Wang Lan came over from behind the house and urged, "You two should go home quickly."
The noise had attracted most of the village. When Wang Lan heard it was about catching someone in adultery, she was afraid her two children would get involved without thinking. "Don't get involved in this kind of thing," she said. Then she whispered to Qin Xiaozhou, "You're a newlywed, be careful not to get a sty from looking at those things. Stay far away from her from now on."
Qin Xiaozhou wasn't interested in watching the spectacle on the spot. Anyway, this matter would slowly ferment in the village and eventually become a topic of conversation and a source of amusement for every household. That would be more interesting to hear.
However, things didn't go as planned. The Lu family wanted to hide, but Wang Chao came to their door. "Dayun, my grandfather wants you to go to the ancestral hall."
The Lu family was not originally allowed to visit the Wang family's ancestral hall, but now that the Lu family has prospered, the Wang family wants to integrate this outsider, so they naturally have to invite Lu Yunfeng over.
When the village chief invited him, Lu Yunfeng did not refuse. If his Lu family wanted to settle down in Wangjia Village, he still needed to maintain good relations with the villagers.
Wang Lan grabbed him, "Just follow the village chief's instructions and don't say anything more."
Lu Yunfeng nodded, and soon arrived at the ancestral hall on the south side of the village. He was still sensible and only stood outside to listen without going in. He was tall and could see the situation inside the ancestral hall.
A woman, disheveled and bound hand and foot, was thrown into the middle of the hall. Her mouth was stuffed with cloth, and she looked terrified, her face covered in tears and snot. Next to her was a man in his forties, who had his head down, shoulders hunched, and his expression was obscured.
Wang Dashu, the woman's husband, was furious and rushed up to beat her, but was pulled back by others.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the village chief took a puff of his cigarette. "If this gets out, it will ruin the village's reputation. It will make things difficult for the girls who want to get married and the guys who want to find wives. I think we should do it quietly. Just quietly drown that shameless man in the pond. Wang Dashu, you just tell your wife's family that she accidentally drowned. Don't spread the rest around."
Wang Dashu's wife shook her head in terror, saying she would never dare to do it again, but she couldn't speak. After struggling, she was locked in a cage, and they planned to throw her into the river that night.
Lu Yunfeng frowned as he looked at it, but ultimately said nothing.
Qin Xiaozhou was washing bayberries by the water tank. He popped one into his mouth, and it was so sour it made his teeth ache. Xiao Si splashed water and laughed, finding it funny. Qin Xiaozhou grabbed two bayberries and, while the child opened his mouth, crushed them and dripped the juice into his mouth, causing Xiao Si to cry loudly from the sourness.
Wang Lan was speechless. She picked up some water and gave it to her grandson to rinse his mouth. With the marriage in progress, Lu Yu was in a good mood and covered her mouth while laughing under the eaves.
Lu Yunfeng returned with a somewhat dark expression, but he deliberately adjusted his demeanor upon seeing the people in the courtyard. Qin Xiaozhou casually asked, "How was it? Who were those two?"
Lu Yunfeng recounted what happened in the ancestral hall, and Qin Xiaozhou was shocked. "Drowning people in the pond? That's a life lost! How could the village chief do such a thing?"
Having an affair is wrong, but it hasn't come to this.
Qin Xiaozhou took two steps outside, intending to talk to the village chief, but that's just how the world is; it won't change just because of her words. So she turned back, wanting to think things through carefully.
Wang Lan knew her temperament best, so she quickly pulled her aside, saying, "Don't worry about this. It's all Wang Dashu's wife's fault for being shameless and having an affair. If people from other villages find out, it will be difficult for the girls and boys in our village to find a husband." She put her hands together and recited a Buddhist prayer, "My daughter's marriage has finally started to look promising, so please don't let this ruin it."
Lu Yu's expression was also not good. "Mother."
"Pah, pah, pah." Wang Lan patted her mouth. "Amitabha, Amitabha, I was just rambling on, it doesn't count."
After dinner, Qin Xiaozhou looked in the direction of the ancestral hall with a furrowed brow. She then hurried back to her house, found some old clothes, and changed into them. She wrapped the cuffs and sleeves of her trousers with strips of cloth. Wang Lan stopped her, "What are you doing?"
Qin Xiaozhou told her to keep her voice down, "I need to go save someone."
"Are you crazy?!" Wang Lan gripped Qin Xiaozhou's arm tightly. "That's adultery! Getting involved with someone like that will ruin our reputation! How can the Lu family ever face anyone again? How can my Xiaoyu get married? What you're doing..."
"I'll go quietly." Qin Xiaozhou knew the place where the fish was drowned; it was in the southeast of the village, upstream of the river to the east of the village. "You guys stay home and cover for me..."
"And then what?" Wang Lan's eyes were bloodshot. "After she's rescued, what happens? Where will she live? What will you do with her? She'll be a dead person in the public eye her whole life, without a registered residence or a home. If the authorities find out you're keeping an unregistered person, they'll confiscate your property." She called out to the outside, "Da Yun, Da Yun, come here quickly."
Lu Yunfeng quickly entered the house and stopped Qin Xiaozhou, saying, "Don't go. This kind of thing can't be solved with just a burst of enthusiasm. Even if the village chief doesn't let her drown, Wang Dashu will beat her to death."
Qin Xiaozhou slumped down and said, "They're both having affairs, so why does the woman have to die while the man gets away with it? It's not fair. If they're going to live, they should all live; if they're going to die, they should all die."
Wang Lan's temple veins throbbed. "That's the lifeblood of the man's entire family. How can he be drowned just because of an affair?"
"Why not?" Qin Xiaozhou scoffed. Men and women are both human beings. Is it so hard to ask for fairness? She wanted to push him away and leave, but Lu Yu stood at the door, staring blankly at her.
Faced with her sorrowful gaze and Lu Xiaosi's pure eyes, Qin Xiaozhou suddenly lost the courage to go out.
The hardest part is after they've been rescued.
As long as that woman shows her face in the village, the village chief and the villagers won't let her live, Wang Dashu won't let her live, and if she secretly hides in the county town, the county town conducts a household registration inspection every six months to purge the remnants of the previous dynasty and bandits. Qin Xiaozhou can't hide that person...
Qin Xiaozhou felt weak all over and lay limp on the bed. Three days passed, and she still had no energy. Wang Lan brought her tea and water every day. On the morning of the fourth day, she got up, cleaned herself up behind the house, put on a pretty dress, and went to the county town.
The base in the western suburbs was already taking shape. She also inspected the Smooth Sailing Building and went to see Hua Xiangrong, the embroiderer, as if nothing had happened.
In the sweltering summer, cold desserts sell very well. Qin Xiaozhou spends her days doing the accounting and researching food. Lu Yunxing occasionally helps her with the accounting and asks questions when he doesn't understand something. Although Qin Xiaozhou isn't a formal accountant, she has experience running her own shop, so these calculations are no problem for her.
Lu Yan followed her around happily. In just a few months, she had already learned several hundred characters. In early July, Qin Xiaozhou paid half a year's taxes, amounting to a whopping 530 taels.
This is a significant amount of tax revenue in a small county.
Soon the county magistrate sent his yamen runners to the door, saying that the county magistrate had invited them.
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