Chapter 105:
“Men die for wealth, birds die for food, Dad, this is hard to say!”
“These people were wearing masks and came at night, so no one knows what they look like… That woman you met might have been disguised too!”
She slightly narrowed her eyes…
“No need to say it! Maybe it was even a man in disguise!” Zhou Shi immediately jumped up and said.
“It’s over, what if they haven’t left at all and are ambushing nearby!”
“Ah, no way?” Old Li Tou was scared and dazed.
For this matter, Li Sanmao quickly went to find Li Zhengxin.
Li Zhengsen agreed too!
Li Sanmao didn’t say anything about his father, just said that Li Ergou getting beaten was something that needed to be reported to the government officials, after all, there were so many people in the village.
Not to mention whether it would attract more scams, but outsiders coming in and beating people was extremely dangerous!
Everyone was terrified, unable to do anything!
Therefore, Li Zhengxin thought that the next day they should go to the government officials to file a case, register it, so that the government officials could catch the bad guys and also serve as a warning to them…
What Li Zhengsen said when he got home is unknown, but Zhao Xiaomei’s delighted “goose goose goose” laughter almost couldn’t be stopped!
After laughing, she also started to get scared, cursed Old Li Tou thoroughly to vent her anger, scaring Li Zhengsen into not daring to say much…
The next day, before dawn, Li Zhengxin took an ox cart with Li Sanmao to the town.
Zhou Shi and Old Li Tou were scared, so naturally they didn’t dare to go to the town.
They hadn’t slept soundly all night, and even put a chamber pot in the room ahead of time for nighttime use, deeply afraid that someone would find their home and sneak in at night to beat him!
But they also didn’t dare stay at home, and before dawn when the rooster crowed the first time, they got up, made some dry rations, and took them to the deep mountain to pick acorn beans!
They said it was picking acorn beans, but actually it was just hiding, deeply afraid of being found!
Hiding in the deep mountain would still take some effort to find!
Li Zhenzhu still had more than ten days until her marriage, and as a protected animal, she was also called to go!
Xiao Zhou Shi didn’t dare stay in the room either, and before dawn, she took the kids and followed Li Daqiang to work in the field!
Luo Zhi’er still went with Miaomiao to pick termite mushrooms; she got up naturally and didn’t go out in a rush like them before dawn!
As usual, after eating something, at the road junction she ran into Li Daniu and his mother!
Li Daniu was carrying a bamboo basket up the mountain, with his mother following behind, preparing to go up the mountain.
Li Daniu’s Mother was carrying a basket, hunched over and leaning on a stick.
Seeing Luo Zhi’er, Li Daniu’s Mother even confirmed with her whether they were acquiring acorn beans at home.
Luo Zhi’er saw that they were preparing to go up the mountain to pick them!
“Yes, Li Daniu’s Mother, but our home will have no one during the day today. If you want to sell, someone should be home before dark in the afternoon!”
“Oh, got it!”
But the look she gave Luo Zhi’er carried a bit of contempt…
“Let’s go, Da Niu!”
“Okay, Mom!”
Luo Zhi’er glanced at Li Daniu; he had an honest and simple look, grinned naively, revealing a mouth of big yellow teeth!
With this appearance—small nose, big mouth with thick lips, small round eyes, hunchbacked, one pant leg rolled up high and the other stepped on to the ankle, a cloth belt tied around his waist that had fallen halfway down—he particularly resembled a big gorilla…
He must have taken after Li Daniu’s Mother; his mother was actually a shrunken version, and speaking of it, she had a somewhat monkey-like face.
Village folks said his family ancestors did something immoral, that’s why they looked like this.
Actually, it was from close-kin marriage!
Their family also had a Second Brother and Third Child; Second Brother was called Er Niu, also with this strange appearance, even sillier than this Li Daniu, running around the village all day!
Third Child was a daughter, lying on the ground at home all day foolishly wailing, crawling around drooling, those who didn’t know thought it was some strange screaming, scary; those who knew understood…
It was what the modern era calls cerebral palsy! Li Daniu’s Mother still wanted to use this silly daughter Third Child to exchange for a wife for Li Daniu, but unfortunately after she spread the word, no one came to inquire!
Li Daniu had no wife; besides the family being poor and burdened heavily, others were probably afraid that marrying their daughter in would affect the offspring, which was also a reason!
Speaking of it, last time he saved Luo Zhi’er, he was her lifesaver!
She hadn’t gone to thank him!
Because she was a married woman, and Li Daniu had no wife, she should avoid suspicion!
Zhou Shi would curse her from time to time for being immoral and disgracing the Old Li Family!
Seeing Li Daniu’s honest and simple appearance, with worrying intelligence, now over thirty and still no wife!
After Li Daniu and his mother went up the slope, his mother still said: “Last time you damaged her reputation like that, Mom said if the Old Li Family divorced her, you should quickly go propose marriage to take her back, who knew that Li Sanmao didn’t mind!”
“Mom, hehe! What are you saying!”
Li Daniu awkwardly scratched the back of his head…
He had acted on instinct to save the person at the time, but the way Mom put it made it seem like he did it on purpose…
No wonder the village folks said that about him!
What Li Daniu’s Mother was thinking was that this Luo Zhi’er had a thick waist and legs, looked fat, and had a big butt, definitely good for bearing children.
When the time came to propose marriage, it wouldn’t require much betrothal gifts; she regretted it endlessly! This was just losing a fat wife for nothing!
Li Zhengxin got on the ox cart and discovered that, just as Li Sanmao said, this matter had scared everyone from going out.
Along the way, on the ox cart besides a few old men and old ladies staring wide-eyed at each other, there were only him and Li Sanmao, not many people.
Everyone was on edge, holding walking sticks in hand for self-defense…
Zhao Maogen driving the ox cart was also uneasy all the way.
Afraid of encountering mountain bandits robbing on the road; his wife had even told him not to go to the town recently, to wait until this period passed…
Life had to go on, so Li Zhengxin thought filing a case at the town government officials was not wrong!
When Li Zhengxin arrived at the prefectural yamen, he discovered that the ones deceived were really not just Li Ergou.
In this past month, there had already been five or six such cases, and this was only those who came to report; some who let bygones be bygones and paid silver, or those beaten but kept silent, who knows how many more…
Li Sanmao went to the market selling wild game; he arrived early today, found an open space, and put the deer meat on the ground.
Just as it was piled on the ground, someone came over to inquire about buying.
Therefore, unexpectedly, the wild game was all sold out before noon!
After eating something, thinking of the deer antler blood left at home, he first went to the tavern and spent ten coppers to get two jin of corn wine; of course, this was also from his previous private savings!
He put on the lid, threw it into the bamboo basket, and walked toward Xi Shui Street…
