Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 29: Local Gentry and Tycoons Divide Incense Money
In the countryside at night, only a few lights are scattered about.

One of these places was leaked from inside the Zhou family's residence.

This is a large house with two courtyards and two entrances, covering a considerable area. It stands out prominently in Datang Township.

At this moment, the three people were in the hall.

One of them, in his sixties, with a neatly combed goatee, was sitting leisurely drinking tea; he was Zhou Huaihua, the head of the Zhou family.
Below him was a middle-aged man in his thirties, thin with little flesh on his cheeks. His eyes showed signs of long-term overuse, becoming asymmetrical and crossed. He often had to squint to see things clearly.

It was Zhou Huaihua's son, Zhou Ming, a thirty-six-year-old scholar who had never completed his studies.

In a way, he was also Chen Jin's classmate.

The population of Datang Township is diverse, with various surnames, so there is no clan-based school. There is, however, a small private school, where the teacher, Su Tongsheng, is nearly seventy years old.

Therefore, if they want to access better educational resources, students from the village school have no choice but to go to the county town to study.

Getting into the city is easier said than done.

Pursuing education is even more difficult.

Over the years, all told, only two or three people in the entire Datang Township have managed to persevere.

Chen Jin is one, and Zhou Ming is another.

The two seemed to share a similar plight.

Chen Jin achieved fame at a young age but wasted his middle age, while Zhou Ming admitted students to the imperial examinations five years later than Wang Fu.

They were all excluded from the college entrance examination.

As a local gentry and local tyrant, Zhou Huaihua's greatest ambition was to unify Datang Township.

During the Qianlong reign, township self-governance was an ancient tradition, which has been the case since ancient times, hence the saying "the law does not extend to the countryside".

It's not that they were truly lawless, but rather that the villagers adhered to the established rules. No matter what happened, whether it was a land dispute or a fight, they would generally handle it behind closed doors and wouldn't go to the city to complain to the authorities.

There's a saying that goes, "Since ancient times, government offices have faced south; those with reason but no money shouldn't enter." This idea is deeply ingrained in people's minds.

The cost of going to the city to sue the officials is too high, even higher than the cost of a life. How could anyone do it?

Since no one reported it, it naturally didn't violate the law.

Rural self-governance has a set of rules and regulations, and those who master these rules and maintain order are mostly local clan elders and gentry.

The village head is the chief of a township, holding the most prominent position and status.

But Zhou Lizheng was not satisfied with this. He wanted to unify Datang Township and make the Zhou family the master, while other families would either be squeezed out or become tenants and long-term workers of the Zhou family.

To realize this ambition, land consolidation must be carried out. When other families lose their land, they will find it difficult to survive.

However, farmland is the lifeblood of farmers. Unless there is a sudden and drastic change that makes it impossible to survive, they will not sell it.

However, in recent years, the country has enjoyed peace and prosperity, with favorable weather and no major disasters, which has hindered Zhou Lizheng's ambitions and made them difficult to realize.

There was no other way but to think of another solution.

The most advantageous path was for a member of the family to pass the imperial examinations and obtain official rank. Becoming a mere scholar (秀才) was insufficient; only becoming a provincial graduate (举人) and an official was a fundamental change in status.

Once someone passes the imperial examination, let alone buying and selling land, farmers will actively vie to hand over their land to avoid taxes.

Unfortunately, after years of studying, Zhou Ming only managed to pass the preliminary examination and become a student. He has two sons, but one son is worse than the other, only good at being mischievous. After several years of elementary school, he can barely recognize any characters. It seems that he has no hope of becoming a scholar or even a student.

The disappointment of his children and grandchildren weighed heavily on Zhou Lizheng's mind, causing him great distress. He often wondered if there was something wrong with the feng shui of his ancestral home, or if someone had sabotaged his family's destiny...

It seems we need to invite a highly skilled spiritual master to perform another ritual.

He took a sip of tea and asked, "Second brother, is the count complete?"

The second brother, Zhou Chang, was below, with a large basket of copper coins neatly arranged in front of him, one by one, in strings and bundles. He turned the abacus and replied, "It's all calculated. After deducting the cost of renovations, materials, and labor for rebuilding the mountain god's true form, there's a net surplus of 318 taels and 672 cash. Brother, our family is going to be rich!"

When he read out the number, he was overjoyed, his eyes shining: "It's a pity that the money wasn't all collected, otherwise it would have been even more."

Datang Township has nearly a thousand households and several thousand people. Although it is called a "township", it is actually a "town".

If everyone paid 100 coins per household, the total amount would be astronomical.

Of course, this pretext of acting on behalf of the gods is different from the government collecting rent and taxes. There are no laws to enforce it, and various problems will be encountered in the process of collecting money.

Some wealthy families might readily pay, but ordinary farmers struggling to make ends meet and with large families simply cannot afford it.

Therefore, when Zhou Chang led people to collect money door-to-door, he would vary his approach depending on the person and the family.

In short, the more the merrier, collect as much as you can.

Of course, the remaining money couldn't be kept all by himself; a portion had to be shared with the elders of other villages so that everyone could get rich and the situation could be kept under control.

If Chen Jin's father were still alive, he could have gotten a share of the profits based on his status as a scholar. But once the man is gone, the favor is gone. Instead, the family became the "big spender," obediently paying up.

The money-sharing plan had already been decided, with the Zhou family taking the lion's share, which was practically free money for them, and they were already quite pleased with themselves.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing requires a special opportunity and can only happen once; otherwise, the income would be rolling in.

Hearing that the amount of money was considerable, Zhou Lizheng was also overjoyed.

What makes these people worthy of being called local gentry and tycoons?
It's all thanks to having lots of money, lots of land, and lots of people!
Money is the most important factor; only with money can one have land and people.

As for whether dividing up this incense money will offend the gods, they are not afraid, since they are genuinely doing things for the gods.

Like a mountain god, only a head remains. Without their leadership, financial and physical contributions, how can the true form be restored?
If the mountain god is sentient, he should bestow blessings and protection in return.

Zhou Huaihua looked at his son, whose brows were furrowed: "Ming'er, what are you thinking about?"

Zhou Ming said, "I still don't understand how the mountain god's head could have been lost in the grass at the foot of the mountain. According to the shepherd who found it, the head was hidden under a rock in the grass, placed neatly, which is quite strange."

Zhou Lizheng shook his head: "Why think so much? Those things are no longer important."

……

The local temple was not built in the village, but in a place outside the village, not far away, on a low slope, with a stream flowing in front of it.

A place with both mountains and water is a suitable place for building a temple.

Chen Jin walked alone under the moonlight along the dirt road.

He was not holding a lamp.

The Kui Xing kicking the Dipper lamp was stored in a wooden box and carried on his back.

There's no need to take it out or turn on the lights right now.

Chen Jin was confident that he could deal with such a weak and insignificant mountain demon with a single strike.

With a flick of his wrist, he produced a short, gleaming blade—the very dagger Wang Fu had gifted him.

Not far ahead, the lights illuminated the outline of the local earth god temple.

A locust tree stands tall in front of the temple, its lush branches spreading out, casting swaying shadows that appear fierce and menacing.

　The website underwent restructuring, and all new books now need to be 60,000 to 70,000 words to even be eligible for recommendations. The data is dismal, it's really tough!

(End of this chapter)