Chapter 2895 Bandits
The wind blew through the wheat waves, and Manbao didn't feel much of the rustling. She just felt how refreshing it was to feel the wind.
She squatted on the edge of the field and felt the breeze. She felt her body was no longer so sticky and then she breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Shan had already collapsed beside her, looking at the wheat fields not far away and said, "Don't mention it, although this village is remote, the fields are pretty good. Look at the wheat here, it's growing better than outside."
Manbao nodded.
This village is remote. Bai Shan has never been to this small village several times when he went to the countryside because there is no road!
Not to mention cars, even horses couldn't get in. Finally, when they were halfway there, they left the horses outside, leaving two people to guard the horses, and the others came in carrying things.
When they got here and saw the wheat fields, they didn't want to leave anymore.
It is cooler in the mountains, and the wheat here ripens later than outside. The harvest has not yet begun, and there are few people in the fields.
Manbao felt well rested. She leaned back with her hands and began to look around. She said, "Although this village is surrounded by mountains, they are not high. They are far lower than ours. It's just a small hillside. At least there should be a road built that can accommodate a cart, right?"
Bai Shan also thought so. "Everything you carry in and out depends on your shoulders and backs. Even if you have the best things, you won't make any money."
Bai Shan asked County Magistrate Dong who was standing nearby, "How does their village pay its taxes every year?"
County Magistrate Dong: "...carry it out. We only collect taxes in the county government office."
As for how it was shipped out, how did he know?
The group was enjoying the breeze beside the field. The dryness from carrying things up the mountain had dissipated a lot. Although they were hungry, they actually felt a little sleepy.
Manbao exclaimed in satisfaction: "This wind is so refreshing."
Bai Shan agreed and said, "Let's sit for a while longer."
County Magistrate Dong: ...I want to go into the village to eat something.
It seemed as if God heard what County Magistrate Dong was thinking. A man carrying a hoe came out of the village, walked over here and saw their group. He widened his eyes. Bai Shancai raised his hand, and he turned around and ran away.
Bai Shan's hand froze and he turned his head to look at Zhou Man lying on the grass.
Manbao had already sat up from the grass and said confidently, "He should have gone back to ask the village chief to come greet us."
Bai Shan also thought so, so he stood up and straightened his robe and hair. After all, he was a senior official, so he had to be polite when meeting someone for the first time and not be too embarrassed.
Someone coming to Xiaoliu Village was even more unusual than a carriage entering Qili Village, so the man shouted, and people immediately ran out of the village...
If they hadn't been carrying hoes, sticks and kitchen knives, Manbao would have felt that they were given a warm welcome.
Seeing how ferocious they were, County Magistrate Dong was so frightened that he jumped up from the grass. He immediately blocked Bai Shan and Zhou Man's way with his runners and guards, and shouted at the people rushing towards him, "What are you doing? The county magistrate is here, who dares to be so presumptuous?"
This sentence was spoken in Mandarin, but the villagers didn't understand and continued to rush towards them, hoes raised and yelling. County Lieutenant Dong could only shout again in dialect, and pushed the person who rushed forward back with his scabbard. With a murderous look on his face, he shouted: "You don't recognize me, and you don't recognize my official uniform?"
Just as the villagers hesitated and did not continue, but just pushed and shoved with the yamen runners, the village chief came up from behind, panting, and shouted: "Where are the bandits? Where are the bandits? Damn it, they come as soon as the wheat is ripe..."
When he saw the official robes worn by County Magistrate Dong and the others across the crowd, and then glanced down at their boots, he was shocked and immediately shouted, "Oh, stop, stop, you bunch of scoundrels! This is an adult. Admit your mistake, admit your mistake. Put down your hoes quickly..."
The villagers put down their hoes, sticks, kitchen knives, and sickles in chaos. There was a lot of noise, and everyone looked at Bai Shan and others with fear and suspicion.
Bai Shan and Man Bao both breathed a sigh of relief, frightened to death.
The village chief stopped the villagers and asked them to step back before he came forward with a look of joy. Bai Shan was about to greet him, but the village chief grabbed the hand of County Lieutenant Dong, looked up at him with tears in his eyes and said, "Sir, you are finally here. You don't know how long the villagers have been waiting for you..."
Bai Shan: ...
County Magistrate Dong was a little embarrassed. He simply grabbed the village chief's hand and pulled him in front of Bai Shan, saying, "This is the county magistrate."
The village chief stared at Bai Shan blankly, "Has our county changed its magistrate?"
County Magistrate Dong was very upset, fearing that Bai Shan would misunderstand him, and said, "I wasn't a county magistrate before."
The village chief quickly explained: "Of course I know that you are not the county magistrate, you are the county lieutenant. I have seen you."
County Magistrate Dong's heart was in a knot. Thinking of what he had just said, he immediately said, "I've never seen you before!"
The village chief lowered his head in disappointment, "Yes, I didn't get to see you then, so I came back."
He looked at County Magistrate Dong and Bai Shan expectantly and asked, "Are you here to suppress bandits this time, sir?"
He glanced back and forth between the yamen runners and the guards, and asked, "Is the army outside the mountain? Should I go out to greet them?"
County Lieutenant Dong began to sweat profusely. He was the county lieutenant and was in charge of the county's public security. Of course, he was not the main force in matters like suppressing bandits, because there were two other inspectors in the county.
But as a county lieutenant, he must know about this situation. Even, he should be the one to dispatch people to suppress bandits. But how could he not know that there were bandits in Beihai County?
He couldn't help but look at the county magistrate.
Bai Shan only took one glance at County Captain Dong and knew he knew nothing, so he said to the village chief, "We are here to check the situation first. The army hasn't arrived yet, so please don't spread the word."
The village chief nodded immediately upon hearing this, and at the same time asked the villagers to be quiet and not to make any noise. "No wonder the headman didn't tell us in advance that the adults were coming. It turns out they had to be quiet."
Bai Shan glanced at the villagers and said, "Let's go into the village first. I want to learn from you about... the situation of the bandits."
The village chief immediately agreed and took them into the village. Seeing that the yamen runners and guards were carrying a lot of things, he immediately asked the villagers to come forward to help.
Manbao followed them into the village and went straight to the village chief's house.
The village is quite clean, with most of the walls made of mud and the roofs covered with thatch. However, the houses are slightly higher than those in many villages outside, and the courtyards are also spacious.
There are some long melons and smoked chickens hanging under the eaves. It can be seen that their life here is better than that in fishing villages such as Xiaowa Village.
Bai Shan was very satisfied and said, "I've seen the roster of your village. There are 39 households in your village?"
“Yes, there are few people in our village.”
Bai Shan glanced at the people gathered outside and said with a smile, "It's not too small."
Most of them are like Zhou Man’s family, with many descendants but they just don’t divide the family.
Bai Shan narrowed his eyes and smiled, and asked, "Which mountain are the bandits you are talking about?"
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
