GBP Chapter 19 Magistrate Yang's First Visit to the Widow Village
Chapter 19 Magistrate Yang's First Visit to the Widow Village
Yang Shaofeng gradually became anxious.
Quite some time has passed since Limpy Wu darted into the bushes.
Are the people on the other side fleeing from disaster or secret agents left behind by the Tartars? If they are secret agents left behind by the Tartars, will they set up sentries, and will Limpy Five run into them head-on?
A dozen or so constables gathered in twos and threes, chatting idly. Seeing that Yang Shaofeng kept glancing at the bushes, Zhang Liuliu, who was missing an eye, said with a smile, "Your Excellency, please don't worry. That guy, Limpy Wu, has several lives. He's survived countless storms. A small camp of a few dozen people can't hold him."
Another man, Wang Sishi, who was missing a few fingers, also laughed and said, "Liu Zi is right. If there were really something wrong, that guy Limpy Wu would have run back long ago. The fact that there's no movement at all means there's no danger."
Despite saying that, Zhang Liuliu, Wang Sishi, and the others still unconsciously touched their waist knives.
Yang Shaofeng nodded, about to say something, when he saw a wisp of smoke slowly rising again from the place where the cooking smoke had risen yesterday. A rustling sound came from the grass in the distance, followed by the calls of a cuckoo.
Upon hearing the cuckoo's call, Zhang Liuliu, Wang Sishi, and the others immediately turned their heads away and loosened their grip on their waist knives.
Before long, Lame Five emerged from the bushes and said to Yang Shaofeng, “Your Excellency, it’s not a group of Tartars’ hidden men inside, nor are they landlords or gentry seeking refuge, but a group of women.”
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "A group of women?"
Limpy Five nodded: "I have just investigated and found out that there are about thirty women inside, but no men or children. It's just like the widow villages I've seen before, only they're hidden a bit deeper."
Widow Village?
Before Yang Shaofeng transmigrated, he read many online novels that mentioned widow villages, and there were even a lot of jokes online about "night raids on widow villages".
As the name suggests, Widow Village is a village where there are no men, only a group of widows.
Generally speaking, widow villages usually appear during times of chaos. The widows in the village are unfortunate women who have lost their fathers, husbands, and sons. In order to survive in the chaos, these women gather together, help each other, and stick together for warmth.
As for why not find a man...
It's not that they don't want to find men, but men are consumables in chaotic times, and they are quickly consumed. A major battle could result in the deaths of thousands or even tens of thousands of men.
The number of men was several thousand, more than the total population of the entire Ningyang County.
In prosperous times, men having multiple wives and concubines is considered taking advantage of others; in chaotic times, it becomes a responsibility, since each additional person means another mouth to feed, requiring more food to fill their stomachs.
Even if you go out begging for food, it's always easier to ask for food for one person than for several people, right?
Therefore, the only way for a group of helpless women to survive in the chaos of war was to hide and eke out a living until the chaos passed and people's lives settled down. Only then could these women in the widow village feel safe and bold enough to leave their hiding place, either to get married or to support each other as they grew old.
Yang Shaofeng sighed slightly and instructed the group of constables: "Go, Lame Fifth Brother, come with me into the village to take a look. The rest of you brothers, stay away from us and put away your knives so as not to frighten them."
However, it wasn't until he entered the so-called widow village that Yang Shaofeng realized that the novels from later generations were complete nonsense.
It's not a widow's village at all. The entire so-called "village" doesn't even have a decent house; it's all just shacks that are as dilapidated as can be!
The "houses" where people lived were shacks, and the "kitchens" where they cooked were also shacks. Dozens of shacks of all sizes made up this widow village.
The village is surrounded by cultivated fields, where wheat seedlings have grown to a foot tall. Several women who look strong are weeding with hoes, a dozen or so thin women are squatting in the fields pulling weeds, and a few older girls are washing clothes by the small ditch on the east side of the village.
Faced with Yang Shaofeng and Limpy Wu suddenly barging into the village, several strong women carrying hoes stood in front of the dozen or so thinner women. The girls who were washing clothes also hurriedly threw their clothes into the basin, grabbed the wooden basin, and ran behind the strong women.
Looking at the several robust women who were trying to remain calm but whose bodies were trembling slightly, Yang Shaofeng coughed and forced a smile: "Ladies and sisters-in-law, there's no need to be afraid. My surname is Yang, and I am the newly appointed magistrate of Ningyang County. Yesterday, I saw smoke rising from this place and thought I'd come and take a look."
Seeing that the women were still wary, Yang Shaofeng smiled again and pointed to his official robe, saying, "The Tartars have been driven away, and Ningyang County has submitted to the Ming Dynasty. What I am wearing is the official robe of a seventh-rank county magistrate of our Ming Dynasty."
After a slight pause, Yang Shaofeng continued, "Among all of you elder sisters and sisters-in-law, I wonder which one is in charge?"
A robust woman carrying a hoe mustered her courage and stepped forward, shouting, "How can you prove you are the county magistrate? And how can you prove what you're saying is true?"
Yang Shaofeng smiled helplessly, first pointing to his official robe, then to the constable's clothes on the lame man's body: "Aren't my official robe and the clothes worn by this lame man next to me enough to prove it? If that's not enough, I can send someone to call the people from nearby Heshan Village, they can also testify for me."
The group of women looked at each other, and finally the strong woman who had spoken earlier said loudly, "We don't know anyone from Heshan Village."
Yang Shaofeng frowned slightly and asked, "Then tell me, which village do you know? As long as they are from Ningyang County, just tell me their names, and I can have someone call them over right now."
Another robust woman mustered her courage and called out, "In Xihe Village, there's a man named Wang Thirty-Six. Do you know him?"
Yang Shaofeng thought carefully about the list of names when processing the land deeds for Xihe Village, and shook his head slightly: "Xihe Village is west of Ningyang County, about 20 or 30 miles south of here. The head of the village is Wang Wuqi, and there are 46 households and about 80 men in the village. There is no one named Wang Sanshiliu."
The woman who uttered the name Wang Thirty-Six cried out in pain, collapsed to the ground, and pounded her thighs with her hands, crying out, "My God! My brother is alive! My brother is alive!"
After calling out several times, the woman knelt down before Yang Shaofeng again, wiping away her tears as she cried out, "My lord, please forgive me! The name I just gave you was false! My lord, please forgive me!"
Yang Shaofeng reached out to help him up, saying, "Get up. Now you should believe me, right?"
Seeing the woman nod repeatedly, Yang Shaofeng then asked loudly, "Ladies and gentlemen, which other villages are you from?"
The group of women immediately became very excited and started talking all at once.
"I'm from Shaling!"
"My home is in Gengzhuang!"
"My family is from Hujialou!"
"..."
The women rattled off a long list of village names, some of which Yang Shaofeng had heard of and remembered, while others he had never even heard of.
Once the women had calmed down a bit, Yang Shaofeng turned to Lame Wu and instructed him, "Have someone inform the heads of the eight communities and sixteen neighborhoods to each bring an elderly person from their neighborhood or community to help them recognize their relatives."
After Limpy Wu agreed, Yang Shaofeng looked at the group of women and said with a smile, "Now, can you find me a place to sit?"