Chapter 881: Dividend Dispute

Both sides were staring at him. Cripple Liu, being straightforward, cut directly to the chase: "Village Chief, we've been collecting road tolls for over a month now!"

"Yes, the money has already been distributed. Did you not get your share?"

According to the agreement between Qianjin Village and Yuheng City, 20% of the road tolls collected by Qianjin Village from the main road were to be submitted, and 80% kept for their own use. Tao Lin had distributed the money according to the bandit gang's usual rules: those who worked more got more, and those who worked less got less.

Someone like Cripple Liu had no chance to work on the main road and could only stay in the village doing odd jobs, so he naturally received less money.

"I did. Although the road toll money was little, I at least got one and a half taels of silver." It was enough to fill his stomach. Then Cripple Liu changed his tone. "But you all received dividends, and twice, correct?"

If they were in Yuheng City, who in the military camp would dare to address He Lingchuan as "you" to his face? They would at least respectfully address him as "Commander He" or "Commander Sir."

But in a bandit's den, such formalities were not observed.

Tao Lin's reply was even more blunt: "You weren't on the road, so you don't get a share."

Cripple Liu looked around, as if drawing courage from the others, then raised his head and said, "If I don't get a share, why is my name on the list?"

Tao Lin was stunned. "What list? Where is there a list?"

Other bandits chimed in: "In seven or eight villages and towns around Rongcun and Dabaoyan, as well as on the bulletin boards inside and outside Yuheng City, the dividend lists for Qianjin Village and the Ball Gang from these two times were posted the night before last!"

"We counted, and there are 286 people in our village who can receive dividends!"

"It's 267! Can you read? Can you count?"

"Not only Cripple Liu, but also Cai Xu, one of the Five Lius, is on the list."

The others gasped, "Really? Cai Xu is really on it? I hadn't noticed."

Everyone chuckled. That was a woman whose name sounded like a man's. She actually ran a discreet business on the outskirts of the village, and for this, she developed an occupational ailment, so others jokingly called her "Cai." The fact that even she was on the dividend list was truly ridiculous.

"And Wang Er's baby born last year, what was his name? Wang Ying..."

"Wang Yingcai!"

"Yes, yes, Wang Yingcai. Such a tiny baby!" And he was also on the dividend list?

Everyone lived in Longchuan. They were not only from the same village, same profession, and relatives, but also neighbors.

Everyone spoke at once, making Tao Lin's head feel like it was about to explode, but a chill ran down his spine. The dividend list had actually been posted publicly! Posted for public display? This is bad!

Cripple Liu still looked at him eagerly. "Village Chief, you submitted this list, didn't you? Since my name is on the list, I also want a dividend!"

Tao Lin's confidant sharply interjected from the side, "Did you go guard the checkpoint to dare to come here asking for money! You don't get a share!"

His own people knew that the hundreds of taels of dividend money had been given to Village Chief Tao by the authorities four days ago, and Village Chief Tao had already distributed it yesterday! It had been distributed among all the core members of the Qianjin Village water bandits. But the names of these core members were not on the dividend list Tao Lin had submitted to Yuheng City.

Tao Lin wasn't stupid. He couldn't possibly report all his subordinates' names to Yuheng City. What if they turned hostile later? Wouldn't that make it easy to round them all up? So the dividend list he submitted included villagers and idlers from around the village, and it was double the actual number of people! The reason was simple: Tao Lin wanted to claim more for those around him, so he added a hundred extra names. After all, this subsidy was allocated by Yuheng City.

Cripple Liu stiffened his neck: "The announcement stated that anyone on the dividend list would actually receive two taels of silver!" He certainly hadn't gone to guard the road, but since his name was on the official list, those two taels of silver were rightfully his!

Another fourteen or fifteen people emerged from the crowd, standing behind Cripple Liu and saying one after another, "My name is on the list too, Village Chief, I should get a share!" They had arrived long ago, just waiting for someone to take the lead so they could collectively demand their money.

Tao Lin's confidant was about to start scolding again, but Tao Lin pushed him away with a kick, saying, "Get lost!" What good would adding fuel to the fire do now? He truly hadn't expected Yuheng City to publicize the dividend list to everyone! No one had ever done this before, no one! Unreasonable!

But he had indeed submitted the list himself. Now that the people on the list were coming to him for money, what should he do? His clever plan had backfired spectacularly!

Seeing him stunned and silent, Cripple Liu looked around again and said, "Village Chief, are you going to pay the money or not? Give us a definite answer!"

"Yeah, are you paying or not?!"

"Our names are on the list, how can you not pay us!"

"If you're not going to pay, why did you submit our names?"

"Are you trying to make us scapegoats later?"

As soon as the words "scapegoats" were uttered, a shiver ran down Tao Lin's spine, and he immediately said, "What's all this fuss about? Did I say I wouldn't pay?"

The clamor immediately ceased. Everyone's faces lit up with smiles. "The Village Chief is honorable!"

"Tomor—uh, dividends will be paid in three days!" As Tao Lin said this, his heart was bleeding.

Only then did the crowd happily disperse.

Watching their receding backs, his confidant asked worriedly, "Village Chief, hasn't the dividend money already been...?"

It had already been distributed.

"Should we ask everyone to return the money?"

"Return what?!" As painful as it was, Tao Lin knew that what was done could not be undone. Money that had been distributed absolutely could not be taken back. This extra "dividend" would have to come out of his own pocket! Several hundred taels of silver amounted to tens of thousands of coins. He had to fork it out for free to a crippled stableman, a widow, a hidden prostitute, and a baby less than a year old!

This time, he was truly screwed over by that Commander He! And the dividends weren't just a one-time thing; there would be a next payment, and a payment after that. It seemed the authorities would post dividend announcements every time. He could no longer falsely claim payments using the names of idlers and miscellaneous people.

Coincidentally, He Lingchuan had already told him that Yuheng City had records of Longchuan residents and had even sent someone to bring them to him for "verification." Tao Lin broke into a cold sweat upon seeing them, because seven or eight out of ten matched. He had no idea how the other party had secretly obtained this information. But this meant that fabricating names for dividend reports to Yuheng City would no longer work. A quick cross-check would expose him, leading to embarrassment.

Should he just give up this dividend? The thought had barely surfaced before Tao Lin immediately dismissed it. What a joke, telling the water bandits not to take a windfall? He didn't want to sit in the village chief's seat anymore, did he?

So, he would have to submit the real names.

Tao Lin composed himself and then called someone over: "Go find out how the Ball Gang is handling this!" Yuheng City's malicious plan wouldn't just be used on him. The Ball Gang must have also fallen victim.

In less than half a day, the news came back: Xu Zeshou, the leader of the Ball Gang, had not yet distributed the dividends. As soon as the public list came out, he intended to divide the money fairly, meaning that both those on the list and the actual core members would get a share. This also matched Tao Lin's understanding of Xu Zeshou: a miser, a money-hoarder.