In the name of supernatural powers

Chapter 114 The True Steadfasts
At lunchtime, Lu Zhao and the others went to Zhao Zhili's house for lunch.

The Zhao family was very hospitable and knew their limits, not pressing Lin Zhiyan and Lu Xiaotong with questions.

At most, it was Zhao Zhili, an uncle of Lu Zhao's generation, who asked Lu Zhao a couple of questions about whether he had a girlfriend and when he planned to get married.

Halfway through the meal, a middle-aged man with exposed sleeves, carrying a hoe, stormed in and said aggressively, "Zhao Zhili, you bastard, come out here!"

"Hey you! Can't you see we're eating?"

Zhao Zhili slammed down his chopsticks and walked out, then walked towards the other person without showing any weakness, and the two began to speak in their local dialects.

This attracted a crowd of neighbors, and dozens of villagers gathered at once.

Lin Zhiyan asked, "What are they saying?"

Nankaido is characterized by its seven mountains and one river, each with its own dialect. The dialect varies from city to city, and even from village to village.

Lu Zhao explained, "Uncle Zhao is the village chief and is in charge of collecting public grain. It seems that the other party did not pay public grain this year, so their electricity was cut off."

After the cataclysm, federal farmers are required to pay grain taxes, with an average of 30% to 40% of their grain production to the state, depending on the local grain collection office.

Unlike feudal dynasties, in the Federation, failing to pay grain taxes was only considered illegal. There was no substantive crime to be convicted of, so not paying wouldn't lead to arrest.

This can be considered a loophole left over from the original promulgation of the public grain law, to prevent a real historical regression that would turn farmers back into tenant farmers.

Lu Zhaoting admired the official who opposed "punishing those who do not pay public grain." Although he could not change the fact that farmers had to bear the burden of post-disaster reconstruction, he did his best to give farmers some room for resistance.

In the face of the tides of the times, some things are simply unavoidable.

Lin Zhiyan, having learned a little about the grain tax system, frowned and said, "Not delivering grain is illegal in itself, so why is he being so aggressive?"

"Because the grain depot's purchase price is too low," Lu Zhao said. "Sometimes, farmers don't even have enough to eat themselves, but they still have to complete the grain collection quota first. Wouldn't you be furious in that situation?"

"..."

Lin Zhiyan was unable to refute this for a moment, and then asked, "So this is the village chief and the grain depot illegally collecting taxes?"

Lu Zhao looked at the somewhat naive Lin Xuemei and shook his head with a helpless smile: "The village chief and the grain depot, these grassroots units, don't want to collect more either. On the contrary, they hope that the annual quota will be lower."

"You can ask Uncle Zhao later if it's necessary for officials to go deep into the grassroots."

Lin Zhiyan knew more about the rules of officialdom than he did, but Lu Zhao was more knowledgeable about things at the grassroots level.

Hearing the exact same words as Master Liu, Lin Zhiyan raised an eyebrow.

Zhao Zhili argued with the farmer for a while before being pulled apart by the villagers. There was no real fight. In the end, the farmer was pulled away by an acquaintance.

Back inside, Zhao Zhili cursed, "That scoundrel! Just because he's an orphan and a bachelor, he always pays less or late every year, and the village always has to make up the difference for him. This year he's not paying at all, and he still dares to come knocking on our door."

Lin Zhiyan asked, "Uncle Zhao, you were only responsible for collecting them. Why didn't you report to your superiors if he didn't hand them over?"

Zhao Zhili said with a bitter face, "Even if they report it, they'll just scold us. Do you think the city leaders can go to his house and rob him? Not to mention the quota the city gave us. This year they're going to collect 800,000 tons of grain, and our village alone has to pay 600 jin of grain per person."

It's not that he wants to charge more; Zhao Zhili always hopes to charge less each year, but the current economic climate doesn't allow it.

Aunt Zhao, standing nearby, also complained, "The heavy rains came too early this year, so the harvest isn't very good. We still have to calculate it according to previous years. When the harvest is good, we can harvest more, but when it's bad, why can't we harvest less?"

"Why don't we just do what that deadbeat does and stop paying..."

The last sentence was spoken in a noticeably low voice.

Zhao Zhili immediately retorted angrily, "Nonsense! If everyone stops paying grain taxes, what will happen to the country? Post-disaster reconstruction depends entirely on us farmers. Do you think we got this life for nothing?"

"If it weren't for the state, we wouldn't be much better off than those other people."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiyan was slightly taken aback. She found it hard to believe that such profound insights could come from the mouth of a farmer.

Rather than those social elites who engage in lofty rhetoric, like myself.

Lin Zhiyan straightened his posture and asked a few more questions.

For example, annual income: a rural family's annual income is 30,000 yuan. After deducting the cost of seeds and fertilizer, they may even owe the bank several thousand yuan a year if the harvest is bad.

In the early years immediately following the Great Cataclysm, people basically had to go hungry themselves to hand over their grain rations.

"Don't you think this is too hard?"

Lin Zhiyan has already started using honorifics.

Zhao Zhili smiled, his face tanned dark by the sun, and said, "Don't be fooled by our complaints. Everyone knows the difficulties the Federation is facing, and we won't skimp on the grain we're supposed to pay."

"Life may be tough, but we can get through it if we just persevere. One day, when the country launches a counterattack, life will be better again."

Lin Zhiyan fell completely silent, and Lu Xiaotong also lost her initial naivety and innocence.

This was their first time actually interacting with Chinese farmers, a group that has stood on this ancient land for thousands of years.

In the history of human agricultural civilization, no other ethnic group has been able to compare with them.

In an era when human civilization was waning, it was the millions of peasant sons who served as the main source of soldiers that protected our land. In the era following the great catastrophe, it was the 700 million peasants of China who endured the growing pains of social transformation.

The reason why the Chinese are superior to other ethnic groups is that they have essentially maintained the entire civilization in every aspect.

In reality, most Chinese farmers do not live a life that can be described as "upper class".

Lin Zhiyan couldn't help but recall Liu Hanwen's often-repeated words: "Since the Great Cataclysm, the steadfast faction has always been the farmers in the fields, not an old man like me who's half-buried in the ground."

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Zhao Zhili quickly changed the subject, saying, "Besides, we're not suffering that much. You see, people in those states starve to death every year. The government also sends people to help with planting and harvesting crops."

It wasn't that they were afraid Lin Zhiyan would tell anyone, but rather that as farmers who had paid their grain tax for ten years, they were already used to it.

The little girl felt that their suffering was well-intentioned, but life had to go on. This year's harvest was poor, so everyone was a bit resentful, but next year when there's a surplus, it will all be gone.

For ordinary people, the world is characterized by a coexistence of endurance and resistance. Only when they are at their wits' end will they rebel. In ordinary times, they can just endure the difficulties and get through them.

Moreover, the relationship between the federal government and farmers is not at the point of deep resentment; public services such as education, healthcare, and public security have not failed, and the foundation of public support remains.

Normally, everyone can just curse each other a bit, but if someone really raises their voice, everyone thinks that person has lost their mind.

If all else fails, there are always the all-powerful citizens; just look to the citizens far away.

Humans are very resilient; as long as farmers have enough to eat, they won't rebel.

"Although I don't earn much money throughout the year, at least I can eat my fill, which is much better than those commoners."

"Hurry up and eat, or it'll all get cold."

He and Lu Zhao then began drinking their homemade rice wine while chatting about this and that.

Lu Zhao is back today, and he's very happy, drinking one glass of wine after another.

The rice wine from Nanhai West Road has a low alcohol content, but it contains a lot of fusel oils, which can easily cause a hangover.

Zhao Zhili, his face flushed from drinking, put his arm around Lu Zhao's shoulder and said, "Uncle, the biggest regret of my life is not signing up to join the army. I had already agreed with your father to join together, but I was afraid of dying!"

“I’m spineless, but your father is a hero. Your Lu family is the greatest hero in our Huangshui Village.”

Lu Zhao smiled and said, "To me, you are a hero too."

Before leaving, Lu Zhao left three thousand yuan for the Zhao family as a house management fee for their old home. The Zhao couple repeatedly declined, but after some difficult persuasion, they finally accepted it.

Three thousand yuan wasn't much for Lu Zhao, and it was just the right amount they could accept.

At 2 PM, Lu Zhao and the others drove away.

Throughout the journey, Lin Zhiyan remained unusually silent, gazing at the endless fields outside the window, her beautiful face constantly furrowed.

She knew that most people in this era were struggling, so how could farmers possibly have a good life? But when a group of farmers appeared before her, Lin Zhiyan felt very uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable.

Perhaps if it were a group of troublemakers, she would feel much better.

There are some things I can't say, but in public opinion, certain so-called elites have been consistently vilifying the image of farmers. Whenever a conflict arises over the delivery of grain, someone will accuse the farmers of being unruly and lacking compassion for the federal government.

For example, a certain uncle from a collateral branch of the Lin family always spoke in this manner, saying: "It doesn't matter who farms this land; if you don't, plenty of other people will."

The reality is that there are complaints and grievances, but they are still willing to pay their grain taxes. If no one wants to pay, the conflict will inevitably be very intense.

At the same time, power outages will not be the primary form of punishment.

Sixteen-year-old Lu Xiaotong was still quite naive and said directly, "Farmers work so hard. They only earn 30,000 yuan a year and basically have no money left."

As Lu Zhao drove, he looked at Lin Zhiyan's delicate features through the rearview mirror and frowned, saying, "Miss Lin's casual outfit is worth three years' income for a rural family."

Lin Zhiyan, whose mood was already complicated, suddenly exploded. She glared fiercely at Lu Zhao, her chest heaving with anger.

But she didn't lose her temper and yell at her; she simply remained silent.

Because it is a fact, Lin Zhiyan's upbringing prevented her from saying things like, "My grandfather and father have already taken care of all the hardships I've endured in my life."

Lu Zhao kept his eyes on the road ahead and continued, "I'm not insulting you. Even if you don't spend this 100,000 yuan, someone else will. The world won't become better or worse just because you don't spend this 100,000 yuan."

"The fact that you care about them already puts you ahead of many others."

This was a compliment, and also Lu Zhao's recognition of Lin Zhiyan.

Initially, he thought the other person was just a somewhat humanized Chen Qian, but as he got to know her better, Lu Zhao retracted his prejudiced view.

Lin Zhiyan's moral standards were already above those of his contemporaries; not abusing power is also a form of goodness.

Lin Zhiyan asked, "Then what do you think should be done?"

Lu Zhao shook his head and said, "I'm just a border station chief, how can I solve this? The farmland isn't even under my jurisdiction."

Lin Zhiyan pressed further: "The Federation has already implemented a border garrison system in some areas. If you were to manage agricultural production in this region, could you ensure that the farmers could live a good life?"

"No."

Lu Zhao answered without hesitation: "I am not a god, I cannot conjure food out of thin air. When international trade disappeared with the great catastrophe, we have effectively become an agricultural country. No matter how much gold and silver you have, people still need to eat in the end."

The federal government is generally short of food, and every year some states experience food shortages, even leading to starvation deaths.

Meanwhile, the main raw material for life supplements is food, and millions of superhumans need life supplements.

Food production and requisition are the federal government’s top political priorities, and food is one of the raw materials for life supplements.

Lin Zhiyan frowned and said, "Can't you even make a hypothetical scenario?"

“Wouldn’t that just be wishful thinking?” Lu Zhao retorted, then answered himself, “You yourself have said that the Federation has a lot of talented people. The current system may not be the best, but it must have its own rationale.”

"Your so-called vision is to have me write a script, pre-define an ideal framework, and make people's production activities follow my wishes. But back to reality, all changes should start from practice and be in line with history. Don't always think about solving everything once and for all."

"It's not like if a saint comes along, food will spring up from stones."

Lin Zhiyan's implication was that there were bad people persecuting farmers, and he assumed that he was a savior who could make the farmers' lives better.

Lu Zhao felt honored, but did not believe he could have done better in this regard.

The problem of productivity should be solved through production.

(End of this chapter)