to Yang Shaofeng's series of questions, he glanced at Yang Shaofeng discreetly, feeling quite surprised.

After managing to calm himself down, Niu Er honestly replied, "In response to your question, sir, those lands were fertile land that the Tartars used as pastures. I have already cultivated five acres of them, and the soil fertility is quite good."

"I have planted wheat on these five acres of land. Next spring, I plan to clear a few acres of the remaining wasteland to plant sorghum and beans."

Yang Shaofeng nodded and smiled, "That works too. If we take good care of these fifteen acres of land, we should be able to harvest a good amount of grain next year."

Niu Er didn't know how to respond, so he could only laugh awkwardly twice. Yang Shaofeng continued to ask, "Did your Magistrate Lu tell you that His Majesty the Emperor exempted our Dengzhou Prefecture from taxes and levies for three years?"

Niu Er nodded repeatedly and replied, "Yes, yes, the master and that young master said it when they came. They said the emperor is kind-hearted and has exempted us from three years of taxes and corvée labor."

Yang Shaofeng smiled and nodded, then said seriously, "Actually, it's not just three years, it's five years."

Niu Er was slightly taken aback, but Yang Shaofeng continued, "From the first year of Hongwu, when Shandong came under the control of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor had already issued an edict to exempt us from taxes and corvée labor for three years, and even gave the people plows to help us plow the land."

"It's because the previous official was incompetent. He secretly took the plows that the emperor had given you and resold them, and he also collected money and grain from you under all sorts of messy pretexts."

Zhu Er immediately became nervous, muttering, "This...this..."

Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "The previous corrupt official has been arrested by the emperor and taken to the capital for trial and execution. Although the plowshare cannot be retrieved, it can be considered as a way of venting the anger of the people of Dengzhou Prefecture."

"It's also because the plows couldn't be recovered, and the emperor and the court couldn't provide more plows for the people of Dengzhou Prefecture in the short term. So the emperor issued another decree to exempt Dengzhou Prefecture from taxes, corvée labor, and miscellaneous services for another three years."

Niu Er nodded several times, his eyes reddening slightly.

Yang Shaofeng continued, "For the next three years, we won't have to pay taxes or labor service. We can focus on farming and save up some grain. Once the workshops in the county are ready, if we have the strength, we can go work there and earn some money."

After looking around again, Yang Shaofeng suddenly smiled and said, "How about this, Brother Niu, if you work hard to cultivate the land and harvest more grain next year, I will arrange a marriage for you before winter at the latest. What do you say?"