Traveling through time and space to meet a replacement bride? But I’m a man!

Taking advantage of the time in the afternoon, Xu Wenyan took people to the field to cover the soil with sand.

The watermelon in the bamboo tube has already sprouted slightly and can be planted in the field in a few days.

"Xu Wenyan!" Chen Xingjie shouted at the top of his voice on the roadside in the village, as if there was something urgent.

"What's wrong, Brother Xingjie." Xu Wenyan straightened his straw hat and supported himself with the hoe.

Chen Xingjie was panting on the spot, and after a while he said, "Er Yazi and the others ran away with the Lu family."

"Just let them run away. Did they do anything while running?" For Xu Wenyan, it would be good for the village if these people ran away.

Several of them had killed people and robbed people during the war, and they were afraid that something might happen if they stayed in the village.

"It doesn't matter if they run away, but today someone from the county came to me and said that they ran away from the place where they served and stole a lot of hoes and manuscripts, as well as five taels of silver from the military leader.

Xu Wenyan frowned: "The county won't ask us villagers to pay for it, will it?"

Chen Xingjie nodded slowly.

"Damn, isn't this crazy?" Why are you going to look for whoever ran away? What does it have to do with the people in the village?

But this has already happened, and Xu Wenyan can also say that if we don't compensate them, what can they do to us?

This was in ancient times. If a village was not well managed, all the young and middle-aged men would be drafted into service. This is also the reason why the villages were united.

If something goes wrong outside, the whole village will suffer.

The commotion here attracted Chen Sanlin and the others to come over as well.

After Xu Wenyan calmed down, he asked, "What's the result? How do we compensate?"

"The county magistrate forgave them for the things they stole and only charged each person a ransom, eight taels in total for the four of them."

The so-called ransom was to cross out their names from the imperial register. The matter would then be handled by higher-ups, and the county magistrate would be unable to help.

The current ending is the best.

"We should have beaten them to death at the beginning!" Zhou Jianye frowned. These rats that harmed the village were always beaten to death with sticks before.

The faces of the few people who knew about this incident were very unhappy.

Xu Wenyan hasn't paid Zhou Jianye and Xiaoman yet. He has more than nine taels of silver on him, and two taels are enough for their wages.

"Forget it, what happened has happened, don't let me meet them again in the future." Xu Wenyan bit the nail of his right thumb, thought for a while and said: "Huzi, second uncle, go and inform the villagers that the village chief has something important to say tonight."

"Well, Brother Xu, let's go now."

Although Xu Wenyan could afford this matter, he didn't want to be the scapegoat for no reason.

But the villagers still owe him money. There are more than 700 people in the village now, and each person needs to pay more than ten cents. This amount of money is neither too much nor too little.

Everyone is tightening their belts now, and their pockets are cleaner than marble.

..........

Xiaoman and a few others were driving back in a carriage when they heard the noisy sound coming from the ancestral hall from a distance. This situation must mean that something big has happened.

"Xiaoman, let's go to the ancestral hall and take a look." Wang Cuijuan was also a little nervous, and Rong Xiaoliu also curiously stretched his neck to look in the direction of the ancestral hall.

"Okay! Be quiet!" Chen Xingjie shouted, and the noisy crowd instantly quieted down.

Being able to hold a meeting in the ancestral hall is either a very good thing or a very bad thing.

"This year, four people who served in our village ran away, and now the county is holding them accountable..." After briefly explaining the matter to the villagers.

The scene suddenly exploded like a boiling pot.

"Village Chief, why do we have to pay together?"

"Who has money now? I can't even spare a penny."

Not only was there no way to squeeze it out, but the whole village was counting on the potato harvest to repay Xu Wenyan's debt.

"Even if we wanted to take it, we couldn't."

There was a lot of complaints at the scene, but everyone would be angry at this time, so it would be good to let them vent.

"Alright! You won't give it to us? You won't let our village go to serve together!" Chen Xingjie roared: "Those who have money at home will be given as much as they have. For those who don't have money, I will think of a way."

"Isn't Brother Xu's family doing business? He goes to the county every day, so he must make a lot of money." said a young man in the crowd.

"Yes! The Chen family's business can sell a bowl of noodles for more than 20 cents!" With the young people taking the lead, several aunts also raised their voices to instigate.

"Oh my god! Twenty cents!"

"Yes, the Chen family is rich. Can we ask them to help the village? We will repay them in the future."

There was a commotion at the entrance of the ancestral hall again. Xu Wenyan remembered all the people who had instigated the incident just now. They would regret it in the future.

"Quiet! Why should Xu Wenyan give you the money he earns? You grown men are incompetent and have to beg other men to take care of your family. Is that decent?" Chen Xingjie pointed at the villagers below with the book in his hand.

Xu Wenyan stood by and watched with his arms folded, then he sighed softly.

The reason why people are human is probably because their emotions are too complicated. Xu Wenyan was also wondering whether these people were worthy of his hard work to boost the village's economy.

After the potato flour business was successfully negotiated, not only would the roads be wider and the fields more plentiful, but everyone would also be able to have enough food and warm clothing. I originally thought that with the departure of several of the village's top people, the village would become much more harmonious.

Xu Wenyan still underestimated the evil of human nature.

After a burst of noise.

It's almost time for the crowd to disperse.

Xu Wenyan walked over to Chen Xingjie, fanning himself with his straw hat: "How is it?"

"Alas, there are more than 700 people in the village, but we only collected more than 500 coins." You should know that the village owes a total of 8 taels, which means an average of 10 coins per person.

This difference is really too big.

Xu Wenyan was also worried. He wished this had happened later. He wouldn't need so much labor now, and his family only had so much money.

But if the money is not paid, all the able-bodied men in the village might be drafted into service.

"How about this, Brother Xingjie, my family still has more than one acre of wasteland that has not been opened. Tomorrow, each household will send a strong man to come to my house to see me. I plan to build another house. I will make up the money after that, but this house must be built." Xu Wenyan paused, as if he felt something was wrong: "The day after tomorrow, let's talk about it the day after tomorrow."

From then on, no matter what he did, he needed a bigger house. The potato flour business was like an assembly line. If all the workers were crowded into his house to work, that would be embarrassing.

Chen Xingjie patted Xu Wenyan: "Alas, it's my fault that I, the village chief, am incompetent."

"It's nothing, I didn't lose anything, but I can't give the money so readily." These people are really not in a hurry unless the incident happens to them.

Then Xu Wenyan would make them anxious.

A whistle sounded, and Xu Wenyan then noticed Xiaoman and the others in the distance.

He briefly explained the situation to Xiaoman and the others. The business could not be done tomorrow. Xu Wenyan had to go to the county and this time he had to take Chen Sanlin with him.

As the saying goes, misfortune favors the unfortunate.