pjbooks Chapter 59 The entire village's main beam was stolen.
Chapter 59 The entire village's main beam was stolen.
Shen Ming's eyes were as deep and cold as a frozen pool, his sharp gaze fixed on Zhao Shenglin.
The air pressure around him was so low that Zhao Shenglin didn't dare to breathe.
Shen Ming stepped forward, casting Zhao Shenglin into a shadow: "Zhao Shenglin, put away your filthy thoughts about Peach Blossom Sister, or I will make you wolf food."
Shen Ming's warning was chilling; every word sent shivers down one's spine.
Just as he finished speaking, a wolf howl echoed from the mountaintop.
Zhao Shenglin knew that ever since Zhao Taohua subdued the troublemakers on the mountain, they no longer imitated wolf howls to lure wolves to the foot of the mountain and scare people.
However, this also means that the wolves are now staying on the mountaintop!
In an instant, Zhao Shenglin was so frightened that he shivered and his face turned deathly pale.
He immediately rushed towards Shen Ming, hugged Shen Ming's leg, and agreed:
"I promise I will never try to take advantage of Peach Blossom Sister again."
Fearing that Shen Ming wouldn't believe him, he raised his right hand and swore an oath:
"I, Zhao Shenglin, swear to God that if I ever dare to lay a finger on Peach Blossom Sister again, may I die a horrible death and be struck by lightning!"
After saying that, he pleaded, "Shen Ming, I know I was wrong, please take me down the mountain."
He always felt that wolves were approaching, and if he stayed any longer, he would surely be eaten by them.
He was also afraid that Shen Ming would abandon him on the mountaintop and leave him to be devoured by wolves.
Seeing that he was obedient, Shen Ming picked him up again, tucked him under his arm, and carried him away from the mountaintop.
Zhao Shenglin didn't feel alive again until he reached the foot of the mountain.
Shen Ming simply abandoned him and strode away.
When Zhao Shenglin returned home, Madam Xu asked, "Where did you go just now? I only said a few words to you, you didn't run off to Tao Hua's house, did you?"
Xu was genuinely afraid that Zhao Shenglin didn't know his own limitations and was delusional, thinking he was trying to eat a swan.
Upon hearing the word "peach blossom," Zhao Shenglin's body immediately trembled involuntarily.
"Mother, don't worry, I just peed and looked at myself. Please don't mention Peach Blossom Sister in front of me again!"
Zhao Shenglin dared not tell Xu about Shen Ming's kidnapping of him to the mountaintop.
He felt a chill run down his spine whenever he recalled what Shen Ming had said to him on the mountaintop.
Why is Shen Ming so protective of Zhao Taohua? Is it because he likes Zhao Taohua?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Zhao Shenglin belatedly felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet.
He actually dared to try to harm the person Shen Ming liked, so of course he angered Shen Ming.
……
Perilla and motherwort grow very fast, with tall stems and large leaves.
Half a month later, everyone started picking perilla leaves to sell, and the clinic charged nine large coins per catty.
Everyone carried baskets on their backs and picked leaves in the fields, then poured them into sacks to sell.
The whole family picks together; some families can pick over 100 jin (50 kg) a day, which is more than 900 yuan.
Moreover, this is a long-term and stable situation, especially for those families who cultivate a lot of crops.
With an income of nearly one or two taels of silver every day, the villagers were overjoyed. After about ten days, many people had saved enough money and were preparing to build brick houses.
When the Zhao family built their house, many people in the village helped them. So, when others were adding to their houses, Zhao Taohua and Zhao Ershu, the couple, went to help each other.
Because they had received so much help from the villagers, even the four spirits in the house were sent out to help repay the favors.
On her first day, Zhao Taohua decided to go to Shen Ming's house to help out.
Shen Ming had just finished setting up a thatched shed in the yard and was preparing to move his belongings from the original house inside.
Zhao Taohua followed him into the house and said, "Brother Shen Ming, let me help you move."
Zhao Taohua stacked the bowls up, put them in the basin, and then picked them up together.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she tried to lift it, she suddenly realized that she couldn't lift it at all, and she froze.
It seems like there are too many bowls stacked up?
Just as Zhao Taohua was about to take some out of the basin, Shen Ming suddenly slipped past her from behind and took the wooden basin away.
Zhao Taohua pursed her lips and curled her lip. So what if you're tall?
"Peach Blossom Sister, go to the room and move some light things. I'll take care of the things in the kitchen."
Shen Ming's voice suddenly rang out from behind.
Zhao Taohua glanced at the remaining tables and water tank in the kitchen, and then decided to listen to Shen Ming and go to the room to take a look.
She opened the wardrobe and saw several wolf pelts; a slight smile appeared on her lips.
Shen Ming actually listened to her and kept all the wolf skins afterwards.
As time went by, more and more families in Zhao Village built brick and tile houses, and bricklayers and carpenters from the surrounding villages almost all came to Zhao Village.
No one expected that Zhao Family Village, the poorest village in the surrounding area, would become rich!
Fields that yield less than half the grain produced a high yield of perilla when planted with it grew extremely fast.
The villagers of Zhao Family Village watched their houses grow taller and taller, and as the roof beams were about to be raised, their hearts were filled with hope.
"We'll be able to move into a brick house soon!"
"Yes, my family is raising the roof beam tomorrow."
"My family is the same!"
Just when everyone was filled with joy, the next day, Da Liang was nowhere to be found.
Old Mrs. Sun was the first to stand at the courtyard gate, hands on her hips, cursing, "Which heartless bastard stole five of my family's main beams?"
Grandma Feng stomped her feet and cursed, "Who is so despicable as to steal the main beam that my family needs?"
Today, Aunt Jiang and Aunt Zheng's families are also preparing to raise their main beams, but their main beams are nowhere to be found.
The four men searched house to house, determined to catch the thief who stole the main beam.
But it wasn't just those four families who lost their main beams; other villagers who hadn't even had their main beams installed also lost them.
All the main beams that were placed on the ground are gone!
Grandma Sun asked in bewilderment, "Who stole so many beams overnight?"
About five hundred of them!
Zhao Shenglin suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said, "Grandma Sun, even God doesn't allow our village to build brick houses, so let's not build them!"
He finished speaking and chuckled.
Everyone else has built brick houses, but his family is still living in a dilapidated house.
The weather has been getting colder lately, and at night the wind seeps in through the cracks in the walls, making it hard to stay warm even with the blankets on. This has intensified his jealousy.
Now that everyone has lost their backbone, how could he not be happy?
Old Sun squinted at him, then jumped up, grabbed his ear, and pulled it down forcefully, demanding to know:
"Did you steal the main beam of my house? Did you sell it off?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly lift something as heavy as the beam?"
Zhao Shenglin quickly reached out to protect his ears.
However, Grandma Sun refused to let go: "You lazy rascal, you might as well try to make a fortune this time."
Just because you can't move it by yourself doesn't mean you won't find someone to help you steal it.
Last time, you took Sheng Yong with you to steal money from Tao Hua's house, and Tao Hua's family let you off the hook. This time, I won't let you off the hook.
"Come on, I'm taking you to see the officials!"
The other villagers looked at Zhao Shenglin with suspicion, some of them thinking that what Grandma Sun said made sense, and that Zhao Shenglin was very likely to do it.
Some people, however, think it's unlikely.
It takes at least three strong men to carry a single beam. How did Zhao Shenglin manage to steal more than 500 beams from the entire village in one night?
The village chief couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He walked to the Zhao family's door and knocked: "Peach Blossom, are you home?"