Chapter 183 - 183: All You Talk About Is Silver
Cui Dongsheng’s men searched everywhere in the village. In the end, they did not even let go of the latrines. They could not find a single strand of hair. “How could we not find him? Could it be that he really escaped?” “Boss, we’ve searched everywhere in the village, but there’s nothing!”
Cui Dongsheng was still unwilling to give up. He looked at He Yuan.
He Yuan suddenly felt a cold wind blowing at him and could not help but touch his arm.
Cui Dongsheng walked over and said to He Yuan, “Village Chief, I think that person is hiding on the mountain, so I’ll have to trouble you to send someone to search the mountain.”
There were too few of them yesterday. They were really helpless on that huge mountain. If they had the help of the villagers, they might be able to find them.
“Erm…” He Yuan was a little unhappy.
Why did they have to search the mountain for no reason? That was the government’s business. No matter what, it was not their problem!
Cui Dongsheng looked at He Yuan coldly. “Are you not willing to cooperate with the government?”
He Yuan looked troubled. “That’s not the case. It’s just that everyone is busy. Even if I ask, they might not go.”
When the villagers heard their conversation, they quickly said, “Village Chief, I still have a lot of work to do at home! I don’t have time!”
“That’s right. My pig hasn’t been fed, the ragweed hasn’t been cut, and my clothes haven’t been washed. How would I have the time to search the mountain?”
“That’s right. It’s not our business to catch fugitives. We cooperated with you to search the village just now. The rest is none of our business.”
“That’s right. It’s your incompetence that you can’t catch the fugitive. You can’t force this on us.
“That’s right. Capturing fugitives is the government’s business. How can they make us help? What if the other party has a weapon and injures us?”
Su Li stood at the side as if it had nothing to do with her.
Seeing that the villagers were unwilling to help, Cui Dongsheng threw out a bait. “Everyone, listen to me. I’m not asking you to help for nothing. As long as you participate in the mountain search, everyone will be given one tael of silver.”
Seeing that the villagers were unwilling to help, Cui Dongsheng threw out a bait. “Everyone, listen to me. I’m not asking you to help for nothing. As long as you participate in the mountain search, everyone will be given one tael of silver.”
When everyone heard that there was money, they were overjoyed. Those who were originally unhappy shut their mouths obediently.
To them, everything was fine as long as they had money. After all, they were not in a hurry to do the work at home.
Su Li watched as the villagers began to stir. She tanned the flames at the side and said, “One tael of silver is really not a small sum. However, I heard that our government office doesn’t seem to be very rich. A few years ago, we even borrowed a large sum of silver from Old Master Zhou to pay the bailiffs’ salary. I wonder if they have returned it yet!”
“It’s not impossible for you to ask us for help now, but for everyone’s sake, I suggest that you give us the silver first. This way, everyone will be more energetic and feel more at ease.”
“Otherwise, in the end, our entire village will search the mountain and we won’t obtain anything…”
The villagers heard Su Li’s words.
That’s right! If they went to search the mountain, what if these people did not pay them?
He was a high and mighty official. How could they argue with him? When he left, they would have gotten nothing.
The villagers all looked at Cui Dongsheng.
“That’s right, Officer, you should give us the silver first! This way, we can work more vigorously.”
“I know that mountain better than anyone else. As long as I go, I won’t let go of even a corner. I guarantee that I’ll catch that fugitive.”
“Officer, I won’t get lost even if I close my eyes. I know where one could hide people on the mountain, so you don’t have to worry. As long as you give us the money, we’ll do everything for you.”
Silver. Every time they opened their mouths, they would talk about silver. Indeed, poor villages produced unruly people.
And that woman, why did she add on for no reason? Did she have the right to speak here?
Cui Dongsheng glared at Su Li. If not for the fact that the timing was not right, he would definitely hang Su Li up and beat her up.
Sensing Cui Dongsheng’s gaze, Su Li went up to him fearlessly. “Official, distribute the money. Everyone is waiting!”
She did not believe that these people would spend a lot of money. In her opinion, these people were nothing more than errand boys. They did not even have much monthly money in a month. Could they pay out of their own pocket?
Cui Dongsheng: “…” He really wanted her to shut up completely.
He did not have that much money in his pocket. He was just an ordinary guard. Where could he give these unruly people a tael of silver each? He was just fooling them.
Even the 100 taels just now was just a casual remark. Anyway, as long as they found him, he could renege on his debt and not give it to them. If they had the ability, they could sue him!
Cui Dongsheng pulled a long face and tried not to let others see his guilty conscience. “Do you think our authorities will not give you the money we owe you?”
Su Li smiled and said, “That’s not the case. We’ve always believed in the government office, but as we said just now, we’re only asking for money now so we can work well. Everyone, do you think that’s the case?”
Everyone nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Give us the silver. That way, we won’t have to worry about anything.”
“That’s right. If you leave, where are we going to find you for the money?”
“That’s right. You have to pay for the work, right?”
Cui Dongsheng took a deep breath and said, “You keep talking about money. We’re from the government. Are you afraid that we’ll run away? Will we owe you that little bit of money?”
Su Li said, “Official, you’re wrong. We’re just afraid that we’ll delay your efforts when the time comes. Moreover, you have to give it sooner or later. You might as well give it earlier!”
Everyone echoed, “That’s right, that’s right!”
“It’s said that not even a fly dares to fly past the door of the government, let alone us commoners.”
As Su Li fanned the flames, the villagers felt that they had to get the silver first. They could not help for no reason.
Cui Dongsheng felt like his head was about to explode. He said impatiently, “I’ll give you the silver after this.”
Su Li continued, “Then are you trying to scam us now? You don’t have any money in your pocket at all.”
Cui Dongsheng was speechless.
Would this woman die if she didn’t speak?
Cui Dongsheng ignored Su Li and looked at the villagers. “If any of you don’t want to go, come and register with me. I’ll report it to the county magistrate. If the county magistrate blames you, I won’t be able to save you. Whether you live or die will be up to fate.”
“Those who are willing to go, quickly go up the mountain. I will definitely pay you after this..”