latelenovela Chapter 149 Officials and Gentry Pay Grain Together
Chapter 149 Officials and Gentry Pay Grain Together
"My lord, Zhou Shunda wants to invest in our factory. He asked me to inquire about your opinion!" Xiao Zhuzi said in a low voice, sitting with one side of his backside on the stool.
"This Zhou Shunda really has a keen eye. He couldn't compete with anyone else in the coal mine, so now he's set his sights on our honeycomb briquette factory?" Shen Lian shook his head with a smile.
He taught Xiao Zhuzi how to make honeycomb briquettes and stoves, and invested five thousand taels of silver in him as capital, enabling him to open two factories. The profits from the two factories were split 50/50.
This can also be considered as giving Yue'er's family some property. After all, she's their woman, and it wouldn't look good if she were too poor.
"What do you think?" Shen Lian picked up a cigarette and offered one to his brother-in-law, then lit one for himself.
“My lord, this is what I’m thinking. If I were to rely solely on myself, supplying Jinan City would be the maximum I could manage,” Xiao Zhu said after considering his words.
"These honeycomb briquettes and stoves aren't difficult to make, and I estimate that other places will soon learn how to make them. So why don't we attract investment and expand the market first?"
“Anyway, we can’t earn this money now. If we let Zhou Shunda invest, we can earn even more!” Xiao Zhuzi said in a low voice.
Not bad! My brother-in-law does have some sense.
"How much silver is he willing to invest, and how will he invest?" Shen Lian nodded.
“Zhou Shunda is willing to invest one million taels of silver and will not do business in Jinan. He is willing to give us 50% of the profits from business in other places.”
"Hmm! This Zhou Shunda is quite good, but 50% is too much. Let's just take 40%!" Shen Lian shook his head. This guy is obviously just throwing money away! But with his own technology and support, he'll definitely make a good profit.
If I were to conquer the entire world in the future, this honeycomb briquette and stove business would be quite substantial.
"The Marquis agreed?" Xiao Zhuzi asked in surprise.
"Why not agree? Just as you said, we don't have the energy to do it right now. Why not accept investment from others?"
“Okay! I’ll go tell him right away!” Xiao Zhuzi immediately stood up.
"Hmm! Zhou Shunda is very good at doing business. Brother Zhu, you should learn more from him in the future."
"I will heed your teachings, Lord Marquis!" Although Shen Lian was quite polite to him, he still dared not be presumptuous.
Time flies, and the end of the year is approaching again. Xiao Yue'er gave birth to a daughter for Shen Lian.
"My lord, I'm so useless! I gave birth to a girl." Xiao Yue'er said tearfully, feeling wronged.
"What are you saying? I prefer a daughter to a son, don't overthink it!" Shen Lian comforted him. He had originally wanted a daughter too; they say a daughter is a father's little cotton-padded jacket. He had wanted a daughter since his modern days, but it had never come true.
"But, what about the master..."
Although Nie Xiaoqian had already given birth to a son, Shen Hu was clearly not satisfied. He naturally hoped for as many grandchildren as possible and had expressed his desire for Xiao Yue'er to give birth to a son more than once.
"Hey! Don't take his thoughts to heart. We're still young! There will be plenty of opportunities to have a son later, right?"
With Shen Lian's encouragement, Xiao Yue'er finally relaxed and became happy. She picked up her infant daughter and handed her to Shen Lian; "My lord, look. Who does our daughter resemble more?"
"It has to be like you! As pretty as you, otherwise it'll be troublesome! Hehe!" Shen Lian reached out and carefully stroked his daughter's face.
Daughters are better; they were already much prettier when they were born than sons were.
As December arrived, one of the power plant's generating units finally started up. Naturally, places like the Marquis's residence and the provincial government offices were the first to be connected to the power supply.
Yuntianlou was also connected to the power supply, and at night it was brightly lit. Many people went outside specifically to see the electric lights; they had never seen electric lights that could light up without being lit. For a time, the area outside Yuntianlou was crowded with people every night.
This year, the Shen family celebrated the Lunar New Year at the new Marquis's residence in Jinan, and the atmosphere was even more lively than in previous years. The number of people coming to pay their respects was several times greater than in previous years, which annoyed Shen Lian.
He hadn't been back to his hometown in the modern world for Chinese New Year for two years. The disappointment on his mother's face on the phone made Shen Lian feel guilty, and he resolved to go back and spend the New Year with them next year.
The little ones at home are still running around happily, but after more than a year, they have all grown up a lot.
They all study very hard and also have to undergo military training. Once the high school is established, many of them will probably go there to study.
That year, Shandong enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests, and development in all aspects flourished. Jinan City, in particular, became several times more prosperous, bustling with people everywhere.
Merchants from all over the world flocked to the area, and new shops opened almost every day. New workshops began operations!
At the start of the new year, Shen Lian first announced the policy of restoring the system of officials and gentry paying taxes and performing corvée labor together, and levied higher taxes on households with more than fifty mu of land. The more land a household owned, the more grain it had to pay.
For areas under 50 mu, the original standard of 200 wen per mu shall be levied, and for every additional 50 mu, an additional 20 wen shall be levied, up to a total of 400 wen.
Originally, the system of officials and gentry paying taxes and performing corvée labor was implemented starting with the Yongzheng Emperor, but it was later abolished by the Qianlong Emperor.
This resulted in a situation where many gentry owned vast tracts of land yet were exempt from paying taxes, while the burden on farmers with little land became increasingly heavy. Land consolidation also intensified.
The poor can't even afford to eat, while the rich own vast amounts of land but don't pay taxes. How can this be allowed?
However, while increasing land taxes, Shen Lian also abolished corvée labor. From then on, if the government needed the people to do something, they had to provide money and grain. This significantly reduced the burden on the people.
It's important to understand that in the past, a family might have to work for the government for one or two months a year for free. Not only did they not receive any money, but they also had to bring their own food, which was a major reason why many families went bankrupt.
The two policies were met with both praise and criticism. The general public, of course, cheered, praising Shen Qingtian.
Local gentry and wealthy households suffered losses, naturally leading to widespread condemnation. However, they could only voice their anger in private.
Now that Shen Lian wields immense power and commands a large army, no one dares to do anything to him. Of course, there are many officials in the capital who are secretly trying to impeach him.
When Empress Dowager Cixi received these memorials, she was not angry at all; on the contrary, she was quite relieved. People often whispered in her ear that Shen Lian harbored rebellious intentions and warned her to be wary of him.
Now you all see, Shen Lian has offended so many officials and gentry, incurring the wrath of both heaven and man.
Who would act like this if they wanted to rebel! Not only did they fail to win people's hearts, but they also went against the officials and gentry!
She naturally suppressed those memorials! She even issued an imperial decree reassuring Shen Lian to focus on his duties. The court supported him!