As Jiang Qinyu watched their discussion grow more and more heated, she gradually calmed down.
People are always full of fighting spirit when it comes to defending their homes.
...
"waste!"
In Zhu Youcai's home behind the county government office, the sound of porcelain shattering on the floor could be heard coming from his study.
One-Eyed King and Constable Wang huddled silently at the doorway, their heads bowed low, not daring to breathe.
"So many people went, yet they couldn't even control a bunch of peasants!" Zhu Youcai grew angrier the more he thought about it.
The officials have a natural advantage over the peasants in the countryside. He sent out more than thirty men today, and even if they faced them head-on, they were not afraid of the more than two hundred families from Dingshui Village.
But even with so many people, they went and came back empty-handed. That was bad enough, but when they left someone there to monitor the situation, they were still caught!
What could a bunch of country bumpkins know? It's just that those who stayed behind were too useless; they were scared off by a few words and ran back.
After venting his anger, Zhu Youcai finally regained some composure and looked at One-Eyed King, asking, "Are you sure they haven't hidden anything in the village?"
He wasn't just talking about that batch of grain. One-Eyed Wang knew exactly what he was talking about, so he quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Honor, I searched the place myself with Constable Wang. Besides the food that each family had left for one or two months, there was really nothing else."
"Moreover, many of their families are drying grass roots and leaves they brought back from the mountains, and some even peel tree bark and put it in the kitchen," Officer Wang added.
It wasn't until now that he realized something was wrong.
Everyone in the county government knew that the magistrate was greedy, but he had never done anything so blatantly that he was trying to drive ordinary people to their deaths before. Why was the magistrate acting so out of character this time?
Could there be a secret he doesn't know about?
Wang, the head constable, glanced at One-Eyed King out of the corner of his eye.
“Yes, sir, there isn’t the large amount of grain in Dingshui Village that I had previously heard about, but…” One-Eyed King frowned in thought, “I have a feeling that there’s something wrong with the people in Dingshui Village.”
Zhu Youcai pressed further, "What's wrong?"
One-Eyed King recounted how the people of Dingshui Village ran back to get their weapons after they were about to search the ancestral hall. "At the time, I thought they were afraid that if we found something, they would fight us to the death, but there was nothing in the ancestral hall."
“No,” Zhu Youcai pondered, “There must have been something stored in the ancestral hall before, otherwise they wouldn’t have built a cellar!”
Officer Wang hurriedly said, "But sir, the brothers really searched many times, leaving no corner unchecked, but they still couldn't find a single extra grain of food. Even after I left Xiaobai behind, I didn't see them carrying anything out of the ancestral hall, nor did I see them go into the mountains or anyone bringing anything out of the mountains..."
He had to explain this clearly, otherwise the county magistrate would think he hadn't taken his duties seriously.
Zhu Youcai paced back and forth in the study for a long time before speaking with a dark expression, "There's definitely something strange about this Dingshui Village!"
“Then, sir…” One-Eyed King was very anxious, but before he could finish speaking, he was glared at fiercely by Zhu Youcai.
Zhu Youcai said to Constable Wang, "Go back first and tell your men that we'll let this matter go for now, but tell them to keep their mouths shut and not to say a single word that they shouldn't say!"
"Yes! I'll take my leave." The atmosphere in the room made Wang, the head constable, not want to stay a moment longer, so he quickly ran off.
But after he came out, he felt something was even more wrong. Why would the county magistrate listen to a one-eyed man? And that man clearly knew something, so why wouldn't the county magistrate let him say it?
Head Constable Wang was completely baffled and returned home with his questions.
In the study, One-Eyed King said anxiously, "My lord, if we can't find that batch of goods, what if they get out..."
"What's the panic?" Zhu Youcai's face was sinister. "As long as they're still within Yongshan County, those goods won't get away!"
The people of Dingshui Village cannot be moved for the time being, otherwise, if those lowly people risk their lives and make a big fuss, he will not be able to handle the situation.
The most urgent task is to continue tracking down the whereabouts of that batch of goods, and also to have someone keep an eye on the people of Dingshui Village. If they slip up even slightly, he will not let them off the hook!
Meanwhile, Dingshui Village also quieted down.
At Village Chief Li's suggestion, everyone plans to start setting up traps and patrol systems at various entrances and exits of the village tomorrow.
In addition, Jiang Qinyu suggested that they also need to improve their own combat skills. They should start by running around the village tomorrow, and when Meng Tianze and Wang Bo return, they can give everyone some systematic training.
After today's incident, everyone in the village was on edge, and no one objected. Even someone like Ma only muttered a few words about the trouble, but did not refuse to practice with everyone else.
After everyone in the village had left, Jiang Qinyu walked up to Village Chief Li and said, "Uncle Village Chief, there's something I'd like to tell you."
"What's wrong? Just tell me, I'll take care of it for you!" Village Chief Li thought she was scared, so he patted his chest and assured her.
Jiang Qinyu smiled faintly, "It's nothing major. I just brought back some high-yield grain seeds from the prefectural city this time. Since the quantity was small, I didn't tell everyone."
"High-yield grain variety?" Village Chief Li was taken aback. "How high-yield?"
Jiang Qinyu pretended to think for a moment and said, "I bought it from a passing Hu man. He told me that this kind of wheat seed can yield more than 800 catties per mu."
"What? Eight hundred jin?" Village Chief Li gasped.
You should know that if their wheat yield is 300 jin per mu, it is considered a bumper harvest. What does 800 jin mean?
Jiang Qinyu nodded. "That's what he said."
Village Chief Li stamped his foot. "Oh my silly niece, you've probably been scammed! Where can you find such high-yield grain seeds? How much silver did he charge you per pound?"
The seeds are twice as expensive as the grain itself. If they also claim to be high-yield, who knows how much money they'll swindle!
"It wasn't much, and I didn't really believe it either, so I gave him a price that was 20% higher than our grain. Even if it was fake, we wouldn't lose too much," Jiang Qinyu said innocently.
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Li finally calmed down a bit. "So, did you come to me wanting me to take a look, or what?"
“No,” Jiang Qinyu shook her head, “I want to ask Uncle Village Chief to sell the extra seeds I have to families in the village who are willing to try planting them. I won’t make any money off them; I’ll just sell them at the original price. After all, my family only has seven acres of land, and planting all of it with wheat wouldn’t require many seeds.”
"You believe what that merchant from the Hu Kingdom said?" Village Chief Li looked at her in surprise.
Jiang Qinyu nodded with a smile, "Yes, he has no reason to travel so far to swindle this little bit of money."
After thinking for a moment, Village Chief Li nodded, taking a gamble, and said, "Alright, I'll go and talk to the villagers for you. Anyway, everyone should be able to plant their seeds in a few days."
"Thank you, Uncle Village Chief." Jiang Qinyu said, then thanked him and walked back with the child.
When they got home, Shufan asked, puzzled, "Why did Aunt give the seeds given by the gods to someone else?"
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