"No problem."
Jian Sheng put down a ball and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Then, he continued with his inspection.
"That's not a problem either."
He announced loudly every minute or two. After about ten minutes, his voice gradually became a monotonous, repetitive cadence. The farmers did not want to waste their time, so they had already returned to their fields. They listened to Jian Sheng's announcement while they continued to farm.
Lin Sanjiu and Ji Shanqing were the most worried about Jian Sheng.
"Silvan's position doesn't just mean that he has the most leisure time," the grand prize whispered into her ear. "His position means that he has the highest authority among us. He also has the 64 balls that we saved over the past few days."
Lin Sanjiu jerked her head around and shot him a glance.
"Yes, the person who took over Silvan's position will naturally be in charge of the food we saved over the past few days …" Ji Shanqing showed a rare anxious expression, "If someone else takes over the 64 balls …"
He didn't need to finish his sentence.
If Lin Sanjiu was in his position, she wouldn't be tempted by the 64 balls and eat a few of them secretly. After all, those were all taxed food balls. There was no problem with who ate them and how much they ate.
"Sis, when you imagine yourself doing bad things, you also have the guilty conscience of a good person."
Unexpectedly, when the grand prize heard what she said, he let out a rare chuckle. However, very quickly, his expression darkened again. "The new person doesn't need to eat secretly. Three balls a day is the rule that Silvan set for himself. It's ridiculous to say that he violated his own rule. If he wants to eat more, he just needs to change his rule … The new person will definitely do that. Even if the inspector gives himself 10 balls a day, what can the others do? "
Nüyue's farm was the closest to them. She seemed to have heard something and turned around several times. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Um … I'm quite worried. Do you guys think that Jian Sheng will tell the truth?"
Ji Shanqing looked at Nüyue. He seemed to be a little worried. In this room, the people he could trust seemed to be becoming less and less trustworthy by the day. However, Lin Sanjiu couldn't bear to see her being left out, so she answered, "Actually … I was a little surprised that he was willing to tell me that there were no problems after checking five to six balls in a row."
She was always willing to think the best of people, but in this case the worst was playing over and over in her mind.
"Maybe we've misunderstood him." Nü Yue was a little uneasy as well. Coincidentally, Jiansheng reported, "No problem."
Ji Shanqing snorted through his nose.
Lin Sanjiu plowed a couple of times. She felt anxious and asked, "You think it's impossible?"
"The power and benefits that Silvan represents are the closest to alienating Sheng Sheng. He is only one step away. Very few people can resist the temptation of fruits that are easily obtainable. " At this point, Ji Shanqing shook his head. "No, I should say that only the second in power can replace the first."
Seeing that the two of them were deep in thought, he added, "I don't know if he hasn't realized it yet, or if he has other plans. However, he is the only one who can take the position of inspector … Once Jiansheng takes the position, his power will be absolute, and it can't be subverted. By then, we will be in a hopeless situation. It's almost impossible for us to leave the game. "
'Right, they have to find a way to leave the game …' Lin Sanjiu thought to herself as she massaged her temples. It was impossible to predict what would happen in the next hour. Leaving the game felt like a dream that was so far away.
"That's ridiculous," Nü Yue's face turned pale when she heard that. "A tax collector who is also an inspector is supervising himself? I won't vote for that! "
"Then, all your output will not be taxed." Ji Shanqing's short sentence rendered Nü Yue speechless.
It was ridiculous. If Jiansheng did that, it would be called abusing his position for personal gain … However, Jiansheng probably wouldn't be held accountable for his actions, right?
Why?
As soon as she thought of this, she subconsciously cut off her own thoughts, like a conditioned reflex.
"Based on what you said, he definitely wants to replace Silvan … Do we have no other cards to play?" She looked at the fields and thought for a while. Suddenly, an idea came to her, "If we, the farmers, work together and stop working …"
"He will have 64 food balls," Ji Shanqing said softly, "He will definitely last longer than us."
"Then, we might as well fight him directly," Nü Yue said anxiously, "If we work together, we can definitely defeat him."
Ji Shanqing didn't know what Nü Yue's words reminded him, but he froze for a moment. As if a gust of wind had blown away the anxious and tired expression on his face, it was replaced by a sense of urgency and vigilance. He stood up abruptly, turned around and shouted in Silvan's direction, "Silvan!"
Silvan, who had lost too much energy and could only rest in the corner, turned his head slightly when he heard Ji Shanqing's voice.
Jiansheng started his inspection from the food ball beside him and slowly moved forward. Coincidentally, his back was facing Silvan. When he heard Ji Shanqing's voice, he raised his head to look at the other side of the room and hastened his inspection.
"You have to keep an eye on him, step by step!" Ji Shanqing was so anxious that a faint sheen appeared on his forehead. He shouted, "He checked the food ball just now. We have to see if there are any fewer food balls."
"What do you mean?" Jiansheng couldn't ignore Lin Sanjiu anymore, so he asked with a dark face.
Realization dawned on Lin Sanjiu. She jumped up immediately.
If Jiansheng had said that there was something wrong with the food ball and that someone had eaten it, then everyone's attention would have been drawn to the food ball. Even though he had framed Silvan, he didn't gain anything from it. Not only that, he had to face a fierce battle.
On the other hand, if Jiansheng kept saying that there was nothing wrong with the food ball and repeated it a few times, everyone would gradually relax and go about their own business. Jiansheng, who was inspecting the food ball alone, could easily eat a little bit of the food ball at the right time. Once he had recovered enough energy, he could then accuse Silvan of eating it. By then, even if Silvan wanted to protest or they wanted to fight, who would be able to defeat Jiansheng?
"I know. I know what you guys are up to," Jiansheng was so angry that his face was trembling. He stood in the middle of the food balls and said, "Ji Shanqing, you have crossed the line. You said that the food ball I checked had become smaller. How could you come up with something like that? "
"What? What happened?" Lu Hua asked with a trembling voice, "Who ate it?"
"It seems like he is the only one who did it," Jiansheng pointed at the golden-haired man in the corner and sneered, "You want to blame me for the shrunken food ball? Let me tell you what is going on. I have checked all the food balls, and there is nothing wrong with them. Obviously, Silvan only ate a small portion of the food balls, and I have not come across any food balls that have been touched. "
He looked at Lu Hua and Haust and raised his voice, "They know that I will find out sooner or later that some of the food balls have been tampered with, so they came up with this excuse to blame me for the shrunken food balls. If Silvan comes over to inspect now and says that the food balls have become smaller, does that really mean that they have become smaller? Every ball looks the same, so if I change the position, I won't be able to recognize them. If I bring the food balls to you for inspection, they can say that I am the one who ate all the food balls that Silvan embezzled. "
"The number of food balls has decreased. How could something so simple turn into such a Rashomon?" Just as Lin Sanjiu was trying her best to suppress the frustration and anger in her heart, she heard Lu Hua say, "What should we do now?"
"The situation is clear. He must have eaten some food balls, so his friend wants to frame me," Jiansheng said as he looked at the same words on the wall. "I believe that Silvan is no longer suitable for this job. I request that he be stripped of his position. I will register as a candidate, and you can vote to decide if I am qualified or not. It is very fair. "
Lin Sanjiu glanced at her grand prize and felt that she must be as pale as him.
As someone who had just traversed half of the room and checked more than ten food balls in a row, Jiansheng's energy and complexion were surprisingly good.
"So, did you lose any of the food balls that you checked?" Unexpectedly, Haust was the one who questioned him.
"You can come over. I will test it again in front of you," Jiansheng said coldly.
Haust kept his mouth shut.
Other than the tax collectors who specialized in this, it was obvious that no one had the extra energy to go back and forth between the rooms.
"If you ask me, why don't we just ignore who ate the food balls? Let's just divide the food balls among ourselves," Haust muttered after a few seconds of silence, "Let's split the food balls equally. We can eat our own portion during the farming season."
Silvan had offered to keep the food balls for them because he was worried that someone might not be able to bear the hunger and weakness and eat the food balls in advance. If the food balls were not taken away, no one would be able to bear the torture of leaving the food balls alone. If Haust's suggestion was implemented, Ji Shanqing's plan would be foiled before it was even halfway through.
"If I become a censor, I will consider your suggestion," Jiansheng nodded at him and looked around the room. He paused for a moment and asked, "What do you think? Are there any other candidates? None? Then, let's vote on whether I am qualified to be a censor or not. "
'Do they have the freedom not to raise their hands? '
Lin Sanjiu clenched her fists tightly. She just wanted to punch him in the middle of his face. If they could hold on for another two days, the grand prize's plan would be successful, but now...
Silvan, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, held the wall and slowly stood up.
"You seem to have forgotten one thing," he said in a hoarse voice, "In this place, a supreme power without the protection of force is not qualified to be the supreme power. Unfortunately, physical strength does not equal force. "
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