Ke Zhiming replied without hesitation, "The common people live very peacefully. According to intelligence from the Heaven and Earth Society and the Imperial Guard, the lives of people in various places are much better than during Qianlong's reign."
Zhu Jinsong also felt something was amiss.
When he had escorted the old dog Qianlong north, he had witnessed the lives of ordinary people. Although he hadn't inquired about grain prices, he hadn't seen any commoner unable to eat, nor had he heard anyone complain about grain prices.
After some thought, Zhu Jinsong said to Zeng Cheng and the others, "Change your clothes, everyone. Today, as sovereign and subject, let's go incognito for a private visit and have a meal with the common folk."
After procuring clothes and having Zeng Cheng and the others change in the Hall of Literary Brilliance, Zhu Jinsong, accompanied by Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, and others, left the Forbidden City. He feigned a direction towards the south of the capital before changing course towards Yan Jiao.
When the group arrived in Yan Jiao at a brisk pace, it was already close to noon. Zhu Jinsong, under the guise of Wanyan Agudai, swaggered with his entourage to a commoner's home, produced some treasure notes, and asked to share a meal.
Alas, the chickens, ducks, and geese raised by this household belonging to Old Man Kang all met their doom after Zhu Jinsong presented a hundred-yuan banknote.
While Zhu Jinsong praised the aroma of the meat without stopping, he casually asked Old Man Kang, "I heard that rice in the passes is two or three wen per catty?"
Old Man Kang, who had been pulled to the table by Zhu Jinsong, smacked his lips and said, "Indeed, rice is cheap now, dropping from over ten wen to two or three wen per catty. I didn't expect nobles to know about rice prices? I thought nobles like you wouldn't bother with such things."
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and continued, "Didn't they say that cheap grain harms farmers? If grain is cheap, how will you make a living? Perhaps when I reach the capital, I'll mention this to the Emperor."
Old Man Kang chuckled and shook his head, "Tell the Emperor about this? It's no use telling anyone! This is the current price of grain. Even if the Jade Emperor himself came, the price wouldn't change."
Zhu Jinsong's heart sank. Just as he was about to speak, Old Man Kang continued, "Does the noble know the principle that cheap grain harms farmers, but dearer grain harms farmers even more? Besides, 'cheap grain harms farmers' is an old saying from how many years ago?"
"Now that grain is cheap, everyone can afford it. We farmers earn less, but I don't just grow grain and do nothing else."
"Look, besides growing grain, I've also planted an orchard under the guidance of the Farmers' Association, and I raise chickens in the orchard."
Speaking of which, Old Man Kang pointed to the chicken meat in Zhu Jinsong's hand, "The chicken you're eating now was raised in my orchard. They eat insects, and in winter, I buy bran and other feed from the county. Selling eggs and chickens every year is also a considerable sum of money."
"Life is better now, and eggs sell well. Although they are a bit cheap, they sell better than during the Qing Dynasty."
"So, let the grain be cheap. It doesn't matter, as I don't rely solely on that piece of land."
Zhu Jinsong shook his head and said, "That's not entirely true."
"Look, old sir, your family grows grain, grows fruit trees, and raises chickens, ducks, and geese. But not all commoners are like you, right? If grain is cheap everywhere, then those who can only farm will suffer losses?"
"So, the saying that dear grain harms farmers and cheap grain also harms farmers, still holds some truth. Don't think I'm ignorant just because I've been outside the passes for so long; I've also studied."
Old Man Kang chuckled and gave Zhu Jinsong a thumbs-up, praising, "You are the Emperor's brother-in-law, and yet you still care about the lives of us humble folk. This is truly rare."
"However, noble, you may not know that the cheapness of grain depends on the method. If it were like during the Qing Dynasty, when grain was this cheap, the people would have already been unable to survive because everything else was expensive, and money was worthless."
"But it's different now. Everything is cheap now, and money is valuable. The money earned from growing grain may seem less, but your expenses are also lower. Especially since the court has reduced taxes, it is still possible to make a living by farming and ensure that your family has enough to eat and wear."
At this point, Old Man Kang couldn't help but become cheerful again. "This is how it should be. When I was young, my grandfather told me stories. Back when the Ming Dynasty still existed, grain prices weren't high. Especially before Emperor Wanli, grain prices were similar to ours now, and the lives of the common people were good."
"Later, things gradually declined. Natural disasters became more frequent each year, and grain prices slowly rose. Then, when the Jurchens entered the passes, grain prices went through the roof."
"It's strange, really. Logically, with high-yield crops like corn and sweet potatoes, grain prices should have dropped, but they just didn't. It's truly peculiar."
"Noble, you may not believe it, but my grandfather passed the Xiucai exam and was educated. Unlike me, I never attended school as a child."
Zhu Jinsong asked with great curiosity, "If your grandfather passed the Xiucai exam, then why didn't you have the opportunity to study?"
Old Man Kang sighed, "What's the point of studying? Once you're literate, you know more, and knowing more only brings worry. I heard that during the Ming Dynasty, scholars could criticize the Emperor without consequence and were even praised. But what kind of dynasty was the Qing?"
"If you wrote the character 'Ming' in your poetry, they would arrest you as a rebel against the Qing. My grandfather often recounted the story of 'Qingfeng doesn't know characters,' saying that the more you read, the more trouble you're likely to get into. It's better to be illiterate."
Gu Pei </span> Zhu Jinsong nodded thoughtfully. Old Man Kang continued, "You see, when you get old, you tend to ramble. We were just talking about whether cheap grain harms farmers, and I've already strayed to the Qing Dynasty."
"Anyway, I don't know about other places, but here in Zhaojiawu, the grain prices are like this. During the Qing Dynasty, it was over ten wen per catty. From ten-odd wen per catty when we rejoined the Ming Dynasty, it slowly dropped to two or three wen per catty, and it hasn't changed much in the last two years."
"At first, I did wonder if cheap grain meant less income for our household."
"Later, I realized that it's not like that at all. Although grain prices have indeed fallen, our lives in Zhaojiawu are much better than during the Qing Dynasty."
Zhu Jinsong's interest was immediately piqued. "How so?"
Old Man Kang replied, "How else? Because the Emperor is good."
"Think about it. During the Qing Dynasty, if you farmed one mu of land and harvested a hundred catties of grain, you had to give sixty catties as rent and another thirty catties as imperial grain. After toiling for a whole year, you were left with only ten catties. How could you survive?"
"Alright, you might say many people own their land and don't have to pay rent, right? But think about it, even if you don't pay rent and the remaining seventy catties are yours, you don't spend anything?"
"Moreover, the Qing officials were so shrewd. During the forty years of Qianlong's reign, they dared to collect taxes from Qianlong's ninetieth year. I heard that in some places, they collected taxes from Qianlong's one hundred and fortieth year, and there was Qianlong's trip to the south. Where did this money come from?"
"Those commoners without land, no matter how much they were exploited, couldn't extract money. Landlords were not people the yamen could provoke. In the end, who did they exploit? Those who owned land!"
"So, at the end of the year, those without land would get about ten catties of grain per mu, and those with land would get about ten catties, at most thirty catties. In good years, they could barely get by. In bad years, they became refugees, their fate entirely in the hands of heaven."
Zhu Jinsong hummed, "That's true. Like our Solon tribe, we were also oppressed by the Qing. Many of you could still farm, but we could only fish and hunt, and we weren't even allowed to farm."
Old Man Kang said, "See? See? Isn't that exactly how it is? Oh, by the way, you should be distributing land in your area now, right?"
After receiving Zhu Jinsong's affirmative answer, Old Man Kang continued, "Now that the land belongs to the people themselves, there's no need to pay rent to landlords. If you harvest a hundred catties of grain from one mu of land, you only need to pay ten catties as imperial grain. The remaining ninety catties are yours. How can life not be good?"
Zhu Jinsong hummed but then asked, "Will the officials no longer play tricks?"
Old Man Kang pouted and said, "What tricks? When it's time to pay grain, the Imperial Guard cavalry, the censors from the Censorate, and the investigators from the Supervisory Court come to the villages one after another. Who would dare play tricks under their noses?"
"Besides, aren't there the Farmers' Associations? The Emperor said in the newspaper that if the officials play tricks, the Farmers' Associations will lead the resistance against taxes and levies, and they will tie up the officials and take them to the capital for trial. Would the officials dare to play any tricks then?"
Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "What the old sir says makes sense. It seems that as long as the burden on the people is reduced, and the officials cause less trouble, the lives of the common people will improve. As for whether grain is expensive or cheap, it's not that important?"
Old Man Kang nodded, but what he said next piqued Zhu Jinsong's interest: "No trouble? How can officials not cause trouble? If they don't cause trouble, are they still officials?"
Zhu Jinsong quickly asked, "What kind of trouble do the officials cause?"
Old Man Kang replied, "What trouble? Building community schools, roads, digging irrigation canals, reservoirs, planting trees, encouraging people to have more children. In short, there's nothing I can't think of that the government isn't doing."
"Also, the government wants those of us who can't read a few characters to attend literacy classes. Damn it, I'm a seventy or eighty-year-old man who has never been to school in my life, and now, right before I enter the earth, the government is encouraging me to read and write. And I'm in the same class as my son, who is over fifty. What kind of thing is this? It's ridiculous!"
When it came to literacy classes, the seventy-year-old Old Man Kang couldn't help but curse.
Zhu Jinsong chuckled and continued, "Does the government's 'trouble-making' affect everyone's livelihood? Let me tell you, old sir, the Ming Emperor is my brother-in-law. I'm going to the capital to see him this time. If you have anything to say, I can relay it to the Emperor."
Old Man Kang shook his head and said, "What impact could it have? Those unfilial officials only 'make trouble' during the slack farming season. During the busy farming season, they don't bother with these miscellaneous things, so it doesn't affect us."
"Oh, by the way, if you can see the Emperor, you must convey my good wishes to him. Please tell him that the people of Zhaojiawu all wish him eternal life and a long reign, and the empire lasting for ten thousand years."
Zhu Jinsong nodded and smiled, "Alright, I will definitely relay your message. By the way, since the government is promoting community schools, have your children had the opportunity to study?"
Old Man Kang looked at Zhu Jinsong as if he were an idiot. "Where did the noble hear that? Since there's an opportunity to study, why wouldn't they?"