Even with today's taxes, which are not so harsh, ordinary people still face a difficult life.
For about a week, Xu Dongsheng spent his time learning about the local people's lives.
As a prospective father-in-law and colleague, Zhao Minggeng naturally tried to learn as much as possible about people's livelihood issues.
That day, Zhao Qingyan went out for a stroll.
Several oxcarts came and went from outside the city.
The truck was loaded with potato, sweet potato, and corn seeds. In addition, there were also many wheat seeds.
These seeds, naturally wheat seeds, have been propagated in space for several generations.
They must all be high-yield crops.
All the seeds were unloaded into the government's grain storage warehouse.
Bags of seeds were carried inside, and the clerk counted them one by one.
He was a little confused. Just how many cartloads of grain did the magistrate's wife bring back? It seemed like she could carry them all.
It's not like we could move it all; with your wife pulling strings, there's no way we could finish.
The laborers who carried the grain were overjoyed, as they were paid by the piece, earning two coins for each bag they carried.
They could earn at least one or two hundred coins that day. When settling their wages, each person received an extra ten coins as a tip.
When the people of Kenqing heard about the hundreds of oxcarts entering the city, they flocked out to see what was happening.
Upon learning that the high-yield grain seeds had been obtained by the county magistrate, the people began to speculate that the situation in Kenqingcheng might be about to change.
After all, their own children, when they go out to work, aren't doing as well as they've described.
If I can make a good living back in my hometown, that would be fine too.
At worst, we can buy a horse-drawn carriage and keep grain and valuables on hand at all times, so we can escape quickly if anything goes wrong.
It's not like I haven't tried to run away; I still survived, didn't I?
That's human nature. Whenever there's hope, people will gamble on their luck.
When there is no hope, one gives up completely and becomes too lazy to even dream.
In order to ensure that the people can live and work in peace and contentment,
In a short period of time, Xu Dongsheng, Zhao Minggeng, and the two brothers Zhao Qingyang and Zhao Qingyi were busy with a lot of work.
To address the issue of intrusion from other areas, patrol teams were formed, walls were built around the village, and traps were dug outside the village.
The more labor-intensive task was diverting water to dig a protective moat for the village.
However, once the moat freezes over in winter, it becomes less effective.
The only advantage is that it's slippery enough, especially for the dogs in northern Mongolia.
We always come on horseback, and the slippery ice surface makes it somewhat difficult for the horses to move.
Of course, the villagers' fighting skills need to be cultivated.
Xu Dongsheng didn't have the time to teach them kung fu from village to village.
Therefore, each village selected several skilled men or hunters to go to the county government office to learn martial arts, and then they would return to their villages and teach the young men, women, and children there.
For no other reason than to have the strength to fight the moment those Northern Mongolian bastards come in.
Even being quicker on your feet can give you a better chance of survival.
These were all ways to protect themselves, but the most effective method was to hang carrots in front of farmers' homes, which were high-yield grain seeds.
Naturally, some villagers raised questions.
"What should I do if the high-yield crop given to me by the adults fails to take root and sprout or does not produce a high yield?"
Bai Shengxi, the village chief of Xinghua Village, asked.
"If it cannot take root and sprout, there are only two reasons."
One possibility is that you did not listen and planted the seeds exactly as instructed. Another possibility is that you did not plant the seeds at all, but instead ate them.
As for high yields, you'll know once you plant them.
The current emperor is vigorously promoting planting. If it weren't for the fact that our area is so remote, we might have already been allocated a small amount of grain seeds.
If your village doesn't want to plant it, that's fine; we won't allocate any to your village. You can continue planting your existing crops.
Seeing that Xu Dongsheng had turned hostile, Bai Shengxi didn't dare to say anything more.
He had assumed that the new county magistrate, being young, would be easy to manipulate, but to his surprise, a single inappropriate word was enough to force him to retract the benefits.
That wouldn't do. So, they wisely decided not to be the first to stick their necks out.
What Bai Shengxi didn't expect was that his questioning would attract Xu Dongsheng's attention, who then immediately sent yamen runners to investigate Bai Shengxi's past.
Looking at the thick stack of investigation results on the desk, Xu Dongsheng chuckled.
But that smile was just unsettling no matter how you looked at it.
As soon as he picked up his pen to write, the village chief of Xinghua Village was dismissed the following morning.
Their family property was seized, and account books containing Bai Shengxi's embezzlement over the years were also found.
This includes the pension money he embezzled.
The purge of Bai Shengxi's family has begun.
The Bai family, relying on Bai Shengxi's position as village chief, has done a lot of things in the village, including bullying men and women.
Even more seriously, it resulted in a death.
A girl from the Lin family in the village was defiled by the eldest son of Bai Shengxi's family.
The girl was fierce. When she was fighting with the eldest son of the Bai family, he suddenly pushed her down and she crashed into the wall.
Coincidentally, there was a nail in the wall used for hanging things. The Lin family's daughter bumped her head on the nail.
The person is gone; their body is hung on the wall of the Bai family's house.
Seeing that things were going badly, the eldest son of the Bai family naturally had to find his father.
As a result, the father and son discussed it and carried the Lin family girl to the riverbank, making it look like she had drowned.
This scene was witnessed by the old man of the Lin family.
If a daughter goes missing, naturally one must search for her.
When he saw Bai Shengxi and his son fondling his daughter's body, the father couldn't stand it.
He yelled and rushed forward.
Two fists can't beat four hands, and soon Old Man Lin was knocked to the ground.
Upon learning of this, the Lin family's son rushed forward, only to be struck on the head by a rock from Bai Shengxi.
The person immediately fainted. When they woke up again, they were blind.
The only relatively healthy person in the family was Granny Lin, who was in poor health.
In order to survive, the old woman had no choice but to do embroidery day and night. In just two years, she almost went blind.
However, when they wanted to sell their embroidery, they were manipulated, and the village's horse-drawn carriages were forbidden from carrying the Lin family.
The kind-hearted aunties in the village helped sell the embroidery.
She also brought back the food and needles and thread she needed.
Of course, I didn't help out for free each time; I always had to pay a five-cent errand fee.
Finally, Bai Shengxi and his family were arrested, and all the Bai family relatives involved were also locked up.
After the Lin family members broke down in tears, Granny Lin helped her son, who was carrying his lame father on his back, and they appeared pitifully before the yamen runners.
As witnesses and plaintiffs, the Lin family members were taken to the county government office.
Upon arriving at the county government office, Xu Dongsheng did not immediately hold court. Instead, he found the most reputable doctor in the county to take the pulses of the Lin family of three.
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