Chapter 316 Rectification
Su Dashan carried his package, walked out of the city in the setting sun, and hurried home.

He was used to walking at night, so it was a good thing for him to be able to leave the city and go home at this time.

Su Dashan walked hurriedly. For the first time, he felt the joy of walking. His shoes, which were already leaking, became even more worn out, and his big toe was sticking out.

But Su Dashan walked faster and faster...

It was completely dark, but the moon soon illuminated the way.

The moon was exceptionally bright tonight, so bright that there wasn't a cloud in the sky and not a single star could be seen around it. It was so bright that it looked as if the ground was covered with a layer of white frost, and he could even see clearly a fist-sized stone on the side of the road.

In the moonlight, Su Dashan saw the village shrouded in the gentle moonlight.

There were only a few lights on in the entire village, and there were fires in several kitchens, with smoke rising from the chimneys.

The Su family was about seven or eight houses away in the village, and that was the house where there was fire in the kitchen. Su Dashan quickened his pace, almost jogging forward, and pushed open the wooden fence.

The little girl who was twisting hemp rope in the yard was stunned for a moment. She saw who was coming clearly in the bright moonlight. She dropped the half-twisted hemp rope in her hand in surprise and rushed towards Su Dashan while screaming, "Mom, Dad is back, Dad is back——"

Su Dashan hugged the little girl and spun around in circles with joy. His eyes were filled with tears as he saw the man running out of the kitchen with a spatula. He choked up and shouted, "Mother, I'm back. I, I've finished my service!"

When the young woman heard this, her eyes turned red and she shouted into the kitchen, "Mom, Dashan is back. He said he doesn't have to serve in the army this year."

An old woman with white hair came out, holding onto the wall, holding a fire stick in her other hand. She nodded repeatedly and choked up, "Okay, okay, daughter-in-law, go get some eggs, bring all the eggs you have at home, and cook them for dinner tonight."

Su Dashan stepped forward quickly and said, "Mom, save the eggs and sell them. You don't have to give them to me."

As he approached, the old woman saw him clearly and was instantly distressed. "It's only been two months since we last met. How...how did you get so old?"

Su Dashan reached out and wiped his face, shaking off the tears on one hand, and forced a smile: "My son is incompetent. He served three months of labor for half a year and can't help the family at all."

The old woman immediately took her daughter-in-law's hand and placed it on her son's hand, saying, "You know, luckily your wife is capable. When you go out to serve, she takes care of all the work at home. When you come back, you must take good care of her..."

During these six months, not only Su Dashan aged a lot, but his wife also aged a lot.

Su Dashan choked up and agreed, and quickly took off the bag on his body, pulled it open, tucked the tattered clothes inside under his armpits, and took out a dozen coins and a string of money from the bottom, and showed them happily, "I also made money, you see."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were shocked and asked quickly, "Where did you earn that money?"

Su Dashan said, "It was given by the post station. I was delivering a letter to the county today and met three Taoist priests from Sanqing Temple. The three young Taoist priests were kind and gave me a ride. Knowing that I had been serving in the army, they went to intercede with the county magistrate. Not only did they exempt me from the rest of my service, but the post station chief also gave me three months' wages, treating those three months as if they were not a penalty but a period of employment. This is three months' wages."

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law: "Sanqing Temple?"

The mother-in-law said, "I know about the Sanqing Temple. There will be a Sanqing Mountain God Fair next month. I heard that anyone who goes there with a sincere heart can get the mountain god's lucky bag. A lucky bag weighs six pounds and six ounces of rice. Your wife and I plan to pretend to be two families and take Niuniu with us to see if she can be counted as one."

Su Dashan: "...Mom, this is not good, isn't this taking advantage of the Taoist priests?"

Mother-in-law: "You are right. We should burn more incense for him and ask Niuniu to kowtow to him more. We will not tell anyone about this and we will take it ourselves."

Su Dashan: ...

Daughter-in-law: "Mom, your legs and feet are not convenient for you. Now that Dashan is back, let Dashan lead us there when the time comes."

"Yes, yes, Dashan will go too and get an extra lucky bag. It's a pity that your father doesn't like to join in the fun, otherwise he would have gone and got one too."

Su Dashan: "Where's my father?"

Mother-in-law: "Your father went to the fields. It snowed again today, and it was sleet. Your father was afraid that the wheat in the fields would freeze, so he went to spread some straw on several plots of land. He hasn't come back yet."

The wife said hurriedly, "We just got back too. He only has three ridges left of his land in the back hill. He wants to spread the seeds all over while the moon is bright. There might be frost in a couple of days."

Su Dashan agreed, "I'll go pick up Dad, you keep the money."

The wife agreed.

The little girl who was standing aside and looking at her parents eagerly immediately jumped up and said, "Dad, I want to go too."

"Okay, I'll take you there," Su Dashan smiled so much that all the wrinkles on his face were folded together. He squatted towards his daughter, and the girl immediately jumped onto her father's back.

Su Dashan felt a pain in his waist and staggered for a moment, but then quickly stabilized himself. He lifted his daughter up and walked out the door with a smile.

He felt a heat on his waist and knew that it was the yellow talisman that was heating up, so he walked more steadily.

Father Su was found from the field. His face, which looked older than Su Dashan's, was full of smiles. He sat at the dinner table and listened to his wife mention the Sanqing Mountain Temple Fair again. He rarely agreed, "You can go if you want, but you have to get up early. The earlier you go, the earlier you come back. I remember that it takes a long time to climb the mountain to Sanqing Temple, right?"

Su's mother said unhappily, "The mountain temple is not at the top of the mountain, but at the foot of the mountain. There is no need to climb the mountain."

Father Su said with a smile: "No need to climb the mountain, no need to climb the mountain. Take Niuniu with you and ask her to pray more and pray to the mountain god to keep her healthy and safe, and to be clever and skillful."

The family of three responded happily.

After more than half a year, cheerful laughter was finally heard from the Su family.

A neighbor not far away heard it vaguely and said, "Maybe Dashan has come back? I heard laughter from their house."

"It should be. Is this because he is back from military service?"

"Dashan has served for more than half a year this time. I don't know who will be in office next time."

"The labor service in the village has become heavier in the past two years. It's better in the city."

"Not necessarily. My cousin married into the city. Her son has been carrying the sedan chair this year. He has been doing it for a month and I don't know when it will end..." That's right, the jobs of carrying sedan chairs, beating the night watch, and even sweeping the floor in the county government office were all conscripted labor.

This person is in charge these days, and several other people will be in charge in the next few days. They will take turns, with the village as the unit for rotation, and the village head will then assign the laborers.

What Old Zhu wanted was to maintain the operation of the government office and the county town without spending a penny.

A series of basic officials such as grain chiefs and village heads all did voluntary work and did not receive a penny.

Those who know how to operate can use the power in their hands to seek personal gain, but there are also those who don't know how to operate and just take on responsibilities in vain.

Especially the grain chief.

Because after becoming grain chief, there were people whose families fell into decline or even died.

When Akihito counted the labor situation, he discovered many problems.

Some people, by virtue of being familiar with the officials in the government office, recruited civilians under the pretext of labor service, forcing them to work on the farms, build roads, and repair canals for some officials and landlords...

Akihito looked at the list, which showed one-third more labor than what he had to do personally, and his face turned grim.

The lawyer looked at his face and whispered, "Sir, this kind of thing cannot be stopped. Everyone has to sweep the streets. When the servants were sweeping the streets, they passed by the county lieutenant's house. The county lieutenant asked him to sweep his own yard as well. How can this be stopped?"

"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. We can also prohibit unnecessary extra duties, but we cannot prohibit such 'incidental' things."

Mingren clenched his fists and asked, "These few, did you recruit ten conscripts this year to serve as silage for them?"

"Yes, under the pretext of preparing silage for the county government's cattle and horses."

Mingren: "You go, you go in person, since it is the county government's labor, let them hand over the silage!"

Master: "..."

Mingren turned his head to look at him, his face livid, "Don't tell the county you can't do it. If you don't go, the county will go myself!"

The master immediately said, "I'll go right away."

"Wait a minute," Mingren stopped him and said expressionlessly, "This year, the government will subsidize each laborer with a daily salary of 20 wen. I remember that this county has already paid the money when it conscripted the laborers. Let them settle the bill."

Master: “…Yes.”

Mingren waited until the master left before he angrily threw the list in his hand away.

The list slammed on the threshold, scattered and fluttered.

Akihito tried his luck, but finally stood up quietly and picked up the list and put it away.

Those masters were all stunned. Not only did Akihito want to rob their silo, but he also wanted them to pay for the conscription?

"Twenty cents a day, is that still labor service?"

The lawyer said expressionlessly, "Everyone, this is the subsidy that our county magistrate gave to the conscripts privately. The money has been given to you, but you kept it privately."

"This, Master, don't you think this is embarrassing? We all know what is going on..."

"What's going on?" The master looked at him fiercely, "I really don't know, why don't you tell me, Master Fang?"

Everyone fell silent again.

say what?
They said that they got the clerk to recruit labor for them by using a few meals and cheap gifts, and thus got a group of laborers for free?

This is something that can be done but not said. Once Akihito takes it seriously, they will inevitably end up in jail.

To avoid jail time, it would cost a lot of money, which is more than a batch of silage and this little salary can compare to.

Akihito was willing to give them a chance, but it was only because he noticed that there were many tricks in the labor and was afraid that more people would be implicated and the situation would become out of control.

Moreover, the chaos of conscription and forced labor in Yushan County was already the lightest. Once this matter broke out and involved other states and counties, even if Mingren was the county magistrate, he would not be able to handle it.

The master's meaning was very clear. Akihito wanted to give everyone another chance. As long as they changed their ways, he was willing to hold them high and put them down gently. But if anyone didn't know what was good for them, he would do it.

"Our lord is not a pushover. He is about to be promoted and leave. At most, he will use his blood to pave a better future. It's just that we don't want Yushan County to see blood because of the old friendship. If you gentlemen want to use force, our county magistrate will accompany you."

Several people silently paid money to avoid disaster.

These things have nothing to do with Master Qian, but he knows them all.

He watched the changing situation for a while, and after having eaten enough frightened melons, he decided to go to Sanqing Mountain to find Pan Yun.

Qian Dahong: "...Dad, this matter was caused by Taoist Priest Pan. Why are you looking for her?"

"It's fun to talk to her because she caused it." Melons taste better when eaten in front of the person involved.

Qian Dahong had no choice but to send him away.

But when they arrived at Sanqing Mountain, they found out that Pan Yun was not there.

　good night

　　
　
(End of this chapter)