Chapter 2942: Selecting the Village Head
To uphold the local customs, Bai Shan did not bring Jia Wu back before sentencing him. Instead, he pronounced the sentence in front of Zhao Shan's body and the villagers: "... exile to Liaodong, with no right to return for ten years, and not eligible for pardon."
Jia Wu was completely bewildered and had no idea where Liaodong was.
But he also knew that exile was not a good thing, especially for someone like him. Exile was equivalent to death, and even worse than dying directly.
Jia Wu was terrified. At his age, the farthest he had ever been was the county town. Exile would take him to a completely unfamiliar place, without his wife and children, or anyone he knew, where even the language might be different...
Just thinking about this made Jia Wu panic-stricken and he wished he could die immediately, but he did not dare to commit suicide.
Bai Shan waved his hand, and the yamen runners came forward and dragged the limp Jia Wu away. When Jia Dalang saw this, he couldn't help laughing softly, and his laughter became louder and louder. Everyone looked at him quietly.
In the end, the only sound in the woods was his laughter.
Jia Dalang seemed to have let out a breath of anger, as if he had also felt satisfied. He turned around and said to Bai Shan, "Sir, thank you for sending him to keep me company. I'm leaving before him. Maybe in the next life I can be my father and he can be my son. Hahahaha..."
Bai Shan said with a serious expression: "Even if you become his father, it is still illegal to insult and beat him."
Jia Dalang raised his lips sarcastically. This may have fooled others, but he didn't believe it. If beating his son was against the law, then no one in their entire village would be able to escape.
Bai Shan sighed in his heart, waved his hand, and had Jia Dalang taken away.
When the crowd saw the father and son being taken away, they made way for them. No one knew who started spitting at them, but everyone started spitting at them at the same time.
Bai Shan frowned slightly.
When County Magistrate Dong saw this, he pointed at the villagers on both sides and shouted, "Where are you spitting? Where are you spitting? If you spit on my brothers, I'll make you lick it clean."
The yamen runners who were escorting the two men also glared at the villagers on both sides. If the county magistrate had not been there, they would have whipped them.
Only then did the villagers stop.
Since everyone was here, Bai Shan simply kept the villagers to talk. "The county wants to replace your village head. Do you have any recommendations for yourself or for others?"
The crowd was silent.
Bai Shan said slowly, "The requirements of this county are that this person must be physically strong, smart, and have noble character..."
The villagers looked at each other and no one said anything.
Bai Shan's eyes slid over them one by one, and he continued, "Although you don't have to convince the public, you should have a certain level of prestige. Otherwise, if you are unruly, in order to clean up the people's morals, the county will have to relocate you."
Everyone panicked and asked, "Migrate? Where to?"
Bai Shan said expressionlessly, "We'll move to where there are fewer people. Although your morals may be bad, you are still citizens of this county and a credit to the county. We won't resort to such measures unless it's absolutely necessary. Now, can you recommend a village head who has good character, is intelligent, and whom you can obey?"
Everyone looked at each other, undecided.
A young man pushed his way through the crowd and came out, somewhat awkwardly asking, "Sir, does the village head have to be an old man?"
Bai Shan said expressionlessly, "The head of your village cannot be an old man."
He said, "You have a lot to learn, and there are many things that need to be memorized and passed on, so we need a young person, and the old people here..." Bai Shan paused and said, "They can't control you."
Otherwise, Jia Lizheng wouldn't be in jail.
The young man hesitated for a moment, looked back at the villagers and his family not far away, and finally gritted his teeth and saluted, saying, "Sir, I, I want to be the village head."
As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers immediately became agitated. Bai Shan, with his sharp ears, heard people talking, "Why? The Qi family only has so many households, and our Jia family has so many households? At worst, we can ask the Feng family for help."
"that is."
Bai Shan narrowed his eyes, looked him up and down, and asked, "How is your relationship with Jia Dalang?"
Qi Dalang said, "It's just normal. We are from the same village."
"Hasn't he ever asked you to do anything bad?"
"I have looked for it," Qi Dalang said frankly, "but I don't want to be a slacker."
Bai Shan asked with interest, "Why?"
With so many young people in the village following Jia Dalang, it seems a bit strange that there is someone who looks strong but does not hang out with Jia Dalang.
Qi Dalang's eyes were filled with confusion: "I am a good person, why should I become a scoundrel?"
Bai Shan sighed upon hearing this and said, "Yes, if you can be a good person, why do you want to be a scoundrel? If you could all be good people, how could you raise so many rebellious children?"
The villagers, who had been noisy at first, quieted down. Many of them might still be dissatisfied, but facing Bai Shan's harsh words, no one dared to provoke him.
The county magistrate just said that if their customs don’t change, the whole village will have to move away. It’s scary to think about it.
Bai Shan was very satisfied with Qi Dalang's answer and asked, "How many brothers do you have in your family?"
Qi Dalang said, "Four."
Bai Shan was even more satisfied, "No split up, right?"
"No."
Bai Shan's smile deepened, "How are the brothers?"
Qi Dalang wasn't sure what Bai Shan meant, but he nodded anyway. "That's fine."
Bai Shan looked him up and down and asked, "How many children do you have?"
Qi Dalang: "Three."
Bai Shan nodded slightly and said, "I want to see your wife."
Although Qi Dalang was puzzled, he still called out to the back, "Mother of the child."
A woman squeezed up from the back of the crowd. She didn't look very old, but her clothes were neat and her hair was combed meticulously. There was only a little sweat on her forehead, and her complexion was okay. She walked to Qi Dalang nervously and saluted Bai Shan with her hands and feet.
Bai Shan looked her up and down and asked with a smile, "What's your name, sister-in-law?"
The woman was stunned for a moment before she said, "Sir, my maiden name is Zheng."
Bai Shan smiled and said, "What a nice surname. Where is your maiden family from?"
"It's from Zhengjia Village, more than thirty miles away from here."
"That's quite far," Bai Shan then chatted with her about family matters, such as how many brothers and sisters there were in her family, and whether her parents were still healthy...
Qi Dalang stood aside and listened. Although he didn't understand why the county magistrate wanted to call his wife up for questioning just because he wanted to be the head of the village, he still stood there honestly without interrupting.
Bai Shan slid back and forth between the two of them as he asked the question. After he finished, he smiled and nodded to Qi Dalang, saying, "Well, you are very courageous. Your wife can respond to me with dignity, which shows that she has a strong temper. And you respect her enough. I will seriously consider your self-recommendation."
Qi Dalang was stunned for a moment and then said, "Sir, as the village head, you still need to examine my wife?"
"Of course," Bai Shan said, "the customs of a place are set by the head of the village. If the head of the village has a harmonious family, then the hundreds of households under his jurisdiction will naturally be harmonious as well. Even if there are conflicts, the head of the village will do his best to mediate. If the head of the village respects his wife and cares for his children, the hundreds of households under his jurisdiction will naturally follow suit..."
Everyone couldn't help but think of Jia Lizheng and fell silent for a moment.
Bai Shan did not decide on Qi Dalang on the spot. He wanted to see if there was anyone more suitable than him.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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