In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 109 The Envious Village Chief of Xiahe Village

Did Daoge help you pay?

Li Qiang and Li Mu exchanged bewildered glances. They had considered all the possibilities that Chenjia Village could afford the increased taxes, including low-probability events like finding a gold nugget, but they never imagined...

It turned out that Chen Dao helped them submit it.

In their memory, Chen Dao was still just a young boy, yet he was able to pay so much tax for the whole village...

The two were deeply moved and understood why the villagers of Chenjia Village were all busy in the fields. It turned out that Chen Dao was helping them pay two taels of silver in taxes, and in return, they were helping Chen Dao with his work.

"Is Daoge'er really that capable?"

Li Mu muttered to himself.

Upon hearing the voice, Li Ping smiled with no small amount of pride and said, "That's right! Ever since Dao Ge'er had a serious illness, he's completely changed. He's become incredibly capable!"

The good life the family enjoys now is all thanks to Chen Dao. Li Ping couldn't be more satisfied with her son.

"Xiaoping".

Li Qiang suddenly looked at Li Ping and asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Look... could Daoge help our Xiahe Village pay the taxes too? We're willing to rent out our land and help with the work."

Li Qiang was certain that as long as Chen Dao was willing to help the villagers of Xiaohe Village pay their taxes, the villagers of Xiaohe Village would absolutely not mind renting their land to him and helping him farm.

In this freezing weather, the land is useless just sitting there. It's better to rent it to Chen Dao and get two taels of silver to live on.

"This……"

Li Ping opened her mouth, seemingly surprised that Li Qiang would make such a request, so she replied perfunctorily, "I don't know what Dao Ge'er thinks. I'll ask him when he gets back!"

Ugh!

Li Ping's words were probably a form of rejection. Li Qiang knew that such a great opportunity was unlikely to come to Xiahe Village. He only asked the question because he still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.

When Li Ping refused, Li Qiang didn't press the issue. He simply said, "Well, Ping, we'll head back now. We'll come see you again when we have time!"

"and many more!"

Li Ping suddenly called out to Li Qiang and his companion, who were about to leave, and took out two large bags from the house, handing them to them: "Village Chief Chen, could you please help me deliver these two bags of grain to my two brothers?"

Li Qiang weighed the two grain bags and roughly estimated their weight: each bag contained at least 50 jin (25 catties) of grain, and judging from its appearance, it should be sorghum flour or wheat flour.

At this moment, Li Qiang gained a deeper understanding of the wealth of Li Ping's family.

"Don't worry, Xiaoping, I will definitely deliver this grain to your brother."

After making a promise to Li Ping, Li Qiang and Li Mu walked out of Chen Dao's house side by side.

Li Mu looked back at Chen Dao's house with lingering reluctance and couldn't help but exclaim, "Dad, the food at Sister Ping's house is so good! She can just casually bring out a big bucket of white steamed buns to entertain guests."

"Yes!"

Li Qiang licked his lips, still carrying a faint aroma of steamed buns: "I never imagined Xiaoping's son would be so capable, managing to pay taxes for the entire Chenjia Village."

The two chatted back and forth for a while, and soon they passed through the busy farmland of Chenjia Village and returned to Xiahe Village.

…………

…………

The home of Li Ping's elder brother, Li Dadan.

Li Dadan and his wife Feng Xiang lay on the bed, their stomachs growling with hunger, but neither of them had any intention of starting a fire. They just stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Bold."

Feng Xiang seemed to be getting a little bored, so she made conversation by saying, "When will this period of not having enough to eat be over?"

"How would I know?"

Li Dadan blinked his dry eyes and said bitterly, "This damned heaven is deliberately making things difficult for us, and the government is the same. We can't even get enough to eat, and they still want to increase taxes!"

Li Dadan's family situation was not much better than when Chen Dao first transmigrated. They had very little food stored at home, and the land was not producing anything. They had to conserve their food every day and then lie in bed to minimize their consumption.

"I wonder how Xiaoping is doing!"

Li Dadan changed the subject and started talking about his youngest sister, Li Ping. Li Dadan and his second brother, Li Feng, loved their youngest sister very much. After she got married, the two often went to Chenjia Village to check on her. Before her husband was alive, her life was quite good, but after he passed away, her family's life took a sharp turn for the worse...

In the past, Li Dadan and Li Feng could occasionally help their younger sister, but with the cold disaster sweeping through Qingzhou, the two of them no longer had the resources to help Li Ping.

"Your sister must be having a hard time too!"

Feng Xiang continued, "There's not much produce in the fields right now, and she has to take care of two children, so she must be having a hard time."

Feng Xiang was not the kind of stingy woman. She knew about Li Dadan's previous help to Li Ping, but she had no objections. On the contrary, she felt very sorry for Li Ping.

Unfortunately... it seems that God has no intention of making things easy for anyone. The cold disaster has lasted for several years, and even families with able-bodied members are having a very difficult time, let alone widow Li Ping with two children.

"Ugh!"

Li Dadan sighed and said, "I plan to go to Chenjia Village to see Xiaoping in a few days. I'm very worried about her."

Li Dadan hadn't visited Li Ping in Chenjia Village for several months because he simply couldn't offer her anything in return, and he felt somewhat embarrassed to go empty-handed.

"go Go."

Feng Xiang knew that Li Dadan would definitely take out the little food the family had to help Li Ping again, but she was too lazy to object. Anyway, Li Dadan would only take a few pounds of food at most. Although a few pounds of food was a lot, it wouldn't be enough to make the family starve.

"Dong dong dong."

Just as the two were talking, there was a knock on the door.

"Who?"

Li Dadan, too lazy to get out of bed, shouted directly at the door.

“Bold! It’s me, village chief Li Qiang.”

The voice of village chief Li Qiang came from outside the door. Now Li Dadan had no choice but to get out of bed and open the door.

As soon as the door opened, the village chief Li Qiang's shiny bald head was revealed. In addition to the conspicuous bald head, there was also the village chief's son, Li Mu.

"Village chief, come in and sit down, it's cold outside!"

Li Dadan quickly ushered Li Qiang into the house and closed the door to prevent the cold wind from entering.

After taking their seats in the living room, village chief Li Qiang smiled and said to Li Dadan, "Dadan, I've brought you something really good this time."

"nice one?"

Li Dadan looked puzzled and said, "Village chief, don't tease me. How could I, Li Dadan, possibly get all the good stuff?"

Li Dadan and Li Qiang share the same surname, Li, and may be related by blood, but this blood relationship is long past, spanning countless generations. Their relationship is not even as close as that of neighbors. Under these circumstances, Li Dadan does not believe that village chief Li Qiang will give him any benefits.