Divorced woman with child travels through time

Brother Nie nudged Sister-in-law Nie with his elbow. Sister-in-law Nie reluctantly moved away, secretly rolling her eyes behind her back. You scoundrel, I'll get you sooner or later.

Brother Nie opened the door, bowed, and said, "Sir, please..."

Yang Shouzhen then put away his knife with satisfaction, followed by four ruffians, and walked into the courtyard.

Brother Nie instructed Chahua to bring tea, but Yang Shouzhen ignored him, picked up the cup, and drank it all in one gulp, saying, "I don't like this tasteless stuff, make me some more tea."

Brother Nie's facial muscles twitched. "Sir, these days everyone brews light tea. We're out of tea powder at the estate. Would you mind brewing it stronger for me?"

"Go quickly, your mouth is so bland, get some more wine and food." Yang Shouzhen demanded as if it were his due. Aunt Liu and Sister-in-law Nie looked unhappy, but Brother Nie kept giving them meaningful glances. Seeing this, Aunt Hu took the initiative to get two plates of meat and a pot of turbid wine, and tried to explain, "I'm sorry, sir, we don't have any good wine in the countryside, please don't be offended."

Seeing that she had lowered her posture so much, Yang Shouzhen nodded in satisfaction, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the meat. "Huh!" It tasted surprisingly good, though a little salty.

"Get me a bowl of rice," he asked again. Sister-in-law Nie rolled her eyes so hard they almost flew to the sky. This scoundrel was truly shameless. Aunt Liu, too, remained motionless.

It was Aunt Hu again, who brought over a few steamed buns and said, "Please calm down, sir. It's not lunchtime yet, and there's no time to cook rice. Why don't you try these steamed buns? They're very delicious."

Yang Shouzhen was satisfied with her attitude, and reluctantly picked up a steamed bun to try it. Surprisingly, it was indeed good. He finished one in a few bites, and Aunt Hu brought out another plate of steamed buns, a plate of braised pork, a plate of stir-fried pork, about ten steamed buns, and two jugs of turbid wine. Yang Shouzhen finished it all in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, while several soldiers next to him watched with their mouths watering.

Yang Shouzhen glanced at his underlings beside him, about to say something, when Sister-in-law Nie's heart was in her throat. If the four people inside ate, wouldn't the hundred or so people outside also have to eat? How could they possibly feed them all?

Just then, a "whoosh" came from outside, and Wang Erniu returned, followed by Chu Yi.

"Greetings, Lord Yang..." Wang Erniu bowed.

"So you are Wang Erniu? Master Qian said you owe five thousand taels of tax and sent me to collect it." Yang Shouzhen was quite satisfied with Wang Erniu's burly physique. He had heard that Wang Erniu was strong enough to lift a cauldron and kill a wild boar with his bare hands. It would be good to recruit him. Moreover, the cook on the estate was quite skilled. It would be great to take one of them with him.

Wang Erniu felt bitter inside, but his face remained expressionless. These corrupt officials could decide how much he owed as Qian asked; what could he do? "If Qian says he owes five thousand taels, then he owes five thousand taels."

"Hmm~" Yang Shouzhen was very satisfied. "Then pay up. I'll give you face and not resort to violence."

"Thank you, sir!" Wang Erniu bowed and thanked him with a sense of unease, then took out five silver notes worth one thousand taels from his sleeve and presented them with both hands.

“Not bad.” Yang Shouzhen slowly took the silver note and put it in his pocket. “I think you are a promising talent. I wonder if you would be interested in serving me? I will certainly not treat you unfairly.”

"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I will discuss it with my wife tonight and then report back to you," Wang Erniu explained, feigning difficulty.

"How can you, a grown man, listen to such womanly opinions? Even if this Madam Chen is capable, she's still a widow marrying you. You're already incredibly lucky to have married her," Yang Shouzhen said, forbidding any further argument. Chu Yi, watching from the side, gritted his teeth in fury. "You corrupt official! How dare you insult my godmother! I'll kill you later!"

"Please forgive me, sir. My wife has shared joys and sorrows with me all this time, so it's only natural that I should ask her about it," Wang Erniu explained repeatedly.

"Alright, think it over before you speak." Having received the money, Yang Shouzhen immediately left with his men.

Upon seeing this, Chu Yi said, "Uncle, I'm going back to town to help out."

Wang Erniu nodded.

On the first day of the lunar new year, he rode off on horseback and quickly caught up with Yang Shouzhen.

"Master, why did you give him the silver? This scoundrel is obviously talking nonsense," Uncle Liu Hai said indignantly.

"Can we not give it to him? He brought so many people with him. If things don't go his way, everyone in our village will die here. We have no choice but to bow our heads when we're under someone else's roof." Wang Erniu said somewhat dejectedly.

As they were talking, Wang Xiaoguang and his brother came over. They were furious to learn that they had already given five thousand taels of silver to send the man away.

Wang Erniu reassured everyone, "Don't panic, everyone. We are outnumbered and weak right now, so we can only bow our heads for now and fight back when we have the strength to do so in the future."

Everyone sighed in agreement; it was indeed true.

Now, Chu Yi's kung fu skills, which he had learned from Wang Hanyang, were indeed quite good. He followed Yang Shouzhen all the way without being discovered. He saw that Yang Shouzhen had stationed troops and led his men to the county government office. Then he split the tax money with Qian Zheng. He took two thousand and Qian Zheng got three thousand. Chu Yi saw all of this and was furious. He was still angry when he returned to Chen Ji's place.

Chen Wenfang already knew, and advised him, "Chuyi, there's nothing we can do about this. The common people can't fight against the officials, and besides, they can't win anyway." While advising Chuyi, Chen Wenfang practiced her skills even more fiercely.

Chu Yi pursed his lips and said nothing. The army passed through the town, and all the people saw it; who would dare to resist?

The next day, rumors spread throughout the streets that the county government had posted notices, specifically stating that Chen's family and several large merchants had already paid their back taxes, and that other ordinary people and small businesses were required to pay within three days. This tactic was utterly shameless.

So at noon, as soon as Chen's shop opened, it was blocked by villagers who cursed at the door.

"How can you be the first to pay taxes? Didn't we agree to resist together and not pay?"

"That's right, they don't keep their word."

"Who are you? If you have money, pay all of ours too!"

"You're all lackeys of the government, trying to trick us into paying taxes together!" One of the older women became increasingly agitated, waving her hands and cursing.

Before Chen Wenfang could speak, Chu Yi and Dazhuang shouted, "Shut up!"

"stop!"

"Do you think we want to hand it over? A hundred or so government officials with knives are coming to the manor. If we don't hand it over, they'll attack us. What can we do? If it were you, could you beat them?" Chu Yi shouted.

The area below fell silent instantly, recalling the menacing aura of the army entering the town.

After a long while, people gradually dispersed, but Chen's business plummeted, and the shop became deserted.

That evening, Chen Wenfang and Wang Erniu were discussing how to deal with the situation when Chu Yi took a hidden arrow and a small crossbow and quietly climbed into the county government office.

Qian Zheng was happily counting the silver notes. Indeed, a good official has been supporting the people for three years! The villagers of Lijia Town are quite wealthy now. In just two days, they've already received 50,000 taels of silver. The method of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey" is still relevant...