Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Everyone in the yard realized then that, yes, they were so busy scolding Lin Daniu that they almost forgot that Lin Daniu's father and mother were still alive.

Although Lin Erniu is gone, his wife is still alive, and at worst the child still has his grandparents. It is not the turn of Lin Daniu, the uncle, to sell the child. Everyone came to their senses and realized that the girl was cursing them in a roundabout way.

The old couple of the Lin family, who had been perfectly hidden under the eaves, had no choice but to bite the bullet and stand out in front of everyone's gaze. They have always been partial to the eldest wife and don't like the taciturn second son, let alone be kind to his children.

The second son died, the second daughter-in-law was sick, and they turned a blind eye to the fact that several children from the second wife were starving and skinny.

This time the eldest son planned to sell the second son's child. Although they did not participate, they were happy to see it happen. After all, one less person in the family means one less mouth to feed, and the family can also earn a few taels of silver. Although they did not give it to them, they believed that their eldest son, whom they loved so much, would never treat them badly.

They had originally planned to do nothing, but Lin Xi's words pulled them out, so they had to stand up and stammer, "We don't know what happened to their younger generation, but Erniu is gone, and their second house has lost its pillar, so it's good to find a way out for the child..."

But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by Aunt Xiu who lived next door to them, "You guys from Shugen'er's family, you are also grandparents. It's okay that you favored the eldest wife in the past, but now that Erniu is gone, you only have these children left, and you actually want to sell them. You shouldn't be so partial. You two are old enough, aren't you afraid that your ancestors will scold you in the afterlife!"

"What you said is true. We are sad that Erniu is gone, but we still have to live. Now the second son's wife is also ill. What if she dies one day? Do the three children rely on us old bones? It is better to let the children's uncle arrange a way out for them early, so that we, as grandparents, will not let our ancestors down." Lin Shugen's wife Chen's face changed, she pulled her sleeves to cover her face and pretended to cry.

They were arguing and bickering, but the matchmaker had no patience to waste time with the family. She put her hands on her waist and yelled, "Stop arguing. No matter who wants to sell the child, I don't care. Now you have two choices. Either give me 100 taels of silver, or let me take the child away. Make a decision quickly, or I will report you to the government and make you lose both your money and your life."

The noisy group of people fell silent, looking at Zheng who was still hugging the child tightly. Zheng's face was full of despair, and tears flowed out like a broken canal. The head of the village sighed. Their family was the best in the village and they had saved some money over the years, but taking out a hundred taels at once was definitely a huge expense for their family.

There are still several children in the family who are not married, and the house they live in now is a bit small. He also wants to send his grandson to school... Money is needed everywhere, but he is the head of the village, and he watched Erniu grow up. He was a good child, but unfortunately he died early. Now these children are the only ones left. He can't just watch the children being sold, so he gritted his teeth and prepared to stand up.

However, Lin Xi beside him spoke before him: "Since you say so, let's go to the government office."

"What nonsense are you talking about, girl? Can you just enter the government office casually?"

"That's right. Everyone knows that the gate of the government office faces south. If you have no money, don't come in. If you enter the government office, you will be skinned alive if you don't die."

Everyone was shocked by Lin Xi's words, and they looked at her as if they were looking at an ignorant three-year-old child. The matchmaker seemed to be amused by Lin Xi's behavior. She looked at Lin Xi carefully and laughed, "Little girl, who are you to their family? Why are you meddling in other people's business here? Do you know what the government office is? A delicate little girl like you should not meddle in the affairs of adults."

Lin Xi waved the fan in her hand slowly and let her look at her, still smiling: "Of course I know, the government office is the place to distinguish between right and wrong. Of course, the buying and selling of people and household registration management are naturally under the jurisdiction of the government office."

After she finished speaking, she turned around and asked the village head innocently, "Grandpa, if I remember correctly, the Daqing law stipulates that for all slave transactions, the owner must take the slave's indenture to the government to register it, and only then will the slave's status be officially effective, right?"

The village head didn't expect his granddaughter to suddenly ask this question. After thinking about it, he said with certainty, "That's right."

After getting a definite answer, Lin Xi turned around and looked at Zheng who was hugging the child, "Second Aunt Lin, you said that you signed the indenture yesterday and put your fingerprints on it, right?"

Although Zheng hadn't figured out what Lin Xi was trying to do, her intuition told her that the girl in front of her was helping her, so she nodded without hesitation, "Yes, Lin Daniu lied to me that it was an IOU and asked me to put my fingerprints on it."

"Well, since the contract was just signed yesterday, I guess this, um... lady, probably hasn't had time to report to the authorities yet."

The matchmaker had already understood Lin Xi's intention when she asked the head of the village. Her face immediately turned ugly. When she heard Lin Xi calling her "Auntie", she became even more angry. She was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, how could she be called "Auntie" by a teenage girl? Her expression immediately turned cold.

"So what if it's not registered? Her deed is still with me. It's written in black and white with her mother's handprint. You can't just say it's invalid."

"It seems that you still don't see the situation clearly. You are standing on the land of Linjia Village, and the people around you are the elders and fellow villagers of Linjia Village. The people of Linjia Village have always hated evil and united against foreign enemies.

If someone bullies our villagers, my grandfather will just shout and all my kind-hearted uncles and aunts will rush over. Not to mention a personal indenture that has not been reported to the government, even you and your two thugs may not be able to leave in one piece." Lin Xi was still waving her fan calmly, but the words she uttered made the matchmaker across from her tremble all over.

The crowd was lifted up by Lin Xi's words, and they couldn't help but straighten their chests, staring at the matchmaker with their eyes. The matchmaker was shocked and angry, her well-maintained face was full of resentment, she shouted fiercely: "What, do you want to bully others? Do you dare to kill me? I don't believe there is no law in this world."

"We are all law-abiding country folk in our village. It is impossible for us to commit murder and robbery. But if we break one of your arms, cut off your tongue, and throw you into the wilderness, who would know it was us who did it? Besides, you have already violated the law by colluding with Lin Daniu to trick Aunt Lin into selling her daughter." Lin Xi looked straight at the matchmaker with a sharp gaze.

"Article 8 of Volume 3 of the Daqing Code: Anyone who regards the noble as inferior shall be punished with 20 strokes of the cane and a fine of 50 gold coins."

"Article 10 of Volume 1 of the Daqing Code: If the father dies and the mother raises the child, or the mother dies and the grandparents succeed the child, and both are no longer alive, the relatives shall be considered as appropriate."

"Article 12 of Volume 4 of the Daqing Code states that anyone who uses means such as seduction, abduction, or deception to buy or sell women or children shall be flogged 50 times and exiled 3,000 miles if he is the principal offender; and accomplices shall be flogged 30 times and exiled 1,000 miles if they are the accomplices."

A clear voice suddenly sounded, echoing in the courtyard, shocking everyone's heart, and they all looked at the thin boy who walked in against the light. The boy's posture was like a pine tree, and his steps were firm. He walked slowly and walked over. It was Du Xingzhi, who was dressed in a green student's uniform. He bowed to everyone in the courtyard, and then looked at the old woman and Lin Daniu.

"May I ask you two, is this what you call the king's law?"