Corvée Labor

In previous years, it would only be two or three ounces at most.

This made many well-off families in the Ten-Li area, who had originally planned to contribute money, hesitate.

Not to mention Xiushui Village, which is one of the poorer villages in the Ten-Li area.

For a time, the villagers of Xiushui Village were so busy that they forgot about tending their crops and rushed home to discuss the matter.

Lin Dayou, who was cultivating on the mountain, was also called back to the old house by Lin Dashan to discuss this matter together.

Lin Xiao, Lin Yun, and Lin Lei, the three teenagers, also wanted to get involved in family matters, so they all went down the mountain together.

Mo Yuanjiao, who had originally planned to continue practicing array inscription today, felt somewhat depressed as he watched his master and sect leader leave.

Isn't it just a matter of the government assigning corvée labor?

Why does it need such a formal discussion involving the whole family?

Mo Yuanjiao scratched his head in confusion, unable to figure it out, so he went to the Formation Hall and picked up "The Complete Collection of Basic Array Engraving" to read.

Inside the Lin Household's old house.

Although the first and second wives are actually living separately, their household registrations are not separate, so they are still registered as one family.

As usual, both families only needed to send one person for this year's corvée labor.

But the question of who should go became the problem.

Although Lin Dashan went the year before last, it was just ordinary corvée labor, not too arduous. He only had to go for about ten days to move some stones and dig some mud, and the location was close to home, all near Emerald Peak Town.

If it's the same as usual, then naturally there's no disagreement, and everyone can just take turns.

But this time, the task of building a dike was extra, which could be life-threatening, so the Lin Household had a rare disagreement on this matter.

The main disagreement lies between Lin Dashan and Lin Dayou.

Lin Dayou felt that since it was his turn this time, he should go himself.

But Lin Dashan believes that as the eldest brother, he should stand up for his younger brother in this kind of situation.

The two were thus deadlocked.

For Old Master Lin and Old Madam Lin, both their children were equally dear to them, and they didn't have any good ideas. So they discussed paying off the debt with money. Although their savings were still a bit short, they thought they could scrape together the money by searching around.

However, both brothers, Lin Dayou and Lin Dashan, disagreed on this point.

Saving money at home is so difficult. If you finally manage to save some money and then spend it all at once, life will become difficult again.

However, the matter did not remain unresolved for long in the Lin Household; it was settled by the five taels of silver that Lin Xiao took out.

This was what he had earned in the county town before. He had seven or eight taels left after buying things, and now it was just enough to help his family out of their immediate crisis.

Although he felt that with his Foundation Establishment cultivation, participating in this corvée labor wouldn't be a problem, he was immediately silenced by a glare from his father as soon as he stepped out to speak.

Well, no matter how high his cultivation level is, his father definitely wouldn't want him to serve in the military.

Therefore, Lin Xiao had no choice but to settle for second best and pay up.

Upon seeing the five taels of silver ingot he produced, the Lin Household fell into an eerily quiet silence.

Lin Dashan: Even though so much time has passed, I still sometimes forget that my nephew is an immortal.

Old Master Lin coughed lightly and said decisively:

"Alright, now that the money issue is resolved, you two brothers stop arguing and just stay home!"

As he spoke, he looked at Lin Xiao again:

"Sanlang, consider this money a loan from our family. We have four and a half taels right now, and once we've gathered five taels, Grandpa will pay you back, okay?"

Upon hearing this, before Lin Xiao could say anything, Lin Dayou quickly interjected:

"Father, what are you saying? I was supposed to be the one serving this time. Sanlang paid for it to exempt me from labor service. How can you be asked to pay it back?"

Lin Xiao nodded immediately:

"That's right, Grandpa, you don't treat me like your grandson at all! You're being so distant with me! Besides, as long as our whole family works together and puts our efforts into it, these things that can be solved with money are no big deal at all!"

He believed that even if he didn't have to pay back the money this time, his family wouldn't be the kind of people who would start thinking about taking advantage of him all the time.

Therefore, he really didn't care about these money matters at all.

A harmonious and warm family, a group of lovely family members, is something that money can't buy.

And this is what he considers the most precious thing in the world.

Let alone five taels of silver now, if needed, Lin Xiao would be willing to give everything for it.

And so, the matter concerning the Lin Household was settled.

But similar discussions were taking place in different families throughout Xiushui Village, and even in all the townships under the jurisdiction of Anqun County.

However, most of the able-bodied men in the family are trying their best to get other family members to go.

Liu Yunan, on the other hand, did not have this problem.

His family had separated from the Liu Household's old residence years ago, so now he is considered the only male member of their family.

He only needs to pay one hundred coins.

Although one hundred coins is a considerable sum for many rural families, Liu Yunan had earned some money in the county town a few days ago, so he could afford it.

In the end, somehow, the task of performing corvée labor fell on Tietou Tietou's shoulders.

Tietou's father was away from home because he had recently taken on a house-building job in a neighboring village.

Tietou's mother cried and protested, but to no avail.

In the end, the Hu Household submitted Tietou's name.

When the village chief saw that Tietou's name was mentioned in the family report, he was quite surprised. Although Tietou's family was not a large one, it still had quite a few members. Tietou's father was the eldest son, and he had two younger brothers who were in their prime. In other words, Tietou also had two uncles. Their family had not yet separated.

But he couldn't say anything, since it was their family matter. Besides, Tietou was already thirteen years old this year. In their Pusi Kingdom, a boy was considered an adult at twelve, and all taxes were now paid as if he were an adult male.

Therefore, he had no choice but to make the Hu Household general report Tietou Tou.

As for Jiang Youfu...

He didn't need to worry about these things at all. Every day, his grandma would fill his pocket with a small bag of roasted beans, let him do some light chores around the house, and then let him go out to play.

As for Sun Yigao, there's absolutely nothing to worry about...

Unexpectedly, on the morning of the very next day, while the village was still worrying about corvée labor, before dawn, a thin figure appeared at the entrance of Xiushui Village.

This is a young boy.

The boy was quite petite, with a face covered in black dirt. However, in contrast to his dirty little face, he had a neatly tied ponytail and wore clean, faded clothes.