y! I'm not here to punish you!" The third princess pulled her aside and asked, "Whose shop is this How dare they ask the Emperor for a name"Bao Lei hesitated for a moment before whispering, "I heard i...Old Mrs. Li held Jiayin in her arms and watched the commotion, her back straight as an arrow.

Having many sons and a large family is the biggest advantage for the Li family.

Li Lao'er, holding the list given to him by the village head and a charcoal pencil, had already calculated how much grain tax each household owed before the yamen servants arrived.

Qing Shui Village didn't have a large population, so the government only sent two clerks.

From afar, everyone saw a donkey cart swaying and coming to the village entrance.

As the donkey cart approached, two yamen guards jumped down from it. One was tall and thin, the other short and stout, looking rather comical together.

"Well now! Your village is quite prompt this year, no need for us to go door-to-door collecting."

The lanky clerk had a sharp and sarcastic look on his face, and his speech was full of double meanings.

The short and stout clerk didn't speak. He walked calmly to the sack of grain closest to him and kicked it with his foot.

"This year's harvest is good, so the taxes and grain must be paid in full. Don't think that because you served in the army, you can shirk your obligations to the court and take advantage."

"My lord, you're joking! Our village always pays our taxes in full. We bled for the court back then, and now a few pounds of grain is too much to ask"

The village head listened to their harsh words, feeling angry inside. His response was also blunt and cold.

The rest of the villagers looked at the government officers, their faces also grim.

These bullying officials are nothing but scum.

If you have no ability, don't boast. You usually bully the people under the banner of the county magistrate.

And, the iron-clad constables are ever-present, while the county magistrates come and go.

Regardless of whether the county official is honest or corrupt, these clerks are unaffected and continue to oppress the people as they always have.

When the common people have grievances, and there is nowhere to appeal, they can only swallow their anger in silence.

The two constables naturally saw the villagers' gazes, but they weren't afraid. Their eyes were still full of disdain.

But a group of castaways abandoned by the court, what kind of trouble could they cause It's not bad to just barely survive.

The lanky clerk let out a sneer and pulled out a booklet listing the land and population figures for Qing Shui Village.

"Did a new family move to your village recently Their harvest failed this autumn, so they won't have to pay grain taxes next year."

The lanky clerk flipped through two pages and said to the village head,

The village head nodded, looking toward the Li family members.

Li Lao Er opportunely stepped forward, carrying a basket of apples and pears in his hand, smiling and greeting everyone.

"My lord, you've spoken truly about our family. Thank you for your understanding, sir. Please accept these fruits, my lords. They'll be good for quenching your thirst on the road."

Both the apple and the pear were picked up from the mountain by Lao Si Li.

Not to mention these officials, even the county magistrate of Junyang County might not be able to taste fruit of such good quality.

The official recognized a good item, his eyes lit up immediately, and he smiled at Li La Er.

"You're a good kid."

He lifted the basket, shook it, and was even more satisfied.

"This is all as it should be, Lord Governor. It's a long journey, and you must be very tired."

"Our remote village has nothing much to offer. These fruits are perhaps the only decent thing we have. If the Lord Governor doesn't find them distasteful, it would be our good fortune."

Li Lao'er plastered a smile on his face, his words were flattering but not annoying. Hearing this, the two yamen officers' faces looked even better.

A short, stout constable walked over and peered into the basket of fruit, his throat bobbing slightly.

Li Lao'er, seeing this, quickly took out two yellow pears, wiped them clean on his clothes, and then stuffed them into the hands of the two guards.

"Two officials, it's still early, not a big deal to wait a while. First, try a pear and rest for a bit."

The two guards naturally wouldn't refuse, taking large bites. The sweet pears made them both enjoy it.

Li Lao'er took this opportunity to chat idly a few times, and soon they were laughing and joking.

"Sir, you may not know this, but our family also came here as refugees. Along the way, we saw too many starving people. While there's still some harvest in our area, there isn't even a single vegetable or wild grass left in our original home. It's truly not easy for commoners to survive…"

The thin clerk, upon hearing this, asked, "Where are you people from"

"Out in the wilderness," Li Laoer quickly replied, "We fled our home for a month and luckily met a kind person who brought our family on a boat, which is how we arrived here."

The lean clerk nodded and sighed.

"My uncle's family is also in the remote area. When I heard the news a while ago, they said everyone was gone. You guys are lucky."

"My condolences, Lord. Our villagers are few and far between, very few survived."

Li Laoer sighed, taking the opportunity to brush up on his favorability.

"If you, sir, ever want to try some delicacies from outside the capital, please come visit my humble home"

"It was just a casual remark." The lanky clerk chomped down on the pear in his hand, then got up and nudged his companion. "Go calculate it and get back to report early."

The short and stout constable had finished eating long ago. Hearing him say this, he got up and took a measuring gourd to weigh the grain.

As in years past, the children would fill their pouches to the brim and then kick them, scattering the grain on the ground. They'd then collect it all again, which was their perk.

But the short and stout clerk was about to lift his foot when he was held back by the tall and thin clerk.

"Let's just call it a year."

The short, stout clerk frowned. This "kicking contest" was an annual must-do.

The county magistrate was a shrewd man. They got little benefit throughout the year, relying entirely on the plump purses they received during the autumn festival of competitive kicking.

The lean and lanky clerk didn't explain much. He began to tally the grain each household had brought in, according to the register.

The villagers were not stupid either, they all saw that the tall and thin clerk had been "bought" by Li La Er. They quickly weighed their goods, packed them into bags, and loaded them onto the donkey cart.

After the two yamen guards were sent away, everyone was overjoyed, holding onto the saved grain and thanking Li Laoer one after another.

"Thanks to Yu Sheng, or else we would have had even less food rations this year!"

"That's right! Yu Sheng is really amazing, he helped us save a lot of food!"

"The Li family are all good people! They've helped us so much these past few days!"

Hearing the villagers' words of praise one after another, the Li family were all happy. The fatigue from a morning of hard work instantly dissipated.

In the afternoon, villagers sent another wave of things to Li's house.

Those with abundant land at home received ten to twenty kilograms of sorghum. Those who were struggling gave dried vegetables and mushrooms, all done with sincerity.

The Li family generously accepted everything, making the villagers think even more highly of them and find them trustworthy.

The day after paying their taxes, the temperature plummeted, and a cold autumn rain poured down.

While villagers could shelter safely at home from the rain, the Liu family was completely dumbfounded.

Before, their family had to deal with grain taxes. Under the urging of Mrs. Guo day and night, Liu Tiezhu reluctantly went to the fields and brought back a portion of grain.

I thought that after paying the grain tax, I could take my time collecting the remaining food.

Unexpectedly, this autumn rain completely disrupted all plans.

"What kind of bad luck have I gotten myself into, being stuck with you lot of wastrels You just let all the good food get rained on!"

Gǔoshì thought of the grain in the fields that she hadn't had time to harvest and sat on the kang crying loudly, beating her thighs.

All the grain they had received was paid in taxes, and their household had no reserves left. How could they survive the winter

"Mother, who are you talking to Tiezhu already has a bad back, it's good enough that he managed to bring back the grain for taxes. It's your second son who's been loafing around in the county town, doing nothing!"

Su Niang, upon hearing this from Mrs. Guo, immediately became unhappy.ot up early and simmered bone broth, poured it into a half basin of shredded pickled mustard greens, and simmered it for more than an hour.At this point, add the frozen tofu, the meat from the pig bon...