Chapter 19-The Head Guard in the Rain
After the Japanese army surrendered, the National Government began to rectify the Baojia system in the country, intending to let the Baojia system control the vast rural society and achieve the intention of effectively governing the country.
Jinsha Village had expanded again. The original Shangyong Village and Yishou Village had been combined. It had a vast territory, with nine guarantees and seventy Jia, more than 2,700 households, and a population of more than 14,000. The village office was located in Lingguan Temple.
After Zhou Yin attended the funeral of the Suichu family, he was no longer the head of Jinsha Village. No one knew what he had done. No one knew why he wasn't the township head anymore. No one in the Lotus Pond cared about the fate of a township head. They all had their own endless things to do.
The mayor of the new village was called Liang Guohua. The people of the Lower Lotus Pond did not know where he was from. Anyway, there was no one with the surname Liang in the Lower Lotus Pond area. From this, it could be inferred that Liang Guohua was not from the Lower Lotus Pond.
People were waiting to see if this new township head was better or worse than Zhou Yin. Zhou Yin had used the name of resisting the Japanese to run amuck in the Lotus Pond for many years. He had plundered so many people's wealth and raped so many women. It was really too numerous to count!
As soon as Liang Guohua took office, he began to establish the Baojia system.
One day, Liang Guohua came to Maple Ridge and found Mr. Rain in class in the main room of Gaoshan Temple. Liang Guohua said,"You must be Mister Rain. I've long heard that you're a famous scholar from the Lotus Pond."?”
"Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before."”
"We haven't met before, but I've heard of your great name." Let me introduce myself. I'm Liang Guohua. I'm the new township head. I'm here to take over from township head Zhou Yin.”
Mister Rain said," That's good, that's good. It's the head of the Liang Family. Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."”After saying that, he bowed politely.
Liang Guohua said," Mister Rain is full of knowledge. You should come out and do something for the country. Wouldn't dying at home bury your talent?"”
Mr. Rain said," That's what Village Head Liang thinks. Then tell me, I'm not doing anything for the country by teaching elementary school. Then why am I doing it?”
Liang Guohua said,"Teacher, you're right. Of course, teaching elementary school is for the country." What I mean is that it's a waste to use a talent like Sir to teach elementary school!”
Mister Rain said,"I don't have any talent. I'm just making a living. That's all."”
"Alright, let's get back to business," Liang Guohua said. The government is currently building the Baojia system, and there must be a head of the Baojia system. No one from the higher-ups has sent them. They can only be selected from the villagers. We want to select people with good moral conduct and culture to serve as the head of the Baojia system. " Jinsha Village has already held several meetings regarding this matter. They all agreed that it would be better for the head guard to be on duty for a year. As for your Nine Guardians, we chose you as the first head guard.”
Mister Rain said,"I can't, I can't. You'd better find someone else."”
Liang Guo Hua said," Why can't you? You're good in character and culture. Is there anyone better than you? You can't possibly want me to be your chief, right?!"”
"I'm just a teacher. I don't have any experience in society."”
Liang Guohua said,"If you say you can do it, then you can. If you can't, then you can." Don't be modest, take over this burden! Anyway, it's only a year's work. When the term ends, you'll be the king of your children again.”
Mister Rain said," You see, I have too many difficulties. My family has more than three buckets of paddy fields and two or three acres of dry land. I used to rely on my wife to farm. That capable wife has died six years ago. Now, this wife can't do this. I rely on teaching students and exchanging jobs with others. The eldest daughter is married, the second and third daughters are child brides, and there are still two younger daughters and a 13-year-old child at home. If I go to be the guardian, what will happen to this family?”
Liang Guohua said," I didn't ask you to be the head of the security guards for nothing. You still get paid for it. You get two or three loads of rice every month. This is taken from the Baojia ferry fee. You don't have to collect it.”
Mister Rain thought for a while and said," Alright, it's just a year anyway. It's just a duty. You can quit after a year. It's not good to keep embarrassing you."”
Liang Guo Hua said,"I still have to tell you that your Jiubao is a big bodyguard. You have a deputy head bodyguard, a deputy head bodyguard, and a bodyguard." Your job is to take care of everything. The deputy head guard will help you take care of everything. The deputy head guard will mainly send strong men. You don't have to do everything yourself. You have to mobilize the enthusiasm of others.”
Liang Guohua said," There's one more thing. The head of the security guard has to be in charge of the village granary. You'll be the head of the security guard on duty for a year, so you'll have to take turns in charge of the village granary for a year. Your Jiubao's village granary is in Jiangshan Villa, not far from your house. You can walk there with a pack of cigarettes.”
Mister Rain said,"I didn't expect the burden to be so heavy. I thought this book could still be taught."”
Liang Guo Hua said," You can't teach anymore since you're the head of the school. You can either disband or hire someone to replace you. You can't teach yourself. First, you're really busy with work. Second, you're afraid of people gossiping.”
Mister Rain asked,"When do I take office?"”
Liang Guohua said," I'll officially take office in July. I'll have a meeting at the township office in two days. I need to make some arrangements." I hope you can do your job well. Jiu Bao wants to be a role model for everyone.”
After Liang Guohua left, Mr. Rain's heart was in a mess. The daughter of the Yan family had passed away six years ago. He missed his wife very much. The daughter of the Yan family had been his wife for eighteen years. She had not enjoyed a single day of happiness. She had only lived the life of a cow or a horse. She had been farming, chopping firewood, spinning, weaving, and making shoes and socks. She was really a leader inside and outside. Lady Yan had given birth to five daughters and two sons for him. She was only thirty-eight years old when she died, and she died of dystocia. Mr. Rain could not understand why a woman who had given birth to seven children would encounter a difficult labor. If Lady Yan was still alive, how would she view him as the head of the security team?
In the evening, Mister Rain came to his second brother's house and told Wan Ren about what happened today. Wan Ren said," You shouldn't have agreed to this. Your family has a heavy burden. How can you do this work?!"”
The 19-year-old Lan Xin did not agree with her adoptive father's opinion. She supported her biological father in doing this. Lan Xin said," We should be clear about which is more important, between family matters and national matters. A person should forget his country and family. Many famous people in ancient times were like this.”
Wan Ren said,"What do you know about this child? You don't have a home now." I'll get married to you next year. When you have a family, I'll see how you forget your country.”
Mister Rain did not say anything. He agreed with Lan Xin's opinion. He felt that this child was indeed his own son and was not a selfish person. He could not express his approval. He knew his second brother's character. If he expressed it, his second brother would be unhappy.
Mr. Rain was in favor of Lan Xin getting married next year. Lan Xin already had a girl by her side called Lady Fan. This Lady Fan came to be a child bride when she was five years old. She was good-looking, polite, and good at doing things. She had a good relationship with Lan Xin. It was time to consummate their marriage.
Wanren did not want to marry Lan Xin, and Mr. Rain could not be mentioned. If his son was given to someone else, it would not be his. Everything should be decided by the other party, and he could not interfere.
Mr. Rain said," I can't not take on this role. I've already promised Liang Guohua. I can't go back on my word." I came here tonight to discuss with Second Brother whether I should ask Lan Xin to teach for me during the year I'm away so that the students won't be separated and their future will be affected.”
"It's not impossible," Wan Ren said."We need an explanation. How are you going to pay him?"”
Mister Rain said," That's easy to say. Lan Xin is a substitute teacher. The students he accepts are his remuneration. I won't take a single cent from him, and I won't take any rent from the teaching materials in the classroom.”
Wan Ren said," Do I need you to say that? Of course. I mean, what reward did you give him?”
Mister Rain said,"I still have to give it to you. Is it another gift? How can I give it to you?"”
Lan Xin said," I'm not giving it to you, I'm not giving it to you. Who are our two families? Why are you making it so clear?!"”
After sitting for a while, Mister Rain went back. He thought to himself, Second Brother is a miser, Second Brother is a miser. On second thought, this second brother was really funny. You're so petty and so stingy. Who are you doing this for? Isn't it because of my son, Lan Xin? You've been going around in circles, but you still came back to me.
The next day, Mister Rain went down to check out the situation. The Nine Guardians were divided into ten groups, and there were more than twenty houses together. Generally speaking, a big house was a first class, and a few small houses could be combined into a first class.
Mister Rain was the first to arrive at Xiushui House. Xiushui House was Madam Huang's maiden house and Mister Rain's grandmother's house. He had been very attached to this house since he was young. It had been more than twenty years since his mother passed away, but the two brothers had always been in contact with his grandmother's family. They would come to give gifts during the New Year and New Year. They would also keep in touch when there were important events.
Mister Rain saw his little uncle and told him the reason for his visit. He said that he was here to look for a candidate for a captain and hoped that his little uncle could help him to consult. Little uncle said,"Our family is capable in the rain, and even became a guard." Tell me, what are the conditions to be a captain?”
Mister Rain said,"There are only two conditions. One is that you have a good character, and the other is that you have land."”
Little Uncle said," The first condition is easy to understand, but the second condition is not so easy to understand. Why must there be land assets? How much land assets do you need to fill the role?”
Mister Rain said," This question is actually easy to understand. Mencius said that those who have permanent assets have perseverance, while those without permanent assets have no perseverance. In other words, only those with a certain amount of property income would have a certain moral concept and code of conduct. Those without a certain amount of property income would not have a certain moral concept and code of conduct.”
Little uncle said," That's true. Look at this village. Those loafers, those local ruffians and hooligans, they are all people who don't have land. All they think about all day long is destruction.”
Mister Rain said," So, Mencius 'idea is a very important one. He looked at problems by linking property and character. Only those with property have a sense of responsibility and will be responsible for society. People without property would definitely be irresponsible, and they would not be responsible for society.”
Little uncle said,"You see, I haven't studied for a few days. I'm very convinced by your words." Tell me, how much land do you need to fill this role?”
Mister Rain said,"It doesn't have to be a lot of land. It's not like we're showing off our wealth." It should be enough to have three to five buckets of land. This bit of land could also feed three to four people.”
"Now that you've said it, I have a candidate in mind. There is a person called Dao Yu in our house. He meets the requirements to be a captain.”
Mister Rain said,"Then tell me what his strengths are."”
"Look," said his uncle,"his family has five or six buckets of land and five people. This Dao Yu was a diligent person and a farmer. More importantly, he had a good character. He would lend a hand to anyone who was in trouble. If anyone had a conflict with him, he would tolerate it. When dealing with major matters in the house, he always spoke from a fair and peaceful standpoint. No one could find fault with him.”
Mr. Rain had already known about the Silk Water House, so he came to the Yan Village. This was his father-in-law's house. His father-in-law and mother-in-law were no longer here. His two brother-in-law were his wife's younger brothers. Naturally, he was very casual here.
Mister Rain called his two brothers-in-law together and explained his purpose of coming. His eldest brother said,"That's easy. The Crane Tower in our farm has a lot of land. How much did he have? It was probably two stones!”
The underling said," No, no, this person is too overbearing. If you let him be the captain, then our Yan Village will never have a peaceful day. We will definitely have a day where chickens fly and dogs go up to the house."”
Eldest Brother said,"Crane Tower is no good, but what about Qionglou? This Qionglou is also a master with a stone and many fields."”
The underling said," This Qionglou is no good either. Although this person isn't overbearing, he's a very selfish person. People say that beggars burn fire and dig into their crotch. Not only does he dig into his crotch, he also takes off his pants.”
Mister Rain saw their argument and found it funny. He said,""It doesn't have to be a big family to have land. A middle-class family is enough. There were three to five people in the family, three to five buckets of land, and no worries about food and clothing. His character was also good, and everyone trusted him.”
The eldest brother said," Brother-in-law, actually, aren't the matters of our Yan Village a book in your heart? You know very well how many people there are in each family, how much land each family has, and how their character is.”
Mister Rain said," No matter how much I know, I'm not as familiar with it as you guys are. Besides, my opinion can't replace your opinion. Otherwise, why would I come and check the situation?!"”
The younger brother said,"Brother-in-law is right. As the saying goes, the Dragon God in the sky still asks about the land on the dam."”
Mister Rain said," Think about it again. Go and negotiate with the people with prestige in the clan. The best way is to hold an election. You have a big house. Each house has one armor. It's very easy to manage.”
Mr. Rain left. He went to Jiang Manor to see the grain in the village warehouse. The warehouse keeper was a man called Jiang Lijin from Jiang Manor. He was in his forties and was very capable and experienced.
Mister Rain recognized Jiang Lijin and found his house. Jiang Lijin said,"Mister Rain, why aren't you teaching at home? Why are you running around?"”
Mister Rain was very angry. How could a farmer talk to a mister like this? He said,"Jiang Lijin, how can you say that? How can you tell that I'm just running around?”
Jiang Lijin said," I said it wrong, I said it wrong. I was just joking. Sir, don't be angry."”
Mister Rain said," That's more like it. You've been studying for a few days. You should know how to treat others with courtesy."”
Jiang Lijin said,"Mister Rain, you are right. I will definitely correct myself in the future." May I ask what brings you here today? I heard that you're the head of Jiubao, but our Jiang Manor isn't under Jiubao's jurisdiction.”
Mister Rain said," I didn't say that I wanted to manage your Jiang Manor. Our Jiubao's village granary is located in your Jiang Manor. I'm here to manage the village granary. You're our granary keeper!"”
Jiang Lijin said,"That's right, that's right. I'm the storekeeper of your Jiubao Village's granary."”
Mister Rain said,"Alright then, bring the account book and the lock. Lead me to the warehouse to take a look."”
Jiang Lijin said," Mr. Rain hasn't officially taken office yet, right? In that case, you can't go and look at the warehouse yet. You'll only be qualified to look after you take office."”
Mister Rain said," You're right. I haven't officially taken office yet, but as an ordinary villager, I have the right to see it. Don't you think so?”
Jiang Lijin said," You must be joking. Jiu Bao has so many people. If everyone makes such a request, I won't be able to live. How much management fees does Jiu Bao pay me a year?”
Mr. Rain naturally didn't see it as a warehouse and left resentfully. He still had a lot of things to do. He couldn't sulk here, and he wasn't allowed to sulk. He would wait until he took office.
In the days that followed, Mister Rain kept running down below. It was not an easy task to divide the 20 or so houses into ten units and choose the leader of each unit. It was easier to talk to the big houses, but it was difficult for them to cause trouble in the small houses. The few of them wanted to have a leader in their own houses and did not want to give this position to other houses.
When July arrived, Mr. Rain took office after a meeting at the township office.
He brought a bodyguard to Jiang Manor again. When Jiang Lijin saw him, he nodded and bowed with a smile."Mr. Rain, you're here again. You've already taken office, right? You're here to inspect the grain in the village warehouse, right?”
Mister Rain did not laugh. He said with a serious expression,""You're right. I have the right to check now, right? You won't refuse again, right?”
Jiang Lijin said," How could that be? Last time, I thought that you were just teasing me. Who knew that you really became a security guard?" As a teacher, you have to deal with the four books and five classics all day long. Now, you have to deal with such mundane matters. I'm afraid it will stain your eyes.”
Mister Rain said," The Four Books and Five Classics are not divine objects from heaven. They are in charge of the secular affairs on earth. There are clear and turbid secular affairs. I can see them clearly. How can they dirty my eyes?"”
Jiang Lijin said,"That's right, that's right. Sir, you have a good opinion."”
Mister Rain said," Let's cut the chatter. Bring the account book with you. Let's go and look at the warehouse together."”
Jiang Lijin took the account book and a copper key and left with Mister Rain and the others. When they opened the warehouse, the smell of mud and dust rushed into their nostrils. Mister Rain closed his eyes and constricted his nostrils. It took him a while to get used to it. He looked at the grain in the warehouse and then looked at the account book again. After a while, he finally finished reading it and asked Jiang Lijin,"According to the account book, there should still be 17,100 catties of rice in this warehouse, right?”
"Yes, it's like this," Jiang Lijin said.”
"Then is there so much grain in this warehouse?" Mister Rain asked.”
"It should be about the same, or maybe a little more!" Jiang Lijin said.”
Mister Rain said," How do you mean 'should'? How do you mean' or'? Can you be more certain with your tone? You are the person in charge of the key. Your answer should be very certain.”
Jiang Lijin said," Subtracting the number of grains from the warehouse, the remaining number is the grain in this warehouse. I think the number on this account is consistent with the actual grain."”
Mister Rain said,"Is that so? Is there a rat here?"”
Jiang Lijin said," There should be rats in the warehouse. Which warehouse doesn't have a few rats?"”
Mister Rain said,"Is it a big rat or a small rat?" I'm afraid it's a great rat!"
"What kind of rat is a big rat? I've never heard of it."”
Mister Rain said," You haven't read books. You should have read books. Do you know the Book of Songs?" Big rat, big rat, don't eat my millet! When I was three years old, I married my daughter, but no one cared about me. I will leave you and go to that paradise. Paradise, paradise, where I shall be."
Jiang Lijin said," I haven't read the Book of Songs. I've only read the Three Character Classic. Mr. Yu Zhong is a scholar. I'm just a child who has just opened my eyes. Naturally, I know very little."”
Mister Rain said," Let's cut the chatter. I'm here today to figure out the actual storage in this warehouse so that I can have a good idea." How about this, I'll take charge of the weighing and recording, and you and this bodyguard will be in charge of moving the grain.”
When Mister Rain said this, Jiang Lijin started sweating profusely. The weather was hot to begin with, but Mister Rain wanted to be serious. Jiang Lijin felt as if he had poured a bottle of wine into his heart. He was not in a good mood. He could not stop Mister Rain from monitoring, nor could he make up for the deficit in the treasury.
Jiang Lijin had no choice but to do as he was told. He brought all kinds of measuring tools from home, and the three of them started working seriously. They worked from seven in the morning until seven in the afternoon.
Mister Rain calculated and said," The river is close. The difference in the number is huge. There are still 17,100 catties of rice in the account book, but in fact, there are only 14,752 catties. Where is the other 2,348 catties of grain?”
Jiang Lijin said," How would I know? There are scales in the warehouse. The grains will lose moisture after being stored for a long time. There are also rats to eat. How many rats to eat? How much they eat in a day? I don't know."”
Mister Rain said," As far as I know, this statement of yours is just an excuse. When harvesting the grains, the weighing scale is deducted. For every hundred catties of rice, three catties are deducted. Isn't that what you did?”
Jiang Lijin said,"Even if we do that, it doesn't mean that we can keep the weighing scale with just three catties." Look, isn't this more than 2,000 catties of non-fighting huqin?”
Mister Rain said,"Tell me quickly, where did the rice go? Who ate it?"”
Jiang Lijin said,"The rat must have eaten it. Why don't you ask the rat?"”
Mister Rain said," Jiang Lijin, don't think that I don't know about worldly affairs. When a mouse eats grain, it only eats the rice in the grain. It will turn the grain around. Do you see any grain on the ground?"”
"Yeah, where did the chaff go?" Jiang Lijin asked. Could it be that the mice were afraid of the cold in winter and moved it into the hole in the ground? Or did my wife sweep the grain and go home to cook it?”
Mister Rain said," Explain yourself. Good, good, good. You really know how to explain yourself. Go ahead and explain yourself. I want to see what tricks you can come up with." Take me to see which rat hole hides the husks. Ask your wife when she has come to clean the warehouse!”
Jiang Lijin said," Mister Rain, please don't push me too hard. I know that I'm lying, and I know that I can't justify myself. However, I can't tell you where the rice is. You can just turn a blind eye."”
Mister Rain said,"Alright, since you don't want to say it, then let's see the officials!" I'll report this situation to the village and the county. You can explain it yourself.”
Jiang Lijin knelt on the ground and begged,"Mister Rain, you must not report it. I did get two loads of grain from this warehouse to eat, but the rest was taken away by the officials. You can ask the township head at that time, Zhou Yin. He knows everything.”
Mister Rain left with the guard. His head was a mess now. Should he report this storage matter to the authorities? So what if he did? So what if he didn't? Should he change this warehouse keeper? Would the warehouse keeper be worse after he was replaced? The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt.
Two days later, someone from the Fan manor came to report that an old man in his fifties called Father Qing had been caught committing adultery with his daughter-in-law. According to the clan rules, this woman should be drowned.
Mister Rain said," Father-in-law, if you want to sink the pond, you should sink it together. Why only sink the woman?"”
The man said,"Our family tree says so. It doesn't say that we want a heavy man."”
Mister Rain said," Adultery is a matter between two people. Regardless of their seniority, it's their responsibility. Now, you only punish the women and not the men. It doesn't make sense. Besides, it's the Republic of China now. There are laws in the country. Your family rules should obey the laws of the country. Adultery cannot be executed. In my opinion, twenty strokes of the cane in public will do. Go back and do as you're told!”
A few days later, Xiao He from Old House came to report that his cow had been lost for two months. Now, it had been found in the lotus pond. The owner of the cow denied that the cow was picked up, saying that he had always been its owner. Xiao He could not get his cow back, so he came to Mr. Rain to think of a way.
"Do you have any proof that this cow is yours?" Mister Rain asked.”
" What evidence can there be?" Xiao He said." This cow was bought from the bull market last year. After it was bought, it started to teach." At that time, there was no written agreement. After raising it for almost a year, I can only say that I'm very familiar with the cow. I'm close to it, and it's close to me.”
Mister Rain said," This isn't evidence. Cows are animals. Whoever gets close to them, they will get close to them. The current owner of the cow must be very close to the cow, so this isn't evidence.”
"Then I'll call my neighbors and ask them to testify. Is that okay?"”
Mister Rain said," That won't do either. You can call your neighbor as a witness, and he can also call his neighbor as a witness.”
This little river was at his wit's end. He racked his brain to come up with these few words. Mister Rain was deep in thought the whole time. He suddenly asked,""Do you know if this cow has any special marks? For example, there is a scar that is not easy to be discovered by others, but you found it.”
" No, no," the river said." This cow looks like water. It doesn't have any special marks."”
After a while, Xiaohe suddenly said,""Ah, I remember now. There's a spiral at the bottom of this cow's tail. It can only be seen when it poops. If you want to talk about special marks, this is a special mark.”
Mister Rain said,"Enough, enough, this is enough!" Let's go to the lotus pond now."
Mr. Rain and Little River came to the lotus pond. The owner of the cow said," Why are you here again? You said that the cow is very close to you, and this cow is also very close to me. When I approached it, it came to kiss my clothes and hands. You said that your neighbor recognized it, and my neighbor also recognized it. Isn't it just these few words? Is there anything new? For example, the receipt you bought the cow, the stamp on the cow, and so on.”
Mister Rain said,"Young man of the Liu family, it's like this. We thank you for picking up this cow and feeding it." As the saying goes, a gentleman loves money and takes it in a proper way. In ancient times, there was a person called Le Yangzi. When Le Yangzi was walking on the road, he had once picked up a piece of gold that someone had lost. He took it home and gave it to his wife. His wife said,'I heard that ambitious people don't drink the water from the stolen spring, and honest people don't accept food given by others, let alone picking up other people's lost things and seeking personal gain to tarnish their own moral character!'Yang Zi was very ashamed after hearing this, so he threw the gold into the wild and went far away to learn from his master. In the end, he helped Marquis Wen of Wei conquer Zhongshan and made a great contribution. You should imitate Leyang Zi and learn from his wife's noble and pure character. You are a man, you should be more knowledgeable than a woman!”
The person who was called the Liu family's junior said,"Who are you? You're here as a lobbyist. Tell me, on what basis are you certain that I picked up this cow? And on what basis are you certain that my character is definitely not good, not as good as that Le Yangzi's wife.”
Mister Rain saw that the Liu family's young man was motivated by him and said,""I didn't say that your character is bad. I'm saying that we should all learn from the ancient Leyang Zi's wife. How about this, the owner told me what happened, and you also told me your point of view. You're afraid that someone will pretend to be the owner and come to claim the item. You want the owner to provide evidence, and now that he has found evidence, you can see if you can return the cow to him.”
"We found evidence. What evidence?"”
The river said,"There's a swirl at the bottom of the cow's tail. You can't see it normally. If you don't believe me, you can go and take a look."”
The Liu family junior was shocked when he heard this. He went to the cattle pen and returned in a short while. He said,"As expected, it's true. In that case, this cow is yours. I've found the owner. Alright, you can take it back.”
Mister Rain said," We should still compensate you with some feeding fees. Tell me, how much?"”
The Liu family's descendant said," Forget it, forget it. It has also done something for my family. Let's call it even."”
" That won't do," Xiao He said." You've fed the cow so well. I should at least give you something."”After saying that, he took out five silver coins and gave them to the Liu family's young man.
"Then I'll accept it respectfully."”
Two months later, the autumn assignment began. It was relatively smooth at first. After half a month, the deputy head guard came to Mr. Rain and said,""There might be a problem with a Ding in the Yuanwu Field in the Stream Forest. I don't know how to deal with it. I want to hear your opinion.”
This was how the deputy head guard described the situation: Jianlin Yuan had a rich family called Zhang Yuanqing. He had four sons. The eldest son was twenty-six years old, and the youngest son was eighteen years old. They had all reached the legal age of being assigned servants, so they were assigned servants. However, Zhang Yuanqing didn't want his son to join the army. He said that the country was in chaos now, and if he joined the army, he might be killed outside. Therefore, he spent 20 silver dollars to buy a Ding as a replacement. This substitute only had one son. His father was half-blind, and his family was so poor that they had never seen twenty silver coins in their entire life. He wholeheartedly agreed to let his son be a substitute. This incident had a huge impact in Jianlinyuan. The villagers were very angry. They all said that Zhang Yuanqing was bullying the weak and that the government should not accommodate him like this.
"This matter has a huge impact. We really need to take into account the feelings of the villagers." How about this, let's do the work on both sides. We'll give up what we should give up, and we'll accept what we should accept.”
Mr. Rain and the deputy head guard went to Jianlin Yuan. They first found the substitute Ding's house. Mr. Rain said to the blind father,""Your thoughts are good. When the country is in trouble, you support it regardless of the gains and losses. However, the country has a policy. You only have one son at home, and your eyes are not good. Your family urgently needs someone to take care of you, so your son can't go.”
The blind man's father said," How am I supporting the country? I have no choice. It's worth twenty silver dollars to be a substitute for a Ding. I can't make this much money even if I work for a lifetime. After my son left, I used this money to get by.”
Mister Rain said,"This won't do. You can't be blinded by this money." If your son is killed on the battlefield, your family will have no descendants. Zhang Yuanqing had four sons, so he didn't have such concerns.”
The blind man's father said," You're ruining my family's good business. I'd better listen to you. We're not going!"”
Mr. Rain and the deputy head guard came to Zhang Yuanqing's house again and told him to prepare a son to join the army instead of buying a substitute. Zhang Yuanqing said," It's a local rule to buy Ding as a substitute. Although it's illegal, it's reasonable. It has a market. Look at our house. The blind man's family is short of money, and our family is rich. It's a matter of mutual consent. Why don't you guys hide this matter as the head of the security?”
Mister Rain said,"Hide, how can I hide? Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, I know." We're the guardians working for the government. We have to be impartial, regardless of whether we're rich or poor. You can't bully the weak and the rich. It seemed like a fair deal for you to buy a Ding substitute, but in fact, you were bullying the poor with your wealth. Otherwise, Jian Linyuan wouldn't be so angry. Can you say that you didn't bully the blind man's family?”
Zhang Yuanqing said," I don't admit that I bullied the father and son. This is a fair deal between us. You and I are willing, and the heavens can see it."”
Mister Rain said," That's not right. You said that it was a fair deal, but the difference in your positions is huge. How can there be a fair deal? If the blind man's family was rich, would they be able to be substitutes? If your family was poor, would you spend twenty silver dollars to buy a Ding?”
Zhang Yuanqing was at his wit's end. He was speechless.
Mister Rain continued," Don't try to get lucky. You have to have a son to join the army. If we find out that you're using money to buy a child as a substitute, we'll pay taxes to your family according to the country's laws. We'll see how much money your family has to fill the bottomless pit of the country.”
Zhang Yuanqing said,"Alright, alright. Our family will send one."”
Mr. Rain had been so busy for a year as the on-duty guard. He had reported the matter of the warehouse, but there had been no movement from the higher-ups. He had no right to punish Zhou Yin and the others, nor did he have the right to punish the former warehouse keeper. The new grain was going to be put into the warehouse again. He had to be busy distributing the numbers and helping the warehouse keeper check the quality and measurement. When he handed it over, the matter was left unsettled.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。