239: Chapter 228 Questioning 239: Chapter 228 Questioning Bai Shanbao: “I’m better now.”
Mr.
Zhuang: …Ill to the point of having to ask for leave to take care of the grandson, and then better in just one morning?
What kind of illness cos on so quickly and goes away just as fast?
Mr.
Zhuang gave Bai Shanbao a look but didn’t ask him any more questions.
Once all the students were seated in their places, he announced that the students from Qili Village could take a half-day off that afternoon.
They all needed to go back ho to their parents, and as for why, their parents would tell them.
Mr.
Zhuang didn’t inform them of much else.
And so, with Manbao and the others holding hands and carrying their small book boxes, as soon as they had left, Mr.
Zhuang said to the remaining students, “You may rest here at noon, and the afternoon will mainly be calligraphy practice.
Take out your paper and brushes and practice writing.
Lu Feng, you’re the eldest, so you’re in charge of looking after them.”
Lu Feng was often tasked with such duties and stood to accept the responsibility.
Mr.
Zhuang then gathered his books to return to the small courtyard before casually strolling into the village with his hands clasped behind his back.
Verifying the disaster situation actually requires a household-by-household census check?
And distribution of subsidies per capita?
Mr.
Zhuang, not being a villager with limited experience, obviously wouldn’t believe it.
Let alone Qili Village being a poor, remote area, even in the prosperous capital, such aid wouldn’t be possible after a natural disaster.
Moreover, why visit Qili Village first and not Dali Village?
You should know that Dali Village is the largest nearby and usually the first to receive governnt policies before they trickle down to Qili Village.
Clearly, Ms.
Liu was also well aware of this, which is why she took the initiative to lead them to the Chief’s ho, and, unusually, didn’t avoid the local villagers.
Instead, she sat in the Chief’s courtyard, patiently listening to the three n asking questions bit by bit.
The villagers arriving upon hearing the news beca more and more nurous, and many children followed as well.
Children always like to crowd around excitent, and Manbao and Bai Shanbao were no exceptions.
At first, they found the ordeal sowhat boring, thinking it better to return to the school to listen to the teacher, but as more and more children arrived, they beca excited, feeling the situation was indeed interesting.
Ms.
Liu discreetly stood and, noticing Mr.
Zhuang standing outside the crowd, she pondered briefly before walking over to him.
She could feel a gaze on her back, indistinct yet unmistakable.
Ms.
Liu, as if oblivious, approached Mr.
Zhuang with a smile and greeted him.
Mr.
Zhuang reciprocated the greeting, glanced at the three n surrounded by the crowd and asked softly, “Did the Old Madam bring these three here?”
Ms.
Liu nodded slightly, speaking loudly enough for the nearby eavesdropping villagers to hear, “Early this morning, Lizhi’s mother ca to get , saying that guests had arrived at ho.
As you know, sir, Lizhi has gone to the prefectural city and isn’t ho, so I inevitably had to put in so extra effort.”
Ms.
Liu smiled, “At first, I thought it was relatives visiting our ho, only to find out they were three officials.
They have a mandate from the Yizhou governnt office, saying they need to conduct a disaster census so the court could distribute aid.”
“It’s just that it was their first visit to the village and they didn’t know their way around.
Seeing our Bai Family’s house was prominent, they knocked on our door,” Ms.
Liu explained with a chuckle.
“But matters like these should be handled by the Chief and the village head.
Our families have only won and children who are too young to understand affairs, so we could only lead them on their way.”
Mr.
Zhuang nodded and, observing the attire and accessories of the three n, asked, “Is the Old Madam certain that the mandate they are carrying is from the Yizhou governnt office?”
Ms.
Liu, facing away from the crowd and with a more serious expression, affird with a nod, “I am certain.”
That was strange.
Yizhou was currently suffering from severe disasters, so how could they spare the ti to care for such a small mountain village?
But if not, could it be they forged the mandate?
What were they after?
Ms.
Liu also wanted to know what they were after.
If they truly wanted to verify the disaster situation, shouldn’t they have gone to the county office’s registrar first?
Alright, even if they decided against contacting the registrar and wanted to bypass the county town, they should have sought the Chief after coming down to the countryside.
Instead, they bypassed the Chief and went directly to the village.
And even in the village, instead of asking around for the village head, they knocked directly on the Bai Family’s gate.
There’s no way they couldn’t find the village head, at tis like this, both the fields and the entrance to Qili Village wouldn’t lack people.
Any passerby asked would have told them.
The villagers of Qili Village are very hospitable, who would refuse such a simple request to give directions?
Yet they entered the Bai Family’s ho and chatted with the Old Madam for quite a while, nearly asking about the Bai Family’s ancestors for eighteen generations.
It was because their questioning was so aggressive that the Old Madam, fearing they were swindlers and unable to cope, sent for Ms.
Liu.
Ms.
Liu, unlike her sisters-in-law, used to live in Longzhou and resided within a large clan.
Her experience was not insignificant, and she certainly wasn’t without common sense.
She had never seen or heard of disaster aid being given per capita; even providing one share per household was unheard of.
Haven’t you seen County Magistrate Fu pinching pennies, only to give aid to those most affected by the disaster after collecting donations from so local landlords?
Ms.
Liu and Mr.
Zhuang didn’t leave but stood outside the crowd, quietly watching the three n inside asking various questions.
Perhaps to ensure nothing was overlooked, they inquired in detail.
The village head, oblivious, answered everything they asked as if willing to pull his ancestors up from their graves for verification.
As long as there was aid to be had.
It was almost evening when they finally asked about Manbao’s family.
Old Zhou had been waiting, his whole family was waiting, and when the villagers escorted the three n into the courtyard, Old Zhou greeted them with a smile, “Your Honors, do you want to take you to the fields to have a look?
Don’t be fooled by the okay-looking condition of my house; my family suffered greatly from the disaster.”
Zhou Dalang and the others nodded in agreent.
Old Zhou: “The house was built with borrowed money, we had no choice.
The kids are grown up, they can’t get married without a house, so our family is in a tough spot too.”
“How many people are in your family?” the leader of the group interrupted him.
Old Zhou paused for a mont, instinctively glancing at his young daughter beside him.
Manbao helplessly said, “Dad, there are twenty-one of us.”
“Twenty-two,” Old Zhou corrected, “My third son’s wife is pregnant again.
Your Honor, you see, getting pregnant at such a ti is a real burden for the family.
Her health isn’t great and we’ll have to tighten our belts even more later…”
“Are all these children yours?” The questioner looked at the sea of faces behind him, asking with a hint of surprise for the first ti.
“Yes, yes, yes, let introduce you.
This is my Eldest…” When he got to introducing Manbao, he smirked, “This is my little girl.”
The visitor glanced at Manbao and then asked, “Have any of your sons been out?”
“Out?” Old Zhou imdiately said, “They have, they have, every day.”
“…I’m asking if they’ve ever been out of Luojiang County.”
Old Zhou felt sothing was amiss and shook his head, “No, we haven’t.
Why would we go out of Luojiang County?
The roads are difficult…”
“According to the records in the census, you used to have a brother.
By the age listed, he should be twenty-seven by now, correct?
Where is he?”
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