Dreaming for 10,000 years

Chapter 186 Price
When Mr. Zheng was hugged by Shi Fei, he suddenly felt an invisible pressure, as if his wallet was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand.

He opened his mouth and wanted to bargain, but when he saw Shi Fei's half-smile, he swallowed his words back.

But thinking of what Shi Fei said about him being very expensive, Master Zheng thought about his own money. Master Zheng mustered up his courage and stammered, "This...this...Master, can you please...make it cheaper?"

Shi Fei laughed and said, "It can't be cheap. Cheap products don't have good quality."

Mr. Zheng swallowed his saliva and asked weakly, "Then...how much does the mage offer?"

Shi Fei glanced at him and said calmly: "If I were a poor man, I would just ask for a bowl of water. As for you..." He paused and said meaningfully: "It's just a few pieces of paper."

"Note! Notes are good!" Mr. Zheng said happily.

However, his smile soon froze on his face and turned into a sad look.

Because what Shi Fei asked him for were the IOUs from tenant farmers in the villages surrounding the town!

The landlords of this period exploited their tenants extremely cruelly, especially the stingy landlords like Mr. Zheng.

Tenant farmers need to pay rent in advance for renting land. If they have no money, they can only borrow high-interest loans from the landlord.

If the interest rate is lower than 30%, it is considered that the landlord is "kind-hearted".

Add to that the cost of seeds and more than 50% of the rent, and even if the weather was good, the tenant farmers would work hard all year round and barely make ends meet. If there was a disaster, the tenant farmers could only borrow high-interest loans to make ends meet, and selling their children was even more common.

What is even more absurd is that even if the tenant farmers were already impoverished, the landlords would still ask them to give gifts at weddings, funerals, and festivals.

In addition, there were various levies such as "road construction fees" and "public security fees", and personal control such as whipping and detention made the tenant farmers miserable.

"Nine out and sixteen back?" Shi Fei held up an IOU, frowning, and said with a bit of surprise in his tone: "Your loan sharking is a bit too much!"

The so-called "9 out, 16 back" means that if the tenant farmer borrows 10 yuan, he will only get 9 yuan, but he has to pay back 16 yuan. Most of the tenant farmers are illiterate and have no idea how the interest is calculated. Calculating interest is also a means of exploitation by the landlords.

Mr. Zheng looked pale, with cold sweat on his forehead, and said, "It's not too much. I'm kind-hearted and haven't added the compound interest yet."

Just now, he saw Shi Fei was alone and was about to find a few servants to deal with Shi Fei. Unexpectedly, as soon as this thought came to his mind, his whole body felt as if it was cut by a knife, and he felt a terrible pain.

After a few times, he finally realized that the "magician" in front of him was not someone he could afford to offend.

He now regrets very much having let the wolf into the house!

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Shi Fei flipped through Mr. Zheng's IOUs, shook his head and said, "You are too heartless with these IOUs. Burn them."

“What!?” Mr. Zheng’s eyes widened, and his voice changed. “That…that’s all my years of hard work! You might as well just kill me!”

"Okay, I'll even kill you." Shi Fei's tone was grim, his eyes as sharp as knives.

"No, no, no..." Mr. Zheng waved his hands repeatedly, his legs weak with fear. He didn't expect that the man in front of him would actually dare to kill him.

"It's already my mercy that I spare your life." Shi Fei said coldly.

According to his idea, Mr. Zheng should be beaten to death and the land should be divided equally among the tenants.

Firstly, the social contradictions in this place have not yet reached an irreconcilable point. Many people have enough to eat, and those who can't survive go out to sea to fight for a way to survive. Secondly, there are still many things in this world that he cannot see through.

Why did he come here? What is the Jade Emperor? What else is there in the deep sea besides Cthulhu?
There are ghosts, zombies, and gods in this world, so are there also gods?
Facing an unknown world, he still needs to be more cautious and better understand the truth behind the world so that he can do what he wants to do.

Thirdly, although Mr. Zheng is a bit stingy, he does not have any murderous aura, which makes him a little different from Mr. Lin who hired a killer before.

For such a miser, a light punishment will suffice.

Not long after, a group of ragged, dark-skinned farmers were brought to Shi Fei. Their faces were full of sorrow, and their eyes were numb and tired, as if the burden of life had already made them breathless.

Shi Fei looked at these farmers and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

He picked up the IOUs and read out loud the information on each one in front of everyone. After reading each one, he threw it into the fire.

The flames flickered, illuminating everyone's face - the tenant farmers' eyes went from disbelief to a gradual glimmer of hope, while Mr. Zheng's expression became increasingly ugly, as if the burning of each IOU was cutting into his flesh.

By the firelight, the tenant farmers' joy and Mr. Zheng's pain formed a sharp contrast.

Finally, he shouted, "From now on, you will no longer owe Master Zheng a penny. Live a good life."

Can they really live a good life in the future?
of course not!
Because the stingy Mr. Zheng will double the amount and take it back from them after Shi Fei leaves.

In Mr. Zheng’s mind, that was all his money!
Today he let the wolf into the house, so he had to bow his head, but he must earn it back tomorrow!
All the problems were with Master Zheng, so in the firelight, Shi Fei gently patted Master Zheng on the head.

From then on, Mr. Zheng learned martial arts. He was no longer himself!

Shi Fei said he would spare his life, but he didn't say he wouldn't change him!
Afterwards, Shi Fei commanded the tenant farmers to dig up the basement of the small building, dug out the skeletons of the ghost family, and reburied them somewhere else.

With Shi Fei watching, the ghosts didn't dare to do anything rash and moved to their new home obediently.

A disturbance in a small town was resolved just like that, but it took Shi Fei half a day!

After leaving the town, Shi Fei continued walking towards Qiri Mountain.

He walked very quickly, and it was already evening when he arrived at Qiri Mountain.

The Qiri Mountain is a rolling mass of mountains, with peaks and ridges stacked one upon another. From a distance, it looks like a giant dragon hovering between heaven and earth. The main peak rises high into the clouds, and the Jade Emperor Temple on the top of the peak is looming in the night, like a fairy palace suspended in the sky.

Shi Fei walked up the mountain along the winding road. The stone steps glowed with a faint silver light under the moonlight, as if they were covered with a thin layer of frost.

As we continued to climb, the mountain path became steeper and the stone steps narrower. The night wind grew stronger, carrying the mountain's moisture, making my cheeks hurt.

Looking up, the Jade Emperor Temple on the main peak was looming in the night. The outline of the temple was particularly clear under the moonlight. A few dim yellow lamps were hung between the eaves and corners, and the lights swayed in the night wind.

"Who are you?"

Just as Shi Fei was climbing the mountain, a voice came from the side of the stairs: "Why are you climbing the mountain?"

(End of this chapter)