Chapter 159: Sell Off Widow Xu to Raise the Money

159. Chapter 159: Sell Off Widow Xu to Raise the Money

Meeting the village head's gaze, Jiang Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together.

This favor, her family could not help with.

Setting aside how Zhao the Rogue had once treated her family, in these times, those who couldn't pay the grain tax were absolutely not limited to Zhao the Rogue's household alone. If her family stepped in to help this time, what if other households who also couldn't pay the grain tax set their sights on them?

"Sir, I see the tax notice issued in town states that if the grain tax falls short, it can be made up with silver money," Jiang Wei said calmly.

She glanced at Widow Xu and Old Lady Zhao kneeling on the ground like quails, then continued: "If silver money isn't enough, then cotton, hemp, and other woven goods of equal value can be handed over. Failing that, one can also make up the difference by performing corvée or military service."

"The County Yamen did indeed issue this ordinance," the tall, thin bailiff nodded, then turned to look at Old Lady Zhao. "Does your household wish to hand over silver money and woven goods, or perform corvée? If it's corvée, then quickly send the men of your household over!"

Old Lady Zhao, hearing these words, was so frightened she fainted outright.

Only Widow Xu remained kneeling on the ground, kowtowing nonstop: "S-sir, my household is willing to perform corvée! I-I'll go call my man over right now..."

Before she could finish speaking, Old Lady Zhao, who had already fainted, suddenly sat bolt upright and lunged at Widow Xu with claws bared: "You black-hearted, cheap-skinned wretch! My son is already paralyzed like that, and you still dare to scheme against him! Let me teach you a proper lesson today!"

"Paralyzed?" The tall, thin bailiff was taken aback.

The village head hurriedly explained how Zhao the Rogue was paralyzed in bed.

The tall, thin bailiff frowned: "Does the Zhao family have any male members who have reached the age of sixteen?"

The village head shook his head repeatedly. Zhao the Rogue had only one son, Zhao Ergou, who was only eleven this year.

The minimum age for performing corvée was sixteen.

The two bailiffs were now in a quandary as well.

"Enough." The tall, thin bailiff shook his head. "Given your household's special circumstances, I'll spare you. Pay off all your taxes at the County Yamen within three days."

Since the grain tax handed over didn't meet the standard, it would be hard for them to explain things when they went back, so they could only resort to this expedient.

Old Lady Zhao, hearing this, hurriedly stopped beating and kicking Widow Xu and began kowtowing heavily to the two bailiffs: "Thank you, sirs, thank you, sirs, for showing mercy!"

After saying that, Old Lady Zhao impatiently dragged Widow Xu away, as if afraid that one more second's delay would have them hauled off to perform corvée.

"Aren't you afraid they'll run off?" Jiang Xiaoxiao muttered softly.

"You're overthinking it." Jiang Wei shot her a sideways glance. "Their household registrations are all on file at the County Yamen. If they dare to flee, they won't even be able to leave the County Town."

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "..."

Fine, she had underestimated this era's management of household registrations.

Fortunately, she had transmigrated as a soul. If it had been her physical body, she would have become an unregistered person.

After this little interlude, the crowd continued queuing to hand over their household grain and head tax.

Because of Widow Xu's fraud, the two bailiffs paid close attention to the grain that followed, personally handling each household's grain to check its authenticity.

Fortunately, the grain handed over by the remaining villagers was all fine—thoroughly dried, heavy in hand, with no water mixed in or falsification.

Even the head tax handed over was accurate to the last coin.

In previous years, there had been many households who couldn't scrape together this sum of money.

Because the Jiang Family had built a new house this year, quite a few people in the village had earned a tidy sum—thirty wen a day, and after building for over half a month, that came to six or seven hundred wen, enough to make up their household's head tax.

The villagers were therefore very grateful to the Jiang Family, and even Wang Shenzi, who had always been at odds with the Jiang Family, showed Jiang Wei a somewhat friendlier face.

Her man, Wang Dachui, had both built houses and kilns for the Jiang Family, bringing home a good deal of wages.

Of course, while some were grateful for this, others harbored resentment because of it.

Li Dayong's wife, after handing over her household's head tax, felt the pain so keenly it was as if her heart was bleeding.

This time, when the Jiang Family hired workers, they hadn't asked for her man. Seeing other households earn so much in wages from half a month's work, she was both envious and jealous, and above all resentful toward the Jiang Family.

Why wouldn't they hire her man for work? Where was her man inferior to other households' men?

Jiang Wei did it on purpose, unable to bear seeing her family do well!

With the tax collection matter concluded, the great stone weighing on the villagers' hearts finally settled back into place.

However, the news of Widow Xu's fraud and deception of the bailiffs spread throughout the village.

Unlike before, when the villagers would gather together to gossip about Zhao the Rogue's household, they now quickly distanced themselves from his family.

Old Lady Zhao had originally been planning to go door to door borrowing money, but not only did no one wish to help, she was also mocked by the villagers.

"Hmph, this is all the trouble your son brought upon himself. When he had his hands and feet, he didn't properly tend the crops, just lazed around at home every day. Now that he can't pay the grain tax, he should figure out a solution himself—don't drag us into everything!"

"Exactly, our household's grain barely has any left after paying the tax, and we still need to keep some to take to town to exchange for coarse grain to feed the whole family!"

"..."

Old Lady Zhao got a rebuff, and could only slink back home in disgrace.

Once home, she saw Zhao the Rogue lying paralyzed in bed, a bed full of his own filth that no one had cleaned up. Fury instantly rising, she grabbed a firewood poker and gave Widow Xu a beating.

Zhao the Rogue lay in bed, his face pitted and uneven without a single patch of intact flesh. Both his legs were broken and had long lost sensation, and his upper body bore many marks of being torn by canine teeth, causing him agony every day.

Yet every time he opened his mouth to cry out in pain, all that could come from his lips were whimpering, gibberish sounds.

Whether it was from being terrified by the wild wolf pack, or from hitting some nerve when he fell down the mountain, he seemed to have developed aphasia, completely unable to speak.

Zhao the Rogue turned his barely-still-functioning head, squinting sidelong at the brutally beaten Widow Xu, a flash of venomous malice passing through his eyes.

All of this, he blamed on her!

It was all because she had egged him on to go make trouble for the Jiang Family that he had ended up like this!

A low whimper emerged from Zhao the Rogue's mouth, as if he were viciously cursing something.

"Son, what's wrong? Where does it hurt? Tell your mother quickly!" Old Lady Zhao, hearing her son's voice, hurriedly tossed aside the firewood poker and ran to the bedside.

Zhao the Rogue gibbered twice, laboriously raised his only remaining right arm, and pointed at Widow Xu.

Old Lady Zhao truly was Zhao the Rogue's birth mother—the two shared one heart between mother and son. She immediately understood what Zhao the Rogue meant: "You want your mother to sell her to raise the money?"

Zhao the Rogue gibbered twice and nodded heavily.

Widow Xu's face went white in an instant.

She was about to turn and run, but the very next second her path was blocked.

"Stinky woman, you made my son end up like this—where do you think you can run to?!"

Old Lady Zhao swung up a thick, long firewood-poking stick and brought it down mercilessly on Widow Xu's head.

Widow Xu dropped at the blow and passed out completely.

Not a shred of heartache on Zhao the Rogue's face; he babbled twice, and Old Lady Zhao hurriedly nodded and said, "Alright, son, don't rush—I'll tie her up right now."