The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 79

Tax Exemption

The couple set the names happily and told Tangtang and Guoguo the next day.

Tangtang and Guoguo asked in puzzlement, "Dad, we have already got names. Why do you give us new names?"

Xu Ran explained, "Those are simply your nicknames. You now have official names. I'll take the paperwork to the town hall and register you as soon as possible. You haven't been registered yet, according to Daddy."

He said and felt sad because the children had been unregistered citizens for so many years.

On the other hand, everything was perfectly normal here. The majority of persons here did not register until they were adults because registering required them to pay an additional portion of head tax.

Therefore, many children would not get registered until they turned 15.

The Yamen runners did not run it that strictly, so the farmers could still make a living.

Tangtang and Guoguo recognized those as formal names since they'd been told by others that everyone had two names: a nickname for when they were younger and a formal name for when they grow older.

Xu Ran began to bid Tangtang and Guoguo once more "Remember to tell people your formal names if they ask what your names are in the future. You still tell your nicknames if it's someone from our village, which is a little more friendly."

Tangtang and Guoguo nodded and agreed.

After finishing his conversation with Tangtang and Guoguo, Xu Ran followed them to the mountain and ran two circuits as a kind of exercise. After that, he returned home for breakfast.

After breakfast, Xu Ran went to Xu An's and asked him to start preparing for the chess.

Xu An was taken aback when Xu Ran announced they could now produce Chinese chess "Will anyone buy the chess after it's finished, Ran? It must be coloured and carved, which takes the same amount of time as making a wheelbarrow."

Xu Ran said, "Don't worry about this. I've already got an idea. You just need to do it, and then you charge a price for set and I'll pay you according to the quantity."

It was generally determined by Xu An "Dyeing and carving are more difficult, but once we get the hang of it, they become faster. It is carried out by a small group of masters who have signed a contract. Ran, how about 50 pence per set?"

Fifty pence was a good price. He may do a lot this month and not lose any money. Now he's brought in apprentices to assist him in chopping trees.

Xu Ran paused for a time before responding, "We can't be too harsh with these apprentices. Every month, I believe we should pay each person 50 pence. Anyway, they only labor here for a few months each year when farming is slow. They simply go home to work during busy farming seasons."

Xu An nodded in agreement when he thought that chopping trees was tiresome, but he didn't ask Xu Ran to increase the price.

Xu Ran said himself, "I will pay them all the salaries for the two months of making the chess."

Xu An pondered for a moment before nodding, "Okay.."

Xu Ran and Xu An discussed the size of the chess after they agreed on a price. They choose to produce it in a variety of sizes. They had previously produced something of medium size, not little, but it was cumbersome to transport. It was preferable to do something that could be easily carried. It would be more expensive for the smaller ones. After all, the small ones' characters were extremely difficult to carve.