Chapter 247: Forced to Stay for a Meal

Therefore, He He Lingchuan did not drag things out: "Correct, this is the deed for the purchase of the field bones, and the state government recognizes it as such. As for the tenant farmers working the land, they will continue to do so; as long as they pay their rent on time, they will not be driven off." The village elders whispered among themselves, all nodding.

"Good, then let's get to the point." The main event had arrived. "The sale of fields by villagers requires the consent of the township; what is the legal basis for this?"

The owner of the field bones could collect rent from the tenant farmers. If this group of old fogies obstructed the process, the Xinxian government, despite holding the land deeds, might not be able to collect a single cent of rent.

Other villages might fear the government, but Shuangyu Village seemed to be an exception.

The Village Chief said slowly: "This is a long-standing custom. Before the founding of the Dayuan, Xinxian already had this set of regulations; it is not unique to my Shuangyu Village."

"Thirty years ago, twenty years ago, Dayuan issued decrees stating that any wild rules or bad customs contrary to national law are automatically abolished."

Village Chief Liang smiled: "But the entire Xiazhou has always been like this, not just my Xinxian. Does the Young Master He know that the law does not punish the masses? If the state government wants to make an example of us, then the other dozens of townships and thousands of villages must be changed and punished first!"

He He Lingchuan slowly crossed his arms, his tone mocking: "In other words, you want to defy the law?"

Village Chief Liang waved his hands repeatedly: "We cannot bear such a charge; we are merely upholding local customs, as it has been for decades."

Those who have never lived in the countryside cannot comprehend the weight of the words "local customs and village rules."

Outside the house, a villager shouted: "That's right! Even if you can convict us, the other villages and townships won't agree to do it this way!"

A chorus of agreement followed, the crowd growing in number.

He He Lingchuan sneered. What the other townships and villages did was none of his business; his father had given him this one task, and once it was done, he was finished.

These villagers looked honest and simple, but in reality, their words all boiled down to one meaning: want the village to agree? You have to pay more.

Whenever villagers sold land to outsiders, the village would always levy an additional "nodding fee."

These fellows were bold enough to try and collect from the government.

Of course, He He Lingchuan also understood that not every village had such courage. Most villages, if not completely submissive, at least feared officials like tigers; otherwise, how could the government exploit them? Shuangyu Village had families of meritorious martyrs and had even produced a Daoist sect elder; perhaps they had some expert guiding them from behind the scenes, which was why they were so arrogant, daring to test the mettle of the new state official.

The Four Great Families had recently been beaten down by He He Chunhua several times, suffering both physical and financial pain, so perhaps they wanted to turn the tables.

Other townships and villages were also watching this place; if even the new state government had to bow to village rules, this trend would be impossible to extinguish in the future.

He He Lingchuan stood up abruptly. The seven men behind him all pressed their hands onto their sword hilts, and Dan Shan Youjun even pushed his blade out halfway, the reflected cold light hitting the Village Chief right in the eyes, as if they were about to erupt into violence at the slightest disagreement.

The faces of the village elders changed.

The villagers outside were provoked, their emotions surging, all wanting to rush into the house.

Dan Shan Youjun eyed them sideways, sneering in his heart: a bunch of unruly peasants! Yan Lang stood up suddenly, making a move to pounce, and a roar like a thunderclap on flat ground shook everyone's hearts and lungs.

When it bristled, it was larger than a male lion, and a series of low growls echoed throughout the room. The village elders and villagers were terrified, all retreating several steps in unison.

The fear of monsters is carved into the bones of humans; in terms of intimidation alone, it was stronger than all the other burly men combined.

A villager yelled: "What do you want to do? Can the son of a Grand Coordinator just kill people?"

For a moment, no one dared to step forward.

"Which eye did you see me killing people with?" He He Lingchuan scoffed. "Village Chief Liang, what do you say about the sale?"

Stared at by the wolf's eyes, Village Chief Liang's spine felt cold and stiff, but he still bit the bullet and said: "Village, village rules cannot be abolished. Young Master He, you are using a monster and vicious soldiers to coerce us; we will go to the state government to file a complaint!"

The other village elders hid behind him: "That's right! If the state government shields you, we will go to the capital to file a petition with the Emperor!"

Zhou Zhou Sefu was also startled, and at this moment, he said tremblingly: "Young Master, let's, let's talk this over!" The vicious wolf was drooling, and he dared not get close either.

He had requested reinforcements from the state government for mediation, but instead, he had to come over and be the mediator himself? "A petition to the Emperor?" He He Lingchuan was stunned, then suddenly burst into loud laughter, his right hand behind his back, signaling to his personal guards.

"Clang," Dan Shan Youjun sheathed his sword, and the others released their hilts, their stances no longer aggressive.

"Village Chief Liang, you've misunderstood. When did I ever want to coerce you all?" He He Lingchuan picked up the bowl of plain boiled water on the table and drank it in one gulp. "Since the talk is over, am I not allowed to stand up and stretch my limbs?" After saying this, he rotated his head, which let out a few crisp cracks.

The village elders looked at each other, and Village Chief Liang frowned: "The talk is over?"

"Yes, you don't agree, and we aren't willing, so hasn't the talk broken down?" He He Lingchuan said with a smile. "Done, I'm going back to report."

"What is Young Master He playing at?" Village Chief Liang looked displeased. "What about this land sale, what is the final word?"

"What word? There is no word. The knot is tied here; we'll have someone more capable come to untie it another day." He He Lingchuan stepped toward the door.

Yan Lang followed by his side, and no one dared to get close.

The village elders could not fathom his strategy, always feeling that someone sent by the state government would not give up so easily, but today's failure to reach a deal was a good thing; the longer it dragged on, the more beneficial it was for Shuangyu Village.

In any case, the land was still being farmed by their own people; for every day the state government was late in coordinating this matter, they lost one less day of profit.

However, He He Lingchuan paused at the door and suddenly said: "By the way, it's noon already. Does Village Chief Liang provide lunch for guests?"

Village Chief Liang truly did not want to, but since the other party had brought it up, and it was perfectly normal for township officials to eat in the village, he had no choice but to say: "Yes, though there isn't anything good to eat in the countryside."

"Not at all, I think your meal here is very organic." He He Lingchuan walked up to the Village Chief, ignoring the wary gazes of the others, and reached out to pat his shoulder. "Don't look at me like that; official business is already finished, and in private, I am a very approachable person."

He was a head taller than Village Chief Liang, and patting someone's shoulder was done from a position of superiority.

Village Chief Liang did not believe for a second that his official business was finished; he only felt that this kid was going to use other tricks. If the hard approach didn't work, he'd use the soft one; he used this tactic himself quite often.

But the other party was an official of some standing, and the new Grand Coordinator's own son, so he still had to give him face. Moreover, that Yan Lang had already retreated to the corner of the room to lie down, and the vicious servants behind the wealthy young master were no longer acting aggressively.

If this young master wanted to act, he would just play along to the end.

Therefore, Village Chief Liang also pulled a smiling face and responded with a few "goods," then said to the villagers: "There's no excitement to see here, everyone disperse."

The village elders looked at each other; the two oldest went home first, while the rest stayed to keep him company.

They also felt that this young man would still pull some more tricks.

However, He He Lingchuan did not do anything out of the ordinary afterward, just grabbing Village Chief Liang to tour the entire village and the fields, asking questions from time to time, with a large group of people following behind, looking exactly like a high-level leader inspecting the countryside.

It was warmer at noon, and seven or eight village children were playing. When He He Lingchuan saw them, he took a handful of malt candy from his bosom and said with a smile: "Who wants candy?"

The candies he brought out were brightly packaged and very beautiful. The children in the village were not shy and swarmed forward to ask for them.

He He Lingchuan gave two to each of them.

In fact, he was having some trouble; there were five boys here, three of whom were round-headed and round-brained, their hair basically shaved off, leaving only a small tuft on the front and back fontanelles.

With the same hairstyle and similar ages, the faces of human cubs also looked exactly the same, so how was he supposed to tell them apart?

He looked at Dan Shan Youjun, who also blinked without giving a hint. So He He Lingchuan peeled a candy himself and handed it to the youngest child.

"Little friend, what is your name?"

This child was four or five years old; he took the candy and stuffed it into his mouth, saying vaguely: "My name is Liang Yu."

"Oh." He He Lingchuan immediately changed targets and handed out another candy himself.

The next child was named Liang Su.

That must be the one. He He Lingchuan smiled even more kindly: "Whose child are you?"

The child reached out and pointed at Village Chief Liang. The latter then said to He He Lingchuan: "This is my third grandson."

He He Lingchuan picked the child up: "How many grandchildren do you have?"

"Three grandsons; this is the youngest. And four granddaughters."

"And your children?"

"Two sons, three daughters."

While teasing the child, He He Lingchuan smiled: "Village Chief, you are blessed to have a house full of children and grandchildren at such a young age."

He seemed to like Liang Su very much, carrying him in his arms the whole way. He had no experience, and Liang Su, having finished both candies, felt uncomfortable in his arms, twisting and turning but unable to break free.

Village Chief Liang felt more and more uneasy: "The child is naughty, please put him down, lest the yellow mud stain your clothes..."

"I think this child is quite fun; I'll carry him a while longer."

He He Lingchuan saw his expression and did not mind the mud spots on his clothes.

Liang Su twisted twice more and then let out a loud wail.

They had already walked near the village houses, and the child's loud crying spread throughout the village. A woman walked out of a large house not far ahead, wiping her hands while walking quickly: "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

She came for the child, so He He Lingchuan handed the child to her. As soon as the woman held the child and coaxed him twice, Liang Su stopped crying and buried his head in her arms.

He He Lingchuan flicked the mud off his hand: "Who is this?"

Village Chief Liang introduced: "This is my third daughter-in-law, and also Su'er's mother."

The woman held the child, bowed her head to the Village Chief and He He Lingchuan, and turned to walk away hurriedly.

He He Lingchuan's gaze, however, remained glued to her back.

Village Chief Liang was long used to men giving this kind of look to his daughter-in-law, so he could only cough hard twice, feeling contempt in his heart. He then heard He He Lingchuan say: "Village Chief Liang, no wonder your grandson is so cute." So it was because the mother was beautiful.

Village Chief Liang did not know what to say, so he could only offer a perfunctory smile. Fortunately, at this moment, his daughter-in-law turned back to add: the meal was ready.

It was mealtime, and the fragrance of food drifted everywhere in the village.

He He Lingchuan wanted to stay at the Village Chief's house for dinner, and the village elders and villagers were too embarrassed to follow them to the Village Chief's house to continue watching, so they had to disperse.

(End of chapter)