Boss Cai patted his chest and guaranteed.
Then they had some snacks and tea brought out, and Qiao Lian'er noticed that these snacks and tea were several levels higher than before.
Speaking of which, the texture is very delicate.
"These people should be heading to your village in two or three days. Miss Qiao, how are your preparations going?"
"That's about enough. I plan to wait here today until these people have finished collecting the silver and grain, then I'll take over another shop."
Boss Cai thought for a moment: "At their speed, it's not a problem for them to conquer a city in a day. They came from the north of the city and arrived here in the afternoon. We've also sent a few more teams, so they should be done by evening."
“You’ve come at the right time. There are two more shops for sale, one of which is right across from my restaurant.” Boss Cai pointed to one of them and said to Qiao Lian’er, “It’s bigger than the shop you saw earlier, and it’s worth at least three hundred taels.”
"It used to be a jewelry store, but the owner got into a lawsuit and had to pay a lot of money, so he sold all the jewelry in the store to other jewelry stores at a price lower than the market value, and he also wanted to sell the whole store."
"This location can be rented out for at least twenty-five taels a month."
"The 'For Sale' sign that was put up a couple of days ago has already attracted a lot of people to the owner. It seems that the price has been negotiated down, so it's still up there. Miss Qiao, if you want to acquire it as soon as possible, be generous with the price and don't try to bargain too much."
This was exactly the shop Qiao Lian'er wanted. She glanced at the address on the signboard; the owner's house was just two alleys away.
By evening, those people had swiftly and decisively collected most of the taxes and levies from the entire county.
Horse-drawn carts and cart teams, pushing grain, set off northwards.
The grain requisition teams split into numerous smaller teams, which went to the towns under their jurisdiction and then to the villages.
In the county town, sighs and groans were everywhere, and everyone looked ashen-faced. Some people walked while wiping away tears, while others simply sat on the side of the street and cried.
Shops, teahouses, and taverns were filled with overturned containers, tables, chairs, and broken items.
These are all consequences of resistance.
A cold wind blew by, and the world darkened a bit. Qiao Lian looked up at the sky and saw a layer of dark clouds covering it, obscuring the sunlight.
She sighed as well.
Thinking of something, she immediately drove the carriage to the abandoned courtyard where the children lived.
Ah Da and the others sat on the ground dejectedly, each one sulking. Several of the children had handprints on their faces, and Ah Wu, the youngest, even had bloodstains on the corner of his mouth.
As soon as they saw her, they surrounded her, as if their grievances had finally been released, and they all burst into tears.
“Sister Lian’er, they are not human. They even tried to steal the three taels of silver we had.”
"They even said they'd kill us if we didn't give it to them."
Qiao Lian'er took out a handkerchief and wiped away their tears: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, this is just a one-time levy, it won't be done again."
She hopes so too.
"Sister Lian'er, with war going on in the north, why are they coming all this way to collect grain and money?" A'da asked.
"Because of the drought in the north, grain cannot be collected."
Qiao Lian'er never expected that those people would even target these children.
The authorities ordered that half of the tax be collected so that the people could have enough to eat and wear, but in practice they collected 70% or even all of it to line their own pockets.
This crossed the line for ordinary people.
She suddenly had a premonition that the world was about to descend into chaos.
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