nucmednet Chapter 121 What can be done
Chapter 121 What can be done
Bai Jingshan didn't want to ask Bai Jingzhou for help every time he had a problem. Life is not easy for everyone, and he wanted to solve problems by himself as much as possible.
For example, his family could come up with enough money for the autumn tax this time. As for how to make up for the food shortage after paying the autumn tax, Bai Jingshan said that it was not snowing yet, so he still had plenty of time to get things home.
The day after Bai Lizheng came back, those who had paid their taxes with silver and those who had paid to exempt their families from corvée labor all sent the silver to Bai Lizheng.
Both Bai Jingzhou's family and Gu Wenxuan's family were assigned quotas for corvée labor this year, so both families paid exemption fees.
Originally, Gu Wenxuan's second uncle wanted to serve in the military. In his words, he didn't have the ability of his older brother Gu Yongming anyway. Even if he stayed at home, he wouldn't be able to bring more income to the family. Instead of spending money to be exempted from labor service, he might as well go to serve in the military himself and save the money to buy land.
He was a very stubborn person. He refused to listen to the advice given by Second Aunt Gu Wenxuan, and he also refused to listen to the advice given by Old Man Gu and Mrs. Li. In the end, it was Gu Yongming who resorted to beating and kicking his second brother and gave him a loving lesson. Only then did Gu Yongqing behave himself.
In addition to Bai Jingzhou's family and Gu Wenxuan's family, Bai Lizheng's family and two other families also paid money to compensate. The other families in the village who were assigned to serve were either reluctant to spend money or simply could not raise enough money, so they could only choose one strong laborer to serve.
Those who could not raise enough money either asked relatives for loans but failed, or simply gave up borrowing because everyone knew they could not pay it back and naturally no one would lend them money.
After all, life is not easy for anyone, and other people’s money doesn’t come from the wind, so they will definitely not throw it away.
Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou have been busy these days. They have long understood that for such regular service assigned by higher authorities, those who serve not only have to leave their county or even state and work for free in other places, but also need to bring their own food and bedding.
Of course, if you really don’t want to bring food, that’s fine, because officially the government provides food and accommodation.
The significance of bringing your own food and bedding is that you can eat better and sleep better.
Every year, people from Baijia Village go to serve in the army, so the villagers all know that the so-called free food and accommodation provided by the government is actually seriously inflated.
In terms of food, the food allowance provided by the court was originally small, and those in charge deducted it at every level. In the end, what could those who served in the army get to eat?
In terms of accommodation, they will only provide you with a house that can barely shelter you from the wind and rain, and don't even think about anything else.
Not only did they have to prepare their own bedding and other items, but even the firewood for heating in the winter had to be picked up or chopped by the able-bodied men living in the same room in turns.
In addition, the small stewards who are responsible for guarding them may beat people to death, so there will be a certain loss of strong laborers who go to serve every year.
What needs to be noted here is that he will not beat you only if you do something wrong. Some bottom lines have long been given to the dogs. He doesn’t care whether you have done something wrong or offended him.
Those who go to serve are poor and have basically no money to bribe the little devils who are in charge of them. If they are unlucky and meet someone who treats human life as worthless or enjoys bullying others, then even if they have not done anything wrong, the other party will spontaneously find fault with them and beat them up.
Bai Jingzhou and Gu Wenxuan were helpless about this. Ever since they traveled across time, they have been living in the small village of Baijia Village. They seldom even go to the provincial capital, let alone other counties and cities where the able-bodied men in the village had to serve.
The only thing they can do for these strong men now is to provide appropriate logistical support.
Bai Jingzhou found Gu Wenxuan and said, "I want to use some of the food and money we got from the bandit's den."
It was impossible for them to take out all the silver they had to help the villagers. Firstly, they had earned the money by risking their lives, and they were reluctant to give it away. Secondly, even if they were willing to give it away, they could not explain where the money came from.
The banner of "Master" is not always useful. It's okay to spend a small amount of money to support disciples and their families, but taking out several thousand taels to support disciples' clansmen and neighbors... This kind of thing sounds outrageous, okay?
Not only is it outrageous, but it can also easily lead to disaster.
There are many kinds of people in the world. Not everyone will be grateful if you help them once. There are many people who will not only not be grateful to you, but will become greedy and demand more because you help them too easily.
If Bai Jingzhou and Gu Wenxuan help everyone in the village to pay for exemption from military service under the banner of their master, then someone will come to beg Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou for various reasons, trying to use them to continuously extract various benefits from their "master".
People who have experienced the end of the world may maintain some good intentions, but they will never underestimate the evil of human nature.
Bai Jingzhou thought about it and finally decided to just prepare some food and medicine for everyone.
He kept thinking it over and over again, and he didn't think there was anything wrong. However, Gu Wenxuan, who was watching from the side, couldn't help but feel tired for Bai Jingzhou.
She nodded and agreed to Bai Jingzhou's embezzlement of some of the money and grain, and then asked him helplessly, "Aren't you tired of taking on so much responsibility?"
Bai Jingzhou: ...
He rubbed his brows and asked in silence, "Who of us is more responsible?"
He always only cared about his family, relatives and friends within his sight, but she used her best years and vibrant life to protect countless strangers.
Although this happened before Gu Wenxuan traveled through time, she was indeed so passionate that she even risked her life.
The evidence was irrefutable and Gu Wenxuan was speechless, but she was still very happy, happy that the most essential things in their hearts were the same.
If they have spare time, they don't mind doing something for the people around them. They all want to leave something in this world so that their lives will not be in vain.
This is a good thing, because similar cores will make them have fewer disagreements and more tacit understanding.
After discussing what to do next, the two began to work separately.
Bai Jingzhou got up early and worked late to make medicine. He made powders and pills for detoxification, treatment of common diseases and various wounds.
Forget about giving everyone a copy, as there isn't enough time and medicine. Fortunately, these people are from the same village and will most likely be assigned to the same place for service. Bai Jingzhou prepared two or three copies, which will at least be enough for everyone to deal with emergencies.
Gu Wenxuan brought a lot of the grain that they had not yet sold, as well as old grain purchased from other wealthy businessmen and gentry in the county, to the farm, and asked the farmers and the survivors from the bandit camp to work overtime to make fried rice, fried beans, pancakes, and dry buns for her.