noffsinger Chapter 394 I know I'm a traitor, it's normal that you don't understand...
Chapter 394 I know I'm a traitor, it's normal that you don't understand...
After the autumn harvest in the village.
Wherever there was open space, it was covered with golden, plump grains of millet, along with bright red chili peppers and sorghum.
In every household, women and children were at their doorsteps, using wooden sticks to knock down the freshly harvested peanuts, creating a scene of a bountiful harvest.
Dou Weiyi, with dark circles under his eyes that reached all the way down to his chin, arrived at Wangyue Village with his constables.
"Gentlemen, it's time to collect the grain tax!"
Dou Weiyi stood on the carriage wheel and, with all his might, managed to shout out the words.
After shouting, he collapsed, only to be caught by Constable Pang, who grabbed his waist. "Sir, are you alright?"
Dou Wei pointed weakly to a small table that had been temporarily placed to the side.
Officer Pang quickly picked him up and placed him on a stool.
Upon hearing Dou Weiyi's voice, Zhao Chen led the villagers out and saw Dou Weiyi sitting limply. He was shocked and asked, "What's wrong with Lord Dou?"
"Oh, he's fine, just a little bit dead."
Officer Pang waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing to worry about.
Zhao Chen was half-believing and half-doubting, but still reached out to check his breath. "It's alright, he's breathing. He doesn't need to eat at the banquet!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers behind him all breathed a sigh of relief.
They've been too busy with the autumn harvest lately to attend the funeral, and they don't agree to this arrangement!
With such a bumper harvest, I'm waking up laughing every night. But if I accidentally laugh out loud at a banquet, that wouldn't be good...
"You all, come over here and line up, one household at a time!"
Pang You quickly jumped onto the table in front of Dou Weiyi and waved his hand to direct the order!
"Officer Pang, in my village, each mu of paddy field yielded 960 jin this year, and with a 40% tax, it's 380 jin."
The sorghum harvest is 30%, 440 jin per mu, and my whole family has harvested it here!
Zhao Chen pointed to the towering pile of grain sacks behind him, his face beaming with undisguised joy.
Back then, grain production was low, and paying taxes was a nightmare!
However, now that the village has changed its approach to planting and composting, and the granaries are full of grain, they are happy to pay nearly half of their taxes!
"Oh, no need for so much. The master said that we won't hand over any money to the imperial court this year. Just give us 10%!"
"Yes, one-tenth!"
No sooner had Pang You finished speaking than Dou Weiyi, seemingly resurrected, chimed in with a comment.
As soon as he said that, the village entrance became so quiet that you could hear the rustling of the wind blowing through the haystacks.
When Gao Mengli and Lin Xi arrived, they saw a scene of utter silence, with everyone looking at each other.
"Why is this?"
Upon hearing the sound, everyone quickly made way for the two people.
"Master, the master..."
Zhao Chen quickly ran over, pointing at Dou Weiyi, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.
Gao Mengli followed Zhao Chen's finger and saw that it was Pang, the head constable, standing on the table with a bewildered look on his face.
"???"
The two were completely baffled.
Pang You snapped out of his daze, immediately jumped off the table, revealing Dou Weiyi, who was lying on the table behind him, raising her hand to make a "one" sign.
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi exchanged a glance and quickly ran over.
"Zhao Chen, quick! Bring Doctor Li here!"
Lin Xi looked down to check on Dou Weiyi's condition, then quickly turned around and gave her some instructions.
"When he arrived, I sent someone to invite him," Zhao Chen quickly explained.
Just then, Doctor Li came running from the village carrying his medicine box. "Dog Egg said that Lord Dou is dying and might not have time for the banquet, so he told me to come and check on him right away!"
She quickly checked Dou Weiyi's condition, then took out some silver and swiftly and accurately inserted a needle into his head.
With a scream of pain, Dou Weiyi jumped from the stool onto the table, drew her soft sword from her waist with a clang, and looked around warily. "Who? Who wants to kill me?"
Gao Mengli: "..."
Lin Xi: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Dou Weiyi, sword in hand, saw the villagers staring at him in disbelief and suddenly remembered that he had come to collect taxes.
He sheepishly sheathed his sword, somewhat embarrassed, "Hehe, you're all here!"
Gao Mengli glanced at him up and down, then whispered a few words in Lin Xi's ear.
Lin Xi nodded and quickly ran towards the cafeteria.
Gao Mengli crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at Dou Weiyi, "I'm not trying to criticize you, but you should take things slowly and methodically. You've exhausted yourself to the point of being neither human nor ghost. If you die, everything will be for nothing."
"Hehe, I was just in a hurry!"
He was in a hurry to gather the remaining soldiers from the entire prefecture and the resettlement camps in various counties to dig canals, and he hadn't slept at all for the past three days.
Just then, Lin Xi brought back a steaming bowl of egg noodles and placed it in front of Dou Weiyi with a disgruntled expression. "Eat up."
"Brother Lin still cares about me the most!"
Dou Weiyi quickly got off the table, picked up her chopsticks, and finished a large bowl of noodles in just a few bites!
Dr. Li stood to the side, his lips twitching.
He reached out and took the silver needle off Dou Weiyi's head, then put it away. "If you don't rest well at night and don't eat during the day, be careful your vision will go black!"
"Lady Xue and the others are very capable. If you leave them, I won't mind finding them new men!"
Dou Weiyi was slurping the last mouthful of noodles when she heard this and almost choked on the soup. She patted her chest and coughed violently, "Dr. Li! No, I was wrong, I promise I'll live to be a hundred!"
Doctor Li rolled his eyes at him, letting him figure it out for himself, and then carried his medicine box back to the village.
After eating and drinking to her heart's content, Dou Weiyi came back to life.
He jumped onto the table, his voice booming, "Gentlemen, this year's grain tax will be paid in full at one-tenth! Everyone, line up!"
Dou Weiyi thought that his words, if not making everyone ecstatic, should at least make them smile.
But what's the point of everyone just watching him without saying a word?
"what happened?"
"Sir, Constable Pang said you don't plan to hand over the funds to the imperial court this year?"
Zhao Chen took half a step forward with a serious expression.
Dou Weiyi's smile froze instantly, and she nodded woodenly, "Yes...yes!"
"It's true! My lord, how could you do this?"
At this moment, Gou Dan's second uncle walked out shakily and roared angrily.
Upon hearing this, Dou Wei's excitement vanished instantly, and her shoulders slumped.
He wanted to fight the flood, he wanted to be a rebel, and he was not orthodox to begin with, so it was normal for the villagers not to support him.
He had to swallow his words of explanation when he saw the angry villagers.
"That's right, sir! You're not handing it over to the imperial court, and you're only taking one-tenth of it. Let me tell you, we won't agree to that!"
At this moment, the villagers' words broke down his defenses, and he lowered his head and remained silent.
"Exactly! If this grain is delivered directly to the soldiers defending our country, then Dou Weiyi, isn't 10% too little?"
Upon hearing this, Dou Weiyi looked up in shock. Looking at Gao Mengli, who was smiling at him, his eyes welled up with tears.
"Brothers and sisters..."
"Yes, sir, do whatever you want, we support you!"
"Yes, yes, sir, you are not fighting alone. You still have us. I will hand over half of my grain and donate one hundred taels of silver!"
Dou Weiyi froze on the spot, incredulous. After a long pause, she finally managed to squeeze out, "You...you know what I'm going to do?"
At this moment, Zhao Hua came out, his face full of wrinkles and his smile squeezed together. "Lord Dou, everyone knew about your weapons-hunting in the back mountain from the very beginning!"
Don't worry, you're a good official who serves the people. If you want to change the dynasty, we'd be more than happy to do so!
But you must understand, sir, you are the will of the people, not a traitor!
After saying that, he took out two hundred taels of silver from his pocket and stuffed it into Dou Weiyi's hand. "Sir, you don't have to shoulder everything by yourself. Our village can also help you out!"
This is what I've saved up over the past two years. I'm donating it to the soldiers on the border so they can have some more meat!