The next day, before daybreak, the two daughters-in-law had already prepared breakfast.
The three of them ate the leftover meat in the dark.
"Father-in-law, are you really going to cause trouble for the Li family?" Yang Zhaodi was a little worried.
Zhang Xiaoe said, "Forget it. Widow Qin recently found a lover who is a horse hunter at the head of the village. The three brothers are all unreasonable."
"Don't be afraid, you two, just follow me." Zhao Zheng went into the house and took out a portion of corn from the backpack.
Damn, it's four or five times more expensive than rice.
Now it can be confirmed. The price of this system is compared with modern prices. Rice is cheap, but these unpolluted grains are ridiculously expensive.
The two women did not dare to ask more questions and could only follow behind Zhao Zheng.
Walking in the village, Zhao Zheng limped.
Rural people get up early and are curious when they see Zhao Zheng.
"Old Zhao, didn't you go to Jinji Mountain? Did you encounter any wild animals?"
"Old Zhao, is there plenty of firewood on Jinji Mountain?"
Hearing this, Zhao Zheng said, "Yesterday, while cutting wood on Jinji Mountain, I got my foot caught in a trap set by a little beast. I gave him a good beating, and then it took advantage of me being away and sent people to my house to cause a scene. It's truly unjust! Today I'm going to see if this world is truly unjust!"
He kept talking as he walked.
It's just like that in the village: three people make a group, and five people make a tiger. The dead can be made into living.
Especially in this difficult world, those with dignity would have starved to death long ago, and those who survived are shameless.
He walked to the village entrance and arrived at the village elder's home. "Uncle Youde, it's me, Zhao Zheng, Zhao Laosan!"
Xu Youde was the only educated person in the village. In his early years, he had been a servant to a landlord, and through his connections with the landlord, he became the village elder.
In this small mountain village, his words were more effective than those of the county magistrate.
A middle-aged woman opened the door, and upon seeing Zhao Zheng, she too looked irritated. "Zhao Laosan, what are you doing here looking for my father so early in the morning?"
"Sister-in-law Xu, I'm here to ask Uncle Youde for justice," he said, handing over two pounds of corn she had prepared in advance.
Sister-in-law Xu's eyes lit up at the corn, and a smile suddenly broke over her face. "Look, you're here just now, what's the gift?"
She calmly took the corn, weighed it, and her smile widened as she called into the house, "Dad, the Zhao brothers are here!"
Xu Dashan, looking at the corn in his wife's hands, also smiled. Life back home in the village wasn't easy. If it weren't for his father's old relationship with the landlord, his family would have starved.
Even so, they only managed to eat until they were sixty-five percent full each day.
With this corn, they could eat for two more days.
"Come in for some water."
Zhao Zheng didn't go in, but stood at the doorway and repeated his request. "Sister-in-law Li is going too far. She's bullying the widows and families of soldiers. While I was away, she stole all our valuables.
This is robbery and banditry, and according to Dakang law, this is punishable by imprisonment."
"And my left foot was injured by a trap set by a Li family kid. It won't heal for ten days or half a month."
"Uncle Youde, please help me!"
Zhao Zheng forced back a few tears and gestured to his two daughters-in-law. The two women burst into tears as well.
Many villagers gathered to watch the scene. Seeing a lame old man and two women in mourning, they all accused her:
"Sister-in-law Li is going too far. It was clearly his grandson who set the trap and injured Old Zhao, and yet she went and stole someone else' things. Isn't she a living bandit?"
"Well, she was even more ruthless when she was young, even stealing someone's husband. Now, she did so many evil things in her youth, and now her son is paying the price! He deserves it!"
"Her family is a widow and orphan, but isn't Old Zhao's family one? He just lost two sons, leaving behind an old man and two widows..."
At this moment, Xu Youde emerged slowly, his silver hair and elegant blue coat. He said, "Alright, stop yelling! I heard everything!"
With that, the villagers fell silent.
"Zhao Laosan, I know everything you want."
He then said to his son, "Go get the other two uncles, the second and third uncles. This Li woman is outrageous. What she's doing is no different from a bandit."
"Yes, Dad,"
Xu Dashan nodded. The two pounds of corn were worth the trip.
These two uncles were two other village elders. One of their sons serves as a soldier in the village, and the other runs errands for the landlord.
These three old men usually come to the rescue for weddings and funerals in the village.
Zhao Zheng had come to them because he didn't want to be seen as bullying an orphan and a widow.
He'd either not treat the disease or, if he did, he'd treat the entire Li family all at once.
"Big Brother Xu, I'll go with you."
"Your foot..."
"It's not broken, you can still walk!" Zhao Zheng forced a smile, limping along under the gazes of the crowd.
Zhao Zheng also gave the second and third uncles a pound of corn each, making the two old men very happy.
The three elders, accompanied by a group of onlookers, arrived at the Li family's gate in a grand procession.
Li Erdan was in his yard, sharpening bamboo sticks, preparing for another trip to Jinji Mountain.
Seeing a group of people outside, he was startled and ran inside. "Grandma, Mom, there are so many people outside!"
Li's mother-in-law was making porridge with the white rice she'd stolen from the Zhao family yesterday.
This thick porridge made her happy to eat; feeding her grandson would surely help him grow taller.
But after hearing what the villagers said, she also frowned, "Who's here?"
"That old Zhao family bastard brought a lot of people with him!" Li Erdan said.
When the Li family's mother-in-law heard this, she immediately flew into a rage, "Well, that old Zhao who stole my grandson escaped yesterday, and now he dares to come to my door today. He bullied my grandson and stole my prey. I will scratch his face to pieces!"
As she said this, she picked up a rolling pin and rushed out angrily.
But when she saw the huge crowd outside, including three village elders, she was stunned.
"Uncle Xu, Uncle Wang, Uncle Wu, why are you here?"
She was immediately at a loss, hiding her rolling pin behind her back. "Come in, come in and sit down!"
"No need to sit down, Li's wife, you've been married to our small mountain village for twenty or thirty years. Why are you getting worse as you get older?"
Xu Youde criticized, "Your grandson put a trap and clamped Zhao Zheng's foot. Not only did he not apologize, he even came to make trouble and robbed his things. Do you still have respect for us village elders and village rules?"
Li's mother-in-law was panicked. "Uncle Xu, it was this old Zhao who stole our family's prey and beat my grandson, so I..."
"You still want to quibble, but I tell you, Zhao Zheng's family are all soldier widows, and they are well-known in the village. At the very least, you are bullying your neighbors; at the worst, it's bullying soldier widows, and you will go to jail!"