Chapter 6: The Bailiffs Arrive
The year was 1627, the seventh year of the Tianqi Emperor's reign. In Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province.
Magistrate Zhang Yaocai of Chengcheng County sat in the main hall of the county yamen, poring over the account books handed to him by San Shier, his brows tightly furrowed with a look of deep displeasure. "Have the taxes owed by the villages still not been collected? The superiors are pressing quite hard, you know."
San Shier hastily put on a fawning smile. "Your Excellency, the Magistrate, Shaanxi is in the grip of a terrible drought. The land is barren for a thousand miles, and the people are barely surviving. They genuinely have no grain left; no matter how much we press, we can't collect it. This, it is called... utter helplessness."
He emphasized the idiom "utter helplessness" with heavy force, his exaggerated expression making him appear quite comical.
Zhang Yaocai knew San Shier always liked to tack a strange summary idiom onto the end of his sentences, so he didn't pay it much mind. He merely snorted, "No grain? Those wretches are hoarding plenty! They've just hidden it away, unwilling to pay their taxes."
San Shier awkwardly replied, "But... the drought..."
Zhang Yaocai scoffed, "It was a drought the year before last, and last year too. Yet, we managed to collect the grain then. Why is it that this year, with a drought, we suddenly can't collect anything?"
San Shier explained, "The first year of drought, people still had reserves. The second year, they'd smash pots and sell iron, selling off family heirlooms to barely scrape together enough for taxes. But a third year of continuous drought... that's when lives are lost. Where would they get money or grain to pay? This, it is called... 'never more than three strikes.'"
Zhang Yaocai narrowed his eyes. "What is this? You're actually speaking up for those wretches now? How much have they bribed you to whisper such nonsense into my ear?"
Zhang Yaocai snorted, completely ignoring San Shier. He rolled his eyes and addressed the bailiffs standing nearby. "You few, organize a team and go press for taxes... Hmm... Let me see, Gao Family Village, Wangjia Village, Zhengjia Village... These villages paid the least in taxes this year. Divide into a few squads and visit each of them. Remember, those wretches love to feign poverty. They clearly have grain hidden away but stubbornly refuse to pay their taxes. When you encounter such wretches, you must be ruthless. Beat them until they learn their lesson."
The bailiffs roared their assent.
Greatly alarmed, San Shier threw himself at Zhang Yaocai's legs, weeping loudly. "Your Excellency, you mustn't! You mustn't! The common folk are already suffering terribly. If you press them like this, I fear you will force loyal citizens into rebellion. This, it is called... 'oppression breeds rebellion.'"
"Get out! I've had enough of your lunatic ravings!" Zhang Yaocai kicked San Shier squarely in the crotch. The latter crumpled to the ground, clutching his groin and curling into a ball.
(Note: Magistrate Zhang Yaocai is a figure from history, not a fictional creation. Historical accounts indicate that during the Tianqi era, Shaanxi suffered a terrible drought, and Zhang Yaocai, the Magistrate of Chengcheng, was notorious for his cruel methods of tax collection, which inflicted immense hardship upon the populace.)
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The sun dipped below the horizon, and the land was a uniform, dismal brown.
Gao Yiye, dragging her weary body, returned to Gao Family Village.
Her bamboo basket held the meager fruits of her day's labor: a small half-basket of bark, roots, and wild greens.
These provisions, combined with the leftover boiled egg from earlier, would surely fill her stomach tomorrow.
This thought brought a slight lightness to her step.
Other villagers were also gradually returning to the village. Each carried a basket of wild plants and bark. Seeing Gao Yiye, many waved and greeted her, thanking her for the large eggs she had shared with them.
As Gao Yiye responded to the villagers' greetings, she walked to her own door and slid open the bolt.
With a muffled crash, as the door swung open, a massive pile of glistening white Divine Rice cascaded down, straight towards her.
Gao Yiye was utterly startled. She barely managed to take half a step back before the avalanche of Divine Rice knocked her over and buried her, leaving only her head visible.
She froze instantly and dazedly looked around.
Divine Rice!
Such enormous grains!
Each grain was the size of an egg. Just thirty or forty grains would weigh a full catty.
As she lay bewildered, wondering what was happening, she saw, faintly, the face of the Heavenly Lord appear in the sky above her. A smile graced his features, and then, in an instant, he vanished back into the clouds.
Gao Yiye understood. The Heavenly Lord was playing a small trick on her. He had filled her house with a colossal pile of Divine Rice, waiting for her to open the door and be startled.
Once she realized this, she couldn't help but burst into laughter herself.
To be submerged in such an abundance of pristine white Divine Rice was something she had only dreamed of throughout the years of drought. To have it happen this way, she couldn't help but feel overjoyed. Even the grief of her mother's passing was momentarily swept away.
However, pinned beneath the rice with only her head showing, she couldn't move an inch.
Gao Yiye had no choice but to call out loudly, "Grandpa Village Chief, Brother Chuwu, dear neighbors, please come help me!"
At her cry, her neighbors immediately gathered around.
Then their gasps of astonishment rose. "Divine Rice! Such enormous grains!"
The strong and youthful Gao Chuwu quickly rushed forward. He vigorously dug through the Divine Rice pressing down on her and pulled her out of the pile.
The Village Chief also arrived at once. Soon, all forty-two residents of the village had gathered again outside Gao Yiye's home.
Everyone gazed at the egg-sized, pristine white Divine Rice, falling into a state of bewildered confusion, their minds briefly seizing up.
After a long moment, the Village Chief finally spoke. "This must also be a blessing from the Heavenly Lord, wouldn't you say?"
Gao Yiye nodded. "The Heavenly Lord played a little joke on me. He intentionally filled my house with Divine Rice, waiting to bury me when I opened the door."
The Village Chief exclaimed, "A joke like this... I truly wish he'd play one on us every day!"
Gao Chuwu chuckled foolishly. Reaching down to pick up two grains of Divine Rice from the ground, he toyed with them in his hand. "How should we divide this Divine Rice? Should each family get fifty grains?"
The Village Chief snapped angrily, "Stop! Put them back. We don't yet know if this rice is a blessing meant only for Yiye, or for all of us. If it's solely for Yiye, and you carelessly take it, angering the Heavenly Lord, do you want to end up like those bandits, flattened into a bloody paste?"
Gao Chuwu recoiled in alarm, his hands stiffened, and the two grains of Divine Rice fell to the ground.
The Village Chief turned to Yiye, speaking gently. "Yiye, you are a good child. Since the Heavenly Lord has chosen to appear only before you, we can only ask you to speak with him. Please, trouble him, the elder, and ask if... we might also partake in some of this Divine Rice, sharing in your good fortune..."
He was still speaking when, suddenly, a haughty voice rang out from the direction of the village entrance. "You lowlifes of Gao Family Village, come out! Come out! Stop hiding in your houses like you're dead! When are you going to pay the taxes you owe the imperial court?"
At the sound of that voice, every villager's face collectively darkened. Even the oblivious children were so scared they covered their mouths, not daring to utter a single cry.
Gao Chuwu whispered, his voice low, "This is bad. The county bailiffs are here."
Without hesitation, the Village Chief immediately instructed, "Yiye, Chuwu, and the rest of you young ones, move quickly! Get all this Divine Rice back into Yiye's house and close the door tightly. I'll go to the village entrance to deal with the bailiffs. Everyone, remember, under no circumstances must you let them see the Divine Rice in this house!"
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