Chapter 230 Panic
The originally bustling yard suddenly became quiet. The village chief who came with him felt his heart pounding and subconsciously looked at Old Zhou.
The question was asked too suddenly. Old Zhou couldn't control his facial expression for a moment. He twitched and didn't say anything.
After a while, sobbing sounds were heard nearby.
Old Zhou turned his head stiffly and saw that it was his wife covering her face and crying. He finally came to his senses and also lowered his head to wipe his tears, but his hands trembled slightly.
Qian raised her hand to hit him, lying on top of him and said: "It's all because of you, this incompetent man. Otherwise, my uncle wouldn't have sold himself. If you don't have the ability, why did you give birth to so many children? How can I face my parents-in-law in the future..."
The more Qian spoke, the angrier she became, and the stronger she used. Old Zhou didn't resist, but just squatted on the ground with his head in his hands and let her hit him.
"Before she left, my mother-in-law repeatedly told me to take good care of my uncle..."
Zhou Dalang and others followed suit and started crying.
Manbao, who knew nothing about it, was stunned. Then, coming to her senses, she hurried to stop her mother and help her father block some of the attacks, "Mom, please stop hitting Dad..."
But Manbao failed to stop Qian for the first time. Qian, who had been lying in bed for a long time, suddenly became very strong. She pushed Manbao aside and slapped Old Zhou. Two slaps hit him directly in the face. His cheeks turned red and the slap marks were clear.
But the three people who asked the questions remained indifferent and frowned.
One of them couldn't help but yell, "Stop! I'm asking you a question. Answer honestly. Where is your brother Zhou Yin?"
The village chief also came to his senses. He hurriedly said, "Sir, sir, I know Zhou Yin. He was sold into slavery when he was fourteen. After so many years, no one knows where he ended up. Isn't it like stabbing my uncle and aunt in the heart to bring him up all of a sudden?"
His eyes fell on the village chief's face, and he asked with a serious expression, "Really?"
"Yes, yes, the whole village knows about it. Besides, why would someone sell themselves to hide something?" The village chief said, "You don't know. In the eleventh year of Dade, our area suffered a severe drought. It wasn't just a month or two, it lasted from the beginning of spring to the beginning of autumn. The fields yielded nothing, and everyone was left with no livelihood. You saw how Uncle Jin had a large family. Didn't he really care about his life back then? Zhou Yin, seeing that his family was dying, sold himself for a bag of grain."
It was the first time that Manbao knew that she had an uncle, and such a pitiful uncle at that.
He sold himself into slavery, and my uncle is suffering somewhere now. No wonder mother is so sad, and no wonder father didn't even try to hide.
Seeing the three men were still pressing forward, Manbao became unhappy and stood in front of the village chief, tilting his head and asking, "Aren't you here to count the number of people and distribute subsidies? Why are you asking so many unnecessary questions?"
Manbao also felt that something was wrong and asked Keke in his heart, "Are they government officials?"
Koko paused and said, "Yes."
Manbao was extremely surprised. "They really are here to distribute subsidies? They won't stop giving subsidies to my family just because I quarreled with them, right?"
"No, so no."
"Huh?" Manbao pondered for a moment before she understood what was said. Her eyes widened and she jumped up. Just as she was about to shout something, she remembered what Master Bai had just taught her, and the words on her lips became, "Are you liars? Otherwise, why didn't you go to the fields to check the damage? Why did you only come to my house?"
In fact, there was no need for Manbao to shout. When they asked about Zhou Yin, the villagers knew that they were most likely deceived. The people who came were not government officials, nor were they here to verify the disaster situation.
They didn't understand what the drunkard's ulterior motive was. They only knew that their intentions were not pure, so everyone's expressions changed and they looked at the three people with vigilance.
At the same time, the news here spread quickly. The villagers who were waiting for the officials to come at home, or who had been checked and had gone home to prepare dinner, put down their work, sent the women and children back home, and the able-bodied men picked up their hoes and rushed to Zhou's house.
Some elderly people who heard the news also rushed to Lao Zhou's house with gloomy faces.
The three people who originally wanted to use their force to intimidate others couldn't help but pause when they saw the villagers quickly gathering outside the wall.
The three of them knew kung fu, but two fists were no match for four legs. What's more, these were not just four legs. All the men in the village came and surrounded the wall, forming a black mass.
Even the big donkey, who was not on good terms with Manbao's family, came over carrying a hoe.
The atmosphere was stagnant and neither side spoke for a while.
Mr. Zhuang pushed through the crowd and walked to the front. Frowning, he asked them, "You said you were ordered by the imperial court to investigate the disaster. Do you have any official documents? Who commissioned you?"
"Who are you? Do I need to tell you?"
"I am only a commoner, but I happened to have studied at the provincial academy. Perhaps I know the person you are talking about."
Of course the three knew Mr. Zhuang, they had checked before coming, but that didn't mean they would answer him.
Seeing that the three people did not answer Mr. Zhuang, Zhou Dazhu took a step forward with his men and said aggressively, "Are you really liars?"
"I'm afraid it's a scam. I was wondering how such a good thing could happen? Everyone gets subsidies, even the kids. It's obviously a scam."
"We've been through such a hard time, and yet you're still trying to deceive us. This is truly heartless."
"That's right, arrest him and send him to the county government office!"
Seeing the situation getting out of control, the three men immediately held their swords across their bodies and said, "What do you want to do? Let me tell you, we are officials appointed by the imperial court. If you dare to harm us, the imperial court will send an army to kill you."
"Who are you kidding? You say you're officials appointed by the imperial court. Then why don't you tell me, Mr. Zhuang, what kind of officials are you? Do you have any official documents? Who appointed you?" Zhou Silang wanted to make a big deal out of this. He remembered what Mr. Zhuang had said and repeated it, then encouraged everyone, "Fellow villagers, let's arrest them first. The county government may have issued a wanted notice for them. We might even get a reward if we arrest them and hand them over."
When everyone heard this, their eyes turned from anger to light as they looked at the three people. Give them money~~
The three were startled and pushed the crowd away to run away. Everyone hurriedly stopped them and the situation got out of control for a while.
Qian finally stopped crying, and hugged Manbao in her arms, protecting her and trying to get away from the battlefield. Seeing Bai Shanbao standing stupidly aside, she pulled him over, and little Qian and others immediately stuffed their children into the house.
Liu didn't expect to lose control so quickly. She hurried to look for her grandson, only to see Qian pulling Manbao in one hand and Shanbao in the other and pushing them into the house.
She breathed a sigh of relief, held Mammy's hand tightly, and whispered, "Let's move out a little and make way for them."
At this moment, Old Zhou grabbed Zhou Dalang's hand and gritted his teeth, saying, "We can't let them go. We have to keep them."
Zhou Dalang's hands and feet were shaking. "But what about staying here?"
"Don't worry about it for now, we must keep the person here."
(End of this chapter)
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