Chapter 41 Sincerity of apology
Madam Ma sat awkwardly in the shed of the village chief's house.
The village chief's wives and children didn't want to pay attention to her, and they all did their own thing.
No one paid attention to her and looked at her unkindly. Mrs. Ma suppressed her temper and did not dare to offend the village chief's family.
Hua Shiwen ran to find the village chief. Mrs. Ma waited for a while, becoming more and more anxious as she sat.
Mrs. Ma didn't dare to urge her out loud, and she didn't dare to show any impatience.
I could only look at the door eagerly, and finally saw a figure.
Mrs. Ma was overjoyed and stood up, "Village Chief..."
The village chief opened the door curtain to reveal the person behind him. Mrs. Ma's words were stuck in her throat.
Chen Jingzhi, wearing official robes, entered the village chief's shed, and everyone inside was stunned.
Quiet instantly.
The daughters-in-law and grandchildren were all stunned, as if someone had frozen them instantly.
The village chief said, "What are you doing here? Quickly salute the county magistrate!"
Only then did the others come to their senses and salute to Chen Jingzhi anxiously.
Be good, the magistrate!
If we don't salute immediately, will the lord blame us?
Chen Jingzhi has always been gentle when dealing with ordinary people.
"Don't be too polite."
Chen Jingzhi scanned the shed and recognized Mrs. Ma at a glance.
She is thin and tall, and she is not dressed like a peasant woman. She can tell that she is old, her skin is aging, her face is not fleshy, and she has a mean look on her face.
Feeling the magistrate looking at her without hesitation, Mrs. Ma had never been so nervous in her life.
I don’t know where to put my hands and feet.
The longer time passed, the more panicked Mrs. Ma became. Finally, when Mrs. Ma couldn't bear it any longer and almost knelt down, Chen Jingzhi withdrew his gaze.
Turn around and say to the village chief
, "I'm just watching. You can handle it as you should."
The village chief nodded hurriedly, "Okay, okay.".
Looking at the daughter-in-law and grandchildren in the shed, they were all too frightened to look up. Only Hua Shiwen, who had met Chen Jingzhi earlier, was better.
"Shiwen, give Mr. Chen a cup of tea."
After giving instructions to his grandson, the village chief diligently wiped the stool in the center of the shed with his sleeves and bowed respectfully, "Master Chen, please take a seat."
Chen Jingzhi did not accept it, but turned towards Mr. Zhao.
"Master, please sit down first."
What? master?
For the first time, Mrs. Ma felt that she was getting older and her ears were starting to go wrong.
Mr. Zhao was obedient and sat down with a smile.
Wu Yang, who was standing one step behind, also found a stool, put it aside, smiled and said to Mrs. Zhao, "Master, you also sit down."
The village chief quickly brought another stool, wiped it clean and put it next to it, "Sir, you sit on this one."
This time Chen Jingzhi did not refuse and sat down calmly.
Hua Shiwen was very discerning and poured a few more cups of tea. He saw that the county magistrate had given up his seat to Grandpa Zhao just now.
When I picked up the first cup of tea, I hesitated for a long time between the county magistrate and Grandpa Zhao, unable to make up my mind.
Mr. Zhao saw Hua Shiwen's dilemma and waved to him, "Let Mr. Chen have a taste first."
Most people in the village drink tea grown at home or picked from the mountains, and very few people buy tea to drink.
The village chief's house is no exception.
The tea served is home-grown tea, only a little is produced every year.
Hua Shiwen brought it over carefully, "Sir, please have tea."
Mr. Zhao introduced with a smile, "This is tea grown by the village chief's family. It tastes good. You can try it."
Agriculture
Chen Jingzhi had not tasted the tea grown by himself, so he took the tea bowl with interest and took a sip.
It's really good, with a hint of sweetness in the fragrance and a unique taste.
"The tea is so fragrant, with a hint of sweetness."
"Of course, the well water in our village is very sweet, no worse than mountain spring water."
While talking, Hua Shiwen handed Mr. Zhao a cup, "Grandpa Zhao, drink tea."
Mr. Zhao took the tea and said, "Thank you, Xiaowen, you are so good."
After receiving the compliment, Hua Shiwen smiled shyly, counted the number of people present, and thought about who to serve the tea to next.
Wu Yang took the initiative to walk to the tea bowl table, brought tea and handed it to Mrs. Zhao.
The little guy counted the number of people on his fingers, and Wu Yang touched Hua Shiwen's head. He was such a well-behaved little brother.
"Okay, I won't bother you anymore, just go have fun."
Hua Shiwen smiled sweetly and said, "Brother, there are still a few cups left. I'll get the tea bowl first."
After being praised by the county magistrate, the village chief didn't feel sorry for the tea at all, "Pour a few more bowls for everyone to try."
Mr. Zhao and the county magistrate were getting along so happily that Mrs. Ma's hands and feet became weak.
The county magistrate was still watching, while the village chief dealt with business, "Mrs. Ma, have you brought all the compensation gifts?"
Finally someone paid attention to her, and Mrs. Ma quickly took out a small cloth bag.
"Village chief, I brought them all,"
Madam Ma opened the bag and poured out the money.
"Thirty taels in total, village chief, no more, no less."
The county magistrate kept looking at her, and Mrs. Ma didn't even feel sorry for the money anymore. She stuffed the money in her hand into the village chief's arms like a hot potato.
The village chief counted exactly thirty taels.
"what about others?"
"What?"
Mrs. Ma was confused, "Village chief, I gave you all the money."
. "
The village chief patiently explained that Mrs. Ma was pretending to be confused because she understood.
"Where's the apology? Your family also needs to make an apology to Lu Yatou, as well as the money for the Zhao family to build a house."
"This……"
Madam Ma pinched her fingers and sweat broke out on her face.
She didn't take the apology seriously at all. What kind of apology could a girl ask for?
The Zhao family didn't even say they were going to build a house. Mrs. Ma was not prepared at all, so she couldn't rush to send money.
I was extremely reluctant to agree to these conditions and would delay them as long as I could. Now I only give money when I can't.
The village chief said with a dark face, "You're not ready yet, are you?"
How dare Mrs. Ma admit it, "No, no, village chief, I remember it."
"me……"
The situation was urgent, and Madam Ma was thinking of reasons.
"I forgot about home."
Out of desperation, Madam Ma thought of the jewelry she had collected at home, and she couldn't care less about it at the moment.
Mrs. Ma smiled flatteringly at the village chief, "I forgot to bring it when I went out. I have already prepared the gift for his girl."
After saying that, he carefully looked at the village chief's eyes and said, "Then...then I can go home and get it?"
The village chief could see through Mrs. Ma's thoughts at a glance and warned: "Go quickly, the county magistrate is still sitting here."
Mrs. Ma was relieved and nodded quickly, "I know, I will get it soon."
The mud and sand in the village have basically been cleaned up, and some of the things buried under the washed-out houses are still usable. The weather was good a few days ago, and the villagers went out early and came back late to clean out the usable things. Mrs. Ma dug out her own from the rubble. Jewelry Box.
Strangely enough, Mrs. Ma and the uninjured Boss Ma searched among the broken wood and rubble for a long time, but could not find Sun Sun's body.
I used this excuse to perfunctory the village chief again.
several times.
Chen Jingzhi didn't ask about the details of the treatment before. When the village chief counted the money and put it away, Mrs. Ma went back to get the apology. She didn't understand how to apologize.
"Master, what kind of apology is this?"
Mr. Zhao simply explained to Chen Jingzhi, "The apology is for Lu Yatou. After all, although Ma'er's wife did not succeed, she hurt Lu Yatou."
"The compensation is divided into two parts, thirty taels to the village, and the other part is for my family to build a new house, and his family will provide half of the money."
"To the village?"
The village attaches great importance to clan traditions, and many have their own set of village rules. Chen Jingzhi has heard of this.
But the victim in this incident is the Zhao family, why should they give money to the village?
The village rules of Lihua Village are quite strange.
The village chief also became nervous. It was he who proposed this condition. Did the county magistrate think it was inappropriate?
Mr. Zhao didn't think there was a problem at all. "We just experienced a flash flood. It's not easy for the people in the village. I can help as much as I can."
"You just wronged my little granddaughter."
That night, after the daughters-in-law took the children back, Mr. Zhao asked Mr. Zhao if he felt wronged and suffered a loss.
Zhao Laosan shook his head, "I understand, Dad."
Chen Jingzhi thought of Lu Ming smiling happily at him, and felt sorry for the little girl.
"Then let's see how sincere his family can be to apologize to Lu Ming."