Food Rationed, Water Cut Off

After watching for the better part of a month, Yin Yunze had not learned these village women's names, but their faces had become somewhat familiar.

At least, Yin Yunze recognized quite a few of the older women in the group as people who had had no gold when they came seeking grain and had begged Sun Qin to let them have it on credit.

They had been so affectionate then, calling her "immortal maiden" every other breath. From the look of them, they had practically wanted to call Sun Qin their sister.

Now, with just a slight change in circumstances, they had immediately put on different faces.

If they had only been gossiping behind her back, Yin Yunze would have said nothing.

After all, it was hard to avoid showing one face to people and another behind their backs. When Yin Yunze had worked under Supervisor Song, he had done his share of talking behind people's backs too. Yin Yunze also did not know whether these older women had some past grudge against Sun Qin.

Even so, Sun Qin had helped them, and cursing her to her face was going a little too far.

All he could say was that most people feared authority but did not cherish kindness.

Give them a beating, and they could fear you for three years. Help them once, and you could count yourself lucky if they remembered it for three days.

Of course, most importantly, the older women's attitude made it clear that they still regarded the granting of grain as a business.

Even cloaked in the trappings of sacrifices and blessings, given enough time, it had still come to be treated as a business.

No one would say an immortal's blessing was too meager. Only in a transaction would people feel they had gotten the short end of the stick.

And these people had grown set in that habit.

They truly believed they should be given grain at the previous price.

How could Yin Yunze not be angry at such ungrateful people?

If they had remembered even a little kindness, Yin Yunze might have softened and increased the quota. After all, a few hundred extra jin would not really stir up much of a storm.

But the faces these people were showing now made Yin Yunze feel that even two hundred jin was too much to give them!

"I advise you to leave quickly!" Compared with Yin Yunze, Sun Qin, the one being cursed, was also displeased, but she still kindly warned them, "If you anger Lord Fox Immortal, things won't end well for you..."

Although it had not happened many times, the way Yin Yunze had acted decisively whenever he encountered troublemakers had left a deep impression on Sun Qin.

Others might not know, but how could Sun Qin not know? Raising the price of grain was Yin Yunze's order!

If they had merely made a fuss in front of Sun Qin, that would have been one thing. Sun Qin could hardly do anything to them.

But these people had actually come to the Fox Immortal Temple to air their grievances!

They thought they were targeting Sun Qin, not realizing that they were openly defying Yin Yunze's order. It was practically taunting him to his face!

Yet all Sun Qin's good intentions earned her was a fresh round of mockery.

"Scared? Let me tell you, it's too late!"

"We'll spill every last detail of the disgusting things you've done lately!"

"You just wait. The Fox Immortal will strike you dead soon enough, you black-hearted widow!"

Hearing their words, Sun Qin could not help frowning, but the next moment, she turned her gaze toward the Fox Immortal Temple.

A nine-tailed white fox as tall as a person was standing over there, watching the farce.

A very human expression of displeasure appeared on that furry fox face.

Sun Qin glanced around and found that she seemed to be the only one who could see him.

"Lord Yi Yun!" Sun Qin hurriedly stood before Yin Yunze and lowered her head. "You..."

"Lord Fox Immortal has appeared?"

"Where? Where? Why can't I see him?"

"You... who are you trying to scare...?"

"Sun Qin, don't think you can frighten us..."

Amid their uneasy mutterings, Yin Yunze finally made the illusion of the nine-tailed white fox appear before everyone.

Seeing Yin Yunze's transformed true form for the first time, everyone froze on the spot.

Yin Yunze swept a cold gaze over the insatiable crowd and said softly, "You seem most dissatisfied with my order?"

"No..."

"Absolutely not..."

"Lord Fox Immortal, spare us!"

Most people were like Lord Ye, who professed to love dragons until he saw a real one.

Facing a clay statue, these people had dared to blurt out anything.

But when they actually saw the nine-tailed white fox appear before them, taller than a person and able to speak, their first reaction was sheer terror.

Those who had been shouting about asking the Fox Immortal to judge the matter were now trembling like quails, every last one of them.

"Lord Yi Yun..." Only Sun Qin could still keep her composure. She lowered her head respectfully. "It's all because I failed to handle things properly that you were disturbed!"

"As I see it, this is not a failure on your part..." Yin Yunze naturally would not take his anger out on Sun Qin. Looking at the older women, he sneered. "Rather, some people do not care about me, this Fox Immortal!"

"How could that be? We've been wrongly accused!"

"Lord Fox Immortal, please don't say that! We meant nothing of the sort!"

"Lord Fox Immortal, you're the greatest!"

These village women were not very clever, but they were not complete fools either.

Hearing the displeasure in Yin Yunze's tone, they immediately knocked their heads against the ground again and again, loudly begging for mercy.

Watching their behavior, Yin Yunze felt he had been reminded of something.

Yin Yunze had always worried that the villagers would lose their awe of him. Now it seemed the first signs were already there.

Otherwise, how could such a group have gathered here?

Sun Qin represented Yin Yunze. In questioning Sun Qin, were they not also questioning Yin Yunze?

If not for the officials who had come and stirred things up, Yin Yunze would probably still have been trapped in the gold-making business, unable to pull himself free.

Thinking this, Yin Yunze felt that he had perhaps been too kind in his dealings before, to the point that the villagers had lost their awe of him.

Still, Yin Yunze did not want to waste the Power of Incense Offerings on these foolish village women. He directly instructed Sun Qin, "Sun Qin, go and make this clear to the villagers. Thanks to the efforts of those before me, I have decided to reduce tomorrow's grain blessing to one hundred jin."

He had previously said two hundred jin because he had reckoned that a person needed roughly two hundred jin of rice a year.

Yin Yunze had wanted to let these people get through this disaster year in peace, at the very least.

Now, Yin Yunze found that he had been a little too kindhearted.

Some people really could not be allowed to eat their fill!

Although he had not said it outright, Sun Qin clearly understood that Yin Yunze was reducing the quantity, not the price.

"Lord Fox Immortal! You can't do this!"

"Lord Fox Immortal, aren't you hurting us by doing this?"

"Lord Fox Immortal, you're driving us to our deaths!"

Hearing Yin Yunze say it himself, the village women wailed to heaven and earth.

And compared with their earlier howling, this time it was much more heartfelt.

After all, half the grain was gone for no good reason because of their wagging tongues. If word really got out, wouldn't they be beaten half to death when they got home?

Hearing the village women's uproar, Yin Yunze did not get angry. He needed these people to make a fuss right now!

If they did not, Yin Yunze would have had trouble conveying another, more important decision.

"Heh, you are very good. Keep this up, and even those hundred jin will be gone!"

With a sneer, Yin Yunze spoke to Sun Qin again. "Sun Qin, tell the others one more thing. Because of these foolish women, starting tomorrow, the daily half hour of water at noon is gone as well!"

To be honest, after nearly a month of going to the lakeside every day, rain or shine, to supply water, Yin Yunze had long since grown tired of it.

If he had not seen the villagers offering up a steady stream of gold, Yin Yunze would have wanted to throw down his load long ago.

Now the timing was just right. Grain could not be sold for the time being, so he might as well cut off the water too.

Of course, Yin Yunze had not said he was truly going to leave these villagers to live or die.

Yin Yunze was only planning to make the surprise he had prepared earlier, but had yet to put into effect, his main course of action.

At Yin Yunze's words, Sun Qin's eyes widened in shock. The village women, meanwhile, did not even dare speak.

If halving the grain meant only less money for the time being, cutting off the water could truly cost them their lives.

Even though everyone had earned quite a bit of money over the past half month or so, to these farming households, how could that money be as important as the crops in their fields?

"Lord Fox Immortal, please show mercy! How are the villagers supposed to live without water?"

Yet just as everyone had fallen silent, a bird that stuck its head out, unafraid of death, spoke up.

Only this time, the speaker was not one of the village women, but the youngest of the people Sun Qin had brought with her.