Chapter 23: Bao Gu

  "Oh dear, General, where are you off to? Look at you all dressed up and carrying a big bundle of goodies."

  Just as a group of small vendors were about to step forward to make up for their losses, they unfortunately heard the loud voice, which seemed to have intentionally amplified the two words "Military Officer", and these vendors immediately softened and quickly turned back.

  At a glance, my legs began to tremble. This was not just one soldier, but a whole group of them with their shoulders and backs together, each wearing a bright uniform, with swords at their waists, looking majestic and intimidating, with an aura of murder about them.

  The little thoughts of those small vendors were suddenly and completely extinguished.

  They meekly rubbed their noses and slunk away with their tails between their legs. Fortunately, no blows were exchanged, and it was a narrow escape.

  Even among the small vendors, there were a few who were very friendly and grateful to cast a few glances at the person in green clothes who seemed to be in charge, to express their gratitude. However, this person in charge didn't even glance over at them, but instead continued to enthusiastically chat with those few soldiers.

  From a distance, it seemed like this person was quite familiar with the military officer.

  In fact, they would be somewhat intimidated if any of them were stared at by anyone in this crowd.

  The common people won't fight with officials, you know? Moreover, they are just some small peddlers, wanting to do something...

  Isn't that looking for death by rushing into the muzzle? Forget it, put away that twisted thought.

  Several vendors looked at each other with a glance, and their usual familiarity made them have a common understanding now. They clearly understood the meaning in each other's eyes at this moment, and they put down this thought for the time being.

  However, there were several stalls that saw the bustling scene and looked at their own stall in front of them, standing alone in the cold, with a hint of dissatisfaction in their eyes, planning to wait until those soldiers left before doing anything.

  Looking at the group of soldiers leaving in the distance, Qiao Zheng slowly withdrew his gaze, unintentionally glancing at the stall owner standing foolishly in front of his stall, secretly turning away with a hint of a smile on the corner of his mouth.

  Qiao stood in front of the stall, behind a crowded group of customers, watching this scene was truly a prosperous family business, bustling with energy to greet customers, he also felt that such days were plain and dull.

  Showing that comforting smile, looking at this family with some amusement, from when did everyone start getting used to such a life?

  Just now when Qiao Zheng made a loud noise, Liu Jian on this side had already heard his voice clearly. He just raised his head and glanced over, then looked at those small vendors with suspicious expressions, and he understood what was going on.

  He took a moment from his busy schedule to give Qiao Zheng a grateful smile and nodded in greeting.

  But this scene was seen by those stall owners who were paying attention, and their hearts skipped a beat. Could it be that these two people knew each other?! And there was actually someone who knew the military officer among them, so how dare they provoke him!

  Ya Ya's grandpa, today is so unlucky! It's completely finished!

  The wail was soon drowned out by the surrounding din.

  ……

  Lan Niang sat on the flatbed cart with three little ones, counting today's harvest. Liu Jian sat at the front driving the cart, and the whole family slowly drove back home.

  The pumpkins were sold from 10 cents per catty at the beginning to 50 cents per catty after a group of people rushed to buy them, and more than 100 catties of pumpkins were all sold out, with many people saying they would come again tomorrow.

  Lan Niang regretted coming out with too little calabaza, but looking at the heavy stack of copper coins in front of her, mixed with a few small pieces of silver, she was very satisfied. On this round trip, as long as there were no people around, she counted them over and over again.

  "Lin Niang, you go ahead with the child to the mountain first, I'll return the car and come up." Liu Jian said to Lin Niang who was counting money at the back of her head when they reached the village entrance.

  "That's settled then, I'll head back up the mountain first." Lanniang readily agreed and started gathering up a stack of money.

  Suddenly she lifted her head: "Oh no, I almost forgot, I still have to bring something to Chunxiang's mother. It would be better if I sent the cow over." Lan Niang slid down from the cart and stood on the ground, taking out a box of Osmanthus cake with Shenji brand packaging paper from the basket behind her head, letting others take the rest back home.

  "Alright, you go ahead, I'll catch up." Liu Jian and Zhi Xiao got off the bus with a few small bags, their mouths also busy as they grabbed a few melon seeds to crack open, and slowly the three of them headed up the mountain.

  Lan Niang happened to meet several village women on her way to the general store at the entrance of the village.

  "Xiang Niang, where are you going? It seems like you're back from town?"

  They had actually heard about it early on, but were just a step late. It's rare for people from this mountain village to come into the city, and unexpectedly, Lan Niang's family went in so early. They had also wanted to bring some things along, but now it was too late. Running into her at this moment, they couldn't help but look at her with a mixture of emotions, accompanied by a hint of resentment.

  "What are you standing here for on such a cold day?" asked Lian Niang.

  "Didn't you see that Qin Lan came to collect wheat from every household again? This year it's increased by 10 kilograms per person." The woman scowled, her face full of indignation.

  This is the summer tax grain that every household pays annually according to the number of people in the household. It cannot be evaded and is collected by the imperial court to be sent to the front lines as rations for soldiers. A portion of it will be exchanged for other convenient grains at current prices and sent over.

  Local officials will think of ways to collect more and send it up, so that the higher-ups can see that this is their jurisdiction's achievement. This is the most visible way, so a trend of increasing year by year has formed. In fact, these ordinary people have no way to make a living.

  They are now hiding here actually wanting to drag on for a while, to see if they can pay less, according to the amount paid by their superiors, which has already exceeded this standard several times. These women are also willing to pay according to that amount.

  It all depends on Qin Lan, the eldest daughter-in-law of the village chief's family. She is also a formidable figure, so these clever village women will retreat for now.

  Today I coincidentally met this Linger at this place. Although I wasn't too willing to tell her about this matter, actually my heart was also wanting to see what she would do, because this one is also formidable! Not willing to suffer a little loss.

  Moreover, these two protagonists had also fought each other several times before.

  The news was secretly passed on to Lanhua's mother-in-law, who raised her sharp spirit and looked at Lanhua, waiting for her next move.

  They also learn from each other, seeing if they can reduce the amount a bit, this is really too much. If it goes on like this every year, each household won't even need to eat, just directly pay up, do people still want to live?

  So these women who fled their homes at the news, cast expectant glances at Lan Niang, a gaze rarely seen in their eyes, but now they eagerly hoped that Lan Niang would take the lead for them, and they would follow suit after observing the situation.

  "Look, now everyone has found you, I think you have nowhere to hide anymore."

  Lan Niang couldn't help but smile as she glanced at the woman who was dressed more elegantly than the others in the village, and then looked at these women who were huddled together to avoid disaster.

  "Ah, heavens! How did she end up here?" An old woman exclaimed, her voice filled with intense hostility. Every year, they have to hand over so much grain from their own homes, no one would be willing to do that.

  "The village is just this big, you say where else can she still find it? Raise your eyes and take a look, and with a little guess, you'll know." Another old woman said with a pout, obviously also dissatisfied with Qin Lan, but couldn't do anything about her, after all, she was led by the village head's order.

  "Ah, what a coincidence! You're all here. One family, two families... there are five households in total. That's great for the atmosphere. Hurry back and get the sorghum ready, I'll send someone to collect it soon." Qin Lan said with a smile, directly and straightforwardly.

  "Qin Lan, how old is she this year?" An old woman asked with a smile, pretending not to know the truth.

  Qin Lan hesitated for a moment, looked at her with a sideways glance, and slowly said from her mouth with the accent of the city: "There's a slight increase from last year's quota, sixty kilograms per person, hurry up and get ready to go back."

  Qin Lan urged, she had just gone to their homes one by one, but none of them were at home. She knocked on the doors for half a day, but there was no response. She knew that these women wanted to play tricks on her.

  She actually didn't know what those women were thinking, hoping to get away with something, but that wasn't going to work.

  "Right, Lan Niang don't forget either." Qin Lan glanced at Zhi Xiao's mother, her arch-nemesis, and said slowly with a tone that wasn't too pleased to see this person.

  "How much is it?" Lan Niang glared at her opponent.

  "Your family has a few people, just hand over a few copies. Do you still need to say that?" Qin Lan obviously said impatiently, turning around and continuing to remind these women not to shortchange her again when weighing the goods.

  "Oh, I see." Lingnuo gazed at her lightly and said. "Then you're also counting the knowledge of my family, huh?"

  "That's for sure, how come that's not your daughter?" Qin Lan looked at her strangely, what was this Lian Niang trying to do? She began to be on guard, in fact she had a bit of an unfavorable impression of this Lian Niang, but it was just that she had a careless daughter who was very troublesome.

  "Of course she's my daughter, why ask? But she doesn't live in this village anymore, hasn't she been driven to the mountains by you people? How can you still make her pay? You're being a bit unreasonable, aren't you?" Lan Niang smiled and looked at her, wanting to hear what the woman had to say.

  Lan Niang had originally planned to stay on the mountain for a while to avoid trouble, but now she has also stayed for a period of time. She thought about whether she could find an opportunity to let her daughter return to the village to live.

  Today, coincidentally, she encountered this situation. If she lets it go, she can still hand over the quantity of those grains, and she has nothing to say. But if she doesn't let it go, then she will have no choice but to speak out.

  ………………………………

  Chapter 2 is here! This is my first time writing a book, if you think the writing is okay, please collect it and also give me a recommendation vote~~