He Zifeng found out about this.
Officer Zhu told him not to be discouraged, as there was still more than a month before the tax collection period ended, and as long as they could collect some of it, it would be fine.
After Constable Zhu left, Xie Rui comforted He Zifeng, saying, "At worst, you won't be promoted this time, but you'll definitely be promoted next time." Although He Zifeng arrived late, no one in the yamen had made as many contributions as him.
If the two scoundrels had been allowed to wreak havoc in the county back then, who knows how much chaos would have ensued. They were a menace that even the provincial capital couldn't control. Even the provincial officials sent letters specifically praising the county magistrate and his clerk for their achievements.
Since Xie Rui arrived at the county government office, no one has been with him except He Zifeng. He now truly considers He Zifeng his elder brother.
He added, "I still have some silver here. If it's not enough, I can lend you some. Anyway, no one will know." The Xie family's influence in the county was on par with the Gong family. However, Xie Rui was a low-key person, and apart from Constable Zhu, probably only He Zifeng knew about his background at the yamen. To him, that little bit of silver was nothing; he sincerely wanted to make friends with He Zifeng.
He Zifeng naturally wouldn't let Xie Rui pay for it. Just like Xie Rui said, at worst, he wouldn't get promoted this time.
But he needed to get some things sorted out! He went out, and Xie Rui quickly followed: "Brother He, where are you going?"
"I plan to go to Lingshan Village." He wanted to see what the situation was like there.
Although Xie Rui was timid as a mouse, he was still quite curious, and he wanted to join in any excitement he heard about.
Upon hearing this, He Zifeng decided to take him along as well.
Upon hearing this, Xie Rui went outside for a while and then came out with a small, flat-topped carriage. It even came with a coachman; Xie Rui said with a smile that it was borrowed.
But He Zifeng knew that this was their family's home.
He Zifeng didn't stand on ceremony and quickly got into the car. Sure enough, as soon as he entered, he found that the interior was very spacious, with soft cushions, and even a partition in the middle with some dried fruit and snacks on it.
Even the wood inside has patterns.
The carriage traveled all the way to Lingshan Village, which was some distance away from their village. A woman from their village had married into this village and had not been heard from for decades.
He Zifeng was stopped just as he was about to enter the village. An old man asked, "Who are you looking for?"
He Zifeng said, "I'm looking for Aunt Hongju."
Upon hearing that he also spoke with a local accent, the old man said, "Hongju is in the innermost earthen house."
As they drove along, He Zifeng realized how desolate the area truly was.
The dirt roads used to kick up dust two feet high when horse-drawn carriages moved along, making it impossible to lift the curtains. Now, the government sells yellow clay for road repairs. The repaired roads are perfectly straight, and a load of yellow clay costs only ten copper coins, which most villages can afford. I've heard that wealthier villages even use the glutinous rice juice from repairing city walls to irrigate their fields, making the roads even smoother.
The carriage traveled quickly for a while before stopping, as the road ahead was simply impassable. The path was full of potholes, and the puddles were filled with mud; if the carriage wheels got stuck, they wouldn't be able to push it out.
They had no choice but to get off and walk.
Xie Rui had never seen such a bad road in his life. This village was really poor compared to theirs. There were low, thatched houses on both sides, with at least sixty households and only one or two brick houses, which also looked quite old.
On the street, there were either naked children or elderly people sitting outside sunbathing.
When He Zifeng and his group came in, no one spoke to them.
Soon He Zifeng went to find Aunt Hongju. She was about the same age as Fang Shi and had four sons. The eldest was thirty years old this year and was still not married!
After He Zifeng introduced himself, Aunt Hongju said, "You've grown so much?" They then exchanged a few more pleasantries. Aunt Hongju had been deceived by the matchmaker years ago, who promised her a good match. But after the wedding, she was shocked to find that there was nothing there. The place was too far away, and it was too late for her to regret it. She hadn't been able to leave all these years; her husband had died two years ago. Besides, after so many years, she had been struggling to make ends meet and was too ashamed to go back, afraid of being ridiculed.
He Zifeng then asked about their village: "I heard that your village doesn't pay taxes every year, and last year they even beat a yamen runner to death."
The village chief of Lingshan Village had long ago ordered a cover-up, but Hongju had only seen one young man from their village in all these years. She couldn't help but tell them.
"Our village's land doesn't grow crops, so every household has to weave coarse cloth to survive. But we have to exchange coarse cloth for our own food, so we really don't have any money left to pay taxes. If we pay taxes again, the whole village will be in dire straits. Last year, those yamen runners were disrespectful and even beat the elderly. The whole village was really furious." After two people were beaten to death, the whole village dared not sleep day or night, fearing that county officials would come and seize the property. In the end, they only came to arrest people, and it is said that no one was sentenced.
He Zifeng then went with them to take a walk in the nearby mountains. It was called Lingshan Village, but he didn't know what made it so magical.
He Zifeng's village also has mountains, and climbing mountains is an everyday occurrence for him. Their mountain shouldn't be called Lingshan Village; it should be called Stone Mountain. Besides some dry trees, there's nothing else on this mountain.
Moreover, most of the land here is abandoned; it's obvious the fields are in poor condition. Even the weeds are sparse, withered, and yellow.
He Zifeng then went back by car with Xie Rui and the others.
Back in the county, Xie Rui couldn't stand it and had to hurry back to change his clothes and shoes; the soles of his shoes were now covered in yellow mud.
He Zifeng flipped through the case files. Last year's brawl had resulted in the deaths and injuries of two yamen runners. Twenty young men from Lingshan Village had been arrested and sent to work in the mines. When He Zifeng went to question Constable Zhu, Constable Zhu said, "Those people? I'll take you there."
Then he went with He Zifeng. It was the iron mine in their county that had to pay taxes every year. This wasn't something their yamen runners could decide; there were special managers.
However, these people were all Zhu the Constable's drinking buddies. Upon hearing that they were looking for the people from Lingshan Village, the fat officer immediately patted his chest and said he'd take care of it, saying, "I'll find you a capable one, a guy named Sanshun, the village chief's youngest son." He then ordered someone to bring Sanshun over.
He was shirtless, his skin tanned a deep bronze, his body muscular, and his hands and legs covered in scars. He wore straw sandals. Unless something unexpected happened, he would never have the chance to leave the mine in his lifetime.
Officer Zhu went to talk and drink with the fat officer.
He Zifeng said, "You are the son of the village chief of Lingshan Village."
Sam-soon nodded.
He Zifeng asked, "Has your village never grown grass before?"
San Shun said, "It hasn't grown much, but the neighboring villages are lush and green." He was envious; he had once hoped that farming would produce crops so they wouldn't starve. Their village was the most miserable in the vicinity.
Life was already difficult enough, and they relied entirely on spinning cloth for survival. However, the cloth they spun was only the cheapest kind of homespun cloth, which couldn't fetch much money. Whenever natural disasters or man-made calamities struck and grain prices soared, several people in their village would inevitably starve to death.
The young people in their village all want to leave, and many who leave never come back, or sell themselves into slavery because life in the village is too hard. But there are also people like him, whose ancestors have lived here for generations. He could leave, but he was unwilling to live a life of abandoning his family and livelihood just for a bite to eat.
Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now.
He Zifeng said, "Your village is also unlucky, living on the edge of a feng shui treasure land."
San Shun noticed that Zhen He Zifeng was kind and gentle, unlike the other yamen runners who were always yelling and shouting. Seeing this, San Shun felt relieved and earnestly began to speak to him, saying, "The old folks in the village say the same thing, but I really don't see any auspicious land here. How could people starve to death here?"
He Zifeng said, "Lingshan should mean Lingshan. Maybe a great figure is buried down there." That mountain might just be a mountain made of excavated stones mixed with soil, or it might have been hollowed out.
Therefore, the crops did not grow well.
Even if they knew, the villagers wouldn't dig it up. First, people are superstitious, and second, people in the current era consider funerary objects unlucky and don't care about them at all.
Upon hearing He Zifeng's explanation, San Shun suddenly understood and murmured, "So that's how it is?" This resolved his long-standing doubts.
He Zifeng said, "You have to think of a way. If this continues, when will it end?" Everyone looked pale and emaciated. Long-term hunger has shortened the lifespan of the local people, and coupled with their past conflicts with the officials, if this happened again, their village might be wiped out.
Upon hearing this, San Shun knelt down with a thud: "Please, teach me." If it weren't for this accident, he should have been the village chief's successor. He Zifeng was a good person for telling him so much. Who would bother with other people's business?
He Zifeng said, "It's no use talking, you can't get out of here anyway."
San Shun said, "The mine can redeem people for five taels of silver each." After saying that, his mood became depressed. Although there was such a policy, no one would pay five taels of silver to redeem him.
He Zifeng said, "Since you are guarding Lingshan Village, why not make some paper offerings? Wealthy people believe in treating the dead as if they were alive. You can make the paper offerings more exquisite and intricate, which is worse than simply spinning cloth."
San Shun kowtowed to him several times, and when she got up, she had tears in her eyes and said, "I can't get out of here. Please tell my father about this method. In my next life, I will be a big turtle and carry you."
Before He Zifeng could speak, Constable Zhu returned and asked, "What, you've taken a liking to this person?"
He Zifeng nodded.
Officer Zhu said, "That's easy, I'll go tell their leader." Then he went to find the fat man.
San Shun said, "You are my benefactor. If I can get out, I will do whatever you ask me to do."
He Zifeng said, "After you leave, there is something I need you to do. No matter what method you use to help the village make money, make sure this year's taxes are paid on time."
San Shun and his group harbored deep animosity towards the county government officials, yet they listened to He Zifeng's words.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
