Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 236

This was Zhou Chunwen's first time being so close to the scene.

She was immediately stunned.

Accountant Yao's yard is quite large, larger than Zhou Chunwen's. Land is scarce in Jurenzhangzi Village to begin with, and finding a flat piece of land to build a house in the mountains is already difficult; it's either a large ditch here or a small ditch there.

This isn't the future, where a bulldozer can solve everything.

In the era when everything relied on manual labor, building a house was incredibly difficult, especially if there were any obstacles or gullies.

Therefore, the courtyards of the villagers in Jurenzhangzi Village are generally quite small. Unlike Zhao Da'e's family, whose land is mostly flat, a typical family's yard is about 1.3 mu (approximately 0.15 acres) and over 800 square meters. The standard size is 28 meters by 28 meters. Even so, many families in Dongtaizi Village have yards that far exceed the standard.

However, those who held official positions (like the "Juren" in the imperial examinations) were not allowed to use such courtyards, which were typically 15 meters by 10 meters. That totaled only 150 square meters. Relatively speaking, apart from the house, the courtyard was pitifully small.

Accountant Yao's yard is considered quite large, over 300 square meters. But right now, there's not a single good spot left in the yard.

The main house was shattered, with glass everywhere and two windows missing. The roof of the inner room, which was covered with a cloth canopy, was also burned away. The house was pitch black (a descriptive term, meaning extremely messy and dark). Broken glass shards were scattered all over the floor. There were also many remnants of firecrackers that had been set off. The chimney was overturned, and the kang (a heated brick bed) inside had collapsed.

The situation was even worse in the side rooms.

The pot was shattered, and some grain inside was scattered all over the ground. The light bulb was also broken. Next to it was a thatched shed, which also looked like it had been on fire and then extinguished; the wood was blackened, and the hay that was used to feed the cattle had been burned.

The yard was full of the remains of firecrackers.

As for the people, Accountant Yao's hand was cut, but he didn't bandage it; it was a burn from gunpowder. Accountant Yao's wife was covered in black soot from the stove, her face was covered in it, making her look like a little devil.

The more Zhou Chunwen looked at it, the more... he felt like laughing.

The villagers were also discussing it.

"It's even worse than last time. Last time only a few pieces of glass broke, but this time it was all shattered. What kind of deep hatred could they have! People were almost killed in the explosion."

"Now, apart from the walls not collapsing, Accountant Yao's house is basically ruined. Putting everything else aside, how much would it cost to renovate the whole place, inside and out? It wouldn't be enough without at least 10,000 to 20,000 yuan."

"Well, it's good that he's alright. He's lucky he didn't hit anyone, otherwise that firecracker would have blinded him and he would have been crippled."

"Heh, he's not blind? I think he's always been blind!!! This bastard has done a lot of bad things. Relying on the fact that the village chief is his uncle, he's done nothing but immoral things all these years. To say nothing of other things, just because my grandson was herding cattle and ate some fruit tree leaves on the mountain, he fined me two hundred yuan. If I didn't pay, he would mess with me."

"That's right! That bastard is a real scoundrel! He deserves it! I heard he embezzled all the money that was supposed to be allocated to our village to repair the well. Otherwise, more than a hundred households wouldn't be sharing just one well."

The villagers were talking a lot.

A short while later, the police finished inspecting the scene, took statements, and said, "That's the situation. We understand. Yao Lianwen, your house was attacked at approximately 2:20 AM. The attackers used firecrackers, which were set off towards your house. We couldn't see how many people were involved, or who they were. We just checked the earthen slope, but didn't find any useful clues. Furthermore, you and your spouse haven't left the house, so we don't know who did it. Is there anything else you'd like to add? For example, have you offended anyone recently? Do you have any grudges against anyone?"

"I recently offended Zhou Yuren!!! It must have been him," Accountant Yao said through gritted teeth.

“It must have been him. He was arguing with my husband yesterday. It was him a while ago too. He has a grudge against our family,” Yao’s wife added.

"Everything needs evidence," the staff member said seriously. "We've already questioned Zhou Yuren. He definitely didn't go out last night. His neighbors didn't see him leave either. And as far as we know, Zhou Yuren didn't buy any firecrackers. There isn't a single one in his house. We've also asked the firecracker seller, and it's true that Zhou Yuren didn't buy any, and no one in his family bought any firecrackers or two-stage firecrackers. So, I suggest you get to the bottom of this before you speak."

One more point needs to be added. Zhou Yuren's family isn't particularly well-off financially. Even if he bought those two hundred-plus firecrackers, we don't believe he would have left them at your house. If you have any new evidence or anything else to add, please contact us anytime.

“There’s no other evidence, but it’s definitely their family who did it,” Accountant Yao said. “And what if he’s lying? If he did it, and he insists he didn’t do it, there’s nothing I can do.”

"Any judgment requires both witnesses and physical evidence. Since there's no witnesses or physical evidence right now, we can't make a preconceived conviction. Okay, I understand your feelings, but some things can't be said carelessly. We'll keep a record, and you can contact us again if needed." Seeing that there was no evidence, the staff member was about to leave.

Zhou Chunwen came out, holding a cardboard box, and said to Accountant Yao, "Accountant Yao, you really are something. My parents are timid, so don't make false accusations. I'd even say your wife is cheating on me..."

"You're talking nonsense!!! Your wife is the one cheating on you!!!" Accountant Yao shouted angrily.

"Who the hell are you calling a cheater? You have no manners, you're so shameless!" Accountant Yao's wife also cursed.

Zhou Chunwen chuckled: "I was just saying it casually. Is it illegal? You're only allowed to frame my dad, but I can't even speak up? I just said, Accountant Yao, your wife is cheating on you. So what?"

"I'll beat you to death!!!" Accountant Yao was so angry that she wanted to hit Zhou Chunwen.

Zhou Chunwen didn't intend to hide, but the police grabbed Accountant Yao's hand: "It's illegal to assault someone! I'm warning you, don't cause trouble."

"She accused my wife of cheating on me!!!" Accountant Yao yelled, "What right does she have?"

"Hey, I have proof!"

"What evidence do you have?"

"Since your wife is a woman, you're suspected of cheating. I don't have any concrete evidence, but I'll keep looking, and maybe I'll find it. If I don't find any evidence, then I'm just talking nonsense."

"You...you're asking for it!!! Don't think that just because you're young I won't hit you!" Accountant Yao cursed. "I'm telling you, if you say that again I really will hit you."

Zhao Da'e chuckled, "Go ahead and hit her if you dare! You're obviously incompetent. Everyone says your wife is cheating on you, you need to prove yourself by beating her. Beat her until she stops talking nonsense. What? You don't dare to lay a hand on her?"

Accountant Yao's face turned ashen. How did outsiders know whether his wife had cheated on him?

Although Zhou Chunwen didn't mean anything by it, the listener took it to heart. Accountant Yao was already furious.

Faced with Zhao Da'e's aggressive tone, Accountant Yao struggled—although there was only one person blocking him... but Accountant Yao still couldn't move an inch, and cursed: "You two little brats, you little beasts born of a mother but raised without one, I'll teach you to talk nonsense, I'll beat you both to death!"

Zhao Da'e scoffed, "Old Yao, you're really ungrateful. My older sister and I have come to bring you some warmth."

As Zhao Da'e spoke, he threw the cardboard used to line the chicken coop on the ground, and dried chicken droppings fell all over the ground.

Zhao Da'e pointed to the filthy cardboard box covered in chicken droppings and said, "Everyone, you have to be the judge. My sister and I meant absolutely nothing by it."

Putting everything else aside, Zhao Da'e should at least occupy the moral high ground.

"Seeing the state of Accountant Yao's house, in the dead of winter, they've even lost all their windows. They must be freezing to sleep at night. We're broke, but we mean well. Since Accountant Yao has no windows and no shelter from the wind and rain, we brought over some cardboard. We can nail this to the window; at least it'll keep them out of the cold..."

Accountant Yao grew increasingly angry: "Go to hell!!! You little brat, I think you're just here to cause trouble!!!"

The other villagers who were watching the commotion also looked puzzled: it was confirmed that the two sisters had indeed come to cause trouble!

Zhou Chunwen retorted sharply, "Nonsense! We're doing this for your own good! It's so cold, your house is drafty, and your kang (heated brick bed) has collapsed. If we don't bring you this cardboard, how will you sleep at night? If you can't sleep because of the cold, won't your wife run away? If your wife runs away, won't that mean you're cheating on me..."

at last……

Accountant Yao couldn't hold back any longer. He broke free from his restraints and reached out with one hand to hit Zhou Chunwen.

Zhou Chunwen leaned forward, and was hit squarely by Accountant Yao's hand...

Then Zhou Chunwen screamed in pain, clutching his head and rolling on the ground in agony.

The pain seemed unbearable, causing her to scream in agony.

Zhao Da'e quickly went over to help him up, and the police also went over to inquire.

Zhou Chunwen was in excruciating pain; nothing else mattered, it was just pure pain.

Accountant Yao was stunned: I just gently pushed Zhou Chunwen, why did she react like that?!

The onlookers didn't see clearly, but soon someone told Zhou Yuren and his wife, who were still at home, about Zhou Chunwen being beaten.

Zhou Yuren cursed loudly, then rushed out with an axe in hand.

He ran while cursing, "Old Yao, you dare hit my daughter? I'll chop you up!!!"

Cheng Jinxi also cursed and rushed over with a kitchen knife in hand.

Fortunately, the police stopped them; that gleaming axe was no joke.

The situation began to get out of control.

A moment later, Zhou Tianfu also ran over with a pitchfork, shouting that he was going to kill Accountant Yao.

The village was filled with countless people pulling on the cane of the scholar before it was finally separated.

It's normal for the two families to have a conflict; everyone's just watching the show, but let's hope no one gets killed.

Besides, the police officers from the local station were still there, and the situation was eventually brought under control.

"Accountant Yao, look at you, why are you hitting people? You've hit someone's daughter..."

"I didn't hit him..."

"Everyone's not blind, it was definitely you who did it..."

"She was faking it..."

"Then let's send him to the hospital for a checkup. Anyway, you're the one who hit him..." Zhang Yi and Li Er came out again this time, and they continued, "Accountant Yao, you did hit him. Everyone saw it. I can't judge whether Zhou Chunwen's injury is serious, minor, or slight. He still needs to be sent to the hospital for a checkup. But you hit someone, which is suspected of being illegal."

"She's faking it. I just touched her lightly, and she acted like she had a full set of broken bones..." Accountant Yao retorted, "She's faking it. She's trying to extort money from me..."

Zhao Da'e chuckled: Congratulations, you've successfully been extorted. Who told you to make a move!

The nature of verbal abuse and physical assault is vastly different, and with so many people present, everyone witnessed Accountant Yao assaulting someone.

As for whether his blow was light or heavy, he did hit him anyway.

However, Accountant Yao was not satisfied, and in the end, the whole group was taken to the police station.

The crowd then dispersed.

Zhao Da'e didn't go. Before leaving, Zhao Da'e said to Zhou Chunwen, "Don't talk. If you have to talk, just say it hurts."

Zhou Chunwen: "Okay, don't worry."

The two sisters parted ways with tacit understanding.

Zhao Da'e suddenly remembered that she hadn't eaten enough breakfast. Damn it, she hadn't slept well last night and was making a fuss again this morning.

Afterwards, Zhao Da'e went downstairs somewhat listlessly. When she arrived at Dongtaizi Village, she wandered around for a bit and then went to Zhao Tingming's house.

Zhao Tingming was not at home; only Guo was home.

"Grandma, I'm starving! I haven't had a proper meal in days."

When Guo saw you, she felt sorry for you: "My dear goose! Look at you, you've gotten so thin..."

Zhao Da'e looked embarrassed: I've clearly gained weight...

"Hehehe, where are my great-grandfather and the others?"

“Sigh… We just finished setting out the two trees yesterday, and the planks broke in the afternoon. This morning, Tiezhu’s family said they were having a funeral, and it’s been three days already. The problem is, making a coffin isn’t like making a table or benches; it can’t be done so quickly. That’s why your great-grandfather went to find a carpenter early this morning. He needs to find several carpenters; maybe it can be finished by noon today?” Guo sighed.

Zhao Da'e pursed his lips: "Probably not. How can it be that fast? None of the carpenters have come, so the workers can only bring one set of tools. At best, it will be slightly faster. Normally, it takes three or four days to make a coffin. The earliest we can finish is tonight if we work overtime."

That thing needs to be rounded on both sides, it's quite difficult anyway. It's not a perfect square shape; if you want to be quick, just make it a square one.

That depends on what kind of cabinet Zhao Tiezhu's family wants. There are too many details to consider. If it's simply to make it like a cabinet, then it's much simpler. But even a cabinet comes in different thicknesses.

Naturally, the thicker the wooden board, the more difficult it is to process.

There have been people in the past who were so poor that they carried themselves out of their homes using a cabinet as a makeshift shelter.

However, that hasn't happened in recent years.

Times have changed. Those old-fashioned coffins made of straw mats or thin planks are gone. At least now, the standard is that a person inside shouldn't fall out…

This standard isn't actually that high...

You know, wood has never been very valuable. In the countryside, which family doesn't have a few trees? Just leaving a few trees there is enough.

Of course, Zhao Tiezhu's family's blatant extortion didn't necessarily mean they gained anything. Providing meals for three or four days in a row was somewhat unfair…