Farming and reading family

Zhao Jiancheng sighed and briefly recounted what had happened in the past few days.

Zhao Jianye was furious after hearing this: "How dare he mess with our Zhao family? When I find out which bastard did this, I will tear him into pieces."

"Look at this matter..." Zhao Sui calmed down. "We have to think carefully. If they are really in the same group, they can make so many of our Zhao family's guards unable to fight back. We'd better be cautious."

"Don't worry, Uncle San. Now that I'm back, if that man dares to come again, I will make sure he never comes back." Zhao Jianye promised.

Zhao Jiancheng also had a serious expression on his face: "The important thing now is the tax package of the Chen family and the Gao family. Lord Ye has already agreed to talk to Lord Xu about it, but we don't know what the situation is yet."

"Then I'll go ask." Zhao Jianye said directly.

"It's better to wait until I get better and ask in person." Zhao Jiancheng was worried that his brother was too reckless and would cause trouble.

Gao E approached Xu Boyan to discuss the matter of paying the Chen family's taxes.

Although Ye Linchuan left, the Zhao family would definitely not give up. Gao E felt that it would be better for her to do this herself.

"It's a permanent solution." Xu Boyan nodded, "But you have to think it through."

"Of course I came to you after I'd thought it through." Gao E thought there was nothing wrong with this.

"I'm talking about you as a woman who is responsible for paying taxes," Xu Boyan reminded.

Gao E was surprised: "Why? The court doesn't allow women to pay taxes?"

"It's not forbidden, but no woman has ever done this before," Xu Boyan explained. "If you really do this, it will definitely attract a lot of criticism."

Gao E suddenly realized: "As long as the court doesn't prohibit it, it's fine."

Xu Boyan knew Gao E would say this: "I'll have the clerk prepare everything, and you can bring Chen Tao over later to sign the paperwork."

"Okay." Gao E nodded.

She finally understood why the Zhao family was going through all this trouble. It turned out that paying taxes required paperwork, so the Zhao family planned to let Xu Boyan use his official power to pressure them.

Chen Tao only needed to tell him a word, but Gao E still told Chen Tao the Zhao family's purpose.

After the paperwork was completed, Gao E took charge of the taxes for Chen Tao's family. If anyone else wanted to take charge of the taxes in the future, they had to first contact Gao E.

After resting for two days, Zhao Jiancheng went to find Xu Boyan, only to hear that the Chen family's taxes had been contracted out.

"Didn't Lord Ye say hello to Lord Xu?" Zhao Jiancheng was anxious.

Xu Boyan looked at Zhao Jiancheng with some dissatisfaction: "Lord Ye naturally said so, but you didn't come to the government office to discuss it. I thought you didn't want to take over."

"Your Excellency also knows that I have just been abducted by bandits." Zhao Jiancheng did not expect this to happen.

"But you've been back for two days." Xu Boyan was even more dissatisfied. "Do you think I have to wait for you forever?"

"That's not what I meant..." Zhao Jiancheng explained hurriedly.

"No matter what you mean, Chen Tao came to see me in person, and it's not easy for me to make things difficult for a child." Xu Boyan looked like he didn't want to continue talking about this.

"Yes." Zhao Jiancheng had no choice but to agree reluctantly.

After returning to the Zhao family, Zhao Jiancheng paced back and forth in the main room angrily.

The bulk of the Chen family's assets are naturally the fields, and it will be very difficult for me to move the Chen family's fields in the future.

"Brother." Zhao Jianye came in from outside. "We have the tax package documents from the Chen family."

"Humph!" Zhao Jiancheng became more and more angry. He had prepared for so long, thinking that if he could get close to Ye Linchuan, he would be safe, but in the end, he still didn't get it. "The county magistrate said that Chen Tao went to him and gave the Chen family's tax package to the Gao family."

Zhao Jianye paused and said, "It's easy. Just ask Gao to give it to us."

"That Gao is Chen Tao's master. It was she who worked with all the gentry in He County to protect Chen Tao as an enemy. She should not be underestimated." Zhao Jiancheng planned to meet Gao.

He had not taken Gao E seriously before, thinking that no matter how much she struggled, she was just a woman. But now she had snatched away the duck that he had already got.

"She's just a woman, there's nothing to be underestimated. I'll take a few people to talk to her." Zhao Jianye said directly.

"I'd better go there myself." Zhao Jiancheng said solemnly, "If she knows what's good for her, she can give the Chen family's tax package to us. If she doesn't know what's good for her, we can find another way."

"Then I'll listen to you, big brother." Zhao Jianye nodded, puzzled. "Does Lord Xu have anything to do with Gao? Otherwise, why would he help a country woman?"

When Zhao Jiancheng heard this, he thought it was possible.

He had never thought about it this way before because he thought it was impossible. How could Lord Xu fall in love with a country woman?

But after his brother said that, he felt that it was not impossible. What if Lord Xu liked this?

Thinking of this, Zhao Jiancheng became more cautious. If this was true, his opponent would be Lord Xu.

However, he still planned to give it a try to see if Lord Xu would continue to protect Gao E. If he continued to protect her, the matter would become delicate.

Because of the tax farming, Gao E learned all about the current taxes, corvee labor and other things in Dachang.

No wonder they say that a tyrannical government is more ferocious than a tiger.

Today, Dachang is relatively peaceful and it is a good time for the common people. Normal taxes take away more than half of the output, not including various miscellaneous taxes imposed by local officials.

The corvee labor was even more unreasonable. All the people in Dachang had to perform corvee labor, and many able-bodied laborers were drafted away.

Fortunately, the imperial court has not had any wars or large-scale construction projects in recent years. The annual labor service is to build bridges, roads, and reservoirs, so most people can still come back.

With this calculation, Gao E was lucky to have met her at a good time. Moreover, the Chen family had a scholar, so she could be exempted from some taxes and labor service.

Once Hexian's tax exemption is over, Gao E will have to plan these things again. She now has so much land and she can't do without strong labor.

Just as she was thinking about this, she heard someone knocking on the door. When she looked up, Lianxin had already gone to open the door.

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Chen's home?" Zhao Jiancheng asked politely.

"Who are you looking for?" Lianxin looked at him without any politeness.

"I want to discuss something with Mrs. Chen." Zhao Jiancheng said with a smile.

"Lianxin, please invite someone in." Gao E said as she walked into the main hall.

When Zhao Jiancheng looked up, he saw Gao E and couldn't help but wonder whether Gao E was pretty or not.

Lianxin didn't like the look in Zhao Jiancheng's eyes, so she walked right in front of him, blocking his gaze from looking at their boss.

Zhao Jiancheng also took the opportunity to look away.

"Excuse me, who are you..." Gao E looked at Zhao Jiancheng.

He was about forty years old, wearing a straight-collared, Buddha-shaped blue linen robe. At first glance, he looked elegant, but when you got closer, you would think he was cunning.

"Oh, my surname is Zhao," Zhao Jiancheng introduced. "I'm the head of the Zhao family in He County."

Gao E suddenly realized: "What does Master Zhao want to talk to me about?"

She thought Zhao Jiancheng would come to see her, but she didn't expect Zhao Jiancheng to be so polite. He was not the kind of brainless and arrogant person.

"I heard that Boss Gao has taken charge of Chen Tao's family's taxes. I would like to discuss with Boss Gao to let me take charge of the Chen family's taxes." Zhao Jiancheng said very directly.