Zhou Si was stunned. He replied softly, “Xiao Shu isn’t like that…”
“What did you say?” Second Uncle Zhou’s expression suddenly turned cold.
“Nothing! Nothing!” It scared Zhou Si, and he quickly added, “I, I understood everything you said, Second Uncle. I’ll watch out next time! I… won’t get involved with her!”
Second Uncle Zhou’s face relaxed, and he said gently, “That’s right. It’s not easy for us to get to where we are now. A moment of misjudgment can ruin great things. We’d lose a lot just because of something small. You should know better than anyone else.”
“Yes, Second Uncle Zhou.” Zhou Si’s eyes turned dark as his voice got deeper too.
Second Uncle Zhou sighed and picked up the ax on the ground. Without a word, he started to clean up the branches and carried the two trees downhill.
As expected, Zhou Si did not look for Xiao Shu anymore. Since then, First Uncle Zhou was the one who showed up at the Lu Family’s house if they wanted to borrow anything.
When Lu Xiao Shu got back, she was outraged for a while, but it was soon forgotten as she focused on creating two paintings for the Lin Family’s Jin Shi Zhai. If she were free, she would prepare the things needed for the New Year. Sometimes, she would play with Lin Fang and Zhou Yuan.
As the days of the twelfth Lunar month got colder, the festive atmosphere got heavier. Every household was getting ready for the New Year. They stocked up on firewood, charcoal, and grain. They cleaned their houses and yards. Besides, they also shopped for new furniture, clothes, and snacks for the festival. Everyone was happy and joyful, making the village filled with the New Year atmosphere.
However, it was not only the villagers who wanted to celebrate the New Year. There were many others who wanted to celebrate it too.
It would be irrelevant if they had nothing to do with the villagers as they were a type of people who just had a lot to do with the villagers living here. They were the bailiffs in charge of arresting criminals.
Since the New Year was coming, the county bailiffs would round up the bad guys quickly as usual. They would go village to village and make things difficult for the people by picking fault with everything they were doing. Besides, they would only leave after hurting some villagers and gaining something in return. They even glorified what they were doing by calling it routine inspection for law and order!
Everyone in the village hated their behavior. However, it was customary that the people do not pick fights with bailiffs. So, they could only complain and curse them silently, but they still fawn over the bailiffs on the surface.
Dare to challenge the bailiffs? Then, that’d be your downfall!
That day, there were four bailiffs in uniform as usual. They had on their tall noble hats, and they brought their swords with them to Feng Ye Village.
Someone saw them from afar, so he shouted, “They’re here! They’re here!” as he rushed back into the village. Everyone knew what he was talking about. They cursed, but at the same time, they were relieved.
Every year, everyone could only prepare for the festival in peace after the bailiffs came by. That was because it signified that they had overcome the final challenge of the year.
Back then, the bailiffs would try to give an excuse to show up. Now that everyone had gotten used to them, they had an understanding, and they might as well give up on the excuses. Four bailiffs strolled into the village with swagger, heading right towards the mayor’s house.
The mayor already received word about their arrival, and he had tea prepared to serve them. Seeing them arrive at his house, he hurried to welcome them. After exchanging greetings, he offered them the red packets that the people prepared.
It was like an unspoken rule that was made after two or three years. Back then, they accepted gifts of poultry, vegetables, wine, food, and so on, but there was a new rule that applied to everyone. Before this, they would go from house to house, but now, they might as well just visit one house and receive all the money.
When it came to the official things, they would push all responsibilities away!
The thing was that everyone experienced the great drought this year. They were already living terribly, and they expected four to five months without enough crops. The people had no idea how many would be living off wild plants and porridge for the coming days. Perhaps they might not even have wild plants and porridge!
Because of what happened this year, everyone discussed and decided to cut down half of the offering.
How could they take care of someone else when their families might be starving? Naturally, they got more courageous because of that.
The lead bailiff took the red packet with a grin. He excused himself to the loo and took a peek inside the red packet. With a look, his expression fell. Once he got back, he had nothing nice to say anymore.
The other three saw his secret hand signal that told them the amount they received. They, too, became very upset.
The truth was that they also experienced the drought. Besides, the price of the New Year goods seemed to be inflating. They needed money too. If not from the villagers, where could they get the money? This much for a bailiff’s salary? How was that enough?
The four of them were very close with each other since they worked in the office. With their excellent skills in being gentle while forceful, solving two issues simultaneously, and bringing up discussions within a group, the mayor was attacked verbally to the point that he had nothing to say.
Although the mayor was a little greedy, he was not covering anything because this year’s situation was exceptional!
He could not reject the villager’s requests, but he did not dare to promise them anything either. So, he unhappily tried to put in a few good words with the four bailiffs, and he told them he could get the villagers to gather so that they can talk to the villagers directly.
How could the four bailiffs agree to it in the beginning? However, the mayor did not waste his life to be rejected just like that. He knew all the dirty ways of the world, and he was good with words too. He beat around the bush and successfully conveyed what he wanted to say: You are probably worried about making the villagers feel guilty. That’s why you’re pushing the responsibility to me, right?
The four bailiffs immediately agreed when they took the negative remark personally.
It felt like a huge burden was lifted off the mayor. He hopped back into a cheerful mood and grinned, “I don’t wish to disrupt your work any further. You may talk to everyone now!” He slipped away and asked his son to lead the gentlemen following him after they finished talking.
The four bailiffs finally realized how cunning the mayor was, but they acted as if they had nothing to say since they had already agreed to the suggestion.
When the villagers heard an urgent clunking from the locust tree at the village center, they immediately linked it to the bailiffs since today was the day they visited.
Everyone was on the same boat as they were all concerned about their well-being. “Clang! Clang! Clang!” It sounded like a shower of rain, urgently echoing throughout the village. Everyone’s heart skipped a beat. There was no one who did not rush to the locust tree unless they did not hear it.
Naturally, the Lu Family was no exception.
A lot of kids followed and came to watch the commotion. Of course, Lu Xiao Shu was among them.
Although Zhou Si’s place was a little further away, they probably had good hearing because they could hear the clanging sound loud and clear.
Without hesitation, Zhou Si immediately rushed out.
Second Uncle Zhou called for him, but he interrupted his uncle, “Second Uncle, now that we’re living in this village, we should be aware of what’s happening in the village. It won’t bring us any harm. I’m going to check it out!”
Before his uncle could oppose, he disappeared in an instant.
Second Uncle Zhou was annoyed that he could not stop the boy. He fumed, “This boy is such a—”
“It’s okay. Let him go!” Old Zhou smiled lightly and said, “He’s right. Since we’re living here, it’s no harm knowing what goes on in the village. He’s not a child anymore. He understands the boundaries, so there’s no need to worry about him crossing any lines.”
Second Uncle Zhou glanced at him wordlessly. If you knew what the boy plans, you wouldn’t say this anymore.
“But,” Old Zhou tilted his head, deep in thought, “I’m curious about when exactly he started to like crowds.”
That’s more like it!
However, Second Uncle Zhou did not offer any explanation. He merely said, “Who says he doesn’t?”
Zhou Si arrived under the huge locust tree. However, he saw unrest among the people. They chattered and discussed among each other, and their expressions looked uneasy and even angry.
Glancing around, Zhou Si did not care much about that. His eyes swept over the crowd, looking for Lu Xiao Shu. Finally, he saw the girl wearing a red coat with her hair braided up. His face lit up, and it felt like his heart became clearer too. He waved and shouted “Xiao Shu!” but she did not hear him. Hurriedly, he rushed over to her.
“Xiao Shu!”
Lu Xiao Shu heard him this time, as she turned out. Realizing that it was him, she meekly acknowledged him and nodded, “Oh, you’re here too.” Then, she turned back to continue talking to someone else.
Zhou Si smiled gently and pushed the people beside them away. He asked Lu Xiao Shu, “What’s going on? Why did they sound the gong? Are they giving out gifts for the New Year?”
Lu Xiao Shu wanted to ignore him at first, but she could not help scoffing at his question. She rolled her eyes at him and huffed, “In your dreams! Giving out gifts? Instead, people are coming to our village for New Year gifts!”
“What?” Zhou Si’s expression faltered slightly.
Lu Xiao Shu was just about to answer him when the crowd clamored and said in succession, “They’re here! They’re here!” So, she paused and glanced in the direction everyone was looking at.
Zhou Si’s face turned darker when he saw four bailiffs walking forth.
The mayor raised his hands as a signal for the crowd to quiet down. He simply gave an opening speech before passing the floor to the bailiffs.
However, the impatient villagers started to yell before the four bailiffs could say anything. “We’re going to starve next year! Where do you think we can find the money for you? We pawned our entire house for the money we gave you, and we still haven’t planned for our lives next year! Do you want us to die? This is unfair! Totally unfair!”
“Absolutely! He’s right!”
“This is extreme!”
“Preposterous!”
The crowd was riled up and as expected, the four bailiffs got angry from the humiliation. One of them shouted “Silence!” in the crowd but his voice got drowned out. It was useless against the continuous shouting.
Their leader felt that it was time to reveal his sword. He unsheathed it and forcefully swiped at the gong. “Clang! Clang! Clang!” Everyone was shocked, and they were reminded of who these four men were. Suddenly, the crowd quieted down.
“What’s the ruckus about? You want to rebel?” The leader’s sharp gaze swept across the crowd like a falcon pinning at them. He laughed coldly, “You should all know how much money you’re offering to the authorities. Do you think that’s enough? Have you ever thought of the refugees that roamed our area this year? We haven’t even settled the countless post-disaster reconstructions! Have you ever thought of how busy and how thoughtful we are every day? Pfft! Did you think that we’re keeping the little money you gave us for ourselves? Eventually, it will be used for work and the ones who benefit from it are all of you! Understand? The government pays us so little that we can’t even afford a tea break when running errands. If not from the people, where should we get our money from? Do you want us to keep this place safe? What if a gang of robbers came to loot the village and did some illegal business here? Do you think you won’t lose anything to that? I’m afraid that you’ll be losing more than you think you would! Listen up! Every household is mandated to offer a tael of silver. No negotiations! Do not come to me with excuses saying you don’t have money. I don’t care if you borrow money or sell your belongings! Whatever it is, get us the money! We only ask for it once a year. If not for patrolling the area and ensuring you’re safe, we would’ve never come for it. Do you think we can do a lot with such a small amount of money?”
