Learning

The system searched and found, "In history, there was a rule that allowed using silver instead of serving; as long as you had money, you didn't have to go."

Manbao's eyes lit up as she shared this good idea with her parents.

Lao Zhoutou and Qian Shi did not understand how she knew all this after taking a nap.

However, Lao Zhoutou felt that this child had always been clever, thinking to herself, so he said, "We don't have so much silver at home." Can families like ours use silverware instead of plastic utensils? Even the village head's family has to serve.

Qian Shi, being more attentive to Manbao, explained in detail, "I heard that the money earned from serving once is enough to get married." In our family, it would take at least four or five years to earn enough money for a wedding. This is only possible if many people in the family are saving up this money. In your grandfather's generation, it would have taken half a lifetime of savings to marry your father.

Manbao's attention was instantly diverted, and she became happy. "Dad, did you spend all of Grandpa and Grandma's money when you married Mom?"

Manbao had never seen her grandparents, but on holidays, especially during Qingming, her parents often mentioned them to her. In her father's words, this is a way to honor the ancestors. People can only remember their own ancestors in order to not forget their roots.

Keke said, "This is called ancestor worship."

In wealthy families, the deeds of the ancestors are recorded in the genealogy, and future generations can trace their ancestors by consulting the genealogy. However, the vast majority of families pass down the deeds of their ancestors through oral tradition.

There are not many families that can document the deeds in their genealogy or family tree.

At that time, Manbao secretly made up her mind that when she learned more characters, she would record her parents' deeds in the family tree. This way, her parents would be the first generation of ancestors with recorded deeds in their family.

Manbao loved listening to the stories of her ancestors the most. She looked at her parents with a pouting face and eager eyes.

Seeing her bright eyes, Qian Shi knew what she was thinking and couldn't help but tap her nose, saying, "Yes, not only did we spend all the money on the betrothal gifts, but your mother and I had a hard time after we got married." "

Lao Zhoutou smiled at her to please her.

Looking into Manbao's bright eyes, Qian Shi was reminded of some memories and said emotionally, "In fact, life was good in the beginning." It's just that luck was not on our side. I was just a few months pregnant with your older brother when our family was conscripted. First, your grandfather went to serve, but he fell ill, so your father took over. At that time, the county magistrate chose a bad day, right in the middle of the busy spring season. Your grandfather was sick, and your father was not at home, so I had to work in the fields with your grandmother. Despite having a large belly, we were able to cultivate all of our land.

Lao Zhoutou couldn't help but say, "At that time, most of the conscripts were half-dead, and that county magistrate..." Sigh.~"

Manbao was very curious and asked, "Dad, what kind of work do you do when you serve?"

"Digging soil, repairing water conservancy, and reinforcing embankments."

She was puzzled, "Is it more tiring than farming?"

"How can it be the same?" Lao Zhoutou asked. "When you work from home, you have the flexibility to take a break when you're tired, grab a meal when you're hungry, and relax in the shade of a tree when the sun is too hot. You can then resume work when the sun is not as scorching. Even if you're poor, at home you can at least have water and a piece of bread. However, serving others is not as straightforward as you might think."

"In the morning, you have to go to work, and you can't be too lazy." "If you slack off, the whip of the bailiffs will come down."

"For breakfast, it's basically just a small piece of bread." Not only do adults like us who engage in strenuous labor struggle to consume enough food, but even children like you face the same challenge. Everyone has to bring their own dry rations, and some families are so poor that the rations they bring are not sufficient. As a result, they have to save and eat frugally. Many people have collapsed on the embankment because of this.

According to Lao Zhoutou, the frequent deaths during conscription were not only attributed to the exhausting nature of the work but also to the heavy physical labor involved. During the spring planting and autumn harvest, everyone was exhausted trying to compete with the forces of nature.

In the end, it was still the lack of rest and food.

After finishing, Lao Zhoutou looked at his daughter with clear eyes and felt that he had said something he shouldn't have to the child.

So, he patted her little head and said, "This is something for adults. You should go to school, little child."

When Manbao went to school with her small schoolbag, she felt a bit sad. She thought the county magistrate was very unfair. How could people work without being fed?

In the past, when her brothers went to help the villagers build houses, they were provided with enough food.

Bai Shanbao had spent the whole day resting yesterday, so he was very happy. His mother even made him some delicious snacks, and he deliberately saved two pieces for Manbao.

He gave the snacks to Manbao and said, "Your family's sweets are also very delicious."

Then, he looked at her eagerly.

Manbao took the snacks and ate them. However, preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't hear his words and simply nodded absentmindedly.

Seeing her unhappy, Bai Shanbao couldn't ask Manbao for sweets, so he asked, "What are you thinking? Are you not happy resting?"

Manbao sighed like a mature adult, "My third brother is going to enlist."

Although Bai Shanbao knew more and had read more books than Manbao, he really didn't understand the concept of service. So, he asked, and when he found out that serving was a duty for all families, he scratched his little head and said, "Does my family have to serve too?"

Manbao said matter-of-factly, "Of course, how many men are there in your family?"

Bai Shanbao said, "Just me."

Manbao looked at him sympathetically and said, "Then you're in trouble; you have to serve too."

Bai Shanbao was a little anxious and a little excited, feeling a sense of adulthood, but also feeling fearful of the unknown.

Bai Shanbao said, "I have to go back and ask my grandmother."

Manbao said disdainfully, "That will take a long time." Let's ask Mr. Zhuang. Mr. Zhuang knows a lot of things.

So, the two children went to ask Mr. Zhuang.

Mr. Zhuang did not expect the two children to be so concerned about labor and decided to give them an answer at lunchtime.

The two children ran back to study.

During lunchtime, Mr. Zhuang took the two children to the courtyard to eat and explained the concepts of labor, taxes, national construction, and the county magistrate's performance evaluation.

Of course, the two children were still young, so Mr. Zhuang did not stick to the script. Instead, he used examples to explain to them, "The country is like a big family, and you are also members of this big family." "Do you need someone to work for you to produce the rice, water, clothes, and houses you need?"

This was very simple and easy to understand, and the two children nodded repeatedly.

Mr. Zhuang chuckled and asked, "Do you need to compensate the people who do this work?"

The two children continued to nod, demonstrating their understanding of the concept.

Mr. Zhuang continued, "That's right, the country also needs people to work, so it has to pay them." In order to pay them, we need to have money, so we have to pay taxes; it also redistributes resources. For instance, if the eldest son's family faces a disaster while the second son's family has an abundance of grain, the mother must take some grain from the second son's family and provide it to the eldest son's family to help them during this difficult period.

Mr. Zhuang briefly explained the country's structure. When he reached the role of the county magistrate, he elaborated further, discussing taxes and labor.

Manbao and Bai Shanbao listened with great interest and soon forgot about the time.