Of course, in order to prevent An Jing and Xiao Changyi from refusing to kowtow and apologize, the village chief wouldn’t reveal this just yet.
Even though the village chief didn’t say it out loud, An Jing could guess. She simply didn’t believe that these people, who wished nothing more than for her and her husband to die, would be so ’kind-hearted’ as to let things slide if they apologized.
An Jing quietly lowered her eyebrows, then slowly asked, "What if we refuse?"
The village chief hadn’t expected An Jing to say they wouldn’t cooperate, and after pausing in shock, he said viciously, "Then don’t blame us for being merciless! We’ll inform the government! The County Grandpa will chop off your heads!"
"Then go report us," An Jing finished, too lazy to bother with these people anymore, and continued to work the land with Xiao Changyi.
Everyone was stunned. Did An Jing and Xiao Changyi no longer value their lives? Or were they so tired of living that they wished for death?
Once the village chief regained his wits, he stomped his foot urgently, "An Jing, Xiao Changyi, if you don’t kowtow and apologize, we really will report you to the government. If the Lord County Magistrate finds out you’ve falsified official documents, he’ll definitely chop off your heads. You’d better think this through!"
The others also wanted to see the usually arrogant An Jing and Xiao Changyi kneel before them for their satisfaction. So at this moment, they were extremely anxious. Sending them off to be beheaded would be revenge, but it wouldn’t be as gratifying!
While digging up tree roots with a hoe, An Jing urged them, "Go ahead, we aren’t stopping you."
The crowd: "..." How come they didn’t feel triumphant but instead felt like they had been made fools of?
"Village chief, they think we dare not report to the government. Come on, let’s go report and show them!" Wu Xiaoshan shouted angrily.
Last time, although he was beaten with sticks by a Government Official and locked up for two days and fined two taels because he had injured An Fu’s head, Wu Xiaoshan had always blamed An Jing and Xiao Changyi for his plight.
If it weren’t for An Jing and Xiao Changyi always buying tofu from An Fu, he and his older brother would never have taken their anger out on An Fu!
"Right! Let’s inform the officials and show them!" Many people angrily echoed.
"Alright!" The village chief, also enraged, gave a firm reply and led the people back to the village, ready to report to the government.
However, once they returned to Jiuping Village, the village chief hesitated again, "Don’t you think An Jing and Xiao Changyi are a bit too calm?"
"They are too calm," the others agreed, nodding.
"Could it be that the document is real?" The village chief furrowed his brow, doubting himself. Then, he shook his head repeatedly, "It couldn’t be real. The district chief and I did not facilitate that document for them. They absolutely couldn’t have managed it—unless Xiao Changyi became an official or they had connections in the government. Maybe then they could have gotten it."
"Xiao Changyi becoming an official? Hahaha... that’s hilarious." Someone laughed loudly as if they had heard a ridiculously funny joke. "Would he return to farming if he were an official? Completely impossible! As for whether they have connections in the government, that should also be impossible. If they did, would they need to deal with us personally every time? Wouldn’t it be better to just have government officials take care of us?"
"Makes sense," the village chief nodded. "Then I’ll go to report to the authorities. There’s no need for all of you to come. It wouldn’t look right to have so many people there."
"Village chief, it’s still better to have someone accompany you," someone suggested.
The village chief nodded again, "Alright then, Xiaoshan, you’ll come with me."
Wu Xiaoshan immediately agreed, "Okay!" Right now, he truly wished to see An Jing and Xiao Changyi’s heads chopped off quickly to soothe his irritation and settle the score in his heart.