The Hidden Immortal Chapter 15: The Land Surveying Clerk

Fortunately, the crows attacked in ti, and the ruined fields were not too many, just two or three acres.

Chu Xun, the Zhang siblings, and Li Shoutian also went down to the fields to help, and it didn't take long to clean up the stones.

It was just that the poked-open soil was hard to restore now.

To prevent accidents, the few of them didn't leave again and just kept watch in the fields.

Even lunch was made by Zhang Anxiu who went back and then brought it over.

It wasn't until past noon that the land surveying clerk sent by the county office arrived belatedly.

That land surveying clerk was about forty years old, with a skinny figure, but he stuck out a slightly fat belly.

He pretentiously tied a gray silk sash around his waist, from which hung a palm-sized wooden plaque engraved with the four characters "County Office Land Survey".

Wearing a soft-winged turban on his head, his triangular eyes were slightly narrowed. When looking at people, he couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyelids, only revealing a bit of disdain through the slits of his eyes.

He had a tuft of goatee on his chin, which was blown askew by the wind, but he would raise his hand to stroke it a couple of tis from ti to ti, pretending to be majestic.

Li Shoutian hurriedly ran over, bowing and scraping: "My Lord, these are the fields our village has reclaid, please inspect them."

The land surveying clerk snorted lightly through his nose, raised his chin even higher, and didn't answer.

He just walked with his hands behind his back to the turned-over soil, casually kicked the clods of earth with the tip of his foot, didn't even lift his eyelids, and his tone carried an arrogance like giving charity.

"This field hasn't even been sown, does it still need inspection?"

This was clearly finding fault. Although the edges of a few acres of land were ruined, if one looked slightly further in, they would know it had already been sown.

But he simply didn't bother to look, just staring at that half a fen of land.

Li Shoutian understood clearly in his heart. He hurriedly fished out two taels of silver from his waist and stuffed it into the land surveying clerk's hand.

"It rained heavily last night, please be magnanimous, My Lord."

If one acre of wasteland reclamation didn't et the standard, the fine was only thirty copper coins.

Even if all sixty acres of wasteland didn't et the standard, added together it would only be one thousand eight hundred copper coins, less than two taels of silver.

But Li Shoutian was still willing to give so much benefit. He knew better than anyone how greedy these officials and clerks coming down from the county office were.

Rather than giving less first and adding money when they got unhappy, it was better to give enough at once and save a lot of troubleso matters.

The land surveying clerk with a rather large belly pinched the silver, put it into his sleeve pocket very casually, and a bit more smile appeared on his face.

"Not bad, not bad, the wasteland here is indeed reclaid quite well. Everyone has done their utmost for the imperial court, you've all worked hard."

Not only did his face look better, but he could also speak pretty words.

Li Shoutian called Chu Xun over at the right ti and said, "My Lord, our Pinecone Village has reclaid a total of sixty acres of wasteland, of which thirty acres were reclaid by Chu Xun's family. According to what the Wasteland Reclamation Decree says, it should be reported to the county office to award the Village Honored Guest."

Hearing these words, the land surveying clerk was slightly surprised and looked towards Chu Xun.

Looking him up and down: "Your family reclaid thirty acres of wasteland?"

Chu Xun cupped his hands in greeting, neither haughty nor humble: "Yes, My Lord."

The land surveying clerk looked at Li Shoutian again and said with a half-smile, "A Village Honored Guest can eat the County Magistrate's Village Worthies Banquet. Does your Pinecone Village also want to go?"

He didn't believe that one household could reclaim thirty acres of wasteland in a year. He only thought it was Li Shoutian trying to prop up a Village Honored Guest to win face for Pinecone Village.

Other villages also had such things, but almost all of them were the village chiefs of each village paying out of their own pockets to buy other people's wasteland to make up the numbers.

Unlike Pinecone Village, which actually pushed a callow youth out.

The land surveying clerk stroked his sowhat ssy beard and said indifferently, "If you want to eat the Village Worthies Banquet, two taels of silver is not enough."

It was said that the Kingdom of Jing nourished incorruptibility with high salaries, and the Emperor swore to make the Kingdom of Jing the most incorruptible dynasty throughout the ages.

But no matter how high the salary was, it wasn't as high as these people's greed.

Even if it was just coming to inspect the wasteland reclamation situation, they had to fish for so benefits from it.

After all, this position of land surveying clerk was bought with money.

If he didn't fish for so extra inco, how could he do justice to the silver he paid out?

Li Shoutian found it hard to reply and could only look at Chu Xun.

After all, this was Chu Xun's land. No matter what, he couldn't possibly help pay the silver.

Chu Xun understood clearly in his heart. He took out ten taels of silver from his waist and handed it over: "This little token of appreciation, please kindly accept it, My Lord."

The land surveying clerk only glanced at it and said again, "The annual harvest of one acre of land is at least four taels or more. Your thirty acres of land will be as much as a hundred taels a year in the future. Even discounted by half, it's still fifty taels a year."

Zhang Anxiu beside him watched with extre indignation. Ten taels of silver was already a lot, yet this guy was so greedy.

Chu Xun made a gesture behind his back, signaling her not to speak too much.

Then he asked Zhang Anxiu to go back and get forty taels, and handed it over together.

Only then did the land surveying clerk receive it with a beaming smile, saying smilingly, "Good lad, you have boldness, your future prospects are limitless."

Buying the title of Village Honored Guest for fifty taels wasn't considered cheap, but it wasn't too expensive either.

With this sum of silver, the subsequent matters beca much simpler.

The land surveying clerk walked around the sixty acres of reclaid wasteland, picked out a few minor faults painlessly and recorded them, but generally it was considered passed.

Then he lifted his foot, rubbed the mud off the sole of his foot on a stone by the roadside, and said, "Alright, wait until I go back to the county office to put it on record, co get the Land Reclamation Certificate in a few days."

A bit more joy appeared between Li Shoutian's brows; this hurdle was finally passed.

"Thank you, My Lord. Take care, My Lord!"

Bowing and scraping to send off this unranked land surveying clerk, Zhang Anxiu watched the other party walk far away before cursing out loud with red eyes.

"This person is insatiably greedy, he even dares to take fifty taels! Isn't he afraid of having a son without an asshole! If we report him to the imperial court, he will definitely be punished for the cri of bending the law for bribes!"

Fifty taels! Even when Zhang Shigen was still alive, the old Zhang family had never saved up so much silver.

In the entire Pinecone Village, the only one who could take out so much silver at once was probably only Chu Xun.

Li Shoutian shook his head and said, "As the saying goes, commoners don't fight with officials. Even if we report him and bring him down, what about the future? If we make people hold a grudge, we won't have any good fruit to eat."

"Besides, with Chu Xun becoming a Village Honored Guest, he can also pay twenty percent less grain tax in the future. The more farmland he has, the more benefits."

Of course Zhang Anxiu understood the reasoning here, she just didn't understand why, when the Emperor said people were not allowed to be corrupt, and she heard that being corrupt for ten taels would lead to dismissal, and thirty taels would lead to beheading.

Why did these people still dare to be corrupt?

Chu Xun was indifferent to this; it was just fifty taels.

He now had nearly fifty acres of farmland in his hands. Paying twenty percent less for the grain tax twice a year ant he could save about five taels of silver every year.

In just ten years, he could make up for the loss.

And this was on the premise that Chu Xun's farmland didn't increase. If it could reach a hundred acres, the ti would be shortened to five years.

Plus, the Village Honored Guest not only reduced taxes on farmland, but also had varying benefits including engaging in comrce and trading.

Calculating it, it really wasn't a big loss.

Chu Xun was going to live in Pinecone Village for a very long ti. Looking far ahead, he naturally wouldn't care about this little imdiate gain or loss.

A few days later, Li Shoutian successfully brought back the Land Reclamation Certificate from the county office.

However, this was just a beginning. It required passing the inspection for three consecutive years before it could fully belong to each household.

If it didn't et the standard for one year, there would be a fine of silver, and the farmland would be confiscated by the county office.

Chu Xun's title of Village Honored Guest had also been obtained.

A wooden plaque, one ter long and one foot wide, with four large characters carved on it in black paint.

ritorious in Reclamation!

Zhang Anxiu brought a chair, handed over a hamr, and watched Chu Xun hang this plaque on the lintel, beaming with joy.

The villagers also ran over one after another to see the novelty. The title of Village Honored Guest had only been obtained by the old Village Chief's family in Pinecone Village.

Chu Xun, this kid not even twenty years old, actually got it too.

Li Shoutian didn't break his promise. He had soone get a large stone stele and buried it in front of the sixty acres of reclaid farmland.

rit Stele!

On it, from top to bottom, it was arranged according to the amount of wasteland reclaid by each family.

Chu Xun reclaid thirty acres of wasteland, so without a doubt, he ranked first.

The characters were very large and extrely clear.

Further down was Li Shoutian, then Li Tianjian, and then those families who reclaid a little over an acre of wasteland.

Looking at the extrely eye-catching na on the rit Stele, Zhang Anxiu stood with her hands on her hips, looked around at everyone, and shouted arrogantly, "Who said Brother Xun couldn't do it back then! Speak up!"

No one answered; people only lowered their heads in embarrassnt.

Those who wished him well naturally clapped happily.

Those who were jealous secretly got red eyes in the dark.

Especially Li Tianjian's family. They repaired the roof for several days, spent silver not to ntion, and were exhausted to death.

The two sons were covered in injuries. Now when they saw birds flapping their wings in the sky, they trembled all over with fright and ran holding their heads.

Now seeing Chu Xun get thirty acres of wasteland, get the Village Honored Guest plaque, and rank first on the rit Stele.

Most importantly, Li Shoutian kept the position of Village Chief.

They were so jealous their teeth were about to shatter!

(End of Chapter)