Chapter 1581: Understanding

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Before Jiang Yue and Xue Yan entered Stone Village, they saw the people of Stone Village drying the rice. The rice was quite dry, but it still needed to stay in the sun a while longer.

Just then, Tao Zhen came out from his big brother’s house. He saw Jiang Yue and Xue Yan with a glance. He immediately hurried over and cupped his hands. “You’re back!”

Jiang Yue and Xue Yan also cupped their hands and returned the greeting.

“I thought that you two would return to the village soon after returning home. I didn’t expect to see you two again after two months.” Tao Zhen laughed. “Today is the nineteenth of July,” he added.

Jiang Yue and Xue Yan looked at each other. Tao Zhen was a smart person. Regardless of whether he had seen through it or not, he kept his thoughts to himself. He was even willing to tell them what they needed to know.

“It’s all thanks to the late rice seeds you gave us that everyone looks chipper. Look at the rice in our fields. It’s growing so well.” Tao Zhen pointed into the distance.

Jiang Yue and Xue Yan both followed the direction Tao Zhen was pointing and looked at the faraway field. Then, Jiang Yue asked, “How’s your early rice harvest? Is it enough to pay taxes?”

“The early rice harvest is the same as before. It’s not very good, so it’s not enough to pay taxes.” Tao Zhen shook his head. Then, he laughed again. “Fortunately, everyone in the village has earned some money from selling vegetables over the past few months. It’s enough to take out some money from selling vegetables. The remaining money is enough for us to live on. We are living much better than before. Moreover, the late rice is growing so well now. The harvest should be bountiful when the time comes. Our livelihood won’t be a problem anyway.”

Jiang Yue and Xue Yan nodded.

“Then when will you pay the tax when you harvest the early rice?” Jiang Yue asked.

Tao Zhen said, “If the rice is not dry enough, the government will not collect it. Therefore, the government has stipulated that at the end of July, which is around the 29th or 39th day, the rice will be dried by us and the government will collect it. Our village pays the early rice tax on these two days every year. Other villages also start from the end of this month. However, the exact date is different for each village. I heard from the county government that they’re afraid that all the villages will pay taxes together, and the people in charge of collecting taxes in the county government will have too many documents to process.”

Jiang Yue then said, “Don’t leave any seeds for the early rice. My husband and I will leave the seeds for you to plant next year.”

Tao Zhen also felt that there was a problem with the seeds in his village. For example, in other villages, some villages had harvests that were much better than Stone Village. Tao Zhen hurriedly solemnly cupped his hands. He was extremely touched. “Thank you so much. I know you don’t want us to repay you with anything, but if you need my help or anyone from Stone Village, please let me know.”

“Alright.” Jiang Yue and Xue Yan both nodded. Tao Zhen and the others in Stone Village felt a little apologetic when they heard what they said.

After chatting for a while more, Tao Zhen went home. Jiang Yue and Xue Yan then continued to walk forward. They greeted every villager they met and chatted for a while.

Just like that, they arrived at Zhang Dazhu’s house. Zhang Dazhu and Zhang Shoushou had already dried the rice in the sun and were now feeding the horses behind the house.

The father and son’s laughter had already reached the front. Jiang Yue and Xue Yan didn’t need to ask anyone to know where Zhang Dazhu and Zhang Shoushou were.

“Father, look at how strong this horse is. Our benefactors must have spent a lot of money to buy it.” Zhang Shoushou said to his father happily while filling the manger with water.