Chapter 170: These Are the Residences Assigned to You

Chapter 170: These Are the Residences Assigned to You

At this moment, Village Officer Cui found himself inwardly reproaching his nephew, the county magistrate's deputy, for sending him so many individuals who were difficult to handle.

For the sake of avoiding immediate trouble, Village Officer Cui had no choice but to follow Mo Jiuya's instructions and settle their accommodations for the day.

Naturally, he also intended to dispatch these individuals first, so that he could seek reinforcements from the city the following day.

At that time, we'll file a complaint at the court, accusing these individuals of unlawful intrusion into a private residence. Let them taste the bitterness of a few days in prison as a lesson.

With this in mind, Village Officer Cui's attitude did a complete U-turn.

"Since you're in such a hurry, I'll personally escort you to your residence."

As he spoke, Village Officer Cui had already started walking towards the entrance.

The Mo brothers and He Zhiran were well aware that the sudden change in the village officer's demeanor signaled he was up to something significant.

However, they paid no heed to whatever grand scheme the village officer might have in store.

By then, they'll simply deal with whatever comes their way. Of course, if the village head is sensible enough not to provoke them, they would temporarily put aside today's incident to avoid future trouble.

The village head seemed to be either intentionally dragging his feet or genuinely having mobility issues, as his walking pace was painfully slow.

Mo Chuhan urged impatiently, "Hurry up, did you not eat enough for dinner?"

Indeed, the village head was deliberately stalling for time, hoping that they would arrive at their destination as late as possible, ideally when it was completely dark.

With the dilapidated state of the house and the encroaching darkness, it would be difficult for them to tidy up properly.

While this night would spare them from sleeping outdoors, the drafty and dilapidated shelter could still freeze them to death.

The village head hadn't expected to be hurried despite his obvious attempt to slow down.

To avoid suspicion, he pretended to stagger slightly.

"Sigh... As one grows older, the limbs don't cooperate as well. I wish I could walk faster, but alas, it's beyond my control..."

Seeing the situation, Mo Chuhan promptly stepped forward and lifted the man onto his shoulders, striding forward with long strides.

Village Officer Cui's feet suddenly left the ground, causing him to jump in fright.

"What are you doing? Put me down!"

Mo Chuhan replied in a cold voice, "Your current task is to guide us."

Cui Minglin, who had accompanied Village Officer Cui, was also startled by this scene.

He understood his father's intention of deliberately slowing down and hastily caught up to Mo Chuhan, annoyance etched on his face. "Put my father down. He's not in the best of health; you might hurt him like this."

Mo Chuhan cast him a sideways glance.

"If you're worried about hurting him, hurry up and show me the way. That way, I can put him down sooner."

Village Officer Cui lay motionless on Mo Chuhan's shoulder, afraid to even move, for fear that he might be dropped accidentally.

After meeting Mo Chuhan's sharp gaze, Cui Minglin didn't dare to speak up for his father anymore.

Village Officer Cui, in his earnest endeavor to 'swiftly escape this bitter existence,' provided directions with utmost diligence, fearful that any misguidance might prolong his discomfort and necessitate lingering atop another's shoulder for even a moment longer.

The path to their residence was somewhat uphill, and it necessitated passing through the quarters of the Zhao and Zhou clans.

Despite the chill in the air and the impending dusk, we still encountered a few villagers on our way.

The villagers, witnessing Village Officer Cui being carried by a burly man and his expression of suppressed anger, were all curious about who dared to be so audacious.

Simultaneously, a slight thrill of anticipation rose within their hearts.

The Cui family, backed by their relative who served as an assistant county magistrate and their clan leader's position as the village head of West Ridge, had always looked down upon the Zhao and Zhou families.

Living in the same village as the Cui family, the two households had endured no small amount of bullying and pressure from them.

And judging from the strangers' demeanor, they seemed to be exiles assigned to this place.

Should that be the case, they hoped these people could persist in living here, causing as much trouble for the Cui family as possible.

Village Officer Cui felt a sudden flush of embarrassment upon realizing that his awkward situation had been witnessed by others from prominent families.

He bellowed at the crowd, "What are you looking at? Go back to your homes!"

The villagers, intimidated by Village Officer Cui, reluctantly dispersed at his command, none daring to linger and continue watching.

Mo Chuhan strode swiftly, ascending the slope until he reached the dwellings assigned to exiled convicts in West Ridge Village.

Scanning the area, there were indeed numerous houses, but many had crumbled. Even those still standing appeared on the verge of collapse.

Living in such structures would likely make for sleepless nights, with constant fear of a collapse.

Moreover, due to years of abandonment, weeds had overgrown around the houses. In this season, the weeds had withered, giving the entire scene an utterly desolate appearance.

Mo Chuhan roughly placed Village Officer Cui on the ground.

Cui clutched his chest, striving to regulate his breathing. He pointed at the courtyard before them and said, "These are the quarters allocated to you."

Observing the dilapidated houses, Village Officer Cui felt an inexplicable sense of smugness.

"I'm being generous today. You can choose any of these houses you like; live in whichever one you prefer," he continued.

"I've already told you, these houses are uninhabitable. If you had listened and come back after some repairs tomorrow, it wouldn't have been a problem, but you insisted on not doing so."

None of the people present were fools.

They could all see that, on the surface, Village Officer Cui was pretending to be considerate, but in reality, he was mocking them.

With houses like these, even after repairs, they might still be inhabitable. Reconstruction would be the only viable solution.

Especially in winter, construction was virtually impossible, making their settlement here tantamount to a death sentence.

Upon seeing such dwellings, everyone grew visibly enraged.

Fang Chuanzhou strode forward.

"Village Officer Cui, with houses like these, there's hardly a place to even start repairing. Is this how you're settling the new inhabitants of West Ridge Village?"

Village Officer Cui was not at all bothered by the situation. "The government hasn't provided any designated dwellings for exiles in West Ridge Village. These houses were passed down from our ancestors. If not for that, you wouldn't even have such accommodations when you arrived." "But how are so many of us supposed to survive the winter in these conditions?" Fang Chuanzhou intended to reason with Village Officer Cui. Unbeknownst to him, reasoning with someone who deliberately made things difficult was like playing a harp for a cow – it would fall on deaf ears. No matter what Fang Chuanzhou said, Village Officer Cui had only one response. That was, there were no other available houses in West Ridge Village for them to live in besides this place. If they were dissatisfied, they were free to argue their case with the officials at the government office. He Zhiran had no interest in witnessing their dispute. On her way here, she had already observed that apart from the three families' residences, there were no additional yards in the village. To overcome their current predicament, they would have to negotiate with the villagers and see if they could rent suitable houses temporarily. Of course, it was true that the villagers were wary of Village Officer Cui. If he refused, it was unlikely that the Zhao and Zhou families would dare to rent to them either.

As He Zhiran was pondering her strategy, Xie Tianhai approached and pointed to a dwelling on the easternmost side, saying,

"I think that one could suffice. With some minor renovations, it could serve as a temporary residence."