"Miss!" Tingxue covered her mouth, fearing that she would scream out loud and attract other people's attention.
Ningshuang returned to Wei Yunlan and asked worriedly, "Miss, are they here to arrest us?"
"Don't panic, pack your things and be ready to go at any time." Wei Yunlan pushed open the door and walked into the yard quietly.
Yu Qi, who left the west room at the same time as her, disappeared in a flash.
The voices that had just been shouting in the village rang out again.
"The officials have arrived at Shangya Village!"
"Everyone, hide the food quickly!"
Wei Yunlan breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately became confused. The officials were not bandits, so why did they need to hide grain?
Old Mr. Xue, who was cooking breakfast, heard the shouting outside and ran out of the kitchen. He stopped the villagers who were running past the hospital and asked anxiously, "What happened?"
"Uncle, the government has heard about the smuggling of grain in Shangya Village, and has sent officials to each village to count this year's harvest. The village head is worried that the grain will be taken away after the count, so he asked us to hide some of it quickly."
The villager who responded hurried to the village's threshing ground, "Uncle, I won't talk to you anymore. I have to go over there to help!"
"Hu Zi, watch the pot. I'll go over to take a look too." Old Man Xue instructed Hu Zi. He glanced at Wei Yunlan standing in the yard, nodded, and then quickly chased in the direction the villagers had just left.
His legs and feet were so nimble that he didn't look like a man in his sixties at all.
"Miss, everything is packed, are we ready to leave?" Ningshuang walked over and asked in a low voice.
"Wait for Team Leader Yu to come back." As soon as Wei Yunlan finished speaking, Yu Qi's figure fell back into the yard.
After walking around the village, she had already understood most of what was going on. "A group of officials came from Qingyapo and are now in Shangya Village. They will be here in half an hour at most."
The road ahead was not open yet, so they had to go back.
If they set out at this time, they would definitely run into the official team. Given their current situation, it would be best for them to avoid the official team.
Wei Yunlan said: "We will leave after the officials leave Xiaya Village."
Yu Qi nodded slightly, this was exactly what she meant.
"The horses are hidden in the Xue family's backyard. Ningshuang and Tingxue should stay in the house as well. Don't go out yet."
Wei Yunlan asked Yu Qi, "Shall we go to the grain drying ground to take a look?"
"Okay." Yu Qi grabbed Wei Yunlan's shoulder with one hand, and just like last time at the inn, he carried her into the air and over the wall.
After a while, he came from the backyard of Mr. Xue's house to the big tree behind the barn next to the threshing ground at the entrance of the village.
Looking down from the tree, the open space was filled with golden wheat. The villagers of Xiaya Village were busy packing the wheat into bags and transporting them to the cellars of several nearby households.
There were two ox carts waiting nearby.
These are the only two cows in the village. They will pull some food directly to the end of the village and hide it in the forest behind the village.
Except for the people guarding the intersection, almost all the men, women, young and old in the village came out to fight. The wide threshing ground was full of people, making it seem a bit crowded.
Soon, the villagers who were guarding the road hurried back, "Quick! The officials have already come out of Shangya Village, drive the ox cart away first!"
The village head said, "Everyone, disperse quickly and go home. Keep the children at home and don't come out for the time being."
Soon, the only people left on the threshing ground were the village head, the heads of several wealthy families in the village, and Old Man Xue, who enjoyed considerable prestige in the village.
A group of officials riding on tall horses entered the village, without dismounting, and headed straight for the threshing ground.
The head of the village came forward with his men, and greeted them politely, "I wonder how many officials are coming today. I'm sorry for not coming in person to welcome you!"
"Stop talking nonsense." The leading officer snorted coldly, glanced at the situation on the threshing ground, and asked with a stern face: "Is all the grain here?"
"Is this the only amount of food you harvested in Xiaya Village this year?"
The head of the village smiled bitterly and nodded, "We only collected these. Your arrival is just in time. I was planning to report to the county government these past two days. Our village has suffered a serious disaster this year and the harvest is insufficient. I wonder if we can apply for some subsidies from the county government..."
"Oh, stop dreaming." The officer interrupted the headman and looked at his and his men's faces with scrutiny. "We have heard your excuses a lot in the past two days."
"This is all the harvest we get in a year? You must be kidding!"
"Search every house, I want to see where these unruly people hide their food!"
There were six officers in the team. Although they were few in number, the tall horses they rode on and the swords on their waists were very intimidating.
At the captain's command, everyone dismounted from their horses at the same time, went to the house nearest to the threshing ground, and kicked open the tightly closed door.
Wei Yunlan was shocked when he saw this scene from the tree. "How can this be called an official? This is simply the behavior of a bandit!"
"There are many things like this in the Great Yong territory. Miss Wei has lived in the capital for a long time and has never had the opportunity to see them." Yu Qi's face was normal. Although she was in the Shadow Department of Tianshu Pavilion, she also heard a lot of news from the Anbu from all over the place. Compared with the Beiguan and Xiliang border, this scene in front of her was really nothing.
Wei Yunlan fell silent upon hearing this.
Even though she knew that the world was difficult and the people were suffering, she did not expect that this suffering was not only caused by the environment or herself, but more by the Dayong government, which should have been trusted by the people.
It's so sad, lamentable and ridiculous!
A look of sadness emerged in Wei Yunlan's eyes. At this moment, screams were heard from the yard of the family whose door had been kicked open earlier.
"Sister-in-law!"
"My wife!"
Yu Qi took Wei Yunlan and shuttled through the branches until they came to a place a little closer to the house.
The scene in the yard came into view. A woman was lying on her back on the ground, holding her stomach. The officer next to her seemed not to see anything and was moving the jar of pickles that was pressing on the entrance of the cellar.
A firecracker-like little figure rushed out of the house and bumped into the officer's waist. "Bad guys! Why did you hit my mother?"
In the yard, the adults of the family and several people including the head of the village who were checking on the woman's condition suddenly turned pale.
"Gouzi, come here quickly." The big man who helped the woman stand up waved to the child in front of the officer.
The head of the village repeatedly advised: "Sir, please calm down. Sir, please calm down. Gouzi is worried about his mother. Please don't be angry with him."
The officer sneered, "That crazy woman deserved to be killed for daring to stop us from searching."
As he said this, he grabbed the dog that tried to run away. The child, who was only four or five years old, was held in his hands like a little chicken with no ability to resist.
Seeing that the officer was about to throw Gou Zi out, Gou Zi's father hurried forward to stop him, and the village head and others also came forward to help.
During the scuffle, the officer carrying the dog bumped head-on into the millstone in the yard.
Instantly, blood flowed, and the officer drew his knife in a flash, "How dare you attack the officer!"
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