The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 193 Petition

August 8, evening, Shaoliang Mansion, Xunyang County (now Gympie City, Australia).

Chen Genmin stood on one side of the street, looking at the closed factory door in the distance, silent for a while.

"This boss... really doesn't start work anymore!"

With a long sigh, he dragged his tired figure towards home under the slanting light of the setting sun.

After a day of running around in the county town, in the afternoon, I found a job carrying bags at the dock by the river.

A flat-bottomed cargo ship hauled more than 30 tons of wheat and more than ten tons of groceries. Chen Genmin and his three companions worked for four hours to unload the cargo, but each of them only received a dime.

Putting aside the past, Chen Genmin would never do this kind of hard work for such a small amount of wages.

As a skilled worker in the county's woolen products factory, he can earn more than twelve yuan a month, which works out to more than four cents a day.

Although the working hours in the factory are very long, more than twelve hours, the labor intensity is far less intense than that of dock coolies.

His grandma's job is usually done by newly arrived immigrants or natives from Hanzhou. How can we men look at it!

Maybe the people above were angry and a little impatient with the procrastination and incompetence of the Shaoliang Mansion, so they actually persuaded the Polling Office to send a group of experts to investigate the case thoroughly.

Just as the workers were gloating over their misfortune as they watched the factory owners and mine owners in the county get caught up in the tax audit, and they were all devastated, they unexpectedly closed down the factories and mines, leaving all the workers without a livelihood.

As for the once prosperous "Li Sheng Xing" trading company, it is estimated that most of it will fail. Not only the owner and several of his family members were arrested in the case, but also a large fine was demanded for tax evasion. In addition, because he killed several government officials, he also needed to bear corresponding huge compensation for this.

Good guy, it took the polling office less than seven days to get to the bottom of the case.

If someone is injured or sick at work, not only will those unscrupulous employers not take compassionate care of them, they will kick them out of the factory and leave them to fend for themselves.

Later, after repeated investigations, many suspects were brought in for questioning, but to no avail, let alone the capture of the real culprit.

At this moment, all the workers were stunned.

After all, these trading companies and industrial and mining enterprises are not very clean at all.

This is strange. You said that the national tax bureau audits the factory's tax situation, which only requires the accounting staff in the factory to interface with it. Why did the owner close the entire factory?

Yes, the owners of these factories may be demonstrating to tax inspectors, or indirectly expressing their strong dissatisfaction to the government!

A few months ago, a fire at the Fuyun Hotel killed several tax inspectors, causing shock to the entire Shaoliang Mansion.

However, most of the factories in the county were forced to close down one by one due to tax audits, saying that they had to deal with the tax collectors' interrogation and accountability.

The most well-known proprietor of "Leishengxing" in the county was actually the mastermind behind this case. Because the tax collectors found out that he had been evading taxes for more than ten years, he had evil thoughts and brazenly committed such a crazy act. He hired thugs to break into the hotel at night, killed the relevant tax inspectors, and tried to destroy the confiscated account books.

If the matter ends here, it will only be a major case in Xunyang County. As time goes by, it will eventually be buried in the long years and occasionally become a topic of conversation among people after dinner.

The higher authorities sent many police officers and spies to investigate the case, saying that someone was plotting to kill these government officials in an attempt to cover up the results of the tax audit.

For a time, local industrial and commercial enterprises were in turmoil, and everyone was in danger.

They deserve it. Those owners who open factories and mines are so evil-minded that they will all be investigated!

On weekdays, we workers are squeezed to death from dawn until deep into the night. If we make any mistakes at work, we will be scolded and scolded in the lightest cases, fined and deducted from our wages in the worst cases, and even corporally punished and beaten. They don’t treat us workers as human beings at all.

Even if someone goes to the government in the name of the "Labor Protection Law", the factory owner will just throw in a few hundred dollars and send the person away, without caring about the future livelihood of the worker or the support of his family. It is really disgusting. Teeth itchy.

However, this case involves a tax audit and the collection of government finances and taxes. Coupled with the previous negative response of the Shaoliang Mansion and Xunyang County governments to the case, the superiors felt a slight contempt for their authority.

What else is there to say? After the truth of the matter came to light, "Lishengxing" was shut down, and its owner and several murderers were also caught in Daxing by the vicious agents of the Polling Office.

If nothing unexpected happens, most of these murderers will be sentenced to hanging by the Dali Temple in Fucheng, and other related personnel will also be sentenced to exile overseas.

As a result, not long after the case, not only Shaoliang Prefecture Yin and Xunyang County officials were transferred, but the General Department of Taxation sent a large number of tax collectors to Shaoliang Prefecture and Xunyang County to investigate the tax situation of all local trading companies, industrial and mining enterprises.

On a daily basis, there are simply too few cases of underpayment or omission of taxes!

Regarding the tax inspection, Chen Genmin and all the workers, who have been squeezed too much by capital, naturally enjoy watching the excitement, and they also feel an inexplicable secret joy in their hearts.

If there is no livelihood, there will be no income. If there is no income, then the northwest wind will blow!

The city is no different from the countryside. There is grain in the fields, vegetables in the courtyard, and chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep raised in front of and behind the house. There is no shortage of food.

But you need money to buy everything in the city, including rice, noodles, vegetables, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and even water for daily use.

If there is no income, and it has been a long time, why not go hungry?

I originally thought that the shutdown of the factory was only temporary and would restart in a few days. Everyone happily returned to the factory and continued to be exploited by the evil owner.

But who would have thought that the industrial and mining companies in the county claimed that in order to smoothly cooperate with the government's tax audit, all factories and mines would suspend production indefinitely until the tax audit was completed.

This pause, which lasted for more than half a month, made all the workers panic.

I heard that this was also the case in Shaoliang Fucheng and several surrounding counties. As a result, tens of thousands of factory and mine workers lost their livelihoods and fell into a situation of lack of food and clothing.

Otherwise, why do you think Chen Genmin had to fight for work with former immigrants and indigenous coolies at the dock just to earn a dime, and he was as tired as a dog carrying a big bag.

"You're back! How was... today?"

As soon as they entered the house, his wife Yu Dongmei staggered up from the stove with her belly bulging, and looked at Chen Genmin expectantly. Their one-year-old child was still carried in the bib behind her.

"The factory is still not working." Chen Genmin grimaced, shook his head and said, "You are inconvenienced, so go to the house and rest first. ...I'll make dinner."

As he spoke, he walked up to his wife, first looked at the child behind her, then took out a dime of banknotes from his trouser pocket, tried his best to smile, and said softly: "I went to the dock to work for a long time today and got some cash. Why can't we endure it for two more days?"

"...There is no carbon at home." Yu Dongmei's expression darkened and she whispered: "Just now, I went to Brother Zhang's house next door to borrow a few yuan." "Oh..." Chen Genmin was startled for a moment, and then patted his wife. "I understand. I'll go to the charcoal store to buy some tomorrow."

"How about tomorrow, I go with Mrs. Zhang and the others to pick up some firewood outside the city. I can save some charcoal."

"You are holding a child and a big belly. How can you go to the countryside to collect firewood?" Chen Genmin shook his head and said, "Don't worry, everything will be fine. ... We still have thirty or fifty yuan in the bank, right?" , I can survive for more than half a year no matter what."

"What about half a year later?" Yu Dongmei asked in a low voice.

"After more than half a year..." Chen Genmin felt depressed, "What a fool, the factory owners shouldn't stop working for more than half a year! Don't worry, in our country of Qi, no one will starve to death!"

"It's easy for us adults to decide what to do, but I'm worried about the child." Yu Dongmei sighed slightly, sat down slowly on the chair, and stroked her bulging belly with her right hand, "This big girl hasn't been weaned yet, this little dick It will be released in a few months. I..., I'm afraid I will suffer them..."

"There is nothing to be afraid of, everything will be fine." Chen Genmin was a little impatient and said in a rough voice: "My five brothers and sisters are still well raised by my parents, and they don't suffer much? Don’t worry, our lives will only get better and better, and our children will naturally enjoy more happiness than our generation!"

"..." Yu Dongmei looked at her confident husband and didn't know what to say for a moment.

As a second-generation Qin immigrant, Yu Dongmei may have been influenced by her parents since she was a child. She has always felt insecure about the environment around her, fearing that she would fall into a life of poverty and poverty as her parents said.

Xunyang County was established more than 40 years ago. Up to now, the population has reached more than 40,000. Previously, it was just a purely agricultural and animal husbandry county with average economic development. The people in the county had no worries about food and drink. But it’s an ordinary county that definitely doesn’t have much money in its pocket.

However, five years ago, someone discovered a rich gold mine in a valley more than ten kilometers southwest of Xunyang County, which immediately detonated the local economy and population.

After hearing the news, people from surrounding prefectures and counties flocked to Xunyang County to mine gold in an attempt to get rich overnight while the government had not yet taken over the gold mines.

It was at that time that Chen Genmin followed his third brother from Daxing City to Xunyang County to join the raging gold rush.

It was also during the gold rush period that I unexpectedly met Yu Dongmei's family who also came here to hunt for gold. After going back and forth, the two got acquainted, secretly fell in love, and then got married.

Not long after, the government sealed the gold mining area and prohibited ordinary people from mining gold at will, thereby artificially halting the gold rush in the area.

Fortunately, with this noisy gold rush, Xunyang County has also attracted investment from many industries, and has successively established dozens of industries including woolen fabrics, cotton spinning, leather, building materials, food processing, sugar refining, ceramics, minerals, metal processing, etc. Domestic industrial and mining enterprises, coupled with various emerging service industries, attracted many gold prospectors to settle and work locally.

Yu Dongmei and Chen Genmin also stayed here, rented a two-bedroom house, and soon had their first child.

On weekdays, Chen Genmin works in the "Lishengxing" woolen factory in the county town, while Yu Dongmei takes care of the children and does housework at home, and lives a happy life.

The two of them also planned to work hard for a few years, save some money, buy a house of their own in the county, have a few more children, and live their own small life happily. Everything was so promising.

Who would have thought that a good life would be cut off at the drop of a hat. Thinking of his future happy life and the two children he needed to have and raise, Chen Genmin felt a deep sense of crisis for the first time.

Back then, when his house in Daxing suffered an accidental fire and the entire family's property was reduced to ashes, he was not so panicked.

Now, he suddenly felt the difficulties of being the head of a family.

It turns out that raising a family is not easy!

"Sangen, stop working here." Chen Genmin was preparing dinner in a self-pitying manner. Hou Zeguang, who was not far from his home, ran into the house and shouted loudly: "Brother Zhang is setting up wine in the yard, let me come over. I asked you to come over and have a party. ...Hey, Sangen’s wife, don’t just sit there anymore, let’s go over and have fun together.”

"Drinking?" Chen Genmin was stunned for a moment, "Brother Zhang, is there a happy event at home?"

Should he ask us to come over and give him a gift?

"It's nothing happy." Hou Zeguang shook his head and said; "I said we all should sit down together to discuss how to deal with the current lack of livelihood."

"What, Brother Zhang has a way to find a new job?" Chen Genmin's eyes lit up.

"Brother Zhang is a poor worker like us, how can he have any opportunities!" Hou Zeguang said: "A director of the factory came to the yard over there and said that he wanted to convene everyone to discuss how to resume production in the closed factory. .”

"Why are you negotiating with us when the factory resumes production?" Chen Genmin was a little puzzled. "Whether the factory will open or not is not a matter of a word from the owner. We workers can only honestly enter the factory to produce, so why are we negotiating?" "

"Sangen, I'm afraid you don't understand." Hou Zeguang said: "The factory owner said that the shutdown of the factory was not what the owners wanted, but the government was too coercive and sent many tax collectors to inspect the taxes, causing the factory and the The owners of the mine had no intention of starting production. Therefore, in order to cope with the tax audit, they had to close the factory, leaving us with no livelihood and no income. To put it bluntly, it was not all the tax yamen that was responsible for this. You are acting wantonly and interfering with the normal production of the factory!"

"Ah?" Chen Genmin's eyes widened after hearing this, "Isn't this nonsense! The government audits taxes. If industrial and mining proprietors owe tax, they can just pay it back. There is no need to close the factory or close the business. ? Don’t you guys want to listen to that factory owner’s random attempt to bite the government!”

After all, I am someone who has lived in a big city like Daxing. I am not a country guy who doesn't understand anything and allows these people to mislead and spread rumors.

You know, there was a senior school teacher in their compound back then, who taught them some current affairs and politics on weekdays and knew many sensible things.

Anyone with a little bit of brain can figure out the whole story. It's clear that local industrial and mining business owners want to shut down operations to cause widespread problems in people's livelihood, in order to force the government above to make concessions and withdraw tax inspections. personnel, or let the tax collectors turn a blind eye and pass by carelessly. You are good and I am good, and everyone is better off.

"What does the factory owner want you to do?"

Chen Genmin doesn't want to get involved in this kind of thing. If he goes against the government with such evil-hearted factory owners, there will definitely be no good results. But he couldn't help but asked casually what they would do after the discussion over there.

"We are going to gather all the workers who have lost their livelihood and petition the county government to ask all industrial and mining enterprises to start production as soon as possible."

"Then why don't you petition the industrial and mining owners?"

"The government's tax inspections were too strict, which forced the industrial and mining owners to suspend operations." Hou Zeguang said matter-of-factly; "So, we workers united and petitioned the county officials to stop this business." Zi’s tax audit.”

Demonstration and petition?

Could this be causing big trouble!

(End of this chapter)