Chapter 74 Chapter 74 Don’t Learn From Him

"You did this, didn't you?"

The next day, Kang He came back from the city and went to Xu's house.

Xu Yang is in good spirits and high spirits at home.

"How did you figure out that I was the one who did it? I was caught by the villagers while they were chasing the thief."

"The Cheng family's side isn't close to the mountains, nor is it the direction of the village. The thief didn't go to the mountains where he could hide, nor did he run outside the village. He just disappeared near the Cheng family. It's a bit of a coincidence."

Actually, this incident was nothing serious. It was probably because the thief was not smart enough and did not know the situation in the village well before stealing. He was discovered and chased by many villagers. It was possible that he was running around like a headless fly for a while.

Coincidentally, whenever something happened in the past, Xu Yang would rush over early. But this time, when the thief came, he did not rush over first. Instead, he came so late and also brought a message to Master Qian.

However, before the incident, about two days after he and Fan Jing went to see the doctor in June, Xu Yang came to see Kang He.

That day, Xu Yang came back from Fan's house after having some drinks, and happened to run into You Shanxi who had taken medicine from Doctor Zhu. Seeing that Xu Yang was young and handsome and drunk, You Shanxi started to tease him.

Xu Yang was not the type of person who liked to flirt with others, so his expression immediately changed. He scolded You Shanxi for being unfaithful to her husband and told her not to blame him for being rude.

You Shanxi didn't expect Xu Yang to be such a tough guy. He was afraid of him, so he said that he had someone to support him.

Just a few words reveal Chen Yushun.

When Xu Yang sobered up the next day, he felt something was not right, so he came to talk to Kang He about it.

Kang He also told him what happened.

At that time, the two of them did not come to a definite conclusion. Later, Kang He was busy with business matters and discussed the candle-making craft with Zou Fulang, so he did not have time to study the matter in detail.

Until last night, there was a sudden burglary again. Kang He thought it was really burglarized again at first, but after seeing a series of burglaries, he felt something was wrong.

Xu Yang laughed and said, "I really can't hide anything from you."

He trusted Kang He and told him the whole story.

After the two of them talked, he deliberately approached You Shanxi. Through this visit, he actually found out that You Shanxi had a close relationship with Chen Yushun.

After her husband died, You Shanxi did not behave properly and spent all day doing seductive things.

At first, he flirted with someone for a few moments, and the rough men in the village sent him food and drinks. He knew that this was not a long-term solution, so he wanted to marry someone bigger.

There are only a few families with some reputation in this village. After much thought, they decided to set their sights on Chen Yushun.

He pretended to be pitiful at first, and went to complain to Chen Yushun about the harsh treatment her mother-in-law had shown her husband after his death.

This man hated to see the pitiful young widow the most, let alone a young and beautiful one. How could he not be moved and love her? After a few interactions, the two of them got together half-heartedly.

You Shanxi thought he had a backer, so he stayed quiet in the village for a while.

After a while, he became pregnant and happily went to tell Chen Yushun, but Chen Yushun denied the pregnancy, saying that he had behaved improperly in the village and could not tell who the child belonged to.

The two of them had a grudge over this matter, so You Shanxi went to find Doctor Zhu to get medicine.

"They're both equally bad. You Shanxi was angry with Chen Yushun, so I used this as an excuse to negotiate a deal with him."

Xu Yang said, "I told him to make sure to meet Chen Yushun last night and keep him. If the meeting is successful, I will give him some money and let him leave Hepingzi."

Kang He had previously guessed that the two were connected, so he was not surprised. However, Xu Yang was able to use this incident to ruin Chen Yushun's reputation in the village, which showed that he was quite capable.

He smiled and said to Xu Yang, "This time, you have five points more confidence."

Both of them felt relieved and drank a cup of tea.

Chen Yushun, who was completely humiliated, stayed at home all night without sleeping. His face was ashen and he was unable to express his pain.

Last night he went to look for You Shanxi but he didn't do anything at all. When he first met the young widow, it was because someone got him drunk that they slept together in a daze.

He wanted to break up because the person who beat him falsely accused him of being pregnant.

I went to Cheng's house at night with the intention of ending the relationship, but who would have thought that these things would happen.

"I must have been tricked!"

"That young widow has been trying to seduce me since the beginning. Maybe she was instigated by someone, just to blame me today!"

Chen Yushun's wife, Xiao, looked at people coldly. Now that this incident had happened, she had become a laughing stock in the whole village.

She scolded him harshly, "That's really a good plan. You can make someone take off your pants. It doesn't mean that the little widow forced you to do it."

"Why didn't you think it was a conspiracy when you did those shameless things? Now that everyone in the village knows about it, you think it was a conspiracy!"

"Even if it's a calculation, it's your fault!"

Chen Yushun lost the argument and could not win the argument with Xiao.

He was extremely worried, thinking about how to cover up this matter and who was plotting against him again. Vaguely, he thought of the Fan family.

But after thinking about it, he realized that although the two families did not get along, the one who came to their house was doing business in the city, so he thought they could not be separated.

After thinking about it, I thought of Xu Yang, and suddenly I had an epiphany.

He went to Mr. Qian Erye and cried, saying that he was plotted against by Xu Yang. The boy came back from outside and must have set his sights on the position of village chief, so he set a trap for him.

He was so angry about what Mr. Qian taught him that he went back and lay on the couch and couldn't get up. No one in the Qian family wanted him to visit Mr. Qian, but he just cried beside Mr. Qian's bed.

It’s a pity that I failed to appease Mr. Qian and trouble happened again.

Chen Yushun's old lover, Sun Dasheng's mother, Ren, came back from her parents' home and heard about Chen Yushun and the young widow You Shanxi. She almost carried him to death in one breath.

He went to Cheng's house angrily to beat You Shanxi, but when he got there, he found You Shanxi was nowhere to be found.

On the second night after the incident, this guy took Xu Yang's money and packed up and ran away.

Qu was the only one left in the Cheng family, and she was still angry. You Shanxi had caused such a big mess and stole the property deeds and ran away. She only regretted that she had not sold him when her son died earlier. At least she could have gotten money first, but now she had lost both her life and her money.

Ren came to the house to cause trouble, and Qu, who had nowhere to vent her anger, met her. The two angry women were ignited by a few words and had a big fight in the yard.

Their hair was scattered all over the floor, one person had a swollen eye, and one had a cut mouth.

Ren limped out of Cheng's house, but failed to find You Shanxi. She was so angry that she went to Chen's house to cry.

Chen Yushun's mind was full of the lawsuit at the moment. When Ren came to make trouble, he had no patience to appease her. He just wanted to drive her away so that he could have some peace and quiet.

"If you really love that young widow, I've been back to my parents' home for a while, and you can't keep it to yourself."

Ren felt so cold when she saw how Chen Yushun treated her.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Go home now! I don't have time to argue with you about this nonsense right now!"

"You also know this is a bad thing! Now you think I'm old and that I'm fooling around. What was your face like when you were clinging to me and coaxing me in the past? How can there be such a heartless person like you in this world!"

Chen Yushun's wife was so angry when she heard Ren coming to cry and make a fuss. She, the boss, hadn't said anything yet, but who was she, a cousin, who came to blame her first?

After all this fuss, it turned out that she, the wife of the first wife, was a complete joke.

They had been putting up with this for a long time, and now they couldn't bear it any longer, so everyone in the room just let out all their pent-up resentment.

"Guess what happened next?"

Kang He and Fan Jing drove Chen Sanfang back. The three of them were looking after a shop in the city and had not yet caught up with the excitement in the village.

Qiao'er told the three of them about Chen Yushun's family affairs in vivid detail.

"That damned Sun Dasheng's mother, Ren, and the village head's wife, Madam Xiao, are fighting. We are helping the wife, and we are not helping our cousin either.

The two started fighting. However, Mrs. Ren was too strong and pinned Madam Xiao to the ground. The village head tried to pull them apart, but Mrs. Ren got furious and cursed the village head for being a treacherous man.

"They sat at the Chen family's gate, crying and cursing, revealing a lot of ugly things.

Ren said that when Sun Da was alive, he risked his life lending money in the city, being chased and beaten, and gave most of the huge profits to Chen Yushun as a filial gift, treating him like his own father.

"There were some scoundrels in the village who refused to be disciplined by Chen Yushun. It was Sun Dasheng who secretly brought them under control."

Sun Dasheng died, and Chen Yushun got together with the young widow of the Cheng family again. His cousin Ren felt that she had been let down, so it was natural for her to go crazy.

"Now everyone in the village knows about this. They're all privately saying Chen Yushun is a bad person and bringing up all the past events."

After hearing this, Chen Sanfang regretted that he had been busy with business in the city and had not heard these idle words in person.

"I was saying that even if Chen Yushun had an affair with the Ren family, he wouldn't have cared so much for Sun Dasheng. Back then, that bad guy got into trouble in the county and didn't dare to stay out there, so he had to hide in the mountains. Chen Yushun really looked down on our family and even brought something to ask us to take care of him."

"It's because he's received kindness from others, and they've done him dirty work behind his back. Otherwise, how could he treat someone else's child like his own? I'm afraid he's worried someone will tell the truth."

Chen Sanfang couldn't help but spit. Back then, others thought their village chief was very kind and fair, but only the Fan family had seen what kind of character he was early on.

But before, he was a person of little influence, and no one believed what he said, and he was even slandered. Now that everyone in the village has seen his face, he feels very relieved.

"This grandson should have been taught a lesson long ago. He thinks he's so great just because he's the village chief. He's done all sorts of immoral things while in office, and we've exposed them all here. If he falls, our family will be relieved!"

Chen Sanfang was not afraid of being overheard by others, so he scolded the man under the eaves. He had suppressed Chen Yushun for so long, and now seeing that he was in trouble, how could he not be happy?

However, when Father Fan heard about the misfortune of the Chen family, he broke out in a sweat. He couldn't stop wiping the sweat off his face, feeling both relieved and scared.

You Shanxi had come to seduce him before, but fortunately he hadn't had any thoughts of it. If he had been shameless enough to have had an affair with him, what would have happened if the truth had been exposed?

If this happened to him, he would have to jump into the river.

Father Fan said earnestly, "Men must protect themselves and never have any extravagant thoughts.

Look at Chen Yushun, he has the job of village chief, what a respectable and good life, but he has to do these things. I think he will fall."

After saying that, he looked at Kang He again and said, "Sanlang, you must not learn from him."

Chen Sanfang pushed Fan's father and said, "Are you crazy? Who is our Sanlang? Who is Chen Yushun? How could Sanlang do such a thing?"

Kang He smiled secretly in his heart, thinking that it was Father Fan who was speaking from his heart. Although the lesson did not fall on him, seeing Chen Yushun involved in many lawsuits, it seemed as if he had learned a lesson himself.

He said, "Don't worry, Dad. I will never do such things."

"That's right. Our Sanlang and Dajing are so close, how could they do such things? But you, old man, will suffer if you don't tighten your belt."

After that, she called Kang He to take Fan Jing back to the house to rest. They had been tired all day and needed to take care of the baby.

He happily said he was going to get some meat for dinner.

Kang He responded and took Fan Jing back to the house. They didn't expect that You Shanxi would be involved in these things.

Chen Yushun's original act of stealing was just a bad behavior, but accepting this money that came from illegal sources was a form of bad character. As a result, even if Mr. Qian wanted to protect him, he didn't have the face to do so.

When Fan Jing heard You Shanxi had run away, he couldn't help but ask, "Where did that guy go?"

Kang He shook his head. "I don't know. Xu Yang gave him a large sum of money but didn't ask where he was going. He's not a simple man. Cheng Minsheng wanted to bring him back because of his looks, but he never imagined it would cause so much trouble."

"For him, it's a good thing for him to leave. If he stays, the women and husbands in the village will already resent him, and sooner or later something will happen. For the village, having such a restless person around will easily cause trouble. If he lives an honest and decent life, the money Xu Yang gives him will be enough for him to live for a while."

Fan Jing said nothing. It was good that the person left. Who knew if Chen Yushun would go looking for trouble with him after he got out of the trouble.

But none of this matters. They are all waiting to see whether Chen Yushun will fall in the autumn election.

Father Fan was worried for two days because of Chen Yushun's matter. It was not until this day that the farmhand he hired came to his house to meet him that he felt better.

"My name is Dou Yicang, and I'm already eighteen this year. I can do all the work in the fields, driving donkeys and cows. I don't have any other special abilities, but I'm strong and can handle hard labor."

The young man who came was quite tall, but he looked shorter than Kang and Fan Jing, who were as tall as him.

His face is round and dark, but his body is quite strong.

Looking at the honest man, he said a few words and then scratched the back of his head a little embarrassedly.

Kang He was hired to work on the farm in the countryside. He felt that being honest and dutiful was the best thing. Working on the farm required hard work, unlike working in a shop in the city where one had to deal with people and needed a flexible mind. If one worked diligently but was stupid, it would only cause trouble.

This man was introduced to Fan's father by Wang the carpenter's wife, who was drinking with him. Dou Yicang was a neighbor of her relatives from her mother's side. When he heard that Fan's father was looking for a long-term worker to help with the family work, he thought of him.

The Dou family was poor. A large family of sisters and brothers only had less than ten acres of land to live on. There were many laborers but little work on the fields, so Dou Yicang found some work outside to supplement the family income.

He would do any hard work that was needed. He had worked as a porter in the city, and had also carried stones and trees for people in the village.

The Dou family was introduced by Carpenter Wang's daughter-in-law, who said that there was a family named Fan in their village, who were very kind and honest.

Now he runs a pork business, and his father, who is alone at home, can't take care of the fields, so he wants a diligent farmhand to help take care of the crops.

After hearing this, the Dou family was also happy to come to this family to work. Although they could earn sixty or seventy yuan a day doing odd jobs outside, the work was not available every day, unlike finding a family that wanted a long-term worker.

If you rent it out for a year or two, you can earn a stable amount of money, which will be enough to get married by then.

The two sides are making arrangements, and the person will come over today for the Fan family to take a look. If he is suitable, he can be kept.

Dou Yicang arrived early and went to Fan's house after noon.

The two girls in the family went to the main room to listen to Fan Xin's lecture, leaving only Father Fan in the room.

He was just an honest country boy and had never worked as a hired laborer. He brought some tea to Dou Yicang and waited for Kang He to come back and make the decision.

Fortunately, Kang He arrived home early today. When he heard that the farmhand had arrived, he took a look.

He looked healthy, like a country boy, with a perfect physique.

He politely invited people to sit in the main hall. He was very kind in his greeting, but he asked seriously: "Can you read and write?"

Dou Yicang shook his head.

"Can you speak in Mandarin?"

"I understand the official language, but it's not very fluent."

Kang He taught him a few words and people listened to what he said, and they did not lie.

Then he asked, "Besides being able to take care of the crops, do you have any other strengths?"

Dou Yicang thought about it carefully and shook his head again.

His heart tightened, thinking that the elder brother of the Fan family was very strict and even more strict than Father Fan.

Kang He listened to this, but he didn't complain about the other person's lack of knowledge. Instead, he said, "When you work for the Fan family, you can rest for four days a month. You can go home and do whatever you want. You can live and eat with the family. I'll give you five strings of cash a year. Is that okay?"

It wasn't that Kang He wanted to show off his qualifications, so he asked in this tone. There was nothing wrong with hiring a farmhand to work in the fields.

But there is still a difference between a person with strengths and a person without strengths, and the rent is different.

If the person is able to work hard, Kanghe would ask for five strings of cash. If the person is literate, or has other skills, such as cooking or carpentry, then it would be difficult to negotiate a lower price.

If this gets out, people outside will say that the Fan family is poor but still wants to hire someone to do business, showing off their poverty.

After being interrogated by Kang He, Dou Yicang thought that he couldn't do the job, but he didn't expect that people didn't think he had no strengths.

Since he asked to stay, there was no reason for him to refuse, so he agreed.

After both parties reached an agreement, they signed the lease agreement and pressed the button.

Kang He first gave him half a year's rent, and after he worked for half a year, he would settle the remaining payment. He went back to inform his family and came back to work two days later.

When the family saw Kang He's kung fu skills, they praised him and said he had the aura of a master, which frightened everyone in the family.

Kang He smiled, gave a piece of pork to Father Fan, and told him to go and thank Carpenter Wang for introducing the farmhand to them.

Within two days, Kanghe brought back some bricks and stones from the city, and the Fan family hired people to repair the house.

Chen's brother from her mother's side came running over and asked why Chen didn't ask her younger brother to clean the house.

His brother specialized in building houses for others. When Chen was thinking of renovating the house, she asked if she wanted to ask his brother to do it, but Kang He refused.

When it comes to repairing the house, it is difficult to calculate the bill with relatives. If you calculate too carefully, it will hurt the relationship. If you don’t calculate carefully, you will inevitably suffer losses. It is better to call someone from outside to do it. The amount of money is clear and they will get the amount of work done according to the money.

Chen took what she heard to heart. When the second son of the Chen family came to ask for work, Chen said that the money for repairing the house was paid by Kang and Fan Jing, and since she didn't take the money, it was not in her position to make the decision.

He was asked to go and ask Kang He for help, so Chen Laoer went to Kang He.

Kang He was not close to Chen Lao Er, so he didn't need to be as hard-hearted as Chen. He gave him an account book and told him to write down every account clearly. If he could do it, he would do the job.

Upon seeing this, the second son of the Chen family hesitated and went back. After a detailed account, there was no profit to be made. He was unhappy, but he had no choice but to let the matter go.

In the blink of an eye, it is the autumn harvest season and the countryside is busy.

In previous years, the village head would be in charge of the autumn harvest at this time and would also be responsible for the collection of grain taxes.

Chen Yushun had caused such a thing before, and this time when he was in charge again, no one in the village was willing to listen to him.

He went to the village to collect taxes, but the villagers didn't buy his account and started arguing with him.

The more powerful ones asked him what kind of village chief he was. He didn't have time to care about the thieves in the village, but he had time to climb into the bed of a young widow.

Chen Yushun was annoyed and embarrassed, but he couldn't say anything. The villagers were so angry that they lay in bed for several days.

The village head was so impressive in previous years, but he is so miserable this year.

The autumn harvest tax is of utmost importance. Mr. Qian sees that he has no way to report to the county government. By then, Chen Yushun will not only be known for his bad character, but he may also be arrested and thrown into jail.

After all, he was concerned about the old village chief, so Mr. Qian had to support himself and come out to arrange this year's autumn harvest.

Only when Xu Yang stepped forward to help was the issue of land taxation during this year's autumn harvest finally settled.

After this incident, Mr. Qian looked at Xu Yang with a higher opinion of him. One day, he called someone to his home for dinner and asked him if he was willing to be the village chief.

If he was willing to take on this responsibility, Mr. Qian would go to the county government and recommend him to the clerk's office.

At this juncture, Xu Yang no longer hid his intentions and volunteered.

Needless to say, with the support of Mr. Qian, and having done a lot of good things for the village before, and with the reputation of the Xu family, before the election, the villagers looked at Xu Yang and called him Xu Lizheng early.

Chen Yushun's situation was hopeless, and he had lost his reputation and prestige. Mr. Qian, who had helped him rise to power, was also extremely disappointed in him. He knew that no matter how hard he struggled, there was no hope. Although he had a myriad of feelings in his heart, he had nowhere to vent them.