Chapter 282 There is a treasure
Lin Ye was taken into Lu Qingqing's room.
Many villagers outside were angry: "We never thought they were kidnapped by those damned Calabash Village people. They're so far away, and we haven't found them, nor have we gotten any money or food. Sigh—"
"Who says otherwise? Coming all the way here to kidnap people, do they not have a doctor? Are they crazy!"
"Sigh, I only have one pair of shoes, and I've worn the soles out from running around in them for the past few days..."
"My ears are frozen too."
"Everyone, don't go yet—" Old Man Lu shouted.
He took out a small notebook.
“Many people in the village helped me look for my youngest daughter-in-law this time, and I, Lu Xingwang, am very grateful. I have written down all the people who went to look for her.”
My daughter said before that she would never treat everyone unfairly.
This year has been tough for everyone. Our workshop works in cooperation with the government, and although we don't earn a lot, we're still better off than the villagers.
The times are tough now; food supplies can't be delivered, and even if we had more, we couldn't give it all to everyone. Each person can only get three jin of coarse flour. We hope everyone can eat that to tide us over for now.”
Three pounds of coarse flour is enough!
Mixed with wild vegetables and bran, it can last for another month!
They've only been looking for two days, that's more than enough.
"Those who are looking for someone, come to my house tomorrow to collect your food. Those who aren't looking for someone, don't come. I've got it all written down!"
The villagers cheered.
"Uncle Lu, you really remember? You can even write?"
"Nonsense! My daughter taught me that a long time ago!" Old Man Lu picked up the notebook and opened it:
"Look, look, this is your name, Ding Daniu!"
Really?
Uncle Lu really can read and write!
Ding Daniu scratched his head. "Uncle Lu, I don't recognize it even if you show it to me. You're amazing. You can still learn to read at such an old age."
"You can learn as long as you live. What's so difficult about learning to read? You're so young, you can learn much faster than me. There are plenty of people who can teach you if you want to learn more."
"Our little Sixi, Qiaoxiu, Yujun, and Heidan are all doing so well!"
ah?
Wow, so many people can read now?
He used to think that only people who went to school could read, but it turns out you can learn without going to school!
People who can read are so amazing!
"I'll learn! I want to learn too!"
...
The night was deep and the forest was quiet.
The moon disappeared behind the clouds.
The empty stone houses resembled tombs, exuding a desolate and lonely atmosphere.
The owl, hiding in the tallest tree in the center of the village, made a "cooing" sound, adding another layer of eeriness and terror.
Dozens of dark figures appeared beside the stone house.
"Damn! These officials really ransacked the place, there's nothing left!"
"So what if it's gone? What's a little bit of stuff compared to finding the treasure!"
"Uncle, are you sure there's treasure?"
“There must be. Didn’t you see those mountain people yesterday? They were all wearing cotton-padded clothes, fur coats, and big cotton boots, and the women were all wearing silver jewelry on their heads.”
"Yes, they wear the furs they hunt, and they use silver to exchange for our grain and seeds when they come down the mountain. I've never seen them steal or rob. Where did the silver come from? There must be some treasure here!"
"Of course, that's what the chieftain said himself when he was drunk."
Dozens of dark figures went in and out, digging at the ground and smashing the walls with hammers, panting heavily but not finding a single coin.
"What's going on? We've been delivering machetes to these people and reporting them, we can't let all this work go to waste. Machetes are expensive, those dozen or so could be exchanged for a bushel of grain!"
"No, it must be true, it must be true, he said it himself, he said it himself..."
"Uncle, let's go down the mountain first and come back tomorrow. We can't see clearly at night and there are bound to be omissions. We can come back during the day to look for them. Anyway, we still have the reward money and food, so we won't lose out..."
Just as the group of several dozen people were about to leave, they were suddenly surrounded by a dense crowd of figures.
Torches were lit.
Magistrate Xu, dressed in night clothes, walked out and looked at Mo Lang opposite him, clicking his tongue: "If I had known that Miss Lu would send you, I wouldn't have brought so many people."
Mo Lang: "How did you find out, sir? Did those mountain people confess?"
“Those people are all mute, you can’t get a single word out of them. The numbers don’t match, so I’ll naturally come back to investigate again!”
The village head and villagers of Hulu Village were all terrified.
He knelt down and begged for mercy.
"Sir, we just wanted to see if there was anything else that could be used."
"Alright, alright, stop pretending. We heard everything you said. Pang Kui, you've been hiding your true colors. Last time we called you to the county government to discuss this, you acted like a grandson. We never expected you to be a bandit leader!"
"My lord, I'm innocent—"
"What a load of rubbish!" Magistrate Xu kicked him to the ground.
"Take them all down and throw them in jail!"
Wang Wu jumped up and swung his cleaver at Magistrate Xu, yelling, "Everyone, charge out!"
"Pfft!"
The next moment, his throat was slit by a sword.
Those who tried to rush out with him were also slashed before they could even swing their knives.
Compared to a group of veterans, their fighting prowess was like that of a toddler learning to walk, utterly insignificant.
"Don't kill! Don't kill!" Pang Lizheng shouted, clutching his head.
"We did it, it was us! We don't have enough to eat, we don't have enough clothes to wear, what's a few merchants to us? They have plenty of money!"
"Sir, I need to feed the villagers! I can't let them starve to death!"
"Oh, you don't lead the villagers to the right path, but instead lead them to become bandits, and I should praise you?"
Ha! You think I know nothing after I've eaten my fill?
They have been oppressing the honest villagers for years. When they harvest grain, the government takes three dou (a unit of dry measure), but you want four dou, so they say there are additional miscellaneous taxes. When I tell you to go up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs, you do nothing but organize people to rob people.
They divided the looted grain among themselves, leaving not a single grain for the villagers who hadn't participated!
For the sake of the villagers... who are you trying to fool!
What kind of village head is he? He's a tyrant! A bandit!
take away! "
"No, I'm doing this for the villagers. If I don't rob them, they'll starve to death—"
My lord, you cannot punish me…
Amidst screams, everyone was taken away.
Magistrate Xu then ordered his men to go down the mountain and take control of the entire Hulu Village. He wanted to wipe out everyone in the village who had participated in the robbery!
I initially thought it was a joint crime committed by the mountain villagers and Hulu Village, but now I hear that all the bandits are from Hulu Village!
That's incredibly audacious!
Mo Lang was already walking around the village with a torch in his hand.
Magistrate Xu took a few steps, then couldn't help but turn back: "You don't actually believe me, do you?"
"This place is only so big, we've searched the whole area, there's nowhere left to hide anything!"
But Pang Kui is right, these mountain people are living well, they must be rich!
Mo Lang stomped his foot, but heard no echo.
"Sir, you'll know once you go back and interrogate that chieftain properly."
Magistrate Xu nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Even if he's a complete liar, I will still find out the truth about him!"
If there really is a treasure... hehe, then he won't have to go around scrimping and saving for money anymore!
"Miss Lu is a lucky charm; she must have a treasure!"
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