Master Zeng Li sat cross-legged on the Tukang, holding a string of rosary beads in his hand. He used a string of 108 rosary beads. He lowered his head and recited the mantra silently.
The mantras he recited can already be transformed into reality. Each mantra word flashes with a faint golden light, appears out of thin air, and then is put into the rosary. It looks extremely magical.
Mi Xiaojing didn't dare to disturb him, he just stood and watched Master Zeng Li recite the mantra.
Master Zeng Li is over sixty years old. He is in excellent spirits. He has two jet-black eyebrows and a pair of shining eyes. He is also wearing a patchwork robe. Although he is sitting He chanted the mantra, but his back was straight.
After a moment, Master Zeng Li raised his head.
"Mi Xiaojing, today I am going to Fenglin Village to collect rent. You should go with me. Go back and prepare. We will stay in Fenglin Village for two days."
Mi Xiaojing was stunned and confused.
"Uncle, collecting rent is not the responsibility of the prison, why do you want us to go?"
"You don't need to ask these questions. If I ask you to go, you will go."
"Yes, uncle."
Master Zeng Li fiddled with the Yanzhu in his hand.
"In the past few days, a caravan will go to Fenglin Village. You can take some of your mountain goods with you to exchange for something."
Mi Xiaojing was immediately overjoyed, caravan! It is really rare to see caravans here in Xiyanmen. Generally, there is hope in autumn, because in autumn, caravans will enter the village to purchase food. At this time, every family has food, which can be exchanged for some daily necessities. There are groceries and stuff.
Going to Fenglin Village to collect rent is actually a good job for Yanxiu of Xiyanmen.
Mi Xiaojing immediately said goodbye and hurried back to his room. He had collected a lot of mountain goods.
Mi Xiaojing took a total of two large baskets of mountain products, including a lot of pecans, hazelnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, dried mushrooms, etc., as well as a small amount of dried wild vegetables. It was difficult to exchange for these things, so most of them were kept by themselves. used.
There were eight oxcarts in total, two of which were filled with mountain goods. They were all Mi Xiaojing's brothers and sisters, and some were mountain goods collected by long-term hired workers. They brought more things, including a lot of game, dried bacon, etc. Smoked meat, dried chicken and duck.
A total of more than a dozen people came, led by master Zeng Li, and several disciples from the prison. Mi Xiaojing was also sitting on the bullock cart.
Fenglin Village relies on the Xiyan Sect for survival. The land here is cultivated by the masters of the Xiyan Sect and then rented to the villagers for farming. The rent is collected every year. The entire village is actually owned by the Xiyan Sect. Tenants and farm laborers.
The Yanxiu of Xiyanmen not only has to collect rent, but also protect the safety of the villagers. Every winter, wolves, ferocious beasts such as tigers and leopards appear in Xishan and Jingshan, and there are even terrifying spiritual beasts. The villagers must be protected by the Xiyan Sect's cultivators.
Xiyanmen will send Yanxiu to reclaim new land every spring. In addition to growing it themselves, they will also rent it to villagers.
Every autumn, when the crops are ripe and the tenants of Fenglin Village have harvested them, half a month later it is the day when Xiyanmen collects rent.
Xiyanmen is located at the foot of Xishan Mountain, opposite Jingshan Mountain. A small river flows through the mountain gate, along the valley bottom of Xishan Mountain and Jingshan Mountain, from west to east, passing through a large maple forest, and then comes to Fenglin Village, passing through Fenglin Village. After passing through, it converges to Jingxi Lake. This small river is also called Jingxi.
Along the dirt road beside Jingxi River, eight ox carts bumped along. After more than an hour, they arrived at Fenglin Village.
At the entrance of Fenglin Village, there is an ancient maple tree that has been growing for thousands of years. It is now completely red, like a huge torch, standing at the entrance of the village.
The old village chief and a group of young men greeted him at the entrance of the village. He came to Master Zeng Li and bowed and saluted.
"Master, thank you for your hard work. Masters, thank you for your hard work."
Master is an honorific title, and the same is true for master. When ordinary people call Yanxiu, they usually use master or master.
Everyone followed the bullock cart and entered the village directly, and then entered the village chief's house.
The village chief's family is the largest in Fenglin Village. He was originally the agent launched by Xiyanmen and was a very influential figure in Fenglin Village. New villagers who want to be long-term workers or tenants must be guaranteed by the village chief. , otherwise it would be impossible to be a tenant and long-term laborer of Xiyanmen.
The village chief's house is divided into a front yard and a backyard. There are two houses in total, one light and two dark, with a bright hall in the middle and dark rooms on both sides. The front yard is very large, and the back yard is where the family members live.
The front yard is actually the rent collection yard. Eight oxcarts can go in. It is quite spacious inside. There is a livestock shed along the courtyard wall. The cattle in the oxcart are driven into the barn, and someone specially cuts the fodder for feeding.
The mountain goods were also unloaded and put into the compartment. They could be exchanged for the needed goods when the caravan arrived.
The village chief's aunt greeted them enthusiastically and set up a large table in the front yard to serve these masters.
Mi Xiaojing sat down at the dining table with several senior brothers early. For them, this meal was definitely better than the food in Xiyanmen. Mi Xiaojing was also pitiful. He had lived for thirteen years but had never eaten it. What a good thing. If Master Zeng Li hadn't brought him to collect the rent this time, he wouldn't be qualified to come. He was not a disciple of the Prison Academy.
White steamed buns, thin hand-rolled noodles with a layer of red spicy oil and a layer of chopped green garlic, braised eggplant, fried peanuts, pan-fried tofu, and stir-fried pickled edamame. Although they are all cooked in plain oil, But in Xiyanmen, where can you see such oily and watery dishes
A group of chefs ate like crazy. They were all big-bellied men, and they could eat even rice Xiaojing. In a matter of seconds, the whole table of food was wiped out.
Master Zeng Li ate very little. He only ate two steamed buns and no vegetables. Looking at the eating habits of his disciples, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. With his level of cultivation, this kind of food is no longer enough* *Yes, he himself has profound cultivation and can resist the temptation of delicious food.
Mi Xiaojing almost swallowed his tongue, but he had a good nature and soon realized that this was not good for cultivation, so after eating, he kept chanting mantras to suppress the effects of food on him.
For Mi Xiaojing, as long as it's not unpalatable, it's fine. Food and other things are like floating clouds in the sky. Once you have experienced it once, you won't be addicted in the future.
Of course, when the real food came, Mi Xiaojing didn't know whether she could resist it. Anyway, after reflecting and repenting, she felt at ease.
In the afternoon, the rent was collected. It was all in big buckets. After weighing, the rent was poured into large woven bamboo baskets, and baskets were placed on the ground.
In fact, the rent charged by Xiyanmen is not heavy. Generally, tenants have better food than the masters of Xiyanmen because they can eat meat. They usually raise chickens, ducks, sheep and pigs, and some even go to Xishan Trail. Going hunting in the mountains will make the masters of Xiyanmen suffer. They cannot eat meat.