Si Cheng didn't want to continue discussing this topic with him. After finishing tidying up the whole plot of land, he prepared to wash the farm tools and go home.

But Lieutenant Chen and his men followed closely behind him, hoping to get a definite answer from him.

Si Cheng didn't want anyone following him step by step like this. "I don't want to move from Pinghe Village. As for the things you mentioned about helping out, I need to discuss them with the other villagers. If they have any ideas, I will lead a team to the city to meet with you in person."

Although the other party didn't say anything offensive, Lieutenant Chen knew that they were hostile towards him, but he still didn't want to give up.

"Actually, you can consider this, especially since some schools have already started to be built. Even if you don't think about yourself, you have to think about your two children. Different educations will lead to different starting points in the future."

Seeing that the other party was even planning for his future in order to persuade him, Si Cheng couldn't understand where his persistence came from, or why he insisted on getting an answer from him.

But when he mentioned the two children, Yunqi's heart stirred a little, but she quickly came back to her senses.

Even if the education outside is better now, my two children are still young. The basic things can be taught in the village. There's no way to talk about the elite education of the past now. It's better to focus on managing my own little plot of land first.

Seeing that Deputy Chen was always nagging beside him, Si Cheng didn't want to bring him home. He put the farm tools in Yun Qi's hands and said, "I'm going to the village office for a bit, I'll be right back."

As soon as they reached the main road in the village, many villagers who had heard the news gathered around them. They hadn't forgotten the news their families had brought back yesterday: this group of people had come to poach their employees.

Seeing the villagers' menacing gazes, Deputy Chen knew he couldn't continue following them. He said goodbye and quickly headed out of the village.

Looking at his old colleague who was fleeing in disarray, Ma Tao couldn't help but laugh out loud, "I really thought he had a thick skin, but I never thought he would be so shameless."

Although he is gone, his words cannot be ignored.

"We really have to pay taxes? What a strange decision." Yun Xun twirled the pen in his hand, already pondering a solution in his mind.

"The harvest hasn't even been completed yet, and they're already trying to fleece us. It would be better if this base hadn't been built at all, since it wouldn't have affected us anyway. Instead, we're the ones who have to cater to them."

"If we don't hand over the grain, we'll have to scrimp and save ourselves, so where will we get the food to hand over?"

"We didn't rely on their protection or their funding, and now we're the ones who have to hand over grain to them. How dare we make such a demand?"

Anyway, the mere mention of paying taxes elicits protests from everyone, and the things they say become increasingly offensive.

Si Cheng tapped the table. "What's all the excitement about? It's just a temporary plan. The specific amount hasn't been decided yet. I'm telling you here so you have a general idea and won't be caught off guard."

“These things don’t come out of thin air. There must be a plan in place. I just don’t know what benefits we will get if we pay taxes.” Yun Xun was thinking more about how if we really had to pay taxes, then there would definitely be some mutually beneficial regulations, otherwise the taxes wouldn’t be collected.

Si Cheng shook his head, indicating he didn't know either. "Let's not worry about taxes for now; it won't just be targeting us anyway. What are everyone's thoughts on helping with animal cleanup?"

The question that followed was the key point this time, and it was exactly what he expected.

“We’ll definitely go,” Hou Yunhai was the first to agree. “Last time you went to exchange salt, this time it’s our turn to go out.”

“Brother Hou, you can’t say that. Going to exchange salt involves every household. This time it’s different from going to the salt village. Without fighting skills, it won’t be so easy.” Yun Jianying was the first to stand up and object. Last time, only Hou Yunhai and Brother Wu were relatively strong in the village, and he wanted to try his luck.

But to his surprise, his good friend immediately stood up against him and retorted, "We should give those of us who didn't go out with us a chance. Since we're going to train others anyway, we might as well be included and get some proper training together."

The other people who hadn't gone out earlier also chimed in.

This scene always comes up whenever going out is mentioned, so no matter how loud they raise their voices, everyone is used to it.

Sicheng ignored their argument and followed Wu Ge outside, talking about what had happened in the village recently.

Wu Tianxiang spends all day walking around the back mountain and feels that the first thing to deal with is the wild boars that are constantly howling. "The wild boars in the ditches in the back mountain also need to be cleared out, otherwise there are too many adult wild boars and it will look a bit crowded."

Si Cheng hadn't expected this to be the first problem he faced. "Then let's drag some out to slaughter them. But aren't these wild boars growing way too fast? Weren't we just killed not long ago?"

Remember that it was cleaned up before they went to Salt Village? How come it has grown again?

Wu Tianxiang hadn't expected it to turn out this way. "That only applies to adult wild boars. The smaller ones have grown up now. It's because the vegetation reproduced too quickly before. In order to clear it out, the village dumped all of it on the wild boars in the back mountain to consume. With so much food, of course they've grown fast."

“Those plants are like hormones, growing bigger every day. Cleaning up their droppings every day is a huge undertaking. Should we reduce the amount of food we feed them?” Hou Yunhai came out just in time to hear them talking about this and offered his own thoughts.

Every time we clean up wild boar droppings, we have to drive the boars to the other side of the ditch and then use several frames to separate the two sides. Although it is safe, it is still annoying to clean up so much droppings every day.

Actually, a farmer shouldn't be ashamed of these things, but the trenches were dug too deep, and when people worked in the pits trying to get manure out, they would always get splashed with it. Because of this, they had to take turns going down there each time.

Si Cheng thought these were all minor matters that could be resolved in half a day. "Then slaughter more, and distribute the burden among each household so they can handle it themselves."

Hou Yunhai and Wu Tianxiang remained silent. Si Cheng asked, "Any objections?"

The two exchanged a glance, and Wu Tianxiang spoke up, “It seems that our village isn’t interested in wild boars. A few days ago, before you came back, we suggested that we slaughter a few first, but everyone looked disgusted and said that we would deal with them together when you came back.”

Si Cheng was puzzled. "There's food here, why are you complaining?"

When did the villagers of Pinghe Village become so confident that they no longer want to eat pork?