Don't worry about traveling through time, she has an all-powerful senior sister to help her

"You're so smart! You little girl, you're trying to compete with your sister." Mrs. Hu scratched her little nose and laughed at her.

Shen Lingzhu raised his head and sighed, "Forget it. I won't compete with those who are better at studying. I'll go get a few more planks and try to have our bellows 90% finished by the time uncle comes back."

She looked at the people working in the courtyard on the right, and saw that Uncle Jiu had picked up the saw and started working again.

"Uncle Jiu, the flying wood chips are not good for your wound." She ran over quickly. Mrs. Hu was so happy seeing this. The little girl never knew how to worry and was happy every day.

The master and his son are probably in a difficult situation at this moment.

She guessed correctly. Shen Huai arrived at the pass from the county town at night yesterday evening.

He arrived at Chang's house at daybreak the next day. If the two yamen runners had not been unable to bear it and asked to rest for an hour or two on the way, the two donkeys he and Xia Xing were riding would have been almost exhausted to death.

It was also thanks to Shen Xianzhu that he brought him some clothes, otherwise he would have been covered in dew and looked disheveled, and would not have been able to keep vigil in the mourning hall after paying homage to his fourth grandfather.

Just after Shen Huai simply washed and changed his clothes, before he had time to drink the hot water, several elders of the Chang family arrived.

They kept talking about how good Fourth Uncle was to Shen Huai's father. Now that he passed away at the age of nearly eighty, it was considered a happy funeral and the old man should not be let down.

Therefore, they chose a coffin made of thick material and fine quality. They selected a cypress one in the county town the day before yesterday.

"How much does it cost?" Shen Xianzhu asked on behalf of his father.

An elder said, "It's not expensive, only fifty taels."

Shen Huai said coldly, "That's all? I remember my father bought 50 mu of land specifically for Fourth Grandpa's retirement. Has he used any grain to buy funeral supplies now?"

"My fourth uncle donated the land to the clan for the children to study, and there are accounts to check it." Another elder of the clan said.

Shen Huai nodded: "Bring it here for me to see."

Several elders of the Chang family were stunned. He still wanted to check the accounts?

Someone quick-wittedly reacted and said, "Fourth Uncle has been feeling unwell since the beginning of the summer harvest.

During the time he has been ill, a lot of money has been spent but has not yet been credited to the account.

Furthermore, the county has asked us to pay the full amount of taxes starting this year, so we haven't made a precise estimate yet."

"Yes, yes, yes." The others quickly echoed.

Shen Xianzhu curled his lips and told them that since the beginning of the dynasty, people over the age of sixty have been exempted from land and labor service, and people over the age of seventy in Shuntian Prefecture, Northern Zhili, can receive cloth and meat as rewards from the court every New Year.

Before that, the land was under the name of my fourth great-uncle, and the village register must have remembered it clearly.

After hearing this, several people couldn't help but wipe the sweat from their heads, exchanged glances with each other, and changed the subject to ask Shen Huai: "The burial clothes have been put on, what kind of coffin materials should be chosen next?"

"Later today, the funeral shop in the county will deliver all the necessary items." Shen Huai not only asked the county magistrate for permission to leave Shenquanji, he also ordered a lot of things in the county, otherwise he would not have met Shen Songzhu.

He paused to listen to their flattering words, such as "very good, very good" and "Wu Huai is thoughtful", before he slowly said, "As for the Buddhist rituals..."

“We invited the Taoist priest from Ciyun Cave in the suburbs of the county, and the monks from Foguang Temple.

Normally, they are also very difficult to hire.” The elders, fearing that he would deny it again, took the initiative to say, “We asked someone to spend more money to get a number.”

The total cost was forty taels of silver."

If Shen Lingzhu were here, he would definitely jump up and ask: So it's not you who are spending your own money, but you are charging too much for everything.

But Shen Huai didn't say anything, he just tapped the table with two fingers. The sound of "thump...thump...thump" seemed to knock on their hearts, and it hurt.

Soon, the only sounds in the room were the knocking sounds and the heavier breathing of the elders.

Outside the door, Xia Xing, holding the tea, took another step back. He didn't dare to go in at this time.

It was the same clever man who broke the silence and said again, "Since Fourth Uncle's land, house, and other belongings have been donated to the clan, the clan will pay..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Shen Huai standing up and looking outside the door, and saw an old man being urged into the yard by his juniors.

Shen Huai led his son to greet him quickly and said, "Uncle Xin."

"You are so distant with me. Why didn't you come home when you arrived at the county town yesterday? Let's come back together.

Alas, I just brought home a batch of aged vinegar from Shanxi, and I just found out..." Chang Xin held his arm, "Let's go and keep vigil."

All miscellaneous matters will be handled by designated personnel. We are filial sons and will not interfere."

Shen Xianzhu frowned beside him. Who would be in charge if no money was paid?

What if they let the Chang family do everything and report a bill of two or three hundred taels afterwards? He now knows too well that people cannot stand the test.

Moreover, it has been half a month since I returned to the village, and no one from the Chang family came to ask about me because we are not closely related by blood. But what about your family?

When grandpa was alive, you would bring your grandson to visit him every now and then, and recount the difficulties of making a living. Every time you left, you would take away a lot of mountain products given by grandpa, including things given to him by your father.

By the way, you also got a business card from your father, and used it to undertake the business of supplying vinegar to the county school, county government and various gentry households.

He thought about what his sisters would do, and then said, "Grandfather, my grandfather bought the land for my fourth uncle to provide for his retirement and to provide for his safety after his death.

Were you present when he gifted the houses and lands to the elders?"

The elders were caught off guard by his question and immediately explained:

"Yes, yes. When Fourth Uncle first went to the city to invite a doctor, he told Brother Xin about it."

"The documents and other things should be written by the village head."

"Talk about it one by one." Chang Xin started as an apprentice at the age of ten, so how could he not notice that his cousin was not as friendly as before.

He let go of Shen Huai and said that if they had anything to say, they should go inside and talk. After waving away the younger generations who came to see him off, he hinted to Shen Xianzhu to leave.

Shen Huai only said: "Xian Zhu, bring the things I asked you to bring."

"Yes, Dad." Shen Xianzhu took out a piece of yellow paper from his bag.

Talisman paper? The Chang family was puzzled at first, but then they saw clearly what was drawn on it, and then heard Shen Huai say, "This, someone drew it on my Jinshi memorial archway.

You should know that the memorial archway is a favor bestowed by the imperial court on those who passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi.

What kind of behavior is it to stick or draw graffiti on it, and even draw talismans with cinnabar?

If someone outside of me catches me, I’ll say it’s witchcraft…”

"Bang!" Chang Xin slammed the table, "Who did this, and what did you draw?

Was this the cause of the Wuhuai incident? What is he trying to do? To bring disaster to the Nine Clans."

He glanced fiercely at several clansmen who were trembling a little. If his cousin fell into trouble, his own business would be affected the most.

Unfortunately, the useless son and daughter-in-law did not know how to protect their relatives. Instead, they neglected the main purpose and went to the county clerk to give gifts in order to secure business for the next six months.

Before his granddaughter-in-law could see clearly, Chang Xin reached out to grab the clansman beside him, and that person slid to his knees and said, "I have no ill intentions, no ill intentions. This is a lucky charm drawn by an expert for Fourth Uncle."

We just hope he lives a long life."

As long as the elderly are there, Shen Huai will always protect the Chang family. Not only can they pay less taxes, but they can also always get a bargain when buying land.

"Yes, yes!" The other people also felt weak in the knees. Compared with other farmers in the countryside, after being protected by Shen Huai, they gradually became rich and had more free time. They also went to the city to watch plays and listen to books. They knew that witchcraft would result in imprisonment.

"When we painted it, it was already after the Dragon Boat Festival, after the incident in Wuhuai."

"As soon as we found out about the house raid, we went to scrape it off overnight, but we couldn't scrape off much."

"Wuhuai, Wuhuai, say something..."

"Cinnabar, I have asked the Taoist priests of Qixing Temple to remove it." After Shen Huai finished speaking, the few people finally stopped crying.

And he was very honest in everything he did afterwards, and used all the income from the fifty acres of land for the funeral.

Shen Lingzhu, who was busy sawing wooden boards, had no chance to see the majesty of his uncle who easily controlled the overall situation.

So much so that two or three days later, when she saw several cars bringing her uncle back, she was a little dazed.