My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 167 Grain Delivery

After a busy day with nothing to do, I drag my tired body home, and before I know it, it's another day.

Lin Ziping planned to collect his new equipment from the county government office and then leave with Constable Qi.

I was a little late because I was picking up some things. We had agreed to meet at the open space next to the city gate, which was close to the place where the county government tethered mules and raised horses.

When Lin Ziping arrived, quite a few people had already gathered.

"Lord Lin, you've arrived." Qi San hurriedly stepped forward to greet Lin Ziping.

Lin Ziping replied with a smile, "Brother Qi, when are we leaving?"

Upon hearing this, Qi San's smile deepened, and his expression towards Lin Ziping became even more sincere. He scratched his head and chuckled, "We'll leave once Officer Qi arrives."

Lin Ziping nodded and glanced around. Some people were squatting or standing, some were in a daze, and some were chatting in twos and threes.

Seeing this, Lin Ziping chatted casually with Qi San, who was relatively close to him.

Not long after, Constable Qi arrived in a hurry.

The group of people who had been lounging around just moments before suddenly stood up straight.

Lin Ziping then noticed that, apart from Qi San's clothes, the others were clearly ill-fitting, hanging crookedly on their bodies, and some were even different colors.

Is the county government so short of funds that even the uniforms issued to its employees are inconsistent in quality?

Then he looked at the swords at their waists.

Fortunately, it's the same as theirs, so it wasn't a waste of the trip to the county government office today to collect it.

Lin Ziping's gaze swept across the faces of the group of thirteen people. Apart from Constable Qi and Qi San, whom he had met yesterday, the rest were all unfamiliar faces.

Officer Qi didn't waste any words; he simply said a few words and set off.

The group walked there, and it took them about an hour to get there.

It just so happens that I visited this village a few days ago. An old lady in the village gave me a piece of bread, and a few children in the village shared wild fruits from the mountain with me.

The village head, who was already in his seventies, had studied for several years and was quite knowledgeable. He was overjoyed to learn that Lin Ziping was a scholar, and the two had a very pleasant conversation.

As they approached the village, Constable Qi tugged at Lin Ziping and said, "It's cold. Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth."

Cold?

Winter hasn't even started yet.

But seeing Constable Qi's serious expression, Lin Ziping obediently did as he was told.

When I arrived at the village entrance, the area under the archway was already crowded with people.

The village head stood at the front, with several baskets of grain piled up beside him.

Upon seeing the visitors, the village head beamed with a smile: "Officers, you've arrived. This...this...we've prepared everything."

Qi San stood at the very front of the line.

Seeing this, he stepped forward, picked up the grain from the basket, rubbed it between his index finger and thumb, and nodded.

Seeing this, some of the other eleven people also came out and picked through the wheat in front of the baskets. Two of them even picked up some wheat and chewed it.

Just now, Constable Qi reminded him to wear a headscarf. Lin Ziping was at the back of the crowd. Seeing that Qi San and the others looked very professional, Lin Ziping wanted to go up and take a look, and learn from them.

"What are you doing?" Constable Qi grabbed Lin Ziping.

Lin Ziping was startled and stammered, "I...I...I'll just go take a look."

"Have you forgotten what I told you yesterday?" Officer Qi asked, frowning.

How can I remember all that I said yesterday? Lin Ziping thought to himself helplessly.

After thinking for a while, he said uncertainly, "Watching from the side...?"

"Then why are you moving forward?"

Lin Ziping also noticed that Qi the constable was acting strangely and wanted to slip away, but he stopped when he saw Qi San standing in the crowd of villagers.

If Officer Qi is going to cheat people, he can't cheat his relatives too.

Lin Ziping remained silent and stood quietly to one side.

Qi San looked at Qi Putou

Officer Qi nodded slightly.

Just then, a bell rang at the village entrance, and three men dressed as county yamen runners sped in driving a mule cart.

"Whoa—"

"Ding Ding Ding-"

The mule cart came to a stop, and the bells around its neck jingled crisply.

Qi San directed the men to load the grain onto the mule cart.

Before long, three mule carts returned fully loaded, accompanied by another clear ringing of bells, as the carts headed back.

That's it?!

Taxing doesn't seem difficult at all!

Lin Ziping straightened his clothes, preparing to finish work and leave.

Seeing that the others looked serious and showed no intention of leaving, Lin Ziping silently withdrew the foot he had stepped out.

The mule cart gradually disappeared into the distance, and the sound of the bell grew fainter and fainter until it could no longer be heard at all.

Qi San turned to the village head and said, "Old Li, your village hasn't paid its grain tax this year, has it?"

Upon hearing this, the village head quickly replied, "How could that be? I checked and handed them over from house to house."

Qi San and the others looked at the village head without saying a word.

The two sides are deadlocked.

The village head was the first to give in, avoiding eye contact with Qi San and the others, and instead giving a wink to the two young men beside him.

The two young men looked indignant, but they still forced smiles and handed the cloth bags to Qi San.

The village head said, "Gentlemen, you have worked hard. This is a small token of our village's appreciation. Please accept it."

Qi San weighed the two cloth bags in his hand and casually handed them to the person next to him.

"Old Li, your village has a total of 238 people in 52 households. Oh, and two more children were born a few days ago. You should pay 200 dou of rice, but do you think you had that much just now?" Qi San shouted.

The village head didn't speak, but a young man next to him couldn't help but say, "Last year, each household received two dou of rice, but this year it's only one dou per person. You're clearly robbing people by force."

Qi San shook his head, took out a piece of paper from his pocket and said, "This is a new official document from the county government. Look at it, it clearly states one dou per person."

After saying that, he handed the paper to the young man and said, "Can you read? Take a good look. A village with one dou (a unit of dry measure) per household has scholars and officials who have passed the imperial examinations. Do you have any here? Do you?"

"You...you..." The young man pointed at Qi San, speechless with anger.

Qi San continued, “Moreover, this year it is clearly stated that coarse grains and refined grains are distinguished. Two bushels of coarse grains are equivalent to one bushel of refined grains. Just now you only had three baskets of wheat and six baskets of beans[1], which are all coarse grains.”

Upon hearing this, the village headman stepped forward shakily: "Sir, please have mercy! Shuiwa is good at studying, and he will pass the exam next year... We really have no food left."

"Please have mercy."

"We really have no food left."

……

Immediately, requests arose one after another, each louder than the last.

Lin Ziping felt uneasy. Putting aside the past, he had never worried about food since he transmigrated to the present.

Seeing the villagers, who had been smiling just a few days ago, now looking so miserable, Lin Ziping was about to step forward to stop Qi San and speak up for the villagers.

"What are you doing?" Constable Qi grabbed Lin Ziping's wrist tightly. "Stay here properly."

"No food? You bastards, don't push your luck!" Qi San shouted. "Brothers, if they won't give us any, we'll take it ourselves."

After saying this, the eleven men drew their broadswords from their waists and swung them as they walked toward the village.