bookrebus Chapter 168 Holy Father, Prepare to Die (17)
Chapter 168 Holy Father, Prepare to Die (17)
After the officers and soldiers counted the amount of silver, they did not make things difficult for her and released Aunt Niu's husband.
They had originally resigned themselves to their fate, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and a new opportunity arose. Overjoyed by this unexpected stroke of luck, they were very excited.
They repeatedly assured Xia Mingwei that she wouldn't lose the money for nothing; they would consider it a loan. They promised to repay her once they had the money.
To convince Xia Mingwei that what they said was true, they insisted on giving her an IOU and affixing their fingerprints to it.
Xia Mingwei couldn't persuade them otherwise, and seeing their insistence, she went along with them.
After all, she could help them this time, but she wouldn't help them every time. From now on, they'll have to rely on themselves. If Xia Mingwei's kindness made them lazy and unwilling to work, then that would be her fault!
After dealing with Aunt Niu's matter next door, Xia Mingwei didn't rest either, and immediately followed the soldiers.
Because the next family on the roster was Li Shi's family. And Li Shi's name was prominently written on the roster.
Xia Mingwei certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity to watch a good show!
Sure enough, Xia Mingwei witnessed Li Shi's attitude become extremely respectful after meeting the soldiers.
Even though he can no longer speak, he still does everything he's asked, like pouring tea and water.
Knowing the soldiers' intentions, Li Shi immediately went to bury his hidden stash of money, intending to offer it to them.
But after searching several times, he discovered that the silver he had hidden had vanished!
At this point, he didn't care how much noise he would cause and frantically dug at the spot where he had hidden the silver, trying to dig it out.
He knew what would happen to him if he couldn't find the money today. He had witnessed the fate of those forced into labor before, and he didn't want to end up like them.
But no matter how hard he searched, the silver that should have been buried underground still did not appear.
Because he hadn't returned for a long time and there was a lot of noise coming from inside the house, it attracted the attention of the officers and soldiers.
They had visited Li Shi's house before, and each time they had readily paid the money. This was the first time they had done so!
Adhering to a cautious approach, they exchanged a glance and decided to go inside to take a look.
Li Shi was squatting on the ground, frantically digging at the dirt with both hands. His eyes were bloodshot, and his fingers were already bleeding from the force he was using. But he seemed insane, completely ignoring his wounds, and continued digging tirelessly.
Seeing this, the officers and soldiers understood immediately. It seemed they couldn't find any silver!
The men exchanged glances again and decided to tie Li Shi up first. After all, his crazy behavior didn't seem like an act!
It would be bad if he suddenly attacked and hurt himself or them!
Even though Li Shi had given them small gifts before, they weren't enough to override the orders from above. They could tell the difference between a small gift and a job.
So they made a quick decision and detained Li Shi.
But Li Shi refused to accept his fate. He had finally managed to get that female devil Xia Mingwei to let him go, but now he had to do forced labor. He was not willing to do it!
He struggled desperately, gesturing with his hands, trying to tell the officers that his silver had been stolen.
Unfortunately, Xia Mingwei had already ruined his voice, and he could only make "ah ah ah" sounds.
The sound was sharp and piercing; it was truly unpleasant to hear!
Just then, Xia Mingwei came out.
She glanced at Li Shi and asked the soldiers, "Sir, is there a problem?"
Xia Mingwei's act of helping Aunt Niu's family pay had left a good impression on the soldiers. After all, these days everyone is only concerned with protecting themselves; it's rare to see someone willing to spend their hard-earned money to help others!
Besides, Aunt Niu is an outsider, while Li Shi is her husband. The fact that she has money to help others proves she's definitely not short of money!
Considering that Xia Mingwei still had money, they released Li Shi.
"I remember you were quite generous just now, so you should still have some money left over! In that case, please bring the money quickly so we brothers can go back and report as soon as possible!"
Hearing the soldiers' words, Li Shi also abruptly raised his head. How could he forget? This woman had dug up ginseng! She had plenty of money!
If she were willing to pay, he wouldn't have to perform corvée labor! Thinking of this, he looked at Xia Mingwei with hopeful eyes.
Xia Mingwei certainly didn't miss Li Shi's burning gaze, but for him to think she would take out money from her pocket to save him was pure daydreaming!
She covered her mouth with her handkerchief, almost bursting into laughter. But to avoid revealing herself to outsiders, she composed herself and said, "Sir, you don't know this, but it's not that I don't want to take the money, it's just that I can't stop my husband from doing a good deed!"
Xia Mingwei's explanation successfully confused the officers and soldiers.
"What does taking the money have to do with doing good deeds for your husband?"
“Sir, you may not know this, but my husband has a disease that is incurable! Besides selling meat, his greatest hobby is doing good deeds! He has said before that he can’t stand seeing the weak.”
"To be honest, we've seen doctors privately. But they all said that this illness is incurable! They can only do as they please, and maybe there's still a glimmer of hope!"
“Sometimes when things don’t go his way, he gets angry at me and the kids. If you stop him, he’ll come back to haunt you later! So this time, I made the decision for him!”
"You're making the decision? What decision are you making?"
This really piqued the curiosity of the officers and soldiers, who couldn't help but ask Xia Mingwei about it.
“I took the money he was prepared to hand over! And it just so happens that Aunt Niu’s family was short of that money, so I took it upon myself to give it to Aunt Niu’s family!”
Upon hearing this, Li Shi was practically bursting with rage. He'd been wondering where his money had gone; apparently, that wretched woman had given it to someone else!
At that moment, he felt like killing Xia Mingwei!
That was money he had painstakingly saved up! How dare she do that? Didn't she know that without this money, he would have to perform corvée labor in place of the Niu family father and son?
No, maybe she knew! She's a demon; she did this on purpose to torment herself!