Chapter 81 Ask him for food!
Ye Yanlan immediately cried out: "Fellow villagers, please stop accusing me! What's the point of Zhongnian doing this? You can all afford to pay the 60% tax, but the Huo family can't! No matter how stupid Zhongnian is, he wouldn't do something that hurts others and himself!"
The village head said, "Now is not the time to talk about this. That bastard official only gave us two days. Let's go back and prepare food!"
No one moved.
Everyone was like a deflated ball, unable to muster any energy anymore.
Digging canals provided water for crops;
Watered with divine dew, the crops grew well;
Kill the locusts and save the crops.
They have more food than they can store!
These days are so beautiful that everyone feels like they are walking on clouds, but now, the dream is over again!
A few words from the corrupt official brought everything back to square one!
No matter how hard they tried or how hard they struggled, it was all in vain!
They are always clowns being manipulated by others!
Looking at the little ball in Luo Qiuyue's arms, who was playing with her hands without any sorrow, everyone's eyes were filled with sadness.
Xiao Jiuer, you can save our lives!
But it can’t change our fate!
Our lives are three times more bitter than Coptis chinensis!
The village head sighed, "Why are you all acting like this? Compare yourself to those homeless people outside, and those people selling their children in town? We're doing pretty good now! As long as we're alive, there's hope!"
"Leader, there's no hope!" the villagers cried. "He wants 60% this year, and 70% next year! He can force us to death with just one word!"
"That's enough! Let's take it one day at a time. Why think about such long-term things?" The headman hunched over and looked like he had aged ten years.
Suddenly, the little dumpling said "Hey" in a baby voice.
"Xiao Jiuer!"
Everyone looked over hopefully, but Little Dumpling just looked up at the sky and said nothing.
…
Two days later, the county government's grain transport carts lined up in a long queue outside the city wall.
Heihe Village not only has to provide food, but is also responsible for escorting the food.
The county magistrate said that the mission would only be completed if the grain was safely delivered to the granary.
Except for those who are too old to walk, almost all the villagers in Heihe Village went out to fight.
Also following them were the refugees from Heihe Village.
There has been no porridge distribution in Heihe Village in the past two days.
At this moment, they have faced the reality that it is time to leave Heihe Village.
Thousands of people marched towards the town, and the momentum was so huge that it could not be ignored.
The villagers of Heihe Village didn't even need to say anything. The refugees were all filled with grief and indignation. As soon as they saw a living person, they would pour out all the evil things that the dog county magistrate had done like pouring beans out of a bamboo tube.
So when the grain was delivered to the town's granary, almost the entire Xianchuan County knew that Heihe Village, which had been providing porridge and saving the lives of countless refugees, was forcibly taxed 60% by the county magistrate!
The dog-like county magistrate did this simply because he was jealous that Heihe Village had stolen his limelight!
Because of the brutality of the dog-like county magistrate, not only are there no one to rescue the refugees, but even the Heihe Village can no longer survive!
In front of the granary gate, the county magistrate, whose ancestors had been greeted countless times by the whole county, looked at the dozens of carts piled high with grain with excitement.
He cut open the bag and took a look, but after confirming that everything was correct, he couldn't hold back the smile on his face.
With these foods, his life is about to take another leap forward!
First, if he used one-third of his grain to provide porridge, how could the people not be grateful to him? Wouldn't his reputation as an official improve?
Leave one third for your own food supply, and you won’t have to worry about having as many concubines as you want. You won’t have to worry about it for several years!
If he sold the remaining third at a high price, wouldn't he have made a killing? With all that money, why would he worry about not getting promoted?
The county magistrate couldn't stop smiling as he imagined the good days ahead.
"Your Excellency the County Magistrate, six thousand dan of grain has been delivered to Heihe Village. Please check it!" said the head of the village.
"Well, well, well, thank you for your hard work, village chief!" The county magistrate was more enthusiastic than ever today. "Heihe Village has made a great contribution this time. I will especially praise the village chief at the next village chiefs' meeting!"
The village head said, "There's no need for praise! It's just that the village heads of Jingui, Baitang, and four other villages have allowed villagers to come to our village to steal water and provoke us many times. The county magistrate promised me before that he would uphold justice for Heihe Village as long as the grain was paid. I hope the county magistrate will keep his word!"
"I've already made preparations for the village." The county magistrate summoned the yamen runners, "Go and bring those four old guys here!"
Soon, the four village heads of Jingui Village, Baitang Village, Tanjiawan Village, and Lijiapu Village were tied up and brought in with confused looks on their faces.
They were summoned to the county government office today, and they thought the county magistrate wanted to discuss something with them, but they were tied up as soon as they arrived.
The four men knelt down when they saw the county magistrate. "Sir, sir, what have I done wrong? Please explain!"
The county magistrate said, "Not only have you robbed Heihe Village of its water, you're also trying to extort their grain. You've even slandered Heihe Village in front of me! I hate incompetent, gossipy people like you the most! I'll punish you today as a warning to others!"
"Come here! Pull them over! Twenty lashes each!"
The four village heads were panicked. If these old men were beaten with twenty sticks, would they still be alive?
"Please spare my life, sir!"
"Mr. County Magistrate, we agreed to deal with Heihe Village together!"
"Hasn't Heihe Village handed in its grain now? Even if we haven't made any contributions, we've certainly worked hard!"
"Yes, sir, you can't just abandon the donkey after it has done its work!"
The county magistrate turned his back and said, "Bah! You losers dare to throw dirty water on me? Beat them up!"
Screams rang out one after another.
After twenty strokes of the cane, the four men lay on the ground motionless, and no one knew whether they were dead or alive.
After all the grain was transported into the granary and confirmed to be correct, the village head signed and put his fingerprints on it, and the county magistrate stamped the official seal. The village head then hurried out of the yard as if a heavy burden had been unloaded.
During the transportation of grain, his heart was in his throat, but fortunately nothing went wrong.
As soon as he went out, he saw little Jiuer in Ye Yanping's arms. The little guy was licking malt sugar carefreely, and Li Zheng's depressed mood instantly improved.
"It's done!" The village head waved the grain delivery certificate in his hand, "Go back to the village! Live our lives well!"
The villagers of Heihe Village looked through the wall and silently looked at the granary. They didn't want to leave, their hearts were bleeding!
What's in there is their blood and sweat!
"Let's go! It won't be ours any longer!" the village head urged.
Even though everyone felt extremely unwilling, they could only leave sadly.
The refugees watched them go, choking with sobs as they said, "Take care of Zhuanglizheng! Take care of Heihe Village!"
You can still go back to Heihe Village, but there is no need for us to go back.
The village head said, "It's a pity that Heihe Village is no longer able to help you! Please take care of yourselves in the days ahead!"
The refugees cried uncontrollably.
Take care of yourself? They are so hungry that they can't even stand.
"Qiqi, go find him!"
The little girl held malt sugar in her left hand and pointed at the county magistrate inside the wall with her right hand.
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