The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 460 - 449: Greed

Chapter 460: Chapter 449: Greed

For a moment, the village chief’s mind was flooded with chaotic thoughts, so disordered that even he couldn’t discern what he was thinking.

All he could hear was Ms.Qian sobbing, "Chief, when my husband returns, how will I explain to him that Zhou Yin doesn’t even have a corpse?"

That sentence struck the village chief like a bolt, clearing his confusion in an instant. Who said Zhou Yin did not have a corpse?

The person Zhou SiLang had carried back must have been Zhou Yin. Even though the man’s face was marred, how could they not recognize someone they had just seen the day before?

But that Zhou Yin had been identified by government officials as a bandit; this one, however, was a man killed by bandits...

The village chief’s face looked like he wanted to cry but the tears wouldn’t come. Instead, he could only say to Zhou Xi and Manbao, "Quickly stop your mother from crying; the officials are still here."

The yamen runners were becoming impatient, but after all, someone had died in the family, so it wasn’t good for them to interrupt.

Once Ms.Qian’s sobs gradually subsided, the yamen runner finally said, "The county magistrate has sent me to notify you. Later, go to the county town to cancel Zhou Yin’s household registration and handle all necessary affairs. Lately, the county magistrate has been deeply concerned about civilian matters; you should not cause him any trouble."

Ms.Qian nodded timidly and asked, "Do we need to bring anything?"

Only then did the yamen runner take out a notice from his bosom and hand it to her, saying, "Take this with you, as well as your family’s household registration. A guarantee letter from the villagers will suffice."

Before the village chief could ask, Ms. Qian had already interjected, "Why do we still need a guarantee letter?"

"Of course you need a guarantee letter, otherwise who knows whether Zhou Yin is really from your family?" The yamen runner responded matter-of-factly, "This guarantee letter just needs to state clearly that the Zhou Yin on this route permit is Zhou Yin from your family."

Without this document, who would know if they had delivered the goods to the wrong person?

Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately looked at the route permit in Manbao’s hand.

Manbao quickly showed it to him.

As the village chief squinted and read for a long while, various thoughts flashed through his mind. Then, as the doubt on the yamen runner’s face grew, he nodded and said, "This is her family’s Zhou Yin all right. This... this handwriting is truly unique, ha ha, ha ha..."

The yamen runner, hearing this, knew the village chief was not quite literate, but did not fuss over it. He stood up and said, "Alright, since your village chief is also here, we’ll consider this matter settled."

Ms. Qian hurriedly tried to persuade him to stay, "It’s almost lunchtime; why doesn’t the official stay for a meal? I’ll have my boy go out and buy a piece of meat. It’s such a hot day, and we’ve troubled you to make a trip here..."

At the mention of meat, the yamen runner hesitated, the prospect of a meat meal tempting even without payment.

Seeing his reaction, Ms. Qian became even more insistent, repeatedly instructing Junior Ms. Qian, "Go give some money to Second Son and Erya, actually, let Two’s wife go buy some meat, and take out a few eggs to cook a dish for the official..."

The yamen runner then asked, "You have chickens at home, too? Are there many eggs?"

At his question, Ms.Qian paused and then replied with a forced smile, "We have a few."

Turning to Junior Ms. Qian, Ms.Qian said, "Nevermind that, let your second sister-in-law go catch a chicken from the coop and slaughter it, and ask for more vegetables from the garden."

The yamen runner quickly added, "Get a younger chicken for better taste, preferably one that started laying eggs last year. The older chickens, although they smell good, have meat that’s too tough."

"Yes," agreed Ms. Qian, instructing Junior Ms. Qian, "Have your second sister-in-law catch a younger hen."

Manbao was dazed for quite a while before she came to her senses, feeling a surge of anger welling up in her chest. She was about to speak when Zhou Xi, quick-eyed, covered her mouth.

Hearing the commotion, the yamen runner looked their way.

Ms. Qian quickly said, "Take your youngest sister away quickly; she’s never seen anything like this before. She must be frightened. Take her back to the room. Come evening, bring her meal down to the village entrance for her."

Zhou Xi agreed and half-carried, half-dragged Manbao away.

Anger was evident on the faces of Second Son and Erya outside, but their mother and aunts glared at them and held them back, preventing them from making a scene.

Ms. Feng gave them a glare and said in a low voice, "Aren’t you taking your younger brothers and sisters over there? Stay in the room and play with your cousin; don’t go anywhere else."

Zhou Xi dragged Manbao back to the room and then let her go.

Manbao felt both aggrieved and annoyed, with tears streaming down her face.

Zhou Xi embraced her to comfort her, "Good child, this matter is different from the others; we must not throw a tantrum, understand?"

Manbao didn’t quite understand, "Because this matter is different, that’s all the more reason to be angry."

In her memory, even when they encountered unpleasant yamen runners, her parents and brothers would nod and bow but would also gently push back. Why were they acting so humbly this time?

Manbao said, "He’s just a yamen runner delivering a death notice; I even know the county magistrate."

"It’s different, it’s different," Zhou Xi struggled to explain to Manbao, wiping her tears and saying, "Just don’t go outside and mess up mother’s efforts."

Zhou Xi added, "Seeing how mother is bending over backwards, we can’t spoil the effort."

Feeling disheartened, Manbao eventually nodded, "Alright, I won’t scold him, and I won’t get angry."

"Good child."

Manbao looked up at Zhou Xi, "Big sister, was that really our uncle? The route permit says he’s from Shangzhou, but if he’s from Shangzhou, how can he also be our uncle?"

Zhou Xi paused, then recalled that her parents once said their aunt was from the Shangzhou Qian family. In recent years, when their circumstances had slightly improved, they had discussed visiting the Xia Family’s relatives in Shangzhou. However, Shangzhou was so far away they didn’t even know where it was.

Not only Old Zhou and Ms. Qian, but even the bolder Zhou SiLang was afraid to travel so far.

As these thoughts passed in a flash, Zhou Xi suddenly got up, "Manbao, you stay here and read your books. Wait for Fifth Brother and Sixth Brother to come back and play with you. I need to check something next door."

Once outside, she saw Erya and Second Son bringing the younger children with sulky expressions and quickly said, "Don’t stand out in the sun, come inside and keep your cousin company, and don’t run around, okay?"

Zhou Xi hurried next door where Ms. Qian was having Junior Ms. Qian serve two bowls of bean curd, one for the yamen runner and one for the village chief, inviting them to sit and chat.

Seeing her daughter signaling from outside, Ms. Qian wiped her tears and stepped out...

Zhou Xi pulled her mother aside and whispered Manbao’s question, "Mother, we can’t understand this route permit, and we need to be clear, in case there turns out to be a mistake..."

Ms. Qian nodded, "That’s what I was thinking too, which is why I wanted him to stay a bit longer. When your father returns, it’ll be easier to ask."

Ms. Qian frowned, looking outside and said, "Why haven’t they come back yet?"

"Shall I go up the mountain and look for them?"

After considering it, Ms. Qian agreed, "Alright, go and have a look. Just you alone, don’t go too deep."