nashuaworldcup Chapter 597: The locust plague continues, and the world is unstable
Chapter 597: The locust plague continues, and the world is unstable
"I am just a small town mayor. I am only conveying the emperor's will. I have no power to make decisions. How can I know how to collect taxes? I have notified everyone to collect taxes according to last year's practice and let everyone be prepared."
Mayor Sun knew that every household had stored grain and savings, and it was impossible that they could not come up with money because of a small locust plague.
Jiang Fenghua had just asked Xie Shang whether the court had really issued an order to collect taxes. Xie Shang said that the time had not come yet. It was the autumn harvest season, and there was a locust plague. The court would even reduce or exempt taxes, so it was impossible to collect them. She could not say this casually at this time.
There is only one possibility for Mayor Sun to say this, they want to collect some money before the court collects taxes. If there is really a reduction or exemption, the money will naturally go into their pockets, and the people will not know about it, so the local officials may make a lot of money.
Mayor Sun is a small local mayor. Although he is not a high-ranking official, he is a local boss and people from all over the surrounding villages have to listen to him.
He could pass on a false imperial edict or something, but the people above him wouldn't be able to hear it or do anything about it, and in the end, he would have the final say on everything.
When Xie Shang heard the words "convey the emperor's will", he knew that the matter was not simple. It seemed that someone in the people was making him take the blame. If the locust plague in Qingzhou was not resolved, the consequences would be disastrous. There were many riots in history due to the court's inaction and the people's lack of food.
He had a bad feeling in his heart.
At this time, they could not reveal their identities, but they could act like robbers. Xie Shang said, "Since Mayor Sun knows nothing, we don't need to ask Mayor Sun everything."
"Come here, search." He directly ordered Lin Feng to take people into the Sun family to search for food.
Mayor Sun said, "What qualifications do you have to search my house? Stop it... I want to report to the police."
A small town mayor has a low official rank and no real power. He only assists officials at the county level and above in managing some local affairs. He only dares to call himself the boss among the people, and dares not say a word when facing a powerful person, especially when his life is threatened, he dare not say a single word.
Mayor Sun watched helplessly as the food, meat and vegetables hidden in his home were found one by one.
The people present were all shocked. Mrs. Sun had just been crying and complaining that they had not enough to eat, but now she watched the food in her house being searched out and she fainted from crying.
Next, Lin Feng distributed all the food to the people present.
The old man walked up to Xie Shang and said respectfully, "Sir and Miss, you are rich and noble, and have extraordinary temperaments. Are you from Shengjing?"
Xie Shang did not deny it. "We are indeed from Shengjing, and we only found out about the locust plague here when we passed by here."
The old man sighed, "The locust plague continues, the world is unstable, and I'm afraid there will be a disaster!"
Jiang Fenghua and Xie Shang looked at each other, and she said, "Excuse me, old sir, what is your name?"
"My surname is Ran, and my given name is Shan. I opened a private school in the town and tried to make a living, but I can't make ends meet now. Everyone has suffered from the disaster, and no one sends their children to school anymore." Ran Shan said.
"Mr. Ran, do you know Qingshui Village in Zhushan Town?"
"Miss, you know Qingshui Village. I came from Qingshui Village."
Jiang Fenghua asked again, "Do you know Mr. Ran Heng?"
The food in Ran Shan's hand instantly fell to the ground. His eyes were full of confusion and expectation. "Have you seen Heng'er? I'm his fourth uncle! He has been missing for seven years."
Afterwards, Ran Shan took them back to Sifang Private School and said, "When I was young, I was the only scholar in Qingshui Village, but I was unlucky and never passed the imperial examination, so I stayed in the town to teach."
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Ran Heng must be very good at studying!"
"Heng'er is still my student. He is also the most learned person in our Qingshui Village. He passed the imperial examination and became a juren. Our village is proud of him and thinks that he will pass the imperial examination and become a jinshi after going to Beijing. At least he will be able to get a government position. But our Qingshui Village is different...
Later I heard that he made a mistake in Shengjing City and was kicked out of the examination room. I believe Heng'er would not cheat in the examination room. He would not do such a shameful thing. "Ran Shan's eyes also turned red when he said this.
Jiang Fenghua didn't know how to comfort him, so she asked again: "Are his parents still alive? Does he have any other brothers and sisters?"
"How could there be anyone else? Ever since that incident, our Ran family couldn't live in Qingshui Village anymore. His father was the eldest in the family. He heard about him that day and went to look for him, but unfortunately he broke his leg. Even though he broke his leg, he never thought of leaving Qingshui Village. He believed that Heng'er didn't cheat, but within two years, his mother and two younger brothers drank pesticides and died at home. A fire broke out in the house, and the whole family was killed."
Hearing this, Jiang Fenghua was puzzled: "Ran Heng's family had survived for two years, why did they drink pesticides to commit suicide? There are also two younger brothers, both of whom are young lives. How could his mother be so cruel? His father did not leave Qingshui Village, which means he will wait for his son to come back."
"We don't know why the eldest brother's family members were so desperate and reported the case to the authorities, but the authorities had already identified the Ran family as despicable people. It didn't matter if they died, so the case was left unresolved."
Jiang Fenghua was in a heavy mood. Ran Heng had really made the wrong choice. If he could return to his parents, his family would not have died.
Ran Shan said, "Some years ago, someone brought money to our house. Was that person Heng'er?"
"Maybe!" Jiang Fenghua said.
"Where is he now?"
"He's dead." Jiang Fenghua couldn't describe his feelings at the moment. Perhaps only death could bring him true relief. Even if he came back, people would point fingers at him. There would be no one at home, and he would not face the pain of losing his loved ones again.
The tragedy of the Ran family might really be caused by Song Peng. Ran Heng has been sending money home, but his parents have never received it. If he knew, he would be so sad.
Ran Shan is just a lonely man in his fifties. He also has a wish, which is to hope that Ran Heng can come back.
His eyes were wet, and he knelt on the ground and bowed to the sky, "Brother, Heng'er is here to find you, rest in peace!"
"We want to go to the grave of Ran Heng's parents to pay our respects, but I don't know if it's convenient."
"Of course it is convenient. I didn't expect that Heng'er could meet all of you nobles. It is his blessing. I asked someone to help with the grave of his parents. Because of the things that happened to the Ran family, they were not buried in Qingshui Village. It is not far from the entrance of Zhushan Town, and it is also the only way to return to Qingshui Village. I live in the town, so it is convenient for me to worship." Ran Shan said as he packed up.
"Because of Ran Heng's incident, Mr. Sifang Private School's business should also be affected!"
Ran Shan didn't care. "I believe Heng'er won't cheat. I don't care what others say. I have no right to control it. There is only one private school in Zhushan Town. Even if they don't want to, they will send their children here."
There is a shortage of teaching resources in rural areas, and there are many people willing to send their children to study in the county. He enrolls students from poor families, so the tuition is not high.
Jiang Fenghua came to the graves of Ran Heng's parents and brothers and burned each of the letters that Ran Heng was about to send home.
She handed Ran Heng's ashes to his fourth uncle, "This is Ran Heng, Fourth Uncle Ran, let their family be reunited!"
Ran Heng cried inconsolably while holding the urn. He once thought that he could raise a promising nephew, but he didn't expect that he would end up with such a miserable ending.
He said, "Thank you, young lady. I will make sure Heng'er rests in peace."
Jiang Fenghua handed the silver left by Ran Heng to Ran Shan, "This is his savings over the years, the silver he earned from selling books and pens, give it all to Fourth Uncle Ran! If he knew that his money was handed over to his Fourth Uncle, he would definitely feel at ease."
Jiang Fenghua could tell from the graves of Ran Heng's parents and brothers that Ran Shan was not a powerful person, so she felt relieved to give the silver to him. It could be regarded as Ran Heng's reward for his fourth uncle who had guarded his parents' graves for so many years!
After completing this task, she finally felt relieved.
Ran Shan opened the box and saw that it was full of silver. Heng'er had suffered so much to earn so much silver.