Chapter 88: Tied Up

Shen San and Aunt Li were dragged out by the villagers from the geese’s mouths. Shen San was bitten in numerous places. Once out of danger and catching his breath, he turned around and saw the geese in the bamboo fence. He picked up a thick stick from the ground and was about to hit the geese.

Zhou Cunzheng shouted, and people immediately stopped him.

Shi Erlang saw that he dared to be violent again, and thought of the ladder lying against the wall. He guessed why the couple had come and said, “Zhou Cunzheng, sneaking into someone’s yard at midnight, either for theft or for harming someone, is definitely stealing or committing some kind of crime. Our village has never had such a thing. Shouldn’t they be tied up?”

Sang Luo was a junior and couldn’t easily speak up, and Shi Er didn’t have much kinship with Shen San.

As soon as they mentioned tying them up, Shen San was dumbfounded, and the men from the village were also stunned, some of them unable to react for a while.

If this had been someone from outside the village or a stranger, it goes without saying, they would have been tied up. But this was Shen San, even though it was outrageous for an uncle to sneak into his nephew’s house, subconsciously, the villagers attributed it to a family matter.

Aunt Li was already furious. “What’s wrong with coming into our own nephew’s house? We haven’t even gone in yet. What law have we broken?”

Her righteous and fierce appearance amused Sang Luo.

“The family has long been separated. Your family is your family, and my family is my family. If you want to say you came to your nephew’s house, why didn’t you enter during the day? Why sneak in quietly at midnight?”

“If you ask which law was violated, the Great Cadre Law stipulates that in terms of trespassing on property, there is theft, robbery, and breach of supervision. Theft refers to secretly stealing someone else’s property.” Sang Luo paused and turned to Zhou Cunzheng. “I ask Zhou Cunzheng, were their actions tonight considered secretive and stealthy?”

Zhou Cunzheng could serve as the village magistrate, so he naturally had to be familiar with the laws. He looked at Sang Luo in surprise. A young girl of fifteen or sixteen could casually recite the relevant laws…

He nodded, “Yes, they were.”

Shen San was already too busy trying to explain, “We didn’t steal anything. We hadn’t even climbed over the wall yet!”

Zhou Cunzheng didn’t need Sang Luo to speak up again this time. He said calmly, “That’s still an attempted theft.”

He then turned to the villagers who had followed, “Take them down the mountain and tie them up. We’ll deal with this officially tomorrow.”

As a village magistrate, he didn’t have such authority.

Shen San and Aunt Li were dumbfounded, and then exploded, “Sang, you’re heartless! You heartless and cruel thing, you don’t even recognize your elders!”

Seeing that Sang Luo’s expression remained unchanged, Aunt Li continued to wail, “Shen An! Shen Ning! Where are you? Are you just going to watch as your sister-in-law gets us tied up?! Where’s your conscience?!”

The villagers who had come to help looked at each other, unsure if they should say a few words in favor of Shen San. For a moment, no one moved.

Chen Youtian and the others didn’t have so many scruples and had already climbed over the wall. Did they still have to do good deeds once they got in?

Naturally, they stood on Sang Luo’s side. Seeing that the villagers weren’t moving, Chen Youtian, Shi Erlang, Lu Dalang, and Lu Sanlang stepped forward to restrain the couple.

Sang Luo bowed to Zhou Cunzheng and the villagers and said, “Thank you, Village Chief, and all the neighbors who came to help in the middle of the night. It’s not that I, Sang Luo, am unwilling to forgive, but as a weak woman living in these mountains

 with two young children, if sneaking into my house in the middle of the night comes without consequences, who knows how many people will be emboldened in the future, and we won’t be able to live our lives. Thank you, everyone, for coming.”

After speaking, she bowed again.

The villagers, who had thought Sang Luo was a little too harsh just now, now felt ashamed of their thoughts. They quickly waved their hands. Those who could speak said, “Neighbors should help each other. It’s only right. The village really can’t have such a situation. Sister Alie, don’t be polite. It’s cold in the mountains at night, let’s go back. We’ll take them down, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow if there’s any problem.”

After Zhou Cunzheng and the villagers expressed their opinions, he said, “Go inside and rest. The two children must have been scared too. Comfort them well. Tomorrow morning, I will send someone to invite the village magistrate and the village head over. We’ll give you an explanation for this matter.”

Sang Luo thanked them and walked a few steps with the crowd. She kept watching as Shen San and Aunt Li, grumbling and complaining, were escorted away by the men from the village. When they were far enough away, she smiled and turned back to look at the three big geese outside the courtyard.

Although the three geese still didn’t recognize Sang Luo as their owner, after experiencing a fierce battle, they were full of vigor, with their necks stretched out proudly and their heads held high.

Sang Luo laughed and praised, “Well done! I’ll give you an extra meal tomorrow!”

The three geese responded with honks and nods.

Sang Luo saw that both the geese and the bamboo fence were fine, so she turned and went back into the courtyard, locking the door securely.

Shen An and Shen Ning had already gotten up, but Sang Luo hadn’t let the two children out earlier. Now that it had quieted down outside, they were waiting for Sang Luo in the courtyard.

The three of them went back into the house together. Shen Ning’s face showed no sign of being affected by Aunt Li’s scolding earlier. Instead, she was excited. “Are the geese really that powerful?”

They made her feel proud!

Sang Luo smiled. “Yes, from now on, you’ll feed these three a little better. When they’re fully grown and recognize us, we’ll let them out to guard the courtyard. We’ll rely on them to guard the house in the future.”

Now all the doors were locked, and because the kitchen was renovated, there was nothing sensitive to see from this side of the window. The children could play in the front courtyard without any worries.

Shen Ning nodded excitedly. “Okay, I’ll take good care of them!”

…

Down the mountain, Shen San and Aunt Li were indeed tied up and stuffed into a dilapidated house in the village.

Hmm, Shili Village didn’t have a prominent family, so there was no ancestral hall. Meetings were held in the open field. Therefore, they didn’t have a place to confine the couple except for a rundown house with no exit.

The men who had come to help went back home, and it was natural for each family to discuss the matter among themselves.

Zhou Cunzheng returned home, and his wife and two daughters-in-law came out, asking about the situation.

The two daughters-in-law naturally listened to what Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang had to say. Zhou Cunzheng went back to his room and said to his wife, “Shen San and Aunt Li probably targeted Sang’s tofu-making recipe.”

He explained what happened on the mountain in detail and said, “Luckily, Sang is clever. I don’t know if she had already sensed something, but she quietly raised a few large ganders outside the courtyard. Shen San and Aunt Li suffered a big loss today. Their clothes were soaked in blood.”

Zhou Cunzheng’s wife sneered. “They deserved it!”

Wealth can indeed be enticing, but this couple was really something else.

She asked again, “What now? We can’t just let this pass, can we? A bite from a goose is nothing. If we just let this slide lightly, Sang won’t be able to live in peace in the mountains in the future.”

Zhou Cunzheng smiled. “Don’t worry. Chen, Shi, and Lu’s families have all come forward to help. We won’t suffer any loss. Besides, Sang is clever. She can recite the relevant laws word for word, and she’s flexible enough to lower her stance when necessary. Initially, we thought she was tough and harsh, but now we also think she’s not easy.”

“Shen San and Aunt Li are now tied up. Tomorrow, we’ll have the village magistrate and the village head come over. We need to shake up these people in the village.”

There have been some restless minds recently. Although most families still had enough to eat and drink, it wouldn’t be the same after the New Year. If this matter wasn’t handled properly, and worse situations arose later, the village wouldn’t be peaceful.

However, Shen San’s case wasn’t easy to judge. It was an attempted theft, and they hadn’t even managed to climb over the wall. There was a lot of room for maneuvering in such a matter.

It all depended on the attitudes of the village magistrate and the village head, as well as Sang’s attitude and abilities.

…

Early the next morning, before it was time for breakfast in each household, the village suddenly heard the sound of gongs.

When the villagers heard the familiar three gong strikes from the market side, their scalps tightened subconsciously. This had become an instinctive reaction because, over the past two years, whenever the bronze gongs on that side rang, there had never been anything good happening.

But thinking about the incident Shen San caused yesterday, they relaxed again. It should be about Shen San and Aunt Li sneaking into their nephew’s house to steal. Zhou Cunzheng said yesterday that he would invite the village magistrate and the village head over today.

Sang Luo on the mountain also heard some movement and thought the same. She locked the doors and took Shen An and Shen Ning down the mountain.

At the Shen family’s house, Shen Jin and Shen Yin were sleeping soundly. They hadn’t heard any noise from the mountain last night, so they didn’t know that their parents had caused trouble and been tied up.

The brothers didn’t see their parents early in the morning, assuming they had gone to work in the fields or were doing something else.

When they heard the gong from the market, they took the still-unsteady Sweetie and went to see what was happening.

Along the way, someone pointed and laughed. Shen Jin found it strange, and someone said, “Little Jin, don’t you know what your parents did? They sneaked into your eldest sister-in-law’s house last night to steal and got tied up. They’re locked in a deserted house north of the village now. Didn’t you and your brothers go check on them?”

Shen Jin and Shen Yin: ???

What are you talking about???

They changed direction to head north towards the village. The person laughed again, “No need to rush. Didn’t you hear the gong? They might be brought to the market soon.”

Shen Jin didn’t listen to so much nonsense. He handed Sweetie over to Shen Tie and ran with Shen Yin towards the north of the village.

Everyone went to the market side with excitement, men and women, young and old, all prepared to see the fun. Naturally, there was also buzzing gossip.

Some people thought Sang Luo’s firmness was understandable after hearing her words yesterday, while others thought she was too tough and cold-blooded. Regardless,

 none of them thought the gong had anything to do with them personally; they just took it as a lively event.

Only the Zhou family looked serious because they knew very well that Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang had just gone to invite people yesterday. How could the village magistrate and the village head have arrived so quickly?

So, this gong has nothing to do with the Shen family at all.

Zhou Dalang looked at his father. “Father, they aren’t going to impose more taxes, are they?”

The Zhou family had been going to the county town recently and had heard some rumors about increasing taxes everywhere.

Zhou Cunzheng shook his head. “It shouldn’t be about taxes. If they impose more taxes, we’ll all be eating grass by next spring.”

Zhou Erlang added anxiously, “Now that the busy farming season has just passed, they won’t be conscripting us, will they?”

But they had already served three times this year, totaling more than eighty days of service. Could they be subjected to a fourth round?