Chapter 83: It's just another ten shi of rice
Hang Qi stared at Lin Xi with interest, "Not bad."
Xiao Yongyan pulled at the corner of Lin Xi's clothes, meaning not to say more to Hang Qi, but in the eyes of Hang Qi, this action meant that Xiao Yongyan was afraid of him.
It's really interesting. When I was in the capital, I was fearless and looked down on everyone. But when I came here, I finally knew how to write the word "fear".
"Sir," Lin Xi said with an embarrassed expression, "When we first arrived here, we were told that it was ten stones, not twenty stones, and we were not told that ten stones was the amount for one person."
"Really? There is such a thing? Master!" Hang Qi shouted.
After hearing what Hang Qi said, the master immediately became fierce and said, "Why didn't I tell you? You must have missed it because you didn't listen carefully."
Lin Xi finally saw clearly that the new county magistrate and the legal advisor were in cahoots with each other and were determined to force her to hand over ten stone of rice no matter what.
No, that's not right. They were sure that they could not produce ten stones of rice.
"Well, this is too much to ask for at once. You have to give us some time to prepare." Lin Xi spoke kindly as if he wanted to communicate with the other party.
Hang Qi said, "I heard that the wheat in Taoli Village has been harvested. Do you think that's right, Li Zheng?"
How could Li Zheng Zhao dare to say no? Besides, the rice harvest in the village had already been completed, so he nodded and said, "Yes, sir."
"Look," Hang Qi spread his hands, "It's not that I don't give you time, it's just that your reasons are untenable."
"I..." Lin Xi looked even more uneasy and looked at Xiao Yongyan for help.
After being married for such a long time, a certain tacit understanding has been formed between them.
Seeing Lin Xi's gaze, Xiao Yongyan knew what he should do.
"Let's go back. There's still some rice left." Xiao Yongyan said.
The two men looked helpless and prepared to go home with their donkey carts.
"Wait, you two, what are you doing standing there like idiots? Why don't you follow me?" The master immediately pointed at the two people around him, as if he was afraid that Lin Xi would run away.
Lin Xi reluctantly walked in front to lead the way, with two officers following behind.
When they arrived at Lin Xi's house, the two officers were even more enthusiastic than Lin Xi. They walked in front and pushed open the door. "Where's the rice?"
Lin Xi walked to his own barn and said, "It's all here."
The two looked at the barn in front of them with disbelief. This thing is a barn. Is there such a tall barn in the world?
They had only seen such large granaries in government granaries.
Lin Xi opened the door for storing grain, and the white rice rolled down, shocking the two officers.
Sack after sack, Lin Xi's granary seemed inexhaustible, and in a blink of an eye a donkey cart was full.
The official arrived at the grain collection site with a cart full of grain. Hang Qi saw so much rice in front of him, his face suddenly turned ugly, and he only uttered two words, "Pass the bucket."
Everyone in Taoli Village was staring at the person measuring the rice. After a long period of weighing, they finally confirmed that the rice Lin Xi had sent this time was exactly ten dan, no more, no less.
When the results came out, Hang Qi almost gritted his teeth. How did Xiao Yongyan do it!
He had asked around before coming and found out that many people couldn't save up more than ten stone of rice in a year, but Xiao Yongyan actually told them to just take it out!
The other villagers were equally shocked, but after thinking about it, they felt it made sense. Lin Xi's family now owns more than ten acres of land. Based on the yield of four stones per acre, the harvest would be more than fifty stones.
It is reasonable to hand over twenty stones.
"Did you grow all this rice?" Hang Qi's eyes were full of suspicion.
Zhao Lizheng quickly stepped forward to explain, "Sir, Lin Xi's family has 14 acres of land, so it's reasonable for them to be able to provide this much rice."
Fourteen acres?
Hang Qi couldn't believe what he heard. When did Xiao Yongyan learn to farm? Fourteen acres?
"Master, how can only two people take care of fourteen acres of land?" Hang Qi had never farmed and didn't understand these things, so he asked his master.
The master wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Logically speaking, it is extremely difficult to open up wasteland. It is almost impossible for two people to take care of more than ten acres of land."
Hang Qi now didn't completely believe what his master said. He looked at the village head again, and his meaning was very clear, asking him to explain.
"Sir, the Xiao family's land was opened and managed by hired villagers." Zhao Lizheng said. He didn't know that these two people were so capable.
"I see." Hang Qi's expression showed no emotion, and he looked at his master coldly.
"Sir, we have paid the taxes we are supposed to pay. Can we leave now?" Lin Xi asked.
Hang Qi didn't want to let them go, but he couldn't find any excuse for the time being, so he had to grit his teeth and wave his hands, telling them to get out.
Before leaving, Xiao Yongyan said to Hang Qi politely, "Thank you, sir. We will definitely prepare the twenty stones early next year."
Xiao Yongyan's words were clearly like rubbing salt into Hang Qi's wounds, irritating him so much that he remained silent.
After the two men left, the subsequent tax collection process was very smooth and no problems occurred again.
At night, in the back hall of the government office.
"What did you tell me before? You definitely couldn't pay the ten shi of tax? But now, not only ten shi, but even twenty shi is easy for them to pay!" Hang Qi was furious.
In order to deal with the unreliable Xiao Yongyan, he even came here from the capital, but he suffered a crushing defeat in the first battle. He knew without thinking that Xiao Yongyan would be laughing at him at home.
The lawyer felt wronged. Everything he said was true. "Sir, I didn't expect that they would hire people and have more than ten acres of land. After being exiled three thousand miles, who would have thought that they would have money?"
Hang Qi didn't care about all that and kicked his master to the ground.
"No matter how they did it, as a master, if you don't investigate thoroughly and report to me, you will be derelict in your duty!"
The master was gasping on the ground, holding his chest, but he knew very well that what Hang Qi said was right.
If he had inquired earlier, this would definitely not have happened.
"Sir, I will conduct a thorough investigation into the Xiao family's affairs," said the lawyer.
"Remember, focus on finding out where their money comes from," Hang Qi reminded.
Back in the capital, it was reasonable for Xiao Yongyan to live a life of luxury, after all, his father was the regent.
But now, people are three thousand miles away and still have food and clothes. It doesn’t make sense no matter how you look at it.
"Let me ask you, if Xiao Yongyan and his friend don't farm the land, what do they do on weekdays?" Hang Qi asked again.
Although the lawyer was afraid, he really couldn't answer it. Who would have nothing else to do to pay attention to the movements of these two people?
Hang Qi saw at a glance that the master was unable to speak, and kicked him again in anger, "Useless thing!"
"Please calm down, sir. I will investigate tomorrow and get to the bottom of everything related to Xiao Yongyan!" The lawyer quickly promised. For the sake of his own life, he had to get to the bottom of Xiao Yongyan.
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