"He who eats another's food is bound to him; he who takes another's gift is bound to him." For the sake of the candy, Zai Zai still brought Deng Xinzhou and Bai Lun's group along.
Baihua Village is not small, with seventy or eighty households, and Zaizai's family happens to live at the entrance of the village.
The group arrived without disturbing anyone and entered Zai Zai's yard.
Zaizai's house is a row of five thatched houses, each not very big, and the houses are built quite low, so low that you have to duck your head to enter.
Looking at the roof and walls of the thatched hut, it was clear that it was newly built, and there were still many freshly made mud bricks in the yard.
The whole family was emaciated, and their clothes were patched upon patched.
It looks like the whole family didn't go out to work, but were all busy at home.
When Zai Zai suddenly brought so many people into the yard, Zai Zai's parents were startled.
Although the group was dressed in coarse linen clothes, their demeanor was different from that of ordinary country folk.
Especially the chubby Bai Lun and the baby-faced Deng Xinzhou, you can tell at a glance that they are people who don't have to worry about food and clothing, otherwise they wouldn't be raised so well.
"May I ask what brings you distinguished guests?" asked Zai Zai's grandfather, Chen Yaozu.
Deng Xinzhou politely cupped his hands in greeting.
"Uncle, it's like this. I'm from the village next to yours. I just wanted to come and visit my relative who married into your village, and I just happened to run into your little child."
The little kid said he was going to dig for wild vegetables, so I blurted out, "The county government provided rations, isn't that enough to last a few days?"
Your child said that one family only received 10 jin (5 kg) of whole grains with husks. I was curious and came to check, and the difference between that and the amount of grain we received is huge.
Grandpa Zai was quite surprised, "A big difference? Did each family in your village only receive 5 jin?"
Upon hearing this, Deng Xinzhou closed his eyes in a helpless manner.
"Old man, the grain distributed by our county government is not five or ten catties, but 15 catties per household per person, and it is grain that has been husked."
Although it was old grain, it was still good grain, perfectly edible.
For example, if your family has 10 members, you can receive a total of 150 jin of grain subsidy. If you have 20 members, you can receive a total of 300 jin of grain subsidy.
Old man, is it true that you only received 10 jin (5 catties)?
If that's the case, then we need to go to the village chief's house and ask. This could be a matter of life and death.
Deng Xinzhou's words left everyone in the courtyard completely dumbfounded.
"No, is that true? Why did our village chief say that each family in other villages only has eight jin of grain?"
He had to beg and plead with his brother-in-law, who is also the head of the village in Chunfeng Town, to get this."
After Zaizaiye finished speaking, he realized that there was a huge problem involved. Village Chief Chen Xiaoquan must have embezzled funds, and he was immediately filled with rage.
"Damn it, I'm going to beat that bastard to death."
As he spoke, the old man grabbed a carrying pole and prepared to go out and fight the village chief.
Grandpa was held back by Grandma.
"Old man, you can't do that! The village chief isn't scary, but his brother-in-law, who's a pavilion chief, is no pushover."
"What if our family offends them because of the grain? Wouldn't we be in deep trouble?"
"Little Master said, feeling quite aggrieved,"
"That's several hundred kilograms of grain! With that grain, we won't have to sell the apricots anymore. They're like our granddaughter!"
I don't want any of our family members to starve, nor do I want our children to be sold. Boys and girls alike, they are all children of the Chen family.
Tears welled up in the old man's eyes as he continued, his voice red.
"Old woman, let go! This matter must be resolved. I refuse to believe that their family can still control everything."
There are seventy or eighty households in our village. If all else fails, we'll file a joint complaint. If the village head can't handle it, we still have the county magistrate, don't we?"
As soon as the young master finished speaking, Magistrate Bailun, who had been hesitant, spoke up.
“Old man, you’re right. If the village head or the head of the village doesn’t do anything, then the county magistrate will definitely stand up for you.”
Seeing that Bailun smiled at him with unusual kindness, the young master tentatively asked, "This gentleman..."
Bai Lun smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I am Bai Lun, the magistrate of Qingrao County."
The family was so frightened that they quickly knelt down to pay their respects. Bailun quickly told everyone to stand up.
"Old man, it is my fault for mismanaging the people that this happened. Now that we have discovered it, we must eradicate this parasite at its root."
Don't worry, old man. You should go to the other villagers' homes first, and then go to the village chief's house with a group of villagers to demand an explanation and see what he has to say.
I will take care of things for you when the time comes.
And how are taxes paid each year and each time?
Whenever money is involved, you can all think carefully about how you paid it. Since this has been investigated, I will naturally investigate it to the end.
The little master was truly moved to tears.
The whole family suddenly disappeared; they all went to the village to talk to people about their problems.
Only an 8-year-old boy was left standing in the yard, looking completely lost.
The little one only now realized that what he had just received was malt candy from the county magistrate, and he was conflicted about whether or not to return the candy.
The little hand reaches out once, then is pulled back, then reaches out again.
That little face is just so adorable.
"Since it's given to you, just take it. Remember to share it with the kids who went to dig for vegetables with you earlier."
Beren said, and the little one nodded happily.
Deng Xinzhou thought to himself, "I bought the candy, you're the one who did me the favor."
Fifteen minutes later, they heard a commotion in the village. From the various shouts and curses, Bailun and his group knew that they had all gone to the village chief's house to cause trouble.
So they left their child behind to watch the house, and the rest of them followed the crowd toward Chen Xiaoquan's home.
"Village chief, you must give us an explanation today."
Why is it that in other villages, the government provides each person with 15 jin of pure grain, but in our Baihua Village, each family only gets 10 jin of coarse grain with the husk intact?
Village chief, you have to have a conscience. You've embezzled our life-saving food.
If you do something like this, aren't you afraid that your ancestors will appear in the middle of the night and have a chat with you?
"What goes around comes around. You'd better give us an explanation today, or we'll sue you."
Village chief Chen Xiaoquan could hardly possibly take these villagers seriously; his eyes were full of disdain, as if he were looking at a group of ants.
With a pout and squinting eyes,
"I've always thought of everything good for you, but I never expected you to be so heartless."
Who told you there was so much grain? Do you think the imperial court's grain is free?
The imperial court's money must be used in crucial areas: annual riverbank repairs, annual road expansions, annual military pay—what expenses doesn't the court incur?
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