On this day, Ye Lingyue and other members of the Huangquan team took stock of the grain in the entire granary.

You don’t know if you don’t take stock. After taking stock, Ye Lingyue quickly discovered the problem.

There is less food in Beicang.

And it's not a shortage in the ordinary sense. The entire Beicang's grain supply is fifty dan less.

Fifty dan is not a small amount. When converted, it is equivalent to five thousand kilograms of grain.

And the strange thing is that these fifty dan were lost not long ago.

Ye Lingyue immediately called the old man in charge of Beicang to come and ask questions.

But after Ye Lingyue asked several times, the husband always pretended to be deaf and dumb, as if he couldn't hear clearly.

"Old man, you don't have to pretend anymore. I've already observed that you can move freely and your hearing is no problem at all. We have doctors in our team, so it's useless for you to pretend. Tell me, where did all this food go?

, if you can’t answer, I’ll report it to the county magistrate immediately.”

Ye Lingyue frowned and suddenly shouted angrily.

After drinking this, the old man was so frightened that his knees softened and he knelt down with a general cry.

"Sir, please forgive me. I didn't do it on purpose. I really had my own reasons. I didn't steal those grains with a bad heart. They were all life-saving grains."

After saying that, the old man became furious and kowtowed to beg for mercy. He still refused to stop until his forehead was covered with blood.

Everyone on the representative team saw each other and looked at each other. Senior Sister Wan Yun couldn't stand it anymore, so she went up and pulled the old man up by force, and comforted him before he calmed down.

"Sir, it's useless for me to say more. Please go somewhere with me. If you see it with your own eyes, you will understand."

The old man sighed, and then left Beicang with Ye Lingyue and others.

The old man took Ye Lingyue out of a village about four or five miles away in Fang'a County.

The village is close to the mountain. There are probably thousands of villagers in the mountain, and it is one of the many villages under Fang'a County.

As soon as she entered the village, Ye Lingyue felt something was wrong.

She noticed that the vegetation in the entire village, including the vegetation in the nearby mountain terraces, had dried up.

The animals in the barn were also swaying around, and they all looked hungry and thirsty.

The people in the village are all sallow and thin.

Several children held broken bowls in their hands and stared at Ye Lingyue and others with dark eyes.

"Sister, please give me something to eat. I haven't had enough to eat for several days."

A little girl with pigtails walked up to Ye Lingyue and pulled the corner of her clothes.

Everyone's hearts "thumped".

"Old man, what's going on? You stole so much food, why are these children still hungry? You're not lining your pockets, are you?"

Qin Xiaochuan grabbed the old man who was looking after the warehouse and questioned him sternly.

"Xiaoyu, what are you doing here? Leave quickly."

A woman heard the noise and hurriedly ran out of a dilapidated house. When she saw Ye Lingyue and others, she was so frightened that she picked up her children and ran away.

"What are you doing? We are not monsters that can eat people."

Photon said dissatisfied.

He is the mainstay of the Moonlight Theater Troupe, which is loved by everyone. When he goes there, he is not only surrounded by a bunch of supporters, but why is it that when people in the village see them, the earth tigers are all afraid.

"Sir, please don't get angry. Put down the little one first. He's almost out of breath." The old man begged Qin Xiaochuan with a frown on his face.

Qin Xiaochuan let go of Ye Lingyue's look.

"These villagers regard you as tax collectors. The food in the village is not used to line their own pockets, but is kept at the village chief's house."

The old man shook his head and took Ye Lingyue to the village chief's house.

In the backyard of the village chief's house, there was indeed a large amount of grain neatly stacked. Upon inspection, it turned out that there was quite a bit of it.

"Village chief, what is going on? Why is the food in the village not distributed to the villagers?"

A look of anger appeared on Ye Lingyue's face.

"Sir, you don't know something. These grains cannot be touched. These are grains used to pay taxes. If there is one less load, the whole village will suffer."

The village chief looked sad and then told Ye Lingyue the whole story.

It turns out that this village is called Pancun, and the village has made a living by growing sorghum rice for generations.

Since the water and soil in this area are very suitable for the growth of sorghum, it can be grown two seasons a year.

Fang'a County levies a certain grain and rice tax from the village every year.

Originally, there was always a surplus of grain in the village, and after paying taxes, the villagers could still make ends meet.

But just three or four months ago, the wells and rivers in the village all dried up for unknown reasons.

In addition, in the past few months, the weather in Fang'a County has been dry and rainless. The village does not even have enough water for people and animals, let alone watering the grain fields.

Seeing that in a few months, the village would have to pay grain tax again, the village chief saw that the village really could not provide grain, and was afraid that the county magistrate and others would pursue him. The life of the villagers was even worse, so he had to contact the old man who was guarding the grain in Fang'a County.

Liu Tou asked him to secretly smuggle some rice grains out of Beicang.

"I don't plan to steal the rice grains. These are county grains. If you miss a grain, you will lose your head. I just plan to fool around this time and pay some more grains privately after the drought in the village has passed.

"

The village chief sighed.

Guarding the food only left the villagers starving. As the village chief, he felt very sad when he saw such a scene.

In order to make a living, some young and middle-aged people in the village have left Pancun, leaving only some lonely old people, children and women in the village. As a result, the farmland is even more unattended.

The villagers had to eat only one meal a day, and were even more strapped for water.

"Grandpa, I'm thirsty."

The little grandson of the village chief's family nestled pitifully next to the village chief. His lips were split into small cuts due to thirst.

The village chief's eyes were sore, and a few old muddy tears rolled out of his eyes.

"With such a serious drought, why didn't you tell the county to reduce taxes earlier?"

Ye Lingyue listened and asked while taking out a few water bags from the storage bag. When he saw the water, the little guy's eyes lit up, but he did not dare to take it.

It wasn't until the old village chief nodded that the little guy hurriedly took the water bag and ran out, presumably to give it to his family.

"Sir, you are from other places and don't know anything. The county magistrate is a bastard. He used to rely on his power to force every village to pay taxes on time. If he didn't pay attention, he would kick and punch him. A while ago

, but I heard that a team of demon hunters came to the county, and they suppressed the county magistrate. But the county magistrate has since become their minions. After they came, they levied additional taxes, saying that

What kind of merit do you have to accumulate? As a result, the lives of the nearby villages will be even more difficult. If any village cannot pay, they will be imprisoned at least, and their heads will be lost at worst."

When the village chief talks about monster hunters, his heart palpitates.
Chapter completed!