Chapter 8 - I am a good person

Translator: Exodus Tales  Editor: Exodus Tales

“表哥,你是不是有什么心事?”周忠茂问道.

“Cousin, do you have something on your mind?” Zhou Zhongmao asked.

林凡笑着,”没事,好的很.”

Lin Fan smiled, “I am fine, I feel great.”

体魄:18

Physique: 18

内力:0

Internal Strength: 0

心法:无

Heart Cultivation: Nil

功法:虎煞刀法（入门）

Cultivation Technique: Vengeful Tiger Blade Technique (Basics)

怒气点:655.

Rage Points: 655.

现在自身情况就是这样.

His current body situation was like that.

体魄提升到18.

His Physique rose up to 18.

没有一点内力,应该就是没有修炼心法.

He didn’t have any internal strength probably because he didn’t cultivate any heart cultivation techniques.

说直白点,他现在就是空有蛮力的莽夫.

To say bluntly, he was now a brute with strength.

而如今,要说有心事的那就是陈管事.

If someone was worried, it was Manager Chen.

他现在很慌.

He panicked.

脑子里想的还是先前那女子.

His mind was still thinking about the girl from before.

如果真是苏家人,那是真的惹下大麻烦.

If it was the Su Family, it would cause a huge problem.

此时.

他们已经身处农田小道.

At that moment, they arrived at the farmland path.

炎热炙烤着大地.

地面都裂开缝隙.

The heat scorched the earth, causing the ground to crack.

远方.

有不少贫民看到了陈管事.

In the distance, there were many poor civilians looking at Manager Chen.

但他们没有过来,反而是拔腿就朝着远方跑去.

They didn’t come over but ran away instead.

“我怎么感觉,我们像是瘟疫呢,别人看到我们就害怕,这是什么情况?”林凡问道.

“Why do I feel like we are like a plague, and other people are afraid of looking at us. What is the problem?” Lin Fan asked.

怒气积累着,回去慢慢加.

His rage points accumulated; he would add to his stats when he returned.

陈管事面露凶样,感觉这些贱民,让他在公子面前丢了脸,必须好好炮制一番.

Manager Chen was really frustrated, he felt like the civilians had lost him face in front of Young Master and he had to teach them a lesson.

“公子放心,小的马上就让这些贱民夹道欢迎.”陈管事说道.

“Don’t worry Young Master, I will let these scum welcome you.” Manager Chen said.

林凡摆手,有些不满道:”什么贱民不贱民的,别这样称呼,庸俗,俗不可耐.”

Lin Fan waved his hand and said unhappily, “What scum, don’t call them that. They are just commoners.”

陈管事诧异的看着公子.

Manager Chen looked at Young Master with a weird expression.

总感觉公子说话有点怪怪的.

He felt that Young Master spoke really weirdly.

“是,公子教训的是,小人改.”陈管事说道.

“Yes, I thank Young Master for teaching me. I will change.” Manager Chen said.

但心里还是认为,这些人就是贱民,贱不可言,如果不是林家赏口饭,这些人都得跟那些幽城外的流民一样.

In his heart, he still felt like these people were scum and shouldn’t speak. If not for the Lin Family sparing them food, they would be like the refugees outside of You City.

狗子对公子的好感再次突破极限.

Gou’zi’s good impression of Young Master jumped once more.

公子不愧是公子,就是跟那些妖艳贵公子不同.

As expected, Young Master was different from those arrogant Young Masters.

他身为林家仆役,直白说,也算半个贱民.

As a Lin Family servant, he was half a scum.

穿过农田小道.

前方就是一座村庄,屋子不少,但太破旧,有草屋,也有泥土堆成的屋子.

Passing the farmland path, there was a village in front of them with many houses. However, they were all old; there were thatched houses and also houses made from stacked up mud.

而那些泥屋外墙,都崩裂开许多口子.

Many holes were torn apart on the outsides of these mud houses.

甚至,他都在怀疑,要是下一场大雨,很有可能将这些屋子给冲垮掉.

He even suspected that if there was a huge rain that the houses might collapse.

村庄里,平民们都站在那里等待着.

The commoners were all standing there and waiting.

有的低头不语,有的满脸绝望.

Some of them lowered their heads and didn’t speak, while some of their faces were filled with despair.

“怎么办,这可怎么办,交不出来了.”

“How? What can we do? We can’t hand over the taxes.”

“陈管事来了,如果交不出来,肯定会被打骂.”

“Manager Chen is here, if we can’t pay it we will be beaten.”

当林凡走进村庄里时,所有声音都消失不见,整个村庄都显的很安静.

When Lin Fan walked into the village, all the noise disappeared and the entire village seemed really quiet.

就算是那些皮闹的孩童,都害怕的躲在墙角处.

Even those playful kids were so afraid that they hid around a corner.

陈管事轻咳一声,随后从腰间抽出一根软鞭,啪嗒一声,重击在地面,留下很深的印记.

Manager Chen coughed and then took out a whip. With a Pa ta, he struck onto the ground, leaving a very deep mark.

“人都到齐了吗?这位是林府公子,还不赶紧给公子请安.”陈管事厉声道.

“Is everyone here? This person is the Lin Manor Young Master, why aren’t you greeting him.” Manager Chen said fiercely.

对付这些贱民,就得让他们怕.

To deal with these scum, he had to make them afraid.

只有知道了怕,那才会好好干活.

Only when they were afraid would they do their work properly.

“林公子.”

“Lin Young Master.”

“林公子.”

“Lin Young Master.”

断断续续,声音不齐,声音普遍都很小.

The voices were unorderly and they were often very soft.

啪嗒!

Pa ta!

陈管事抽着鞭子,又再次落地,脸色极其难看,厉声道:”都没有吃饭吗?给我大声点.”

Manager Chen smacked his whip onto the ground, his expression was really ugly as he said fiercely, “Did none of you eat? Louder!”

“干什么?你想干什么?把鞭子收起来,有话就好好说,吓唬谁呢?”林凡皱眉.

“What are you doing? What do you want to do? Keep the whip, speak nicely, who are you trying to scare?” Lin Fan frowned.

万恶的土地主.

Evil landlord.

这小小的管事就表现的淋漓尽致啊.

A small Manager acted so arrogantly.

对贱民一副凶狠嘴脸的陈管事,在林凡面前温顺许多,急忙将鞭子收起来,”公子训的是.”

Manager Chen, who was fierce towards the people, acted much more gently in front of Lin Fan. He kept his whip, “I will listen to Young Master.”

村庄里的村民们,都看着林凡.

The villagers all looked towards Lin Fan.

这是林家公子,他们从来都没有见过.

They had never seen the Lin Family Young Master before.

也想不明白这样的大人物,怎么会到这地方.

They couldn’t understand how such a person would appear here.

周忠茂对这里的事情,没有丝毫兴趣.

Zhou Zhongmao wasn’t interested in anything here at all.

他就是陪伴表哥而已.

He just came here to accompany his cousin.

别的事情跟他也没多大的关系.

Other things didn’t have much to do with him.

倒是狗子有点无奈.

Gou’zi was the one who felt helpless.

此次是来收税的.

They came here to collect taxes.

但以今年的天气,怕是收成极少,怕是连税都不够交,更不用说填饱肚子了.

However, with the weather this year, their harvests were probably meager; they wouldn’t be able to pay up, not to mention filling their stomachs.

可他只是仆役.

However, he was only a servant.

人微言轻,或者可以说就是毫无用处.

His words were useless and weren’t able to achieve anything.

陈管事认为公子不喜欢自己这般的恶,那就收敛一点,开口道:”今年的税都准备好了吗?”

Manager Chen felt that Young Master didn’t like him being so evil and tough so he did things more gently, “Are the taxes prepared?”

没人说话.

No one spoke.

村民们面面相觑,苦涩万分.

The villagers exchanged glances with one another and presented a bitter expression.

田税?

Farm taxes?

哪来有多余的.

How would there be any extra?

但如果不交,后果不是他们所能承担的.

However, if they didn’t hand it over, the consequences weren’t things that they could bear.

“嗯?”陈管事皱眉,什么情况,这些贱民是不想交税?

“Oh?” Manager Chen frowned. What was going on, were these scum not going to hand it over?

今天公子跟他过来,如果他不将这件事情办的漂漂亮亮,公子会如何看他?

Today, Young Master had followed him over and if he didn’t deal with this matter beautifully, how would Young Master judge him?

“陈管事.”此时,人群里,一名老者走了出来.

“Manager Chen.” At this moment, an old man walked out of the crowd.

很老了,脸上的皱纹比起树皮来说,也相差不远.

He was really old, and the creases on his face were not far away from that of tree bark.

“税我们肯定是交的,但今年收成不好,能不能少交点,或者欠着也行.”老者说道.

“We will definitely hand over the taxes, but the harvest this year isn’t good. Can we hand over less, or we can owe it first.” The old man said.

他是这里的村长.

He was the village chief.

今年的情况,真的没办法.

There was really nothing he could do with this year’s situation.

可他知道,理由对林家来说,并不重要,只要能交税一切都好说,可要是交不齐,后果不堪设想.

However, he knew that reasons weren’t important to the Lin Family. It was good if they submit everything, but the outcome would be catastrophic if they didn’t.

陈管事脸色逐渐有所变化.

Manager Chen’s expression changed slightly.

看向这些贱民的眼神都变了.

The way he looked towards them also changed.

“村长,今天我家公子前来,你就跟我说这些?”陈管事阴沉道,随后看向林凡,”公子,此事小的会解决好,绝不会让林家有半点损失.”

“Village chief, today my young master has followed me and you tell me this?” Manager Chen’s face sunk, and he looked towards Lin Fan, “Young Master, I will deal with this matter and won’t let the Lin Family lose out at all.”

林凡抬头看着天,扇了扇风.

Lin Fan raised his head at the sky and fanned himself.

“这天的确够热的.”

“The weather is really hot.”

“有点干旱的迹象啊.”

“It is showing signs of drought.”

他到现在都不知道这自家的税到底是怎么收的.

Till now he didn’t know how they collected taxes.

还有这小辅助就是很人性化的.

Also, the little support system was really humane.

不欺负寻常老百姓.

It didn’t bully normal civilians.

在场的这些农民,心里愤怒的肯定不少,但就是没有怒气点.

The farmers here were definitely really angry, but it didn’t give him any rage points.

“狗子,这税是怎么收的?”林凡问道.

“Gou’zi, how are the taxes collected?” Lin Fan asked.

狗子回道:”公子,按亩收,一亩地收一百五十斤.”

Gou’zi replied, “Young Master based on land, one mu will give us 75 kilograms.”

“什么?”林凡听闻,愣神了,仿佛是没听明白似的,又问道;”怎么收?”

“What?” Lin Fan was stunned when he heard that, like he was confused. He asked once more, “How is it calculated?”

“回公子,按亩收.”狗子说道.

“It is based on how many mu the land is.” Gou’zi said.

林凡惊呆了.

Lin Fan was shocked.

这可比秦朝时暴税还高啊.

This was even higher than the taxes during the Qin Dynasty.

这分明就是不给人活路.

They were not giving people a chance to live at all.

“那现在一亩地产多少?”林凡又问道.

“Now how much does a mu of land produce?” Lin Fan asked.

“公子,现在一亩地均收在二百斤左右.”狗子说道,这是幽城的税收,只给农民留下一点,其余的都当税收.

“Young Master, one mu produces 100 kilograms.” Gou’zi said. The You City taxes leaves a little for the farmers and the rest is taxed.

“可怕,这是哪个王八蛋定下的税收,这完全就是不给人活命的机会啊.”林凡骂道.

“Terrifying, which idiot set this rule? They want people to die.” Lin Fan scolded.

只是当他说出这番话时.

不仅仅是陈管事惊呆了.

Not only was Manager Chen shocked, but even the villagers were stunned.

就连那些农民也都傻眼.

狗子急忙在林凡耳边小声道:”公子,这是老爷定下的税收.”

Gou’zi quickly whispered, “Young Master, it was set by Old Master.”

“行了,甭管谁定的,这农税简直丧心病狂,改,必须得改,我身为林家公子就在这把新农税给定了.”

“Okay, no matter who set it, the farmer tax is just too horrible. Change, we have to change it. As the young master I will change it now.”

“从今天开始,不安亩收,只收全年收成的一成.”

“From today on, we will not charge based on mu, we will collect 10% a year.”

林凡说道.

Lin Fan said.

这种丧心病狂的行为,必须制止.

He had to stop such horrific actions.

身为地主家的富儿,必须干点实事.

As the local rich son, he had to do something.

“公子,万万不可啊.”陈管事反应过来,急忙制止.

“Young Master you can’t!” Manager Chen reacted and quickly tried to stop him.

这是要命的事.

That would lead to death.

如果让老爷知道,那这天可都是要塌下来的.

If Old Master found out, the world would collapse.

村民们傻愣的站在那里.

The villagers were stunned as they stood there.

都睁着眼看着林凡.

They all opened their eyes and looked at Lin Fan.

刚刚林公子说什么?

What did Young Master Lin say?

林凡没有理睬陈管事,而是看看天,看看地,又开口了,”这鬼天气热的吓人,属于干旱,今年的田税就免了.”

Lin Fan didn’t bother, he looked at the sky and ground before speaking again, “The weather is so hot, it really is a dry season, I will not collect taxes this year.”

“公子…”陈管事要喷血,万万不可啊.

“Young Master…” Manager Chen wanted to spit blood, he definitely couldn’t do that.

“你是公子还是我是公子,我说的话就没用了?这事我担着,就我说的,我爹要是不同意,就让他来找我.”林凡说道.

“Are you the Young Master or am I? Are my words useless? I will take responsibility, so just say that it is my idea. Let Father come find me if he doesn’t agree.” Lin Fan said.

富贵险中求.

To seek for riches in danger.

该刷怒气的时候,不能手软.

When he should amass rage, he couldn’t act weakly.

必须硬杠一波.

He had to take it head-on.

还能把我这唯一的儿子给砍死不成?

Could he kill his only son?

噗通!

Putong!

就在此时.

村民们都跪下了.

At that moment, the villagers all knelt down.

村长更是跪在林凡面前,老泪纵横,”谢谢公子,谢谢公子.”

The village chief knelt in front of Lin Fan and cried, “Thank you Young Master, thank you Young Master!”

没念过书.

感恩的话不会太说.

He had never studied before, and he didn’t know any words of gratitude.

但真情流露.

However, he showed his true emotions.

没半点虚假.

There was nothing fake about it.

林凡上前,将村长扶起来,苦口婆心道:”村长,以后你们得好好种地,本公子能否潇洒享受生活,可就靠你们了.”

Lin Fan walked up and helped him stand, saying emotionally, “Village Chief, in the future, farm properly. Whether or not I can live will depend on you all.”

这话听起来有点怪.

但对村民们来说,这不是重点.

Those words sounded weird, but to them, this wasn’t the most important thing.

“公子放心,我们一定会好好种地,明年肯定将田税交上.”

“Don’t worry Young Master, we will. Next year we will hand over the taxes.”

林凡满意的点着头.

Lin Fan nodded his head in satisfaction.

“走,打道回府.”

“Let’s go, back to the manor.”

陈管事绝望的看着自家公子.

Manager Chen looked towards Young Master in despair.

这是要出大事啊.

Huge problems were going to arise.