Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi brought back the grain and continued to lie in the shrine. Now, no one had any objections to the two of them living in the shrine, because they had discovered that begging for Bodhisattvas and deities was useless in critical moments, but it was the two outsiders who could provide them with help.
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were more like protective deities to these people, able to protect their safety at critical moments.
Two women followed Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi to the shrine, and in the end, they lived with the children. The old man did not refuse the two women's plea for refuge. It was the apocalypse now, and survival was difficult. The survival logic of the lower class was to stick together; only by uniting could they have strength.
A gold button, weighing twenty grams, was exchanged for only over fifty catties of rice and flour. At this price, either they were being underpriced, or the cost of living here was very high.
Shen Feng calculated that the price of grain was already soaring in the apocalypse. It was not that one would starve to death if they didn't eat, and moreover, he was still in Japan, where arable land was scarce to begin with. Now, with such a year, prices naturally rose even higher.
"Damn it, gold buttons aren't enough!" Shen Feng mused inwardly. He had brought too little gold when he went out this time; it wasn't even enough for his recovery expenses.
Shen Feng took out the three buttons he had on him, a look of struggle on his face. Running out of money was the most helpless thing, especially at this time.
After much thought, Shen Feng looked at Yue Hengyi and said, "Little Yue, at a critical moment, we'll probably have to do something big, or we'll have no food to eat!"
Yue Hengyi thought about it and agreed. The grain on the ship before had mostly been soaked and rotten, and they had eaten it all in the past few days. The remaining money was not enough to cover future expenses. After much thought, they could only take a wrong turn! It had to be said that taking a wrong turn brought money faster.
Even ancient people said that a person does not become rich without ill-gotten gains, and a horse does not grow fat without night fodder. It could be seen that ancient people were quite open-minded; as long as they could make money, nothing else mattered.
"Will we wear masks then?" Yue Hengyi asked in a low voice.
Shen Feng thought about it and said, "What's the point of robbing the poor? Why wear masks? We'll rob whoever has money, and we'll rob them openly."
"How does that work?" Yue Hengyi asked, confused.
Shen Feng did not answer directly but said, "Let's rest first. We still have money, no rush. When we run out of money, I'll take you to do it!"
For the next five days, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi continued to rest. Every day, orphans brought them food. If they ran out of grain, Shen Feng would casually throw a gold button and then go to the city to exchange for supplies. The city was still a good distance from the shrine, about ten kilometers away. For children, it would take half a day to walk.
During this period of rest, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi both became stronger. Their muscles gradually grew, and their faces regained some color. Although they were still thin, they no longer looked as terrifying as before, and they didn't look like corpses.
However, on this day, while Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were napping, a group of people arrived outside the shrine. These people were dressed in suits and accompanied by security guards. They held paper and pens and pointed as they walked. The old man from the shrine was following them, obeying their instructions.
Under normal circumstances, when Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi were sleeping, these orphans did not dare to make loud noises. Even their playful sounds were much quieter. They knew that the two heroes sleeping in the shrine were very powerful and should not be angered. But this afternoon, the noise outside grew louder and louder.
Shen Feng could no longer stand it. He pulled open the shrine door and saw several young men in black suits, acting imperiously. The orphans were all scared and hiding.
Seeing this scene, Shen Feng couldn't help but nudge Yue Hengyi and say, "Little Yue, stop sleeping. Didn't we need to learn how to rob openly? The opportunity has come. These people will definitely teach us better than I can."
Yue Hengyi opened his eyes groggily and looked outside the shrine, only to see a group of staff members. He was immediately confused. These people weren't bandits, so how could they teach him?
As Yue Hengyi was bewildered, these staff members walked over, looked down at the two lying on the wooden floor, and began to question them, "What are you doing here?"
Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi did not understand Japanese, so they did not reply.
The old man from the shrine came over and quickly explained, "These two adults are from China. Their ship was wrecked at sea, and they are temporarily staying here. I suppose they don't need to pay taxes, right?"
The man in the suit who was leading them heard this and immediately became angry, saying, "As long as they are within our jurisdiction, everyone, regardless of who they are, needs to pay taxes. There are no exceptions. Get Qing Jia over here; doesn't he speak Chinese? Let him translate!"
Soon, a man with glasses walked over and began to translate in broken Chinese, "You are also citizens within our territory and need to pay taxes. You need to pay taxes every month. You two are both able-bodied laborers, and each person needs to pay one liter of grain!"
Shen Feng found this ridiculous. He pointed to the dry muscles on his arm and said, "You, how can you think we are able-bodied laborers? We are so weak, and you still want to exploit us. You're amazing!"
However, these staff members ignored Shen Feng's defense and directly threw two slips of paper at Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi, saying, "You have until tomorrow to pay the taxes, or don't blame us for being impolite. We'll directly arrest you and send you to the factory to work!"
Afterward, a group of staff members looked at the old man and the children and said, "As for you, you didn't pay your taxes in full last time. Now, you can't live here anymore. Guards, burn down the house for me!"
With that, security guards in yellow clothes carrying gasoline came over and began to pour gasoline around the shrine, about to set it on fire.
This action provoked resistance from a group of children, who rushed forward to stop them. For them, this was their only home. If it were burned down, they would truly be homeless! Therefore, the children did not want to lose their last home and could only fight back.
Unfortunately, the security guards did not care. They directly beat the children. It was a pity for the six or seven-year-old children whose bodies had not yet fully developed, and they had to face attacks from others, immediately being knocked to the ground, looking very miserable.
A little girl saw the chaotic scene and sat on the ground crying. The old man knelt on the ground, constantly kowtowing to the staff members, looking very pitiful.
Yue Hengyi saw this scene and immediately understood, muttering to himself, "I get it, I get it. Sometimes, robbing doesn't require swords and spears; using paper and pens can also be effective, and even more so!"
After speaking, Yue Hengyi looked at Shen Feng and asked, "It seems you knew this would happen long ago. Did you do the same thing in Yuzhou? Are you perhaps the reincarnation of Zhou Bapi?"
Yue Hengyi's idea was simple: Shen Feng seemed to have learned this trick long ago, and coupled with his ruling status in Yuzhou, his position dictated his thoughts. One could imagine how many insidious tricks Shen Feng, as the city lord, would have.
Shen Feng was displeased when he heard this and quickly said, "You can't slander me! How can you compare me to a bunch of parasites? I take from the people and use it for the people. Building city walls, roads, power stations, organizing farmland, which one of these didn't solve employment? Besides, I don't collect taxes from the elderly and children. If I were Zhou Bapi, there would be no good people in the world!"
"Then why do you live in a palace? Where does such a large expenditure come from?" Yue Hengyi asked.
Shen Feng replied, "Nonsense, I can support my family. My apple trees alone produce several tons of apples every day, and my wife can accelerate plant growth. Finding a farm can produce hundreds of tons of vegetables. Supporting a family is easy!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I forgot that your whole family are ability users. It was my mistake, I misunderstood you!" Yue Hengyi quickly apologized.
Then, Shen Feng looked at the staff member who could speak Chinese and asked, "Since you arrest people who don't pay taxes for forced labor, why don't you arrest these children too? Can't they work?"
"Are you an idiot? Do you know that these children are malnourished? If you send them to the factory, they'll die in two days!" The staff member looked at Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi as if they were fools.
At this moment, some security guards had already set fire to the shrine. This dilapidated dwelling, which could barely shelter them from wind and rain, was thus reduced to ashes.
The raging flames rose, and the fiery red light shone on people's faces. The children cried sadly. They had already lost their parents, and now they had lost their last shelter. Overwhelmed with grief, they couldn't help but cry. The security guards who set the fire stood silently, watching the black smoke rise. This was not the first house they had burned, nor would it be the last. As for the staff members who caused all this, they had smug smiles on their faces.
"Tell these two lowlifes that if they don't pay their taxes soon, let alone these ordinary houses, even the shrine will be burned down!" the tax collector in charge shouted loudly. He believed that his actions had now intimidated these two foreign lowlifes and would make them pay taxes obediently.
The shrine was actually not very large, only a few square meters. Besides enshrining the statue of the deity, it had no other function. However, now, Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi had moved the statue under the shade of a tree, and they themselves were facing the dilemma of paying taxes.
The translator repeated his superior's words. After Shen Feng and Yue Hengyi exchanged glances, they found it very amusing. They never expected that evil could be done so openly: burning down people's homes, extorting their property, and finally putting on a high-and-mighty attitude. So, this was what it meant to be superior!
Yue Hengyi looked at Shen Feng and asked, "How should we handle this?"
"Have you learned it? To rob openly, you must first put a hat on others, then force them to give money. If they don't give money, show your strength and let them know who's boss. If they give money obediently, it's fine. If they don't, beat them up. And all of this is done under the banner of justice! The essence of the world has never changed; it has always been the survival of the fittest!" Shen Feng said to himself without answering directly.
Yue Hengyi suddenly understood and said, "I get it, Brother Feng. You watch, I'll try it out. Is this what robbing is like!"
After speaking, Yue Hengyi walked out of the shrine and pointed his finger at the noses of the staff members, arrogantly saying, "You have disturbed our precious rest time. I advise you to quickly pay us two tons of grain, or we will teach you a lesson!"
"That's right, very high comprehension!" Shen Feng praised from the side.
These arrogant staff members had never seen such a scene. They had always been the ones extorting, no, collecting taxes, and others could only be respectful to them. But now, there was a foreign lowlife who dared to point at their noses.
The leader immediately became enraged. He reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a gun, saying fiercely, "Two lowlifes, die for me!"
Shen Feng also added at this time, "Speaking of which, these robbers also do one thing: they kill those who don't obey. This way, the remaining people will all be obedient! You do your best!"