Chapter 181

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Song Qingshu's line about an old arm lamp directly made Liu Zhanggui choke on his smoke, and he coughed violently twice, then curled his lip and said: "That niece of yours, Song Qiuping, is no easy lamp either."

Then he said rather cautiously: "Unlike your Qiu Shui, who is honest and straightforward, handsome in appearance, well-mannered, articulate, and cheerful, not a troublemaker."

Song Qingshu exclaimed, looking at Liu Zhanggui in shock, feeling something was off. He thought: Has the Village Chief gone mad today? Why is he spouting nonsense?

My daughter Qiu Shui, handsome in appearance? Well-mannered?

Absolute nonsense!

My Qiu Shui is a celestial maiden...

Does she understand what a celestial maiden is? How can one describe her with the language of common mortals?

This is insulting her...

"Village Chief, look at what you're saying. My Qiu Shui is just ordinary. At most she's beautiful as a flower, beautiful as a celestial maiden, bright as ice and snow, charming and moving, sinking fish and falling geese, hiding the moon and shaming flowers..."

Liu Zhanggui looked at Song Qingshu's shameless expression and cut in: "I praise you a couple of lines and you're getting carried away?! Don't praise your daughter to the heavens, making her a Seventh Fairy, only to have the Queen Mother catch her back."

Song Qingshu laughed heartily: "If you're so capable, praise your own son!"

Liu Zhanggui was clearly speechless, thinking: What's there to praise about my son?

Praise that a tiger father has no dog son?

Hmph!

But Liu Zhanggui also felt Song Qingshu was shameless, yet he had no choice.

After all, Song Qingshu doting on his daughter was a topic that could easily trigger a world war, not to be trifled with.

Liu Zhanggui and Song Qingshu chatted on and off, watching the sky turn fish-belly white.

Liu Zhanggui rubbed his arm, feeling a bit cold. He glanced at the time again; it was past four twenty in the early morning...

So he asked: "I guess we can't catch anyone. We should go home when we should go home. How does that saying go? Each returns to his own home, each finds his own mother."

"We'd better go to Chai Zhongxiao's house to take a look, otherwise they'll start picking a fight again. Then Old Diao Pozi will say: Oh, our glass was smashed, and the village doesn't care at all, what kind of village cadre is this... That wouldn't be good." Song Qingshu said, weighing the situation.

Liu Zhanggui said disdainfully: "Let her say whatever she wants. The village isn't run by her family. Her family's troubles never end, I'm too lazy to go. They don't live properly, just a few of them and they're still scheming against each other. What are they after? If I'm a village cadre, I should just die... Look at their recent troubles. First, Chai Mi's mother was bullied terribly, then Chai Mi and her old couple got into it, then your good niece caused a scene, then the day before yesterday you people went to their house to make trouble... Song Qingshu, you still have the nerve to talk about me? You're a village cadre, why did you go to their house to make trouble?!"

"No, I went there as my niece's maternal family's identity." Song Qingshu said thick-skinned: "One thing is one thing. I didn't lift a hand back then..."

"You can forget it..." Liu Zhanggui spat: "Your Old Song family sent dozens of people, scaring Wang Huirong into peeing her pants... And you needed to lift a hand? With so many juniors of the Old Song family, it wasn't your turn to lift a hand! I have to tell you, this can't happen again. Now we emphasize a rule-of-law society. We're both village cadres; we can't disgrace the country..."

"You say that, so I..." Song Qingshu wanted to retort, but felt retorting was wrong.

Cursing Liu Zhanggui in his heart for putting a hat on him, he said: "Then Village Chief, since you say that, when ordinary families have difficulties, their glass is smashed by someone, as Village Chief, you should comfort the injured masses..."

Liu Zhanggui: "That makes sense..."

So the two of them strolled to Chai Zhongxiao's house.

The house could now be said to be in complete disarray.

In the East Room, Wang Huirong was wailing and crying...

In the West Room, Chai Youde's second son Chai Erwei was also bawling...

In the courtyard, seven or eight people stood in twos and threes. They looked anxious on the surface, but actually took no action.

Seeing Liu Zhanggui and Song Qingshu arrive, they even came over leisurely to say hello, with no thought of continuing to catch the thief.

Right in the center of the courtyard, Chai Youqing held a teapot, pouring cool water for everyone.

When someone asked, Chai Youqing said hot water was being boiled.

But who was at the stove?

Seeing Liu Zhanggui and Song Qingshu arrive, Chai Youqing hurriedly offered cigarettes: "Smoke, smoke. Trouble for you in the middle of the night, you've suffered!"

Liu Zhanggui took the cigarette and smoked: "Outside, outside. If it's not appropriate... this is what I should do, serving the common people..."

Saying this, Liu Zhanggui also poked at Song Qingshu.

Song Qingshu hurriedly said: "I don't smoke, I don't smoke."

Liu Zhanggui rolled his eyes at him: "I didn't say to let you smoke."

Song Qingshu exclaimed, then understood, and hurriedly said to Chai Youqing: "Your family's matter, I represent the village in expressing deep regret and sympathy. The glass is broken, and that person hasn't been caught... This matter has caused a scene... Are your father and mother alright?"

"People are fine."

"People being fine is good, people being fine is good." Song Qingshu didn't know what to say: "Then since people are fine, I and the Village Chief will leave first... It's early morning, and there's a lot to do at home."

Chai Youqing hurriedly grabbed Liu Zhanggui and Song Qingshu, not letting them leave: "How can you leave?! You have to eat before you go. You've been busy half the night; eat before leaving."

Song Qingshu sighed, pointing at Wang Huirong in the room: "You'd better persuade the Old Man to go. Eating isn't necessary."

"My mom is fine. Eat before leaving."

Liu Zhanggui and Song Qingshu disagreed, but Chai Youqing insisted on keeping them.

Helpless, Liu Zhanggui and Song Qingshu stayed.

Seeing the two stay, Chai Youqing stopped paying attention to them.

This left Liu Zhanggui and Song Qingshu completely bewildered...

Watching Chai Youqing leave, Liu Zhanggui was full of question marks: "No... I didn't hear wrong just now. Youqing said to let us stay at his house for a meal..."

Song Qingshu: "That's what he said... He also said if we don't stay, we're not giving him face..."

"The problem is..." Liu Zhanggui gasped: "There's no food being cooked?! If your eyes are good, you can tell. Wang Huirong, that Old Diao Pozi, has no intention of cooking at all... Tell me, if we stay, isn't it awkward?"

"Since you put it that way, you're the Village Chief. If you stay, I have to stay too." Song Qingshu complained.

"You're fine. You were the one who agreed first."

"I'm just saying, Youqing sincerely wanted us to stay..."

Liu Zhanggui sighed: "Youqing is sincere about keeping them, but does he cook? Look, he's gone to keep someone else... I reckon the ten or so people in the courtyard were all hard-pressed by him to stay for a meal."

Song Qingshu wore an indifferent expression: "We'll wait and see, whatever happens. Can't say you're keeping everyone for a meal then make them cook for themselves in a bit."

Time passed second by second.

Before long, the sky grew brighter and brighter, morning dew accompanied by unknown bird calls and insect chirps, chirping away, lively without end.

And with a string of cursing and grumbling drifting in from outside, Chai Zhongxiao finally returned home.

Upon arriving home, Chai Zhongxiao froze instantly: a courtyard full of people...

Chai Zhongxiao first spotted Village Chief Liu Zhanggui in the crowd...

Must say, Chai Zhongxiao's look of wanting to advance made him pinpoint it immediately. But turning his head, Chai Zhongxiao was even more dumbfounded: why did the Village Chief come too...

Chai Zhongxiao quickened his pace, stepped forward and said: "Oh my, what wind blew you here?"

Liu Zhanggui frowned: Your family's weird family customs...

Liu Zhanggui was in no good mood right now, he'd been waiting from past four o'clock... until six thirty-eight.

Just now it was still six thirty-seven...

A full three hours of staying up.

Liu Zhanggui had just complained about Song Qingshu, his family conditions were good, naturally not lacking this meal.

Actually even if conditions weren't great, which family lacks this one meal? Without this meal, never saw anyone in the village starve to death.

The problem is, it's past six... past mealtime.

Around here the countryside generally rises early, this was mentioned earlier, the vast majority of families are already up in the fields working by past six.

The sky's bright as can be, the sun's already out, yet no one's cooking this meal!!!

So Liu Zhanggui gave Chai Zhongxiao not a shred of a good face, he yawned, pulled out a cigarette.

Seeing this, Chai Zhongxiao hurriedly struck a match to light it... unexpectedly Liu Zhanggui directly avoided it, struck his own match and lit it himself.

Leaving Chai Zhongxiao's hand awkwardly frozen in midair.

Then Liu Zhanggui took a deep drag.

"Uncle Qi, you're just getting back?" Liu Zhanggui's seemingly casual words were all questioning in truth.

Last time at Da Lao Song's place, Chai Mi and Liu Zhanggui and Song Qiushui, they were cracking melon seeds, eating watermelon, smoking freely, hot tea lasted half the night.

Today at the Chai family...

Heh!

Forget watermelon and melon seeds, not even a cup of hot water.

Put this on anyone, who wouldn't be angry?

Before Liu Zhanggui could speak, villagers who came to help started asking Chai Zhongxiao.

"Old Chai, what time is it? Your family said morning you'd arrange a meal for everyone, this isn't cooking, do you provide the meal or not? We've all got proper business to tend to, who's got nothing better to do than wait here..."

"Your wife Wang Huirong summoned everyone out in the middle of the night to help your family catch a thief, everyone busied half the night, forget a meal, not even a sip of hot water, who runs things like this? Everyone helping is sentiment, this isn't anyone's obligation..."

"Arrange a meal or not, doesn't matter. You don't arrange, we'll go home and eat, no time to serve you. In this scorching heat, terribly uncomfortable, nowhere to stand, nowhere to sit, who's suffering here..."

The big fellows discussed heatedly, all blaming Chai Zhongxiao's family for handling this matter ungenerously.

According to village custom, for this kind of hard-summoned help, no matter what, a meal must be provided.

Good or bad food doesn't matter.

Even if it's just a big Chinese cabbage, that works too, nobody minds. No one picks at the food.

It's not treating guests with gifts, no need for ten or eight hard dishes.

But not providing a meal, that's a different story.

Where's there hired help without a meal? Even close sisters, there's no such saying. A meal must be provided. Even without Chai Youqing keeping everyone then, everyone conventionally believes: busied half the night, a meal MUST be provided!!!

Chai Zhongxiao, questioned by the crowd, face alternating green and red, hurriedly said: "Everyone's worked hard, worked hard."

Liu Zhanggui frowned displeased, seeing Chai Zhongxiao still not a shred of intention to arrange a meal for everyone, so directly asked: "Uncle Qi, you're not planning to arrange a meal for everyone? It's what hour already, if you're not arranging, say so early, don't make everyone miss mealtime."

Chai Zhongxiao hemmed and hawed, he also hadn't expected this many people to come.

A hundred or so people, he can't afford to feed them either...

If he feeds them all, even pickled vegetable lumps with rice, it'd cost three to five hundred.

He inwardly blamed Wang Huirong's loose mouth for finding this many people, now great, the "thief" wasn't caught, yet it'll cost money.

That's truly a mute eating coptis, suffering bitterness with no way to tell.

But he still wanted some face, so he evaded: "Your Aunt Qi's health is poor, this meal can't be cooked today. Another day, another day okay... another day I'll arrange a meal for everyone, when the time comes I..."

"Forget it." Liu Zhanggui directly cut off Chai Zhongxiao's words.

When is "another day"?

This isn't two people drinking, can push to another day, this matter pushed to another day has no meaning.

"If it's inconvenient then forget it."

Liu Zhanggui then said to everyone: "All go home. Don't wait for a meal..."

Chai Zhongxiao still saying: "Another day I'll arrange, another day I'll arrange..."

The crowd grew dissatisfied.

So they left complaining: "What kind of thing is this, should've said early, it's past six, still have to go home tend livestock, too much delay..."

Chai Zhongxiao with awkward face kept apologizing, saying it's inconvenient.

But no one responded to him.

Chai Youqing also left with them, caught up to Liu Zhanggui and said: "Sorry Village Chief, look at this mess... my mom won't cook, I've got no say either."

Liu Zhanggui shook his head, said nothing.

Song Qingshu smiled and said, "Nothing much. We're all fellow villagers; helping catch a thief is only right. There's no need to insist on providing a meal or anything — don't stand on ceremony."

But then his tone shifted: "Still, it's not right to pin everything on one person. Even elementary textbooks tell the story of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf.' Your parents have something going on every few days — this thing today, that thing tomorrow. After everyone bustles through the night, they don't even get a sip of hot water. Who'll come next time?"

"This kind of thing won't hurt anyone else. Just don't let it reach the point where even a rabbit-grown person won't give you the time of day."

Chai Youqing's expression was awkward, but he didn't say anything more.

Liu Zhanggui pursed his lips and said to Song Qingshu, "You, all day long, just spouting nonsense..."

But he was also quite dissatisfied with Chai Zhongxiao's handling of it, so he said: "This matter can't be talked about that way. There's no specific written rule for this sort of thing, but by rights, since everyone busied themselves half the night, people like me and Song Qingshu — we're village cadres, so it's our duty. Your Old Chai Family clansmen — it's their duty too. As for everyone else, he shouldn't have done that."

"Even pouring a bowl of tea would've been a gesture. In the dead of night, who wants to get up? Pitch dark — luckily no one tripped or bumped into anything. If someone had gotten hurt, it would've been even worse. The way this was handled... it really shouldn't have been done like this."