The general kneels on the washboard again

On the surface, Zhou Ruoyan's personality is similar to Zhao Xiaoming's.

But since I moved into Yue Niang's house, I often see her sitting alone, crying with sorrow.

Yue Niang also paid more attention.

Finally, New Year's Eve arrived, and Yue Niang started to get busy early in the morning.

It didn't snow today.

Yue Niang caught the fish, but for the chicken, she had to ask her uncle for help.

I pulled my uncle out of the chicken coop, but when I counted again, there were only two left of the three big roosters.

"Where's my chicken?"

Yue Niang began to look around. She was locked up in a cage, and because chickens had run through it, the lid had been closed.

I don’t know who deliberately made noises near Yue Niang’s house last night.

I thought it was just some fellow villager doing something, so I just ignored it. Could it be that he was trying to steal my chicken?

"Mom Ji, was there anything unusual when you slept last night?" Mom Ji was old and slept very little at night, so Yue Niang asked her.

"There was nothing wrong last night, but during the day, the Zhang family circled around here several times."

"Zhang Lan'er's mother?" Yue Niang was not very surprised. This was something she could do.

Mother Ji nodded.

Yue Niang was about to go out when Old Madam Fu hurriedly stopped her: "Yue Er, it's New Year's Day, and their family is full of strong men and women. You'll suffer if you go to their house like this."

Yue Niang knew that she was concerned about her, but she didn't want to let it go like that: "Grandma, I worked so hard to feed her. People like this must be taught a lesson."

The previous grudges had been settled, but now she was trying to provoke her again.

Ruoyan also followed Yue Niang's steps.

The two first went to the vicinity of Zhang's house, and sure enough, they found chicken feathers in the area behind his house. They were the white cowpeas that only Yue Niang raised.

He covered the chicken feathers with something and went to the village chief's house.

Soon a group of people gathered and rushed to Zhang's house.

Zhang Wang was leaning against the door picking his teeth when he first saw the group of people.

The Zhang family's yard was a small mud wall half a person's height made of mud. At this time, Zhang Jian, the son of Zhang Wang, also saw a group of people and hurried in to find Aunt Zhang.

"Mom, mom, the village chief is coming with a group of people."

Aunt Zhang didn't take it seriously: "Just come if you want to, what's the matter?"

Zhang Jian was a little scared: "Mom, and that little beggar from the Fu family came with us too."

"Have you burned the chicken feathers?" Aunt Zhang didn't like the smell of burning chicken feathers, so she didn't burn them on her own fire.

Although Zhang Jian is thirteen years old this year, he still likes to play. In the morning, his mother asked him to deal with chicken feathers.

Just then, a friend asked him to play, so he just casually fell down in the backyard.

I still felt a little guilty at this moment and didn't dare to tell Aunt Zhang: "It's burned, burned."

"Then what are you afraid of? You're a loser." He scolded Zhang Jian and went to the yard.

Zhang Wang was a bit of a coward and was dominated by his wife. When he saw the village chief and his group, he said, "Village chief, why are you here?"

The village chief got straight to the point: "The girl from the Fu family said you stole her chickens. Did you do it?"

There is a lot of work at home today, so I have to clean up quickly and go back.

Zhang Wang saw that his secret was exposed and he stammered, unable to utter a single word: "This, this, this."

At this time, Aunt Zhang also came over and said, "Village head, please stop accusing me for no reason. My daughter Lan'er is now married to a wealthy family. We are not like those little beggars."

The village chief looked at Yue Niang and said, "Girl from the Fu family, look at this. We don't have any evidence, so why don't we just forget it?"

Yue Niang sneered, "Isn't a little beggar better than a prostitute? My mother taught me from a young age to be polite, righteous, and have integrity. It seems Zhang Lan'er's mother didn't teach her that."

The village chief also smelled the strong smell of gunpowder and hurried to smooth things over: "Yang, did you do it or not?"

Yang was stubborn. "I didn't do it, Village Chief. Are you just listening to her one-sided story? She said it was lost, so it's lost. Do you have any evidence?"

She firmly believed that the pile of chicken feathers had turned into ashes.

Yue Niang was even more disdainful in her heart: "So you're the one who says everything? Last year, I was framed for stealing your chickens, and you said it was true. You're so unreasonable, aren't you?"

Yang sat down on the ground and began to curse and swear, "You little bitch, you falsely accuse me. If you can produce evidence that I stole your chicken, I will go to the ancestral hall to accept the punishment myself."

The Zhang family is already a big family in Nanshan Village.

When Yue Niang heard this, she was not polite: "How much is the fine?"

Yang was naturally proud: "Whatever you say is the price, but do you have any evidence?"

Yue Niang said slowly, "That depends on the color of the chickens you raise."

Yang said without hesitation: "It's grass yellow, and the whole village knows it."

"Yes, the whole village knows it. Then the whole village also knows that my family raises white cowpeas. How about this, if I have evidence, how about fifty lashes?"

Yang nodded and agreed: "Okay."

Yue Niang led everyone to the backyard wall of his house.

Yang stared at Zhang Jian, and Zhang Jian felt even more guilty, and followed the group of people.

When they got there, Yue Niang pulled aside the dry grass she had been covering herself with, and inside was a handful of white chicken feathers.

Yang was dumbfounded and swung the bamboo pole beside her to hit Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian jumped up and said, "Mom, I was wrong, I was wrong. Ergou was in a hurry to ask me to go play today, so I fell here."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone exclaimed.

In fact, Yue Niang was still worried that his family would not admit it, but now it seems that she was worrying too much.

There was no way Yang could outrun Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian knew he was in trouble and ran away.

The village chief and several people stopped Yang.

The village chief put his hands behind his back and said, "Yang, what else do you have to say now?"

"Hey, Uncle Fang, I was wrong."

The village chief yelled, "Don't be so frivolous. You said you'd go to the ancestral hall and receive fifty lashes."

Although there are only a few major surnames in Nanshan Village, each surname has an ancestral hall built by the villagers together, and all large-scale activities in the village are held there.

Yang was really scared now, kneeling on the muddy ground: "Village Chief, please don't, I was really wrong."

Then he crawled to Yue Niang's feet and said, "Yue Niang, I will compensate you with whatever silver you want."

Yue Niang sneered, but many villagers around her started to speak up for Yang: "That's right, girl from the Fu family, it's just a chicken anyway, why bother making a scene at the ancestral hall?"

"Don't be so unreasonable."

Going to the ancestral hall to receive punishment was a big deal for them.

Yue Niang groaned inwardly, but maintained a calm expression: "My dear uncles and aunts, it was Aunt Zhang who said we had to go to the ancestral hall to receive punishment. I didn't say anything."

At this time, the crowd also remembered that it was Yang who said it.

Yang made up her mind: "Okay, I'll go and accept the punishment."

Mrs. Yang is the most petty person, so we must be more careful with her in the future.

Yue Niang bowed to the village chief and said, "Thank you, village chief, and thank you uncles and aunts for making the decision for an orphan like me."