A moment later, Gu Qingshan came over with a tattered cloth bag. He said something to Tan San Niang and then handed it to the village head.
Chen Sheng glanced at what he was holding, and his anger intensified!
"Chen Guang'an, look at this! Liu Meixiang, you take a look too, is this what you keep shouting about being wronged?"
Liu Meixiang, who was wrestling with the village head's wife, saw what was thrown at her and a vein throbbed on her forehead. Could this round bean be croton?
Did you find this from your own search?
Could it really have been that bastard Shuanzi's father who took it back?
He abruptly shoved aside the woman who was helping him and shouted that he was innocent.
"Village head, you can't just believe what others say! Who brought this croton seed? They're trying to frame us!"
"Where in my house is there a single penny left? If we had the money to buy croton seeds, wouldn't we be buying grain instead?! What's the point of buying this rubbish? It's just a waste of money!"
After saying that, she staggered over to her husband and said, "Shuanzi's father, tell me quickly, this isn't our family's!"
Chen Sheng waved his hand impatiently, "If you think Shiligou can't tolerate you, or that I've wronged you, why don't you go to the yamen gate and beat the drum to appeal for justice? Then let the county magistrate properly judge the case and see just how deep your injustice is!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Guang'an shrank back like a quail and fell silent.
Seeing his reaction, Liu Meixiang understood immediately and sat down on the ground, sobbing...
This farce ended with Chen Guang'an being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for a month as punishment. During this month, if he dared to escape, he would be expelled from the clan. If there was a next time, his entire family would be expelled from the clan.
Qin San Niang and the others were satisfied with the result, after all, for the ancients who valued clan concepts so much, this punishment was not light.
Moreover, the village head Chen Sheng demanded that Liu Meixiang give Suotou Niang some compensation, but Liu Meixiang refused to pay the two taels of silver for the medicine, acting like a rogue!
Chen Sheng had a solution, so he made her take care of Suotou's mother's meals for a month, serving her three meals a day! This also included cleaning Suotou's house inside and out!
If anyone wanted to pull any tricks? That would be impossible, because someone volunteered to be the supervisor—Grandma Qiu from the front yard!
Helpless, Liu Meixiang began a life of hardship. In addition to taking care of her own son, she also had to find ways to get ingredients to cook and deliver to the man kneeling in the ancestral hall and the woman with the lock.
Grandma Qiu was a serious and meticulous person. She would carefully check every meal. She didn't require meat, vegetables, white rice, or white steamed buns to be served every meal, as those were all good things and few families in Shiligou could afford them. But whether it was mixed grain rice, wild vegetable rice, or something else, she made sure that the amount of food was sufficient and that it was clean!
Liu Meixiang, that slovenly woman, became a bit cleaner and more organized after being remembered by Granny Qiu! However, this only applied to the food delivered to Suotou Niang; the food served to Chen Guang'an was, to put it mildly, terrible!
Looking at the food in the bowl, which resembled pig slop, and upon closer inspection, even finding a few strands of hair mixed in, Chen Guang'an roared angrily, "You wretched woman, is this pig slop? Your husband is exhausted, and this is what you give me to eat! Do you want a beating?"
Because of the croton seed incident, Liu Meixiang was still fuming! It turned out that this coward only had to kneel here, while she was the one who had to be his slave! Suppressing her anger, she expressionlessly pulled out a few strands of hair.
"Just make do with this! Shuanzi and I haven't eaten yet! Every day, we have to deliver food to Suotou's mother. If we deliver it too early, it won't do; if we deliver it too late, it won't do; if it's not cooked well, it won't do! Where do we get the money to buy food? Shuanzi and I are almost starving!"
"After I finish eating, I still have to go up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables! Husband, aren't you going to think of a way? I don't care about myself, but your precious Shuanzi is about to go hungry!" Liu Meixiang became more and more sad as she spoke, and in the end she even started to sob.
Chen Guang'an was annoyed by her crying, and his anger rose rapidly. He quickly finished his meal in a few bites.
"Alright, hurry home and cook for Shuanzi! Stop crying and whining here, old women always cause trouble!" After saying that, he kicked off his shoes and lay down on the straw. He had been kneeling all day, and his legs were almost useless!
At night, Chen Guang'an wrapped his old cotton-padded coat tighter around himself. Although the temperature had risen a lot, he was still cold!
Fortunately, this ancestral hall is a major event for the Chen clan, and there are always people maintaining and repairing it. It is even more secure than their own houses, and they can get through the night by lighting a bonfire.
After a while, when Chen Guang'an was feeling a bit drowsy, he heard the hooting of an owl. He wondered, "Where did this owl come from at this hour? Could it be...?"
He hurriedly sat up and opened the half-closed ancestral hall door.
Upon recognizing the person, his expression changed, and he let out a snort.
What brings you here?
The person who came was none other than Boss Qiu, who had been taken back yesterday.
So, Qiu Laoda was escorted back by Qiu Lizheng and his men. The next day, as expected, he opened the ancestral hall with the elders of the clan and listed all the things he had done over the years.
Not only did he steal chickens and dogs, but he also harassed widows and trafficked women and children. In short, this guy was utterly wicked! The Qiu family elders and the village headman stepped forward to inform their ancestors and unanimously decided to expel him from the clan!
In fact, Qiu Lizheng also had a longer-term plan. The evil deeds that Qiu Laoda had done would be exposed one day. As the saying goes, the net of heaven is vast and its meshes are wide, yet nothing escapes it. If that day comes, the serious crime will result in the extermination of nine generations of his family!
All their clansmen will be implicated, and even if you are good at studying, you will not be allowed to take the imperial examinations! This is simply a scourge to the clan!
Therefore, whether for the sake of his descendants' advancement or for the stability of the entire Qiu family village, he had to make this decision! If the eldest Qiu wanted revenge, he wasn't afraid! He had five sons, none of whom were cowards! If that day ever came, the eldest Qiu would pay the price sooner or later!
Upon hearing the decision to expel him from the clan, Qiu Laoda was still somewhat taken aback. He truly hadn't expected that Qiu Lizheng would actually dare to expel him from the clan!
Fortunately, his wife had died long ago, and he had already sold his two daughters, who were considered a burden, to raise the money for their dowries. So, he was now all alone, having been expelled from the clan!
Seeing that his pleas were in vain, Qiu Laoda gave up and glared at the village head and the others, then looked helplessly at his own brothers before resolutely walking away.
His house didn't have much stuff; besides a few tattered bedding sheets, you could see the stars from the roof.
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