Chapter 8 Difficulty and Value

  Lu Fu Zi simply stared at Xu Yuan Zuo, but for a moment couldn't think of how to start speaking.

  Xu Yuansuo smiled slightly, already knowing Lu Fuzi's thoughts, this was clearly to let himself take the initiative to speak.

  "Is Master Fu asking about Yuwen's affairs?" Xu Yuanzuo asked.

  Lu Fu Zi nodded slightly and, fearing that Xu Yuan Zuo might not have noticed, asked: "Do you have any plans?"

  Xu Yuansuo smiled and said: "May I ask, sir, are there still relatives in your hometown?"

  Lu Fu Zi's family had been living in Zhu Li since his father's generation, and at that time they still had fields which were rented to villagers for farming. Later on, Lu Fu Zi himself passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, but he couldn't stop the decline of his family's fortunes, and those fields were all sold to relatives, except during the winter solstice when they would return to pay respects to their ancestors.

  "Relatives are still around, it's just that we've lost touch." said Lu Fu Zi.

  Xu Yuansuo smiled: "Not coming and going doesn't mean that the kinship is gone. Alright, Master, let me prepare some documents, when you're free, we'll go back to our hometown, spend half a day and get things done."

  "My family doesn't even have any land anymore..."

  "Lu Fuzi only needs to take me on a trip back to the countryside, that's all." Xu Yuansuo said with a smile. His plan was very simple, using the loopholes in the Great Ming law to sell Lu Fuzi's tax-exempt and labor-exempt quota to his relatives in the countryside.

  But there's no need for outsiders to reveal this; otherwise, Lu Fu Zi himself would have done it.

  Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the grain tax has actually never been high, what's really frightening is the corvée.

  Corvée was further divided into lijia zhengyi and luzhong chaiyi.

  Li Jia Zheng Yi is based on Ding Liang Hu and others, ten years a cycle, rotating to serve, cannot escape or evade.

  The frightening part of corvée is in miscellaneous chores.

  In the miscellaneous corvée, some are regular and similar to lijiazhengyuan. Another part is "miscellaneous", dispatched when there is a matter, and rested when there is no matter. However, since Zhengde, major events in the court have been continuous, and minor events in local areas have been frequent, and the miscellaneous corvée of the people has naturally been countless, with great pressure.

  As for those who evade taxes and corvée labor, the ones who truly want to escape grain taxes are not many. The main reason is that they want to escape this "miscellaneous service". In the late Wanli period, because there were many people escaping, all the miscellaneous services fell on the shoulders of the common people who did not escape, thus forming a vicious cycle, forcing the common people to escape.

  Although there is no such great pressure now, spending one or two silver coins can ensure a year of peace and safety, which is undoubtedly a very cost-effective deal.

  In the September of the second year of Longqing, Xu Yuansuo walked out of Zhuli Town for the first time. Along the way, he saw rows of mulberry fields and farmland. However, he didn't feel any excitement at all, but instead kept revising his speech in his mind, hoping to move the villagers and make his first business a success.

  When he arrived at Lu Fu Zi's old home, Xu Yuan Zuo finally realized that he had thought too much.

  Lu Fu Zi found the head of the Lu clan and explained his intentions, directly stating that he wanted to sell the tax-exempt and labor-exempt quota. The seemingly dull and old clan leader's eyes suddenly sparkled with sharpness, without even thinking about gathering the clansmen, he immediately took over this deal.

  Lu Fu was slightly surprised and thought to himself: Such a convenient business, why didn't I think of it in my earlier years?

  Xu Yuansuo was worried in his heart, such a simple transaction, can't reflect my value!

  Humans are very realistic and have given a name to things that have no value: garbage.

  This thing is not limited to objects, but also includes people.

  "Old sir, I have already prepared the document. As long as we can get the village elder to witness it, it will be settled." Xu Yuansuo stood up in time and held a stack of contracts.

  This kind of transaction is essentially digging a hole in the emperor's wall, and it's impossible to have a legitimate contract. The reason why people didn't buy exemptions from scholars before was precisely because they worried that the scholar's status wasn't high enough to serve as an umbrella for this illegal activity.

  Xu Yuansuo exploited a loophole in the Ming law and customs: adoption.

  The Great Ming was a society that valued the unity of law over blood ties, and adopted sons were treated the same as biological ones. In those years, Emperor Jiajing of the Ming dynasty made a big fuss about rituals, which boiled down to a dispute over who his real father was.

  Xu Yuansuo avoided the focus of interest and directly adopted, determining the rights and obligations of the adoptive son, such as still worshiping in the original family, still being the original family's genealogy, and having no inheritance right to Lu Fu's "father" legacy... forming a legal status of "adopted but not inherited".

  Lu Fu didn't finish reading all the documents, he just picked out the problems that he was concerned about and took a look. Seeing that Xu Yuanzuo had arranged everything properly, his last concern disappeared.

  The clan leader had many sons, and it didn't matter if one or two were adopted out. He also listened to Xu Yuanshuo's detailed introduction of the current situation, saw that the white paper and black ink were written clearly, and his heart was also at ease. Immediately, he called out a son and told him about this matter.

  That Lu family head is already over 40 years old, and he often goes out to do business. Many neighbors who weave silk and make cloth entrust him to sell their goods. On the one hand, it's because he is honest and trustworthy; on the other hand, it's also because he has seen a lot and knows many things, so he won't be cheated by others.

  So he listened roughly and knew that this matter was feasible. He immediately gave Lu Fu a bow and called his father, but still called his biological father "dad" without changing his mouth.

  After sitting for a while longer, the village elder also arrived.

  Lu Fu Zi and the clan elder only discussed the matter of inheritance, without mentioning anything else. The village elder did not ask many questions, simply assuming that Lu Fu Zi would not have any sons to inherit the ancestral property, and readily signed and stamped as a witness. After completing the formalities, he took his own gift and left.

  Xu Yuansuo sighed in his heart, this era is so refreshing even when haggling over prices, it's really the era of budding capitalism!

  After all the documents were signed, it was still necessary to go to the government office for filing. However, Lu Fuzi could handle this matter and Xu Yuansu did not need to make an effort. He was also a student, and when he saw the county official, he didn't have to bow, and on the note, it was written "student of governance", belonging to the privileged class.

  On the way back, Lu Fu's mood was great. This trip out had earned him an additional fixed source of income every year. Although the exemption from rent for Er Shi Tian was a favor to someone else, just being exempt from labor costs was worth one or two silver coins.

  "The great Ming dynasty, you don't have any achievements or fame to your name, you can't accomplish anything." Lu Fu Zi was in a good mood and naturally willing to help his junior. Although he didn't think Xu Yuan Zuo had achieved anything significant, nor did he intend to give him labor compensation, but there was some sense of indebtedness. So the experience of a seasoned person, this "priceless" thing, was just right to repay kindness.

  "After several days, his younger brother passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, and their family's financial situation improved. As a student, he still had to work hard to make progress." Xu Yuansuo also knew that he couldn't intervene in the subsequent work, purely because of his insufficient status."

  The simplest one: Can Lao Shengyuan Lu Fu's post be posted to the county government at any time, can this white stick work?

  "No matter how hard life is at home, one should still read books." Mr. Lu said: "Think of Ouyang Xiu from the Song Dynasty, who was orphaned at four years old and had no financial resources, but only day and night reading, forgetting to sleep and eat... Your family can still afford to pay for tuition, right?"

  Xu Yuansuo acknowledged that Lu Fuzi made a lot of sense, and compared to many predecessors in history, his family background was actually not bad. However, the old student forgot one thing: Ouyang Xiu was someone who could memorize everything at a glance, a standard literary genius with heavenly talent.

  Now his talent is focused on mathematics, can they be compared?

  Furthermore, for a candidate with a brain that is 90% new, it usually takes one to two years to get familiar with the textbooks and grasp the key points. Can't this one or two years be spent at home? Although the family is not in a situation where they can't even afford to cook, as a mature soul, how can you be at peace with yourself doing such a thing of relying on your parents?

  Even if he had to put in his best effort, Xue Yuansuo didn't think that Lu Fuzi was a reliable teacher. The county examination depended on the county officials; if one's scholarship wasn't exceptional, then face was what mattered most.

  Xu Yuansuo has no background and no learning, if the teacher has no face, why did the county official choose him from among two or three thousand candidates?

  Taking all these factors into consideration, Xuyuan Zuo still firmly believes that he should work first to make a living and have a good material foundation before considering the matter of merit. Moreover, this is also the only way to fully utilize his own advantages, as the scope between the village school and home is really too small.

  But for now, let's just get paid first.

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