Chapter 046: Reclaiming Supplies
Everyone in the Xu family didn't know what to do for a moment, and they all looked at each other, afraid that something else might happen.
Only Xu Zhenying and Lian Qiuzhi looked at each other, and saw a hint of understanding in each other's eyes.
It seems that within five days, Zhao Bantou had made his choice after just one sleep.
Xu Yinxi hid in the crowd and observed Xu Zhenying carefully. Seeing that she looked calm, and thinking of Lian's inexplicable instructions last night, she knew that she had touched upon some secret, and stared at Zhao Bantou nervously for a moment.
Soon, Liu Jieshi came trotting over. Seeing Zhao Bantou among the Xu family, his face turned pale. Liu Jieshi felt something strange in his heart, but he remained calm on the surface. He just pretended to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked, "Zhao Bantou, what happened?"
"What happened? Is this the food you distributed?!" Zhao Bantou grabbed a handful of rice bran and threw it at Liu Jieshi's face. Everyone in the Xu family was so scared that they took a step back and looked at the two people in confusion.
"Tell me, why are you deliberately targeting the Xu family? When they set out, I saw they had a carriage full of luggage. Where are their belongings?!"
Liu Jieshi was surprised for a moment. He frowned and stared at Zhao Bantou, as if trying to get a glimpse of something from his expression.
Didn't the bulk of the things go to Zhao Bantou? Zhao Bantou also tacitly agreed to deal with the Xu family. What's the point of doing this now?
Liu Jieshi was confused after thinking about it again and again. "Zhao Bantou, what's wrong? They are all exiled prisoners, so they should be treated as exiled prisoners--"
"What kind of treatment?! I, Zhao Qiaonian, strictly follow the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty. They are guilty and have been sentenced to exile. As yamen runners, the only thing we can do is send them to the place of exile, not take the opportunity to waste time and torture them along the way!"
Liu Jieshi really had no idea what Zhao Bantou was going to do, so he didn't dare to say anything and just waited for Zhao Bantou's next move.
Zhao Bantou continued to curse, "The medicine you gave me a few days ago was from the Xu family, right? I thought you bought it as a gift to me, but I never thought you would do such a thing! Liu Jieshi, I command you to take back all the things and return them to the Xu family right now, or I will report your ugly deeds to the higher-ups and make you pay for it!"
After saying this, Zhao Bantou turned to the Xu family and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. It was my fault for not managing my subordinate well enough that he did this. If Liu Jieshi dares to bully you again, come to me directly."
He said this with an extremely sincere and appropriate attitude, even with a hint of regret and guilt, which made people feel comfortable from the bottom of their hearts.
Zhao Bantou seemed extremely angry. After saying this, he turned away, leaving the Xu family members stunned there.
Xu Zhenying sneered in his heart, he actually underestimated this Zhao Bantou, who was indeed a successful man in the yamen. He acted like this, on the one hand, to sever his relationship with Liu Jieshi, and on the other hand, to make the Xu family grateful. He was very clever and had a high level of political literacy.
Liu Jieshi stood there in a daze for a moment, his mind racing. Zhao Bantou's attitude towards the Xu family had changed drastically. Could it be that he had received some inside information?
But thinking back carefully, Zhao Bantou had behaved very normally in the past few days and had never come into contact with anyone outside the exile team. How could he suddenly change his attitude?
This matter... seems weird no matter how you look at it...
The more Liu Jieshi thought about it, the more he felt something was amiss. However, he couldn't go against his superiors' wishes, so he turned around and glared fiercely at the Xu family. Huang Yazi, who was standing by, was also a little confused. He stepped forward and asked, "Brother Liu, what... should we do?"
"What else can we do? Team Leader Zhao has spoken. Can we still disobey him? Do you want to stop being in the team?"
Huang Yazi glanced at Xu Yinxi quickly, then spat, "Damn it, there's nothing left here. I don't know what kind of luck this Xu family has—"
Liu Jieshi and Huang Yazi turned and left. Huang Cui'e was the first to slap her thigh and yell, "Oh my god! Someone give me a pinch! Is this true? Do you really want to return all our things to us?"
The uncle also excitedly shouted to Xu Zhenying, "Hey, you're amazing, girl. You returned it right away... Tell me... how did you do it?"
Seeing everyone surrounding Xu Zhenying again, Xu Lezhi gritted his teeth and said, "All he does is show off. God knows what shady tricks he uses to fool those idiots in the first house!"
Xu Deyuan was shocked, but refused to believe it. He just shook his head and said, "How is it possible... That Zhao Bantou is clearly in cahoots with Liu Jieshi, how could he take the initiative to return the things? You witch, you must have used some kind of magic..."
Xu Lezhi immediately jumped out and echoed, "Yes, yes, yes, it's a sorcery. Sixth Sister's personality has changed drastically since she was exiled. How could a girl like her possibly be able to change the minds of the people in the government office? She must have been possessed by some demon or monster!"
Xu Lezhi had not expected that these unintentionally fabricated words would hit Miao's fragile and sensitive nerves. When she heard the word "witch", Miao's usual gentle and virtuous appearance disappeared completely. Her face flushed with excitement. She stepped forward and was grabbed by Xu Lezhi, yelling, "What witch? You are the witch! You are obviously jealous of my Ying'er! If you dare to slander my Ying'er again, I will beat you to death——"
As Miao said this, she threw herself at Xu Lezhi without caring about anything. Everyone in the Xu family was shocked, and Xu Degui was also frightened. They had never seen Miao so crazy before, so they immediately pulled the two apart.
Xu Lezhi was obviously frightened by Miao's madness. She cried and said stubbornly, "She is a witch. She must have cast a spell on those people in the government office. Otherwise, how could she return the things to us?"
Xu Zhenying was annoyed by Xu Lezhi's crying. She turned around and instructed Lian, "Second Aunt, please handle this. I don't want to hear Xu Lezhi's crazy talk anymore. Discipline him properly. Otherwise, since you, as the elder, can't handle it, I, as the elder sister, will have to take care of him."
Strangely, Lian was not angry after hearing this. Instead, she grabbed Xu Lezhi and angrily scolded him, "What are you making a fuss about? Get up now. If you keep talking nonsense, you will be punished by the family rules—"
This has really stirred up a hornet's nest.
Xu Lezhi burst into tears, "Mom, how could you listen to that little bitch Xu Qingying?! You don't love me at all, so why are you afraid of the people from the third house?! His entire Xu family depends on my grandfather, yet he still bullies us like this. Hurry up and write a letter to my grandfather, telling him not to let anyone from the Xu family set foot in the capital!"
This is getting more and more outrageous!
Xu Yinxi thought to herself, "Oh no!" and was about to speak to help, but her aunt said sarcastically, "Come on, Second Uncle's return to Bian Jing is his business. We, the peasant relatives, don't dare to take advantage of him. We might be scolded by the younger generation behind our backs—"
Even the usually good-tempered Fourth Uncle said, "Shut up! What are you talking about?!"
Xu Deyuan was so angry that his face turned red and his neck thickened. He cursed loudly: "You bastard, what nonsense are you talking about! You are not from my Xu family? Could your last name be Lian? You bastard, you have read so much that it has become a dog's stomach. If you really don't want the last name Xu, then go back to the capital and don't recognize me as your father!"
Xu Yinxi saw Xu Lezhi was about to speak again. She knew Xu Lezhi's temper. When she got mad, even ten cows couldn't stop her. She quickly covered Xu Lezhi's mouth and dragged her out. "Daddy, calm down. You know Lezhi's temper. She can't stand the slightest grievance. She's angry because she feels that her parents don't love her--"
Xu Deyuan stared at the face that looked so similar to Lian Qiuzhi, his anger surging. "You still don't love her? What? The whole family wants to praise her to the top just to satisfy her? I think they love her too much, letting her become ignorant... Now she won't even acknowledge her ancestors!"
Lian was caught between her husband and daughter, and her anger grew. Fortunately, Xu Yinxi quickly signaled her youngest sister for help, and after great effort she dragged the two of them out.
Xu Zhenying witnessed the whole process and had nothing to say. She felt that Xu Lezhi was stupid and talked too much, and that she really could not be a good sister to her.
Xu Lezhi's commotion dampened the joy of getting the supplies back.
Especially the people other than those from the second house, all remained strangely silent for a moment and refused to have any contact with the people from the second house.
The eldest aunt snorted coldly, put the rice in the pot to cook first, and the fourth aunt also went over to help.
Seeing this, the concubines from the second room glanced at Xu Deyuan's expression and then tried to step forward to help. However, Huang Cui'e stopped them: "Don't dare to move, or else people will point fingers at us and call us poor relatives."
Xu Deyuan looked embarrassed, and he hated Xu Lezhi even more in his heart. He felt that Xu Lezhi was spoiled by the Lian family. "Sister-in-law, how can you be so petty as to be like a child? Besides, Lezhi never said that—"
"Oh, I didn't say that, but I understand the meaning. You, Xu Deyuan, look down on your brothers and sisters, and that's not just one or two days. The little kid has been influenced by it, so how could he say such words? Isn't that what adults taught him?"
Xu Deyuan was furious. "How could I have taught her this? It was clearly that bitch Lian who taught her this..."
Xu Zhenying rarely spoke, "Okay, let's save some energy and cook first. We'll have something delicious tonight."
Huang Cui'e's expression changed instantly. She quickly sighed with a smile and praised Xu Zhenying again and again, "Sixth girl is a good person. She thinks of me all the time and doesn't mind me being from the countryside. She is also smart. She said that things can be returned, and they really will be returned. Sixth girl, I have finally understood. You are the most reliable person among this group of people. From now on, your aunt will listen to you. I will do whatever you ask me to do——"
Xu Zhenying didn't expect that it would be so easy to win over his aunt.
The eldest uncle also nodded. "Yes, our sixth daughter is still reliable. Unlike those ungrateful people from the second branch, they don't think about the past in Xujia Village. If it weren't for the third brother and I working hard to earn money to send him to school, he would never have become a Jinshi in his lifetime. I think this person really shouldn't read too much. If he reads too much, he will even forget the four words of filial piety, brotherhood, gratitude and righteousness!"
Xu Deyuan was squeezed out by Xu Dechi until his face turned pale. He had always looked down on people from other branches, but the situation was pressing now. His second branch had few male descendants, and they were all underage. He didn't know what kind of life he would have when he arrived in Qianzhou. He had offended other branches now. Would he have to do all the work of clearing wasteland and farming alone in the future?
It must be said that Xu Deyuan was quite forward-thinking. After recognizing the situation, his expression quickly brightened. He said with a smile, "Brother, what are you talking about? We are a family that is as close as brothers, and it's time for us to stick together. How can we be provoked by a few words from a junior? Le Zhi has been spoiled by her mother since she was a child. She speaks without restraint. I will definitely teach her a lesson!"
When the people from the first house heard this, their anger subsided a little, but they were still unwilling to give a good face to the people from the second house.
Liu Jieshi went to find the remaining escorts to collect their belongings. It would take some time for them to get their belongings back, so they could only temporarily share the bag of rice among the whole family.
The aunt held the soup spoon tightly, as if she held the power of life and death, and gave the first bowl to Xu Zhenying.
The bowl was filled to the brim, nearly overflowing.
"Sixth girl, you use your brain all day long, so you should eat more." The eldest aunt rarely had a good mood. She would frown at other people, especially the illegitimate sons and daughters of the second house. She knocked the soup spoon so hard that it made a ping-pong sound. She was only willing to give a little bit after scooping it over and over again, let alone half a bowl. At most, it could cover the bottom of the bowl, and it was very watery at that.
Xu Hui, the eldest son of the second wife, was not satisfied. Relying on being the eldest son of the second wife, he had always been the center of attention at home. Even the eldest daughter, Xu Yinxi, had to avoid him. After all, even the servants knew that this eldest son of the second wife was likely to take over the entire Xu family.
Therefore, in the past, whenever the Xu family had something good, it would first go to the second son, the eldest son, followed by the second son Xu Huirong, and then the three legitimate daughters of the second house. Finally, the younger generations of the several houses would share.
"Aunt, what do you mean? Why did you give Sixth Sister a full bowl, but give me so little? I'm the eldest son of the second wife, and a male, so I should be served first. How can you mess up the order of seniority?!"
The eldest aunt didn't want to pamper the second wife anymore. She smiled coldly, "If you don't want to eat, forget it. You still think you are the eldest master of the Xu family. If you have the ability, just help us get some food like your sixth sister did. I will treat you as my master!"
"You..." Xu Huizheng didn't expect to be ridiculed like this, and her face was very embarrassed, "How can my aunt say that...you..."
"I...I...I'm shit!" The aunt spat. "What a piece of shit. You can't even carry anything on your shoulders or hands all day long, and you still eat white rice. What, now white rice can't stop you from eating?"
The eldest aunt looked around at the concubines and concubines of the second house, banged the soup spoon hard, and said word by word: "Open your eyes and see clearly, everything you eat, drink and use now is all donated by your sixth sister. Don't get the advantage and then put on airs in front of me, pretending to be some young master or young lady. I tell you, now that you are exiled, you are all criminals, no one is nobler than the other! I still say that, as long as you can get these food and drinks like the sixth girl, I, Huang Cui'e, will treat you as my ancestors! If you don't have that ability, then shut up and eat for free!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
