Chapter 178: Everyone usually calls me osmanthus

Chapter 178

Having just heard that the other party could help treat the child's illness, the woman's fear in her heart was instantly defeated.

The woman knelt down before He Zhiran and pleaded, "I beg Young Mistress to save my daughter."

He Zhiran quickly helped the woman stand up.

"Treating your child is no problem, as long as Sister-in-law is willing to answer some of my questions," said He Zhiran.

The woman nodded vigorously. "Okay, ask away!"

"May I ask, Sister-in-law, what are the relationships between the Zhou Family, the Zhao Family, and the Cui Family like?" asked He Zhiran.

Upon hearing this question, the woman seemed somewhat nervous.

She looked left and right for a while before whispering:

"Young Mistress, you have just arrived at Xi Ling Village yesterday and have already offended Village Chief Cui. Last night, he sent people to notify the Zhao Family and Zhou Family not to have any dealings with you."

He Zhiran frowned. "What would he do if someone did have dealings with us?"

The woman sighed. "A few years ago, one of my clan uncles took pity on the people the government had sent here and secretly gave them some rations. When the Cui family found out, they told Village Chief Cui about it.

Village Chief Cui brought a group of people and nearly broke my uncle's legs."

After hearing this, He Zhiran gasped.

"How can a small village chief be so overbearing and unreasonably bully people like this? And you all don't fight back?" He Zhiran asked in disbelief.

The woman shook her head helplessly. "The Cui family has a relative who's a county magistrate. Us commoners don't dare offend them!"

He Zhiran asked again, "Then what are the relationships between the Zhao Family, the Jiang Family and the Cui Family like?"

"On the surface, it seems like the Zhao Family and Zhou Family get along harmoniously with the Cui Family. But behind their backs, we all hate the Cui Family to death," said the woman resentfully.

After listening to the woman's account, He Zhiran understood clearly that if they wanted to rent houses from the Zhao Family and Zhou Family, the first thing they needed to do was restrain Village Chief Cui. Otherwise, those two families definitely wouldn't have the guts to rent houses to them.

Having asked all she wanted to know, He Zhiran kept her promise to treat the child.

She first felt the child's forehead and judged from experience that her fever was at least over 39 degrees Celsius.

After taking the child's pulse, He Zhiran completely confirmed that she had caught a cold.

Due to the prolonged high fever, the child now lacked energy and showed little reaction even when He Zhiran's rather cold hand touched her forehead.

Intravenous infusion was the best treatment in this situation.

Xie Tianhai nodded. "If nephew and niece have matters to attend to, then go on ahead. We'll call up our family members right now and go reason things out with the Cui Family."

What Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran were thinking was that even if Village Chief Cui wasn't home, it would still be good for their group to go kick up a big fuss. At the very least, it would let the Cui Family know they weren't easy to bully.

To prevent Riceball from pestering her again, He Zhiran chose to stay put and wait for Mo Jiuye there. Mo Jiuye went back alone to fetch the mule cart.

Soon, he returned driving the mule cart. Once He Zhiran was seated securely, the mule cart sped off.

The road into town wasn't very near. The villagers of Xi Ling Village usually rode on the Cui Family's oxcarts.

But today, there were no oxcarts waiting at the village entrance offering rides.

The reason was simple. At the crack of dawn, Village Chief Cui had people take ox carts to carry him to Deputy Magistrate Cui to tattle.

Just as the villagers were sighing and complaining about this, they suddenly caught sight of a mule cart racing over from the distance.

The villagers didn't know who the mule cart belonged to. They assumed it must be someone else from the Cui Family who had bought another mule cart.

One villager strode forward to block Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran's way.

The mule cart was forced to stop. Only then did the villagers see clearly that the driver was a stranger.

Although the people from the Zhao Family and Zhou Family didn't recognize the pair, they had heard about the new group of exiled people the government had sent yesterday.

Thinking of this, they could roughly guess the identities of the two.

The Zhao and Zhou family members quickly retreated, looking as if they were avoiding some ferocious beast.

Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran didn't find this reaction strange at all. They had just learned of the general circumstances from Guīhuā.

Seeing the villagers make way, Mo Jiuye ignored them and urged the mule cart forward, intending to continue on.

Just then, a villager rushed out from the crowd.

The newcomer was dressed like a scholar and even carried a coarse cloth satchel.

Somewhat embarrassed, he cupped his fists towards Mo Jiuye.

"Brother, I'm rushing to get to school. May I trouble you for a ride there?"

Right after the scholar's request, someone else chased up to them from behind.

"Zechuan, get back here!"

Zhao Zechuan looked back at the newcomer. "Brother, you're afraid of the Cui Family, but I'm not. We're all villagers alike. Why should we let the Cui Family oppress us so?"