Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

At noon that day, Meng Changqing came back from the fields and passed by Qi Renli's office. Seeing the door that had not been opened for a long time, she turned sideways and asked, "How long has Master Qi been out?"

"It's been a few days." Bafang was very busy following Meng Changqing every day, so he had no time to pay attention to Qi Renli.

"I don't know where he has gone, or whether he has found out about silkworm farming." Meng Changqing was worried about his safety. If there was no letter tomorrow, she would send someone to look for him. It was rare for someone she recruited to be so enthusiastic, so she must not let anything happen to him.

Qi Renli covered his mouth with his hand and sneezed.

Qi Xiang stepped forward quickly, "Master, have you caught a cold?"

Qi Renli waved his hand and asked the shopkeeper who was leading the way, "Is this Hongfu Village?"

"Yes." The shopkeeper pointed to the house at the back and introduced: "This is my father-in-law's house. I guess he went out for something." He said this, but he was also wondering in his heart. It was not the time to go up the mountain, so why was there no one at home?

The shopkeeper looked around and instructed his clerk, "Go ask other people's houses..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw the door of the house next door opened, and the shopkeeper hurried over to ask.

"The old couple came to you for shelter, why did you come back to look for him?" The neighbor was worried about the family, "Your father-in-law just left not long ago, you didn't see him on the way here? You must have missed him! Go look for him quickly."

The shopkeeper became anxious when he heard this. Why would two old people go to him for help?
He didn't bother to ask any more questions and told his men to look for them quickly. "Look along the side road. They definitely didn't take the road we just took."

"Ugh!"

After the clerk left, the shopkeeper asked his neighbor, "What happened at home?"

The neighbor sighed, "It's not that anything happened to Mr. Xu's family. Everyone in the village envies his family. If my family had a useful son-in-law like you, I would also have a place to go."

The shopkeeper knew as soon as he heard it, "Did the Hong family raise the rent again this year?"

"Alas." The neighbor leaned against the door frame, "The price has increased by another two hundred coins. How can we continue to raise silkworms? All the money is taken away by the Hong family throughout the year. Not only do we work for nothing, but we also have to spend money. What kind of thing is this?

I really don’t want to keep it anymore.”

Qi Renli was standing far away. When he heard what they were talking about was related to silkworm breeding, he walked over and asked, "Uncle, what's the rent increase?"

"Who is this?" The neighbors were curious about Qi Renli's identity.

"This is the distinguished guest from Beishan Town." The shopkeeper did not give any further introduction, but only mentioned the word "distinguished" to indicate that he could not afford to offend him.

"The price of mountain land has gone up." The shopkeeper explained to Qi Renli, "We raise silkworms here on the mountain, but the mountains around this village all belong to the Hong family. If you want to use them, you have to pay rent. In recent years, the rent has been rising every year, and many families can't afford it."

Qi Renli asked: "If that's the case, can't we just keep it at home?"

"What?" The neighbor smiled bitterly and waved his hand, "I haven't heard of it. We have been raising silkworms in the mountains for generations. You said no one would do that at home."

The shopkeeper was afraid that the neighbor would say something unpleasant and anger Qi Renli, so he immediately stopped the neighbor.

Qi Renli started thinking about it immediately, remembering what Lord Meng was doing now, he thought that maybe he could give it a try, using the old method while also trying the new method.

The shopkeeper kept looking towards the intersection, wondering if the clerk had found his father-in-law's family. "Uncle." Qi Renli walked around the shopkeeper and came to the neighbor, lowering his head slightly and asking curiously, "You said just now that many families can't afford the rent. If that's the case, why do you still raise silkworms? But silk cocoons are easy to sell?"

"Silkworm cocoons are easy to sell?" The neighbor seemed to not understand what he said. "I have been raising silkworms for so many years, I really don't know whether silkworm cocoons are easy to sell."

The shopkeeper had to explain again, "The silkworms raised in the village are all purchased by the Hong family at a set price. We cannot bypass the Hong family and sell them to other places privately."

"It's not that we don't want to sell it!" The neighbor suddenly got angry, "It's just that the Hong family is bullying us."

"What's going on here?" Qi Renli asked.

The shopkeeper thought, good! Finally, we are getting to the point! He frowned and said, "I was thinking that the people who raise silkworms in this village must abide by the rules set by the Hong family. After all, everyone is raising silkworms for the Hong family. The cocoons they raise must be handed over to them and cannot be bought or sold privately. If someone in the family wants to weave cloth, they have to spend money to buy cocoons or silk threads from them. The silk woven cannot be bought or sold privately either. They still have to wait for the Hong family to pay for it.

As for how much the Hong family is willing to pay, it all depends on their mood.”

Qi Renli was shocked. "How can this be true? What benefit have the villagers received from them? Why should they listen to them?"

The neighbor pushed the shopkeeper away and said, "What good is there? We should listen to them! We have no choice but to listen. Can we beat them? Or can we escape from this place? In the dark, we are asked to fight evil spirits with bare hands. How can we win!"

The person in front of him was very emotional, and Qi Xiang was afraid that he might do something extreme, so he quickly stepped forward to protect Qi Renli.

The shopkeeper also kept pulling the neighbor, "Don't get excited, don't get excited, this gentleman doesn't know the truth, just speak slowly."

"Sir? What sir?" The neighbor wanted to wave the shopkeeper away regardless. "Who is this person trying to curry favor with the Hong family? How come you have a relationship with such a person?"

"Misunderstanding."

The shopkeeper was about to explain when the waiter came back with the found father-in-law and his family.

The old couple really walked along the side road. They were helped back by the waiter. They looked at their son-in-law in front of them and said in surprise, "You are really a family. I was just about to go to your house and you came."

"Mom and Dad, if you're going to town, please ask someone to tell me to come back and pick you up. At your age..."

The old man waved his hand and said, "Don't talk too much." Then he pointed at Qi Renli and his group and said, "Who is that?"

The shopkeeper asked his father-in-law to open the lock first, invited everyone into the house, and introduced Qi Renli's identity and purpose.

The neighbor who was shouting excitedly outside just now knelt down in front of Qi Renli after hearing this, "Sir, I didn't know you were an official from another place, I am sorry for offending you.

But I heard that you came here to help the people in the county make money, so you must be a good official.

Please help us, help us get rid of the Hong family."

How could Qi Renli have such a right? But after hearing what this person said, he couldn't just ignore it. He wished that Lord Meng was right next to him. He really wanted to ask Lord Meng what he would do if he encountered such a thing.

However, although Lord Meng is not around, he can take the people here to Beishan County, since he is in need of people who can raise silkworms. (End of this chapter)