In addition to the commendation order, there is also a bounty from the neighboring city, totaling one thousand five hundred taels!
Half of the reward of 3,000 taels was directly divided between the two masters. Obviously, in the eyes of Magistrate Du, they were the undoubted top scorers.
However, Song Xixi did not accept all of it. After discussing with Song Wufu and Zhang Xiaomei, they returned the 500 taels of silver and asked Detective Chang to take it back and distribute it to the guards and detectives who were killed or injured that night on Mid-Autumn Festival.
It wasn't that she was so generous and kind, it was that she felt that her and Erbai Wu's contributions were not that great, and that the real life-threatening ones were the guards and the agents.
But she couldn't go back, otherwise she would be slapping Magistrate Du in the face, so it was most appropriate to do it in the name of donation.
"Thank you, thank you Miss Song, I'll thank you on behalf of the brothers!" Captain Chang accepted the five hundred taels of silver with red eyes. He appreciated Song Xixi's character more and more and looked forward to cooperating with her and Erbai Wu next time.
The Song family wanted to stay with them for lunch, but Captain Chang had other important matters, so he declined the offer and hurriedly left the Song family with the others.
After watching them go away, the villagers who came back to their senses congratulated Song Xixi and the others one after another, with proud expressions on their faces.
There are no two Songs in one stroke. After this incident, no one will look down on them as outsiders anymore. The Song Jia'ao has truly established a firm foothold here.
What's more, both Xi Yatou and Erbai Wu have their names in front of the magistrate. It is said that there are people in the court who are easy to do things. If someone encounters something difficult, they can ask Xi Yatou to help.
In short, it is a great blessing for the whole village that Xi Yatou has received the commendation order from the government!
Song Baolai flattered with a smile on his face: "Uncle Wufu, Xi Yatou has won a commendation from the government. This is a great honor for our village. It is not an exaggeration to say that it honors our ancestors!"
Other villagers said yes one after another, and even persuaded Song Wufu to serve wine: "We fled here and haven't done anything to invite our ancestors back. Why not take this opportunity to do it and inform our ancestors that we have a promising descendant like Xi Yatou?"
La!"
Song Wufu had a thought in his mind and was about to ask his granddaughter what he thought. The old village chief came over with a cane and said, "It's really time to get the ancestor's memorial tablet. It's best to choose a piece of land and build the ancestral hall first."
It turns out that there was a small ancestral hall in Songjiaao. Although it was dilapidated and there was no money to repair it, it was indispensable to offer incense to the ancestors during festivals and pray for them to protect the living descendants.
The villagers had just fled here last year, and every household was extremely poor. It was very difficult to survive, let alone rebuild ancestral halls to worship their ancestors.
The old village chief had always kept this matter in mind, and now that someone had brought it up first, he planned to take this opportunity to finalize it.
The surrounding villagers had different expressions when they heard this.
It's not that they don't want to build an ancestral hall to honor their ancestors, but the land in the village is now vacant, and the seedlings won't be planted until next year. Most families are still living on money borrowed from the government, so how can they spare any money to build an ancestral hall?
Song Wufu saw their dilemma and suggested: "Rebuilding the ancestral hall and inviting the ancestors' memorial tablets is a big deal. Why not wait until all the people who left their hometowns come back at the end of the year and we can sit together and discuss it."
Several families in the village have gone to other towns to do tofu business, and if nothing else, they will not return until the end of the year. Such a big deal as rebuilding the ancestral hall and requesting ancestor memorial tablets cannot be decided without even saying hello.
The old village chief thought the same thing: "Okay, we will discuss it in detail when they come back at the end of the year, and they will decide on the person who will take over as the village chief."
As soon as this statement came out, the villagers were shocked again.
Song Wufu said anxiously: "Your old village chief has done a good job, there is no need to rush to find a successor!"
Others echoed: "Yes, yes, no one is dissatisfied with you as the village chief. Why do you need to replace someone if you are such a good person?"
The old village chief laughed and said: "The old man's legs and feet are weak, and as he gets older, his mind is getting confused. He can't do many practical things in the position of village chief. Why don't we let you young people come, and the old man can enjoy a few years of happiness."
"
Everyone looked at the gray-haired old man and felt uncomfortable in their hearts.
There was a drought and famine before. In order to keep everyone alive, the old village chief thought of ways to take them everywhere to collect food and drink. Later, he couldn't stay in his hometown anymore, so he spent a lot of time asking around, and finally found out
Huai'an Prefecture is a great place.
On the way to escape the famine, he even fed the only water and food he had to the hungry children... There were nearly two hundred people in the village, old and young. Who had not received the kindness of the old village chief?
The old village chief had made up his mind and no one could convince him. He praised Song Xixi and Erbaiwu with a smile for a while, then walked away with a smile on his crutches.
The villagers stood at the door of the Song family for a while, and then dispersed, without any mention of asking the Song family to hold a banquet to celebrate.
However, Song Wufu remembered this and lowered his head and asked his granddaughter: "My dear, do you want to host this banquet?"
Song Xixi shook her head and said without any hesitation: "Don't do it. Firstly, it's unnecessary. Secondly, it will be troublesome."
A look of regret flashed across Song Wufu's face, but he respected his granddaughter's decision: "Okay, okay, if you don't want to do it, let's make some delicious food for ourselves. It's the same for the excitement."
Song Xixi nodded and told the others: "Don't spread the news about Erbaiwu and I working in the yamen, so as not to attract uneasy and well-meaning people and bring trouble to the family."
She and Erbaiwu are two weak and easy-to-bully threats to those who commit crimes. If they get confused or have a fit, who knows whether they will attack her family?
Thirteen who was whipped to death by her is the best example.
The Song family all know the seriousness and promise not to spread the news.
The news that Song Xixi and Erbaiwu were commended by the government soon spread throughout the country. Even Hongfeng Town knew about it, and there was an endless stream of people who went to the tofu shop every day to inquire about the specific situation.
As a result, the business in the shop was greatly boosted, and the bean products prepared every day were sold out an hour earlier than usual. This caused some regular customers who couldn't buy them to complain to Song Cainiu Hua'er and the others.
The couple couldn't hold themselves back, and they didn't even bother to go back to sleep after finishing their business. When they got home at noon, they told Song Xixi how proud they were, and wished they could take her to the shop and show off to the guests.
After the couple returned to the shop, there were still curious people who came all the way to Song's house every day to look for Song Xixi and Erbaiwu. They wanted to see what the people and dogs who had been awarded by the government looked like. Some even brought their own dogs and gave them money.
Let 250 dogs be bred.
The two pets were so annoyed that they simply headed into the mountains at dawn. In addition to tending the acre of land where potatoes were to be planted and training the poles and benches, they also wanted to find the wolf pack where Broken Ear was and hunt with them.
Of course, humans and dogs are no match for wolves. Several times they ruined the hunting plans of the wolves, making more than twenty wolves furious and cursing all afternoon. They were so frightened that neither the pole nor the bench dared to fight with them.