The renowned doctor Zhang, who had been listening to the commotion from the sidelines, stepped forward and stretched the woman's arm upon seeing this.
With a casual tug and a push, the woman screamed in pain, and her arm was able to move freely again.
The woman's tears flowed even faster. She wiped them away fiercely, then held the two children in her arms and said through gritted teeth, "Uncle Village Chief, Dajun is secretly gambling outside, and he has lost all the money in the house!"
"He just handed out the silver, and he wanted to take it all. I refused, and he tore my arm off. The money bag is still on him now!"
gamble?!
Everyone's expression changed, and the village chief even stood up abruptly.
"Someone, search Dajun's body and find his money bag!"
Immediately, two villagers stepped forward; one hugged Wei Dajun, and the other reached into his arms and groped him.
Wei Dajun could no longer play dead. He struggled desperately and shouted, "What are you doing? This is my family's money!"
Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention. They not only took out their money pouches, but also pinned him to the ground, rendering him unable to move.
Sister Wei took the money bag and, deciding to go all out, kowtowed to the village chief and Li Lao Er with her two children.
“Uncle Village Chief, Second Master, the child’s father is a scoundrel! This summer, the child was craving dumplings, and he said he was going to buy meat, but when he came back he didn’t bring any meat, and he said he was rich. Since then, he’s been disappearing every few days.”
“I thought he was just being lazy and didn’t dare let everyone know for fear of losing face, so I gritted my teeth and kept the family going, thinking that I could persuade him more. But he’s getting more and more out of line. Lately, he’s not even staying at home for five or six days out of ten, let alone doing any work.”
“The day before yesterday, he kept urging me to ask when I would get paid. I felt something was wrong, so I got him drunk. That’s when he said he owed gambling debts and was going to get his legs broken!”
"Shut up, you old hag! I was just saying, I didn't gamble!"
Wei Dajun struggled and tried to hit his wife again, but the village chief was truly enraged!
When they all escaped with their lives, they made a pact at Broken Gold Beach to live a good life together from then on.
The men neither gamble nor visit prostitutes, the village never abandons a single villager, and the villagers will never betray the village!
This is a rule that everyone, young and old, men and women, even children who have just started school, knows. Even if their friends from the other three villages ask them about village affairs, the children are unwilling to say much.
Now, Wei Dajun has actually been the first to break the rules!
Half a year, a full six months!
Did he only gamble while he was out there? Did someone try to trick him into talking about village affairs?
Or, even if he doesn't betray the village for now, who can guarantee he won't betray the village when he's desperately short of money later?
This is a giant firecracker that could explode at any moment!
The village chief and Uncle Zhao exchanged glances, all feeling a chill run down their spines, filled with lingering fear and anger.
They thought they were managing the village very well, but they never expected that something like this would happen right under their noses!
"Hang him up! Where's the whip? Whip him mercilessly, make him explain himself clearly!"
The village chief's face turned ashen. He roared, "When exactly did he go gambling? Who led him there? Where did he gamble? How much money does he owe? Has he betrayed the village? Ask him everything clearly, don't miss a single word!"
This time, it was Chief Escort Liu who personally took action, directly tying up Wei Dajun and hanging him from the eaves.
The village chief grabbed a whip and personally lashed Wei Dajun more than a dozen times, causing Wei Dajun to scream like a pig being slaughtered in pain.
Uncle Zhao, worried that the sound would carry too far, tore off a rag and stuffed it into his mouth.
The courtyard was completely silent; men, women, and children dared not even breathe.
Even if they hadn't moved to Suijintan, they had never seen the village chief so angry, not even on the way to escape famine in Qingshui Village.
Some people may feel that this is making a mountain out of a molehill, and want to plead for leniency, but dare not speak up.
The two children from the Wei family, however, were somewhat reluctant to part with their father and began to sob.
The village chief tossed the whip to Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), and told him to continue whipping the man. Then he turned around and glared at the two children. "What are you crying for! Even if your father is whipped to death today, you don't need to be afraid! I, this old man, will support your education and save up your dowry and betrothal gifts!"
Sister-in-law Wei held onto the child tightly, showing no sign of distress.
“Uncle Village Chief, please teach him a lesson. We won’t blame him even if he kills Dajun! He gambled away all of last year’s dividends and this year’s wages, which totaled more than a hundred taels.”
"If he continues like this, the three of us will probably be sold off to pay off our debts! If he won't let us live, we don't care about his life!"
"Good, that's how it should be!" Tao Hongying and Sun Ersao and the others all agreed, encouraging Wei's sister-in-law. "We can earn work points in the village and we also get grain. Even without the men, we women can still survive and raise our children!"
Wei Dajun, who was hanging from the eaves, had been hoping someone would plead for him, but upon hearing these words, he finally panicked and began to sob as he tried to speak.
Unfortunately, Chief Liu had just had a son late in life and was the pillar of his family. He was at the peak of his sense of responsibility. When he encountered someone who didn't cherish his wife and child, he felt extremely contemptuous and lashed him five or six more times to vent his anger before stopping.
Wei Dajun was in so much pain that he almost fainted, but he didn't dare to. As soon as he was free to speak, he quickly told the whole story.
He wasn't a smart person, and he didn't know where he went wrong, so he was talking incoherently.
In the end, it took Li Lao Er asking a question and him answering it one by one to finally get the matter cleared up.
It turned out that when he went to Xiaowangzhuang to buy meat, the butcher shop was out of meat. A villager from Xiaowangzhuang named Zhang Jin said he was going to the city and offered to take him there to find a butcher shop.
On the way, Zhang Jin said there was a good place to make money where you could earn money without working.
He went to the casino and won more than five taels of silver with just two hundred coins.
After that, he got a taste of success and started going out to "play" with Zhang Jin every few days.
But after winning money a few times, he started losing more than he won and ended up owing the casino more than 20 taels of silver and Zhang Jin more than 10 taels of silver!
Zhang Jin was his good brother and didn't press him for the debt, but the casino issued an ultimatum: if he didn't pay back the money, they would break his legs!
Zhang Jin advised him to bring more villagers to the casino, as the casino would take a cut, which could help pay off his debts.
But he dared not, fearing that the villagers would refuse to gamble and would report him again.
As a result of hesitation, it was time to pay wages. Although the wages weren't enough to pay off the debt, paying a portion first would at least save his leg for the time being...
Li Lao Er and the village chief gathered together to discuss the matter, and they all pointed their attention to Zhang Jin.
There's no such thing as instant rapport in this world. Even if there were, it wouldn't happen to someone like Wei Dajun.
Do they think he's lazy or stupid?
Ultimately, he has only one shining point: he lives in the Broken Gold Beach!
Someone has targeted their village and successfully created a breach in Wei Dajun's case!
The village chief felt like he was being fried in oil, and he whipped Wei Dajun several times!
Wei Dajun cried loudly. He had already confessed, so why was he still being beaten?
As a result, the village chief asked more specific questions.
Did Zhang Jin ask about the village's profit sharing, and how much each family would receive?
Did you ask about Lord Hou and Mr. Wen?
Did you ask the village about the secrets to growing golden fruit and jade melon?
Wei's army couldn't withstand the attack; even if they wanted to keep it a secret, they couldn't.
He desperately wanted to rack his brains and spill everything he had ever said to Zhang Jin.
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