I become a god in another world

Chapter 399 Knocking on the door in the middle of the night
Chapter 399

"..."

Ding Datong hesitated to speak.

He was not a fool, and he knew exactly how the Demon Suppression Division made money.

The world is difficult nowadays. If a large government office wants to survive, it needs to employ more than just ghost riders.

Taking the Demon Suppression Division of Changping County as an example, he is the one who calls the wind and rain above, and he has several ghost-controlling messengers below.

Under the Ghost Riders are ordinary messengers - the lives of these people began to countdown the moment they joined the Demon Suppression Division.

It's fine when there are no ghost cases, but once a ghost disaster breaks out, they may die at any time.

Under the shadow of death, these people lived a life of extravagance and luxury.

They are submissive in front of ghost riders, but brutal and violent in front of ordinary people, and no one dares to provoke them.

In the normal staffing of the Demon Suppression Bureau, this group of ordinary people make up the majority.

In order to support these messengers who could die at any time, large amounts of silver and money were continuously sent in to maintain their expenses.

Under the envoys are miscellaneous servants.

Those at the top eat the meat, and those at the bottom drink the soup.

The huge number of these people, who spontaneously join forces to make money, is the real reason why many ordinary people would rather endure the suffering caused by ghost disasters than dare to report to the Demon Suppression Bureau and ask the masters to come and handle the ghost cases.

Ding Datong was so smart that he had guessed the answer the moment he asked the question.

He subconsciously looked at Zhao Fusheng.

He had spent a lot of time with Zhao Fusheng in the past month, serving her at all times, and had a certain understanding of her personality.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng is much easier to get along with than Ding Datong imagined.

Her emotions were stable. Even though she was controlling many powerful ghosts, she did not show any signs of losing control.

Ding Datong had something he wanted in his heart and was respectful to her, but she did not act bossy because of it.

In short, she did not have the terrible temper that Ding Datong had previously believed that ghost handlers had, and she treated ordinary people and ghost handlers equally. According to Ding Datong's observation, she even possessed a kind of compassion that was very rare among ghost handlers.

At this time, Ding Datong mentioned reporting the case, and the teenager talked about the topic of reporting the case and asking for money, which brought some rules hidden in the undercurrent to the surface.

Ding Datong subconsciously worried that such an action would make Zhao Fusheng unhappy.

He secretly turned his head to look at Zhao Fusheng's face, but saw that she looked normal and did not show any anger, so he couldn't help but feel relieved.

Zhao Fusheng naturally sensed the anxiety of Ding Datong and the others. She paused and looked at the boy:

"Want money?"

When Wu Shaochun heard this, he couldn't help but look surprised and gave Zhao Fusheng a strange look.

The Demon Suppression Division has a long history of levying heavy taxes and levying heavy levies, and Zhao Fusheng should be well aware of this.

During the Fengmen Village ghost case, she had heard Old Man Zhang mention the rule of "tea fee" - even though the charges were different in different places, she should know what the young man meant by "paying money".

The young man did not notice the expressions of the crowd. He was still immersed in his memories. When Zhao Fusheng asked, he nodded gloomily:

"Our Dongping Village is located in a remote corner of Wenxing County. We need to invite the uncles from the Demon Suppression Department in the city to come here to collect labor fees—"

He was still young and didn't know the exact amount of the so-called labor fee, so he just said it in one sentence:

"All in all, we can't afford this."

"Is your village very poor?" Zhao Fusheng asked casually.

"..."

The boy didn't say anything, but his face clearly showed one thing: Is there any need to say more?!
Most of the villagers here, regardless of gender, age or status, are short and thin.

It was the dead of winter and everyone was poorly clothed. Many people didn't even have straw sandals. Their heels and toes were covered with ulcers, and it was obvious that they were very poor.

"How do you make a living?" Zhao Fusheng asked again.

The young man said:

"I grow some food, vegetables and fruits, and in my spare time I fish and sell some river fish to supplement my family income."

As the saying goes, live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the water, eat by the water. Dongping Village is located in a corner of the Bailing River. After the autumn harvest every year, it is time to fish.

“How much tax do you pay every year?”

Zhao Fusheng's question made Ding Datong puzzled.

We were clearly talking about a ghost case, so how did it get to do with taxes?

But he didn't dare to question Zhao Fusheng's question, he just waited quietly and listened.

The young man said cautiously:

"I don't know either. I just know that my parents are worried every year."

Zhao Fusheng said:

"What are you worried about?"

"I'm worried about the taxes." He has been exposed to the world for many years, and now he counts on his fingers:

"After the New Year, we have to pay the head tax, and once summer comes, we have to worry about corvée labor."

The laws of the Han Dynasty stipulated that all male citizens under its rule had to serve in the imperial court when they turned 15. They had to work for the court every year - digging canals, building bridges, paving roads, and doing all kinds of hard labor.

This kind of work is tiring and heavy, and does not include food and accommodation. It happens every year and there is no way to escape it.

Men doing corvée labor were overwhelmed by the heavy burden, and countless of them died of exhaustion while serving in the army every year.

Once the spring ploughing was completed, the imperial court would send officials to the countryside to register the people, and this was also a difficult time.

Today, the etiquette of the Han Dynasty has collapsed, and there are two ways to avoid corvee labor - one is to pay a ransom to the government, and the other is to bribe the officials.

Both of these methods are not available to ordinary people.

The poor people could not even fill their stomachs and often had no food to eat. How could they have the money to redeem themselves or bribe the officials?

Meng Po, who had been in a bad mood since the ghost incident on the boat last night and had been silent all the way, couldn't help but sigh when she heard this:
“It’s really bitter.”

"Who said it wasn't?" The young man frowned:
“This year has been even harder than previous years.”

"Why?" Zhao Fusheng did not miss any clue.

The young man said:

"At the end of February this year, Wenxing County sent people to collect taxes again."

"Increase taxes?" Zhao Fusheng was stunned.

The boy nodded:

"The county said it was an order from the higher-ups. I don't remember what the tax was, but if it's shared among everyone, it'll be 300 coins per person."

When he said this, the villagers who had previously looked numb finally burst into tears.

"It's really hard to survive. Every autumn when the harvest comes, the grain is taken away basket by basket."

Others followed suit:

“I go to the fields and fish in the river every year, but I still owe money every year.”

Seeing that the villagers were finally willing to speak, Zhao Fusheng felt relieved and said:

"Did you pay it then?"

"No, I can't take it out." An old man who was missing two front teeth shook his head:
"I really can't come up with the money." "What did the government officials say in the end?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

The old man said:
"The government officials said that this is what the county master wants. If you don't pay, you will bear the consequences."

Zhao Fusheng's heart moved:
“When did this tax increase happen?”

The old man said a few words, but when he heard her ask about the time of the incident, he became timid again. He was afraid that if he said too much, he would be retaliated by the government, so he dared not say a word and kept his mouth shut.

The boy said:

"In March."

"What about the death of Master Wang San?" Zhao Fusheng asked again immediately after seeing his answer.

The boy replied:

“It seems like March, too.”

"Which of these two things happened first and which later?"

When Zhao Fusheng said this, Ding Datong immediately understood what she meant.

The young man tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said:

"Let's collect taxes first, and it will rain later."

"That is to say, the county first sent people to collect taxes, saying that someone in Shangyang Prefecture wanted to collect taxes, and those who violated the rules would be punished." When Zhao Fusheng said this, the young man nodded and said:
"Yes, that's it."

"Not long after this incident, a strange rain began to fall in your village, and then Uncle Wang San was drowned in the river."

The boy nodded again:

"Yes, that's right—"

"After Master Wang San died, he left behind his widowed mother, who was taken care of by the villagers in turns. Seven days after Master Wang San died, it was your mother's turn to take care of her. It suddenly rained at night, and someone claiming to be Master Wang San knocked on the door. Your mother suspected that there was a ghost, so she fled back home overnight."

Once Zhao Fusheng sorted out the cause and effect of the matter, everyone understood.

The young man heaved a sigh of relief and nodded his head vigorously twice: "Your Excellency is right."

Zhao Fusheng pondered for a moment.

Although what happened to the boy's mother in Dongping Village that night was strange, she actually did not really see any evil ghost from beginning to end.

Logically speaking, she escaped back home and nothing happened that night. Even if she mentioned that she had encountered a ghost, the villagers might not believe it.

——Unless something strange happened later that made the villagers extremely frightened.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng said:
"Your mother encountered a ghost that night, and the next day she found Uncle Ye and told him about it. Can Uncle Ye believe it?"

"Do not believe."

The boy shook his head.

When his mother mentioned what happened last night, she avoided mentioning her quarrel with Grandma Wang, but Mr. Ye, as the village chief of Dongping Village, obviously did not easily believe her story.

Ye Erye was also aware of the villagers' recent private discussions. He even knew in his heart that arranging these women to serve Grandma Wang would cause resentment among these women.

But he doesn't care.

When the young man's family went to the village to mention this matter, the villagers were in an uproar. Master Ye sneered, knowing what those people who joined in the commotion were thinking - they simply disliked Grandma Wang as a burden and wanted to drive her away.

After Master Wang San died, there was no one to support the family, leaving only a lonely widow. Who would be willing to cause public outrage for such a widow?
Master Ye thought about this and said:
"I guess Master Wang San died a violent death, so he is going to cause trouble. Since he is restless, we will move his grave. To prevent him from harming his mother, we will also change the house where his mother lives—"

At Grandma Wang’s age, how could she survive if she moved?

Everyone understood the hidden meaning behind Mr. Ye's words and stopped making noise tacitly.

But when the group arrived at Grandma Wang's house, they found that Uncle Wang's house was empty.

Grandma Wang, who had been paralyzed in bed, is missing!

There was water inside and outside the broken house, and it had long been soaked by the turbid water.

The bamboo bed and mattress were also soaked in water, which gave off a fishy smell.

Everyone waded into the house and searched it thoroughly inside and out, but there was no sign of Grandma Wang.

Where can an old woman who has been paralyzed for many years and can't walk go overnight?
Just when the villagers were beginning to doubt, someone in the village found the whereabouts of Grandma Wang.

she is dead!
Someone found a floating body in the Bailing River near the village. After fishing it to the shore with a bamboo pole, they discovered that it was Master Wang Sanye's widowed mother, Grandma Wang.

She was dead, and her body had turned white after being soaked in the water all night.

As a result, the boy's mother was suddenly put in an awkward situation.

Grandma Wang couldn't walk, so it was impossible for her to go to the Bailing River alone and jump into the river. The only possibility was that someone secretly carried her on his back and threw her into the river last night.

She was still alive during the daytime of the day before, and during the period before her death, the only person who had seen her and had any interaction with her was the young woman.

"Although my mother kept shouting that she was innocent, the Second Master still had her locked up, saying that she couldn't be released until the truth was revealed."

The boy's eyes turned red when he mentioned his mother.

"She was locked up in the Chen family's old house." said the young man.

"Chen family?"

As soon as Zhao Fusheng spoke, the young man responded:

"Well, something happened to their family two years ago. Some of the family members died or left, leaving behind two dilapidated houses."

There is a pond behind the Chen family's house. Everyone says that the feng shui there is bad, so people seldom pass by the house.

Because the young girl got involved in this lawsuit, Master Ye had her locked up in the old house of the Chen family.

During the day, her family would visit her and bring her some food and drink.

"The day after my mother was imprisoned, I went to deliver food to her. She started crying when she saw me and said there was a ghost there last night."

Hearing this, Wu Shaochun's heart moved, he glanced at Zhao Fusheng and guessed:

"Could it be that Master Wang San is knocking on the door again?"

"Probably not."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head:
"If it was just Master Wang San knocking on the door, his mother might not be so scared—"

The young mother heard someone knocking on the door of Uncle Wang Sanye's house the night before. The person knocking on the door claimed to be Uncle Wang Sanye, but when she opened the door, Uncle Wang Sanye was nowhere to be seen. Later, Grandma Wang died mysteriously, and she became a murder suspect.

Under the circumstances at that time, she should have been more panic-stricken than afraid of ghosts.

Even if someone claiming to be Mr. Wang San knocked on the door, judging from her aggressiveness in arguing with Grandma Wang, she might have already started arguing with the person pretending to be a ghost.

The young woman's reaction was fear rather than anger, so the only possibility was - "Grandma Wang is knocking on the door?"

Zhao Fusheng's question surprised everyone.

Everyone was surprised at first, but then when they thought about it carefully, they felt a chill in their hearts.

The young man was also surprised. He stared at Zhao Fusheng for a long while and then said:
"Your Excellency is truly a man of foresight, and what he said is absolutely right—"

He murmured:
"My mother said that she couldn't fall asleep the night before, but somehow she fell asleep in a daze. Suddenly she heard the sound of rain in the middle of the night, which woke her up."

When the woman woke up, she felt like she had been at Master Wang San's house the night before. It was damp all around and her body was soaked.

The Chen family's old house was leaking, and she couldn't tell whether the water on her body was rain or sweat. Just as she was inexplicably panicking, she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

The knock on the door seemed particularly terrifying amid the sound of rain in the middle of the night, and she was frightened.

The feeling of fear formed an invisible pressure. She was vaguely aware of something, but she didn't even dare to ask who was outside the house.

But she didn't ask, the 'person' outside the house spoke first.