Under Old Man Liu's expectant gaze, Liu Ji became serious for once.

He said in a firm tone: "I've been separated for so many years, I've gotten used to it, and I've never thought about moving back, nor do I have any plans to do so."

As soon as he finished speaking, the originally confident old man Liu's face suddenly darkened. The smiles of Liu Bo, Liu Zhong, He Shi, Qiu Shi and others also instantly fell.

The villagers are generally straightforward and their thoughts are written on their faces.

Qin Yao raised her eyes and looked around. Old Man Liu and Zhang were both surprised. It seemed that they had never thought that Liu Ji would refuse the proposal to move back.

After all, the current family concept is that all descendants are together, share resources, help each other, and unite if possible. They will never separate unless it is absolutely necessary.

Liu Bo and Liu Zhong sighed at the same time, as if they had guessed this result, but they still couldn't hide their disappointment.

He's eyes were about to spit fire, and she was just about to point at Liu Ji's nose and yell: How could you do this, third brother!

In contrast, Qiu neither fought for nor refused. She said nicely that she would just let things take their course, but in fact she did not want to take any risks at all. She hoped that Liu Ji would agree to move back, but was afraid of ruining the current relationship between the two families.

Qin Yao was watching as if it had nothing to do with her, when He's angry eyes suddenly swept towards her.

He asked excitedly, "Yao Niang, you said before that you would never forget our family members when there are benefits, right?!"

Qin Yao nodded and admitted it generously, "I keep my word."

"But as a woman of another surname, I cannot make the decision on the matter of relocation. I will let my husband make all the arrangements."

She would never get involved in anything that would offend others!

Liu Ji didn't care about all that. When he heard her say "Everything will be arranged by my husband", he had no regrets even if he had to be the first to take action!

This was the first time that the evil woman was so humble and submissive in front of him in front of outsiders. Even though he knew she was pretending, Liu Ji still felt very happy.

"Ahem~" He clenched his fist and covered his lips with a cough, forcing down the corners of his mouth that were crazily rising. Just before He was about to explode, he smiled and said:

"I know that if I really move back, you, the eldest brother, the second brother, and the fourth brother, will not be very happy. You want me to move back only for the benefit of being exempted from corvée and taxes as a scholar."

"Since my wife has already told my elder and second sisters-in-law that she will never forget our family members when there are benefits, then I will naturally fulfill this promise for her."

Qin Yao rolled her eyes secretly, but since she had chosen someone to be the bad guy, she couldn't sabotage him, so she just let him float for a while.

Old Man Liu was delighted, "Old Third, do you agree to move back?"

"No." Liu Ji raised his hand to signal his father not to worry, "I have a plan. We don't need to move back, and it can also reduce taxes for our brothers."

"What about corvée labor?" Liu Fei, as expected of someone who had studied in an academy, was different from his delighted family members. He immediately caught the loophole in his third brother's words.

The third brother only talked about reducing taxes, but he did not mention that corvée labor could also be reduced.

Liu Ji glared at Liu Fei and said, "You are the smart one!"

Liu Fei stared at his third brother without any fear.

Liu Ji had to explain the situation clearly, and shrugged, "I can't do anything about corvée."

Unless they really move back and become a family again, only then can his family enjoy the privilege of exemption from corvee labor.

"But!" Liu Ji changed the subject and said soothingly: "Given our family's current situation, it is not difficult to find someone to do the corvée service on your behalf. Anyway, my only solution is to exempt you from taxes."

As he spoke, seeing that everyone in the old house seemed dissatisfied, Liu Ji slammed the table, and instead of being good at writing, he resorted to violence, showing his true colors as a second-rate person, and sneered:

"If you're still not satisfied and insist that I move back, then I will. But don't regret it when the time comes and try to split up the family and let me go. I won't leave again!"

As he spoke, Liu Ji counted on his fingers, "Since we are a family, there is no reason for us to farm separately and share the expenses. My fame is not for nothing. It is all earned by my wife who saved up pennies with hard work. I am afraid you don't know the expenses. I will use an abacus to calculate it for you. The four of us brothers will share it equally!"

"You can't just take the benefits and not pay a cent, right?"

As soon as Liu Ji finished speaking, Qin Yao immediately took out the small abacus she carried with her and handed it to him from under the table without making any noise.

Liu Ji looked at the abacus that was forced into his hands and stared slightly. The evil woman is indeed an evil woman. Her methods are really clever!

Picking up the abacus and shaking the beads, Liu Ji raised his fingers and started to calculate.

Liu Zhong reached out his hand, snatched the abacus and put it aside, "Tell me, Third Brother, what is your idea to reduce our family's taxes?"

He Shi hadn't reacted yet. She looked at Liu Zhong who was trying to stop Liu Ji from settling the score with dissatisfaction. Liu Bo glared at her and whispered:

"That's enough. It's good enough to be able to reduce taxes. We can't afford that bill."

"We are a family, so don't make things awkward." Liu Bo raised his voice, and He finally came to her senses.

Yes, the whole family depends on the third brother’s family, she almost got possessed!

He quickly forced a smile at Qin Yao and Liu Ji and said nothing more.

Seeing their attitude, Liu Ji felt much better. The benefit of tax exemption was not given in vain.

The evil woman once said that if you want a horse to run, you have to feed it grass.

He didn't have much affection for the people in the old house, but when the evil woman was alone at home, she really needed their help. It was not impossible for him to give them some of the benefits of the scholar's title.

After traveling a few times and seeing how powerful those aristocratic families were, Liu Ji knew that the higher he went up the ladder, the more manpower he would need, but the fewer people he would be able to trust.

And these relatives in Lao Zhai who share the same blood with him are the helpers he can trust the most.

What's more, the people in the old house have higher bottom lines than him. No matter how bad they are, they can't be that bad. If they have a little bit of desire and greed, they are easier to control.

Liu Ji had his own ideas in mind, but he slowly and calmly expressed them.

His method was simple and crude, which was to ask everyone in the old house to "sell" all the land under their name to him, and naturally all taxes would be exempted.

Of course, if they are still worried, the two families can write another document privately to ensure that the land is actually still the land of the old house.

"Anyway, you still have to plant the land and harvest the crops yourself. I'm just a figurehead." Liu Ji spread his hands.

There are many families operating like this in the county. The people don't report it and the officials don't correct it, so everyone turns a blind eye and lets it go.

In addition to Qin Yao's reputation in Kaiyang County, Liu Ji didn't think anyone would dare to expose him.

"Dad, if you think it's okay, let's give me the land deed today. I'll go to the government office tomorrow and get this done. This autumn, you won't have to pay taxes anymore."

Old man Liu has been an honest man all his life. Although he was very tempted by Liu Ji's proposal, he was hesitant when he thought about the risk of being exposed.

The three Liu brothers were all anxious, and then Old Man Liu got up hesitantly and went back to his room to get all the land deeds. (End of this chapter)