Chapter 27: Chapter 27: New Trouble, Mandatory donation?_1
The area of Qingshi Town was not large.

Moreover, the feud between the Zhao Family and Luo Ping had long existed.

Therefore, it was not long after the Luo Family took action,

that this news began to spread wildly throughout the entire Qingshi Town.

Almost everyone became aware of it.

The Luo Family had dealt with all the people of the Zhao Family who were near that premium Qing stone mining vein.

Similarly, because of such an incident,

countless families coveting the Luo Family’s wealth were forced to restore their initial sanity.

It must be said that the Luo Family’s current situation was not great.

The three brothers of the Luo Family were also not in unanimous agreement.

But regardless, the Luo Family was, after all, the Luo Family, still one of the four strongest families in Qingshi Town.

Even though the Luo Family’s strength had suffered some damage in recent days,

the foundation of the Luo Family still existed.

The Luo Family, one of the four big families, was not a presence that any Tom, Dick, or Harry could trample upon at will.

After the Luo Family brandished its slaughter knife and intimidated the various family forces within Qingshi Town,

life for the Luo Family in Qingshi Town

also became much more stable.

However, this peaceful period did not last long before

another troublesome matter

suddenly came knocking on the door.

Unlike before, most of the previous troubles were aimed solely at the Luo Family.

But this time, the trouble concerned every major family force within Qingshi Town.

Qingshi Town, Luo Family Ancestral Land.

Inside the room of the Luo Family Patriarch.

Luo Ping, the current Family Head of the Luo Family, was at this moment looking at a letter in his hands with some distress.

The letter had come from the apparent ruler of Qingshi Town.

Its general content stated that the number of refugees in Qingshi Town was increasing, as were the numbers of bandits claiming mountains as their own.

The officials of Qingshi Town were struggling to maintain peace within the town.

They were also having difficulty controlling the bandit problem near Qingshi Town.

Therefore, the boss of the Qingshi Town officials issued an order.

That was… to donate money.

Moreover, this time, the donation was mandatory.

All family forces had to contribute.

In Qingshi Town, the four big families naturally had to contribute the most.

The various smaller family forces below had to do the best they could.

You could donate less, or even not at all.

But there was a premise here.

That was that your family force genuinely didn’t have much money.

If the Qingshi Town officials found out

that your family had an abundance of gold and silver but was unwilling to donate,

then the result could be easily imagined.

Charges of embezzlement, execution, or collusion with bandits would be directly pinned on you.

All of your family’s wealth would then belong to the officials of Qingshi Town, wouldn’t it?

As for resistance?

Sadly, although the Da Feng Dynasty had experienced several years of severe drought,

countless people either rose in revolt or turned to banditry,

most of these were minor disturbances, and the foundation of the Da Feng Dynasty was still there.

No one dared to be the early bird carelessly.

If the officials in Qingshi Town discovered someone wanted to resist,

they would act before the court of the Da Feng Dynasty even had a chance to respond.

The local forces would swiftly mobilize and press you down directly.

Eradicating those who dare to rebel against the Da Feng Dynasty’s official authority.

For those people, this is considered a great feat!

Surely, no one in this world would complain about having too many merits, would they?

“Chuan’er, you’re here?”

“Come quickly and help me see, our Luo Family…”

“How much should we donate to be appropriate?”

In the room, Luo Ping, who was agonizing over the amount to donate, saw his son Luo Chuan suddenly appear.

His eyes lit up immediately, and he walked toward Luo Chuan with the letter in hand.

“Donating money?” Luo Chuan’s brow furrowed slightly, showing a trace of confusion on his face.

However, as soon as he took the letter stamped with the official seal from his father’s hand.

In an instant, he understood everything.

All those excuses about not being able to maintain peace within Qingshi Town, or suppress the bandits nearby,

were just that: excuses.

And the officials from Qingshi Town simply wanted to use these pretexts to extort a fortune.

To madly, massively loot.

The major clan powers within Qingshi Town, however, could not resist this moneymaking scheme from the town’s officials.

After all, with one false move, you could be branded as colluding with bandits.

Accused of attempting to overthrow the rule of the Da Feng Dynasty.

Under such circumstances, how could the major clan powers in Qingshi Town dare to easily defy the officials’ intent to solicit donations?

As for the amount of the donation…

It indeed required his careful consideration.

“Father…” Suddenly, Luo Chuan raised his head.

Looking at his father Luo Ping, who was silently waiting at his side.

“What is it? Chuan’er, have you thought of how much we should donate?”

“No, I was just wondering if you knew the donation amounts from the other three families besides ours?”

“The other three families?” After pondering for a moment, Luo Ping said in a low voice, “I might not know about the Zhao and Hu families, but I do know about the Jing family.”

“Father, how much does the Jing family plan to donate?”

“According to the people from the Jing family, they plan to donate 30,000 taels of gold and 100,000 taels of silver.”

With those words, the two in the room fell into a silence.

30,000 taels of gold and 100,000 taels of silver was no small sum.

Even for the Luo Family, with that vein of top-quality Qingshi stretching over three hundred meters,

earning that figure was not an easy task.

The Jing Family was indeed quite generous.

“Father, if that is the case, then our Luo Family will also donate 30,000 taels of gold and 100,000 taels of silver.”

Luo Chuan handed the letter back to his father.

Afterward, he calmly uttered those words.

“Chuan’er, are you sure?”

“If this amount of cash is directly given away, for our Luo Family… it’s no different from cutting our own flesh!”

“This would truly deal a major blow to our vitality!”

Luo Ping appeared somewhat hesitant and looked to be quite reluctant.

“Father, do you think it’s better to bleed ourselves, sustaining a great loss of vitality,”

“Or… to have our entire clan exterminated?”

Luo Chuan looked at his father, the Family Patriarch, with such a calm expression that it caused Luo Ping to feel some trepidation and unease.

“Father, please think carefully,”

“From the very beginning, our Luo Family had no choice in this matter.”

“Donating is a must.”

“And since we must donate, we cannot give much less than the other three families.”

“Although these troubled times have indeed arrived as expected,”

“the Da Feng Dynasty has not yet fallen.”

“In this period, being a conspicuous figure attracting countless people’s attention is not a good choice…”