Chapter 164: Acting on the Scenario
Peng Wang understood Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran's tempers. Although they were always friendly when interacting with everyone, it was because no one had provoked them.
Especially He Zhiran, the scene when she yelled at Zhou Laoba is still vivid in her mind...
Peng Wang had been an escort officer for so many years, but this was the first time he had interacted with a prisoner on the road.
Now he has regarded Mo Jiuye as a good brother, and he really doesn't want them to be embarrassed or plotted against.
Therefore, Peng Wang felt that he needed to give some reminders before going to County Magistrate Cui to handle the formalities.
Thinking of this, Peng Wang ordered the team to wait in front of the county government office, and he came to the Mo family alone.
When Mo Jiuye saw Peng Wang coming over, he knew he must have something to say, so he took the initiative to ask.
"Brother Peng, do you have anything to say?"
Peng Wang moved closer to the Mohist group and whispered:
"Brother, the official in front of the county government just said that the former county magistrate of Yuncheng has taken up a post elsewhere, and the new county magistrate has not yet arrived. Now, County Magistrate Cui here is fully responsible for handling your formalities."
The officer just told Peng Wang these words, and Mo Jiuye also heard some of them.
"Is there anything else the County Magistrate can say about the formalities?"
Peng Wang looked at the two officials at the county government office and whispered:
"Brother Mo, you don't know that County Magistrate Cui is greedy and lustful. In the past, when I sent prisoners to handle the formalities, whenever County Magistrate Cui took over the case, he would always give him some benefits.
And there are those families who don’t take their daughters seriously, and in order to get a good place to live, they give away innocent girls...”
Upon hearing this, all the Mo family members' faces darkened.
Mo Chuhan walked past Mo Jiuye and came close to Peng Wang.
"What if my Mo family resolutely refuses to give any benefits?"
Peng Wang sighed.
“All the villages in Yuncheng accept exiled prisoners, and the villages are divided into different levels.
County Magistrate Cui would undoubtedly assign the prisoners to villages with better environments and relatively superior conditions if he received satisfactory benefits.
There are also those families who really cannot afford any benefits, but are willing to lower their stance and speak well. If County Magistrate Cui is happy, he can assign them to a medium-sized village.
On the other hand, those who are unwilling to offer any benefits and are unwilling to lower their posture to curry favor will naturally be assigned to remote villages where no one wants to go."
After a pause, Peng Wang seemed to remember something and continued:
“Also, I heard that there are a few very special villages here with great environments, but no one wants to go there.
The reason is that the villagers there are difficult to get along with, and anyone who goes there will soon be ostracized and become homeless."
The Mo family became angrier the more they listened.
Mo Chuhan clenched his fists and shouted angrily, "There really is no law. A mere county magistrate is so arrogant."
Seeing her husband showing signs of anger, the eighth sister-in-law quickly stepped forward to comfort him: "Husband, you should discuss this matter with your ninth brother and the others. Don't act impulsively."
Mo Chuhan tried hard to suppress the anger in his heart and looked at his family members.
"Mother, Ninth Brother, Ninth Sister-in-law, and all the sisters-in-law, what do you think about this matter?"
The second sister-in-law was the first to speak out: "Such corrupt officials must not be tolerated."
The fifth sister-in-law also agreed: "Second sister-in-law is right, we can't spoil him."
Old Madam Mo looked at Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran.
"Jiuye, what do you and your wife think?"
Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran looked at each other and replied, "Mom, we'll just act according to circumstances."
Madam Mo nodded: "Well, we'll just act according to the circumstances."
Peng Wang couldn't figure out how the Mo family would react to the situation. In short, he had already made it clear what he needed to remind them. As for what the Mo family would choose to do, it all depended on them.
There is no doubt that the Fang family and the Xie family followed the Mo family's lead all the way. Even if the Mo family really went to the worst place, they would definitely choose to follow.
Peng Wang returned to the county government office and spoke a few words to the officer guarding the gate. An officer then went to the government office to report.
Not long after, the official came back and led a group of people into the county government office.
Peng Wang walked into a room with familiarity, then quickly turned back. He called on all the exiled prisoners to follow him in.
Everyone followed Peng Wang closely into the room.
The room was very large, and it was probably a place specially arranged to house these exiles.
Everyone stood in the open space in the middle and it didn't seem crowded at all.
Looking at the table at the top, there was a thin man who looked to be in his early thirties.
This is undoubtedly County Magistrate Cui.
County Magistrate Cui raised his eyelids lazily, glanced at everyone present, and then nodded arrogantly at Peng Wang.
Peng Wang was of the eighth rank, which was slightly higher than the ninth rank of County Magistrate Cui, so naturally he would not bow down to him.
However, County Magistrate Cui was used to being arrogant in his own territory and did not take Peng Wang seriously at all.
Peng Wang was not surprised by this. After all, everyone knew that a strong dragon could not defeat a local snake. The most important thing for him was to complete his mission and return to the capital as soon as possible to report. He was too lazy to argue with a villain like County Magistrate Cui.
Even though County Magistrate Cui did not take Peng Wang seriously, Peng Wang would not lower his stance either.
He waved to Zhou Laoba, who then placed a stack of documents on the table.
Peng Wang then sat on a chair beside him without saying a word.
County Magistrate Cui picked up the document and glanced through it briefly, then squinted at the group of exiled prisoners standing below.
"The Mo family of the Duke of Protector of the State, the Fang family of the Minister of War... wow, they are all well-known and influential figures!"
As he spoke, County Magistrate Cui's expression changed instantly.
He slammed the table hard and said, "I don't care how noble your family was in the past. Now that you are in my territory, you must abide by the rules here."
Immediately afterwards, an official came forward and spoke without hesitation about the conditions for allocation here.
He first read out the names of several villages, then said, "These villages are first-class places to visit in Yuncheng. Of course, whether you can live in such a place depends on your own performance."
As soon as the official finished speaking, He Zhiyuan's eldest daughter-in-law, Liu, came forward flatteringly and asked, "Sir, how should I behave in order to be assigned to the villages you mentioned?"
The officer looked at Liu a few times and saw that she was in tattered clothes, was so thin that she had not a pound of flesh on her body, and had an unattractive face. He immediately felt unhappy.
"You were all once the relatives of officials. Do you still need me to teach you how to behave?"
Of course, Liu was aware of the twists and turns involved. The reason she asked was that she wanted to understand the market situation first.
Unexpectedly, when she approached him with kind words, she was met with ridicule.
Despite this, Liu did not give up her plan to curry favor with him.
The He family has suffered enough along the way. Now that they have finally arrived in the northwest, they cannot continue to live that kind of miserable life. At least their living conditions must be improved.
"Sir, please don't be angry. Let's talk it over, let's talk it over..."
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