Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

While harvesting rice in the afternoon, Li Youtian kept thinking about what Zhao Yunwen had said. If it was true, then this year would be much easier, as they could save 20% of their grain.

After paying off the famine of the previous years, there was still some left over, enough to eat meat during the New Year and buy a decent outfit for Hehua, who had grown into a young woman.

Li Youtian didn't know if it was true or not. Although Zhao Yunwen gave him a positive answer, he still couldn't take it seriously and couldn't help but keep thinking about it in his mind.

He could tell that Zhao Yunwen was an official, and maybe it really was!

With this in mind, Li Yuetian worked much faster, and with the help of several strong laborers, the work that would normally take two days to complete was finished in less than a day.

As the sun was about to set, Li Youtian stopped assigning new tasks. Seeing Zhao Yunwen and the others about to leave, he repeatedly pulled their hands and said:

"Brother Zhao, you must go home for dinner before you leave tonight, otherwise if word gets out, the Li family will be too ashamed to walk with their heads held high in the village."

Zhao Yunwen, who also wanted to learn more about the people's affairs, said to the others:

"You guys go back first, I'll have dinner at my older brother's house before I leave."

The platoon leader, worried about Zhao Yunwen's safety, was about to speak when Zhao Yunwen stopped him with a look, so he had to shut up.

But he had already made up his mind to lead a group of people to guard the village and prevent any unauthorized personnel from getting close to it.

After making the arrangements, Zhao Yunwen followed Li Youtian back to the village.

On this day, apart from Li Youtian's family, other families in the village also received help from the Tiger Army, but they all left after finishing their work, and no one could persuade them to stay.

The officers and squad leaders in charge were afraid of causing trouble, so they dared not let the people into the village.

Li Youtian was an exception; he walked around the village with a much straighter back, even though he was an official!

The Chinese people have always held officials in high esteem. Officials and ordinary people are from two different worlds. If an official comes to visit someone's home, it's not that their ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke, but they will definitely feel honored.

The guest had been invited back, but Li Youtian was now troubled. He simply didn't have anything decent to offer as a welcome guest, so he had to tell his wife:

"Honey, kill that old hen and go get some wine. I want to have a drink with Brother Zhao."

The old hen was the only thing Li Youtian's family could offer; they raised it to lay eggs and sell for money.

In addition, I had saved up some silver dollars from building fortifications for the Tiger Army some time ago. I originally planned to use them to pay taxes, but I could use a few cents to buy wine.

We can't be too stingy when entertaining guests; the Li family also cares about their reputation.

Zhao Yunwen quickly spoke up to stop him:

"Brother, you can't kill the old hen. If this gets back to the unit, the officers will punish me."

"Hey, I still have two cans of meat here. Have your sister-in-law take them and stew some radishes and cabbage or something. Consider it a small contribution from me."

After Zhao Yunwen finished speaking, he took out two cans of beef from his body. He had plenty of these in his system warehouse, all of which were captured from the Japanese.

If he weren't afraid of causing a sensation, he could have produced tens of tons.

This made Li Youtian feel embarrassed.

"Brother Zhao, how can I let you spend money again? That wouldn't be right."

Zhao Yunwen quickly said:

"Brother, just listen to me. Our Tiger Legion has strict discipline. You don't want to see me go back and get a beating, do you?"

After Zhao Yunwen finished speaking, he handed the canned meat to Li Youtian's wife. It was an early canned beef from the Japanese army, and it actually contained beef. Stewed with homegrown radishes and cabbage, it would be enough to eat.

The woman, Chen Xiaocao, could only borrow his canned food to prepare meals.

Li Youtian stayed home chatting with Zhao Yunwen. News of the official's arrival quickly spread throughout the village. The village landlord, Li Ze, came running over eagerly, saying ingratiatingly:

"My name is Li Ze, the head of the Li family. I was unaware that you had come from afar, and I apologize for not greeting you properly."

I have prepared a simple meal at my humble abode; please do me the honor of joining me for a seat.

Zhao Yunwen politely declined:

"Chief Li, you don't need to be so polite. I can just have a meal here."

Li Ze couldn't figure out Zhao Yunwen's background and was worried that Li Youtian would speak ill of him, but he still insisted on inviting Zhao Yunwen to dinner.

He was quite knowledgeable. Although Zhao Yunwen was wearing a coarse cloth military uniform, his temperament was undeniable. He was at least a battalion commander, or at the very least a regimental commander.

This is equivalent to the rank of a county magistrate in the local area, something the Li family couldn't even dream of currying favor with normally.

He didn't know what stroke of luck Li Youtian's family had, but Zhao Yunwen's attitude was firm, and he even showed a displeased expression, so he gave up.

Li Ze was a shrewd man after all, and immediately instructed the steward to bring some meat and wine from home as a token of his appreciation.

Now Zhao Yunwen couldn't refuse; you can't hit someone who's smiling at you.

Zhao Yunwen was a high-ranking official in the Nationalist government's army, so he couldn't be too clean-cut, at least not like the Eighth Route Army, otherwise people like Du Guangting would mistake him for an underground party member.

Li Ze was good at seizing opportunities. He didn't send too much; it was more like testing the waters: a piece of pork, a roasted chicken, and two jars of wine.

The pork and roast chicken were what Li Ze had prepared for dinner, and he just happened to bring them over.

Zhao Yunwen didn't stand on ceremony with him, but still took out two silver dollars as payment for the food. Even if it was a landlord's house, the rules couldn't be broken.

After declining for a moment, Li Ze accepted it. In his opinion, Zhao Yunwen didn't need those two silver dollars, but it wouldn't sound good if word got out.

After seeing Li Ze off, Zhao Yunwen continued chatting with Li Youtian while waiting for their meal, using the opportunity to learn about everyday life.

As the two chatted, the conversation drifted to the topic of bandits. This was intentionally steered by Zhao Yunwen, who wanted to understand the impact of banditry on the common people.

You wouldn't believe it until you asked; the bandits had become so rampant that they regularly collected "protection money."

"Twice a year, after the summer grain is harvested, preparations must be made. In Lijia Village, the clan head takes the lead, the host family pays 30%, and the rest is divided equally among the households. My family has to pay the bandits one dan of rice and five dou of white flour every year."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunwen's face turned as black as charcoal; the lives of ordinary people were just too difficult.

Grain production was already low. Landlords took 50-60%, various exorbitant taxes and levies amounted to 20%, and taxes had to be paid in silver dollars. When rice was sold, unscrupulous merchants would take another 10%, and then there were bandits' taxes. How could there be anything left?

Zhao Yunwen recalled the "floods, droughts, typhoons, and locust plagues" of another time and space, which forced the people to help the Japanese rather than let "Tang" go. He knew he had to learn from this lesson when he wanted to build a base in the future.

Thinking of this, he said to Li Youtian:

"No more bandits will come demanding money or food this year. The Tiger Army is doing everything in its power to wipe them out. Every single bandit in Xinyang will be wiped out!"

Li Youtian said excitedly:

"Are you telling the truth? The government is going to suppress the bandits. It can't just be for show, can it? These bandits are hiding in the mountains, they're not easy to find."

Zhao Yunwen said with a firm expression:

"Brother, don't worry, the Tiger Legion will not allow a bandit to wreak havoc on the village."

Li Youtian believed Zhao Yunwen's words without a doubt. From conscripting laborers and paying them wages to helping poor people harvest rice, and most importantly, bringing their own food, he had never heard of such soldiers before.

If soldiers like these aren't trustworthy, who can we trust?

"Brother, the food is ready. You can eat and chat at the same time."

Li Youtian's wife came to call them for dinner, and unusually, she even lit a kerosene lamp. The dishes were even more plentiful than during the New Year. Da Niu and Er Niu had never seen so much meat since they were born.

When Zhao Yunwen sat down at the table, he found that only Li Youtian's father and Li Youtian were there. Everyone else was keeping their distance, and Erniu was even drooling over the roast chicken from afar.

Zhao Yunwen immediately understood what was going on. When guests came to the farmhouse, in order to save the limited amount of food, the women and children were not served at the table.

"Brother, let everyone come and eat. We don't do this kind of thing."

Li Youtian looked somewhat embarrassed and stammered as he said:

"This is against the rules; food has already been left for them."

Zhao Yunwen frowned and said:

"Brother, how am I supposed to eat this? Let's call everyone over and have a good time together."

Li Youtian was still in a dilemma, but his father made the decision:

"I'll do as the commander says."

Li Youtian then called everyone to the table and made them sit in a circle, insisting that they eat together even though there weren't enough chairs.

After pouring the wine, Zhao Yunwen first toasted Li Youtian's father before slowly drinking his own.

At first, the Li family was quite reserved, but they gradually relaxed. Erniu hugged the chicken leg that Zhao Yunwen had given him and gnawed on it with his mouth full of oil.