Chapter 72 Shizi Village
Wang Xingwang, who had been worried all the time, was restless at home, but no one came to cause trouble.
Wang Xingwang felt that he must have been making a big deal out of nothing, and perhaps the Lu family in Beijing did not want to vent their anger on him at all.
However, Wang Xingwang likes to keep something in reserve when doing things.
He immediately got dressed and took a carriage to the Green Ox Gang, a rival gang of the Golden Axe Gang.
During the years when Wang Xingwang served as the mayor, he secretly colluded with the Qingniu Gang and committed many murders and robberies.
The border is centered on Jinwu Town, with many sects and forces radiating in the surrounding areas. The big ones are the Golden Axe Gang and the Green Ox Gang, and the smaller ones like the Fiery Sect, the Spirit Rabbit Sect, the Immortal Crane Sect and so on are countless. There are frictions between these forces every day, and it is not uncommon for people to suffer broken arms and legs at the very least, and even their lives at the worst.
Wang Xingwang and Ji Zongquan, the leader of the Green Ox Gang, were sworn brothers in private. When the Golden Axe Gang did not exist, the Green Ox Gang was the only powerful one and the position of town mayor fell on the head of Wang Xingwang, one of their own.
Later, with the prefect as their backer, and in order to balance the forces at the border, the Golden Axe Gang became famous overnight with the prefect's tacit approval.
Wang Xingwang rode a horse-drawn carriage to the Qingniu Gang's territory, ten miles southeast of Jinwu Town.
It is not known what Wang Xingwang and Ji Zongquan talked about. The two stayed in the Qingniu Gang for the whole morning. After lunch, Wang Xingwang returned to the town.
But at dinner time, when he was sound asleep, a servant came to report: "Master, the soldiers have surrounded our house and no one is allowed to leave. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed without mercy."
Wang Xingwang was so shocked that he immediately sat up from the kang and put on his clothes in a panic.
"You take the people to the front first, and I will follow."
Wang Xingwang sent the servants away and immediately took out his bag from the kang cabinet, which was filled with gold bars and silver bills.
He grabbed his bag and ran towards the back door, but as soon as he opened the door, a long knife was placed at his neck.
"Where do you think the mayor is going? Come on, take him down and take him away."
The captain of the police shouted coldly, and immediately someone came forward, picked up Wang Xingwang and dragged him away.
Wang Xingwang suddenly felt like an eggplant hit by frost, his head drooping and he allowed others to drag him. The bag under his armpit fell to the ground with a dull sound.
The captain of the police picked up the bundle, opened it and took a look, then immediately closed it and held it tightly in his hand.
"Come here, bring all the people in this house back to the county government office and seal the house off."
"yes."
The next morning, Grandma Wan got up early. Today was the day they were going to settle down. Although it was difficult to choose an auspicious day outside, Grandma Wan asked Xiao Fubao about it last night.
"My dear, how about we settle down tomorrow?"
Little Fubao clapped his hands and said yes continuously at that time.
Old Mrs. Wan felt very relieved. It seemed that their family would live better and better in the future.
So early in the morning, Old Lady Wan woke everyone up and prepared to go to Shizi Village.
"Mom, we don't know the location of Shizi Village. How do we get there?" Wan Laosan looked at the busy old lady and poured a bucket of cold water on her.
Old Mrs. Wan rolled her eyes at Old Third Wan, but her hands did not slow down at all.
"The road is right under your nose. You don't know it, but do others know it too?"
After being scolded by Old Lady Wan, Old Third Wan scratched his head and smiled foolishly.
Mrs. Wan Er quickly dressed little Fubao. Little Fubao had not yet fully woken up, his little head was still nodding, and Mrs. Wan Er had tidied him up in his sleep.
By the time everyone had packed up and were standing outside the door, the sun had already risen high.
Old Mrs. Wan asked Old Second Wan to ask for directions. Sure enough, Shizi Village was the nearest village to the town, but its location was still a bit remote.
After all, this is a border area with vast land and sparse population. The villages are dozens of miles apart, so it looks a bit lonely.
The crowd walked until the sun was setting before they saw the shadow of Shizi Village.
"Second brother, is that Shizi Village?" Old Mrs. Wan squinted her eyes and looked at a village not far ahead.
Wan Laoer walked to the front holding Xiao Fubao, looked at the independent village located in the wasteland, and said excitedly: "Mom, yes, that is Shizi Village, we are finally here."
Not only Wan Laoer was excited, but also the group of exiles who accompanied him. They could finally settle down. The journey took more than three months, from August to December, and they were exhausted both physically and mentally.
Wan Xingmo supported Wan Jinshu, Zhao held Wan Yirou, Wan Sansao held Wan Hu, Liu led Wan Xi, and the others carried baskets on their backs and bundles, all with happy faces.
When a group of people walked to the entrance of Shizi Village, the afterglow of the setting sun just happened to shine on the village.
Shizi Village is full of low adobe houses with thick thatched roofs and icicles hanging from the eaves. The houses in the village are neatly arranged in rows, and every household has a vegetable plot in front of and behind the house. However, the vegetable plots are bare at this moment, with nothing in them.
It was already dinner time, but there was not a trace of smoke from cooking in the entire village. Old Mrs. Wan knew that this must be because the people were too poor to have anything to eat. When there was a famine in the past, they would go to bed early in the winter so that they would not feel hungry when they fell asleep.
"Boss, go up and knock on the door and ask where the village chief is. How can we register? Ask clearly. Otherwise, it's so cold. If we stay outside all night, we'll all be human icicles by tomorrow morning."
Old Lady Wan gave an order to Boss Wan, who immediately put down his bag and went to the first house at the entrance of the village and knocked on the door.
"Countryman, is anyone there?" Old Mrs. Wan glanced at the fence door, but didn't know where to start, so she shouted at the closed door.
Soon, the door was opened from the inside.
An honest man, wearing a thin padded jacket, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looked at Boss Wan outside the fence gate.
"Who are you looking for?" The man's equally loud voice immediately alarmed the other people in the room. The door was opened wider, and little heads appeared from behind the man.
These should be the man’s children, and they looked at Boss Wan with curious eyes.
Boss Wan said with a smile: "Fellow villager, I'm new here. May I ask how to get to the village chief's house?"
The man immediately understood that Boss Wan was an exiled prisoner, but he was used to it and there was no disgust or contempt in his eyes. Instead, he turned his head and shouted into the house, "Dad, there's a newcomer in our village."
When Boss Wan heard this, his eyes lit up. They were so lucky that the first house was the village chief's. It seemed that little Fubao was indeed blessed and would settle down today.
Soon, an old man with a cane came out of the house. His hair was a little gray. There was a woman next to him who was supporting the old man. The old man's legs seemed to be not in good condition and it was difficult for him to walk.
Boss Wan bowed to the old man across the fence.
"Taurus, go open the door and let the person in."
Jinniu is the man just now, and also the son of the village chief.
"Got it, Dad. Please sit down first. I'll go and invite the person in."
Taurus shrank his neck, put his hands in his pockets, and ran to the gate in small steps. He opened the gate and invited Boss Wan in.
Boss Wan bowed to Jinniu and nodded, "Thank you, brother."
Jinniu also responded politely, then turned around and took Boss Wan into the house.
"Village chief, I'm new here. My family name is Wan. The mayor told me to find you to accommodate me. I'll be troubling you from now on."
As soon as Boss Wan entered the room, he saw an old man sitting at the top, the same old man he had just seen.
The village chief glanced at Boss Wan, who was wearing new clothes today. Old Mrs. Wan said that they wanted to have a new beginning, so she asked everyone to put on new clothes early in the morning.
Among so many exiles, this was the first time the village chief had seen one wearing new clothes. He was somewhat curious about Boss Wan.
"When did you arrive in Jinwu Town?" the village chief asked in a subtle way.
"Oh, we arrived yesterday at noon, but something went wrong, so we didn't come to settle down until today."
The village chief was surprised. Hearing what Boss Wan said, they should have come yesterday? But this is not in line with the mayor's style of doing things?
The mayor usually locks up the exiles for a few days, but this is the first time this has happened.
Could it be that these people have some relationship with the mayor?
The village chief was in a difficult situation for the time being. It seemed that he had to send his son to the town to inquire about the situation tomorrow before making a decision.
After coming up with an idea, the village chief said, “According to convention, people like you who are assigned to Shizi Village will not have houses.
The houses here are built by ourselves, and the government does not allocate houses. But because of your special situation and it is now the twelfth lunar month, it is not suitable for building houses. The New Year is approaching, and I don’t want to let you freeze outside.
There are a few empty houses in the last row of this village, but they need a little repair before they can be lived in. You can live there until the beginning of the new year, and then prepare to build new houses after the ice and snow melt. Do you have any opinions?"
Boss Wan didn't dare to object, and immediately bowed and said, "Thank you very much for your kindness, Village Chief."
The village chief said to his son again: "Take the person over first."
Taurus nodded and gestured for invitation, and Boss Wan followed Taurus out.
The village chief suddenly remembered and asked again: "How many of you came?"
Boss Wan stopped and turned around and said, "There are more than twenty people in total, so we can be considered three families." Boss Wan thought about it and concluded that Qiu, her daughter and Wan Xingchang should be considered one family.
He selfishly wanted to separate Wan Jinshu's family from Qiu's family.
The village chief thought that the few vacant houses might be enough for them to live in, so he waved his hand, signaling that Boss Wan could go.
Jinniu brought the group to the last row of empty houses in the entire village. These were several houses connected together. The previous owners were from the same family, but they were pardoned by using their connections, and the houses became empty.
"This is it. You can live here for a month or two. We'll probably be able to approve the land and build a new house in the spring of next year."
After Taurus finished speaking, he was about to turn around and leave. At this moment, a woman suddenly came out of the empty house.
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