In the book, I was fed by my sister

Before leaving, Chuanzi winked at the other three people, and the three boys took the signal and nodded.

After finishing their morning work, the three boys still followed Song Li around. If they didn't leave, Li Rongrong and the others would follow Song Li around too.

When Li Zi came to find Song Li, he saw this strange scene.

"Song Li, have you heard?" Li Zi came up to Song Li and whispered.

When she went out in the morning, her mother told her not to play with Da Mai recently. She agreed verbally, but she was anxious in her heart and ran to Da Mai's house as soon as she left the house.

Damai's yard is usually deserted, but today there are many people sitting there. She slipped into the yard and heard the adults talking about how Damai had hurt someone.

She was at a loss and ran to find Song Li in a hurry.

Song Li nodded.

At this time, Li Rongrong came over and asked, "What are you mumbling about?"

When Li Zi spoke to Li Rongrong, he was like a mouse meeting a cat, and he stumbled over his words: "It's just... Da Mai was arrested."

"Oh, Song Li, do you want to know about Barley? You can ask me!"

"what do you know?"

Song Li's tone was calm, but Li Rongrong was very happy. She felt that it must be the first time she met Song Li, and she left a bad impression on her. Now Song Li finally talked to her, and Song Li even "asked" her something.

She was a little proud, and she pressed the corners of her mouth and said, "Of course I know that my father will participate in this interrogation."

"trial?"

"Yes, don't you know? Oh, I forgot, you are younger than me. When I was your age, I didn't know anything either." Li Rongrong looked like a little adult.

"Then...how will they punish Barley?" asked Li Zi.

"How would I know? My dad is just one of them. In the end, everyone discussed and came to an agreement. If the majority agreed, it would be implemented. I guess I would be taken away and spanked."

For one, it looks like quite a few people will be participating.

Song Li asked: "Who else will participate?"

"Village Chief, my father, there are still..., there should be still..."

"My dad wants to go too." said the little girl who had been playing with Li Rongrong.

"Then there is Dongmei's father. Dongmei, do you know the others?"

Li Dongmei said: "I heard that the young doctor's grandfather will also go, and I don't know about the others."

"Has something similar happened in the village before? How did they punish them?"

The children present all shook their heads, indicating that they didn't know.

Song Li couldn't help but sigh.

Li Rongrong also noticed Song Li's lost expression. She expressed her understanding and comforted her: "Although you are few in number, Dashazi is also your right-hand man. I understand your feeling of loss."

Song Li looked at the children present.

She had an idea.

Perhaps, Barley could be saved.

*

At about 1:00 p.m., the hall was filled with people. In addition to those from Lihua Village, people from neighboring villages also came to join in the fun.

The people present were whispering to each other, and the buzz of conversation almost drowned out the chirping of cicadas in the trees outside.

She gently shook off her elder sister's hand, and imitated the other children, squatting down and peeking at everything in the hall through the gaps between the adults' legs.

"That's my father, and the one on my father's right is Dongmei's father." Li Rongrong squatted on the ground and whispered to Song Li, while pointing at the people sitting in the room.

Song Li looked up and saw that the jury consisted of twelve people, headed by Li Wanshu, with six people sitting on each side, all of them men.

At this time, Da Mai was tied up tightly, with a piece of cloth stuffed in his mouth. I don’t know if he was tired of struggling, but he lay quietly on the ground.

Li Wanshu stood up and raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet: "Everyone, please be quiet. I believe everyone knows why we are here today. The twelve judges this time include the respected and young people in the village, and Master Zhu."

As soon as he finished speaking, some people in the crowd started to talk: "Mr. Zhuang from Mr. Jia's family is here."

One fifth of the land in Lihua Village belonged to Jia Yuanwai. Besides Lihua Village, Jia Yuanwai also had land in two nearby villages. Zhu Fuzi was a teacher invited by Jia Yuanwai, and the school was built between Lihua Village and Baixi Village.

The school was also built with funds from the three villages, of course the bulk of the money came from Jia Yuan who went out.

But there is only one teacher, and there are so many children in the three villages, so not every child can go to school. When Master Zhu accepts students, in addition to charging a slightly higher tuition, he also values ​​the character of the child.

The adults present all told their children to be quiet and respectful. If they behaved rudely in such an occasion, Master Zhu would probably dislike them. Even if they had the money to send their children to school, Master Zhu might not accept them.

Li Wanshu continued, "We will handle the affairs of the village first. Thank you for troubling everyone today."

This is an unwritten agreement in Lihua Village, or even in several nearby villages. When a dispute occurs in the village, a spontaneous jury will sort it out, vote, and finally form a document. If the matter is small, the two families with grievances will make compensation according to the final document. If the matter is serious, the document will be reported to the government and the government will make a decision based on it.

Of course, there were also people who were dissatisfied with the trial, so they went to the government office and beat drums to appeal for justice.

But everyone knows that the person in charge of Feng County now is a confused official. In order to save trouble, this confused official still has to look at the documents produced by the village.

Li Wanshu sat back in the main seat and began to state: "This incident happened suddenly, but almost everyone in this village already knew the whole story last night. I will only make a brief statement here. This village girl, Li Baomai, used a sharp weapon to cut this village boy, Li Manpeng. Now Li Manpeng is bedridden and unable to get out of bed. Li Manpeng's specific situation will be explained by his wife, Wu Yinhong."

Wu Yinhong said, her voice choking with sobs: "She was sent to a clinic in the city early in the morning. The cuts were festering. Doctors at several clinics said she would not be able to have sex from now on. She was up all night last night. She suddenly woke up, groaned twice, and then fainted again. I don't know if she can make it through this month."

"So what do you want?"

Wu Yinhong continued, "Medical expenses, this will cost a lot of money in the future. The doctor at the clinic said that they have to use a red-hot knife to perform the cleansing. Now the wound is rotten because it was contaminated by something unclean, so the flesh needs to be cut again."

All the men present gasped when they heard this.

Wu Yinhong continued, "This wound needs to be intubated. I'm afraid it will close up and I won't be able to pee anymore. So Man Peng is still lying in the hospital. It costs a lot of money to lie there for a day."

Li Wanshu asked, "What do you think?"

Everyone present began to whisper to each other, but no one spoke.

Li Wanshu saw this and had to say, "Then let me explain first. According to the usual practice, if someone hits someone with his hands or feet but does not cause any injury, he will be flogged 20 times, and if he does, he will be flogged 30 times. If someone hits someone with a blade or an object but does not cause any injury, he will be flogged 30 times, and if he does, he will be flogged 40 times. And he will have to bear the medical expenses of the injured. If the injured person is not treated in time and dies, the case will be handed over to the government for judgment."

Song Li listened carefully and sighed: Not good.

The nature of this judgment has been determined from the very beginning, and now we are just discussing how to punish and the severity of the punishment.