The Hidden Immortal

Chapter 15 Land Surveyor

Fortunately, the crows attacked in time, and the damaged land was not too much, only two or three acres.

Chu Xun and Zhang Sanchun, along with Li Shoutian, helped clean up the stones in no time.

The soil that has been disturbed is difficult to restore now.

To prevent any accidents, none of them left and they stayed in the field to keep watch.

Even lunch was prepared by Zhang Anxiu after she went back and brought back.

It wasn't until after noon that the county government's surveyor finally arrived.

The land surveyor was about forty years old, thin, but with a slightly protruding belly.

A gray sash was tied around his waist with great ceremony, from which hung a palm-sized wooden plaque with the words "County Government Field Survey" engraved on it.

Wearing a soft-winged turban, his triangular eyes were slightly narrowed. He was too lazy to even lift his eyelids when looking at people, only revealing a hint of disdain through his slits.

He had a tuft of goatee on his chin, which was blown crooked by the wind, but he would occasionally raise his hand to stroke it, pretending to be dignified.

Li Shoutian hurriedly ran over, bowing and scraping: "Sir, this is the land that our village has reclaimed. Please inspect it."

The surveyor snorted softly, raised his chin even higher, and didn't reply.

With his hands behind his back, he strolled over to the turned soil, casually kicked a clod of earth with his toe, not even lifting his eyelids, his tone carrying an air of condescending arrogance.

"There's no planting in this field, why do we need to check?"

This is clearly nitpicking. Although the edges of a few acres of land have been ruined, if you look a little further in, you can tell that it has already been planted.

But they didn't even look at it; they just stared at that tiny patch of land.

Li Shoutian knew exactly what was going on, so he quickly took out two taels of silver from his waist and stuffed it into the hands of the land surveyor.

"It rained heavily last night, please forgive me, sir."

If the land reclamation fails to meet the standards, the penalty is thirty coins.

Sixty acres of wasteland don't even meet the standard, and together they only amount to 1,800 wen, less than two taels of silver.

But Li Shoutian was still willing to give so many benefits. He knew better than anyone how greedy these officials from the county government were.

Instead of giving less upfront and then having to add more money later when the customer is unhappy, it's better to give the full amount upfront, which saves a lot of trouble.

The land surveyor, who had a rather large belly, casually put the silver into his sleeve pocket, a smile appearing on his face.

"Excellent, excellent, the wasteland here has been reclaimed quite well. You have all worked diligently for the court, and thank you for your hard work."

Not only does her complexion improve, but she can also speak more eloquently.

Li Shoutian summoned Chu Xun at the opportune moment and said, "Sir, our Songguo Village has reclaimed a total of sixty mu of wasteland, of which thirty mu were reclaimed by Chu Xun's family. According to the wasteland reclamation order, it should be reported to the county government and a village feast should be held for them."

Upon hearing this, the surveyor was slightly surprised and looked at Chu Xun.

He looked her up and down and asked, "Your family has reclaimed thirty acres of wasteland?"

Chu Xun bowed respectfully, neither servile nor arrogant, and said, "Yes, sir."

The land surveyor then looked at Li Shoutian, a half-smile on his face, and said, "The 'village feast guests' are those who get to eat at the county magistrate's banquet for local worthies. Does your Songguo Village also want to go?"

He didn't believe that a family could reclaim thirty acres of wasteland in a year, and thought that Li Shoutian was just trying to promote a local celebrity and give Songguo Village some face.

Other villages also had similar incidents, but in almost all of them, the village chiefs would pay for other people's wasteland to make up the numbers.

Unlike Songguo Village, which actually sent out a greenhorn.

The land surveyor stroked his somewhat disheveled beard and said calmly, "If you want to attend the local gentry's banquet, two taels of silver won't be enough."

It is said that the Jing Kingdom used high salaries to encourage honesty, and the emperor vowed to make the Jing Kingdom the most honest dynasty in history.

But no matter how high their salaries are, they can't match the greed of these people.

Even if they're just here to check on the progress of land reclamation, they still have to get something out of it.

After all, the position of land surveyor was bought with money.

If I don't make a profit, how can I justify the money I've spent?

Li Shoutian didn't know how to respond, so he could only look at Chu Xun.

After all, this is Chu Xun's land, and no matter what, he can't possibly help pay the money.

Chu Xun knew perfectly well what was going on, and took out ten taels of silver from his waist and handed it over: "Please accept this small token of my appreciation, sir."

The land surveyor glanced at it only once and then said, "The annual harvest from one mu of land is at least four taels. Your thirty mu of land will yield more than a hundred taels a year. Even if you split it in half, that's still fifty taels a year."

Zhang Anxiu, who was standing nearby, was furious. Ten taels of silver was already a lot of money, yet this guy was so greedy.

Chu Xun gestured behind her back, signaling her not to say anything more.

Then he asked Zhang Anxiu to go back and get forty taels of silver, which he then handed over.

The surveyor then took the land with a broad smile, saying, "Good lad, you have guts, your future is limitless."

Fifty taels for the title of "village guest" isn't cheap, but it's not too expensive either.

With this money, things became much simpler afterward.

The surveyor walked around the sixty acres of reclaimed land, casually picking out a few minor flaws and recording them, but it was generally considered acceptable.

He then lifted his foot, rubbed the mud off his sole on a roadside stone, and said, "Alright, we'll file this at the county office when we get back, and come back in a few days to collect the land reclamation certificate."

A hint of joy appeared on Li Shoutian's face; he had finally passed this hurdle.

"Thank you, sir. Please take care!"

After bowing and scraping as he saw the lowly land surveyor off, Zhang Anxiu watched him walk away before finally cursing him with red eyes.

"This man is insatiable; he'd take fifty taels! Doesn't he fear his sons will be born without buttocks? If this is reported to the imperial court, he'll be charged with embezzlement and perverting the law!"

Fifty taels! Even when Zhang Shigen was still alive, the Zhang family had never saved up that much silver.

In the entire Songguo Village, Chu Xun is probably the only one who can come up with so much silver at once.

Li Shoutian shook his head and said, "The saying goes, 'The common people can't fight with officials.' Even if we sue him, what will happen in the future? If people hold a grudge, we won't have a good outcome."

"Moreover, since Chu Xun has become a guest of honor at the village banquet, he can pay 20% less in taxes in the future. The more land he owns, the more benefits he will receive."

Zhang Anxiu understood the reasoning behind this, but he didn't understand why the emperor had said that people were not allowed to be greedy. He had heard that if someone was greedy for ten taels of silver, they would be dismissed, and if they were greedy for thirty taels, they would be beheaded.

How can these people still dare to be greedy?

Chu Xun didn't care about this; it was only fifty taels.

He now owns nearly fifty acres of land, and pays a 20% reduction in grain taxes twice a year, which roughly translates to a saving of about five taels of silver per year.

The losses can be recovered in just ten years.

This is under the premise that Chu Xun's land holdings do not increase. If they can reach 100 mu, the time will be shortened to five years.

In addition, villagers not only received tax reductions on their land, but also enjoyed various benefits in business and trade.

All things considered, it's not really a bad deal.

Chu Xun will be living in Songguo Village for a long time, and with a long-term perspective, he naturally won't care about the immediate gains and losses.

A few days later, Li Shoutian successfully retrieved the land reclamation permit from the county government.

However, this is just the beginning. It will take three consecutive years of inspections to ensure that the items can be returned to each household.

If the target is not met for a year, a fine will be imposed and the land will be confiscated by the county government.

Chu Xun's title of guest of honor at the local banquet has also been secured.

The wooden plaque is one meter long and one foot wide, with four large characters engraved on it in black lacquer.

Contributed to land reclamation!

Zhang Anxiu brought over a chair and handed over a hammer, watching Chu Xun hang the plaque on the lintel, beaming with joy.

The villagers also flocked to see the novelty, as the title of "village head of the guesthouse" was something only the old village chief's family had ever received in Songguo Village.

Chu Xun, a boy who is not even twenty years old, actually got it.

Li Shoutian kept his word and had a large stone tablet placed in front of the sixty mu of reclaimed land.

Merit Monument!

The items are arranged from top to bottom according to the amount of wasteland each household has reclaimed.

Chu Xun reclaimed thirty mu of wasteland, which undoubtedly ranks first.

The font is large and very clear.

Further down are Li Shoutian, then Li Tianjian, and then those families who have reclaimed a little over an acre of wasteland.

Looking at the prominently displayed name on the monument of merit, Zhang Anxiu, hands on her hips, surveyed the crowd and arrogantly shouted, "Who said Brother Xun couldn't do it! Speak up!"

No one answered; only people awkwardly lowered their heads.

Those who care about him will naturally clap their hands in joy.

Jealous people, on the other hand, secretly harbored resentment.

The Li Tianjian family, in particular, spent several days repairing the roof, spending money and getting exhausted.

The two sons are covered in injuries, and now when they see birds flapping their wings in the sky, they tremble with fear and run away covering their heads.

Now, Chu Xun has acquired thirty acres of wasteland, received a plaque for being a guest of honor in the village, and is listed first on the monument of merit.

Most importantly, Li Shoutian retained his position as village chief.

They were so jealous they were grinding their teeth to dust!