Chapter 220: If I had known this would happen, why would I do it in the first place?

Meng Huaining took a look and then ordered, "Meng An, the Cui family is here, read it!"

Meng An took out a thick stack of papers from his arms and began to read in front of the Cui family.

"The Cui clan leader, Cui Fugui, who held the position of village head of Xiling Village, used his nephew Cui Wen's connections to extort 25 mu of fertile land from the Zhao and Zhou families, forcing them to work for free and allowing his clansmen to plunder and rob.

Now that the evidence is solid, the county magistrate, considering his advanced age, has exempted him from the fifty lashes of the cane. From today on, he will be imprisoned for ten years..."

As soon as Meng An finished speaking, the Cui family members began to cry.

"Sir, we are wronged..."

"Shut up, everyone." With the crisp sound of whips hitting people, the cries of the Cui family members suddenly stopped.

Seeing that the surroundings were quiet, Meng An continued to read:

"From now on, within three days, Cui Fugui will compensate the Zhao and Zhou families for their losses of two hundred and eighty taels of silver."

As for compensation to other people, there was also compensation, but he didn't need to mention it here. In other words, the compensation that the Cui family needed to pay was not just what they heard.

Now, the Cui family lost their composure again.

Two hundred and eighty taels, where did they get so much silver?

"Sir, please be kind. My old man is in prison, and my sons haven't returned yet. We are the only ones at home, the elderly, the weak, women, and children. We can't afford to pay that much money..."

Meng An sneered and glanced at the old woman who was shouting. Judging from her tone, she should be Cui Fugui's wife.

"Don't worry, there's also the fines for your sons. You can prepare them together after I finish talking."

When the old woman heard this, she couldn't breathe and fainted.

Seeing this, several daughters-in-law hurriedly supported the man and knelt in front of Meng Huaining and begged.

However, the Cui family has committed serious sins and will not be forgiven even if they cry pitifully.

Without Meng Huaining's orders, the officers took the initiative to step forward to maintain order. After the women stopped crying, Meng An continued to announce the punishment suffered by the Cui family to the public.

Cui Fugui's sons also did many bad things. In addition to being punished with imprisonment, they also had to pay one hundred taels of silver to the Zhao and Zhou families.

All other members of the Cui family who had done bad things were not let off. Some were sent to jail, and some were required to pay compensation.

This news was a great relief to the Zhao and Zhou families.

They finally no longer had to suffer the oppression of the Cui family and could get corresponding compensation.

Everyone knelt down in front of Meng Huaining, shouting, "Master Qingtian..."

Judging from their posture, if the word "Long live" is not taboo, they would shout it a few times.

Meng Huaining raised his hand towards the people kneeling on the ground, signaling them to stand up.

"This is all within my duties. You don't have to do this."

After he finished speaking, he shouted in the direction of the Cui family, "If you don't pay the fine within three days, your houses and land will be used as collateral."

The Cui family originally thought that since they couldn't come up with the money, the county magistrate couldn't do anything to them.

As a result, the county magistrate was so determined that he wanted to use their houses and land to pay off the debt.

The Cui family was completely dumbfounded. They had squandered all the money they had earned. Where could they get so much money to pay compensation now?

If they don’t get compensation, their houses and land will have to be sold. How will they survive in the future?

Thinking of this, the Cui family members all knelt down in front of Meng Huaining.

"My Lord County Magistrate, please have mercy on us..."

Meng Huaining looked at them coldly.

"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place. If you do something wrong, you must receive the punishment you deserve."

After saying that, he flicked the sleeves of his official robe and turned to look for Mo Jiuye.

"Brother Mo Jiu, Sister Jiu, it's still early today. Is it convenient for me to visit you?"

How could Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran refuse such a thing?

"You're most welcome."

Meng Huaining told the officials to do what they were supposed to do, and he took Meng An to the Mohist school.

As soon as the county magistrate and the officials left, the Cui family members went back to their homes with sad faces to try to raise money. Seeing that there was no excitement to watch, the Zhao and Zhou families' relatives also returned to their homes.

Since Meng Huaining came to visit, the Mo family naturally had to treat him well.

Fortunately, He Zhiran still had a lot of fresh food that he had obtained from the foreigners a few days ago, so it was no pressure for him to prepare a decent meal.

He Zhiran took the female family members to prepare meals, while Mo Jiuye and Mo Chuhan chatted with Meng Huaining in the room.

Meng Huaining looked at where the Mo family lived now. Although the house was a bit dilapidated, it could shelter them from the wind and rain.

"My two brothers, are you used to your family living here?"

"It's great here. Except for the Cui family, the members of the other two families are easy to get along with. Compared to the troubles in the capital, it's much more peaceful here." Mo Jiuye said.

"Ninth Brother is absolutely right. I also long for such a life."

What Meng Huaining said was from his heart. If his family had not placed all their hopes on him, he would not have bothered to work for such a foolish emperor.

He looked at Mo Chuhan and asked, "When will the affairs of Brother Baga's family be settled? I just came to Yuncheng to take up my post, and the government office is short of manpower."

Mo Chuhan originally wanted to stay at home longer to help his ninth brother and his wife.

But he also realized that his ninth brother and his wife were very organized in their work and did not need him at all.

In this case, it would be better to go to the yamen and take up a job earlier. No matter how much, I can always earn some income for the family. Besides, the position of captain of the police is also considered a small leader in the yamen. With such an identity, I can always take care of the family.

"If Brother Meng needs me, I'm always available to take up my post."

Meng Huaining was delighted when he heard this: "In that case, Brother Baga, please report to the government office tomorrow. I'll ask Meng An to arrange everything for you."

"Okay, I'll be there on time tomorrow morning."

After it was decided that Myna would start working, Mo Jiuye started talking about the mountain and the wastelands in the north.

"Brother Meng, I have something else to trouble you with."

Meng Huaining said politely, "What's the big deal? Brother Jiu, if you have anything to say, just tell me. As long as I can do it, I will definitely help you."

"To be honest, Brother Meng, my wife and I have taken a fancy to the mountain behind the village. There's also some wasteland there and we'd like to buy it."

Meng Huaining knew that the Mo family had already bought a lot of land from those villagers, and he personally helped to handle the procedures.

At that time, he was thinking that the Mohist family had only a dozen people at most, and most of them were women. How could they cultivate all the crops if they bought so much arable land?

Not only that, the Mohist family also bought so many abandoned courtyards.

In Meng Huaining's mind, even if he had a lot of money, there was no way to spend it like this.

Later, he thought to himself that the Mo family might have bought so much land with the intention of hiring people to cultivate it.

For example, the farms of those wealthy families, they don’t have their own family members to manage them, don’t they hire people?

Therefore, this may be the reason why the Mohists bought so much land.