Collecting Taxes. Seventeen Years Old.

The night was cold as frost.

The cold wind, mixed with snow, played upon the windowpanes, making rustling sounds. A bit of cold wind seeped into the room through the cracks in the windowsill, whistling by the ear of the beautiful woman on the bed.

An arm, white as snow like a lotus root, immediately reached out from under the cotton quilt. She pressed her cheek, round and lustrous as a pearl, against the quilt. On the tall tea stand, a lamp with a base cast a dim light onto the bed.

Han An Nuong emerged from the quilt, taking a breath of fresh air. Just as she picked up the undergarment beside her, preparing to put it on, Tran Mac took it from her.

Han An Nuong said shyly, "Uncle, didn't you say you wanted to teach me to read?"

"We can also teach in bed."

Tran Mac quickly slipped out of the quilt, grabbed a primer, then quickly got back into the warmth of the bed, holding Han An Nuong.

"To delve deep is to explore profoundly, sister-in-law. I'll first teach you five big characters. When you can read and write them, I'll teach you another five."

Tran Mac planned to teach Han An Nuong the Blood Nurturing Technique after she learned to read.

Tran Mac didn't extravagantly hope she could cultivate it successfully; just learning the basics to strengthen her body would be good.

He had Han An Nuong first say the characters she recognized.

Although Han An Nuong hadn't studied and didn't know many characters, she could still write her own name and Tran Mac's name.

After understanding which characters she knew, Tran Mac began to teach, starting with the five characters commonly encountered in daily life: firewood, rice, oil, salt, and tea.

Han An Nuong studied very seriously, reading aloud while also writing on her own thigh.

It was just that Tran Mac's teaching was a bit dishonest.

Beneath the exquisite, jade-like collarbone, a vast expanse was enveloped by his Five Finger Mountain.

"Uncle..." Her powdered lips slightly parted. Han An Nuong's snow-fair face gradually flushed with an intoxicating blush.

"Sister-in-law, you must be serious when studying. Don't look around," Tran Mac said.

Han An Nuong: "..."

She endured the hard-to-suppress shyness and said, her voice like a mosquito's buzz, "Uncle, how can I study when you're like this?"

"Why can't you study like this? It can also cultivate your concentration, killing two birds with one stone. Come, read after me: firewood, rice..."

"..."

Han An Nuong's beautiful eyes drooped. Enduring her shyness, she said in a trembling voice, "But uncle, with you like this, I simply can't... concentrate my mind."

However, Tran Mac didn't listen.

Han An Nuong could only try her best to endure her bashfulness and adapt.

Fortunately, it was only five characters, not many. Han An Nuong quickly grasped them and wanted to learn more.

Tran Mac smiled and pinched Han An Nuong's cheek, saying, "Remembering them now doesn't mean you'll still remember them tomorrow. Go to sleep."

...

Sure enough, as soon as it was bright the next day.

Tran Mac had her copy the five big characters she learned last night. As a result, Han An Nuong only managed to write "rice" and "tea."

Tran Mac could only teach her again for a while during breakfast.

In the morning, he practiced his dao, while Truong Ha dug the tunnel.

After lunch at noon and a short rest to digest, Tran Mac then taught Truong Ha dao practice.

After practicing the dao and recovering some stamina, Truong Ha continued digging the tunnel.

In the eyes of those who didn't know the inside story, Truong Ha was being worked like an ox and horse by Tran Mac.

But for Truong Ha, there wasn't a single word of complaint; instead, his heart was filled with gratitude.

Because Tran Mac not only covered his lunch and dinner but also occasionally let him take some grain home.

In these chaotic times, grain was like a second parent.

Secondly, everyone in the village now knew he was Tran Mac's underling.

When those villagers greeted him, their voices carried a hint of respect.

Time flowed like water. In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

During this time, Tran Mac took Truong Ha into the city once to retrieve the newly forged Tang Dao.

This new Tang Dao was more than five catties heavier than the original one.

Tran Mac gave the old Tang Dao to Truong Ha to use.

Additionally, Tran Mac also purchased a batch of grain, mainly rice and pork.

The price of grain had risen again. With spring not far off, Tran Mac had to stockpile grain beforehand.

Once war broke out, the price of grain would only become higher.

However, it was on this very day they returned after buying grain.

Truong Ha told Tran Mac that quite a few people in the village wanted to follow him and asked if he was recruiting.

Tran Mac naturally wouldn't recruit.

This was a martial arts world, not the ancient times before his transmigration. What would he do with so many people? Build another Thanh Ha Gang?

Don't be ridiculous. His own expenses were already so large; how could he afford to support so many people?

Even if he could support them, these were chaotic times, and the rebels were about to attack. Would he recruit so many ordinary people to stop the rebels?

Or to rebel himself?

It would be somewhat acceptable if they were martial artists.

Recruiting a dozen or so ordinary people as underlings meant dozens of mouths helping him eat. Did they really think he was a charity house?

Moreover, these people also had families.

To put it bluntly, they were a burden.

Focus on himself first, then talk.

...

Another week passed.

The time came to the 20th day of the first month.

Although the weather was still cold, the snow had stopped falling for two days.

On this day, people from the yamen came.

It was still Banh Thanh himself leading the men.

The purpose of coming to Phuc Trach Village was to collect taxes.

It was another new year.

This year's hunting tax and poll tax were due.

However, Phuc Trach Village, having been plundered twice by the Thanh Ha Gang, how could they have money to pay taxes?

Did the yamen know?

Of course, they knew.

But this was a direct order from above. If taxes couldn't be collected, they had to find a way to make up the shortfall themselves.

Thuong Vien certainly wouldn't fork out that money.

If he didn't, who would?

Would they rely on those gentry masters?

Therefore, they could only make the common people suffer a bit.

No money, then use land to offset it.

Many people in the village still had land.

For them, the fields were their livelihood, their roots. Unless it was absolutely unavoidable, they would not sell their land.

Banh Thanh knew that doing this was excessive, so at the very beginning, he used kind words to persuade them, saying they could use their land to offset the taxes, with overpayments refunded and underpayments supplemented.

Later, when the villagers didn't listen, he began to use force.

Phuc Trach Village was once again filled with sounds of sorrow.

Tran Mac also paid taxes.

This was something every household had to pay.

Unless he wanted to rebel.

After Banh Thanh and his men left, Tran Mac sighed.

This imperial court was already rotten to what extent.

If things continued like this, its destruction would be inevitable.

Tran Mac currently only dared to grumble. He glanced at his system panel.

[Name: Tran Mac.]

[Age: 16.]

[Cultivation Technique: Blood Nurturing Technique (major success 283.3/1000).]

[Realm: Bone Refining (eighth rank).]

[Strength: 85.]

[Skill: Demon-Breaking Dao Technique (advanced 226540/400000).]

He couldn't change anything.

Speaking of which, there were still some people in the village who owed him grain.

Tran Mac had never gone to ask them to repay it.

Now, at this time, Tran Mac found it even harder to bring it up.

Forget it, let it be.

...

The progress on the cellar was good.

Although it wasn't dug very long, enough space had been hollowed out for Tran Mac, Han An Nuong, and Truong Ha's family to stay.

Of course, Tran Mac also didn't forget to reinforce it to prevent the cellar from collapsing.

...

Second lunar month.

Tran Mac turned seventeen. Sister-in-law cooked him a bowl of longevity noodles and added two eggs.

On this day, his heart softened with compassion, and he had Truong Ha deliver some grain to Tran Dai Lam and Tong Dien's family...