Farmer's eldest sister becomes rich

Chapter 377: Diverting Trouble 2

"Don't worry, let's see the situation first and then make a decision." The leading bandit stared at the officials and villagers with burning eyes.

Qin walked out of the crowd and said with an unhappy look on her face: "We have kept these cocoons in our hands for many days. If the government does not take them back, we will dispose of them ourselves."

The captain of the police immediately turned around and signaled to the officers behind him to make way.

Two accountants holding account books walked out from behind a group of officials.

The head constable said to Qin, "Those who are going to hand in their silk cocoons, please follow these two accountants and line up. They will weigh them one by one and settle the money for you."

Qin turned around and called on the women to line up with their cocoons on their backs.

Seeing that the time was almost right, the village chief winked at the villagers behind him, and the crying gradually subsided.

Then, a voice came from the crowd.

"Sir, we in Baili Village have always been kind and have never had the intention of deceiving anyone. This locust plague is coming with such ferocity that we really have no way to deal with it!"

The person who was speaking had a low and hoarse voice, and I looked in the direction where the voice came from.

All I saw was a hunchbacked old man in his seventies.

He walked to the village chief with a cane in his hand, trembling.

The head constable was a little impatient and said gloomily, "I can't control these things. Anyway, the grain tax must be paid today!"

Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, the old man walked up to the officer.

He knelt down slowly with his crutches in his hands, begging: "Sir, please be merciful and give us poor people a way out!"

The captain of the police was obviously shocked when he saw this, and felt a little touched.

But due to his duty, he still kept a straight face: "Old man, this matter is not up to me, you should ask the county magistrate for help!"

The old man sobbed and cried, "Oh, God! You let an old man with white hair watch helplessly as a whole village of children starved to death. You might as well let me die immediately!"

The old man knelt on the ground, looking up to the sky and sobbing. A three-year-old child came up from behind him and urged him in a baby voice, "Grandfather, get up quickly."

......

When the bandits hiding in the dark saw this scene, they gnashed their teeth in hatred.

One of the bandits gnashed his teeth and said, "These bastards are really going too far!"

"Don't make any noise for now, let's wait for the right opportunity." The leading bandit said with his eyes as fast as lightning, staring at the situation on the road.

......

At this time, the village chief stepped forward, gently helped the old man up, and said in a gentle voice: "Old uncle, you are so old, you should go home and have a good rest!"

The head constable's face darkened: "Village Chief Li, you should know that this matter is not up to us. We are just following orders. Why are you making things difficult for us?"

After the village chief helped the old man back to the crowd, he turned around and pretended to wipe away tears and said, "Yes, yes, it's not easy for everyone."

"We are not deliberately trying to embarrass you, officials, but we are running low on food."

The thin official walked up to the village chief and shouted angrily, "Stop talking nonsense! A group of people have been dawdling here for a long time. If you know what's good for you, pay the grain tax to me! Otherwise..."

After saying this, he drew out the knife at his waist, raised it in the air and pointed it at the villagers.

He threatened: "Otherwise, my knife will not have eyes! Did you hear me?"

When the villagers saw him draw his sword, they showed no fear and picked up the farm tools in their hands.

The thin officer felt a little guilty when he saw that the villagers were not afraid of him.

He casually put the knife on the village chief's neck and signaled the man behind him to step back.

The village chief said fearlessly: "If the officials kill me, it will exempt the villagers from grain tax, so go ahead!"

The village chief said this and closed his eyes.

The village chief was sure that he didn't dare, but he dared to say so.

The captain stepped forward and said to all the villagers: "It's useless for you to cry! We are just following orders!"

"I've just said that the county magistrate has applied to his superiors for disaster relief grain, and it is expected to be delivered to the county town soon. Don't worry! No one will starve to death."

After saying this, he gently reminded the village chief: "Village Chief Li, after all, you are also a person who eats the quarterly salary of the court. To be more specific, you are also half a court official, so you'd better not lose your responsibilities as the village chief."

The village chief said righteously, "Being alive is the most important thing. If all the villagers starve to death, I will be the head of this village and fail in my duty."

The village chief pretended to speak loudly so that the bandits could hear him.

The captain of the police was choked and speechless after hearing what the village chief said.

He was a little angry and said, "The county magistrate has already exempted you from half of the grain tax, and ordered us to come and collect the grain tax several times. This is already very generous and kind to you."

The woman, her face covered in soot, cried and asked loudly: "Natural disasters keep happening. The fields have no harvest, and there is no food growing in the cracks of the rocks. Where can we find food?"

The chief constable crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Now that we have come to this, let's not hide it anymore."

"At this point, don't you think the county magistrate is still in the dark?"

He sneered and continued, "He already knew that your Baili Village had harvested the wheat long before the locust plague."

The woman with a face covered in soot raised her hand to wipe the tears from her face and cried, "He must have known that the natural disaster has been going on for many months. We have waited for so long and have not seen a single grain of rice, but he still expects us to pay the grain tax."

The villagers standing behind him all seconded and shouted, "That's right! That's right!"

An Yue stood among the crowd and watched how things unfolded.

First the old man knelt and begged, then they threatened the village chief with a knife to pay the grain tax, and the woman forced the official to tell the county magistrate what he had heard about the village.

All of this was seen and remembered by the bandits hiding in the dark.

......

After hearing this, the bandits clenched their fists and their eyes became bloodshot with hatred.

One of the bandits said: "Our relatives died of thirst, starvation and disease in the village. It turns out that the dog officials only know how to do this!"

An Yue analyzed the situation. At present, everything was as she expected. She was very satisfied.

She squeezed out of the crowd, stood behind the village chief, coughed twice and cried, "Let the village chief go. The grain tax you want has been delivered."

Village chief Li Huairen immediately understood the hint given to him by An Yue.

At this moment, the thin officer's knife was still at his neck.

The village chief raised his hands and said, "The grain tax has arrived."

When the chief constable saw that they agreed to pay the grain tax, his expression relaxed.

He signaled the thin officer to put away his knife.

Then he apologized to the village chief: "Village Chief Li, I apologize for offending you just now. I hope you can forgive me."

The village chief raised his hand and signaled Li Wu to drive the ox cart carrying grain taxes forward.

Soon, the villagers made way for the ox cart on their own, and Li Wu slowly pulled the ox cart forward.

The village chief pointed at the grain on the ox cart and said: