Fortune tellers give eggs, the stepmother is a Taoist boss

Chapter 18
The head of Kejia Village was so flattered by the visit of the township official that he and his whole family went out to welcome him.

Zhu Yougui handed the reins to the village chief's son, who came forward attentively, and said with a smile: "Village Chief Ke, you're welcome. I'm just out on business and came here to ask for a cup of tea."

Village Chief Ke hurriedly bent down and made a "please" gesture: "You're welcome, sir. Our Kejia Village is in a remote location, so I'd like to thank you for your concern."

The family, surrounded by the township doctor and two clerks, came in and took their seats.

Kejia Village is indeed remote, but it is rich in resources, close to the river and backed by mountains, so the life of the villagers is quite acceptable.As the head of a village, Ke Ruxiao's family situation is better.

The house is a civil structure with three courtyards merged into one, with two married sons living on the left and right respectively. Ke Ruxiao and his wife live in the middle. This makes it easier to call the children to help if there is anything.

At this time, the village chief Ke and the township doctor were casually discussing the village's land tax situation in the room. Mrs. Ke Zheng came in tremblingly carrying a plate of cakes.

She had fallen a few years ago and her legs and feet had never been very agile.

"Why are you doing this? Why don't you call Zhuzhu's wife..."

Ke Ruxiao frowned and complained, then stood up and confessed to Zhu Yougui: "Your Excellency, you are laughing at me. I am an old woman who has a stubborn temper and loves to show off."

Zhu Yougui waved his hand: "My wife is virtuous."

Seeing that the rural doctor really didn't care, Ke Ruxiao smiled and quickly took the plate from Ke Zheng's hand with one hand and supported his mother-in-law's elbow with the other.

He whispered: "Go and have a rest. It's cloudy, so your knees will hurt again."

Even though I wish you the best, you can hear the concern in his words.

After Ke Ruxiao carefully helped Ke Zheng to sit down, Zhu Yougui sighed: "Brother Ke and his wife are really very affectionate as a couple, which is enviable."

"Oh. What are you envious of an old couple?" Although Ke Ruxiao said this, there was a trace of embarrassment on his face.

Ke Zheng, who was sitting next to him, also lowered his head and pursed his lips to smile, and there was actually a hint of playfulness on the girl's face.

The two of them sat close to each other, Ke Ruxiao's hand still resting under Ke Zheng's elbow.

"She married into my family at the age of [-] and has been caring for me for decades. Now that her two sons have finally gotten married, it's time to enjoy a happy life. It's just that she is a hard-working person who never takes any time off. She is busy even if she doesn't pay attention. Busy here and there..."

Hearing a lot of complaints, his eyes still glanced at Ke Zheng from time to time.

Zhu Yougui felt like something had been stuffed into his mouth.

Oh, it’s the old couple’s old dog food.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhu Yougui and two minor officials stayed in Kejiacun for one night after the efforts of Ke Ruxiao and his wife to persuade them to stay.

Mrs. Ke Zheng and her two daughters-in-law are very good at cooking. Although there is no big fish or meat for dinner, it tastes good.

Over the delicious food, Zhu Yougui made some insinuations and got a general understanding of the conditions of each family in Kejia Village.

Especially Ke Chen and her second daughter-in-law.

The words of the village chief and his family were the same as those of the villagers he talked to along the way. They all said that Ke Chen abused his second daughter-in-law and two step-grandsons.

The son of the village eldest son was helped by Jiang Fuyuan to save his life, and he was particularly disgusted with the mean and greedy Ke Chen. He told how she took away the money from her stepson to become a soldier, and how she drove away the helpless second wife and three people. Tell Zhu Yougui everything about the hunger in the deserted house.

That night Zhu Yougui lay on the bed, looking at the old but neat gauze curtain and began to reflect.

Was he really deceived by Ke Chen?

Judging from the deep love between Ke Ruxiao and Ke Zheng, there shouldn't be any unspeakable personal relationship with Mrs. Ke, so is all this just nonsense from Ke Chen?

How about letting them confront each other directly tomorrow?Tell clearly who is right and who is wrong face to face, so that you can have an explanation...

Thinking about it, he slowly closed his eyes and let sleep cover his body.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Yougui opened his eyes again in a daze and found himself walking in a sparse forest.

There was so much mist all around that you couldn't see clearly from two meters away, and you could only vaguely make out the outline.

"Where am I?"

He looked around and saw nothing but white mist and skinny dead trees, but the black and hard earth beneath his feet.

"Ah San! Ah Si!"

I tentatively called the clerk's name twice, but there was still no response.

"strangeness……"

You can't just stand here stupidly all the time. Zhu Yougui decided to move forward. Maybe he would meet someone while walking. Then he would just ask how to get back.

Unexpectedly, after walking for a long time, there was still only white mist, black soil and dead trees in front of me.This forest seems to have no boundaries.

"Am I, Zhu Yougui, going to die here?"

Just when he was panicking, a faint cry came from the fog.

someone!

Without enough time to think about it, Zhu Yougui ran towards the source of the sound.

As long as someone is there, there is hope for him to get out!
After running for quite a while, panting, he finally found the owner of the voice.

It was a rickety figure in ragged clothes, looking like an old man.

The whimpering sound was him crying.

Zhu Yougui swallowed hard, his throat burning with pain from running.

After his breathing slowed down a bit, he cautiously said, "Old man, are you okay?"

The old man crying alone in the barren mountains must not have been abandoned here by his family, right?
As soon as he spoke, the old man's crying stopped abruptly.

The rickety figure stood up slowly while holding on to the tree trunk, and a hoarse voice came out.

"Good? What a fart!"

He was full of energy, completely inconsistent with his thin figure.

Zhu Yougui:?

Before Zhu Yougui could ask a question, the old man turned around suddenly.

That face is all too familiar to Zhu Yougui. Isn't this his father who died three years ago? !

"Dad, dad, why are you here?"

Father Zhu walked up to Zhu Yougui who was stunned with anger on his face: "It's not all your fault! You unfilial son!"

Zhu Yougui was even more stupid when he heard this: "No, Dad, aren't you dead? Why are you dressed like this?"

His father was obviously buried in a grand ceremony, and the shroud and coffin were made of the best materials. He also paid great attention to his father's life in the underworld. He was afraid that his father would suffer in death, so he would burn a lot of paper money every New Year's Eve.

Why is dad still suffering like this?

Zhu's father got even angrier after hearing this, and slapped Zhu Yougui's left cheek firmly with his big butt bag.

"Why am I dressed like this? You have the nerve to ask!"

"You unfilial son! I told you not to do good things on weekdays! I made you soft-hearted and only listen to false beliefs!"

"If you decide the wrong case up there, you and I will be imprisoned down below!"

"Every once in a while, someone comes to fine you and give you a lecture. The stuff you burned in the 15th grade of junior high school is of no use!"

"It's better this time. I might as well cause your father and I to have our homes ransacked down there!"

"It's not good for you to offend anyone. You have to offend such an ancestor!"

The more he talked, the more angry he became. Dad Zhu rounded his arms and fired his bow left and right. After a while, Zhu Yougui's face was covered with red palm prints.

"Ouch! Ouch! Dad, stop fighting! Stop fighting!" Zhu Yougui held his head and begged for mercy, "Who did I offend? I didn't do anything!"

"You didn't do anything? Think carefully about what you are going to do this time!" Dad Zhu looked at his stupid son who was beaten into a pig's head, raised his foot and kicked his butt hard.

This kick was so powerful that Zhu Yougui felt his eyes darken and his body felt light, as if he had been kicked to the sky by his father.

Dad Zhu's voice came from far away underground: "You bastard, please apologize to the fairy! Go and ask the fairy to give you a peace talisman——"

The strong feeling of weightlessness made Zhu Yougui gasp and sit up. Only then did he realize that it was already bright outside and he was still on the bed at the head of Kejia Village's house.

The clerk who heard the noise outside the door opened the door and came in: "Sir, are you awake? Village Chief Ke said breakfast..."

After saying nothing further, Zhu Yougui frowned and said, "What happened to breakfast?"

Ah San and Ah Si stammered for a while, "Sir, why are there slap marks on your face?"

(End of this chapter)