There seemed to be something terrifying inside the house, forcing him to stumble out on his calves.
The boy didn't run a few steps before he bumped into the thigh of Xu Qin who had just jumped off the horse.
Xu Qin had good eyesight and quick hands, and stretched out his hand to stabilize him.
Immediately, a young woman with an ugly face came out of the room.
When she saw Xu Qin and others riding a tall horse, she suddenly shrunk her body and was terrified.
"There is nothing here anymore, give me the child back."
The little woman's voice was very low, not hoarse, just weak.
Looking at her face as pale as a vegetable and skinny and skinny, one can tell that her family is poor and has not had a full meal for a long time.
Just as Xu Qin was about to say something, he saw more than twenty bald, green-skinned men who had eaten and drank enough, coming out one after another from the large gate next to them, with their chests and arms exposed.
Xu Sanlang, Li Xiaoqi and other guards looked like they were facing a formidable enemy. They stood in front of Xu Qin with their eyes wide open.
To the surprise of Yang Shiqi and Su Zecheng, there was no drama like "the gangsters oppressed the villagers, and Mr. Xu helped them out of justice".
Xu Qin waved his hand, signaling Xu Sanlang and Li Xiaoqi not to stand in front of him.
Just think about it, after being a majestic military god with unparalleled martial arts skills, he becomes timid when faced with a few gangsters who pretend to be dragons and tigers.
You still need to hide your head and show your tail, and have someone to protect you?
If you spread the word, it will make people laugh out loud.
The leader on the opposite side was a young, strong man with a red dragon tattooed on his bare arms. He looked quite fierce.
He looked up at the postures of Xu Qin and others, frowned slightly, but still cupped his hands and said:
"Young master, you mobilized all your troops to come to my eldest brother and sister-in-law's house. I don't know why? If you are here to collect debts, please tell them the amount, and we will join in the effort to pay it off for them."
As he spoke, he pointed to the little woman's home.
Looking inside through the open door, it is not an exaggeration to describe the house as bare walls.
Hey, this is puzzling.
This guy was shouting like a big brother and a big sister-in-law, and he wanted to help collect some money. I bet these gangsters and this little woman are members of the same family.
Which show is this acting in?
"This good man, I only pass by occasionally."
Xu Qin smiled, but his tone was sincere.
"Passing by?"
Hey, no one would believe it.
Here in a deserted mountain village, there is a handsome young man riding a tall horse, accompanied by his master and a dozen bodyguards.
Not even a fool would believe this attitude.
However, the leading 'Panlong' didn't seem to want to cause trouble here, so he climbed up the pole when he saw this.
He cupped his fists and said:
"Since we are passing by, please leave the village quickly. I'm afraid you won't be able to leave even if you want to leave later."
"Oh, why is that?"
Xu Qin raised the corner of his mouth and asked playfully.
He plays the role of a melon-eater, the kind of idler who doesn't mind the fuss.
'Panlong' couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this.
He was about to answer, but there was a sound from far away.
Panlong and his gang had green skin and bald heads, and their expressions suddenly changed.
"Fuck dude."
He didn't want to have to explain to Xu Qin and returned to the greenhouse with the green skins.
When they came out, they all had fighting weapons in their hands, including homemade swords and clubs.
With Panlong's wave of his hand, these twenty people walked towards the east end of the village.
Xu Qin returned the little boy to the little woman.
"Thank you, Master."
Seeing that her son's life was relieved, the woman who was not good at words bowed to Xu Qin to express her gratitude.
At this time, Xu Qin also took the opportunity to ask about his doubts.
"Those bald-headed and green-skinned ronin just now are not gangsters who came to bully your family and eat and drink for free?"
The little woman was startled and then said:
"Young Master, you have misunderstood. They are all brothers and friends of the little woman's late husband."
This is strange.
It would not be a good idea to be friends with these bald and green-skinned charlatans.
Certainly not a diligent farmer.
"This greenhouse was built by your family, I think. I saw that they all had enough to eat and drink. It seems..."
Yang Shiqi, who had been watching with cold eyes, couldn't help but interrupt.
He couldn't explain too much, but he meant that these so-called husband's brothers and friends knew that their family was extremely poor, but they still ate and drank so much?
This doesn't make sense, does it?
At this time, there were quarrels and scoldings coming from the east end of the village.
The little woman's expression suddenly became anxious.
Xu Qin took the opportunity to speak:
"Hurry up and tell me the truth. Maybe I can help you out of danger."
The little woman thought for a while and then told the whole story.
The man in her family is named Zhang Xiaowu. He owns more than 20 acres of land and employs two long-term workers. He is also considered a small landowner.
Zhang Xiaowu also owns a fishing boat on a tributary of Hongze Lake. He is engaged in fishing as a side business and has a small gang of brothers.
My childhood was quite nourishing.
The town they were in was called Gushan Town, and the town's mayor was Wu Peigui, a well-known local wealthy landowner.
The Wu clan is very powerful in Qinghe County and even Huai'an Prefecture.
In the Gushan Town area, the Wu family often imposed exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes in the name of corvee service, and used clever pretexts to amass wealth.
The people here are miserable.
Zhang Xiaowu himself is very loyal and well-known in this area.
He often came forward to help the villagers fight against Wu Peigui.
At the end of last year, the county government sent police officers to arrest Zhang Xiaowu, charging him with being a "rebellion leader who resisted taxation."
After being imprisoned, Zhang Xiaowu's family sold their land deeds and fishing boats and went to the county to smoothen relations.
As a result, money was spent but no one was saved.
It is rumored that Zhang Xiaowu starved to death in prison, and it was said that he died of illness.
Later I learned that these things were all caused by Wu Peigui, the town official, who had dug a hole long ago and was waiting for the Zhang family to jump into.
Not only did he torture Zhang Xiaowu to death, but he also took Zhang Xiaowu's farmland and fishing boats as his own.
These truths were known to Zhang Xiaowu and his gang of Jianghu brothers who were drifting on Hongze Lake, and that was why the scene just happened.
Although this gang of bald green men, headed by Panlong, looks fierce, they are actually not completely indifferent to the industry.
They usually fish and sell shrimp as their main business, and help people ferry people as a auxiliary business.
Of course, he also helps others fight.
"Then what's going on with all this?"
After Xu Qin listened to Zhang's wife's narration, he pointed to the greenhouse not far away, and then pointed to the killing cry at the east end of the village.
"This greenhouse should be used for eating 'decapitation rice' according to local custom."
"After these green men finished their meal and drank their wine, they were ready to avenge Zhang Xiaowu and go looking for his vengeance."
Seeing that Zhang's wife was silent, Su Zecheng, as a native of the neighboring county, knew what was going on, so he opened his mouth to tell the truth.
Zhang's wife nodded in fear and said yes.
The whole story has probably been sorted out.
Xu Qin asked Sanlang to take out the pancake bag from the saddle. There should be twenty sesame pancakes, and handed them all to Zhang's wife.
"Thank you, Master."
Zhang's wife took the little boy and knelt down with tears in her eyes to thank him.
Seeing the other party's expressions of gratitude, Xu Qin was silent.
There are too many people in need of help.
He just glances at things and does what he can when he encounters them.
"Let's go and have a look at the east end of the village."
Upon hearing this, Yang Shiqi hurriedly and quietly pulled Xu Qin's sleeve and pointed to the outside of the village behind him.
