OBS Chapter 1231: Bai Jiaxuan's rage
Chapter 1231: Bai Jiaxuan's rage
Chapter 1231: Bai Jiaxuan's rage
Qin Hao and Lu Zhaopeng returned to Bailu Village in the night. Just as they climbed over a ridge, Lu Zhaopeng suddenly stopped and the bag in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang".
"What is this?" His voice was trembling.
Qin Hao followed his gaze and saw the whole field was covered with gorgeous red flowers, which looked like a sea of blood in the twilight. The petals were as thin as cicada wings, swaying gently in the evening breeze, exuding a sweet and sickening fragrance.
"Poppy." Qin Hao dug his nails deep into his palms. "Look at the scale. Eighty percent of the land in the village is planted with it."
Lu Zhaopeng's breathing became heavy. He staggered down the slope, and his cloth shoes crushed the wild chrysanthemums on the roadside.
Lu Zhaopeng's heart-wrenching roar could be heard from afar. Qin Hao looked up and saw him frantically kicking the poppy flowers on the edge of the field, the petals breaking into bloody red juice under his feet.
A farmhand carrying a hoe came over and shouted, "Where did this lunatic come from? How dare you destroy the Lu family's land!"
Lu Zhaopeng turned a deaf ear and raised the torch to burn the poppies in the field. The farmhand was so scared that he dropped his hoe and rushed over, knocking Lu Zhaopeng to the ground.
The other farmhands on duty heard the noise and rushed over with their hoes. One of them stepped directly on Lu Zhaopeng's face.
"Beat him to death! You dare to burn Master Lu's poppies? You are tired of living!" The farmhands cursed and beat him with fists and feet. The blood oozing from his forehead dyed the poppy petals red.
Qin Hao rushed forward, grabbed the wrist of the man swinging the pole with his right hand, and twisted it. With the sound of bone cracking, the farmhand screamed like a pig being slaughtered. Before the other two could react, Qin Hao's sweeping kick had already knocked them to the ground.
Lu Zhaopeng spat out the mixture of mud and blood in his mouth, pointed his trembling fingers at the poppy field, and his tears left two white marks in the blood: "Burn them...burn them all..."
Qin Hao was about to help him up when suddenly more than a dozen torches lit up around him. The farmhands who had heard the news came with sickles and rakes and surrounded them. One of them had already run to report the news. The light from the torches cast a flickering shadow on Qin Hao's face. He slowly stood up and protected Lu Zhaopeng behind him.
"Who is so blind as to dare to steal poppy fruits?" Lu Zilin's voice came from far away. He was wearing a brand new silk gown, and was followed by seven or eight strong men.
When the torch got closer, Lu Zilin's expression changed instantly: "Zhao Peng? Why are you here?"
The farmhands looked at each other in bewilderment, and the one with a broken wrist was kneeling on the ground in pain.
Lu Zilin kicked the nearest farmhand and said, "Are you blind? You dare to hit my son!"
Then he ran over, helped Lu Zhaopeng up, and asked him with concern if he was hurt anywhere.
Lu Zhaopeng pushed his father's hand away, staggered to his feet, pointed at the poppy fields around him, and asked in a hoarse voice: "Da, are you the one who led the planting of these?"
Under the moonlight, Lu Zilin smiled with a hint of pride: "Of course! This thing can make much more money than growing crops!"
He rubbed his fingers together and gestured: "One acre of poppy is equivalent to ten acres of wheat. Everyone in the village has become rich by growing it! Many villagers still lived in thatched houses last year, but this year they have moved into tiled houses!"
Lu Zhaopeng stared with bloodshot eyes and grabbed Lu Zilin by the collar: "You are harming people!"
"How many people have been torn apart and their families destroyed because of this!" His nails scraped harshly on Lu Zilin's silk jacket. "You earn money by doing this unscrupulously, aren't you afraid of retribution?"
However, the villagers around all looked indifferent, and some even curled their lips.
"How can we commit a sin by farming? You can make your family rich, but you can't allow us to support our family?"
"That's right. If we can't sell the crops at a good price, then we deserve to be poor for the rest of our lives? How can this be justified in the world?"
Lu Zhaopeng didn't know how to refute for a moment. Seeing this, Lu Zilin quickly pulled his son's arm and said, "Son, don't worry about this. You're back just in time. Your mother has been missing you these past two days. Come home with Da."
Lu Zhaopeng wanted to resist but was taken back by two farmhands called by Lu Zilin. Qin Hao did not stop him. Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and filial. It depends on how Lu Zhaopeng chooses.
At this time, Bai Jiaxuan also heard the noise and rushed over with people. Seeing that his son was fine, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then took Qin Hao back to the Bai family.
In the main room of the Bai family, the wick of the oil lamp burst into a spark.
Xiancao served the fragrant oil-splashed noodles. Qin Hao had been traveling all day and was already starving. He ate while praising, "Auntie's oil-splashed noodles are so authentic. Even in Xi'an, you can't find such delicious oil-splashed noodles."
"If you like it, eat more. If it's not enough, I'll give you more." Xiancao always had a gentle smile on her face.
Qin Hao ate a bowl of poppy to fill his stomach, but did not continue eating. Instead, he asked his father about the cultivation of poppies and how the subsequent production and sales were carried out.
Bai Jiaxuan said angrily, "Except for our family, almost everyone in the village exchanged the wheat in the fields for poppies. After boiling them, each family gave them to Lu Zilin. As for how Lu Zilin transported them out and who he gave them to, I don't know. He was guarding against me like a thief."
Qin Hao frowned. If he didn't figure out the sales of opium and the masterminds behind it, it would only be a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution. The worst that could happen was that he would just move to another place to grow it. The lessons of the American anti-drug campaign were there for us.
Just as Qin Hao was thinking about how to get the news, the gate was suddenly knocked open. Lu Zhaopeng staggered in, his forehead still bruised, his eyes bloodshot and frighteningly red: "I know where the opium finally went!"
"Did you get it from your father?" Qin Hao said with rare respect in his tone.
Lu Zhaopeng took a sip of cold tea and nodded: "It was Tian Fuxian. He colluded with several wealthy families in Zishui County. The county magistrate and the security commander were all bribed. They transported opium to Hanzhong and sold it in the name of a pharmacy."
Bai Jiaxuan realized the seriousness of the problem and looked at his son worriedly.
Qin Hao thought for a moment and said, "It seems that I have no choice but to expose this matter to the public."
Lu Zhaopeng quickly asked, "How did it get out to the public?"
"Mr. Nan, the editor-in-chief of Qinfeng Daily, hates evil and hates opium, which poisons his compatriots. Let's rush to Xi'an tomorrow morning and explain the situation to him. He will definitely be willing to publish this matter in Qinfeng Daily, which will definitely shock Xi'an. By then, these parasites in Zishui County will not be able to cover it up."
Lu Zhaopeng was delighted when he heard this: "Okay, let's do it."
"However, you have to be mentally prepared. At the very least, you are an accomplice..." Qin Hao patted Lu Zhaopeng on the shoulder.
Lu Zhaopeng gritted his teeth and said, "He has done something evil, so he should be punished!"
……
In the early morning, Bailuyuan was shrouded in mist, and the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard one after another.
Lu San led the red horse out from the backyard, the shaft knocking against the bluestone slabs with a dull sound. Bai Jiaxuan came out of the main room carrying a blue cloth bundle, his eyes were dark and swollen, obviously he had not slept all night.
"We have enough dry food, don't delay on the road." Bai Jiaxuan stuffed the bag into the carriage.
Xiancao stood under the eaves holding Bai Xiaowen, who was not even a year old. The little kid babbled and reached out to Qin Hao.
Qin Hao pinched his brother's cheek, turned to Bai Jiaxuan and whispered, "Da, take care of yourself and your aunt."
As the carriage turned past the ancestral hall, Lu Zhaopeng suddenly grabbed Qin Hao's arm. In the morning mist, the archway was crowded with people. Lu Zilin, wearing a brand new satin jacket, stood at the front, and behind him, villagers were carrying hoes or carrying poles, like a human wall blocking the middle of the road.
"Stop!" A dozen young men immediately rushed up and grabbed the horse's bridle. The red horse was frightened and raised its front hooves, almost falling off the horse.
Lu San finally calmed the frightened horse and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Wow, you're leaving the village so early, are you going to report us?"
"My family is counting on this season's harvest to find a wife for our son!"
"Kid, please give us a way out."
Lu Zhaopeng looked at the ignorant villagers and said with great sorrow: "You are committing a crime. You are committing a sin. Do you know how many families will be destroyed by these things? How many families will be forced to sell their children and daughters because of these things? Their families will be broken up and their families will die?"
The crowd suddenly quieted down, and someone suddenly shouted.
"They won't let us live, and we won't let them live either."
"Baby, please stay. I beg you."
Some people begged desperately, while others surrounded the carriage with murderous eyes.
The veins on Lu San's hands bulged as he gripped the whip, and the chestnut horse pawed its hooves restlessly.
"Get out of the way!" Bai Jiaxuan's roar was like thunder. He rushed over from the stage with a hoe on his shoulder, the blade of the hoe flashing coldly in the morning light, "Whoever dares to touch my child, come and try!"
The usually gentle clan leader was now like an enraged lion, swinging his hoe in an arc. The young man in front couldn't dodge in time, and his collar was torn open.
The crowd retreated and then closed like a tide. Someone shouted, "We can't let them go!"
The powder keg was ignited instantly.
Qin Hao kicked over a man who rushed over and knocked another one unconscious with his backhand. He saw Bai Jiaxuan's hoe swinging tightly and Lu San's whip cracking loudly. But there were too many villagers, so crowded that several people were cautious and could not kill them. They saw more and more villagers gathering around them.
"Hao'er, hurry up!" Bai Jiaxuan suddenly groaned. Qin Hao looked back and saw his father staggering backwards, blood gushing out from between his fingers, staining his gray cloth jacket red.
Qin Hao felt his temples throbbing. He grabbed the villager's neck and was about to kill him.
Bai Jiaxuan's bloodstained hand suddenly pressed on his wrist: "Don't." The blood dripped onto the back of Qin Hao's hand, scalding his heart.
Bai Jiaxuan stood up shakily and protected Qin Hao behind him again. He covered his forehead with one hand and pointed the hoe at everyone with the other hand: No one is allowed to hurt my kid.
Lu Zhaopeng looked at Bai Jiaxuan's back, then looked at Lu Zilin hiding in the crowd, and cried out sadly: Da...
Lu Zhaopeng's mother wanted to rush forward, but was stopped by Lu Zilin.
"Stop it!" The old man's roar made people's eardrums hurt.
Lu Taiheng squeezed into the crowd at some point. The old man had a head full of white hair and used his skinny body to pull the reins of the carriage.
"Everyone with the surname Lu, get out of my way!"
Someone in the crowd made way for him, and taking advantage of this opportunity, Bai Jiaxuan pushed Qin Hao onto the shaft of the cart.
Lu Zhaopeng froze in place, staring at Lu Zilin who was hiding behind someone.
"Zhao Peng!" Qin Hao shouted. Lu Zhaopeng woke up as if from a dream and jumped into the carriage. Lu San took the opportunity to drive the carriage forward slowly.
……
Next to the bell tower in Xi'an, the blue brick building smelled of ink. Qin Hao walked up the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor and stopped in front of the door with a bronze plaque that read "Editor-in-Chief's Office".
"Come in." A clear male voice came from inside.
When I pushed the door open, I saw Mr. Nan writing quickly at his desk. The round-frame glasses on his nose reflected the sunlight outside the window.
"Student Bai." Mr. Nan pushed his glasses and said with a smile, "I still remember your "On Pigtails" very clearly!" As he spoke, he took out a yellowed newspaper from the pile of books. Qin Hao's profile was printed on the front page.
Lu Zhaopeng on the side couldn't help himself and took out a poppy flower from his backpack. The petals had wilted, but they still exuded a strange red color.
Mr. Nan's face suddenly changed. He picked up the flower and went to the window to take a closer look: "Where did you get this?"
Qin Hao unfolded a map of Zishui County: "Eighty percent of the farmland in Bailu Village has been converted to opium poppies. Nineteen out of the twenty-seven villages in Zishui County are planting them. The county security group has sent soldiers to guard the main roads. The opium transport convoys are flying under the banner of the pharmacy and are heading straight to Hanzhong..."
"What a bunch of parasites!" Mr. Nan slammed the table.
……
At dawn the next day, the shouts of newsboys resounded throughout Xi’an: “Read the newspaper! Poppies are rampant in Zishui, the security team is guarding the homes of drug dealers, and the county magistrate and his officials are protecting each other…”
The report in Qinfeng Daily was like a thunderclap that shook the entire city of Xi'an. Governor Zhang was furious and immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the opium case in Zishui County.
The Xi'an city defense forces went out overnight and blocked all official roads leading to Zishui County. Teams of soldiers armed with live ammunition rushed into the county government office and arrested the county magistrate, security chief and others who were still asleep.
When Tian Fuxian was arrested in his own house, he was still wearing a satin pajamas and yelled, "I am the head of the township, why are you arresting me?"
As a result, he was knocked to the ground by a soldier's rifle butt and dragged into a prison van.
Lu Zilin was lying on the kang, dreaming of getting rich, when he was suddenly awakened by the door being kicked open. Before he could react, he was pinned to the ground and tied up.
At the same time, orders were issued to immediately eradicate poppy fields in Zishui County, and villagers on Bailuyuan stood on the ridges of the fields, watching their hard-earned "dream of getting rich" vanish into thin air. Some cried, some cursed, but most people remained silent.
Bai Jiaxuan stood in front of the ancestral hall, burned incense to his ancestors, and let out a long sigh.
In the prison in Xi'an city, Lu Zilin and Tian Fuxian were imprisoned in the same cell.
Tian Fuxian gnashed his teeth and said, "Lu Zilin, what kind of son did you teach? He even didn't let his own father go."
Lu Zilin huddled in the corner, wanting to cry but unable to, "If I had known this would happen, I should have strangled him to death when I gave birth to him!"
As he was talking, there was the sound of the cell door being opened. Lu Zilin looked up and his expression suddenly changed.
"Wa, please save Da. You've hurt Da like this, you can't just ignore him!"
Lu Zhaopeng was heartbroken: "You are still stubborn even now..."
"Wu, baby, Da Wu, please rescue Da quickly. This is not a place for people to stay. Da can't stay here for even a day."
Seeing his father's shameless appearance, Lu Zhaopeng threw down a bag of clothes and said, "You should repent your sins in prison."