1905: Beer Hall Speaker

Page 103

Getting back to the main point, after eating and drinking his fill, Lin Jishun got up and left the village chief's house. Led by the village chief, he went to inspect the farmland outside the village.

In western Hunan, farmland is fragmented and scattered everywhere, unable to form a continuous area. Moreover, much of the farmland is located on mountains, relying solely on streams for water supply. Flat land along the river is scarce and extremely vulnerable to flooding.

Everyone preferred to work harder to cultivate the mountainous areas rather than disturb the flat land near the river.

These days, there aren't many water conservancy facilities, and dams are even rarer. During the rainy season, it's common for rivers to swell and flood both banks. Nobody dares to gamble their year's hard work on the whims of the heavens.

The village chief led Lin Jishun to inspect the farmland. Along the way, only the land near the stream was irrigated and planted with rice. The land further away was dry land, used to grow crops such as corn, potatoes, and soybeans. The higher land was simply used to grow vegetables and pumpkins.

“Village chief, these past two years the policies have been implemented. People with less than ten mu of land per capita are exempt from taxes, and the government is no longer forcibly conscripting laborers. Since you rural areas are idle anyway, why don’t you organize the labor force to build a few waterwheels and dig a few irrigation ditches and ponds?”

"With a little more effort, I think a lot of land can be turned into irrigated land, producing more grain. What's wrong with that?"

Lin Jishun pointed out the problem with some dissatisfaction: last year, 95% of the families in Meihua Town were tax-exempt households, and they did not need to pay any public grain tax. As long as you did not buy or sell, and only fed your own family, you would basically not starve.

Rural corvée labor was also abolished. The republican government did not engage in the practice of forced conscription of laborers; instead, it employed paid labor.

The countryside has become more prosperous, and people have more free time, but nothing has changed, which makes Lin Jishun unhappy.

The village chief said with a troubled expression, "This is a difficult matter. Everyone has their own opinion. Everyone knows exactly where the irrigation canals and ponds are located and who benefits from them. If it's for the public good and no one benefits, that's fine. But if it's something that needs to be done in our own village, and someone benefits from it, the others won't agree to it."

Lin Jishun cursed, "Idiot! Whoever benefits should provide the goods and grain! If the village increases its production, it's not a bad thing if there's more grain, no matter who has it!"

"The best thing to do is to force them to sell it, so that the government can collect taxes. To tell you the truth, the government is struggling to make ends meet right now. Even with so many tax exemptions, they can't pay salaries."

"There are other taxes in the city, but in the countryside we only have agricultural taxes. The small transaction and commercial taxes in town aren't enough to cover them. If you put in more effort to increase grain production, forcing people to sell their produce, you'll definitely get a share of the tax revenue!"

The village chief was a little confused, but he still verbally agreed.

Lin Jishun and his group continued their journey to the next village.

Chapter 175 Rural Education

After visiting various villages for several days, Lin Jishun returned to the town government with his police officers and agricultural workers, having eaten a good meal. The four people left behind looked at the three of them with resentment in their eyes.

The town government staff who stayed behind were struggling to make ends meet, and the few who didn't go out simply went home for meals. Apart from the teachers and Mayor Lin Jishun, all the other civil servants in the town were locals.

They never expected that, despite being government employees, they would end up having to cook for themselves back home.

After Lin Jishun returned, he still gave some benefits to those who remained behind to shut them up.

"Here's what we'll do: the clerk will do the accounting, and the food expenses for the few people who stayed behind for the past five days will be calculated at one cent per day and added to their monthly salary."

The clerk said irritably, "Last month's salary hasn't been paid yet, what's the point of making up for it? It's all going to be delayed anyway!"

Lin Jishun had another headache: "I'll go to the county in a couple of days to ask for it. That Section Chief Zhang from the Education Department was promoted last month and is now the Deputy County Head. With our old connections, he'll definitely approve the salary. Don't worry!"

After hearing Lin Jishun's promise, everyone's expressions softened considerably.

In the past, even the lowest-ranking officials were extremely wealthy, having squandered the people's hard-earned money to the point that their excrement was practically dripping with oil. But nowadays, even though civil servants have official ranks, they just can't seem to squeeze any money out of them.

It's not that everyone has become honest; it's just that there's really nothing left for you to embezzle. The higher-ups are even delaying salaries, and all kinds of funding are split in half but still have a shortfall. And the higher-ups are still keeping a close eye on things.

If it weren't for their government job, many people would probably have resigned; being a civil servant is truly a humiliating job.

Lin Jishun had barely returned to the town government and hadn't even settled in when someone knocked loudly on the door. The town government was originally a dilapidated temple that had been converted into a government building.

The gate had weathered many years of storms, and was even considered unsuitable for burning firewood. Now, with such a powerful knock, the person knocking simply broke in with one hand, and the door was knocked right through.

"Who?! How dare they vandalize the facade of my Meihua Town government? Do they have a death wish?" Lin Jishun was so angry that he jumped up and down.

The town police officers also brandished their large wooden clubs, ready to strike at any moment.

But when the people outside walked in, everyone was dumbfounded. It turned out that the principals and teachers from the four primary schools in the village had come looking for them. Upon meeting them, the principals and teachers were even angrier than Lin Jishun, whose door had been knocked down.

"Mayor Lin, it's one thing to be behind on wages, but why haven't this month's food allowance and government-issued stationery arrived yet?"

"That's right. The primary schools in the town can barely survive on relief, but our village primary schools have to beg from the villagers every day. The students can go home for meals, but where do we teachers and principals eat?"

"At first, students were given a free lunch every day, but later the free breakfast was just porridge and rice water, and now there's no rice water or porridge at all!"

"And where did the free paper, pens, and stationery promised by the higher-ups go? Now, the students at our school are writing on the ground by urinating and dipping sticks in their urine during class. They can't even copy from their textbooks!"

"Our school is the worst off. Luckily, there are quite a few students. I made them defecate at the school. Last month, we took a thousand catties of manure to the village chief and exchanged it for fifty catties of grain. That's how we got through it!"

"I'm in a worse situation than you. I'm a school principal, but I still have to perform funeral rites for villagers. Luckily, I used to listen to opera troupes perform in my younger days, otherwise I wouldn't know how to explain myself. I make more money performing at funerals every now and then than being a school principal!"

"Huh? You can make money by performing rituals? Teach me quickly! As the principal, I rely on students pooling their money to feed me every day, otherwise I'd starve to death!"

Lin Jishun felt a headache coming on. These were people who came to ask for money. It was easy to talk about the five civil servant principals and teachers, whose salaries were paid by government funds. But the seven teachers who were hired without official positions had to be supported by the town.

Civil servants only need 3.5 yuan a month to get by, but those without a formal position need 4.5 yuan a month. Otherwise, where else can people who can read and write find good jobs? Why would they have to be teachers in your rural area?

Rural education is really difficult. Fortunately, the basic household tax exemption was implemented in the past two years, so students can bring their own meals from home. Some parents even pay tuition with grain. If they can't get a free place, they pay grain to send their children to learn a few words.

But the school didn't dare to accept too many students, at most five or six, because the higher-ups had decided that education would be free. If they found out that the students had accepted bribes, it would be considered embezzlement and they would be sent to a reformatory.

Principals and teachers with civil service positions would never dare to do this; only privately hired teachers would dare to secretly accept such offers.

Now that many restrictions have been lifted, people are moving around more actively, and information from the outside world is spreading more easily into rural areas, as is the case in Meihua Town.

The farmers had all heard that factories were being built everywhere in the city, and the workers there would receive a monthly wage of one yuan, plus room and board, which would amount to twelve yuan a year. This was much better than farming in the countryside. However, the only requirement was that you had to know at least a few hundred characters and have some schooling before they would hire you.

In the past, studying was like a fierce battle, with thousands of people crossing a single-plank bridge. Passing the imperial examination meant huge profits, while failing meant losing everything. Farmers certainly wouldn't gamble with such a one in ten thousand chance. But now, there are more and more opportunities.

A significant portion of the civil servants in the town are just literate layabouts. If they can get in, they feel their own children can try too. If that doesn't work out, then having a few more words will allow them to work in the city, which is better than farming.

The most perfect thing would be a basic tax exemption policy in the central government that exempts all farmers with less than ten mu of land per capita from taxes. Although they can't make money, they can save a lot of grain. It's certainly impossible to support a child to go to university, but it's not too much of a burden to support a primary school student to work.

There is now an imbalance in rural education. The government originally meant well by making it free, but people are still willing to spend some food to send their children to school for two years.

But when the rules are set too rigidly, no one dares to break them. This is the helplessness of politics. If the rules are too flexible, people below are prone to acting recklessly. But if the rules are too rigid, many things below will not be handled well.

The central government is also in a difficult position. This situation, where locking it up leads to stagnation and loosening it leads to chaos, is something no one can easily resolve. The only option is to slowly find a balance.

Lin Jishun listened to the complaints of the principal and teachers one by one, and then carefully considered and devised countermeasures.

“How about this, the town government still has forty-five yuan in its account. I’ll take out forty yuan, ten yuan for each school, to help with the emergency.”

The town government's finance clerk's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he heard this: "Where did the mayor get forty-five? I haven't seen it!"

Lin Jishun blushed: "I've always kept it on me. If I didn't hide it, the money would have disappeared long ago. I've kept it for emergencies."

The accountant was almost red with anger: "No wonder my accounts kept not keeping balance. There was a hole of more than forty yuan that I couldn't cover no matter how I calculated it. I was even ready to resign and run away. It turns out that you were hiding it, Mayor!"

The police officer lamented, "Why don't you take care of paying salaries when you have the money?"

Lin Jishun slammed his fist on the table and said, "These funds are for designated use only. This is for education fundraising. Do you dare touch them?"

Lin Jishun took off the military boots hanging around his neck, then pulled out the smelly wool insoles, dug out two stacks of banknotes that reeked of foot odor from the soles, gave ten yuan to each of the four schools, and stuffed the remaining five yuan back into the soles of his shoes.

No one seemed to mind. Even if the money smelled of feet, or if it was picked up from a latrine and covered in excrement, people would still quickly hide it in their pockets.

"Then there's the matter of the grain subsidy. Jianxiao Village promised to take care of the meals for the school's teachers and principal, but now it's the lean season and they really can't afford it. I'll try to find a way to get the town to provide the one ton of grain they promised to sponsor each year in advance, just to get by for now."

"I will also follow up with the tea merchants to pay the education fund that is due this year. They promised 1,000 yuan per year. Once the money arrives, the school's free lunch program will be reinstated immediately."

"As for the stationery, teaching materials, and paper money issues, the county has built a paper mill. I went there to ask for some money. I couldn't get the money, but getting a few hundred kilograms of paper shouldn't be a problem."

I'll go to the county government again to follow up on your salary issues. Let's address things one by one, everyone, please don't rush!

"I, the town mayor, haven't run away yet, so don't be discouraged. Difficulties are temporary, and the future will get better and better. As long as we persevere, I believe we will all see the light at the end of the tunnel!"

Lin Jishun offered a solution, followed by a long pep talk that finally calmed everyone down. Even the deputy mayor, who had the biggest complaints, became much more obedient.

Lin Jishun's military background made him undaunted by anything. No matter how difficult local government affairs were, they couldn't compare to the deadly battlefield. On the battlefield, you only had one chance; if you missed it, you died. There was no second chance to do anything wrong.

Local government affairs can be handled slowly, and there is still room for error. No matter what you do, there will be difficulties, but when you face difficulties, you should find ways to solve them. No one is going to kill you. As long as you are alive, there is always a way.

The principal and teachers took the money and went to town to buy grain. Lin Jishun also took off his straw sandals, took a bath, changed into clean clothes, put on his military boots, and left the town government to run around for money and grain.

Our first stop was the landlord's house in town. Last year, they promised to sponsor one ton of grain annually to support education. Last year, they gave us old grain, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. This year, they insisted on giving us fine grain, even if it was old.

He invited several landlords to meet him at a teahouse. As soon as they arrived and saw Lin Jishun, they took the initiative and started complaining.

"Mayor Lin, even the landlords have run out of grain!"

"Yes, the tiered taxes that your government has introduced now are even more ruthless than the way we landlords exploit laborers. The more land you own, the more taxes you pay, and you even have to pay a fixed asset tax on your houses!"

“Those peasants are exempt from taxes, but all the tax exemptions are being passed on to us. Mayor Lin, I think you should stop asking us for sponsorships and go find those peasants who are exempt from taxes!”

Lin Jishun had seen all sorts of situations. He knew from the landlords' complaints that there must be something to discuss. If there was nothing to discuss, they wouldn't waste their breath saying a single word and would simply not come. Since they had come, they must have something to ask of him!

"Gentlemen, I'm a soldier by training, and I prefer to get straight to the point. I'm sure you still have a lot to say, so just say what you have to say and stop rambling!"

The landlords stopped hiding their intentions and revealed their purpose directly. They knew that Lin Jishun had connections in the county and the military. He had previously helped tea merchants contact customers in the grasslands and abroad, which proved that Lin Jishun had connections.

The landlords' demands were simple: they wanted to divide the family property, sell the land, and then find an investment opportunity to put the money from the land sales into the market to see if they could make a profit.

These landlords own at least four or five hundred acres of land. According to the tiered tax rate, they pay at least three cents in tax per acre. Moreover, each landlord owns more than one property. Under the new tax rate, a homeowner only needs to pay a fixed tax of 1.5% of the property value per year. However, if the household has a second property, then unfortunately, the tax rate doubles to 3%, and for three properties it is 6%, and so on, up to a maximum of 10%.

Rural families have no idea about fixed asset tax because their houses don't have property deeds, so they can't pay taxes. But landlords' houses all have property deeds, so there's no way to avoid it!

The landlords wanted to divide their property, so they had their sons each take a separate property. First, they planned to have each household own one property to avoid taxes. Then, they planned to sell off any excess land per person to try and pay less tax.

In the past, some landlords in other places have tried to be clever by including their servants and day laborers in the tax collection list when the tax officials came to collect taxes, thus lowering the per capita land area.

But when the tax officer saw that there was such a good deal, he immediately transferred the land on the spot, divided the land from the landlord, and carried out a "verification" process based on the data provided by the landlord. As a result, dozens of new self-cultivating farmer households appeared on the local data.

Now nobody dares to do that anymore; the only option is to sell land. But whether it's selling land or splitting up the family business, you need the local government's approval to do it. Otherwise, you simply can't complete certain procedures and will be taxed until you go bankrupt.

Otherwise, they would rebel, but the thing the higher-ups fear least is a rebellion. The reform camps are short of people, and the government also wants to confiscate property to make up for the deficit.

Lin Jishun did not do anything short-sighted. He agreed to help the town government process their separate household registrations and ID cards. There was just a small handling fee, only twenty yuan per household.

In reality, the landlords just stayed in the town and didn't know the market rates. If they went to the civil affairs department in the county to handle these matters themselves, it would only cost them 60 cents per person at most. Only property transfers and land sales required the town government to intervene.

Lin Jishun squeezed them out of an extra sum, but the landlords had no complaints. Even if they knew the truth, they would just accept it. After all, the town government may seem insignificant on ordinary days, but at many crucial moments, it can hold you by the throat and take your life!

Lin Jishun also promised to help them contact the paper mill in the county. The paper mill had just been built and put into production, and it would definitely be short of funds in the early stages. Lin Jishun believed that with him, the town mayor, acting as an intermediary, the paper mill would be happy to accept the investment.

The landlords were very satisfied with the plan and readily sent the promised grain to the town government. The grain sent was all new grain from last autumn's harvest, and it was all rice.

After resolving things here, Lin Jishun went to the tea merchants to discuss how to distribute the sponsorship funds for the next few years. The tea merchants were very grateful to Lin Jishun for helping them open up trade routes.

However, after the trade route was opened, too many goods were shipped out, which tied up too much of their funds. They will definitely pay the promised sponsorship of 1,000 yuan, but they simply cannot come up with it now and can only pay after the goods are delivered and the payment is received.

However, Lin Jishun directly informed the tea merchants that the landlords wanted to sell their land. The tea merchants were immediately excited upon hearing this. They were worried about not having a place to build tea factories to increase production, and their tea gardens also needed to be expanded. The landlords selling their land was a timely help. With thousands of acres of land acquired, their tea business could reach new heights next year!

For landowners who grow grain, the fixed land tax is an unbearable burden, but for tea merchants who generate high added value and high profits, it is just a drop in the bucket.

How can the output of growing grain be compared to that of growing tea? Tea merchants don't care about that small land tax at all, and the tax rate for fixed assets held by enterprises like tea factories is completely different from that of agricultural tax.

Lin Jishun promised to act as guarantor to help tea merchants acquire land. He said that it didn't matter if they didn't have money now, as there was a bank in the county where he could help them get a loan. With the land as collateral, the bank loan would be processed quickly.

The trade-off is that the tea merchants' sponsorship fee this year must be increased to 1,500 yuan, and the loan must be paid in full at once.

The tea merchants trusted Lin Jishun a lot and let him handle everything. They provided whatever the tea merchants needed, as long as the production scale could be expanded.

Now, it's not just the northern grasslands that have the Russian market; with the opening of maritime trade channels, even Europe and America have started placing orders for Meihuazhen brick tea. This stuff is really perfect for military use.

After running around the county, Lin Jishun had already solved most of the financial and educational problems before even going there. However, he still couldn't let go of the money he needed to ask the county for. He could also help resolve the issues of landlord investment and tea merchant loans.

Chapter 176 Acting County Magistrate Zhang

The next morning, Lin Jishun got up early and went to the dock to catch the boat.

The fastest way to get from Meihua Town to the county is by boat. The boats from Meihua Town to the county travel upstream for more than 30 kilometers, and the journey takes six or seven hours with stops along the way.

So there's only one bus a day, departing at six in the morning, arriving in the county at noon, and then departing again at four in the afternoon, going downstream, and arriving back at Meihua Town Wharf before dark.

Arriving at the dock early in the morning, a unique dock atmosphere wafted over me. Various fishing boats, ferries crossing the river, and passenger ships bound for other towns were moored on the river.

Some fishermen, having just finished a night of fishing, were docked at the pier, loudly hawking their freshly arrived river fish. The cheapest white-scaled fish were eight cents a pound, the more expensive yellow catfish were fifteen cents, and the most expensive mandarin fish, especially the two- or three-pound golden mandarin fish, were a dollar each.

On the bluestone steps of the dock, vegetable vendors from the other side of the river sell freshly dug sweet potatoes, potatoes, and all kinds of crisp cabbages and peppers. These are all very cheap vegetables and fruits, and the town's residents like to come here to buy vegetables.

The most eye-catching stalls are the fried food stalls. The owner heats up a pot of old oil, then puts long strips of glutinous rice into the oil to fry. When they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, they are taken out and rolled in white sugar to make fried rice cakes.

Another method involves mixing flour and water into a paste, adding some chopped green onions and salt, scooping it out with a special iron spoon, and then frying it in boiling oil for a few seconds to make fragrant and tender fried dough sticks.

At the dock, the smells of fish, the earthy aroma of vegetables, and the fragrance of fried food stalls mingled together, along with the shouts of vendors—this was the unique flavor of the dock.

The port was not nearly as bustling as it was two years ago, but in the last two years, with tax cuts and relaxed local policies, the economy has grown stronger, and people-to-people exchanges and trade have also flourished.

In previous years, there were very few small vendors like these. Most of them were people with strong family connections who dared to set up stalls at the docks. Otherwise, the Qing Dynasty's tax collectors would have bankrupted them.

Only when the economy is doing well and policies are relaxed can such a bustling and prosperous town and port exist.

As the town mayor, Lin Jishun was very pleased to see this scene. Over the past six months, he had accomplished quite a bit and made some contributions, but nothing could compare to the satisfaction of seeing the prosperity under his jurisdiction.

Lin Jishun hadn't eaten breakfast yet when he got up. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he fell into his old habit of freeloading. He walked up to the fried food stall and put on airs, saying he was going to inspect the stall's hygiene. What he did was eat two of the food himself.

The vendors were both amused and exasperated. "If you want to eat for free, just say so! Who would dare stop you, a town mayor of such stature?"

After eating a few fried dough sticks, Lin Jishun also packed two more to take home. When he passed by the vegetable stall, he also took two jicama. He didn't even let the fishmonger go; he didn't take the most expensive mandarin fish, but he did take two jin of yellow catfish strung together with thatch.

He planned to visit the deputy county head at the town government. It wouldn't be appropriate to go empty-handed, since there were so many local specialties at the dock. He figured he could just take some as a token of his appreciation.