Chapter 397 Drawing Lots
Seeing Shuiqing had no objection, the people present began to discuss how many taels of silver should be distributed to each household.
Should it be distributed by household or by number of people?
Shanshui Village, including the four households of Feng Damancang, has a total of 38 households, which means there are about 400 people.
"If it is distributed by household, wouldn't the families with more people be at a loss? After all, the families with fewer people have only three or four people, while the families with more than ten or twenty people have more than ten or twenty people. Wouldn't it be a loss for the same amount of silver?"
"But if it is distributed by number of people, it won't work. Look at Uncle Ding's family of three. Everyone works, and it's very important work!
There are also four households like Feng Damancang, each with five or six people, but no matter who is in the family, they are working hard. On the other hand, the families with more than ten or twenty people in our village must have more people working than them.
If it is distributed by number of people, wouldn't they be very few?"
Aunt Zhang and Aunt Li thought it made sense when they heard the first part, and they thought it made more sense when they heard the second part. The two of them were in a dilemma and felt that it was difficult no matter which choice they made!
The old village chief habitually looked at Shuiqing, and Shuiqing took the lead and said, "Old village chief, how do you think it is appropriate to divide it?"
Shuiqing was not embarrassed at all to throw the hot potato to the old village chief.
The age, seniority and prestige are there, and it is the most appropriate to use it at this time!
The old village chief laughed, "These days, everyone has sold rabbits and medicinal herbs and worked in the medicinal herbs shop. Every household has saved a lot of money, and they will mainly rely on their own hard work to make a living in the future.
Let's calculate it by household, five taels per household, which is not a small amount. The rest belongs to the public deposit. I think it will not only be used for village banquets, but also for buying pens, inkstones, books or road repairs for the bookstore in the future. All can be allocated from the public deposit."
The children in the bookstore can pay for it themselves, but what about the teacher's share? In the past, the young man was kind and righteous, and didn't care about these things. The village didn't have money, but in the future, these can be arranged.
There is also the road leading to the official road in the village. Seeing that selling rabbits and medicinal herbs requires frequent going out, it will have to be repaired sooner or later. The men can help with the road construction, but it is reasonable to provide a meal for the men who help. For the sake of the village, it is reasonable to pay for this meal from the public deposit.
There is also the back mountain, and the wall can be expanded in the future...
Shuiqing looked it up and added the four families of Da Ni, Zhou Yu and others, a total of 38 households, five taels of silver per household, a total of 190 taels, and the public deposit has 110 taels of silver.
It's pretty good. It's better to have part of this money in the public than to distribute it all. In this way, it will be much more convenient for the village to do something in the future.
She was the first to raise her hand in approval, and took the opportunity to praise: "Okay! The old village chief is worthy of being the old village chief, and he is thoughtful!
In the future, the public will have this money, and it can do many things it wants to do!"
Other people who were originally puzzled heard Shuiqing say this, and then realized that it was really good.
Their family is not really short of money now, and earning money in the future is the key!
The old village chief looked at Shuiqing and couldn't help smiling. This child knew more than anything else!
She was the only one who understood his intentions and painstaking efforts.
After talking about the distribution of silver, he began to talk about the livestock that everyone was more concerned about.
"One carriage, five horses, and 41 donkeys. How do you divide them?" Shuiqing continued to throw out questions.
This time everyone had experience, and livestock were different from silver. There was only so many in total, so it was much easier to divide them.
"We don't need carriages and horses. The herbal medicine shop will transport goods to distant places in the future. It's just right. You can give them all to Shuiqing. Don't divide them."
"Donkey, plus Feng Damancang and the other four households, one donkey each, and the rest will belong to you, Shuiqing, too. How about it?"
Everyone in the book house looked at Shuiqing nervously, waiting for her answer.
That's a donkey!
It can be used to plow the fields as two or three laborers, and it is more useful than two or three men to pull a cart during harvest!
Needless to say, it can pull a cart and walk fast. If every household has a donkey, isn't it equivalent to having several more laborers! How could she not be excited?
Shuiqing thought that she really needed horses. On the one hand, she needed horse hair to deliver goods to Yuhang for the medicinal materials workshop, and on the other hand, she needed horse hair to make brushes in the future. Unexpectedly, it was a blessing in disguise and she got six horses at once.
She smiled and agreed: "Okay, then I won't be polite."
The people in the bookstore smiled even more.
Shuiqing was really speechless. It was obviously she who gave each family a donkey, but she was polite and courteous as if she had taken a great advantage.
The men, women, old and young who were outside and surrounded by livestock were boiling with excitement when they heard that each family could get a donkey!
When they planted potatoes last year, they borrowed Shuiqing's donkey to plow the land. The speed and efficiency were amazing. Since then, they have dreamed of having a donkey at home!
Later, they heard that they could buy a cub from Shuiqing's house, and they looked forward to it every day and night. Unexpectedly, they could get one today.
You know, the potatoes in the field will be harvested in a few days. When they bring baskets of potatoes home, this donkey will be of great use immediately.
"Each family should send a person in charge to draw lots." The old village chief shouted.
"Draw lots?"
"How to draw?" The crowd whispered.
The old village chief was not in a hurry. He waited until the crowd quieted down and continued to speak loudly: "Put the corresponding number on each donkey, and then write the number on the paper ball. Whoever draws the corresponding number will take the donkey away.
We write it on the spot and draw on the spot. Everyone will watch. From now on, whose donkey is weaker and whose is stronger will all be attributed to their luck!"
"Good!"
"This is fair!"
"I'll draw it!"
"No, no, no, mother of the child, you still draw it!"
"That won't do. You are the head of the family, the mainstay of the family, so of course you have to take the beating."
For a while, every household was very humble.
Li Changlin cut the snow-white rice paper into uniform sizes, wrote numbers on them in order, rolled them into balls of similar size, and threw them into the bamboo basket.
The bamboo basket had a large belly and a small mouth, just enough to fit an arm in.
On the other side, Wu Lao Da, Xu Lao San, Fan Xiao Liu and others arranged the donkeys in order.
The old village chief put the bamboo basket in front of him and looked at everyone, "Who will go first?"
The scene was unprecedentedly quiet, and the old village chief's voice seemed particularly clear.
The atmosphere was so tense that you could hear the sound of the wind blowing.
"I'll go first." Li Dani said with a smile.
Then she stepped forward, reached out and grabbed a ball of paper from the bamboo basket, opened it, and reported the number: "Eight."
Everyone looked at number eight nervously, a donkey that was neither strong nor thin. They breathed a sigh of relief and felt that the atmosphere became more tense.
Li Dani smiled and led her donkey to the side.
With the first one, the rest were much easier.
One after another, when a strong donkey was picked, there was a burst of cheers, and when a weak donkey was picked, there was a low sigh.
No matter what kind of sound, it was mixed with joy and happiness.