It was almost noon, and the villagers who had been working in the fields were packing up to go home for lunch.
Upon hearing the official's words, they remembered that after they finished repairing the road, the supervisor said he was going back to the county office to report the matter to the county magistrate.
They didn't really care; they were already satisfied with just a compliment.
I never expected the reward to actually come.
Everyone ran to the dam square to gather.
"What? There's a reward too?" Old Mrs. Song asked in disbelief as the Song family harvested rice in the field.
Song Laoda: "But Mother, we haven't gone out to work on the road for a single day."
“You’re stupid. Just say that our family members went there for a day or two, but no one noticed.”
“The officials weren’t there at the time, so what can they do if you insist on your claim?”
"Let's go, let's all go and collect our rewards." The eldest Song brother tossed his sickle to his waist.
During that period, almost every household participated, except for a few families including the Shen and Song families.
As a result, a large number of people suddenly arrived at the dam square.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the leader took out a document of reward and read it aloud to everyone. The gist of it was that the villagers of Datian Village had spontaneously opened up the road to Yongguan County in less than half a month, making a great contribution.
A road marker will be erected on the village road in Datian Village to award the title of "Village of Great Righteousness". Each family that helps to clear the official road will be rewarded with two taels of silver.
The villagers gasped in amazement at the sheer number of people.
With such a beautiful name, Datian Village is about to become famous in the surrounding villages.
Everyone was overjoyed, as if the fatigue from the morning's work had been swept away. However, they were already dizzy from the sun, and now they felt even more dizzy, as if they were dreaming.
"Alright, we've delivered the road marker. You can put it up yourselves."
The head constable spoke and had someone carry a stone off the horse's back. It wasn't heavy, about a hundred pounds. It was covered with a red cloth. When the red cloth was lifted, the words "Village of Righteousness" were engraved in the center of the stone tablet. The words were bold and powerful, and the stone was also painted red.
Seeing this stone tablet, the villagers felt a surge of pride.
From then on, Datian Village was different from other villages.
The officers and soldiers then lifted another box off the horse's back, opened it, and saw gleaming silver coins.
They are all small silver ingots. The official silver is white and clean, without a single tooth mark, but it is guaranteed to be genuine.
The Song family swallowed hard. They could also get two taels of silver by taking advantage of the situation without having to do any work. This feeling of getting something for nothing was just too good to be true.
The leader took a rolled-up piece of paper from his sleeve and unfolded it.
"The names are all written down. When your name is called, come forward to collect your money."
What? They even wrote down the names? The Song family was completely dumbfounded.
They thought they were getting a great deal, but little did they know it was a registered list. They hadn't even gone there, so how could their names be on it?
The Qiao family members watched the Song family members' expressions, and they almost couldn't help but laugh.
They think they're so smart.
Some villagers had been busy on the road for several days in a row, but couldn't go that day because of family matters. However, other villagers helped them register their names, so they also received a reward.
The eldest and second eldest Song brothers whispered among themselves, thinking it was worth taking a gamble.
They insisted that they had been gone for a day or two, but the villagers hadn't noticed them and therefore hadn't reported their names.
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