Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

next morning

Li Ping, sporting dark circles under his eyes, got out of bed.

Last night I drank Chen Rang's watered-down wine, and I got up three times in the middle of the night.

He pushed open the door and let out a big yawn.

In the courtyard, Zhang, the sister-in-law, was sweeping the floor with a broom, while Li, the elder brother, was squatting by the well washing his face.

"Sister-in-law, stop sweeping."

Li Ping walked over, snatched the broom, and threw it in the corner.

"Pack your things, we're moving today."

Zhang was stunned, and the winnowing basket in her hand fell to the ground.

"Moving? Where to? We've paid six months' rent for this yard!"

"Moving to a large house in the east of the city"

Li Ping walked to the well, scooped up some cold water, and washed his face, shivering from the cold.

"The house that Hu Guan used to live in, which was bestowed by the county magistrate."

"A large courtyard with three sections and a small garden, enough for our whole family to play hide-and-seek in."

Li Da looked up, his face glistening with sweat, his expression filled with terror.

"The residence of County Magistrate Hu? Has someone died there? Could it be haunted?"

Li Ping rolled his eyes and grabbed a towel to wipe his face.

"What nonsense! Hu Guan is the biggest ghost. I wasn't afraid when he was alive, so what waves could he possibly make now that he's dead?"

"Hurry up and pack, I've hired an oxcart and I'm waiting at the alley entrance; we'll move there today."

After settling his brother and sister-in-law's move, Li Ping strolled over to the county government office.

As soon as he entered the courtyard of the document room, Qian Duo came to greet him with a smug smile on his face.

"My lord, what exactly did you say in the back room last night?"

"Early this morning, Registrar Zhao led a dozen or so yamen runners out of the city, saying they were going to catch rats at the granary in the east of the city."

"His face was as black as the bottom of a pot."

Li Ping walked behind the table, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.

"If he wants to catch rats, let him catch them at Shigan?"

"He's sharpening his crossbow in the backyard."

"Call him along, grab your weapons, and let's leave the city."

Li Ping stood up and patted the album he was carrying in his arms.

Qian Duo was taken aback: "Where are we going?"

"Go to Wild Fox Ridge, west of the city."

Li Ping walked out.

"The register says there are dozens of households over there that have absconded, owing three years' worth of autumn taxes. Let's go take a look."

Half an hour later

A bullock cart loaded with coarse grains swayed and rattled out of the city gate, heading towards the desolate mountains and wilderness to the west.

Qian Duo sat on the grain cart, his heart aching with worry.

"Sir, we're going to collect taxes, why are we paying with grain?"

"These ten cartloads of coarse grains cost a full twenty taels of silver!"

Li Ping rode a borrowed gray donkey, walking beside the oxcart.

He was toying with the silver note Bai Fu had given him last night.

"What do you know?"

"This is called 'casting a long line to catch a big fish.' Besides, it's the Bai family's money being spent, so I don't mind."

Shi Gan, carrying a short crossbow, walked on the other side and interrupted in a muffled voice.

"Sir, Wild Fox Ridge is so poor that even rats don't go there. Those runaways can't even afford trousers. What kind of profit can you possibly squeeze out of them?"

"Who said I was going to extract oil from the wound?"

Li Ping put away the silver notes and looked at the endless, towering mountains in the distance.

I'm here to see people.

Wild Fox Ridge lives up to its name, as the entire mountain is covered with withered, yellow wild grass.

The so-called "village of fleeing households" was nothing more than a few dozen dilapidated shacks built of mud and thatch, crookedly crammed together on the mountainside.

Before even entering the village, Li Ping could smell a foul, rancid odor.

The village entrance was muddy and rocky; if you stepped into it, your boot would remain stuck in the mud when you pulled your foot out.

He hopped on one leg to try and pick at his boot, muttering curses under his breath.

Li Ping jumped off the donkey's back, raising an eyebrow.

From the open space in the center of the village, came the sound of a woman crying.

Seven or eight men dressed in tattered short-sleeved shirts, holding hemp ropes, were tying up several thin, bony young men together.

A group of ragged villagers surrounded them, all emaciated and pale, their eyes filled with fear, yet none dared to step forward to stop them.

"Those who owe taxes will be forced to serve in prison! That's the rule of the county government!"

A scarred man, who was leading the group, was holding a leather whip and pointing it at the villagers on the ground, cursing them loudly.

"If you dare to cry out again, I'll tie you all up and sell you all on the black market!"

Li Ping stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, brother, what a show of power!"

Scarface turned his head and looked Li Ping up and down.

Seeing that he was wearing a long blue robe, and that Qian Duo, who was pushing a grain cart, and Shi Gan, who was carrying a short crossbow, were following behind him, I was a little unsure of his background.

"Who are you? Mind your own business! We're just doing errands for Clerk Zhao!"

Li Ping smiled.

He pulled the blacklist from his pocket and waved it in front of Scarface.

"What a coincidence, I'm Li Ping, the head of the document room."

"The household registration records of Wild Fox Ridge are now under my jurisdiction."

"How come I don't remember the register saying that people could be used as payment for military service?"

Upon hearing the name "Li Ping," the scarred man's expression changed.

The events that happened in the back hall of the county government last night have already spread far and wide. Everyone knows that the newly appointed head of the clerk's office is a formidable character, daring to openly contradict even the county magistrate and the registrar.

"Master Li"

Scarface put on a smiling face and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"We were just following orders."

"These absconded households can't pay their taxes. Registrar Zhao said to seize a few able-bodied men to work at the quarry in the east of the city as a way to offset their taxes."

"fart"

Li Ping put away the blacklist, his smile vanishing completely.

"The quarry is Bai family property. Registrar Zhao used the county government's runaways to fill Bai family's hole. He did a clever job by releasing the people."

Scarface hesitated.

"My lord, this... I won't be able to explain myself when I get back."

Li Ping turned his head and glanced at Shi Gan.

Shi Gan understood, raised his short crossbow, and aimed it at Scarface's crotch.

"My family told you to release them, are you out of your mind?"

Shi Gan grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

Scarface's legs went weak with fear, and he waved his hands frantically, shouting, "Release! I'll release you right now!"

The men hurriedly untied the ropes and slunk away.

The open space quieted down

The villagers remained huddled together, watching Li Ping with wary eyes.

In their eyes, they had driven away a pack of wolves, only to have a tiger appear; the government officials never showed any kindness.

An old man with gray hair and missing half an ear walked out of the crowd.

He walked up to Li Ping, leaning on a wooden stick, and knelt down in the mud with a thud.

"Old Shuan, a commoner, is the headman of Wild Fox Ridge."

"Thank you so much, sir, for saving my life."

"But... the village simply doesn't have any surplus grain to pay taxes."

"If you want your life, sir, then take this old man's life."

Looking at Lao Shuan kneeling in the mud, Li Ping felt a lump in his throat.

He remembered when he first transmigrated.

Back then, he was just an ant that could be slapped to death by Hu Guan at any moment.

In this world where cultivators reign supreme, mortals are nothing more than pigs, resources that can be consumed at any time.

Li Ping stepped forward and helped Lao Shuan up.

"I don't want your life."

Li Ping pointed to the oxcart behind him.

"I brought food and gave half a bag to each household so that everyone could have a full meal first."

Old Shuan was stunned.

His cloudy eyes stared at the cartloads of coarse grains, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he dared not step forward.

"Sir...where in the world can you find free flour?"

Old Shuan's voice trembled slightly.

"What do you want us to do? Don't tell me you're like the Bai family, trying to fatten us up and then drag us into the mines to dig for stones?"

Li Ping astutely grasped the key point in the words.

"The Bai family? The Bai family often comes to arrest people?"

Old Man Shuan spat a mouthful of bloody saliva on the ground and said through gritted teeth.

"The Bai family is even more ruthless than the government! The government wants money, the Bai family wants lives."

Last month, more than a dozen young men from the village were forcibly taken away by the Bai family, who said they were going to work in their village in Shilipo, but none of them came back.

"Someone found their bodies in a ravine behind the mountain; they had been drained of all their blood!"

Li Ping's eyes turned completely cold.

They drained all the blood?

This is definitely not ordinary hard labor.

The Bai family is definitely doing something shady behind the scenes.

He looked at the villagers before him, their clothes tattered and their faces numb.

Chen Rang had the official status of a county magistrate, Zhao Heng had the power to manage household registration, and the Bai family had cultivators and wealth.

What does Li Ping have?

He only had one copy of the book and a worthless check left by Ren Jun.

To survive in this game, or even overturn the board, he must have his own foundation.

These people before us have nothing, their lives are as worthless as weeds.

Give them food and a way to survive, and they can become the sharpest knives.

"Old Man"

Li Ping looked into the old man's eyes and spoke earnestly.

"From today onwards, Wild Fox Ridge is under my jurisdiction."

"You can take the grain and distribute it."

"If the Bai family dares to arrest anyone again, send someone into the city to find me at the clerk's office."

Old Shuan stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.

"Sir... what are you after?"

"I just want you to live well."

Li Ping turned around, mounted the gray donkey, and

"Only by staying alive can you have the strength to do my work."

He flicked the reins, and the gray donkey slowly headed down the mountain.

Qian Duo and Shi Gan quickly followed.

After walking a long way, Shi Gan looked back and saw the villagers gathered around the grain cart.

Some people couldn't resist grabbing raw food and stuffing it into their mouths, wailing and crying as they ate.

"adult"

Shi Gan scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

"We're spending money to buy them food, and we're even offending the Bai family for their sake. No matter how you look at it, this is a losing proposition."

Li Ping rode on the donkey's back, looking at the gray sky ahead.

"Shi Gan, you'll remember this."

"The most solid foundation in this world is not gold or silver, but people."

Li Ping touched the silver notes in his pocket, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"The Bai family treats them like stones, crushing them at will."

"I'll use them as knives. One day, I'll make the Bai family taste what it feels like to have their heads smashed by these stones."