Just as things were getting chaotic, another person arrived just in time. When Village Chief Xu saw the newcomer, he looked at him as if he were a savior.
"Mayor, you must stand up for me." The villagers have taken him to the county government; who will respect him now?
The town mayor, a 69-year-old man renowned for his advanced age, asked, "What's going on?"
Although the head constable was from the county, he still showed some respect to the town mayor. He briefly explained what had happened, since the town mayor was the one in charge of the matter.
The town mayor then questioned He Tong, whose nose was bleeding, asking if he had hit his nephew.
He Tong had been gloomy since childhood, and coupled with his long-term physical disability, he had become abnormal. He knew that his parents wanted to arrange a marriage between Qiu Yu and He Zifeng, but He Zifeng interfered, which made him hate him to the core.
He Zifeng was a brute, and He Tong naturally didn't dare to confront him head-on, so he started bullying the child. Every time he made little He Ran cry, he felt an unparalleled sense of satisfaction, and he even threatened little He Ran not to tell anyone, or he would kill his whole family.
He didn't feel there was anything wrong with what he did; he just felt that He Zifeng owed him, and the son had to pay for the father's debt. But today, in front of the whole village, He Zifeng beat him up severely. Everyone saw his disheveled and miserable state. He Tong blurted out, "So what if I hit him? He deserved it!"
He Zifeng's suppressed anger flared up again. He rushed forward in three strides, and no one could stop him. He Zifeng grabbed He Tong by the collar like he was a chick, then threw him heavily to the ground with a thud. He Zifeng then stepped on He Tong's other good leg.
He Tong struggled to breathe, and a sharp pain shot through his other good leg, causing him to howl. A cold sweat suddenly broke out on his back. Influenced by his parents, he had always looked down on his second brother, who acted as a workhorse, but just now he realized that the other party was really going to kill him.
He Zifeng's murderous intent had already posed a real threat to him. The hairs on his body stood on end. Since realizing that He Zifeng was going to kill him, he couldn't say a word. He could only make a "ho" sound in his throat as he convulsed in fear.
He Zifeng's anger came out of nowhere. The people around him didn't even have time to react. Xiao Wanshi and her scumbag father He Donglai hurriedly shouted, "You beast! That's your brother!"
The scumbag father, He Donglai, didn't dare utter a word when he saw the soldiers, but when it came to his second son, he picked up a rock from the ground and was about to hit him on the back, or rather, on the head.
Qiu Yu asked, "What are you doing?"
Just then, a little boy ran quickly through the crowd and said, "Grandpa, don't hit Daddy..." It was little He Ran who was tightly hugging He Donglai's leg.
Xiao Wanshi hated He Zifeng to death. A dog that bites doesn't bark, and she angrily twisted Xiao He Ran's arm.
How could a child withstand the strength of an old woman like her? Little He Ran burst into tears, but he didn't let go of his grandfather's leg.
Qiu Yu felt as if her heart was being torn apart. With a determined heart, she took out the weapon she had hidden in her sleeve for self-defense.
"Let go of my son."
At this moment, Xu Li and Wan Hai came out to break up the fight.
Qiu Yu used to think that family matters had nothing to do with the two of them, and that they didn't care about anything. She couldn't blame her siblings for the elders' favoritism.
But now, all those ideas have been overturned.
Why didn't they step in when Xiao Wan was hitting the child? Why are they suddenly taking sides now?
They clearly see their parents bullying them, yet they never say a word of justice.
In an instant, Qiu Yu also came to hate the two of them.
He Zifeng immediately snapped out of his daze and took little He Ran off his scumbag father, He Donglai. Little Wan had pinched him, and He Donglai had kicked him. The little guy had many dark marks on his body.
Despite how brave the little guy was just now, he started crying as soon as his father held him in his arms.
Qiu Yu also used a dagger to severely injure Wan Hai's arm, and Xu Li angrily rebuked him: "Are you crazy?"
Seeing the situation escalate like this, Village Chief Xu said to the town mayor, "Look at this behavior! Children beating and scolding their brothers, showing no respect for their elders. And now they dare to sue the authorities! They must be severely punished and let the young people of the village know what's going on."
The constables separated the two groups.
The town mayor asked Xiao Wan, "Did you hit him?"
Xiao Wan watched as her eldest son's arm, slashed by Qiu Yu, bled slightly. He Tong was still trembling with fear at the sight of He Zifeng's brute strength; he was nowhere near his usual eloquent self. Anger rose in his heart, and hatred welled up in his eyes: "So what if we hit him? It's just that we didn't hit him hard enough. That's why this unfilial son caused trouble."
The town mayor said to Constable Zhu, "Leave this matter to me. I will definitely give the magistrate a satisfactory answer. After all, it was my dereliction of duty that caused the magistrate to worry."
Officer Lu said, "Okay, I'll keep an eye on things from the side so it'll be convenient for me to go back and report later."
The town mayor cupped his hands in greeting and said, "It's my duty."
Village Chief Xu was overjoyed when he saw the town mayor take over. The town mayor was in charge of them, and he had never made a mistake in all his years in Chishui Village. The town mayor would definitely side with him.
The town mayor then went to the He family's house and conducted an investigation. The people outside were seeing such a grand spectacle for the first time. Whether it was the town mayor, the head constable, or the county magistrate, they were all characters from storybooks and wanted to see how he would deliver his verdict.
The town mayor, being older and more experienced, could easily tell what was going on at a glance. He was right there when He Zifeng suddenly attacked and injured people; the beautiful child was being choked pitifully by his grandmother, and his grandfather was kicking and shoving him—how could he do that to such a young child? Looking at the He family's house, the best three rooms were occupied by the parents, their eldest son, and their youngest son. He Zifeng's family of three lived in the worst room, near the woodshed. In the summer, it was damp and infested with mosquitoes; the room didn't even have a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), making it practically uninhabitable in the winter.
Looking at He Zifeng, he was dignified and imposing, while Qiu Yu was handsome and gentle. On the other hand, Xiao Wanshi and He Donglai looked hostile.
This pushed the honest man to the limit, and after asking the surrounding neighbors, they realized that even the most honest people wouldn't dare lie to his face, so they told him the whole story.
The town mayor was shocked to hear this. He couldn't believe there were such vicious parents in the world. They plotted to give the second son's wife to the disabled third son, bullied the second son's only son, and even wanted to give the child away for adoption. The second son refused, so he worked with the village chief to deal with the matter according to the clan's rules.
But to everyone's surprise, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Now, He Zifeng is determined to sue his parents in the county, even if it means getting twenty lashes.
Now that the matter has been approved by the county magistrate, it's simple to handle; all that's needed is to act impartially.
"Our parents are unkind, and our brothers are unkind, causing so much trouble. It's better to separate and settle things. I'll decide on the division of the family property. All the family property will be divided into five parts. One part for each of the four sons, and one part for the elderly!"
"Building a three-room brick house in the village costs about twenty taels of silver. If the house can't be moved, we'll give it to him for four taels as a discount. And the soy sauce shop..."
He Zifeng's third uncle, who was standing nearby, said, "The soy sauce shop is worth at least fifty taels of silver."
Mentioning money was like cutting off a piece of flesh for Xiao Wan and her scumbag father He Donglai. They were reluctant to part with it, saying, "Don't listen to him. He has a grudge against us. How could he be worth so much money? Besides, the soy sauce business is not doing well. There has been a lot of rain recently, and we have suffered great losses. We don't have much money at all."
Xiao Wanshi also chimed in, saying how difficult things were for her family.
Even the village chief's wife chimed in, "The goods were all earned by his parents, why should they be given to an unfilial person?" This matter also concerned her interests. Her youngest son, Xu Li, had married into the family, and the money for their two sons' education came from the soy sauce workshop. Giving He Zifeng even a single penny would harm her youngest grandson's interests.
The town mayor had dealt with this kind of thing many times before. He said, "It's simple if you don't pay. You can't move the house, but you can move these things. He Zifeng, go and carry a thousand catties of soybeans and five vats of soybean paste."
"Yes," He Zifeng readily agreed.
The mayor added, "You can choose for yourself later."
Now, not only He Donglai, but even Wan Hai couldn't sit still. He was mainly in charge of selling the sauce, and the sauce they made was steamed and simmered in vats for at least a year. Last year, a customer came and ordered sauce but hadn't come to pick it up yet. They had even signed a contract, and if they didn't give him the full amount, they would be fined.
"Second brother, you can't do this! This is all our parents' hard-earned money!" Wan Hai said.
"Your parents raised you for a lifetime, and even if they were wrong, you shouldn't hold it against them."
The town mayor said quietly, "Oh, it seems you're not satisfied with my assignment? Since I can't control you, you might as well go to the county government."
Village Chief Xu knew best how powerful the county magistrate was, so he quickly said, "The town mayor decides how to handle it. This is not the time for you to bargain."
The mayor said, "You can choose to have it converted into money or given gifts."
Xiao Wan's heart was aching.
The scumbag father, He Donglai, was even more so. He felt the pinch even of giving He Zifeng a single coin, let alone more. His stinginess with money emboldened him, and he said, "I'll give this wretched son ten taels at most. There are so many people in the family to eat; I can't afford more."
The town mayor could tell from their house that they were well-off, but this man was willing to risk his life for money. He said, "Then write up the paperwork, and bring the money immediately."
Xiao Wan was about to wail when her eldest daughter-in-law, Xu Li, pulled her up: "Mother, give us the money." He was most afraid of causing a scene at the county government. What if it ruined his son's future studies? Besides, based on his understanding of his mother-in-law, Xiao Wan had at least seventy or eighty taels of silver. Taking out ten taels to buy some peace and quiet was nothing.
Xiao Wan wanted to make a scene, but He Donglai wouldn't allow her to, so she had no choice but to go back and get the money, feeling rather annoyed.
The mayor personally wrote the document and had several elderly villagers put their fingerprints on it. He presided over the division of the family property under the watchful eyes of the entire village. The mayor was quite formidable. If it weren't for him, Xiao Wan and the others wouldn't have given the money to He Donglai, even if they had it. Now that they had given the money to He Zifeng, the mayor said, "From now on, you have no further connection with the He family."
He Donglai was dumbfounded: "What does this mean?" Wasn't it supposed to be a family division? He was still making his plans. After the division, he would still be the father, and after those officials left, he would deal with He Zifeng and the others. They were really going too far!
The mayor said, "The document you just pressed your fingerprint on is a decree severing ties." Such a family is clearly abnormal; bloodshed is inevitable. Only separation can resolve this.
He Donglai said, "Won't he take care of me when I'm old?"
The town mayor said, "Don't you have three sons?"
One sentence left He Donglai speechless for a long time. What he really wanted to say was, "What good are those three sons?" After thinking for a while, he didn't say it, his face turning red with suppressed anger.
Xiao Wan said from the side, "From now on, let the eldest son be filial to you. We won't associate with that heartless person."
"That would be best. From now on, we'll go our separate ways. If you dare to bully me again, the weapon in my hand is no joke." Qiu Yu said this only when she was furious.
Seeing that neither side had any objections, the town mayor then said to Village Chief Xu, "Old Xu, you can't even manage a village properly, and you've even made a scene at the county magistrate's place. It's really outrageous. You should reflect on your actions. Let Liu Zi temporarily take over as village chief."
After seeing the matter come to a satisfactory conclusion, Village Chief Xu settled accounts with He Zifeng, only to find himself dismissed in front of the entire village.
Village Chief Xu was stunned on the spot.
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