Chapter 79 Don't be afraid
"I'll wait!" The village head's face turned pale. "I don't believe he can accuse me of a crime just because I'm giving out porridge to save people."
That night, something unexpected happened.
In the middle of the night, the victims suddenly said to the women on duty: "We have been drinking your porridge for so many days, let's do something for you!"
"Those villages are causing trouble for Heihe Village, so we're going to cause trouble for them!"
Before the women could react, they had disappeared, leaving only the old, young, sick and disabled behind.
The next day, the village heads of Jingui Village, Tanjiawan Village, Baitang Village, and Lijiapu Village came angrily.
They were sleeping soundly last night when the disaster victims suddenly rushed into the village, kicked open the doors and started smashing things, leaving every house to pieces. Now, there is not even a four-legged bench to be found in their villages!
"Zhuang Lizheng, come out! You have to give us an explanation!"
The village head stood on the city wall, looking down at them from above. "Hey, aren't these the village leaders who ordered the villagers to come and grab water? Why are you so reluctant to show your face today?"
"Village Chief, don't bring up the past!" Baitang Village righteously said, "You ordered these refugees to deal with us. You are so despicable!"
The village head said, "Stop slandering me! I never ordered anyone to deal with you!"
The refugees responded one after another, "Yes! No one ordered us to do that!"
"The grudge between us has nothing to do with Zhuang Lizheng!"
The village head looked at them coldly, "Did you four hear that clearly? You have a grudge against the refugees, so why are you looking for me?!"
The head of the Tanjiawan Village said, "They eat the porridge provided by Heihe Village every day, so they will naturally speak for you!"
Li Jiapu was chiming in, "If your village hadn't provided free porridge every day, we wouldn't have gotten into this trouble!"
"Zhuang Lizheng, Heihe Village has colluded with refugees to commit crimes, causing us huge losses. We have reported this to the county magistrate. Just wait and see!"
When the refugees heard this, they immediately rushed forward filled with indignation.
"They are trying to throw dirty water on Heihe Village!"
"These old guys are so mean! Beat them up!"
"Let's see who dares!" Jingui Cunli, who had been silent the whole time, shouted, "Do you think there are only four of us coming here today?! The yamen runners are here too!"
The people of Heihe Village stood high and could see far, and they saw more than a dozen yamen runners with swords coming towards the village entrance.
"Li Zheng, the county government has really sent someone! What should we do?"
The villagers had never seen such a scene before and were all panicked.
The village head wasn't much better off. He suppressed his panic and pretended to be calm, saying, "Why should I panic? If you don't do anything wrong, you won't be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door in the middle of the night! We are honest people, so we are not afraid of anyone coming!"
The bailiffs rushed over quickly, "Get out of the way! The officers are investigating a case, anyone outside must stay away, or they will be killed without mercy!"
Looking at the shining knives in their hands, the victims retreated silently.
"Zhuanglizheng, you built this city wall well!" The leading yamen runner stood with his hand on the blade of his knife. "It seems everyone was right. Heihe Village is really extraordinary!"
"Thank you for your compliment, sir," the village head said with a smile. "Would you all like to come in and have a seat?"
"I won't sit down anymore! Today, I'm ordered by the county magistrate to take the village head to the county government office for questioning. Village head, come with us now!"
As soon as the yamen runner finished speaking, the whole audience was in an uproar, and the people in Heihe Village were particularly excited.
"Excuse me, sir, what has our village head done wrong?"
The bailiff said, "We don't know about this. We are only responsible for bringing people here!"
The villagers said, "When the county magistrate used to question the village head, he would send someone with a message, and our village head would naturally go! Why are so many officials here today? How is this any different from arresting a criminal?!"
The yamen runner chuckled, "This is because the county magistrate is concerned about the safety of the village head. The road to the county yamen is not peaceful. We are many in number, and this is to protect the village head!"
When this was said, no one believed it.
If the county magistrate could have such kindness, he would not be called a dog official in the eyes of the people.
The village head was silent for a while, then he bowed to them and said, "Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll pack up and leave with you right away."
Then he went down the city wall.
The villagers followed behind, anxiously persuading them.
"Li Zheng, you can't go!"
"It's obvious that this trap has been set long ago, just waiting for you to jump into it!"
"Our village has a wall. As long as you don't go out, they can't do anything to us!"
The village head said nothing and hurried towards Ye Buwei.
"Dad Yan Ping, there are some things I want to explain to you!"
Ye Buwei asked, "Do you really want to go?"
The village head smiled bitterly and said, "If I don't go, I'll be openly defying the authorities! Once I'm accused of this crime, I'll be guilty even if I'm innocent! So, I have to go!"
Everyone was silent.
Yes, it may be because they have been used to the good life recently, which makes them mistakenly believe that as long as they stay in Heihe Village, they can get eternal peace.
But the reality is, you can't hide anywhere!
The government has absolute power over everything and holds the power of life and death. Their lives are like those of ants and can only be slaughtered at will.
If the village head goes there, I'm afraid it will be very dangerous.
The village head waved to everyone and said with a forced smile: "It's okay, everyone go back to work, I'm leaving!"
Everyone hesitated, tears in their eyes, "Village Head..."
The village head couldn't help but tear up, "After I leave, the position of village head will be passed to the Ye family..."
Ye Buwei interrupted him, "No, I don't agree."
There is a teacher who is a legal advisor here, so why not just be the legal advisor?
"I'm not asking you to take the position!" said the village head. "The position of village head will be taken over by Ye's little Jiuer!"
Ye Buwei: “…”
The villagers had no objection.
The village head turned around and said, "Fellow villagers, if...if I can't come back, you...you help me take care of my family..."
Having said that, he walked away.
There was the sound of footsteps, and a soft and cute voice rang out: "Don't be afraid!"
The village head turned around, tears welling up in his eyes, "Xiao Jiuer!"
…
The gate of Heihe Village opened, and the village head walked out calmly with his head held high and his chest puffed out, followed by the villagers of Heihe Village.
The yamen runners surrounded him and said, "Zhuanglizheng, let's go!"
Several bad village chiefs gloated, saying, "The village chief is old. I don't know if he can handle the long walk to the county town!"
"Yeah! I hope you won't faint halfway through the journey, hahahaha!"
The villagers of Heihe Village said, "Don't worry about it. Our village head will have a car for you! And it's a very fast car!"
With that said, everyone's expectations were maxed out.
A particularly fast car? Could it be a horse-drawn carriage?
There was a creaking sound and a simple cart appeared.
"Village head, come up and sit!" The man pulling the cart was a sturdy man with muscular body.
A few bad guys were laughing, "Hahaha, this is a super fast car? Can't it at least be harnessed to a cow?!"
The village head stroked his beard and happily got on the cart, as if he was going out for a trip.
"My dear officers, I am a fast runner, so I will take the head of the village ahead!" said the man.
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