"What? You woman, do you deserve a beating? Big Mountain Mother has many ideas, and as the person in charge, what's wrong with us working together to find a solution for everyone's benefit? If you dare say another word, I'll send you all to the county government office to get a beating!"
Seeing Li Zheng's dark face, Zhao shrank back in fright: "I, I was just saying that, Li Zheng, why take it to heart?"
Just then, a shout came from inside the house: "Lizheng, all this grain belongs to my family. Look, everyone in the village knows that their land is all barren; they're starving, where can they grow any more grain?"
Jin Wang moved his lips as if he wanted to say something, but then he saw Liang Shuyan say, "The grain from your two acres of land is gone. They clearly stole it. Just take it!"
Zhao ran over and shouted at the fat aunt, "How can you do this? You're out of your own grain, so you come and search our house, and you even say our grain is yours? What, do you think we're easy to bully?"
"Grandma Dashan saw it all, what else are you saying?"
Zhao started throwing a tantrum and lay on the ground. Aunt Pang couldn't move either. By this time, everyone in the village had heard about what had happened and rushed over to join in the fun. Li Zheng finally came up with an idea and called Jin Dashan over: "Go, go to the field and see if there are any footprints. Find your second uncle's shoes and compare them!"
Yes, there must be footprints in the ground. This is a good idea.
Liang Shuyan said, "Li Zheng, why don't we all go and take a look at Aunt Pang's grain field? That way, some people won't say we're talking nonsense. Also, who else in the village saw this? Tell us. We can't have such a person in our village. Not only is he lazy and good-for-nothing, but how can he be eyeing other people's grain?"
Liang Shuyan's words immediately sparked discussion among the crowd.
"Exactly! Why don't they grow their own food, yet they steal other people's?"
"In our Daling Village, if anyone loses something, you have to go to their family!"
At Liang Shuyan's suggestion, the group went to Aunt Pang's valley.
Li Zheng stood to one side, and the villagers formed a circle in order to see if the footprint in the field belonged to only one person and if it matched Jin Wang's footprint.
Following Li Zheng's instructions, Jin Dashan took Jin Wang's shoes and went to the field, comparing them with the footprints in the ground.
Someone covered their mouth in surprise: "Oh my, just in time! It seems Aunt Jin wasn't wrong after all. You really did steal Aunt Pang's millet!"
Li Zheng walked over: "Jin Wang, what do you have to say now?"
Jin Wang kept his head down and didn't say a word.
The voices of the crowd surged over like a summer heatwave.
"I really don't want to talk about it. In our Daling Village, who would covet someone else's property?"
“Lizheng, this kind of person should be arrested and brought to the authorities, or expelled from the village. How can our Daling Village have such a person?”
"Yes, you've tarnished our village's reputation. Even if my father were alive, he wouldn't tolerate people like you!"
After this, Zhao fell silent. She pondered for a moment and said, "I hope they don't chase me to my parents' house this time. Otherwise, all the things I stole from the village before will be exposed, and I'll really be expelled from the village."
Just then, an oxcart stopped behind us, and an old man slowly stepped off. He coughed twice and said, "A few days ago, Old Zhao's family in our village brought back some millet from his daughter's place. It was fresh, new millet. I wonder if it's the kind that went missing from your village?"
Li Zheng's pupils widened in surprise: "What? There's actually such a thing?"
The old man saw Zhao standing to one side, pointed at her and said, "That's right, this is the Zhao family's daughter, I know her."
Just as she feared, Zhao immediately pointed at the old man and started cursing: "You're talking nonsense! How could our family's grain possibly be theirs? What proof do you have?"
“Stop shouting. I’ve investigated this matter. The millet from both acres of land was stolen. Your family only has a portion of it. So, it’s possible that what this old man said is true. You sent the other portion to your parents’ home. What’s wrong with that?”
Jin Wang pulled at Zhao Shi and said, "Forget it, let's just leave it at that. What else is there to say? Let's take some people to the Zhao family now and see what's going on."
Zhao's family consists of an elderly couple, a son, and a daughter-in-law. None of them are hardworking. For many years, the family's expenses and livelihood have been entirely supported by their daughter. She takes everything, yet no one knows where these things come from.
Li Zheng led Aunt Pang to Zhao's maternal home again. As soon as they entered, they saw Zhao's brother, Zhao Datou, drying grain. Aunt Pang looked at the grain and could definitely tell that it was her family's grain, and that it was new grain.
"Where is your family's valley? Take us to see it!"
Zhao Datou glanced at Li Zheng, then at Zhao Shi, and said with a darting gaze, "We don't have any of this. This is grain that we bought in town. What's wrong with that?"
"Look, is this your family's stuff? Is your family's name written on it?"
Seeing that Zhao Datou was an unreasonable person, Zhao's wife stomped her feet angrily: "Alright, stop shouting and just return the grain. Your brother-in-law stole the grain from Aunt Pang's family in our village, and now they've come knocking on our door!"
"No, this is something you gave to your parents as a token of your filial piety. How can you let someone else take it? Absolutely not!"
Zhao Datou was perfectly justified, so the village head had no choice but to call over the village head of Lijia Village: "Look at all these things, do they belong to their family? Did they even plant any rice this year? They stole other people's rice and they're saying they didn't?"
The Zhao family didn't have a good reputation in Li Village either. Hearing this, Li Zheng, the village head, roared angrily: "Zhao Datou, you're lazy and good-for-nothing! Don't think we don't know anything. The food and drink in the house are all supported by you, the older sister. Look at the house, including the chickens and ducks in the yard, and that cow!"
This immediately reminded Li Zheng, who frowned and said, "That's right, isn't this the cow that Old Liu's family lost before?"
Liang Shuyan walked over and said, "This cow must be taken away. It belongs to Aunt Liu's family. I know it. I don't know why it disappeared later. It turns out that Zhao stole it to her parents' house?"
Zhao Datou shouted, "No way! This is my cow! If you want to take my cow away, you'll have to step over me first! You robbers!"
"Lizheng, what do you think? Why don't we just report this to the authorities?"
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