Even in a famine, there's no panic; the eldest sister has stockpiled plenty of money and grain.

The village head also harbored some complaints.

If Jiang Bai hadn't taken a son-in-law as his wife, this wouldn't have happened during the grain harvest.

Even the tobacco in the chieftain's mouth didn't smell good anymore.

The clan chief casually tossed his pipe aside and sighed, "Anhe."

"Uncle, please speak, I'm listening."

The village head bowed his head.

“Our Jiangjia Village has been established for nearly a hundred years. Among the surrounding villages, the Jiang clan is the most united. Do you know why?”

Li Zheng's expression changed slightly, and he said with a hint of shame, "It's precisely because we would never do anything to exchange our people for personal gain."

"well said."

"Bai Yatou has been added to the family genealogy; she is from our Jiangjia Village."

“If even the person in charge can be replaced, then the people of Jiangjia Village will fall apart. When the people of a clan fall apart, it is not far from ruin.”

The clan chief spoke earnestly, and the village head felt even more guilty.

"Uncle, I know I was wrong. I'll have someone prepare food right away."

"After the grain is delivered, let everyone go up the mountain again to look around and see if they can find anything to eat."

"Go!"

The clan chief was also troubled, frowning for a long time without finding a solution. As he thought about it, he felt a surge of anger.

These parasites do nothing but waste their time.

Jiang Bai and the others waited outside. When they saw the village head come out, they went up to him.

"Uncle Village Head."

"White girl?"

"Why aren't you at home preparing food? What are you doing here?"

The village headman sternly reprimanded her, saying, "Don't cause any trouble when you arrive at the county office to weigh the grain if you haven't prepared enough. Go back and prepare quickly."

His scolding actually eased Jiang Bai's anxiety, and she laughed, "I'll go, I'll go. I just need to talk to Grandpa about something. I'll go back after I'm done."

After seeing the village head off, Jiang Bai went to the clan chief's house.

The clan chief was already troubled, and when he saw her, he felt a headache coming on and gave her a cold look.

"What are you doing here?"

Jiang Bai grinned and stepped forward, saying, "Grandpa, do you know why that grain collector is targeting us?"

The clan leader's heart skipped a beat.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by targeting me?"

“I’ve already inquired about it. The average scores of the neighboring villages are all lower than those of our Jiangjia Village. Isn’t this targeting us?”

It's all because of you.

The clan chief glared at her but didn't say anything. He just waved her away, telling her to hurry home and prepare food.

"Grandpa, we can't refuse when the officials come to collect the grain. But I heard that half of the grain has to be handed over to the Ever-Normal Granary in Yingzhou, is that right?"

The clan chief was slightly taken aback. Everyone knew about the Ever-Normal Granary, but they were unaware of the transfer of grain tax to it.

“The county magistrate also has performance evaluations. If the grain tax is paid in full, it is also part of his achievement. But what if the grain tax is lost?”

That magistrate is in big trouble.

The clan leader thought to himself, but soon he realized what was going on.

What does this girl mean by saying this at this time?

"Grandpa, the bold get rich, the timid starve. Without food, we'll all be like those disaster victims outside the village, and might even have to leave our homes to beg for food."

"Since that's the case, why don't we all go for the big one?"

Jiang Bai smiled, but his gaze turned slightly cold.

Isn't this a case of collusion between officials and businessmen? Aren't they big shots in the capital? I just don't know if they can handle this huge undertaking she's taken on.

"You...you...do you know what you're saying?"

The clan chief's voice was trembling.

How come he never noticed how audacious this girl was before?

"Hey, look at what you're saying. These are clearly starving refugees from Luzhou who are looting food. What does it have to do with us?"

Jiang Bai made his suggestion and then went home to prepare food.

The clan chief was left terrified and summoned the village head and other elders back for a meeting.

These old guys have long lost their fighting spirit, but what happened in Luzhou served as a wake-up call for them.

It hadn't rained since the end of the autumn harvest. If it didn't rain all winter, life would be even harder, and it would even delay next year's spring planting.

After a few discussion, the old men figured that with the disaster victims from Louisiana leading the way, this might actually work out.

These thoughts were never shared with the villagers, so when everyone handed over their grain, they all looked indignant.

A family of several people carried grain to the square.

"Are you all ready?"

The grain collector had a sharp eye; he could estimate the amount at a glance.

Even though the villagers had brought the grain as requested, his expression was still not good.

"Everything is ready. Just give the word, sir, and we can set off immediately."

The grain collector glanced at Jiang Bai with a subtle look in his eyes, feeling a slight anger in his heart, but he did not show it on his face.

"Let's go then!"

After saying that, he got on the oxcart and walked ahead.

The villagers carried their grain on their shoulders and walked towards the county town.

They really suffered a lot along the way.

Fifteen li is not far, but it's not close either. It's not easy for one person to carry a hundred or two hundred jin of grain.

Jiang Bai was a bit smarter than these people. When she transported grain, she used a handcart to push it. Ji Yanwen walked with her at the back of the group, ignoring the occasional, seemingly unintentional glances from the grain collector.

"Will your plan work?"

Jiang Bai's gaze swept over the few scattered disaster victims following behind him, his expression somewhat solemn.

Robbing government grain could easily lead to being caught, which would be considered treason.

"Don't worry, there's a mountain pass between Nan'an County and Yingzhou, perfect for an ambush."

"Didn't you see how hungry those disaster victims are? As soon as they hear this news, they'll definitely head there."

"Are the officers and soldiers stupid? There are so many disaster victims gathered there, don't they know how to take precautions?"

"Ha, you think too highly of them."

Ji Yanwen gave a mocking smile.

"Don't worry, leave the instigation of the disaster victims to me. You just need to persuade the clan chief and the others to take advantage of the chaos to seize grain."

Ji Yanwen was full of confidence.

Jiang Bai nodded and said no more.

In this situation, the grain that was seized did not go through the official channels and did not need to be handed over to the clan granary, but since everyone in the clan was involved, they knew where the grain came from, so naturally they were not envious.

They could even take this opportunity to mix in the hoarded grain, and if anyone became suspicious, they could blame it on the stolen grain.

That's quite a clever scheme.

The grain collectors dared not be too obvious about their actions regarding Jiangjia Village.

The other villages also heard that Jiangjia Village had a bumper harvest this year, so they paid more grain tax than them. Some even gloated when they heard that Jiangjia Village hadn't received as much grain, yet still had to pay more grain tax.

Once the grain delivery was completed, the grain collection official went to report to the county magistrate.

As evening fell, the county magistrate went to the Chen residence again and had a private conversation with Master Chen for a while.

After seeing the magistrate off, Chen Yuanwai's face was gloomy as he got up and walked towards the front yard.

Langya Academy.

Two stern-faced guards stood at the gate. The sounds of string and wind instruments filled the courtyard, occasionally punctuated by the soft laughter of a woman. But soon, the laughter turned into screams of agony, and two servants carried a corpse out of the courtyard.

Master Chen was used to it; this was the third one this month.

"Young master, please send word that Master Chen is invited inside!"

A guard listened intently and then stepped aside to let Master Chen in.