GBP Chapter 40 Responsibility System
Chapter 40 Responsibility System
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The biggest landlord in Hefeng Village was Gou Dafu. Through his forceful plundering, he owned two-thirds of the village's land, and more than half of the able-bodied men in the village were his tenants, renting his land.
Before Gou Dafu became wealthy, the villagers could still see his smiling face. But after he became rich, just like his name suggests, he perfectly embodied the meaning of "the rich are heartless." He not only seized other people's land but also ruthlessly exploited the tenants who rented his land. Besides assigning all the corvée labor for his own family to the tenants, he also collected all the government's regular taxes and additional taxes from them, while falsifying records to reduce his own tax burden. Most of the taxes due to the government ended up in his own pocket. Regardless of the harvest, he also demanded 30% of the harvest as rent each year.
Even if his tenant farmers cultivated ten or eight acres of land, after paying rent and taxes, they could only save a few bushels of coarse rice each year. Many tenant families couldn't get enough to eat, and their children would leave to find work when they got a little older.
Su Da's family were tenants of Gou Dafu. Because his family couldn't support himself and his younger siblings, he became an apprentice at a blacksmith's shop in the county town at the age of fourteen. Although swinging a sledgehammer every day was hard and tiring, at least he could eat half a meal. When the news of Gou Dafu being robbed and killed by bandits came, he had already been working at the blacksmith's shop for five years and was already twenty years old.
The one who brought him the news was his younger brother, Su Erdi. His father was illiterate and named them very casually. He didn't have a formal name until he was three years old. Later, because he was stronger and more robust than his younger siblings, he was called Su Tuidi (Su Big Thigh). His younger brother was simply named Erdi (Second Brother), and his younger sister was called Su Xiaomei (Little Sister Su). Originally, Su Xiaomei had two boys before her, but they died very young because there was no food.
Upon learning of Gou Dafu's murder, Su Da Tui spat on the ground in satisfaction, saying, "Good riddance! This kind of scourge should have died long ago."
If Gou Dafu hadn't been so ruthless in his exploitation, he wouldn't have been separated from his family at such a young age, and wouldn't have had to wield a heavy sledgehammer that even adults struggle with at the age of fourteen. It's said that Gou Dafu's land has changed hands, and it's unclear how land can be transferred after someone dies, but the land deeds all bear the official seal of the government, so they shouldn't be fake.
"All crows are black, I just hope this one isn't so cruel," Su Da Tui concluded.
Su Erdi explained, "Brother, this time it's really different. The new employer sent someone to announce the rules: all imperial grain and national taxes will be handled by the employer. We only need to pay two shi of grain per mu, and we don't even need to exchange it for silver!"
Su Da Tui was stunned: "Nonsense, right? Did this new boss get his head squeezed by a door or kicked by a donkey? There's no such thing as a leech that doesn't suck blood."
If he disregarded all taxes and only paid rent of two shi of grain, without incurring losses from exchanging it for silver, then each mu of land could yield at least two or three shi of food. His family of five could basically feed themselves by renting five mu of land; if they rented more than ten mu, they could save enough money over several years to get him a wife.
Seeing that his elder brother didn't believe him, Su Erdi became anxious: "It's true! Father sent me to call you back. Our family originally rented five acres. After you go back, we'll plead with the new landlord to rent a few more acres. If you work hard for a few years, we can find you a wife. Father even promised to let me go to a private school!"
Su was still skeptical; the good news came too suddenly, making it hard to believe it was true.
However, he couldn't persuade his younger brother otherwise and agreed to go back with him. But he was careful when he left. He didn't quit his job as his father had told him to. Instead, he asked his boss for a few days off, saying that there was an emergency at home. In case it wasn't true, he would have a way out.
Upon returning to Hefeng Village, Su Da Tui felt that the atmosphere was very different.
In the past, the villagers looked gaunt and lifeless, rarely exchanging a word with each other. This was understandable; tormented by the pressures of survival, unsure if they would starve the next day, they lived one day at a time, with no inclination to greet others with smiles. Now, though still pale, their spirits were noticeably different. Everyone's face radiated joy, and some with good memories even recognized him, greeting him loudly: "Isn't this the eldest son of the Su family? He's grown so tall in just a few years!"
On his way back home, he had to pass by the village's ancestral hall. When he arrived at the entrance, he was startled. People were coming and going in an endless stream, and the ancestral hall was noisy and bustling, like a vegetable market.
In his childhood memories, the ancestral hall was a solemn place where important village matters were discussed. But by the time of Gou Dafu, it had gradually become the most feared place in the village. Tenants who couldn't pay their taxes and rent would be taken there by Gou Dafu's henchmen and thugs to be tortured in a privately set up torture chamber. Because Gou Dafu was wealthy and powerful, and was also the village head, plus had a younger brother who worked as a clerk in the county government, the villagers dared not speak out against him.
The scene before him left Su Tui Tu confused. Was this still the ancestral hall he remembered? Su Er Di, being more astute, noticed his doubts and told him, "The people sent by the new landlord are in the ancestral hall. Now every household in the village has sent people to beg for a few more acres of land, so it's very lively here."
Just then, their father, Old Man Su, came out, beaming as he examined a piece of paper. Su's older brother went up to him and said, "Dad, you can't read, what are you looking at?"
"The eldest son is back, and the second son is here too. Perfect timing, you know a few characters, can you check if these field numbers are correct?" Old Man Su greeted his son briefly and handed the paper in his hand to his second son.
Su Erdi loved reading since he was a child, but because his family was too poor to attend school, he often sneaked off to the only private school in the village to listen in, and thus learned some characters. When he took the note, he saw that it stated that his family had rented fifteen mu of land, and also noted that the rent for the land was thirty shi of grain per year.
Old Su tapped his finger on the paper: "Did you see clearly? How many acres is written on it?"
Su Erdi told him it was fifteen mu. Old Su chuckled and asked, "You didn't see wrong, did you? It must be fifteen mu?" Upon receiving confirmation again, he smiled so broadly that the wrinkles on his face spread out.
Su Dad couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Dad, is the new employer reliable? We never had this kind of note when we rented a few acres of land before. Could they be trying to scam us?"
"What do you know? What are you trying to fool? What do we have that the landlord can fool? If you want to collect more rent, just learn from Gou Dafu and use whips and boards. Why do you need to resort to such roundabout ways to cheat us?" Although Old Man Su was illiterate, he had the wisdom of a peasant and his thinking was very clear. With one sentence, he left Su Tui speechless.
"Everyone is pleading with the new landlord to let us rent a few more acres of land. The people sent by the new landlord said that we can rent more, but it will be calculated according to the number of laborers in the family. Those with more laborers can rent more, and those with fewer laborers will rent less. There are three men in our family, so we can rent fifteen acres. It's a pity that the youngest son is not a boy, otherwise we could rent twenty acres."
Old Su's optimism infected his two sons, and the three of them walked home happily, where their mother and sister were waiting for their good news!
Upon returning home, her mother, Su Liu, and her younger sister, Su Xiaomei, greeted her. Both mother and daughter had tears in their eyes. Su Liu choked back sobs as she said, "Eldest son is back? It's so good to be back..."
Su Datou had left home at a young age, and his employers rarely gave him time off, often only allowing him to return home for the New Year. Su Liu Shi missed her eldest son dearly, but the pressure of making a living left her with no better option. Now, with a new employer, it seemed like a way out, and her eldest son had a chance to come home. Su Liu Shi was even happier than Su Lao Guan. Seeing his mother like this, Su Datou was also moved, calling out "Mother," his eyes welling up with tears. There's no place like home; being with family is the greatest happiness in the world.
Su Da-tui finally made up his mind: "I'll go to the county town tomorrow to settle my wages at the blacksmith's shop, then quit my job and go home to farm."
This scene wasn't unique to Hefeng Village; it was common throughout Lingao. Li Ergou hadn't expected the master's new rules to be so popular, with tenants clamoring for larger rental areas.
Li Ergou dared not make the decision himself, so he quickly sent someone back to consult his master. The reply he received was that more land could be rented, but it would be calculated based on the number of able-bodied men in the household. On average, each adult male could be counted as five mu, and no more would be paid. Tenants who increased their rented area also received a slip of paper specifying the cultivated area and the amount of rent to be paid. Both parties signed the slip, and the written agreement reassured the tenants.
In April of the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, the turmoil caused by the bandit uprising dissipated silently like ripples on a lake. Apart from the wealthy families who lost their lives, ordinary people had forgotten about the incident, and many more were immersed in their yearning for a better life, such as the Su family father and son.
The tenants, now with new landlords, were ignited by the new land distribution system, and the whole family pitched in, working tirelessly in the fields from dawn till dusk. Occasionally, some surviving wealthy families would report to the county government that their land had been embezzled, but without exception, their reports went unanswered.