Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 88 Village Life (Part )

That day, Zhang Fugui felt very unlucky.

First, at night, two officers from the county government office secretly watched Zhang Cui'er urinating and she refused to admit it. Then, early in the morning, they turned around and asked Zhang Fugui if he was harboring a fugitive.

"what?"

Zhang Fugui didn't even know who the fugitive was. He just looked at the documents and wondered what serious crime the girl could have committed.

He believed that the two officers were trying to scare him because they had seen Zhang Cuihua urinating, so he talked about all sorts of irrelevant things, which only increased their suspicion.

"Then come on, take us to your farmhouse."

After the officers said this, Zhang Fugui began to suspect that someone might have hidden the fugitive in his farmhouse, so he took them to his fields by the stream.

There was indeed a small house next to the field, which was originally intended for tenants to live in, but it was temporarily vacant.

When they opened the door and entered, there was nothing unusual. However, when the officers searched the house, they found a few colorful feathers on the ground near the window.

"is it?"

"A bit like."

They picked up the arrest warrant and took a look at it. They immediately frowned and asked Zhang Fugui, "What's going on?!"

Zhang Fugui was immediately frightened.

Although he didn't know the details, he could feel that the county government attached great importance to this manhunt, and the fugitive listed in the arrest warrant must have been very cruel or had committed a serious crime.

"Ask you! What's going on?!"

After the officer shouted this, Zhang Fugui's mind went blank.

If he were given a little more time, he would probably be able to react and give an answer.

But at this time, someone said: "Sir, you don't know that this farmhouse does not belong to Muramasa, but to Zhang Dashi."

Zhang Fugui felt as if he had been pardoned. He turned around and saw a half-blind man standing outside the door holding a banner that read "Points out the way". His one eye was shining with wisdom.

"Which Zhang Dashi?" the officers asked.

"Hunter, I just saw him heading towards the woods over there."

"Let's go and ask."

The two officers immediately walked over, and Zhang Fugui was about to follow when he was pulled back by the half-blind man.

"Muramasa wait a minute."

"You fool, what you said about this matter..."

"I know I know."

The half-blind man pinched his fingers and murmured, "Muramasa, you have been possessed by a ghost. There will be a bloody disaster."

"What disaster?"

The half-blind man whispered: "This is a big deal. If we don't handle it well, I'm afraid the whole family will be in trouble..."

He made a throat-cutting gesture, which frightened Zhang Fugui so much that his face turned pale. He quickly pulled him aside and asked, "What should we do?"

The half-blind man did not answer, but walked out leaning on the banner, muttering, "I have to go get my fortune told."

"Slow down."

Zhang Fugui quickly stuffed money into his hands and asked him to help.

The half-blind man then said, "Although I just said that this piece of land and farmhouse belonged to Zhang Dashi, he will definitely say that you have always occupied it. As far as I know, although the land deed is still in Zhang Yuanshan's name, the deed is still in your house, right?"

"Yes."

"Giving the land deeds to the siblings while they are still unaware of the seriousness of the situation is like putting the blame on them."

"Is this okay?"

"If you don't want to lose money, how can you avoid disaster?" The half-blind man said, "Zhang Yuanshan owed money in the past. In the past few years, the harvest from this farm belonged to everyone, but the money was paid off last year and the IOU was cancelled. This year, the farm has been returned to Zhang Dashi. What happened has nothing to do with Muramasa."

"Did you also cancel the IOU?"

Zhang Fugui was still hesitating, and the half-blind man walked away, sneering, "It's too late. The Zhang brothers and sisters may not accept this hot item."

"Don't leave. I didn't say no. You still have to handle this matter..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the half-blind man took charge of the matter.

Zhang Fugui took out the land deed and the IOU, but he was still uneasy and was in a state of panic the whole day.

By the evening, he finally could not sit still anymore and went to the half-blind man's house to ask.

The half-blind man was sitting in the house drinking and eating meat. He waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Muramasa. Everything has been resolved. The two officials have already returned to the county."

"Is this solved?"

"good."

"That big stone..."

"Don't pay any attention to him, Muramasa. Go back and have a good sleep."

The half-blind man saw Zhang Fugui off, took a sip of wine, and laughed slyly.

The whole thing is very simple for him.

When Ah Chou saw that the county government was searching for the criminal, he told the officers that "the criminal is in the village chief's farmhouse" and took the opportunity to get the farmhouse and the fields back.

As for the colorful feathers placed in the farmhouse, they were plucked from the golden pheasants that Zhang Dashi had hunted before.

As soon as the officers found Zhang Dashi, he admitted that the farmhouse was his and showed them the remaining chicken feathers.

“I killed a chicken there before!”

So the officers thought that someone had seen the golden pheasant feathers and mistakenly thought that the farmhouse belonged to Zhang Fugui, so they wrote the letter of complaint. If they reported this matter, the county magistrate would only scold them for being incompetent, so there was nothing to say...

--------

This time, Gu Jingnian cheated Zhang Fugui.

He was not worried that this would alarm someone and cause them to come to Lanshui Village to investigate.

Whether it was the Cage or the Kaiping Division, at this level, anyone who came could see at a glance that the matter had nothing to do with the Zhang brothers and sisters, and at most they would only be able to find him.

He was not afraid, and even wanted to know what happened that night, and where Yingyao and Fengniang went. Of course, in all probability, a few chicken feathers would not alarm those big shots, and they were just meant to scare the ignorant villagers.

In any case, the land deed and the promissory note were retrieved.

Zhang Xiaofang was very happy and talked about finding a wife for her eldest brother all night.

Zhang Dashi didn't want to farm. He just wanted to sell the land or hire a tenant so that he could continue to be a hunter. As for getting married, it's not that he didn't want to, but he was annoyed that his sister was too controlling, so he asked a question in return.

"You will have to get married sooner or later. What kind of person do you want to marry?"

Before Zhang Xiaofang could answer, Zhang Xiaodao said, "I heard from the matchmaker at the entrance of the village that my second sister has high standards and a low family background, so no one likes her and she can only be a concubine for a wealthy family."

"fart!"

Zhang Xiaofang was very angry and pulled Zhang Xiaodao's ear to give him a scolding.

Gu Jingnian watched them playing and fighting, smiled in his heart, and went to lie down in the woodshed.

After a while, the two brothers went to sleep. Zhang Xiaofang pushed the door open, squatted beside Gu Jingnian, and asked, "A Chou, you are not asleep yet."

Gu Jingnian opened his eyes.

"What did you say to the half-blind man this morning? How did you get the land deed and the loan note back?"

Gu Jingnian responded twice in a hoarse voice.

Zhang Xiaofang patted him and said angrily, "Just speak nicely. If you are willing to speak nicely, I will understand."

Gu Jingnian then uttered a few more sounds.

Zhang Xiaofang leaned over to listen for a while and said, "You said, take advantage of the situation and scare, right?"

"Correct."

The sound was quite vague, but it could be faintly heard.

Zhang Xiaofang couldn't help but smile and asked, "Is your throat burned? I hope it will get better slowly... Don't move, let me take a look, you seem to have a scab here."

She had to pull Gu Jingnian to the window and look at his face in the moonlight. She saw that the originally burnt skin had hardened and was indeed a scab. She couldn't help but become curious.

"If this scab falls off, you won't be as ugly as you are now, right?"

--------

At dawn, Zhang Dashi woke up and was surprised to find that Zhang Xiaofang had not woken up today. He could not help but say, "That's strange."

"Second sister and Ah Chou chatted until very late last night." Zhang Xiaodao rubbed his face and muttered, "I got up to pee at night and heard her talking about her worries. She said that she looked down on everyone in the whole village and the whole town."

Zhang Dashi said: "Even those she likes don't like her. She is dark and earthy."

"Hehe." Zhang Xiaodao said, "When you have all said goodbye, you can say goodbye to me too."

After a while, he thought of something and said, "Brother, you said Ah Chou is literate and smart, so maybe he is the son of a wealthy family."

"may be."

"Then my second sister saved him. Maybe he can bring my second sister back home to live a good life like in the opera. I can also benefit from it."

Zhang Dashi patted his head and said, "It's useless to think about it. Your second sister likes handsome men, and Ah Chou is so ugly that she won't want him no matter how big the family business is."

Because the family's furs were exchanged for grain, Zhang Dashi's trip to the town to attend the market was postponed, so Gu Jingnian stayed for five more days. Fortunately, he helped to get back the land deed and the IOU, and Zhang Xiaofang was willing to support him for a few more days.

As expected, no one came to the county government to cause trouble again. However, Zhang Fugui later figured out the whole story and brought people to the door to bully people, but was driven back by Zhang Dashi with force.

The days passed peacefully with some small disturbances, and suddenly it was time to say goodbye.

"I'm going to market tomorrow. If you want to leave, I'll take you to town."

Zhang Dashi scratched his head and said, "If your injury hasn't healed, it would be good to stay a little longer."

Gu Jingnian said hoarsely, "Let's go."

He can now barely utter a few words, and at least the communication with Zhang Xiaofang is going smoothly.

"Brother." Zhang Xiaofang ran in excitedly and said happily, "I asked a matchmaker to find you a marriage!"

"I have nothing, how can I get married?"

Zhang Xiaofang's eyes sparkled, and she looked very happy. She couldn't wait to say, "They are a good family, a father and daughter who escaped from the border. They are honest and virtuous. I heard that the eldest brother has land, so he doesn't want too much betrothal gift. As long as you are a good person and can support them, that's fine. I have high standards for choosing a sister-in-law. This is the first time I have met a suitable one in such a long time. We have already agreed to get married before the twelfth lunar month. In the spring, they will farm and you will hunt and manage your life."

After saying so much, she immediately turned to Gu Jingnian and said, "A Chou, why don't you drink the wedding wine later before leaving? Wait until your injury is better. Otherwise, you won't be able to speak clearly, so how can you set off?"

If Gu Jingnian wanted to leave, he could just go to the old market town near Jusai City to find Feng Niang.

But Feng Niang thought that he was dead and had probably left long ago. Besides, that was the border, and it would be difficult for him to get across in his current condition. Even if he got there, he would not be able to leave Rui and enter Yong.

He had to go, but there was no rush, so he nodded in agreement.

"it is good."

Zhang Xiaofang became happy when she heard it.

Before, she was the one who was least willing to take Gu Jingnian in, but at this moment, she couldn't hide the joy in her eyes.

Seven days passed in a blink of an eye, and it was almost the twelfth lunar month. The courtyard had been redecorated.

The Zhang brothers had no money, but they were attentive and skillful. They decorated the bridal chamber beautifully, made a bed, and used the woodshed as a room for Zhang Xiaodao and Gu Jingnian, allowing Zhang Dashi and the bride to live in the main house.

Gu Jingnian woke up early in the morning and found that a scab on his face had fallen off. He found a basin of water, looked into the water, and vaguely saw that his face was no longer charred.

But it was covered with raised, uneven scars from burns.

"Ah Chou."

Zhang Xiaofang came over and saw him turn around. She was stunned for a moment and said, "Not so ugly now, but still ugly. Let's go and pick up the bride."

Gu Jingnian didn't care about all this and followed Zhang Xiaofang to help organize Zhang Dashi's wedding.

There were very few guests, only the half-blind man and a few elderly people in the village who still remembered Zhang Yuanshan's kindness. They sat in the yard early to eat snacks and chat.

Zhang Dashi's new father-in-law was a lame old man. Gu Jingnian could see at a glance that there were tattoos on his face that had been washed off long ago. Judging from the shape, he could vaguely recognize that they were tattooed by the Yong Kingdom on a prisoner. He must be a deserter.

The old man was chatting with the half-blind man, but he told Gu Jingnian a piece of news that shocked him.

"In this village, I can only talk to you. If you ask me why I fled here, I had to. This time it was like the sky had fallen. Who could have thought that General Gu led the Xiaoyi Army to rebel and defect to the Yong Kingdom? We lost more than 20 cities on the border. I just hope the war will not spread here. I can't escape anymore..."

(End of this chapter)