Chapter 254 I Want to Be a Troublemaker
"Is it far?"
The children have been bored studying at home for a while. If the place is not far away, Zhou Yunshu wants to give the children a holiday and let them go and play together.
Wang Shuitian smiled as soon as he heard it and said, "Not far, not far. It's just south of our village."
"Okay, let's go."
"Okay, then I'll..." Before Wang Shuitian finished speaking, Zhou Yunshu waved her hand.
"Village Chief, don't worry, I have something to ask you."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shuitian straightened his back and said to Zhou Yunshu, "Mr. Zhou, feel free to ask me anything. If I know anything, I will tell you!"
Not to mention that several of his own children are studying at the Zhou family, just saying that someone from the Zhou family saved his daughter a few days ago, he would also repay Zhou Yunshu as much as possible for this favor.
"I heard that many years ago, Dongchuan suffered a flood due to continuous heavy rain."
After hearing about this, Wang Shuitian nodded with a worried look on his face. "Mr. Zhou, to be honest, this rain has been going on for so long, I've been worried it'll be like ten years ago."
He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Fortunately, the rain stopped yesterday, otherwise I really don't know how I would have gotten through this day."
It is no exaggeration to say that during this period, because of his daughter's upcoming birth and the incessant heavy rain, he could not eat or sleep, for fear that the nightmare in his heart would come true.
"Village chief, I also heard that the summer rice here will be harvested in June or July."
Speaking of things in the fields, Wang Shuitian was even more open and honest. "Yes, our area is different from the north. We have two crops a year, and the second one won't be until after October."
"In addition to rice, we also grow corn, sweet potatoes and other crops on the dry land in our village. As long as God is kind, we can have a good harvest every year."
"Then there should be no shortage of food."
Wang Shuitian smiled bitterly upon hearing this. "Even if God helps me, it's useless. The government demands grain tax, land tax, and head tax..."
Zhou Yunshu frowned as she listened to the series of taxes from Wang Shuitian's mouth. She remembered that the court did not have so many taxes.
"Does the imperial court have so many taxes?"
Wang Shuitian and his son shook their heads. "I don't know. Since the government wants it, they must want it."
"You can't refuse to pay taxes no matter what, otherwise this village will be labeled a pirate by the officials!"
Zhou Yunshu looked at Wang Shuitian, who did whatever the government said, and felt powerless.
However, she also knew that in today's era, the government and the court had absolute say.
Ordinary people will not doubt whether the tax is real or fake. They only know that if the government requires it, they should pay it.
"Alas, apart from the government, the pirates near the village also come twice a year. It's a great thing for the villagers to have enough food for themselves for a year. Some villagers don't have enough food in winter and even have to eat tree bark to fill their stomachs." Wang Fucang, the eldest son of Wang Shuitian, said bitterly.
"Fish can also satisfy hunger, but it's not so easy to catch fish in winter. If you don't catch any fish and they fall into the river and catch a cold, it's not worth it."
Wang Shuitian was talking, and suddenly said: "But maybe the situation this year will be a little better."
Zhou Yunshu looked at Wang Shuitian and asked, "Did the government reduce taxes this year?"
Wang Shuitian waved his hands and laughed, "How is that possible? Not raising taxes this year is already a good thing, how could there be a tax cut?"
"I heard that Black Water Village was taken down by someone for some reason. Some said it was Peng Tianhe, while others said it was due to internal strife. Anyway, no matter what, the village will be better off now that those troublemakers in Black Water Village are gone."
Zhou Yunshu said, "It is said that Heishui Village and Heishui Village are one family. Why didn't our village organize a resistance when they came to plunder Dongwang Village? We have quite a few people in our village."
Wang Shuitian shook his head and looked at Zhou Yunshu with a look that said, "You are too naive."
"It's not that we don't dare to resist, it's that we can't resist. Dai Xingye's daughter is our county magistrate's concubine, and there are people backing Black Water Village."
To put it bluntly, they are not afraid of Dai Xingye, but of the government.
Of course Zhou Yunshu also understood what Wang Shuitian meant, but this was not quite like what she had learned about the customs and habits of Haizhou before. Where was the tough guy?
"But we've already thought of a plan." Wang Fucang unconsciously lowered his voice and said to Zhou Yunshu, "If Black Water Village robs us, we'll go steal Black Water Village's food and beat them up with clubs to vent our anger."
Zhou Yunshu raised her eyes and realized that they were not just passive defenders.
Wang Shuitian also explained, "It wasn't that we wanted to steal, it was just that they went too far, and we didn't steal much."
If there are too many and they are discovered, their village will be the one in trouble.
Zhou Yunshu smiled and said, "Village Chief, I have a suggestion."
Wang Shuitian now trusts Zhou Yunshu very much, not to mention that she is a scholar, and what she says is definitely more reasonable than what he says.
"What's your suggestion?"
"I think we might as well be troublemakers for once."
Or, it would be better to just be a troublemaker.
Wang Shuitian and his son: “……?”
"do what?"
"Troublemakers."
It would be fine if we didn't know about the bold things Wang Shuitian and the people from Dongwang Village did, but now that we know they are not the kind of people who would just passively take a beating, it would be better to resist directly.
Zhou Yunshu looked at Wang Shuitian and said, "We won't pay taxes this year."
"How can we not pay taxes? If we don't pay taxes, the government will definitely come to arrest us!" Wang Shuitian felt that Zhou Yunshu was simply too bold and dared to say anything.
Zhou Yunshu's eyebrows curved slightly, and she looked at Wang Shuitian seriously and said, "But didn't all the crops in our village die in this heavy rain?"
"Ah? No..." Wang Shuitian stopped talking in the middle of his doubtful words.
He hadn't been the village chief for so many years for nothing. Halfway through the conversation, he understood what Zhou Yunshu meant.
He had clearly done nothing, but just having this thought made him swallow nervously.
"But the crops are growing in the fields. Anyone who is not blind can see them."
The facts are right in front of us, how can they lie to us?
Wang Shuitian thought of a possibility and said loudly, "Mr. Zhou, you are not thinking of harvesting the crops now, are you? They are not ripe yet, and..."
"Village chief, you think too much."
Wang Shuitian heard Zhou Yunshu say this and asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
He did owe Zhou Yunshu a favor, but this favor could not be compared with the crops and food, which were the lives of their entire village.
"I mean, will the government officials come to the village to check on the crops before they're harvested?"
Wang Shuitian shook his head.
Not only do they not come down to check normally, they don't even come down to check during harvest time. They only come to pick up the ready-made crops after they are ripe and dried.
"That's right. Isn't it up to us to decide whether the food is damaged or not?"
Wang Shuitian's eyes lit up, but after thinking of something, he shook his head and said, "Mr. Zhou, the government officials won't come down to check, but our village is adjacent to Xiwang Village, so they know exactly whether there has been any disaster."
If the people of Xiwang Village report them to the government, their fate will be even worse if they conceal the truth.
Zhou Yunshu smiled and said, "This is also simple."
"Let's drag the people from Xiwang Village into this together."
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