Chapter 351 Marriage, Baili Hou
Cheng Rixing, Liu An, Sun Xi, Han Mo...
The next morning, Sun Shaozong was in the Criminal Law Department, marking a list when Cheng Rixing came in from outside and reported: "Dongweng, the Minister Jia sent a message saying that there is a shortage of manpower, and hopes that we can temporarily transfer a few clerks who are good at figure painting."
"Understaffed?"
Sun Shaozong was surprised: "Why are there so many leftover women this year?"
The most recent official business that Jia Yucun has been handling that requires the use of portrait painting is the "blind date conference" routinely held by local officials around the Dragon Boat Festival every year.
At the beginning of the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, in order to alleviate the population crisis caused by years of war, a policy of forced marriage was implemented. At that time, regardless of whether a man or a woman was over the age of 18 and still unmarried, the local government would force them to marry.
Today, with the gradual increase in population, this policy is not as strict as it was in the past, but it has not been completely abolished.
According to current regulations, men and women who are over 21 years old and still unmarried must pay a special "single tax", and the amount of tax will increase year by year with age.
Those who can afford to pay the tax can continue to be leftover men and women with peace of mind; those who cannot afford it must participate in the "blind date conference" held regularly by the government every year - if they fail to find a "match" after participating in two consecutive sessions, they will be forced to marry unconditionally in the third year.
Of course, this kind of blind date conference could not be like the ones in later generations, where hundreds of couples were allowed to flirt with each other on the spot.
Generally, the woman’s appearance is simply described, with her family background and date of birth noted, and then hung in a specific place. The man then selects a few of them on his own and then contacts them through official media.
Of course, scholars with official titles or officials appointed by the imperial court can ignore this decree.
But when Sun Shaozong was curious about why there were so many leftover women this year, and even painters were not enough, Cheng Rixing said helplessly, "It was all because of the flood last year. At that time, many men of marriageable age in the city took the opportunity to negotiate marriage."
"Plus, prices have risen a lot before and after the New Year, and ordinary people have a hard time making a living, so how can they afford to pay extra taxes? As a result, the number of women participating in blind dates this year has increased by nearly double compared to previous years ."
Tsk~
This is really like a fire in the city gate that affects all the fish in the pond!
Who would have thought that a flood in Hebei would actually affect the "marriage market" in Beijing?
However, the flood did benefit many bachelors in Beijing.
As for the leftover women...
The common people living near the imperial city did not have the habit of choosing a son-in-law from among the disaster victims - unless they were scholars with official titles.
But how could a scholar look down on a leftover woman from an ordinary family?
"In that case."
After understanding the whole story, Sun Shaozong ordered: "Then let Lin Delu select a few people who are good at fine brushwork - remember to tell them not to draw the wanted posters like they usually do, making them look ferocious and evil, which would ruin other people's good marriages!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Rixing laughed and was about to go out to look for Lin Delu.
"Wait a minute."
Sun Shaozong stopped him again and said, "Let Chengye go. I have some private matters to discuss with you."
Personal matter?
Cheng Rixing was a little excited. He had been Sun Shaozong's advisor for more than a year, but this was the first time that he seriously wanted to discuss private matters with him.
Doesn't this prove that Dong Weng trusts me even more? !
So he hurried out and explained the matter to Sun Chengye, then came back excitedly and said stealthily: "Master Dong, feel free to tell me what you want to say. I guarantee with my life and property that I will never leak a single word to anyone!"
This guy...
You don't think I'm going to take bribes and pervert the law, do you?
Sun Shaozong was somewhat speechless. He pointed at the chair opposite him and asked him to sit down first. Then he said seriously, "In fact, I recently took on a luxury business that is sure to make money. I urgently need a few trustworthy people to go to the south to keep an eye on it. After thinking about it, I think you are the most suitable person to take charge of this matter."
In fact, when he first started thinking about the timber business, the person Sun Shaozong liked most was the old housekeeper Wei Licai. Not only was Mr. Wei prudent and decisive in his work, but most importantly, he was loyal to the Sun family.
However, plans cannot keep up with changes. After Mr. Wei remarried, he was still strong and successful in having children. Now he has become a full-time dad and has thrown all the big and small matters in the house to Zhao Zhongji.
Although if the Sun brothers asked for help, Uncle Wei would definitely agree to go to the south to keep an eye on it - but how could they open their mouths?
So Sun Shaozong set his sights on Cheng Rixing - Cheng Rixing had been a shop owner before, had a legitimate title of juren, and was relatively safe in handling things. Except that he was not as loyal as Uncle Wei, he could be said to be the most suitable candidate.
But when Cheng Rixing heard that he was asked to help run the "business", he looked a little hesitant.
The scholars and officials of that time generally looked down upon merchants. This was probably the reason why Cheng Rixing did not hesitate to resign from his lucrative position in the Jia family shop and become Sun Shaozong's criminal lawyer.
He is enjoying his job as a legal advisor now, so why would he be willing to do menial business again?
Sun Shaozong was naturally aware of his thoughts, so he immediately said: "This business will only last for two or three years at most, and the bonus you will receive every year during this period will not be less than one thousand taels - more importantly..."
Sun Shaozong paused for a moment before throwing out the most important bait: "If you still fail in the imperial examination three years later, I will do my best to ensure your future as a county magistrate!"
"Are you serious?!"
Cheng Rixing jumped up excitedly. Although he had never wanted to give up on the imperial examination, he knew in his heart that as he grew older and became more lazy, his chances of passing the examination were becoming increasingly slim.
If I could trade for a hundred li marquis in three or two years...
"Have I ever lied to you?"
Seeing that he was already interested, Sun Shaozong further revealed: "What's more, this deal involves a senior official of the second rank. If you manage it properly, I believe he will not be stingy in doing you a favor."
A second-rank official?!
Cheng Rixing's eyes sparkled, and he suddenly bowed and said, "Since Mr. Dong values you so much, how dare I not do my best to repay you?!"
Seeing that he agreed, Sun Shaozong felt relieved. As long as the role of taking charge of the overall situation was decided, the candidates for assistance would be easy to arrange.
"Mr. Cheng, please tidy up your house in the near future. I estimate that it may be mid-month..."
"Uncle, uncle!"
Sun Shaozong was just telling Cheng Rixing about the date of going south when he suddenly saw Sun Chengye running in in a panic, saying in a trembling voice, "There's news from the house arrest center that a nun is going to have a miscarriage!"
Miscarriage is premature birth, which was an extremely dangerous thing in ancient times.
However, Sun Shaozong was not so panicked about the life and death of a slutty nun, so he calmly asked, "Is it the older one or the younger one?"
The baby is pregnant and the due date is the end of May. It can be said to be a minor miscarriage, so the risk is not too great.
The one with the younger baby will not reach her due date until early July. Now there is a difference of more than two months, so the risk is much higher.
"this……"
Sun Chengye was suddenly speechless. When he heard that the female prisoner in the house of detention was going to have a miscarriage, he came to report it in a panic. How could he have bothered to ask about these details?
Still lack of exercise.
Sun Shaozong shook his head helplessly and said, "Don't be so panic when something happens next time. Find out the details first."
As he spoke, he ordered, "Send someone to inform Zhou Da, and have him personally watch over there and try to rescue both mother and child safely - if there is any danger, save the child first."
The two lewd nuns were sentenced to beheading or imprisonment. Even if they saved their lives temporarily, they would still die in the autumn, so naturally they chose to save the children.
After Sun Chengye accepted the order, Cheng Rixing beside him reminded him, "Sir, shouldn't we inform Longcui Temple and Fayuan Temple? After all, the child will be handed over to them after it is born."
Tsk~
I wonder if Miaoyu would still be willing to adopt these evil creatures after the shock she experienced that time.
