A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 181: Kick the Root
Li Yi had just returned to Beijing and worked for two days when the seven-day winter solstice holiday arrived.

As the deputy supervisor of the palace gardens, Li Yi fulfilled his promise and prepared winter solstice benefits for more than 20 officials and more than 300 gardeners and gardeners in the palace gardens one day before the holiday.

Even the gardeners and gardeners had 100 jin of firewood, 50 jin of charcoal, 50 jin of coal, as well as a dou of rice and flour, 5 jin of pork, two fish, two jin of salt and two liters of oil.

As deputy supervisor and general supervisor, Li Yi and Fan Fang did not have much more benefits. He divided officials, clerks and craftsmen into two grades, with a total of six grades of benefits. Each grade increased by 20%. The highest-level general supervisor and deputy supervisor only received twice as much as the lowest-level gardener.

Looking at the things placed in the courtyard of the government office,
The officials, gardeners, and others who had received the notice to receive the gifts were all extremely excited. Although Li Yi had promised them beforehand, they hadn't really taken it seriously. There were so many bosses who made empty promises, but how many actually kept them?

Gardeners and gardeners are particularly excited, as they earn the least and struggle to support their families.

This holiday gift is a lot for them.

"I didn't expect our deputy supervisor to keep his word."

"Yes, we shared the leftover food with everyone, and now we have such a wonderful winter solstice gift."

Some people also talked about Yuwen Ying, saying that he would cut money for everything, even scraping some oil from the gardeners and gardeners.

Unlike Deputy Supervisor Li, who always seeks benefits for everyone.

"Our Deputy Supervisor Li is really capable. He managed to get so many things in just two days."

"I heard that Deputy Supervisor Li pre-sold the vegetables and flowers in the greenhouse and used the money to buy holiday gifts."

Li Yi stood at the front, flanked by two supervisors and a chief clerk. The welfare gifts had already been distributed according to the roster, and everyone lined up to sign and put their fingerprints on the gifts to receive them.

It is much more convenient than receiving the rice subsidy. To receive the rice subsidy, one has to go to the Taicang Office under the Sinong Temple. One has to get the wooden deed first, and then go to the relevant warehouse with the talisman and certificate. Only after the deed, talisman and certificate are verified to be correct can one receive the rice subsidy.

Because the rice subsidy was distributed once a year in autumn, collecting it every time was like going to war. Even if the various departments in the capital distributed it in batches at different times, it was still very troublesome.

"Thank you, Deputy Supervisor Li!"

The old gardener, with excitement in his heart, pressed his trembling fingers on the book and thanked Li Yi repeatedly.

"These materials are pre-sold in advance, such as vegetables, fruits, flowers, and potted plants in the greenhouse. We have to provide loans to them when the time comes. There is a contract. If we cannot repay the loan on time, we will have to pay compensation.
Everyone needs to work hard to ensure timely delivery. If the greenhouse is profitable, we will continue to provide incentives in the future."

"Please rest assured, Deputy Supervisor, we will do our best."

When it comes to personal income, the real money for food, rice, flour, oil, salt, firewood and charcoal, who wouldn't work hard? In the past, we had a fixed income, so we couldn't help but cheat, but now it's different, and everyone has a goal and motivation to work hard.

Gifts were distributed one by one,
The officials, gardeners and others who received the supplies were very happy and were already discussing how to take so many things home. Li Yi waved his hand and asked them to borrow the palace garden supervisor's car and let everyone help each other transport the supplies. After the task was completed, they just had to pack up the car and send it back.

Everyone was grateful again.

The Supervisor handed Li Yi a Winter Solstice duty schedule and asked him to approve it.

"Why not give it to Supervisor Fan?"

"Most of the time, Supervisor Fan is in the emperor's service. He doesn't come here very often. He has instructed that from now on, all matters concerning the prison will be decided by the deputy supervisor."

Li Yi could only smile after hearing this. This Fan Fang really knew how to enjoy himself.

"The greenhouses must be well staffed, and there can't be any mistakes, especially in the greenhouses where we grow sweet potatoes. Those on duty during the winter solstice holiday must be provided with meals in the public kitchen, and the food must be good. Furthermore, those on duty must receive a stipend."

"Isn't that necessary? We're on duty in shifts anyway." Supervisor Lao Liu said.

"Give what's due. I see that gardeners and gardeners on duty during holidays get one liter of rice a day, clerks get two liters a day, and officials get three liters a day."

Li Yi added his own name to the list and said, "Give me a day, the first day."

After the court is over, I return home.

Li Yi also borrowed a cart from the prison and had his servants transport back home 200 jin of firewood, 100 jin of charcoal, 100 jin of coal, 2 dou of rice and flour, four fish, 10 jin of pork, 4 jin of salt and 4 liters of oil.

Back home,
Li Yi smiled and called Zhao Yongan over.
"It's almost the winter solstice, and I'm sorry to bother you following me."

Li Yi gave each of the four imperial guards two gold beans, weighing one penny and worth eight hundred coins.

He also gave Zhao Yongan two extra ones in private. After all, he was learning slingshot and bow and arrow from Zhao Yongan, and he taught him seriously.

Zhao Yongan was a straightforward person, so he accepted it with a smile and didn't act pretentiously.

"It's a blessing for us to follow Deputy Supervisor Li. We have good food and drink every day. We are willing to follow Deputy Supervisor Li every day."

Li Yi laughed loudly.
Zhao Yongan is indeed a good person. He is good at archery and martial arts. Unfortunately, he is a little too straightforward. I heard that he offended someone. Therefore, although he is a follower of Xihe, he still only has some honors but no official position.

The three imperial guards were also very straightforward.

Unfortunately, they were the Emperor's Imperial Guards, and they were also divided into shifts, returning home after two months on duty. Otherwise, Li Yi would really like to have these four Vajras always by his side, for safety.

While talking and laughing,

Someone's at the door.

"I am a servant from the Taicang Office of the Ministry of Agriculture, and I have come to deliver the rice stipend to Deputy Supervisor Li."

"Is there a mistake? I took office in the autumn."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "That's right. The superior of the Taicang Office arranged for us to deliver it. He said that the emperor has ordered that Deputy Supervisor Li receive an additional six months' salary."

Li Yi didn't expect that there would be such a benefit. Li Yuan actually still remembered him.

The man then asked Li Yi where to send the rice.

"I'll put it in the warehouse in the east courtyard. Please take the trouble."

"It's all as I should." The man said and went to make arrangements.

Zhao Yongan told Li Yi that because the rice subsidy was distributed in autumn, once a year, although it was distributed in three shifts, the number of people who wanted to receive the rice subsidy was still huge. The Taicang Office hired laborers to help carry the rice subsidy home.
There were a large number of these laborers, most of whom were refugees who had fled to Chang'an due to famine. They were employed by the Taicang Office, which was considered as work-for-relief.

Among these servants, some clever ones would cling to power, rely on the officials of Taicang Office, and win over other servants to form gangs.
It is also a considerable force.

The servants carried the grain to the east courtyard.

"Please ask Deputy Supervisor Li to arrange the number."

Awei led his men to measure the rice with buckets.

"Ah Lang, the total is eighty-eight stone of rice."

Li Yi was a little confused about this number.

The middle-aged servant leading the group smiled and explained, "Deputy Supervisor Li is a sixth-rank official with an annual salary of 90 dan, but the emperor has granted him the red robe and has specially decreed that his salary be paid to him as a fifth-rank official with an annual salary of 160 dan."

"That's also eighty koku for half a year. Is this eight koku more?"

Although Li Yi now holds a fifth-rank official position, the court still pays him salary and rice according to the rank of his actual position because such positions are often granted indiscriminately.

However, since Li Yi was granted the title of red robe, he enjoyed the treatment of a fifth-rank official and could receive an additional 70 shi of salary per year.

"According to custom, when measuring the rice allowance for purple officials, the excess portion is not deducted, so I gave them more."

"Also, for officials of the eighth rank and above, such as the Vice Ministers, the Supervisory Censors, and the Doctors of the Imperial Household, the excess amount will not be discounted when measuring rice."

The protruding part is also very particular.

For example, high-ranking officials in purple robes of the third rank and above are generally given 20% more, officials in red robes of the fourth and fifth ranks are given 10% more, and other regular officials are given half a percent more.

In the eyes of these servants, all the officials in the court were divided into different levels and treated differently according to their status.

"Everyone is like this?"

"It's always the same practice." The servant said with a smile.

"How much is it?"

The laborers hired by the Taicang Office delivered rice as stipend to officials, and the officials had to pay the transportation costs themselves, which was called "jiaoqian".

"How can I accept money for sending rice to Deputy Supervisor Li?"

Li Yi looked at this guy. Although he was a laborer, he was dressed very brightly. He was probably very good at opportunism and was probably a hamster who lived off the warehouse.

But this is not within Li Yi's scope of responsibility.
He took out a small golden bean and said, "Thank you."

"Thank you, Deputy Supervisor Li, for the reward." The man accepted it with a smile and thanked him loudly, not being polite at all. "There may be more rent for the official land to be delivered later."

These people moved 88 stone of corn to the East Courtyard granary.

They are all millet in the shell.

In fact, the rice for the salary distribution should be rice. Even if it is millet, it is shelled millet and it has to be converted into rice. One dou of millet is equivalent to six liters of rice.

Li Yi's 80 dan of rice should be converted into 133 dan of millet. If it is not shelled, it should be converted at 70%, which means it should be converted into 190 dan of unshelled millet.

But now he actually got 88 stone of unhusked millet.
It was not that the people in the Taicang Office were so bold as to embezzle money, but that the imperial treasury was empty, so they could only change the distribution of rice to millet, and then changed millet to millet grain.

The government’s office expenses were all paid directly from the public treasury, which allowed them to lend money and collect interest to finance the public treasury funds.

Many government offices did not pay monthly salaries and relied on rent from officials' official land to supplement their income.

Not long after, the servant with the rat-like mustache arrived again to deliver the rent for the official land. Officials with real positions were entitled to corresponding official land, but Li Yiqiu had taken office later and had not received any this season.

But it was specially given,
As a sixth-rank official, he enjoyed the treatment of a fifth-rank official. His original official land was four hectares, but now it was calculated as six hectares, with a rent of six dou per mu.

The rent for half a year should have been 180 dan, but after measurement it was 200 dan, which was 10% more and two dan added.

As usual, it is unhulled millet,

These official fields were rented by the government to local wealthy families for cultivation, so that the rent could be guaranteed. An annual yield of six dou of millet per mu was allowed, but the rent had to be delivered to the government warehouse. Generally, the rent was sent to the state warehouse in local areas, and to the Taicang warehouse in Chang'an in the capital.

Renting official land was not very cost-effective. The poor wanted to farm, but the government would not rent it. The rich did not want to farm, but the government forced them to pay rent.

For officials, it is good enough to not have to worry about anything and just collect rent on time.

As usual, no fee is required.

However, Li Yi still gave him two small golden beans and a reward of eight hundred yuan this time.

"Thank you for the reward, Uncle Qianshui. If Qianshuiyuan needs any moving work in the future, please send someone to Taicang to call me. My name is Jia Yan."

"Ok."

Jia Yan thanked him and left with his men.

Zhao Yongan looked down on Jia Yan, saying that these people were currying favor with the powerful and were petty officials who would get less money or deductions. Even when the money was measured, it was clear that the money was being taken out of the warehouse, but when it was finally paid, they would fight and kick out the ones who were taking out the money, and the ones who were kicked out would become theirs.

When the tenants paid the rent for their official fields, they had to pile up the rent to the top, and then kick and fight. Whatever was kicked off became theirs, which was called "fire consumption". Sometimes they would even use the excuse that the millet was too wet to deduct the amount.

"These are just hamsters, they eat you inside and out." Zhao Yongan cursed. He had been deducted from his salary in this way and had even had a conflict with them over this.

Li Yi was very calm. This kind of thing has been very common for thousands of years.

Today he earned 288 dan of millet, and those hamsters gave him 28 dan more, and they didn't take his money.

(End of this chapter)