readytorunbook Chapter 184: Collective strike, we quit!
Chapter 184: Collective strike, we quit!
Luo Xiaoran said everything she could and could not say, and she felt helpless when she saw that Zhang Changzong was still hesitant.
If her words couldn't even convince the village chief, let alone the villagers below.
She now hopes that Zhang Changzong can think it over carefully before starting work today, and not fall into An Luhai's trap so easily.
As a result, as soon as he arrived at Yangliupo, Zhang Changzong encountered the incident of sand being mixed into grain. The grain was in his custody, and he had not slept all night because of the lime issue. If someone sneaked into his house and tampered with the grain, he would definitely be able to find out.
After much thought, the river sand could only have been mixed in by Magistrate An at the beginning. If Luo Xiaoran had not happened to bring grain to exchange for Hedong Village, he would have been completely convicted of embezzling official grain.
By then, he would have nothing to worry about and would not have to think twice about corvée labor because he would be thrown into jail immediately.
Thinking of this, Zhang Changzong shuddered. It was unheard of that Magistrate An, an official appointed by the imperial court, actually went to the trouble of framing a small village chief like him.
It seems that Luo Xiaoran was right. An Ruquan bullied men and women, but An Luhai repeatedly condoned him. This is enough to show that An Luhai is not as "fair and upright" as he appears to be, nor is he the "honest and upright magistrate" that Zhang Changzong has always believed.
After the incident of sand being mixed into the rations, Zhang Changzong finally saw An Luhai's true face. He made up his mind to do as Luo Xiaoran suggested and immediately went to discuss with the village chief Wang of Hedong Village.
No matter what, the method proposed by Luo Xiaoran requires the cooperation of the people of Hedong Village. Otherwise, once the people of Hedong Village start working regardless of the consequences, they will lose the opportunity.
The people of Hedong Village were busy cooking. Thank God, there was still time. Zhang Changzong pulled Village Chief Wang to another place and repeated what Luo Xiaoran had said to him.
Unexpectedly, after hearing what Zhang Changzong said, Village Chief Wang agreed without hesitation, and even knelt down and kowtowed to him. Zhang Changzong was so scared that he quickly pulled him back and asked, "What are you doing?"
Village Chief Wang smiled bitterly on his skinny face, and his dry eyes were filled with moisture. He spoke with resentment:
"Brother Zhang, I thought that this corvée imposed by the government was meant to drive us to death. We in Hedong Village are already prepared to die.
Hedong Village is not as good as Hexi Village. Our life is too hard. We just think that at least we still have some rations for corvée labor, so that we can have a full stomach before we die!
That’s why I was so aggressive towards you when I encountered the wheat mixed with river sand. I didn’t expect you to come up with such a brilliant countermeasure, which may save our lives. I am really ashamed of my persecution of you just now.”
After listening to the explanation of Village Chief Wang, Zhang Changzong finally understood why the people of Hedong Village had such a big reaction to the grain issue. Thinking that it was the work of County Magistrate An, he couldn't help but smile bitterly:
"Village Chief Wang, there's no need to say more. I understand. Now our two villages are in such a dangerous situation. We must pull together and work together. Maybe there is still a glimmer of hope."
Village Chief Wang nodded repeatedly, "I understand. I will convince the villagers to do as you wish!"
The two village chiefs went back to their respective villagers to lobby. Fortunately, both Village Chief Zhang and Village Chief Wang were well-respected. After explaining things to the villagers, although the villagers were very scared, they were willing to obey because the village chiefs would not harm them.
The timeline goes back to the present, so when Uncle Butcher shouted to start work, no one present took any action until Luo Xiaoran asked for lime.
When he saw Luo Xiaoran's smiling face, the back of Tu Ye's neck began to hurt again, as if the incident of Luo Xiaoran knocking him out and breaking into the prison happened just yesterday.
I don’t know why the county magistrate didn’t catch this daring little girl, but since the county magistrate didn’t touch her, I guess she must have some important background.
Master Tu told himself not to get into trouble, and he couldn't beat Luo Xiaoran, so he said politely:
"Whether there is lime or not, you must obey the corvée," said the butcher, turning to the people of Hexi Village and speaking in a stern voice, "If you refuse to obey, you will be punished."
Although the village chief had explained to them why they could not go to repair the road, but Uncle Tu's words were threatening, and Li Xinghua was so scared that her legs went weak and she almost took the tools to repair the road.
The next second, she saw Luo Xiaoran standing firmly in front of Tu Ye, without any sign of wavering. Somehow, her heart also calmed down.
Boss Sun also moved his feet involuntarily because of what Tu Ye said, but was grabbed by his neighbor Zhu Neng, whom he always disliked, and said, "Hold on! The village chief is right, the government wants to wrongly kill us, we have to find a way to survive!"
After all, Zhu Neng had served in the military and had seen some of the world, so he could judge the current situation.
The military households of Hexi Village, represented by Zhu Neng, were the first to understand the meaning of Zhang Changzong's words. Although the farmers were not as determined as the military households, they were also held back by the military households around them and did not show any fear because of Tu Ye's words.
The people in Hedong Village are more open-minded than those in Hexi Village.
It was not only because there were many military households among them and they were not easily frightened, but also because they were living a miserable life. Their lives were already boring to begin with, and now they were subjected to corvee labor that was impossible to complete.
Before, they all had the will to die, but now that there is another way out, they will naturally unite and fight hard.
A silent confrontation ensued between the people from Hexi and Hedong villages, between Tu Ye and Luo Xiaoran.
After a while, Luo Xiaoran raised her lips and revealed a smile that was colder than the cold light: "Thank you for reminding me, Master Tu. We naturally know that delaying the deadline for corvée labor is a crime, but!"
Luo Xiaoran didn't even want to pretend anymore, her face darkened, and her voice rose several degrees:
"The Magistrate of An County asked us to build a lime road, but he didn't give us any lime. He also used the princess as an excuse, saying that if we couldn't build the road well, our lives would be in danger. We are not gods, and we can't conjure up lime out of thin air to build a lime road!"
As soon as Luo Xiaoran said this, the villagers, who had been shaken by Tu Ye's words like Li Xinghua, Sun Lao Da and others, immediately calmed down.
Yes! They couldn't afford to buy lime, and they couldn't build lime roads. What did the princess's affairs have to do with ordinary people like them?
Luo Xiaoran was right. The county magistrate was doing this to force them to death. It didn't matter if they refused to accept the corvée!
"You!" The whip in the butcher's hand was shaking a little, "You are leading them to disobey the government. Aren't you afraid that you will be punished for the crime?"
Luo Xiaoran looked at Tu Ye quietly with a firm gaze and did not explain further.
No matter what, she couldn't let An Luhai harm the people of the two villages.
As for herself, if she didn't have a family to support and wanted to live a peaceful life, and if she didn't have to worry about being wanted, being homeless, and bringing trouble to her family, she would have rushed into the county government office and killed An Luhai once and for all.
"Master Tu should hurry back to the county office and report to Magistrate An. Tell Magistrate An the truth and either don't build a lime road or bring the lime if you want to build one!"