As soon as Master Wu entered the village, he felt something was wrong. It was broad daylight, but there was no one in the fields, no smoke coming out of the kilns, and even at the entrance of the village, there were no old ladies and young wives gossiping about family matters.
This is totally different from the lively scene when he left!
It’s so quiet!
Where are all the people? Even the village dog was too lazy to call out to him when he saw him.
Wu finally met an old lady in the village and couldn't wait to ask: "Grandma, where are the people in our village? What are they busy with?"
The old man was deaf and blind, and couldn't see the person in front of him clearly, nor could he hear what the other person was asking. He kept talking for a long time without answering the question, until his grandson came in and solved everyone's doubts.
"The clan leader has taken everyone to Xujiazhuang to ask for help! Uncle, are you bringing people back to help?"
The child had a big head, a bulging belly, was short, and had protruding eyes. He was hunched over and carrying a bundle of firewood. He staggered every time he took a step. Despite his small stature, he tried hard to support the heavy burden on his shoulders.
Qiao Xin looked at him with a sour heart, and suddenly remembered that when she first came here, her grandchildren all looked malnourished!
If his son wants to build Yuncheng into a paradise, he still has a long way to go!
Master Wu had already taken the firewood off the child.
"You want someone? What kind of person?"
"We need to bring back those lost aunts and sisters in the village!"
This sentence without a beginning or an end gave the people present a bad feeling.
They are some aunts and sisters, not just one!
It's a big deal to mobilize all the men, women and children in the village!
Qiao Yunqing squatted in front of the child and asked softly, "Good boy, is there anyone else in the village who can show me the way?"
The child looked at the old woman, pursed his lips, but did not move!
"There's only a kid like me here. They're all digging grass roots on the back hill. I have to make food for grandma first, so I can't leave!"
"How about we leave someone to take care of your grandma and make her meat porridge?"
Qiao Xin took out the barbecue wrapped in oil paper. It was a portion of what they left before they went down the mountain. Although it wasn't much, it could be used for emergency purposes.
When the child smelled the aroma of the barbecue, his eyes lit up and he kept swallowing his saliva, obviously he was ravenous!
"Wa'er, take us to find the clan leader, and uncle will treat us to some rice later."
"Okay!" The little guy finally succumbed to the temptation of delicious food.
Qiao asked someone to carry the child on his back as he hurried along, because he was afraid that the child would collapse before he reached the destination, seeing his thin arms and legs.
Seeing that the little guy was full, he joked with him, "Aren't you afraid that we are bad people and will kidnap you and sell you?"
After eating the food Qiao Xin gave him, the little guy relaxed a lot. He already knew that the lady in front of him was his uncle's boss and was more capable than his uncle.
"I have never seen you, but I know uncle. The clan leader grandfather asked everyone to remember what uncle looks like, and said that uncle came back to lead everyone to live a good life!"
Everyone was a little surprised that the village chief was such a kind person!
Even Master Wu didn't expect that the clan leader trusted him so much!
The child continued: "But after uncle suddenly passed away, many people said that you were lying to everyone and would never come back. Only people in our tribe believed that you would come back.
There are also people who go to the kiln factory over there to cause trouble and collect money. I heard that they are very powerful people and even the county magistrate can't control them."
Qiao Xin sneered, "Tsk tsk, this Yuncheng is a small temple with big demons, a shallow pond with many turtles!"
They had only been traveling through a few counties, but they had encountered so many monsters. How many more monsters were there in the invisible places?
It was not easy for Qiao Yunqing to be the prefect. Apparently, the officials and local tyrants below him were used to pretending to obey but secretly disobeying, and did not take him, their superior, seriously at all.
No wonder he was so eager to form his own armed forces.
Without military force as a backing, who would care about you?
Xujiazhuang is not far away. This place is as famous as Changnan Town. It is several times larger than Wujia Village where Master Wu is.
Most of the people in the village make pottery, farm and pick tea. There are many wealthy families in the village, and there is even a villa of a high-ranking official in the imperial court.
The living environment is several levels better than Wujia Village.
When Qiao Xin arrived, the people of Xujia Village were being beaten by the steward of Chen Family and his lackeys. There were also many people from other villages gathered around, but for some reason they were trembling with fear. Seeing the villagers of Wujia Village being bullied like this, they all stopped and did not move forward!
There were a few young people in silk clothes on the steps, laughing and joking, and they obviously didn't take the trouble below seriously!
Seeing that the manager had received the order and was using the people of Wujia Village to establish his authority, he began to kill them one by one. Master Wu was furious and furious.
"stop!"
Unfortunately, the two sides were so angry that in such a chaotic situation, no one would care what he said!
Qiao Yunqing frowned and said coldly, "Separate them. Anyone who dares to continue causing trouble will have their legs broken!"
Everyone got the order and immediately stepped forward to act! They deal with such things every day in Yuncheng. There are always gangs of refugees fighting to the death for a little bit of petty profit. At this time, it is their turn to mediate the conflict and calm the situation!
The one-sided fight between the two was nothing but child's play for them.
With the intervention of the yamen runners, the situation soon calmed down.
The villagers who were still unwilling to accept the defeat were quickly pulled behind Master Wu, who glared at them and shouted them away.
But the servants of the Chen family were not so lucky. Once they dared to speak out against him, they were slapped twice in the face.
If you dare to resist again, I will cut off your hands and legs!
In a short while, the chaotic fight was settled. Looking at the dozen people lying on the ground, everyone present couldn't help but shudder.
Aren't the methods of this group of people who suddenly appeared too cruel?
Master Wu found the clan leader in the crowd, but he was in a disheveled state and looked grief-stricken. He called out to him twice before he responded.
Seeing that it was his most promising nephew who finally showed up, the clan leader could no longer hold back his grievances and pain. He stretched out his trembling hand to Master Wu, crying with snot and tears: "Why did you come back just now? Go and save the girl in our village!"
Master Wu supported him and said in a low voice: "Uncle, it's because I came back late. Don't worry, I've brought our master and the old lady here. If there's any grievance, we'll talk to the master later. The master won't ignore it."
"Master? Which master? Your master?"
"Yeah, it's just what you think!"
The old arms and legs of the Wu clan leader suddenly became full of strength, his waist and legs no longer ached, and he felt more energetic.
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