The old man had seen this familiar face since he was a child. Li Yi did not put on the airs of a County Lieutenant and was the head of the Li family village. The white-haired old man felt like he was seeing the child from the Li family again.
The sense of familiarity returned and he was no longer afraid, so he began to talk freely.
The old man stroked his beard, and his wrinkled face revealed a look of reminiscence. "This matter started more than ten years ago, on the night you were born …"
The county yamen clerk beside Li Yi twitched his mouth when he saw the old man immersed in his memories. Seeing that the County Lieutenant was listening attentively, he shut his mouth.
At this time, the fear in the hearts of the Li family villagers gradually dissipated, and they slowly gathered around.
"At that time, I often saw the County Lieutenant sitting at the door reading."
"When I was a child, I knew that Li … County Lieutenant would definitely be successful in the future!"
"County Lieutenant, do you still remember when my son fought with you when he was a child and I beat him half to death?"
"…"
The villagers did not know when it started, but their fear had disappeared, and they began to talk at once. However, they still addressed Li Yi as County Lieutenant and were no longer as casual as before.
From the messy information they revealed, Li Yi was able to sort out many things.
The original owner of this body grew up in the Li family village. His mother passed away when he was young, and his father raised him alone until he was a teenager before he passed away due to illness.
The father of the original owner of this body was the only county scholar in the village. He had repeatedly failed in the imperial examinations and seemed to be disheartened. He placed all his hopes on the next generation and taught Li Yi strictly from a young age. As a result, the young Li Yi was the only one of his age who could read and write.
Later, Li Xiucai passed away due to illness, and the few acres of land that he owned were taken care of by the villagers. Every household would take turns to help him out.
This was also because Li Xiucai was the only scholar in the village. Whenever a family needed to write a letter, he would write it for them. When a new wife gave birth to a child, she would ask him for help when it came time to name the child. She remembered his kindness and took good care of the child.
Of course, the fact that the Li family's son was diligent in his studies was also a big part of the reason. At the age of seventeen, he was able to pass the Elementary Scholar examinations, which gave the Li family a lot of face. If he was lucky enough to pass the Imperial Examinations in the future, he would be appointed as an official by the Imperial Court. When the villagers went out, they would be able to talk to others with their backs straight.
However, this idea was completely shattered a few months ago.
The child of the Li family, who was the hope of the entire village, had inexplicably gone mad. After he ran out of the village, he never came back. Even the government couldn't find him.
The old man had originally planned to wait until the beginning of next year. If he had not returned by then, he would report his disappearance to the authorities and have his household register revoked.
Who would have thought that when he reappeared in the village, he would suddenly transform into the county magistrate. The villagers of the Li family village, including the old man, were both surprised and delighted.
The county magistrate, who was in charge of dozens of villages in Anxi County, came from their Li family village!
With such a powerful backer, they would no longer have to worry about being bullied by other villages. If anything happened, they would also have someone in the county government who could speak up for them. Some of the villagers were already feeling elated.
Watching the villagers chatter on for almost two hours, the scribe's legs had gone numb. However, when he saw that the county magistrate was still patiently listening to them, he could only groan in his heart.
Li Yi listened patiently, but he felt a little strange.
In the time-travel novels he had read before, when someone traveled to ancient times, he would always have a headache, and then he would get all the memories of the original owner of his body. Obviously, this law did not apply to him. Except for an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the Li family village and these villagers, Li Yi could not even remember their names.
However, the people of this era were still very easy to fool. An excuse of amnesia could be a good excuse, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Thinking of the situation when he woke up in that room, he didn't know what happened to the original owner of his body. When he woke up, he was inexplicably replaced by him. Thinking about it carefully, it was more likely that he had starved to death.
After all, the disaster year had just passed, and the situation here was better than that of the Willow Leaf Village. However, everyone must be living a hard life. Even if they were starving, a scholar who only knew how to read books would not take the initiative to ask for help …
"Boy, there was a drought last year, and the land didn't produce much food. The tax …" Seeming to think of something, the old man looked embarrassed and looked at him. He wanted to say something but stopped on second thought.
The land of the Li family village all belonged to the state before. Every year at a fixed time, the government would send people to collect taxes. However, the emperor was benevolent and sympathized with several prefectures that suffered from drought, so they were exempted from taxes for two years. Relying on the food stored at home, they could live a good life.
But now that the emperor had given these lands to others, they didn't need to pay taxes to the government anymore. Naturally, the excuse of exemption from taxes was useless.
Li Yi knew what the old man wanted to say. He said with a smile, "Thank you for taking care of me these years. I can't repay you. You don't need to mention the tax in the future."
Hearing this, the scribe was stunned. County Magistrate Li … didn't want to collect taxes?
This was hundreds of acres of fertile land, and the annual tax was not small. How could County Magistrate Li just say no to it?
"How can this be!" Hearing this, the old man was also shocked. He just wanted Li Yi to be considerate of the disaster and reduce the tax or postpone the collection. He didn't expect that Li Yi would casually exempt the tax. In other words, all the output of the land would belong to the farmers in the future?
"Why not? If it weren't for the help of the villagers, there wouldn't be Li Yi today. Uncle Li, you don't need to say more. It's settled."
Although 100 acres of land was not a small amount, the output of food was far less than that of the later generations. Relying on the business of Ruyi dew and spirits, the daily income was rolling in, and the tax was not a big deal.
Of course, the villagers of the Li family village were kind to the original owner of this body. If he hadn't grown up in the Li family village, he wouldn't have been so generous.
Knowing that they didn't have to pay taxes in the future, the villagers of the Li family village were shocked, and then their expressions turned into ecstasy. If it weren't for Li Yi stopping them, they would have kowtowed to him.
…
After coming out of the Li family village, Li Yi clearly felt relieved in his heart.
Perhaps it was because of this body, even though his soul came from another space-time and had nothing to do with this place, that inexplicable sense of familiarity and intimacy was unbreakable. As long as he could do something for these people within his capabilities, he would feel a little bit of comfort in his heart.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
