Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Chapter 31 No Bribery!

“Girl, this is certainly a good thing, but eating it once won’t make you gain any weight. Giving it to your father will make the most of it.”

"Leave 20%!" Zhang Jinhe wanted to leave some for Zhang Mingde.

Zhang Mingde nodded, "That works too!"

Li Zhengdian

"Second sister~ slow down a bit~" The little princess, with her short legs, chased after the little princess of Chengyang.

Because of his short legs, he couldn't catch up.

“Sizi, Sanskrit chant, slow down,” Li Lizhi called out.

"Hmmmm~"

Although I agreed, I didn't slow down at all.

Li Lizhi, who was standing next to her, was holding a book, but seemed a little distracted.

On the table in front of him was a painting of Xiao Ran's cat.

Empress Zhangsun had never met Xiao Ran and Xiao Hei, nor had she ever seen a cat, but she had a general understanding of them from the descriptions of the others and from Li Lizhi's paintings.

Whether it's Xiao Ran or the dogs and cats, they are all quite unique and easy to distinguish.

Yu Shu carried a black plastic bag and quickly entered the front hall.

Li Lizhi's face lit up when she saw the plastic bag; she knew at a glance that it belonged to Xiao Ran.

Li Lizhi put down the book she was holding and walked over.

"Your Highness, these are the items that have been returned."

Li Lizhi took the bag. "Is there any letter?"

"Your Highness, there is no letter."

Li Lizhi really wanted to receive a reply from Xiao Ran, but unfortunately, Xiao Ran returned gifts twice but did not reply.

Li Lizhi opened the plastic bag and saw tomatoes in a transparent plastic bag inside, and calcium milk biscuits and bread in another transparent plastic bag.

“Mother, the young master gave me quite a lot.”

Empress Zhangsun and Li Lizhi were unsure whether Xiao Ran still had any left, or whether he would give them to them at all.

The quantity was more than expected.

"Yes, they gave quite a lot."

Li Lizhi picked up a tomato and said, "It's a pity I don't know how to cook, otherwise my mother could try scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

Tomatoes are available, and the palace has no shortage of eggs, but they really don't know how to cook.

"There should be opportunities in the future." Empress Zhangsun also picked up a tomato.

“Sizi, come here, Sanyin.”

Upon hearing Li Lizhi's call, the two little princesses happily ran back to Li Lizhi's side.

Upon seeing a bag of tomatoes, the two little princesses' eyes lit up. "Wow!"

"It's all red~"

So many ducks~

"Sister, can we have scrambled eggs with tomatoes?" Princess Chengyang asked.

Li Lizhi shook her head, "Even the imperial chefs don't know how to make it. We'll have to wait until later!"

"I want to go too~"

Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs is a great dish to eat with rice, and my two little princesses love it.

But there's really no other way right now.

Zhang Mingde took Xiao Ran's matter very seriously, and took two young men to Xinhe Village, which was nearby.

A village is divided into 100 households, and the village head, Wang Shen, is in Xinhe Village.

"Old Village Chief, oh dear, what's the matter that requires your personal attention?"

Upon seeing Zhang Mingde, Wang Shen came out of the courtyard and helped Zhang Mingde up.

The two villages are not far apart, and it doesn't take long to walk there. The main problem is that Zhang Mingde can't handle the bumpy ride on horseback or donkey.

"Any household registration-related matters in the village need to be reported to Village Head Wang."

"Alright, alright, let's talk inside."

The village head was in charge of one hundred households, but his role was similar to that of the village head, and he was also a local.

Those who are more capable and prestigious are primarily literate. In this era, being literate already puts one ahead of the vast majority of people.

Zhang Mingde explained Xiao Ran's situation, saying that registering a household in another's place was not a big deal.

The decision-making power did not lie with Wang Shen. His role was similar to that of the village head: to review the case and, if he felt there were no problems, to report it to the county government.

Kaolao Village and Xinhe Village are adjacent to Chang'an City and belong to Wannian County.

“The taxes owed by the three siblings in the east of the village have all been paid in full.” Zhang Mingde looked at the boy who had come with him.

The boy gave the money to Wang Shen.

"Oh dear, this is no easy feat, old village head, you've gone to great lengths." Wang Shen was also happy that he could get Zhang Erya's taxes paid.

Zhang Mingde didn't mention Xiao Ran's pastries and Shu brocade, but Xiao Ran had previously said that these things couldn't be hidden, including Xiao Ran's approximate appearance.

Upon hearing about appearance and clothing, Wang Shen's expression turned sour.

“Old village chief, I’m afraid this won’t work. As you said, we don’t even know if Xiao Ran is a citizen of our Great Tang. It will be difficult to handle the matter of registering him as a citizen.”

"Even if I agree to report it to higher authorities, the county government will not allow it."

"Then there's no point in reporting it upwards."

Zhang Mingde said many kind words, but to no avail.

All the prepared guarantee documents were rejected.

Xiao Ran did not return to the pool. Instead, he stayed with the Zhang sisters and learned to weave baskets from Zhang Dalang.

I found it quite interesting.

Third Sister didn't go out either; she stayed to play with Little Black.

Actually, there are quite a few children of the same age in the village, but it seems that none of them want to play with Third Sister.

I don't know if it's because of his 'cheap father' or because of Zhang Dalang's status as a death row inmate.

Xiao Ran noticed that everyone else in the village was deliberately avoiding the three siblings.

“Young master, second wife.” Zhang Jinhe’s voice suddenly rang out.

Xiao Ran and the others stood up, and seeing Zhang Jinhe's expression, Xiao Ran guessed that things were not going well.

"Jinniang, come in," Xiao Ran called out.

Zhang Jinhe took out the guarantee documents prepared by Zhang Mingde and said, "Young master, I'm really sorry, the village head rejected it."

Xiao Ran took the guarantee and application form, saying, "It's alright, thank you for your help, Jinniang and the village head."

“Young master, your grandfather has said many kind words and done everything he could. You can try again. The village head’s house is not far from here, and I know where it is.”

Zhang Dalang had accompanied Zhang Mingde there before.

"Yeah, I'll go."

Zhang Jinhe said, "The main issue is the young man's attire and appearance. The village headman felt he didn't resemble someone from the Tang Dynasty, and even if he reported this truthfully to the county authorities, it would likely not be approved."

In fact, this kind of problem can be big or small; it's just a matter of preconceived notions.

"Jinniang, don't worry, no matter what, I have to thank you. I will make up the money as soon as possible."

After Zhang Jinhe left, Zhang Dalang and Zhang Erya looked worried.

For Xiao Ran's sake, and also for the sake of this family.

Without Xiao Ran, this family would have a very difficult time.

"Young master, what should we do?" Zhang Dalang felt even more distressed thinking about how he had already paid the money but the deal had fallen through.

"It's not a big problem, we can go later." Xiao Ran hadn't thought about it before, but when he first saw Zhang Jinhe carrying the straight-shafted plow, he had an idea.

The method for improving the straight-shaft plow will surely impress the village head.

"Young master, should we take something with us?" Zhang Erya whispered.

Xiao Ran understood that this was an attempt to bribe the village head.

"No, that would be counterproductive." Since we are now in the Zhenguan era, doing this would be like blocking our own path.

Li Shimin valued good governance and strictly investigated corruption.

According to the "Essentials of Governance in the Zhenguan Era", in the early years of the Zhenguan era, "officials were mostly honest and cautious, and they controlled the families of princes, princesses, and powerful clans. They all feared his power and kept their distance, and no one dared to bully or deceive ordinary people."

If Xiao Ran brings a gift, the village head will definitely kick him out.

If the village head dares to accept gifts, his good days are over, and so is Xiao Ran's.

According to the sentencing standards in the Tang Code, if a bribe is accepted but the crime is not committed, the punishment is 90 strokes of the cane for every foot of stolen goods, one more degree of punishment for every two bolts of silk, and exile for every 30 bolts of silk.

(End of this chapter)