Movie: Get Alpha Dog at the start

Chapter 1230 Flower of Evil

On the Bailuyuan in spring, the snow melted, tender green grass sprouted out of the ground, and willow branches sprouted new buds.

Qin Hao packed his bags, said goodbye to Bai Jiaxuan and Xiancao, and set out again to Xi'an to study.

Just as Lu San was driving out of the village, he collided head-on with the Lu family's carriage.

Lu Zilin was wearing a brand new Zhongshan suit and his hair was combed shiny: "Hey, are you going to Xi'an?"

"Zilinda, I haven't seen you for a while. Are you back from the county?" Qin Hao replied casually.

Lu Zilin said proudly: "What do you think of this outfit? Is it fashionable?"

Qin Hao smiled and said, "Zilinda, I have to hurry on my way. I'll leave first."

"Seeing my Zhaopeng, ask him to come back. The coward won't even come back for the New Year."

"understood."

Lu Zilin looked at the carriage going farther and farther away in the distance, and said to the farmhand angrily: "What are you looking at? Drive your carriage."

Some villagers saw Lu Zilin's outfit from afar and gathered around him curiously.

"Zilin, where did you get this outfit? It looks really impressive."

Lu Zilin rode the carriage to the stage and took out the county's letter of appointment from his pocket: "What do you mean by 'from where'? You are so ignorant when you say that. Do you know what this is?"

"Letter of Appointment, what's on it? The county seal..."

Most of the villagers can't read: "Zilin, what's written on this?"

"Lu Zilin, a member of Bailu Village, is a loyal and upright person. We hereby appoint Lu Zilin as the village head of Bailu Village to supervise the village's grain tax, public security, and education, and to assist in matters assigned by the county government..."

More and more villagers gathered around, and Lu Zilin felt very proud as he looked at the surprise in their eyes, thinking to himself: These fifty taels of silver were not wasted.

However, when he returned home, he was greeted by the cold face of his father Lu Taiheng.

"Prodigal son!" Lu Taiheng knocked his pipe heavily and said angrily, "You spent fifty taels of silver to buy a false reputation. Do you think the Lu family's money is too hot to handle?"

Lu Zilin was not convinced: "Dad, you don't understand! This village agreement is a matter that has been registered with the county. From now on, all matters in the village, big or small, must be handled by me!"

"I'll listen to you?" Lu Taiheng sneered: "Just based on this piece of paper in your hand?"

In order to prove the "piece of paper" in his hand, bah, to prove that his fifty taels of silver were not wasted, Lu Zilin immediately rang the big bell in the ancestral hall and called the villagers to a meeting.

As a result, it took almost half an hour before the villagers gathered together sparsely.

As soon as Shitou entered the room, he took a quick look and saw that Bai Jiaxuan was not there. He shouted to Lu Zilin, "If you have anything to say, please say it quickly. I still have to go to work in the fields."

Lu Zilin suppressed his anger and put his hands behind his back: "My fellow villagers, I, Lu Zilin, am honored by the county. From today on, I will be the village head of Bailu Village. The county means that Bailu Village has been a major producer since ancient times. Now that the Qing Dynasty has just abdicated, the county has a lot of work to do..."

Before Lu Zilin could finish his words, Shitou said impatiently: "After all this talk, you just want to increase taxes."

When the villagers heard about the tax increase, they were all upset: "You can't increase the tax. We already don't have enough food to eat. Will you increase the tax and leave us starving?"

"That's right. Anyway, I won't pay more, no matter what anyone says!"

Lu Zilin was so angry that his face turned blue. Just as he was about to explode, Shitou had already turned around and walked out: "If there's nothing else, I'll leave first. The fields are still waiting for fertilizer!"

As he left, the other villagers also turned around and left, muttering: "boring" and "waste of time".

In a blink of an eye, Lu Zilin was the only one left in the ancestral hall. He clenched his fists, digging his nails deep into his palms, but he could only watch the villagers disappear outside the door.

The villagers who came out of the ancestral hall did not go home, but went to the Bai family without any prior arrangement. Bai Jiaxuan was discussing spring ploughing with Lu San in the yard, and was a little surprised to see the villagers pouring in.

Shitou was the first to speak: "Brother Jiaxuan, Lu Zilin came back with a letter of appointment from the county, saying that he would be in charge of our grain tax and would increase it!"

"That's right! Who does he think he is? We only recognize you as the clan leader!" Other villagers echoed.

Bai Jiaxuan frowned. He was not interested in these power struggles. He just said calmly, "If the county wants to show its hand, Zilin probably won't be able to do anything. We are all from the same village. If the county is not too excessive, it is better not to embarrass Zilin."

Shitou gritted his teeth and said, "Humph, what's the problem? I think he wants to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. If he dares to mess around, I will start another Jiaonong uprising! Anyway, I've been to death row once, so the worst that can happen is that I die again!"

Bai Jiaxuan shook his head and sighed: "Spring ploughing is important, don't delay the farming season."

When Lu Zilin learned that the villagers had all gone to the Bai family, he was even more furious. When he got home, Lu Taiheng was sitting in the main room smoking a pipe. Seeing his grim expression, he snorted coldly, "Did you hit a snag?"

Lu Zilin gnashed his teeth and said, "These peasants are so ignorant!"

Lu Taiheng exhaled a puff of smoke and said slowly, "I told you long ago that if you want the tribe members to listen to you, you can't rely on a piece of official document, but on prestige. Why is Bai Jiaxuan able to convince the people? Last year, when the Jiao Nong uprising broke out, he spent all his family wealth to rescue Shitou and Bai Xing'er from the death row. What about you? Besides showing off your power, what else can you do?"

"Besides, do you think being a village head is a good job? It's either collecting grain or doing corvée or showing off. It's all about taking food from the villagers. They don't even have time to hide from it, but you still spend money to get it."

Lu Zilin was speechless. After holding it in for a long time, he finally said in a muffled voice: "What should I do now? I can't waste fifty taels of silver in vain!"

Lu Taiheng glanced at him and said, "Go find Tian Fuxian to return the money."

……

In the security office, Tian Fuxian was happily eating hotpot. Lu Zilin kicked the door open and as soon as he entered, he started yelling for his money back.

Tian Fuxian was a well-known miser. How could he possibly spit out the money that was already in his mouth? He rolled his eyes and smiled as he pulled Lu Zilin to sit down: "Brother Zilin, don't worry. I have a way to deal with those mud legs!"

"What method?" Lu Zilin looked at him suspiciously.

Tian Fuxian lowered his voice and said, "What prestige, trust? In the final analysis, these peasants only care about whoever gives them milk. They will listen to whoever gives them benefits."

Lu Zilin frowned: "Then I can't give all my property to them, right?"

Tian Fuxian chuckled and took out a strange-looking pipe from the inner room: "Brother Zilin, do you recognize this?"

"It's just a smoking pipe. I won't touch this..."

Tian Fuxian held Lu Zilin's hand and said, "I'm not asking you to suck, I'm asking you to plant."

"What to plant?"

Tian Fuxian explained mysteriously: "Opium! This stuff is precious. If grown well, it is worth ten times more than grain! You let them grow it, and after the harvest, I will be responsible for finding buyers. I guarantee that they can buy houses and land within a year. They will naturally listen to you in everything after they get your benefits."

Lu Zilin's eyes lit up, but then he hesitated: "But isn't this thing banned by the government?"

Tian Fuxian patted his chest and said, "With me here, what are you afraid of? Just take care of it at the county level."

"Are you sure it's okay? This could cost you your head."

"It's not just your Bailu Village that grows crops. There are many villages in the entire Zishui County that grow crops. This is called not punishing everyone. At most, the county will send people to plow the land and lose some money. Can you really arrest so many people? Can the prison hold them all?"

Lu Zilin thought for a moment, and finally smiled: "Okay, let's do it!"

The next day, Lu Zilin called the villagers together again. This time, he changed his expression and announced with a smile: "Fellow villagers, the county sympathizes with your hard work and specially allows us to grow a new crop, which will yield much higher returns than grain!"

The villagers were skeptical, so Shitou asked directly: "What kind of crops? Is this a scam?"

Lu Zilin vowed: "I guarantee it in the name of the village agreement, it is absolutely reliable! If the crops are well grown, every household will be able to live a good life, and they will be able to buy houses and land in a year. If they are healthy enough, they can marry several wives."

The money and wealth moved people's hearts, and some villagers were persuaded, but many also secretly went to ask Bai Jiaxuan for his opinion.

Bai Jiaxuan put the seeds under his nose and sniffed them, but he didn't recognize what they were. However, Xiancao beside him recognized them and said, "This is a poppy seed. Opium is made from its fruit."

"How do you know this thing?" Bai Jiaxuan asked puzzledly.

Xiancao sighed: "Many people in our village grew this stuff back then. Later, the government banned it, but the villagers were used to growing poppies to make quick money and were unwilling to work hard to grow food. Then there was a severe drought, and many families could not survive and fled to other places. That's how my family fell into decline."

Bai Jiaxuan was furious when he learned that Lu Zilin had encouraged the villagers to grow opium. He grabbed the poppy seeds on the table and strode towards Lu Zilin's house. As soon as he arrived at the door, he ran into Lu Zilin, who was sitting with his legs crossed and counting silver money triumphantly.

"Lu Zilin! What are you thinking? You actually let the villagers plant this harmful thing!" Bai Jiaxuan threw the seeds to the ground and shouted sternly.

Lu Zilin was stunned at first, then sneered: "Hey, Jiaxuan, where does your anger come from? The county has already approved it, is it your turn to intervene?"

"The county approved it? Do you think I'm a three-year-old kid?" Bai Jiaxuan was so angry that his face turned blue. "This thing has ruined so many families! For the sake of money, you even threw away your conscience?"

"Conscience?" Lu Zilin sneered, "Bai Jiaxuan, stop pretending to be a saint! Where were you when the villagers were so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat? Now that I'm helping them get rich, you're here to give them orders. Are you afraid that they'll take away your wealth?"

"Bullshit!" Bai Jiaxuan was furious and grabbed Lu Zilin by the collar. "I, Bai Jiaxuan, am upright and never make money from dirty tricks! If you dare to harm the villagers again, I will never forgive you!"

The two argued endlessly and eventually parted on bad terms.

That night, Bai Jiaxuan gathered the villagers in the ancestral hall and advised them earnestly: "Fellow villagers, opium poppies are poisonous and cannot be grown! Although you can make some quick money now, once you get involved, you will lose everything at best and your family will be destroyed at worst! Our ancestors have relied on the land for their livelihoods, and we must not go down this crooked path!"

However, Lu Zilin was prepared. He secretly spread rumors that Bai Jiaxuan also wanted to grow opium, but he was just trying to stop them because he was afraid that everyone would take away his business. Some villagers were skeptical: "Brother Jiaxuan is usually kind and righteous, but who doesn't want to make more money these days?"

Although Bai Jiaxuan went door to door to persuade people, many people still secretly dug out the seeds and sowed them at night. Shitou was originally firmly opposed, but when he saw his neighbor Wang Laowu planted half an acre and changed into a new cotton-padded jacket in a blink of an eye, he was also shaken. He squatted on the ridge of the field and smoked a dry tobacco, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "Plant! At worst, I will stop after making a profit!"

Once the hole is opened, it is hard to close it. As spring turns to summer, the wheat fields on Bailuyuan should be rolling, but now they are covered with gorgeous poppies. Lu Zilin made a fortune by selling seeds and buying opium, and even walked with the wind.

He deliberately shook the silver coins in front of Bai Jiaxuan and said sarcastically, "Patriarch Bai, can your morality be eaten?"

Bai Jiaxuan's heart was broken. He stood by the field, looking at the villagers who were once hardworking and simple, but now full of greed. Some even secretly complained that he was "blocking the road to wealth". He couldn't help but feel heartbroken and blamed himself for not being the clan leader in the first place, so that everyone was led astray by Lu Zilin.

Seeing him getting thinner day by day, Xiancao suggested softly: "How about... writing a letter to Hao'er? He has a lot of experience in the provincial capital, maybe he can help."

Bai Jiaxuan was silent for a long time, and finally picked up the pen. In the letter, he recounted the changes in the village one by one, and every word was heavy.

At the same time, Lu Zilin's ambitions grew. He colluded with Tian Fuxian and sold opium to the county town and even the provincial capital. The reputation of Bailuyuan's opium gradually grew, and even tobacco dealers from other villages came here to buy it.

Qin Hao frowned after receiving Bai Jiaxuan's letter. He originally thought that if the Bai family made money in advance, no one would grow poppies in Bailuyuan without the Bai family taking the lead, but he didn't expect Lu Zilin to take the lead in planting.

He knew very well that in the face of interests, it was unrealistic to persuade the villagers to give up planting, and he could only rely on external forces to push them forward.

"Zhao Peng, how long has it been since you went back to Bailuyuan?"

Qin Hao called Lu Zhaopeng who was about to go out to play basketball. Since coming to Xi'an, Lu Zhaopeng's heart has become wild and he can only go home a few times a year.

"It's been three or four months, what happened?" Lu Zhaopeng asked puzzledly.

Qin Hao handed him Bai Jiaxuan's letter, and Lu Zhaopeng was shocked after reading it.

"How could I do such a heartless thing?"

Qin Hao sneered. Lu Zilin had done more than one or two unscrupulous things.

"No, I have to go back and persuade my fellow villagers to turn back."

Qin Hao stopped Lu Zhaopeng and said, "Even I can't persuade him. Do you think your words carry more weight in the village than mine?"

"what is it now?"

"I plan to write an editorial for Qinfeng Daily to expose the situation of poppy cultivation in Bailuyuan. In order to ensure the authenticity of the content, I plan to go back to Bailuyuan. After all, seeing is believing."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaopeng immediately said, "I'll go back with you. No matter what you say this time, I have to persuade you to turn back."

The two of them asked for leave from school and rushed home.

At Qin Hao's suggestion, the two walked all the way from Zishui County to Bailu Village. The situation along the way was shocking. It was okay within 20 to 30 miles of Zishui County, but outside this range, the mountains and fields were full of "evil flowers". (End of this chapter)