This Liao Zhai is not right

At present, the government's gold-to-silver exchange rate is about 1:13, but as the troubled times show signs of trouble, the private exchange rate has already soared to over 1:20.

It is not uncommon for fifty taels of gold to be exchanged for one thousand taels of silver, and one dan of rice is only eight to nine cents of silver, which means that fifty taels of gold can buy one thousand two hundred and fifty dan of rice.

This translates to a total of 150,000 kilograms of rice as the base.

It is indeed a huge sum of money.

Not to mention that Chang'e was a single woman, even if a wealthy businessman in the city wanted to use this money as a betrothal gift, it would be very costly.

Mrs. Lin felt that Chang'e could not come up with the money, so once the five-day deadline was over, Chang'e would have to leave for Yangzhou after all.

If Chang'e took out fifty taels of gold, it would not be a loss. After all, although Zong Weng came from a wealthy family in Taiyuan, he was not a direct descendant of the eldest wife. It was obviously impossible for him to afford a betrothal gift of one thousand taels of gold. Even if he cut it in half or by fifty%, it would still be difficult. In the end, the most he could get would be about a hundred taels of gold.

It is certainly not a loss if you can get married in Guobei County. If you can't get married, then going to Yangzhou to find Zong Weng to marry is even more profitable.

No matter what, it is Mrs. Lin who benefits.

Looking at the pale Chang'e on the roof, Mrs. Lin smiled with a look of success: "I will not delay your secret meeting with your beloved. Remember to go back to the inn and sleep at night."

Such a commotion attracted not only the temple keeper who lived in the side hall of the City God Temple, but also many passers-by who were doing business on market days who heard the noise came over to inquire what was going on.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Mrs. Lin was certain that she would not dare to escape again.

Then he left Chang'e, who looked like she was about to cry, behind and turned back to the inn tremblingly.

A little girl wants to fight with me, an old woman?

After all, it’s still a little naive!

Su Su looked at Chang'e with some pity as she fumbled down the roof with the ladder with the help of the temple keeper, and got covered in dust.

This is the consequence of not making a good excuse.

Although the exact value of fifty taels of gold is unknown, judging from the curious passers-by outside the City God Temple and the expressions of the temple keeper who looked as if they had seen a ghost, it must be an astronomical figure.

By the way, the eldest son of the Yangzhou clan is only nearly fourteen years old, just a little kid, but he is so precocious that he wants to get married.

Su Fu couldn't help but feel sympathy for this young woman named Chang'e.

"How much money is there for offerings in the City God Temple?" Su Su glanced at the merit box placed on the right side of the altar in the City God Temple.

Judge Wen looked embarrassed and replied, "The people in Guobei County are not rich. There are only a few hundred coins in the merit box. The temple keeper uses it to buy rice and vegetables, and occasionally to buy tribute fruits, incense and candles. But life is still tight."

The priest at the City God Temple isn't having a good time either, so don't try to take their incense money.

Su Su was speechless for a moment, and his impression of Li Dingyuan became even worse. "This Guobei County City God Temple is really a bunch of poor people. The civil and military judges and the yamen runners can only work two days a month to get paid, and the temple keeper is so poor that he can hardly afford to eat. I don't know how much this insect Li Dingyuan has embezzled. Damn it!"

"Ugh......"

He sighed softly and saw Chang'e curled up in the corner where she had slept soundly last night, looking dazed. She had fallen into an autistic state and had no intention of leaving the City God Temple.

Su Su had no choice but to use the earth escape technique and head out.

"First, search everywhere for unoccupied priesthoods in Guobei County. Even if I cannot immediately replace the City God, I will have the power of incense and prayers from the City God Temple, which can only be seen but not consumed. I will adopt the strategy of surrounding the city from the countryside and get all the land priesthoods in Guobei County. Who dares to say that I, Su, am not the real City God of Guobei County?"

"Besides, let's take a look to see if we can find any unwanted gold buried deep underground. We can't let her stay in the City God Temple for too long. We need to drive her away as soon as possible so that she can rest in peace."

It is not a good idea to let a stranger live in the City God Temple. What if that ruthless guy who made Su Su feel uncomfortable just by spying in the dark yesterday mistakenly thinks that he has robbed a woman, and then jumps out to slay the demon with a sword?

That would be terrible.

Chapter 18 Robbers

We stayed outside Guobei County for half a day.

The countryside is desolate and bleak, with few people. There are only a few villages like Baishui Village that have a hundred or so households.

Moreover, most of them are close to the county seat and are under the jurisdiction of the Guobei County City God.

In addition, because Guobei County is mountainous and densely forested, Su Su wandered outside the city for most of the day, but he didn't see any ownerless land priests, let alone any villages or towns with a slightly dense population.

He had no choice but to go to Guangping Township, where the morning yamen runners and ghost soldiers reported that there was a sexy ghost stealing people's blood.

The mountain temple where the incident occurred had rotten beams and a collapsed altar. Even the statue of the mountain god had been stolen by someone unknown, leaving only a few pieces of rubble that could not be identified.

It feels eerie and scary just looking at it. I really don't know how that sexy ghost seduced passers-by to stay here last night.

"Guangping Township has slightly more households than Baishui Village. Almost all of them are young and strong people pulling boats and unloading goods along the river. There are very few farmers working in the fields. And...the reason for the concentration of population here is probably related to the Taoist temple."

Looking into the distance, there were small Taoist temples scattered in the deep and quiet forest on the other side of the river port in Guangping Township. During the half hour that Su Su stayed in front of the mountain god temple, he saw many boats crossing the Lanshui River and rowing to the Taoist temples on the other side.

The passengers left with empty hands, but came back with some talismans or magical instruments in their hands.

The mountain temple in Guangping Township is in disrepair and dilapidated. Even if there are evil spirits at work, it would be difficult to cause any trouble. This shows that this Taoist temple must be something special.

However, after Su Su encountered the old man in a straw raincoat and hat who wanted to kill the fox and steal the elixir in Baishui Village, he instinctively kept his distance from these Taoists who practiced qigong.

I will never contact you unless it is absolutely necessary.

After watching for a while, Su Su went underground and continued on his way, while paying some attention to the unwanted valuables buried underground.

However, after working hard for most of the day, apart from finding a lot of severely rusted copper coins, not a single piece of gold or silver was found.

Su Su, who didn't believe in evil, even stayed for some time near Guobei County, but unfortunately he only got a few taels of silver.

At this moment, it fully felt the poverty of Guobei County.

"It seems that there are not only a bunch of poor people in the City God Temple, but there are few wealthy places in the whole Guobei County. If there is really no other way, I can only go to the area around the county government office to beg for money." Su Su, who had nothing to gain, had to turn his attention to the county magistrate.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but make an estimate.

Although Guobei County was poor as hell, in an environment of increasing heavy taxes and levies, the ill-gotten gains accumulated by the landlords and wealthy households who hid in the city to avoid evil spirits through usury, and the corrupt funds obtained by the county magistrate and several assistant officials under a variety of names, would not be less than in the past when the world was peaceful, but would instead increase greatly.

Su Su felt no psychological burden in taking action against them.

We have to think of a way to make a big splash!

While he was thinking, he heard whispers coming from the ground.

"Do the two brothers who catch snakes in Hutian Village really have a hundred taels of gold?"

"Master Tiger, Brother Cui and I have already found out everything about this matter. We may have other valuables."

"Last year, the Hu brothers were cutting firewood in the mountains and encountered a python. Hu Da was walking in front and was swallowed by the python in one gulp. When Hu Er saw Hu Da being eaten, he was furious and picked up his axe to chop the python's head. Then he grabbed Hu Da's feet and rescued him from the python's belly. Hu Da's ears and nose were completely corroded by the acid in the python's belly. He had to seek medical treatment for a full six months before he recovered."

"Master Tiger, you said that the two Hu brothers are poor snake catchers. They can't even scrape together a few taels of silver in a whole year. How can they afford to pay the doctor for half a year's treatment? There have been rumors in Hutian Village that the two brothers killed a giant python, cut open its belly and found a lot of treasures. They are afraid that others will see it, so they say that the giant python escaped and deceive others as if they were three-year-old children."

"A few days ago, the wife of a deceased husband in Hutian Village, Wang Po, said that she saw a precious light coming out of the Hu family's house at midnight, illuminating the area of two or three meters as if it were daytime. This treasure is probably worth a fortune. If we do this, it will be enough for the three of us brothers to have food and clothing for several lifetimes."

"Okay, let's do it!"

"Get rid of this guy, be ruthless, and make sure the news doesn't leak out."

"There are about ten households in Hutian Village. We should go all out and..."

"Don't make things complicated. We are just looking for money. Why kill innocent people? The Hu brothers have a lot of money and they are ready to die. So we kill them."

"Tiger Lord is so righteous!"

Listening to the whispering on the ground, Su Su realized that he, an amateur, had actually run into a professional robber.

Hearing the sound gradually fading away, Su Su jumped out of the ground. What he saw was three big men with machetes in their hands and fierce faces walking quickly in the woods, obviously heading towards Hutian Village.

"The man is innocent but guilty of possessing a treasure. First he almost died in the python's belly, and now he is targeted by robbers. The Hu brothers are so unlucky."

He hurriedly followed the three ferocious-looking men to Hutian Village.

It was getting dark, and the three ferocious-looking men couldn't help but quicken their pace. They walked in the woods for more than half an hour, until it was completely dark. Then they slowed down, hid behind the trees with machetes in their hands, and spied on a few low wooden houses with faint lights on not far away.

"The Hu brothers live in the third house on the left when entering the village. There is a fence outside the yard."

"Master Tiger, how are we going to proceed later?"

"The villagers are reluctant to keep the oil lamps lit for too long. They will probably turn off the lights and go to sleep soon. Then they will rush into the Hu family at 11 pm, kill people first, and then search for their property."

Soon, the clouds dispersed and the moon rose.

Under the bright moonlight, the blade feels chilly.

The lights of the oil lamps in Hutian Village went out one after another. The surroundings became increasingly quiet. Faintly, in the distance, one could hear wolves howling at the moon.

"Hoohoohoo..."

Heavy breathing echoed in the woods.

A dark cloud blocked the full moon, and Hutian Village was plunged into darkness.

"It's the hour of Xu."

"Do it!"

Su Su saw three ferocious-looking men holding sharp knives, sneaking into Hutian Village in the dark, and rushing straight towards the residence of the Hu brothers with murderous intent.

"Master Tiger?"

"There is a dark shadow behind you."

"Isn't the third brother behind me?"

"Old Third is clearly beside me."

“Ahhh… there’s a ghost!”

There were strange and frightened screams in the darkness.

When the dark clouds that blocked the full moon dissipated, the bright moonlight shone again.

The three ferocious men who had been full of murderous intent before fainted with bruises all over their bodies, and the sharp blades of the machetes that were cold and killing them were twisted into a knot and thrown aside casually.

He used the earth escape technique to sink the three ferocious and unconscious men into the ground, leaving only their heads outside. Then Su Su withdrew the exorcism power in his forelimbs and looked at the purse he had torn off the men.

As expected, there were only a few dozen copper coins.

"With such little money on you, are you trying to rob people like others?" Su Su was speechless.

It looked around and suddenly found a fairly decent land temple behind the Hu brothers' house.

After walking a few steps and standing in front of the temple, there was a palm-sized statue of the land god painted with gold. It seemed that it was built by the Hu brothers. No wonder some people in Hutian Village gossiped that the Hu brothers had made a fortune.

But soon, Su Su discovered something wrong.

Chapter 19: The unexpected speed of Liao Zhai

It is true that the statue of the land god enshrined in the temple was newly built, but this land temple, which was hollowed out from a whole piece of bluestone, is quite old.

He quickly turned his eyes away and saw a new line of words quietly added to the cloth.

'The former land god of Hutian Village, Xiao Asi, was obsessed with external things, and was possessed by evil spirits. The temple was destroyed and worship was terminated, and he was removed from the list of gods. Now, Su Su, the land god of Guobei County, Jichuan Prefecture, is temporarily taking over the post of land god of Hutian Village.'

A small ball of white light emerged from the land temple and sank into Su Su's mind, causing his vision to suddenly turn upside down.

When it came to its senses, it found itself in a dusty courtyard with white walls, green tiles, carved beams and painted buildings. Its style was surprisingly no different from the land temple that was just carved out of a whole piece of bluestone.

In this small courtyard that is exactly the same as the land temple, there are more than a dozen gold ingots neatly stacked, weighing several hundred taels.

"The former Hutian Village God of Land must have dug up a gold mine in the mountains. Otherwise, where did he get so much gold?"

Su Su had almost guessed the cause of death of the former Hutian Village land god Xiao Asi. It was most likely because he was secretly mining gold in the mountains and was targeted by a snake demon, who swallowed him and the land temple into its stomach.

However, he must have persisted for quite a long time, leaving the snake demon seriously injured and on the verge of death, allowing the Hu brothers to take advantage of it.

It is for this reason that the Hu brothers solemnly rebuilt the golden statue of the former land god of Hutian Village and worshipped it.

He picked up the two gold ingots and carried them with him, then walked out of the yard. His vision became reversed again.

Looking at the land temple that was hollowed out from a whole piece of bluestone, Su Su decisively fished out the gold-painted statue of the land god inside and threw it away.

With the power to exorcise evil spirits added to its front limbs, it struggled to pick up the land temple that was larger than its body.

"I'm so embarrassed. You just dealt with a few robbers and you gave me the house and the inheritance."

Su Su hugged the land temple, performed earth escape, sank into the ground, and returned to Guobei County in less than half a quarter of an hour.

Although he did not get any money from the ownerless land priests, Su Su was overjoyed to have a house to live in and a large inheritance.

After placing the land god temple outside the main hall of the City God Temple, Su Su nodded slightly with satisfaction when he saw that the temple servants and soldiers knew to take the initiative to patrol the city and strike hard against the evil spirits that were causing trouble without him saying much.

Perhaps having received warnings from the civil and military judges, the temple keeper allowed Chang'e, dressed in a blue and white silk skirt, to continue to stay in the City God Temple and fill her stomach with the few remaining tribute fruits.

And Mrs. Lin also tacitly did not come to the City God Temple to ask for the release of Chang'e. She was probably certain that Chang'e could not afford the 50 taels of gold betrothal gift, and was waiting for her to return to the inn to admit her mistake and beg for mercy.

Su Su looked Chang'e up and down for a while. Her blue and white silk skirt, which was covered with mud, had been wiped with clean water and was much cleaner. Her eyes were slightly red with traces of tears, obviously she had cried several times again.

Thinking that Chang'e couldn't see him anyway, Su Su tiptoed up to the altar and glanced into the merit box on the right.