Chapter 579: Chapter 579: Labor
Nanny Tao had been with Gu Jinli for over ten days and had become familiar with the temperament of this young master. Hearing her nonsensical words, Nanny Tao didn’t find them inappropriate but instead laughed and lamented, "Xiao Liu is deeply sentimental. After all these years, any other man would have married and had children, yet he remains bound by his promise, always waiting for Sui’er."
Aunt Hong’s real name is Hong Sui.
While they were talking, San Qi came over with a bottle to find Nanny Tao: "Nanny, we’ve run out of pearl powder for the scar removal ointment. I need to fetch half a pound."
Just like Mai Dong, San Qi used to work as an attendant at Xuanhu Fang, but he was a steadier and less talkative person, so he worked with Han Liu to produce scar removal ointment and was expected to eventually take over the task.
Mai Dong was more lively, working with Mu Tong, and might take over Mu Tong’s duties in the future.
After listening, Nanny Tao took out a booklet, wrote down when and how much pearl powder he came to collect and what for, and had him place his fingerprint on it.
This was a management method introduced by Nanny Tao after her arrival; everyone in the pharmaceutical workshop had to do this, to ensure accountability.
After San Qi left his fingerprint, Nanny Tao, after asking Gu Jinli, stood up to fetch half a pound of pearl powder from the medicine cabinet inside the room.
Before leaving, Gu Jinli asked San Qi, "How is Uncle Xiao Liu today? Still acting foolish?"
San Qi, being clever and quite familiar with Gu Jinli, laughed upon hearing this, "Still foolish. The day before yesterday, he was so absent-minded, he almost overcooked the scar ointment."
Gu Jinli became anxious upon hearing this, "That won’t do. Even the least amount it costs to make a pot of scar ointment is twenty taels. It would be a loss if a batch were ruined."
San Qi reassured, "Young master, don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on Uncle Xiao Liu and won’t let him make mistakes again."
Worried Gu Jinli might blame Han Liu, he quickly said, "He’s improved today; he just spaced out for a bit and broke a pottery jar."
Pottery jars cost money too.
Gu Jinli thought, "This isn’t working. We need to get Uncle Han Liu what he wants soon."
Watching Gu Jinli, San Qi wondered what the young master knew. He wanted to ask, but before he could Han Liu arrived and, seeing San Qi, told him, "San Qi, why are you so slow getting the pearl powder? Hurry up and take it back, sift it two more times, I need it."
"Okay." San Qi quickly ran off with the pearl powder.
Seeing Han Liu, Gu Jinli smiled, causing Han Liu to feel uneasy, who then quickly asked, "Young, young master, what’s wrong?"
Gu Jinli trotted up to Han Liu, looking up, she asked, "Uncle Xiao Liu, do you want me to help you find a wife?"
Bang, Han Liu’s face turned beet-red as he stammered, "No no no need... Six-six-six uncle can... manage."
Gu Jinli retorted, "Manage what? You’re stammering so much; how will you get a wife?"
However, Han Liu shook his head, insisting, "Thank you, young master, but I can handle this myself."
He wasn’t stammering now!
Gu Jinli looked at Han Liu, thinking of Aunt Hong with her hairstyle of a married woman, and figured that something must have happened to her over the years, so when she saw Uncle Xiao Liu again, she didn’t immediately rekindle their past relationship.
"Alright then," Gu Jinli agreed and then encouraged him, "Uncle Xiao Liu, hang in there, you surely can do it. A man faithful in love will surely not be let down."
Hang in there?
Han Liu thought to himself that oil was quite expensive, and he had to be economical when using it for cooking, unable to afford it otherwise, but he knew Gu Jinli meant well and smiled, saying: "Hmm, Young Master, Uncle Han Liu won’t let you down."
After saying this, he nodded at Nanny Tao and turned to leave.
Nanny Tao watched Gu Jinli and shook her head with a smile...Old Master Wu was right, this girl is an interesting one, it’s never dull following her.
With the addition of Nanny Tao and the others, the production speed at the pharmaceutical workshop increased significantly. It took less than ten days to produce twenty thousand bottles of tooth powder for Yuanzi Pharmacy.
Gu Jinli told Ah Shi and the others to continue making tooth powder: "This item will surely sell well. Make more to keep in stock, so we don’t run out when Yuanzi Pharmacy places large orders."
"Right!" Ah Shi was very happy, busy with tooth powder every day.
Danian was also overjoyed, for the Young Master valued his sister highly, promising her a bright future; he became more energetic when working and practicing martial arts.
As time went by, at the end of September, the government issued a decree on October 8 to start the labor conscription, lasting two months and returning home for the New Year on December 10.
Knowing that they had to serve labor conscription again, all the villages began to worry. Some even cried out loud due to County Magistrate Zou selling male laborers, fearing their men might be sold or die at the labor site.
Labor conscription meant recruiting civilians to work for the government for free, either digging canals or building city walls – all utterly exhausting tasks.
County Magistrate Xu, aware that people resisted labor conscription due to County Magistrate Zou selling male laborers, feared public unrest. He sent clerks and government officials to explain to the farmers village by village that this time the conscription site was in Linhe Prefecture, clearing the silt in Huai River, which was nearby.
Though tiring, and possibly resulting in death by drowning in the Huai River, the location was close, unlike before when distant locations meant that if someone died their bodies couldn’t be transported back.
This proximity for Tianfu County was due to the issues caused by County Magistrate Zou. The court felt it necessary to placate the people, otherwise, they would have been sent to Central State to build city walls.
Hearing this, Gu Jinli frowned, puzzled, "Why doesn’t the court just exempt Tianfu County from labor conscription this time?"
With the big trouble caused by County Magistrate Zou, any wise ruler of Great Chu would have exempted Tianfu County from labor conscription immediately, granting such favor at no real loss to the court but winning the grateful hearts of the citizens. Yet, the court did not act this way.
Gu Jin’an said: "When communicating with Brother Zheng and Brother Shangguan, they mentioned that some ministers in the court advocated for exempting Tianfu County from this conscription, but others disagreed. They argued that due to recent military disasters, many city walls were destroyed by refugees, and the workload this time was heavier than before, so they couldn’t reduce the workforce."
"Moreover, if anyone wishes to be exempt from labor conscription this time, they need to pay twice as much silver as before, ten taels per person... And there might even be a poll tax added."
Gu Jinli:"..."
Great Chu is doomed.
Ten taels of silver just to replace a conscription slot—does the court realize how huge this amount is for ordinary farm families?
Jianghuai and Jiangnan are renowned for rice cultivation, wealthy regions where a farmer could earn about ten taels of silver a year. Not to mention the Northwest, Central State, and Northeast, where those are poor and harsh regions, a family could hardly save up three taels of silver after a year’s tiring work.
Gu Jin’an sighed: "Brother Zheng and Brother Shangguan also think the court has gone too far. Even after prolonged persuasion by Elder Shangguan, they couldn’t make Emperor Chu change his mind."
Brother Zheng, who is quite close to him, revealed two words: ’lacking silver.’
The Northwest of Great Chu has been hit by drought for two years, followed by military disasters, draining the national treasury, and now Emperor Chu is scouring for silver everywhere. What worries Brother Zheng more is that someone is instigating the Emperor, suggesting that noble families, who have accumulated wealth for hundreds of thousands of years, should contribute to the country now.
If Emperor Chu is really convinced, Great Chu will face violent turmoil again.
The Zheng family and the Shangguan family need not worry, being royal relatives, but other noble and rich families are not so lucky.