The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 61

Chapter 61: Harvesting the Rice

When Jiang Huaizhen returned, the morning mist had not yet dispersed.

Lin Shuang had just finished washing up when she saw her enter the house. “When did you get up?”

“I got up when the rooster crowed. By the time I got to their house, Uncle Hu and Aunt Qiao were also just getting up. After I told them, I went to Uncle Qing’s house and came back after I had explained everything.”

“When I came back and entered our village, a few families were already in the fields cutting the rice.”

Lin Shuang nodded. “It won’t be long before the other villages will also be busy. Even if it rains in a few days, the losses won’t be too great.”

But there were a few families who didn’t believe in this. No matter how anxious others were, they were unmoved.

Some even went so far as to curse whoever was leading the rice harvest, spreading rumors and inciting people.

The Lin family.

Lin Mancang urged them to go down to the fields to cut the rice, but was scolded by Ma Guihua. “You’re so impatient. Others saw those bitches from the West Mountain Valley cutting, and they’re only following suit to please them. Why are you following the trend? Or did they give you some benefit?”

Lin Mancang was already lazy and didn’t want to work. Seeing her say this, he simply took his wine gourd and went out to drink with Wasong.

Seeing him like this, Ma Guihua cursed behind his back, “You’re going to drink horse piss again. You’re drunk all day. Why don’t you drink yourself to death!”

The village chief’s family had a lot of land. After hearing Lin Shuang’s words, they were also a little uneasy and began to arrange for people to harvest the rice the next day.

After the rice was harvested, it had to be dried and threshed, which would take a few days.

Lin Shuang had already done this much and didn’t try to persuade them anymore. For the next two days, she obediently cut the rice at home.

Two mu of paddy field, two strong young people, and it was done in a day and a half.

They spread the cut rice on the drying yard to dry.

Taking advantage of this free time, the two of them went to harvest the beans in the dry land.

Unexpectedly, the next day at noon, a few people in official uniforms appeared at the village entrance, asking for the location of the Jiang family and heading for the West Mountain Valley.

Seeing this, the crowd was in an uproar.

“What’s going on? Why are the officials here?”

“Did Little Jiang commit a crime? Or did Shuang’er commit a crime?”

“She was just reminding us to harvest the rice. How could she have committed a crime?”

Ma Guihua, who was in the back of the crowd, said smugly, “She spread rumors of heavy rain and a big flood, and it was reported to the yamen. Who else would they arrest but her?”

Someone immediately questioned loudly, “How do you know? Was it you who reported her?”

Ma Guihua raised her chin. “What evidence do you have that I was the one who reported her? She was spreading rumors everywhere the day before yesterday. So many people heard it. What traveling Daoist? It was clearly her!”

“Some families’ rice hasn’t even ripened yet, and they listened to her nonsense and went to cut the rice. How much did they lose? Is she going to compensate them?”

Someone immediately retorted, “She was just giving a kind reminder. She didn’t hold a knife to anyone’s neck and force them to cut the rice.”

“That has nothing to do with me. Anyway, this is a matter for the yamen, not for me,” Ma Guihua said with a gloating expression. “It’s been three days, and the sky is bright, and the sun is shining. There’s not a single cloud. Where’s the rain? You’ve all been deceived and are still helping her count her money. Tsk, tsk, tsk—”

The villagers stood in the fields, holding their sickles and looking at each other, not knowing whether to cut the rice or not.

Lu Qing and Hu Guiying had both taken leave these two days to harvest the rice at home. The one sent by the yamen was another constable under Lu Qing, surnamed Zeng. That person did not know Lin Shuang and was not familiar with Jiang Huaizhen.

When he reached the Jiang family’s door, he shouted for them to be arrested.

Only Old Madam Jiang and Ping’er were at home, but the fields were all near the house. Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen had seen this group of people as soon as they entered the valley and had hurried home from the fields.

The constable surnamed Zeng had seen Jiang Huaizhen before and then swept his gaze over Lin Shuang, who was next to her. “Are you Lin Shuang?”

Lin Shuang nodded.

“Someone has reported you for spreading rumors and causing panic among the people by falsely claiming that there will be heavy rain and a big flood. You will come with us to the yamen now.”

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen quickly stood in front of Lin Shuang. “Is there some misunderstanding? It wasn’t her who spread it. It was a prophecy from a Daoist. She was just kindly reminding the villagers.”

“We have already sent people to investigate. We did not find any Daoist. We only know that you were the one who spread the rumors. Even if there was a source, you should not have believed and spread the rumors, causing such a big mess.”

“Take her away.”

Seeing that the two constables behind him were about to come forward and arrest Lin Shuang, Ping’er burst into tears, and Old Madam Jiang was so anxious she was spinning in circles.

Jiang Huaizhen quickly said, “There must be a misunderstanding in this matter. Can we have a word in private?”

“Little Jiang, we all work at the yamen. Don’t make things difficult for us.”

“I know. I want to ask, does Head Constable Lu know about this case?”

“I know you have a good relationship with Head Constable Lu, but Head Constable Lu is on leave these two days. Besides, this matter was arranged by Magistrate He. We are just following the rules.”

Jiang Huaizhen was about to say more, but was stopped by Lin Shuang. “Huaizhen, I’ll go with them. It’s alright.”

They had already come to her door. She had to go, whether she wanted to or not.

It was going to rain in the next two days. There would definitely be a turn of events.

How could Jiang Huaizhen be at ease with her being taken away? But she had no other choice for the time being. She could only say to them, “This matter has not been verified yet. She is not yet a criminal. I will take her to the yamen in a carriage for verification. That should be alright, right?”

The constable surnamed Zeng thought for a moment. “Alright.”

Only then did Jiang Huaizhen hurry to get the carriage. After comforting the old woman and Ping’er, the group of them set off for the county seat.

Seeing this, the villagers of Whitewater Village pointed and gossiped.

The few families who had not been chosen to do the mohele embroidery all jumped out, one sarcastic remark after another.

The village chief was also at a loss for a moment. His whole family had been out, and they had cut a total of seven or eight mu since the day before yesterday. If it didn’t rain, it would really be a joke.

He had no choice but to wave his hand. “Let’s stop for a while. We’ll dry what we’ve cut and see in two days.”

Seeing that the village chief’s family had stopped, the other villagers also stopped one after another.

Only the Zhang widow’s family at the end of the village, mother and son, were still busy in the fields.

Seeing this, someone couldn’t help but say, “I say, Widow Zhang, that one surnamed Lin has been taken away by the yamen for spreading rumors of a big flood. What are you still busy with? Let the rice grow for a few more days before you cut it.”

The widow Zhang shook her head. “I’m the only one in my family who can cut the rice. Caitou can’t do much. With four mu of land, it will take me five or six days to cut it all by myself. If it really rains, I won’t be able to handle it. It’s better to cut it early and be at ease.”

“What’s there to be uneasy about? It’s not going to rain. You can just cut it slowly.”

The widow Zhang ignored the person and continued to work with her head down, swinging her sickle.

The person left, having been snubbed.

Only then did Caitou ask, “Mother, could Aunt Shuang be wrong?”

The widow Zhang said, “She’s a smart person. Why would she make up this rumor for no reason? Even if she’s wrong, we’ll just be cutting it a few days early, and at most, we’ll lose a dozen or so catties. But if it really rains, then this whole patch of rice will be ruined.”

Caitou hummed in agreement, bent down, tied up the rice that his mother had cut, and piled it by the side of the field.

On the carriage, Jiang Huaizhen, while driving the horse, turned to comfort Lin Shuang in the carriage. “Don’t worry. After I drop you off, I’ll go and find Uncle Qing immediately. Nothing will happen.”

“I know,” Lin Shuang hugged her from behind and rested her head on her back. “Will you blame me for causing such a big trouble? If I hadn’t told others at that time, and our family had just secretly cut our own rice, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Jiang Huaizhen felt the warm breath on her back and replied, “I don’t know how you predicted that it would rain heavily and there would be a big flood in a few days, but I know that you wouldn’t be so reckless without a basis. And you didn’t gain anything from doing this. You just wanted to help the villagers reduce their losses. If I knew that a great disaster was coming and just watched the villagers suffer without reminding them, I would also not be at ease in the future.”

Hearing her say this, Lin Shuang felt that the woman before her, who was also a woman, was like a towering mountain at this moment, steady and solid, making her feel extremely at ease.

She let out a muffled laugh. “Then you’d better come and save me soon.”

Jiang Huaizhen agreed.

When they reached the yamen, the two of them got out of the carriage. Constable Zeng looked at Jiang Huaizhen and sighed. “If you want to find Head Constable Lu, you’d better go quickly. I don’t know what will happen later. If she’s wronged, you can’t blame me.”

Facing two equally beautiful women, Jiang Huaizhen was also his colleague, and the two of them were on good terms with Lu Qing. In the end, he was unwilling to be too harsh.

Jiang Huaizhen said gratefully, “Thank you.”

With that, she unhitched the carriage, left it outside the yamen, and galloped toward Lu Qing’s house on horseback.

The day before yesterday, she had specially come to inform them to harvest the rice. Lu Qing and Hu Guiying had both taken leave these few days to be busy with the farm work at home. Lu Erqiao and Wang Zhimei had also stopped selling flatbreads, and the two families were all in the fields at this moment.

Seeing that someone had harvested early, the people in their village were also influenced, and several families were already rushing to harvest.

Seeing Jiang Huaizhen come in a hurry, and hearing the whole story, Lu Qing said a word to his wife, ran home to get something, and immediately got on his horse, rushing to the yamen with her.

Lin Shuang’s case had not yet reached the point of a trial. It was just that the accuser had gone directly to the county magistrate, which was why it had caused such a stir.

By the time Lu Qing arrived, the case had not yet been heard.

Seeing him come, Official Liu was stunned for a moment. “Aren’t you on leave? Why are you here again?”

Only then did Lu Qing lean over and whisper in his ear.

Official Liu glanced at Jiang Huaizhen, who was standing outside, and hissed. “There’s such a connection. The key is that Magistrate He personally instructed this. We have to go through the process to some extent.”

Lu Qing replied, “I understand that. Does the official in charge know why Magistrate He is so concerned about this matter?”

Lin Shuang’s matter had a relatively small impact. Logically, the officials would not bother with such a small matter.

Official Liu said, “It is said that someone came to the yamen to report it. As for who, I am not clear.”

“Then… how should this matter be handled?”

“How to handle it, you’re more familiar with it than I am,” Official Liu glared at him. “See if you’re willing to accept the punishment. If you do, you can pay the fine and leave. If not, you’ll be detained for two days. If a cold trial doesn’t work, we’ll have to go to court.”

Lu Qing said, “To be honest with you, I also heard from an old Daoist that it was going to rain, so I asked for leave these two days to go back and cut the rice.”

Official Liu was stunned for a moment.

“You’d better think carefully. You know the consequences of giving false testimony and colluding.”

“Of course.”

“Since the source was a Daoist, and you heard it and didn’t spread it, but she spread it everywhere, then she’s in the wrong.”

“I understand. I’ll discuss it with the family first,” Lu Qing said, then went out and explained the situation to Jiang Huaizhen.

Jiang Huaizhen, of course, was reluctant to let Lin Shuang be detained. She was an executioner and had to go to the prison to see the condemned prisoners before each execution. She knew what the prison was like.

She couldn’t let Lin Shuang be locked up there.

Not even for a day, half a day, or an hour.

“Let’s pay the fine.”

“That’s what I was thinking. Then let’s pay the fine.”

With that, Lu Qing went into the room again and said that the family was willing to pay the fine.

“Alright. Go to the historian to go over the case. After you’ve paid the fine, you can get the approval slip and take her back,” Official Liu said.

“Thank you, official in charge.”

With that, Lu Qing took out the tea he had prepared before. “My younger brother-in-law had someone send some more. I’m a rough man. It would be a waste for me to drink it. It should be appreciated by someone who knows.”

“You, you—” Official Liu said with a helpless tone.

Jiang Huaizhen was standing outside and had seen this. After Lu Qing came out, she quickly went up to him.

“Pay a fine of two taels. After you’ve paid it, you can go over the case, sign it, and then go back.”

If it were an ordinary family, where would they get two taels of silver to pay a fine? If they couldn’t produce the silver, they would be detained, go through the process, and be sent to do hard labor.

Jiang Huaizhen let out a sigh of relief.

“You wait here. I’ll go and get her.”

Jiang Huaizhen quickly took out three taels of silver from her robes and stuffed it into his hand. “You can pay the fine for me.”

Lu Qing returned one tael to her. “If it’s two taels, then it’s two taels.”

“That tea is not cheap either,” Jiang Huaizhen said softly.

“That was left over from the last time. It’s alright. Alright, I’m going.”

Jiang Huaizhen pursed her lips and watched him disappear behind the corridor.

After waiting for about half an hour, Lu Qing came out with Lin Shuang.

Jiang Huaizhen quickly walked up and reached out to her.

Lin Shuang leaned against her, and Jiang Huaizhen wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

She was half a head taller than Lin Shuang, and this gesture was like holding her in her arms.

Lu Qing said, “Alright, go back. I have to go back and harvest the rice too.”

But Lin Shuang smiled. “After all this, does Uncle Qing still believe what the traveling Daoist said?”

Lu Qing smiled. “I believe it. I may not believe others, but I have to believe the immortal.”

The three of them looked at each other and smiled, then left the yamen and got on their horses.