A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

When they arrived at the entrance of Huachidu Village, the old doctor told Gu Xixi not to continue seeing him off.

“The old blind man has lived here for many years and remembers all the roads and lanes around here. He won’t get lost.”

Gu Xixi couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she had no choice but to stop and watch him go.

The old doctor walked forward carrying the wooden box on his back, and waved his hand.

"Come visit my home when you have good news or bad news to share."

That evening, a village meeting was held, and the area under the big locust tree was brightly lit by torches.

Gu Xixi was busy for most of the day before she had time to take care of her experimental samples.

So she and Aunt Zhang arrived a little late and were unaware of what had happened.

Then I saw Gu Laosan and Liu Shi standing in the middle with their heads down.

The villagers stared at the two of them with serious expressions, and no one spoke for a moment.

Seeing this scene, Gu Xixi already had a guess in her mind.

Just as she was curiously looking around, the village chief walked up to her and said, "The whole village knows about the thief who broke into your house."

“In the afternoon, several people from neighboring villages came to claim their children, but I didn’t agree to let them release them.”

“You are the victim, so you tell me how to deal with them.”

Village elder Lao Qian was a tall and strong middle-aged man. He was not only good at farming, but he had also traveled the country as a merchant and made some friends.

So, despite his young age, he was elected village chief because of his knowledge and loyalty.

Gu Xixi said, "When I got home, Aunt Zhang and... my distant uncle had already tied them up."

“They deliberately took advantage of the chaos to loot. If we only give them such a small lesson, I'm afraid they won't learn their lesson and will become even more of a menace to the village when they grow up.”

The villagers nodded in agreement.

"These punks are always causing trouble out of boredom. If we don't teach them a lesson, they'll really be too arrogant!"

"How dare you come to our Huachidu Village to take advantage of our misfortune? Do you think we're all alone?!"

Old Qian asked Xixi, "So what do you mean?"

Gu Xixi said solemnly, "Those who break the law and violate discipline should naturally be handed over to the county government for punishment according to the law."

"If witnesses are needed in court, I will be available whenever summoned."

Old Qian gave Gu Xixi a deep look.

He hadn't paid much attention to this little girl before, only retaining a vague impression from what others said.

This moment greatly changed his opinion.

The older folks in the village were all timid and hesitant when it came to meeting officials, but she, a young girl, was neither impatient nor arrogant.

Old Qian nodded with a smile, "Okay, we'll do it your way."

"However, it might be inconvenient to keep so many men under your care."

"Later I will take a few young men and bring them all to the local temple to guard them all night."

"How about we hand it over to the county government in the name of the village tomorrow?"

Gu Xixi bowed and said, "The village chief's consideration is so thoughtful, I will naturally comply."

Old Qian turned to look at the third brother and his wife, his smile instantly vanishing.

His face was as dark as a storm cloud, and he shouted in a deep voice, "Gu Laosan! Liu Shi! You two started a fire by burning wheat straw, which destroyed eighteen acres of villagers' farmland and a quantity of grain and vegetables."

"Now that we have both witnesses and physical evidence, what excuses do you have left?!"

It turned out that Gu Tiezhu broke his leg right after Gu Laosan's family finished harvesting wheat.

Suddenly, the family lost a heavy laborer.

Old Gu found dealing with the remaining straw in the field tiring and slow, so he decided to just burn it all.

This morning he took a tinderbox to the field to start a fire.

It just so happened that a family who were also up early to fertilize the plants saw it.

In addition, Lao Qian led a group of people to conduct a door-to-door investigation in the afternoon, and the initial fire point was most likely Gu Laosan's own two acres of wheat fields.

Judging from the ashes piled up on the ground, this place was the one that burned the most thoroughly.

All the clues confirmed Gu Laosan's crimes.

That's why we called the couple over tonight, so that the whole village could witness the settlement of this score.

The villagers were outraged after hearing what the village chief and the witnesses said.

Especially the families who suffered losses due to the fire,

Grandpa Gu angrily pointed at Gu Laosan, "I told you that you didn't put out the fire properly this morning, and you even told me not to listen to Gu Xixi. It turns out it was all your fault!"

"You owe me my cabbage!"

Not only these losses, but the fields were scorched black, leaving thick layers of ash, and it seems that nothing else can be planted until next year.

Liu muttered indignantly, "Which of you hasn't had a shortage of wheat straw?"

"That stuff is neither edible nor drinkable, even livestock don't like to eat it, but it's burned every year, every household burns it."

"This bad luck is fate; if you want to find out, go ask God!"

The other aggrieved parties were equally dissatisfied and started arguing with Liu.

As Gu Xixi watched this scene, she thought about how the disposal of wheat straw had indeed been an agricultural problem in the past.

Only by turning straw into a valuable resource can we fundamentally solve the problem of the harmful consequences of disorderly burning.

Besides, is there any other way to resolve the current losses?

Gu Laosan and Liu Shi made it clear that "there's no compensation, but you can take my life or my body." The two sides argued until the moon had risen, but they still hadn't reached a conclusion.

The laws of this dynasty do not prohibit farmers from burning straw on their own land, and there is no definitive punishment for such situations that are initially intentional but later become accidental.

As the village chief, Lao Qian could only try his best to mediate.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lao Qian told everyone to disperse and that he would arrange for both parties to meet and discuss the matter another day.

On her way home, Gu Xixi kept thinking about what would be suitable to plant on the ashes.

Tea trees? It's too hot to plant them now, and we'll have to wait another year to see any results.

In the frigid winters of Northwest China, farmers typically plant short-term, quick-maturing crops like radishes and cabbages after planting a season of grain to store for the winter.

If we can't change the types of plants, could we start with the soil and make use of the ash?

The next morning, before Aunt Zhang had even started cooking, she went to knock on Gu Xixi's door.

"Xixi, the government has sent people to our village! They'll be at our house soon! Get up quickly!"

"Oh..." Gu Xixi sat up groggily.

She barely slept last night; her eyelids were dark and swollen. She had put on two layers of clothing as if in a sleepwalking state when she suddenly woke up.

She quickly put on her skirt and coat and ran outside.

"Auntie, you said the government officials came? Do you know why they came? Where are they?"

Aunt Zhang was stunned for a moment, then said, "I don't know why you came."

"The village chief just sent someone to inform us that the yamen officials are coming. The village chief has already gone to meet them. Oh, the village chief also said that it would be good to hand over the robbers who broke into our house to the yamen officials."

"The yamen runners might come to our house to inquire about things, so you should prepare in advance."

Aunt Zhang thought for a moment and added, "However, it seems that the people in the government don't know that our village caught fire yesterday. The village chief even said that it's best not to make too much of our village's internal affairs and cause trouble for the officials."

Gu Xixi stared blankly, barely hearing what Aunt Zhang said afterward.

The surrounding area is full of poor villages, with no money to be made.

The yamen runners would only go to the village on their own initiative when they received an official order.

If it weren't for the fire...

that……

Gu Xixi turned her head to look at the west room.

Oops!

Before she could do anything, there was a knock on the door, and Old Qian's voice came through:

"Eldest niece of the Gu family, the constables from the yamen have arrived! Come out and greet them quickly!"