PDLP Chapter 280 Choice
Chapter 280 Choice
Chapter 280 The Choice "I've made up my mind too, I'll hand over the land."
"Me too!"
“My family of three adults can earn at least one and a half taels of silver a month, which is much more than farming!”
"..."
The villagers enthusiastically signed up, and in no time they had all made their decisions, all intending to hand over their land in exchange for the opportunity to work in Chenjia Village.
Seeing this, Li Qiang smiled. The villagers' choice was not unexpected. With the preferential treatment offered by Chen Dao, everyone made the same choice.
"There's something I need to tell you in advance!"
Li Qiang seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Dao Ge'er told me that anyone going to work in Chenjia Village must be at least 18 years old; those under 18 are not allowed to work there."
"what?"
The villagers of Xiahe Village were stunned. It seemed a bit too harsh to require someone under 18 to be unable to work.
It's important to understand that in the Xia Kingdom, many children as young as ten are already considered part of the family's workforce, helping their parents with chores; and by eighteen...
According to the laws of Xia Kingdom, 15 years old is considered an adult, but Chen Dao requires that those who work be at least 18 years old, which is rather strict.
"It's not just our village that's like this; Chenjia Village is the same!"
Li Qiang continued, "As far as I know, the people who work for Daoge'er in Chenjia Village must be at least 18 years old, otherwise Daoge'er will not accept them."
Hearing that Chenjia Village had the same requirements, the villagers felt much better. This at least showed that Chen Dao was not deliberately targeting Xiahe Village or discriminating against them, but treating everyone equally.
"Village chief, what are the children under 18 doing in Chenjia Village?" a villager from Xiaohe Village couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I'm reading!"
"read?"
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. It wasn't that they were short-sighted, but rather that in the land of Xia, for ordinary people, studying was... utterly useless!
In the ancient China, even if you couldn't pass the civil service exam or get a master's degree, a diploma could still be a stepping stone to finding a job. But in the Xia Kingdom...
The only way out of studying was to take the imperial examination, but for ordinary people, the imperial examination was something that only existed in legends.
Even if ordinary people can afford to send their children to school, they can't afford to hire good teachers. Without renowned teachers, children who rely solely on their own learning, even if they wear out their books, will never be able to compete with those from prestigious families and wealthy households who have been taught by famous teachers and guided by great scholars since childhood.
It was precisely because they couldn't see the benefits of reading that everyone was so surprised to hear that the children in Chenjia Village were all studying.
"Village chief, what's the use of studying?"
A woman asked, "Could it be that the people of Chenjia Village are planning to train a scholar to pass the imperial examination?"
"I don't know!"
Li Qiang shook his head. He also had some doubts about the fact that all the children in Chenjia Village were studying. However, he felt that Chen Dao must have his reasons for making sure that all the children in the village were educated.
Of course, there was no need to tell the villagers about this.
"Alright! Now that everyone has made their decisions, go back and rest. In a couple of days, I'll take you to Chenjia Village to work."
"correct!"
Before the villagers left, Li Qiang instructed them, "When you go to work in Chenjia Village in the future, no one is allowed to slack off. If I find anyone who dares to slack off and ruin our village's reputation, I will absolutely not let them off the hook!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers were startled and quickly abandoned any thoughts of slacking off.
"Don't worry, village chief. We will definitely work hard in Chenjia Village and will never tarnish the reputation of our Xiahe Village."
"That's right! 500 coins a month, I'd rather die than slack off!"
"Anyone who dares to slack off, let alone the village chief, I won't let them get away with it!"
"..."
The villagers all made promises, saying that even without mentioning the generous benefits offered by Chen Dao, the village chief's warning alone was enough to keep them from slacking off!
Although the village chief isn't a government official, Li Qiang wields considerable power within the village, even extending to invoking clan laws...
The thought of the clan law sent a chill down everyone's spine, and they dared not have the slightest thought of slacking off.
"Alright, then everyone go back and rest!"
Soon, the villagers of Xiahe Village dispersed.
Meanwhile, in Chenjia Village, at Chen Zhong's home.
Chen Zhong's father, Chen Fu, his mother, Jiang Yan, and Chen Zhong are talking.
"The boss."
Jiang Yan looked at Chen Fu, who was frowning, and asked, "What have you thought about what Dao Ge'er said today? Should we hand over the land to Dao Ge'er?"
"I'm still considering it."
Chen Fu replied with a furrowed brow, "I am willing to believe Dao Ge'er, but this land has been passed down from my ancestors, so I can't make a decision!"
"What's there to consider?"
At this moment, Chen Zhong suddenly spoke up: "Just trust Brother Dao! Anyway, Brother Dao won't let us suffer any losses!"
Young people like Chen Zhong are probably the ones in the village who trust Chen Dao the most, you could say they trust him completely. Therefore, Chen Zhong had long had the idea of handing over his land to Chen Dao.
However, he wasn't the one in charge at home; whether or not he handed it over depended on his parents' wishes.
"Of course I'd like to believe Brother Dao, but..."
"Nothing to worry about."
Chen Zhong interrupted Chen Fu: "Father, think about it carefully. Even if you keep the land, how much money can you make by growing crops? Can you earn two taels of silver by farming for half a year?"
"cannot!"
Chen Fu subconsciously shook his head. Let alone two taels of silver, after paying taxes to the imperial court, the grain left over from farming for half a year was barely enough to feed his family. As for income... there was practically none.
"That's it."
Chen Zhong shrugged and said, "Keeping this land won't make us much money, so we might as well give it to Dao Ge'er!"
After saying that, Chen Zhong continued, "After this land is handed over to Daoge'er, Father and Mother, you can help Daoge'er with the work. That way, you can earn one tael of silver per month. One tael a month, six months is six taels, and a year is twelve taels. That's much more than farming! And..."
Chen Zhong paused for a moment, then continued, "If I can become a formal member of the guard team, I can also receive one tael of silver a month. That way, our family will have two taels of silver in income every month. Father, think about it, how many years would you have to farm to save up two taels of silver?"
Chen Fu remained silent.
Two taels of silver—given the heavy taxes levied by the imperial court these days, even if he spent the rest of his life farming, he probably wouldn't be able to save that much. And this…
This is just the monthly income that Chen Zhong mentioned.
"Zhong'er is right!"
Jiang Yan said thoughtfully, "We can't grow much grain on this land anyway, so we might as well give it to Dao Ge'er! Besides, didn't Dao Ge'er say that as long as we give the land to him, we can buy grain from him at half price in the future? This is a rare opportunity!"