In the year of disaster in the book, the villain girl is the real winner

Hearing this, Old Lady Li bulged her eyes and said with her neck stiff, "Who was driven back? It was the government that didn't allow the people to leave their hometown. The government will provide disaster relief after the autumn harvest. If we survive this year, life will be better when it rains in the spring next year. We came back voluntarily. My brothers from my mother's family have been trying to keep us here for a long time."

She said these words just to save face and suffer the consequences.

If she hadn't been fooled by her brothers from her natal family, why would she have sold her fields and land?

The only thing to be thankful for was that they did not sell the house and yard when they left Pomegranate Village.

otherwise.

If I go back to Shiliu Village now, I really have no roof over my head.

Old Lady He said, "I don't care whether you were driven back or came back voluntarily. The He family will never return the land to you, nor will they give you money. If Shiliu Village falls into drought again next year, and the land becomes even less valuable, will you return the extra money to us? This is not how you behave or do things."

"My old man has decided to give your family five dan of grain to help you through this difficult time. This is our bottom line. If you continue to make trouble, even if you don't report it to the police, I will ask my old man to report it to the police."

What Old Lady He said was a case of using courtesy before force.

Old Mrs. Li came to make trouble just to get some benefits from the He family, but she never thought of actually seeing the official.

He Huaizhang is a teacher after all.

Mr. He also has a certain prestige in Shiliu Village.

But she was unwilling to give up if she didn't return the Li family's land. Especially after returning to the village, she knew that the He family had become prosperous again during the time when the Li family left Shiliu Village.

How could she swallow this?

With such a large family to support, if she fails to get the land back, she will be the sinner of the family. How can she gain a foothold in the family in the future and how can she maintain her authority in front of her three daughters-in-law?

How are you living?

It was because she was deceived by her brother and nephew from her mother's side, and was blinded by greed, that she insisted on selling the land and taking her whole family to join them.

Old Mrs. Li insisted that the He family pay the money and return the land.

The village head and the elders did not express their opinions.

Old Mrs. He had no choice but to ask Old Mr. He to report to the police.

Seeing this, the village head tried to smooth things over again: "How can we report this small matter to the authorities? We in Shiliu Village can resolve it by discussing it behind closed doors."

Unless necessary, ordinary people in ancient times did not want to deal with the government.

First, the government’s majesty has an inherent deterrent effect on ordinary people. Unless it is necessary, no one wants to see the officials.

Secondly, apart from the county magistrate, it is not easy for the constables who are doing their duty under him to pass the test. If they go there, they may be skinned alive or their tendons pulled out, but at least they have to pay a certain amount of money to avoid disaster.

If you report it to the authorities, it will become a lawsuit, and just getting into trouble with the detectives will make everyone feel unlucky.

It will also leave Shiliu Village with a bad reputation in the county government.

Not to mention, He Huaizhang is the teacher. Although he is a minor official, he will definitely protect his fellow officials. At that time, the county magistrate will only accuse the head of the village of not managing the village affairs well.

Old Lady He asked back, "How do you want to solve this problem?"

"This……"

The head of the village looked at Mr. He.

Mr. He said, "I have already expressed my attitude. The Li family's land cannot be returned to them. Now that this precedent has been set, everyone will think that my He family is a soft persimmon?"

The implication is that the Li family cannot take advantage of the He family, and the other neighbors in Shiliu Village cannot covet the benefits of the He family.

The head of the village smiled and said, "That's not true. The Li family is really having a miserable life. If they could survive in Licheng, they wouldn't return to the village in such a miserable state. These five loads of grain can't save them from famine. If they can't survive the winter, it will also be the overall strength of Shiliu Village that will be lost. What do you think?"

Mr. He narrowed his eyes.

"I see? How else can I see it? I want to ask, how do you want to see it?"

Jin Cuihua curled her lips and said, "Village head, what do you think? Tell me the truth. Do you think that our He family is easy to talk to, so you want to take advantage of us? Are you trying to climb over the He family and take advantage of us? Today it's the Li family, tomorrow it's the Chen family, and the He family has to compromise?"

As soon as Jin Cuihua said this, everyone's faces turned unhappy.

They were indeed testing the He family's bottom line.

But Jin Cuihua said it so openly, and they felt a little embarrassed.

Jin Cuihua pretended not to notice their ugly faces and continued, "Although the He family makes money by making soap, this money doesn't come from the wind. If someone comes to cause trouble, the He family will have to pay a sum of money to ward off disaster. How can the He family still live like this?"

"Are you sure that your eldest uncle can only be a teacher, and that the future of the He family is over? Don't forget that the twins of the He family are taking the examination for the imperial examination in the capital. Maybe they will pass the examination next autumn. Do you still want to register the land in Shiliu Village under the name of the He family and exempt it from tax? Even if they don't pass the examination, the twins of the He family can still exempt the tax on a hundred acres of land if they pass the examination."

At this time.

The head of the village hesitated.

They really don't think highly of He Huaizhang.

Although the He family concealed some of the things He Huaizhang did, there is no wall that is impenetrable, and they vaguely knew some of it.

It was clear that He Huaizhang's official career had come to an end.

But they had to consider the potential of the He family twins.

He Tao's eyes rolled, she took a step forward and pulled Old Lady Li up.

"The child's uncle is willing to give you five loads of grain as compensation, which is already the most he can do. You are blackmailing the family of an official, which is a serious crime. Letting you go to jail is a light punishment. Do you believe that I will send you to jail and beat you with twenty sticks?"

After hearing Jin Cuihua's words, He Tao's mind worked quickly.

In previous years, the He family had only one member, He Huaizhang, who was a scholar and became a teacher, and had 200 acres of land tax-free in his name.

The He family occupied 50 acres for themselves, and the remaining 10 to 50 acres were equally distributed among everyone in Shiliu Village.

He Taoshi has always been unhappy that the land owned by their second wife was not exempted from tax.

Now, if Huaibi and Huaijin can grow Xiucai, they can get an additional 100 acres of land tax-free. After all, they all have the surname He, so it is not impossible to let the old man negotiate with his cousin and get all the family's land to be put up for grabs.

In addition to tax exemption, people of the same ethnic group can also be exempted from corvee labor and military service.

So, He Tao took action first.

Seeing He Tao's performance, everyone also joined in blaming Old Lady Li.

He Qiudi was watching from the side and couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

Life is just like this.

Do you think they are vicious? Do they need to be eliminated as soon as possible?

Not that.

Do you think they are worth it?

It seems not worth it.

This is probably human nature.

Old Mrs. Li watched helplessly as everyone turned against her and blamed her. She couldn't stand it anymore, so she started to throw a tantrum and made her young grandchildren roll on the ground and make a fuss.

Just as the He family's courtyard was about to become a scene of chaos, suddenly, several figures rushed in.

"Who's causing trouble again? Who dares to cause trouble in Teacher He's house?"

After a closer look, I found that the people who came in were actually the constables from the county government. The leader was holding an iron chain in his hand. After seeing the people in the courtyard clearly, he waved the chain and said in a stern voice: "Catch them back to the government office, all of them!"

The constables quickly captured all the frightened elderly, weak, women and children from the Li family.

The He family, the head of the village, and the elders were all confused.

After the people were arrested, the village head finally reacted: "Why did you report it to the police? Who reported it to the police? We are almost done with this small matter, who went to report it to the police?"

The He family are all here.