The village chief's jaw tightened. He paced back and forth, then said to his wife, "Let's take out our private savings and leave enough to pay the taxes. Then, we can continue to buy grain."
This time, he was the one who hesitated again. Before he even opened his mouth, the village chief's wife knew what he meant. She grabbed his hand tightly and stared at him, "You can't take the villagers to stockpile food! You'll kill our family!"
It was just a heavy rain that reduced the harvest, but it couldn't be called a major natural disaster. Moreover, without concrete evidence of a disaster, blindly leading the villagers to stockpile food, causing prices to rise, would surely result in imprisonment.
You spend all your money to stockpile food. If nothing happens, your family can still survive, but won’t other families blame you?
Even if a natural disaster really happens, everyone will only care about their own family. Who would remember your kindness? Who knows, by then, there might even be people coming to your house to beg for money!
Why aren't you helping? You have food at home, why don't you share it with everyone? How can you bear to watch others starve to death? You're the village chief! As a village chief, you should help the villagers overcome difficulties!
Isn’t the act of fishing a living example right before our eyes?
Whether you do a good job or a bad job, you will be blamed.
The village chief looked outside and saw that it was foggy and he couldn't see the sky clearly.
He sighed deeply and nodded in agreement, "I understand. I won't tell anyone."
The village head's wife finally breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around and said to her son and daughter-in-law, "From today on, we'll all save a little on rice. Also, watch yourselves and your children's mouths. If anyone dares to talk nonsense outside, I'll kick him or her out of the house! I don't care if they starve to death, freeze to death, or get bitten by wild wolves!"
Several people shuddered and replied in a low voice, "Yes, mother, we understand."
The village chief was scolding someone, and Jiang Yue and the others had already packed their things and were ready to leave for the provincial capital.
Now that the walls were high, there was no need to worry about thieves. She left plenty of greens for the rabbits and pheasants, enough to last them a day.
They set out at the beginning of the Mao hour (five in the morning) when the sky was still gray. They took another official road, which was faster. After more than two hours of travel, they went straight to the provincial capital without passing the county town.
"Knock-knock—"
The little doorman was dozing off against the door, wondering who was knocking on the door at this time.
As soon as he opened it, he saw the person coming, his eyes lit up, "My lady and my husband, do you have another wild animal today?"
The giant bear brought the master a lot of attention last time. First, he chilled it and set up a banquet for viewing. Then he had people chop off the bear's paws and split the bear's gallbladder. After processing it, he presented it as a gift and gained a lot of benefits.
The master was so happy that everyone from top to bottom received rewards, even a little doorman like him got half a tael of silver!
Jiang Yue smiled and nodded, "Yes, there are wild animals, but they are not as valuable as last time."
The door of the carriage was lifted and the doorman looked inside. It was indeed not as good as the last time. However, if a wild animal in the world that was more valuable than a bear was so easy to find, then the bear would not be a valuable thing after all.
He removed the threshold, grinned, and pulled the mule cart into the yard, "This is also valuable!"
Steward Wang, having heard the news, also came out quickly, smiling before speaking, "Hello, my lady and my husband."
"Butler Wang looks even more blessed." Jiang Yue said with a smile, feeling that the meat was about to overflow.
Butler Wang laughed even more happily, thinking how lucky he was.
This time, there was no need to trouble their servants to move them with great effort. Jiang Nian directly carried the deer and sheep down without blushing or panting.
Steward Wang was secretly astonished. Could it be that all hunters in the world are so powerful?
These two cats had just been fed and got off the wobbly cart. As their hooves touched the ground, they became lively and looked like they wanted to run around the yard.
Jiang Nian pulled the rope, and they immediately stopped being so unruly.
"Butler Wang is frightened. This was hunted deep in the mountains and is very wild."
Butler Wang was indeed frightened just now, but after he came to his senses, he felt happy.
Mutton is a nutritious food, and young men and women may enjoy it. As for the deer, the wilder the prey, the more interesting it is. A wild deer has a gimmick and good meaning, making it suitable for gift giving.
He saw a bamboo basket in the corner and asked casually, "Are there any wild animals in it?"
Jiang Yue nodded, "It's a wild animal, but it's a venomous snake, and it's still alive."
Butler Wang was startled and instantly retracted his hand that was about to open the sack to take a look.
"Is your family interested?"
He waved his hands quickly, "No, no, no, our master, mistress, young master, and grandmother are all afraid of snakes, so they dare not bring them to us."
I thought I could handle it all, but forget it, I still have to go to the clinic and ask.
The previous giant bear banquet was held, and Steward Wang took 20 taels of silver. He was very satisfied with the prey the couple brought and their straightforward nature, so he offered a high price of 40 taels of silver, including 30 taels for the male sika deer and 10 taels for the sheep.
It is 20% higher than the market price.
Look, the rich feast and feast, while the poor freeze to death on the streets. The poor quarrel endlessly over a few cheap fish, while the rich lavishly indulge in pleasure. The rich and the poor live in two different worlds.
After leaving the Wang family, they went to the Zheng family clinic, the largest clinic in the city. This clinic was more than twice as big as the one in the town, and there were many people coming in and out.
"My dear, do you need medical attention?"
She shook her head and said bluntly, "I wanted to ask if your family accepts venomous snakes."
The lobby suddenly fell silent, and passersby kept their distance from her.
Shopkeeper Zheng was well-informed and wasn't frightened. "What kind of venomous snake is it? How big is it?"
"A five-step snake, about the size of three fingers and over a meter long."
"Wow——" If the people around her were half a meter away from her just now, now they were three meters away.
Shopkeeper Zheng raised his eyebrows, clearly very interested, and asked quickly, "Is he alive or dead?"
Actually, it's unnecessary to ask this question. Who could have caught such a large venomous snake alive? This young lady is so delicate and weak...
"Still alive."
This young lady is so delicate and frail, she must have been frightened by the snake, how could she...
Huh?! Still alive!
Before the shopkeeper could say anything, a strong bearded man came running up from behind and said in a loud voice, "Are you serious, young lady? Did you bring the snake?"
Manager Zheng's face tightened. He could only accept it as this person was from the prefect's family.
It is said that the prime minister's door is for seventh-rank officials, so the people in front of the prefect's door, no matter whether they are officials or not, dare not compete.
Jiang Yue doesn't care about the twists and turns, as long as it can be sold.
"In the car, just follow me."
Because this thing was scary and too dangerous to keep alive, she had to put it in the car and let Jiang Nian guard it outside.
She was a little hesitant. Although she had tied the snake's head, it was too flexible and difficult to control.
He reminded the other party a few times, but the bearded man didn't take it seriously. He had traveled all over the country with his parents and had even fought in wars. How could he be afraid of a mere poisonous snake?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com