The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 88: Revealing old scores

Li Xiaoshan ran over to deliver the message, "Sister, the government has delivered grain. They're under the old elm tree, and everyone is waiting for you."

The ledger is with Lu Chengjing. The grain will be distributed according to the ledger, and Shang Wan's family will naturally have to go over there.

"Wait a moment." Shang Wan came out of the shed, put away the axe, and went to the well to wash her hands.

Xiao Huan removed the wood shavings from Shang Wan's hair, intending for her to change her clothes, but Shang Wan waved her hand, "No need, the shed still needs repairs, we'll continue working on it when we get back."

Xiao Huan had no choice but to give up.

Lu Chengjing placed the ledger on his lap and wheeled himself over.

"Sis, where's Brother Stone?" Li Xiaoshan looked around but didn't see Stone.

Shang Wan said, "Shi Tou went to the city to pick someone up."

Last night, while everyone was asleep, she took all the bricks and lime out of the space.

When Shi Tou saw it first thing in the morning, he thought he was seeing things. He wanted to ask Shang Wan about it, but Xiao Huan's words led him astray, and he forgot about it after breakfast.

With the building materials ready, it's time to bring He Sizhi and his family over to work; the whole family can't live in the shed forever.

Shi Tou offered to go to the city to pick up the people, and after lunch, he drove the oxcart into the city.

Li Xiaoshan asked curiously, "Who are you picking up?"

"Building a house." Shang Wan bent down and picked up Yuan Yuan, who was happily rolling around on the soft cushion, and straightened the little tuft of hair on the little guy's head.

Li Xiaoshan said "Oh", ran behind Lu Chengjing's wheelchair, and said to Xiao Huan, "Sister Xiao Huan, you rest, I'll push your brother-in-law."

These days, Li Xiaoshan has become quite familiar with Shang Wan and the others, and even Yuanyuan likes this little brother who plays with her.

Xiao Huan laughed and said, "You'd better be careful."

Li Xiaoshan readily agreed.

The boy, though only a teenager, ate a lot and was quite strong, so he pushed the wheelchair with ease.

A little gray turtle perched on its head; the two stayed together to guard the house.

The group chatted and laughed, but before they even reached the old elm tree, they heard a commotion.

Shang Wan raised an eyebrow; the Lin family's return was quite timely.

"Make way, make way, the scholar is here!" Li Xiaoshan called out, and the villagers spontaneously made way for him, their eyes all falling on the account book on Lu Chengjing's lap.

Shang Wan and Xiao Huan followed behind and went inside.

Shang Wan glanced at the food and realized that the person delivering the disaster relief supplies was none other than an acquaintance, Shan Dajun.

Standing next to Shan Dajun was an unfamiliar man who looked to be about the same age as Village Chief Lin, slightly overweight, and with dark skin.

With thick eyebrows, long eyes, a hooked nose, thin lips, a goatee, a stern face, and drooping eyebrows, he didn't seem like someone easy to get along with.

Judging from the Lin family's attitude towards this person, and the repeated mention of the word "village head" by the villagers, this person should be Qin, the village head who lives in Xiahe Village.

Upon seeing Shang Wan and her group, especially Lu Chengjing who arrived in a wheelchair, Qin Lizheng's eyes flickered, and he stroked his goatee repeatedly.

Old Man Wu and the others saw Lu Chengjing as if he were their savior and hurriedly said, "Scholar, please be the judge. The method of calculating labor points was a method that everyone discussed and agreed upon. The Lin family didn't send anyone to do the work, but now they want to take the lion's share of the grain. What kind of logic is that?"

Lu Chengjing frowned, but before he could speak, Lin Jianshan, who was standing opposite him, spoke first: "My family was entitled to a share of the disaster relief grain issued by the imperial court. My father is the village chief. Hasn't he done enough for everyone? My family should get the lion's share."

"Besides, Scholar Lu received benefits for keeping your accounts, so naturally he's on your side. The reasoning he comes up with is also flawed. The village head is here; we should listen to him."

Li Dashan spat, "You only talk about doing things, why don't you mention how much benefit your Lin family has gained?" "Yeah, why don't you mention that your family occupies all the good land?" someone seized the opportunity to question.

Liu Cheng said, "Your house collapsed during the flood. When you were building a new house, the villagers, young and old, helped a lot. Even if they didn't pay you, they should at least have been provided with food, right? But what kind of food did you cook? It didn't have any oil or meat, and it was hard to even get a full meal."

Someone chimed in, "I'm so hungry I don't even have the strength to work."

Liu muttered under her breath, "We didn't ask you for help, yet you're rushing to freeload and still have the nerve to blame us."

One of the older women was displeased upon hearing this, saying, "Who's trying to freeload? Liu Xiaolan, you better explain yourself!"

"Yes, explain clearly!"

"Good deeds go unrewarded; this is utterly degrading!"

As they talked, they started arguing. The villagers pointed at the Lin family and cursed them, saying all sorts of things, both offensive and defensive, with spittle flying everywhere.

The Lin family was not about to back down. Unable to win the argument, they started bringing up old grievances, each raising their voice higher than the last, creating more than just chaos.

Lu Chengjing ignored the noisy group of people and, while flipping through the account book, quietly observed Qin Lizheng.

Xiao Huan silently noted down the various disputes in the village, thinking to herself that a single argument could reveal far more information than simply asking around.

Shang Wan then brought Yuanyuan over and exchanged pleasantries with Shan Dajun.

"Brother Shan, how much grain will our village get this time?"

Hearing Shang Wan greet Shan Dajun so naturally, Qin Lizheng glanced at her sideways.

Even Lord An treated Shang Wan with courtesy, showing a strong desire to protect her. Naturally, Shan Dajun wouldn't put on airs and was happy to curry favor with Shang Wan.

With a smile, he pointed to the sacks of grain piled on the three carts and said, "The grain on the carts is all grain. Elm Tree Village has the most people among the nearby villages, so the master specifically instructed that an extra 10% be added. I know the way to the village well, so the master sent me here."

Shang Wan glanced around and saw three carts. Each cart could carry about seven to eight shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain. With all three carts together, and assuming they ate rice three times a day, it would be enough to feed the villagers for about half a month.

If you eat sparingly, it will be enough for a month.

Dan Dajun leaned closer to Shang Wan and whispered, "Master Lu managed to raise over a thousand shi of grain from a group of local gentry, relieving your urgent need."

Shang Wan raised an eyebrow. Grain in the hands of local gentry wasn't so easy to take. The Lu family must have suffered a huge loss this time, and probably also endured a lot of humiliation.

"Ahem, quiet down!" Qin Lizheng suddenly coughed twice loudly, and said sternly, "We're all from the same village, so let's be considerate of each other. What's past is past, now it's time to distribute the grain!"

"We officers are waiting to return and report to our superiors. If we are delayed, who among you can bear the consequences?"

Shang Wan secretly curled her lip. He started by making grand pronouncements, clearly trying to scare people.

But it must be said that this tactic was very effective against the villagers.

The group of people, who had been arguing heatedly, all fell silent, their minds now focused on distributing the grain.

Many people looked expectantly at Lu Chengjing and Old Man Wu and the others.

The method of calculating labor points was proposed by them, and they also made a guarantee to the villagers that if the labor was ultimately wasted, the villagers would not stand for it.

Village Chief Lin bowed to Qin Lizheng with a look of shame, his tone tinged with helplessness, "Brother Qin, it's my fault for being an incompetent village chief. This outsider has turned the village into a mess, and you've made a fool of yourself in front of us."

The words were aimed directly at Shang Wan's family.

If Shang Wan's family hadn't moved to the village, Village Chief Lin would still be a figure who commands respect and is fawned over by everyone.

The Lin family naturally enjoyed the village's welfare benefits. Even if a disaster occurred, no method of distributing grain based on labor points would suddenly appear, causing the Lin family to suffer losses.

(End of this chapter)