The peasant woman quickly calculated that the entire village had been preparing for a mass exodus th

Chapter 58 Zhao Shenglin is kidnapped

He lowered his head and apologized to Zhao Taohua, Zhao Ershu, and Qian Shi: "Uncle Ershu, Aunt Qian, Sister Taohua, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again."

Cao was still very angry and scolded, "You brat, instead of learning good things, why did you steal?"

Seeing that everyone's attention was on Zhao Shengyong, Zhao Shenglin tried to sneak away, but the four monsters clearly didn't give him that chance.

The village chief spoke up: "Although the theft was unsuccessful, it is still a mistake. Since a mistake has been made, it should be punished. It should be sent to the village headman..."

Before the village chief could finish speaking, Zhao Shenglin was so frightened that he knelt down:

"Grandpa Village Chief, I'm innocent! I didn't know anything. I had no idea it was about stealing money. It was Sheng Yong who instigated me to come here."

He asked me to stay with him, to give him courage, but I really didn't know anything!

Zhao Shengyong was stunned upon hearing this, and angrily cursed:

"Zhao Shenglin, it was clearly you who instigated me!"

You told me that my grandmother is in poor health and might die if she doesn't get treatment soon due to her advanced age.

You said you could get money from Uncle Ershu's house, and you said Sister Taohua has made a lot of money recently, so stealing a little wouldn't hurt. That's why I came with you.

Cao was shocked to find that Zhao Shengyong's purpose in stealing the money was actually this, and a pang of sadness welled up in her heart.

She rushed up to Zhao Shenglin and yelled, "Zhao Shenglin, you're not only not learning good things yourself, but you're also trying to corrupt my son!"

Village chief, send him to the pavilion and let the pavilion chief teach him a lesson. He doesn't do anything proper all day long, but instead thinks about these crooked and evil things.

My son, Sheng Yong, is only thirteen years old, and you taught him to steal money? How could you do such a thing!

Although Zhao Shenglin was usually audacious and reckless, he dared not be disrespectful in front of the village chief and clan chief.

The village chief scolded Zhao Shenglin: "Shenglin, you're nineteen years old now, not a child anymore. How could you do such a thing and corrupt Shengyong!"

The village chief looked at Zhao Shenglin with disappointment in his eyes. He was poor, lazy, and instigated others to steal.

Since Zhao Shenglin had no father to discipline him since childhood, he was handed over to the village headman to be in charge.

The village chief said in a deep voice, "In that case, we shall send Sheng Linsong to Duting."

"Village chief, please have mercy!"

Zhao Shenglin's mother, Xu, arrived at some point. She pushed through the crowd and knelt down before the village chief, pleading with him.

After kowtowing to the village chief, she kowtowed to Zhao Ershu and Qian Shi: "Brother Ershu, Sister Hongyan, please give Shenglin a chance!"

He can't go to jail, otherwise he'll be branded as a criminal for the rest of his life, cough cough cough..."

Mrs. Xu was not in good health. Before she could finish speaking, she started coughing violently, as if she was about to cough up her lungs.

The village chief and Zhao Ershu and his wife looked at Xu Shi with pity in their eyes; they were all from the same village and related by blood.

They were worried that if Xu, a widow in poor health, were to go to jail, her only son would become disheartened, her condition would worsen, and she might even lose her life.

So Zhao Ershu said, "Since you've made a mistake, you must be punished. You don't have to go to Duting, but Shenglin and Shengyong will have to carry manure for my family for ten days."

what?

Zhao Shenglin and Zhao Shengyong's expressions changed drastically at the same time. The smell of excrement was overwhelming, and the two loads of manure were very heavy.

Let alone ten days, even in just one day, their shoulders would be chafed raw after carrying all that load.

However, they didn't get a chance to speak at this point, as both Madam Cao and Madam Xu agreed simultaneously.

"Tomorrow, I'll have Sheng Yong come and collect manure."

Xu suppressed a cough in her chest and agreed, "I will also urge Shenglin to come and collect manure."

The matter was resolved, and everyone left the Zhao family's house.

Before leaving, Zhao Shengyong glared at Zhao Shenglin, vowing never to fall for Zhao Shenglin's tricks again.

Zhao Shenglin glanced at the four spirits of the Zhao family and thought to himself: These four spirits are more agile than dogs. They came over and surrounded them in an instant.

Damn it, not only did I fail to steal any money today, but I'll have to come back to collect manure tomorrow!

The next day, the villagers began harvesting rice and then turning over the soil to plant medicinal herbs.

Under Zhao Ershu's supervision, Zhao Shenglin and Zhao Shengyong carried manure, diluted it with water, and then went to the medicinal herb field to apply it as fertilizer.

Everyone in Zhao Village was busy in the fields, and no one went out to work anymore. The enthusiasm of everyone for work was higher than ever before.

Everyone is hopeful; they plant seeds now, and they'll earn more than two taels of silver later.

One acre of land can earn you the money that an entire family can only earn in a year.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. When Zhao Shenglin and Zhao Shengyong put down their carrying poles and manure buckets and went home in the evening, they both felt a great sense of relief.

During these ten days, Zhao Shengyong did consider slacking off, but the trolls kept following him, so he had no chance and could only resign himself to finishing the job.

For the past ten days, he has been working hard, smelling the stench, and doing all the heavy work for the Zhao family for free. But the Zhao family doesn't even provide him with food; he can only smell their delicious meals.

In the evening, Madam Cao and Madam Xu came to the Zhao family to pick up their respective sons.

After thanking the Zhao family, Cao and Zhao Shengyong left together.

The Xu family was extremely grateful to the Zhao family, believing that as long as Sheng Lin didn't end up in jail, their fate wasn't completely ruined.

On the way back, Madam Xu instructed Zhao Shenglin:

"Shenglin, you must be obedient from now on, understand?"

Zhao Shenglin picked at his ear in annoyance. Instead of answering, he asked Xu Shi:

"Mother, shall I find you a wife to be your filial daughter-in-law?"

Xu was overjoyed, thinking that Zhao Shenglin had become more sensible after this experience.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Shenglin said, "Mother, how about I marry Zhao Taohua and make her your daughter-in-law?"

Xu looked at him in shock, then angrily scolded, "Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? Do you even deserve to be with Peach Blossom?"

Peach Blossom is so capable and good at making money; her family is so well-off. What do you have?

"How dare a toad try to eat swan meat!"

After being thoroughly scolded by Madam Xu, Zhao Shenglin dared not utter a sound. He lowered his head and walked behind Madam Xu, muttering to himself:

"So what if Zhao Taohua's family is well-off and she's good at making money?"

Once she becomes my wife, won't she obediently give me all her money to spend?

During the ten days he carried manure for the Zhao family, he truly understood how good the Zhao family's life was, and he craved the rice, fish, and meat they ate.

He wanted to drive the Zhao family's oxcart out to show off, and he wanted to wear decent new linen clothes.

Just as Zhao Shenglin was fantasizing about all this, suddenly, his body was pulled by something. He wanted to call out to Xu Shi, who was walking in front of him, but his mouth was covered.

He felt as if he were being frantically moved under someone's armpits, the cold autumn wind whipping at his face and seeping in through his collar, making him shiver.

Zhao Shenglin thought in horror: Could it be that he encountered other monsters in the village in broad daylight, and they are going to take him up the mountain to eat him?

They only stopped when they reached the top of the mountain, and then threw him directly to the ground.

Zhao Shenglin looked up and saw Shen Ming staring at him with an unfriendly expression: "What... what are you going to do?"