Chapter 157 Magistrate Shen's Fury
The carriage traveled smoothly on the road.
The driver was leading the carriage, which carried four people: Magistrate Shen, Clerk Yuan, Village Head Zhao, and Zhao Ergou, who had been given a ride on the way back to the village.
Zhao Ergou went to the slightly more prosperous Hekou Town. He and the owners of Zuixianlou and Jixiang Restaurant were old acquaintances. He delivered more than a pound of liquor to each of them and wandered around the town for a while before returning. On his way home, he met the county magistrate's carriage and was given a ride.
Magistrate Shen was filled with joy, which had not diminished at all throughout the journey.
He lifted the carriage curtain and saw Dahe Village. After the rice harvest, only rice stubble remained in the fields, with only a shallow layer of water.
In Dahe Village, land is generally rotated for rest: paddy fields are rested in winter, and dry fields are rested in spring. The purpose is to maintain the fertility of the land. Generally, only families with little land will tend to the same piece of land for an entire year.
Since there hasn't been a frost yet, the autumn planting can be done slowly.
The horse-drawn carriage slowly drove along the main road into the village.
Magistrate Shen had been inspecting the fields when he suddenly spotted a familiar figure and called out, "Stop!"
The carriage wasn't going fast to begin with, and it stopped in an instant. Magistrate Shen got off the carriage while holding onto the door.
During this period, Magistrate Shen has been busy and has lost a lot of weight. He used to have a belly, but now it's gone. His cheeks are sunken, but wearing a black gauze hat and official robes, he still exudes a certain air of authority.
He walked along the main road with his hands behind his back, heading towards the children by the edge of the field.
The person sitting on the edge of the field was none other than Shen Zheng, the son of Magistrate Shen.
Magistrate Shen recognized his son from a distance just by seeing the back of a head.
He just wanted to see what his silly son was doing in Dahe Village all day long, so he approached slowly without making a sound.
Shen Zheng spent the whole morning reading in the ancestral hall with Cheng Zhao. It was already remarkable that he could restrain himself and read for most of the day, so he went out for some fresh air in the afternoon.
He found a clean, dry patch of grass in the field, crossed his legs, and started chewing on the grass roots.
Two little girls about six or seven years old passed by him, chatting with each other.
“My mother is very sick. My grandmother said she’s going to die. What does that mean? Does it mean she’ll be gone forever?”
"When you die, you become a star and go up to the sky. That's what my sister-in-law said."
The little girl's eyes sparkled: "Then even if my mother dies, she can still watch over me from heaven, right?"
"Bullshit!" Shen Zheng spat out the grass roots in his mouth and snorted. "Dead is dead. After death, people are buried underground and eaten clean by insects, turning into a pile of yellow earth..."
When he was a child, someone also lied to him, saying that his mother turned into a star in the sky after she died and would come back one day. He didn't understand anything when he was a child, so he believed it.
He grew up with expectations, hoping his mother would come back, but in reality, his mother was in a cold coffin, turned into bones, and he couldn't even remember what she looked like.
Instead of giving this child hope, it is better to cruelly tell her that when a person dies, he is dead and nothing is left...
The little girl stared at him with wide eyes, wanting to argue, but not quite daring to.
The person in front of me is the young master of the county magistrate's family. My parents have told me not to provoke Young Master Shen.
Another little girl opened her mouth and burst into tears: "Young Master Shen, you're a bad person! I hate you! My mother won't die! She won't be eaten by bugs! You're a bad person..."
Shen Zheng was a little flustered; he hadn't meant to make the little girl cry.
He was about to say something when his collar was suddenly grabbed.
No one in the entire Dahe Village dared to grab him by the back of his collar, not even Aunt Zhao.
He turned around angrily, only to meet the furious eyes of Magistrate Shen.
"You bastard, Shen Zheng!"
Magistrate Shen was furious. He saw his son talking to two ragged and filthy little girls and thought his son had finally grown up, stopped being picky, and learned to be considerate of the people's plight.
Unexpectedly, this kid bullied a six-year-old child, who was a girl!
"Just because you're the son of the county magistrate, you act all high and mighty in the village. If you could even handle a burly man, I'd respect you as a real man. But you've gone and bullied a young girl! Tell me, what exactly did you do?!"
Shen Zheng said angrily, "I didn't do anything, I just told the truth. She wanted to cry, what does it have to do with me!"
"Still trying to argue!"
Magistrate Shen raised his hand to slap him across the face.
That slap was very forceful.
In mid-air, however, the village head stopped him: "Your Excellency, the child is too big for this, you can't hit him..."
The village head grasped Magistrate Shen's hand, then quickly let go in fear, lest Magistrate Shen punish him.
Magistrate Shen said coldly, "Shen Zheng, kneel down and recite the ancestral precepts of our Shen family!"
"Why should I kneel down?! I did nothing wrong!"
Shen Zheng was furious.
He was slapped in public and asked to kneel down. Did he commit a heinous crime?
What's wrong with telling the truth? Even if it's inappropriate, there's absolutely no major mistake!
He tossed his head and ran away along the ridge of the field.
"Rebellious son!"
Magistrate Shen's chest heaved violently.
The head of the village and Mr. Yuan didn't dare to say a word. Zhao Ergou frowned, silently took two steps back, and quickly called Cheng Wanwan over.
He always felt that Shen Zheng wouldn't be such a scoundrel as to bully a young girl.
He had no right to speak up for Shen Zheng, but his mother certainly could.
Cheng Wanwan was busy cleaning the chicken coop and duck shed in the yard, while keeping an eye on everyone's work. Those who worked hard were naturally kept on, while those who were lazy would be fired under some pretext tomorrow. She watched for half an hour, but couldn't find a single lazy person. It seemed that the people the village head found were all reliable, and they were all eager to put in all their strength.
"Mother, something's happened!"
Zhao Ergou rushed in hurriedly, grabbed Cheng Wanwan and walked out.
He briefly explained the situation along the way.
Cheng Wanwan knew that the county magistrate had come to discuss the matter of regenerated rice, but she happened to run into Shen Zheng's affair.
Having spent so much time with Shen Zheng, she knew his personality very well. He was willful and proud, never easily bowed his head, very smart, and had his own ideas about things. Shen Zheng wouldn't even bully the chickens and ducks at home, so why would he bully the little girls in the village?
It seems that Magistrate Shen doesn't know his own son very well.
When she walked to the edge of the field, she saw Li talking to the magistrate about the rice plantation, but the magistrate was distracted and his face was ashen.
Seeing Cheng Wanwan approach, the village head felt a sense of relief and reported, "Sir, Aunt Dashan is here. Let her explain things to you in detail."
Magistrate Shen's face remained somber, and he showed no interest in anything.
When I first arrived in Dahe Village, I was filled with excitement, but when I saw my own son, it was as if a bucket of water had been poured over my head, and I was instantly chilled to the bone.
No matter how good his political achievements are, if his son is incompetent, he is a failure as a person.
"My lord, please hear what I have to say." Cheng Wanwan walked over and said slowly, "Young Master Shen has been staying in my house for half a month. Whether Young Master Shen has abused his power or bullied others, I am the most qualified to speak on this matter."
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