Chapter 38

（At least let me go back to the bottom of the list, this humble wish, can everyone fulfill it?）

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The next day, when the clerks gathered for the morning roll call, Li Sihu said, "The time has come for the autumn grain collection from each village, but the magistrate has ordered a re-verification of the yellow registers. Although everyone has been working hard, we cannot wait for all the accounts to be re-verified. We can only verify and collect part of it. The magistrate has already agreed to this..."

Upon hearing this, the clerks' faces changed dramatically. Whoever took on this task would be like Cao Cao meeting Jiang Gan—cursed with bad luck.

"Xun San, you go," Li Sihu's gaze fell on a slick, oily clerk.

"Sir, I still have a lot of work to do," Xun San said with a pained expression. "The accounts are a mess, and it will take several days just to hand them over. I can't afford to delay."

"That makes some sense," Li Sihu nodded, then turned his gaze to Wang Xian, who was standing at the end of the line. "You're no good at accounting, and you just cause trouble here. Go out and collect taxes. It's a waste of resources, but at least it's something!"

"..." Wang Xian said softly, "But sir, I haven't learned how to collect taxes."

"You don't have to do it yourself," Li Sheng said coldly. "Collecting taxes is the job of the grain officers. You just need to supervise and ensure that everything is collected. If you can't handle such a simple task, you might as well leave the office now!" Without waiting for his response, he turned and went inside.

Back in the office, Wang Xian saw that everyone was looking at him with sympathy... Although they had only been together for a few days, perhaps out of sympathy for the weak or because of Wang Xian's considerate nature, everyone's attitude toward him had improved. Despite the pressure from Li Sihu, they didn't dare to get too close, but they could still talk normally.

"What's wrong, is there a problem?"

"Ah, you're in big trouble this time," everyone sighed. "Try to take a sick leave, or you'll be in for a rough ride..." They said this and then shook their heads, each going back to their work.

"At least tell me what to do next," Wang Xian said with a pained expression.

"Go to the grain department and find Wang Dianli. He will tell you what to do," Wu Wei patted his shoulder and said softly, "You should listen to everyone."

"Thank you," Wang Xian smiled gratefully and left the office, heading to the grain department. The household department had the most complex affairs, with three regular clerks and over thirty non-regular clerks, and a special grain department for summer and autumn taxes. Wang Dianli was the head of the grain department.

When Wang Xian entered, Wang Dianli had already prepared the white registers, sign plates, and tax completion notices, and handed them to him. "Relax, don't be nervous. I'll send someone with you." He called in a white servant named Qin Shou and instructed, "You go with Wang Shuban. It's his first time on duty, so remind him of anything he needs to know."

Qin Shou nodded and bowed, then greeted Wang Xian. White servants were temporary workers outside the regular staff, present in each department, responsible for running errands, and had a lower status than clerks.

Wang Xian, having been ground down by Li Sihu, was very polite in greeting him, which made Qin Shou feel honored and repeatedly said he didn't deserve it.

The two first took the household department's documents to the strongman's office to get two strongmen, harnessed a mule cart, and set off for Changxin Village, fifteen miles north of the county town.

On the way, Wang Xian noticed that Qin Shou and the two strongmen were smiling, seemingly looking forward to the task, and couldn't help but ask, "What's so good to be happy about?"

Qin Shou, in his thirties, was plump and fair, with a small mustache, seven hairs pointing up and eight down. His small eyes were sharp, and he looked very shrewd. He smiled and said, "We white servants and strongmen don't get paid. We only get a little 'pocket money' from time to time. We rely on such tasks to get some extra benefits."

"Oh," Wang Xian nodded. "Then why do they look at me like I'm a dead man?"

"Ha ha..." Qin Shou laughed, trying to gloss over it, but Wang Xian pressed him for an answer. "It's obvious. Changxin Village is the first to complete the re-verification, while the others haven't finished yet. When they see the white register, they'll find that the tax amount is higher than before, even higher than last year. They'll definitely delay, waiting for the other villages to finish, to see what happens."

"I see," Wang Xian nodded, confirming his guess. "What can we do about it?"

"Nothing," Qin Shou shook his head. "The grain officers are arrogant people. They don't even respect a clerk like you, let alone Li Sihu. They speak directly to the three yamen or even the magistrate. What can we do?"

"..." Wang Xian thought of He Chang's arrogance, who had insulted Hu Buli as a pig's head. As a white-shirted clerk, how could he be taken seriously?

"I say, let's just eat, drink, and take something, then come back and report," seeing his worried face, Qin Shou suggested. "Then tomorrow, take some rhubarb to have diarrhea for a few days, and Li Sihu will have to replace you."

"Good idea," Wang Xian smiled bitterly. "If there's no other way, I'll have to do that." He couldn't avoid the first day, but he couldn't avoid the fifteenth. Li Sheng could find all sorts of ways to torment him, and this wasn't a solution.

---

By late afternoon, they arrived at Changxin Village. Wang Xian, holding the household department's documents, found the home of the grain officer, Chao. Indeed, it was a large household, with a gate that rivaled He Yuwai's. The gatekeeper, with the air of a gentry's servant, treated Wang Xian indifferently.

When Wang Xian showed the documents, the gatekeeper finally looked at him and said, "My master is visiting a friend, so you've made a wasted trip."

"When will he be back?" Qin Shou's heart sank. He hoped they wouldn't even get travel expenses.

"It's uncertain. It could be three to five days, or even ten to fifteen days," the gatekeeper replied slowly.

"That will delay everything," Qin Shou said anxiously. "Can't we find him?"

"That's impossible. My master has many friends. He might be playing chess at Qiaoshan Temple or exploring Xianxia Ridge. He always returns when he's satisfied, and we can't find him," the gatekeeper said with a fake smile. "Only the lady and the young miss are at home, so we won't invite you in." He then pulled out a stack of old banknotes from his boot and handed them to Wang Xian. "We can't let you leave empty-handed. A small token of our appreciation, please have some tea."

The disdainful expression made Wang Xian's teeth grind. Damn it, Li Sheng looks down on me, and so does this gatekeeper! But seeing the three others drooling over the money, he knew that if he lashed out, he would only humiliate himself. He finally suppressed his anger and turned to leave.

Qin Shou quickly took the money and said with a smile, "Thank you, thank you, we'll be going."

The three followed Wang Xian out of the gate. The gatekeeper sneered and turned back, entering the courtyard. There, he saw an old man in a Taoist robe practicing Tai Chi.

"The master has been sent away," the gatekeeper waited patiently for him to finish before reporting.

"Hmm," the old man, the grain officer of Changxin Village, Chao Tianjiao, stroked his beard. "I was a bit confused when I heard we had to pay first, but then Li Sihu sent someone to say to just stall, and he would take care of everything. What's he up to?"

"If the master doesn't understand, I don't either," the gatekeeper smiled. "But the one who came is a young man, with a few white servants, more like a beggar than a tax collector."

"Ha ha," Chao Tianjiao wiped his sweat with a towel. "No matter what tricks he plays, we'll still follow the previous agreement. The extra amount will be split fifty-fifty, and even Li Sihu can't change that!"

"Of course, in our Ming Dynasty, the imperial power doesn't reach the countryside. The government can't interfere with tax collection. Whatever we collect, we give to them, and it's all up to the master," the gatekeeper flattered.

"Ha ha ha..." Chao Tianjiao laughed triumphantly.

While Chao Tianjiao was laughing, Wang Xian was walking back to the city, feeling depressed. Qin Shou suggested stopping for a meal, but he ignored it.

He was really at his wit's end. If this continued, he would be driven to death! Li, this is your doing!

Thinking of this, Wang Xian touched his chest, where he had the nine financial issues he had audited. He didn't believe he couldn't bring down this old fox!

Back in the county town, it was past mealtime. Wang Xian ignored the three and jumped off the cart to go home.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but it seemed that the neighbors greeted him less warmly than before. Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news spreads a thousand miles. He must have been tormented by Li, and the whole county probably knew...

Sure enough, Uncle Liu no longer gave him oranges, Brother Qi didn't send fish, and forget about Zhu Dachang's pig trotters. Although they still called him "young master" politely, they whispered as he passed by:

"Is Li Dagu really going after Wang Er?"

"There's no doubt. When Wang Er's mother chose Wang Xingye over Li Sheng, he held a grudge for life. Now he has the chance, he won't let Wang Er off."

"Poor Wang Er, he'll be like a grasshopper, easy to crush."

"Indeed, what bad luck for this kid..."

"Pity my oranges..."

"You shut up, I didn't even mention my four pig trotters, and you're complaining about two rotten oranges!"

They thought they were talking behind Wang Xian's back, but the wind carried their words to his ears. Wang Xian sighed, it seemed no one had any faith in him...

Lost in thought, he entered the alley and pushed open the door. "Mother, I'm back."

"Already fired?" His mother, who was sewing a shoe sole, looked at him coldly.

"Mother..." Wang Xian felt like banging his head against the wall. He was already depressed enough outside, and now he had to endure her sarcasm...

But to his surprise, his mother picked up the shoe sole and hit him on the head, scolding, "Are you a man? If someone wants to mess with you, do you just let them? Why don't you mess with them instead? Coming back for comfort, are you still a baby?"

Wang Xian covered his head and ran, shouting, "I'm not fired, I just came back to check in..."