Ch 79: The Farmer Ger in the Apocalypse

Facing someone so utterly unreasonable, there was no point in arguing—nor was there any need. After all, they had come to Xiaoji Village to report the incident to the village chief, not to serve as Old Lady Wang’s life coach.

Even if she never figured it out for the rest of her life, even if she remained convinced that Shen Qing had seduced her son and owed her money—so what? Shen Qing wasn’t here to change her mind; he just wanted a resolution to the matter. Besides, once a person clings to a certain belief, they tend to become stubborn and unyielding, especially someone like Old Lady Wang, whose thinking was far from rational.

The chief of Xiaoji Village, surnamed Zheng, listened as Shen Qing said, “Chief Zheng, you’ve known Old Lady Wang for years, you must be well aware of what kind of person she is. But let’s set that aside. Her four sons climbed over my wall in the middle of the night and broke into my courtyard. No matter how you spin it, they’re in the wrong. How do you intend to handle this? If there’s no other solution, then we’ll report it to the authorities. I’ve never met Wang San, I don’t know where he is, and I don’t need to prove anything to you. But I trust the officials will be able to confirm that Wang San has nothing to do with my household.”

Hearing this, Chief Zheng’s face turned red with embarrassment. What kind of people did his village produce, that they would bring such disgrace upon themselves in another village? Even he found Old Lady Wang’s words completely indefensible. After a brief moment of contemplation, he decided not to waste his breath arguing with her. Instead, he ordered for the remaining four Wang brothers to be brought forward.

“You’ve shamed the entire village with your actions! Now, you have two choices. Either each of you takes eighty lashes and compensates Shen Qing with one tael of silver as an apology to him and his mother, or you can leave the village today and never return. From this day forward, you will no longer be people of Xiaoji Village.”

Both punishments were harsh. The first option was self-explanatory—eighty lashes was no joke; they could easily take half a person’s life. But the second option, despite sounding better, was just as severe. If they were expelled from the village, their house and land would be confiscated, leaving them with nothing but a few personal belongings and whatever silver they had on hand.

The Wang brothers and Old Lady Wang were completely stunned. There was no way out!

“Chief! It was our mother who told us to do it! Shen Qing seduced our third brother—”

Chief Zheng had had enough. “And you just did what she told you? Is your mother’s word the imperial decree? If she said you were a lost prince, would you march to the capital to seek recognition from the emperor?”

The Wang brothers were left speechless, while Old Lady Wang burst into loud wails. “Chief, you’ve lost your conscience! How can you side with outsiders against us? We are orphans and widows—how can you betray us?”

When she had gone to Lantang Village to stir up trouble with Matchmaker Wei, the village chief there hadn’t even needed to step in—just the neighbors and the Wei family’s relatives had given her a taste of suffering.

But now, in her own village, where she should have had the upper hand, why wasn’t she getting the same treatment? The village chief was siding with outsiders, and the villagers were all just waiting to watch her suffer. Old Lady Wang was truly heartbroken!

“Siding with you? Do you think I’m some kind of god? How am I supposed to side with you? Am I supposed to make Lantang Village’s chief listen to me? Or force the victims to drop the charges?” Chief Zheng nearly laughed at the absurdity of it all. If they were in the right, of course, he would want to protect his villagers. But in this situation, how could he possibly defend them? Was he supposed to turn a blind eye and spout blatant lies like Old Lady Wang?

“You’d better decide quickly. If they get really angry and go to the authorities, your sons won’t just get flogged—they’ll end up in jail, and whether they make it out alive is another matter entirely.” If it were handled within the village, they could control the severity of the punishment.

Faced with a choice between letting her sons suffer or giving up her property, Old Lady Wang refused to accept either. She cried and screamed, but the world didn’t work according to her wishes. She couldn’t avoid making a choice simply by refusing to decide.

With the threat of being reported to the authorities looming over them, the Wang brothers knew they had no way out. Gritting their teeth, they opted for the flogging—choosing to risk their lives rather than lose their property.

Chief Zheng felt a tiny bit of hidden disappointment. If this had been an opportunity to drive the Wang family out, the village would have been far more peaceful. The atmosphere of the whole village might have even improved!

Shen Qing accepted the one tael of silver as compensation and watched as the Wang brothers were flogged. Then, he and Zhou Youdang left for Lantang Village, ignoring Old Lady Wang’s curses and cries. Chief Zheng, however, seeing the Wang brothers wailing in pain, couldn’t help but offer them some stern advice.

“You’re all grown men now. After this incident, you need to start acting like it. Yes, we value filial piety in our village, but your mother is the way she is—if you keep indulging her, this won’t be the last time you get beaten. This is just the beginning.”

People say that the older one gets, the more stubborn they become, and Old Lady Wang was no exception. Even now, she refused to believe she was in the wrong. She resented Shen Qing, resented Wang San, and even resented herself. But what good was a widow’s resentment in a rural village? As long as her sons wised up and took responsibility for their own lives, there might still be hope for their family.

The Wang brothers hung their heads, but whether they truly listened was another matter.

Shen Qing turned the silver tael over in his hand. He didn’t need this money, but he had to teach the Wang family a lesson. If they weren’t made to pay a price, they’d think causing trouble for him had no consequences and would continue endlessly.

Zhou Youdang, on the other hand, was pleased to see the silver. “Just in time for the New Year! We can use it to buy some holiday goods and ease your mother’s nerves. She was really terrified yesterday.”

Not only Miao Shi but even Second Aunt Lian had been frightened. Only the two little ones, Lian Rong and Lian Qiao, had slept through the whole thing, blissfully unaware.

That was true! Even Shen Qing had been caught off guard. And on top of that, he would be heading to Zizhou in a few days with Song Kaiji, leaving Miao Shi alone again. After this incident, how could he feel at ease?

Shen Qing clenched the silver tael tightly. He would have to arrange for Miao Shi to stay at her maiden home for a few days.

That was fine for now, but if he continued taking on assignments in the future, it wouldn’t be practical to have her constantly moving back and forth to Shiqu Village.

When they returned to the village, Miao Shi’s courtyard was filled with visitors. Many of them were her close friends, coming to check on her well-being. But at the same time, most of them were simply bored and eager to hear the details of the previous night’s events.

Miao Shi and Second Aunt Lian enjoyed telling the story. The fear from the night before had been real, and recounting it to familiar people was a way to seek comfort.

“…At first, we thought it was a wild animal, but then we heard voices. No matter what it was, we were scared, so we grabbed a hatchet and a kitchen knife for protection,” Second Aunt Lian narrated dramatically. “But after a long wait, it turned out to be Qing Ge’er—he knocked all four men unconscious! Four of them! Qing Ge’er is amazing!”

Some nosy person asked, “But what about the rumor those men spread about Qing Ge’er and Wang San? Did Qing Ge’er actually see Wang San when he was out of the village?”

Miao Shi frowned. “Don’t listen to their nonsense! I already told Chunfang, Qing Ge’er isn’t thinking about anything right now except making money. Forget Wang San—even if it were a wealthy merchant or a nobleman, Qing Ge’er wouldn’t be interested!”

Shen Qing, who had just walked in, suddenly spoke up, “Speaking of business, I met an outsider in town recently. He’s looking for a village to build a workshop. What do you think of that, aunts?”

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