There is misery inside and outside the county government office.
The people who came after hearing the news were stopped outside and stretched their necks to look.
The officials gathered in the lobby, each talking to each other.
Wang Juren was crying, and he was standing in front of the magistrate Wang's official robe.
In just a few days, he seemed to have had most of his life taken away, and a few strands of white hair appeared on his temples.
Mr. Ye is lying down, his cyanotic fingers are still tightly curled, and the face that once laughed and cursed has been swollen and deformed.
Wu Zuo opened Ye Lao's hand and inspected it, and found that there was fine sand embedded between the fingernails.
Ye Chongwen was in mourning, and suddenly a shrill cry came out from his throat: "Grandpa!!"
He Qingxuan also felt like he was struck by five thunders. He trembled and stepped forward, throwing himself on Mr. Ye in disbelief, "Teacher..."
When the government officials informed them, they had the hope that they were seeing real people.
But I didn’t expect that this would be the result!
Chen Ping bowed his head and knelt down, tears welling up in his eyes.
After many days of salvaging and exhausting manpower, the result was like a bolt from the blue.
Even though Chen Ping was mentally prepared, his chest still felt like he was being beaten so hard that he was suffocated and found it difficult to breathe.
He knelt down beside Mr. Ye, his throat sore with grief, and he felt an urge to feel queasy.
It was clear that a few days ago, people were still full of life, carrying shovels and going to the ground.
Why did it look like this in the blink of an eye?
"Teacher,"
Chen Ping grabbed Mr. Ye's robe and said, "Teacher, get up...get up!"
But the old man lying there was stiff all over, his closed eyes were dotted with blood, and he was lifeless.
Mr. Ye, a great mathematician who devoted himself to serving the people and treated him like a son.
Some are really gone!
This nightmare-like scene made him unable to hold on any longer, so he howled and finally cried heartbreakingly.
The three of them lay trembling on the corpse, extremely sad.
The childish and sad voice makes those who hear it cry and those who see it feel sad.
Some officials in the hall couldn't help but sigh, "It's such a pity for Mr. Ye. I'm afraid the county magistrate...sigh."
"It's still a bit too impulsive," the chief secretary murmured in a low voice as he put his arms around his sleeves and reached in. "I, a son of an official, can only achieve a small fame after ten years of hard work. At least I have to survive before I can benefit the people."
"I heard that the county magistrate did it just to save a civilian husband. It's not worth it. Could it be that he was carried away by last year's award?"
The colleague next to him glanced at him and lowered his voice, "I don't know if he is worth it, but we are really not worth it."
"Oh?" The chief clerk was slightly stunned and opened his eyes, "How do you say that?"
"What's the point of asking?" The colleague made a gesture and said coldly: "Eighteen lives, who counts?"
"You and I each perform our duties and should not have participated in this muddy water. It was the county officials who were anxious to slow down the people and wanted to gain a reputation as a clean official, so they forced us to go through."
"Mr. Ye is the person in charge, and the county magistrate is the leader. Now that they are dead and missing, it is all over. There is no one above us to shoulder the responsibility. Please let the court ask for accountability. Aren't we the ones who bear the brunt?"
As soon as these words came out, the officials around him became nervous, and the face of the chief clerk also changed.
"Even if the county magistrate dies, isn't there still Huang County Cheng? How can we, the junior members, take our turn?"
"Huang County Cheng? He resigned in public long ago. Although there has been no official document, he has never been involved in this matter from beginning to end. He may be hiding at home and laughing."
"Then...do you still want to pay for the compensation that the county magistrate mentioned before?"
"He said this. It has nothing to do with us, right? Even if we pay compensation, it will still have to be paid by the Ye family and the Wang family..."
Magistrate Wang had vowed at the beginning that all land damaged by the flood discharge channel would be compensated.
Now that the dam collapses, let alone the loss of farmland, they may not be able to survive the lawsuit involving human lives.
Even if the county government is emptied of this amount of money, it may not be able to replenish it.
The words of the few people did not avoid suspicion, and they were unaware that the surrounding eyes were staring at them, and the atmosphere became very depressing.
At this time, Wang Juren stood up and shouted angrily.
"What are you talking about!"
"The county magistrate has always treated you well, but now his life and death are unknown. You don't want to find him back, but you are here worrying about gains and losses?"
"Tianzhubu, the county magistrate once tolerated you when you committed a crime. Have you forgotten?"
Wang Juren had a fiery temper and a stern voice. Everyone present was stunned.
The landowner's face turned red and he planned to hunker down to avoid it.
The officials were also filled with indignation and stared at the officials with disgust.
"Master Wang is a generous person. I have never treated you badly for many years. Now that I have not found him, you are rushing to shirk your responsibility. It is too much!"
"That's right! Ji people have their own destiny, and you must still be alive!"
Wang Juren has tolerated them for a long time. If he hadn't seen the three children in so much pain, he would have taken action.
Who would have thought that these people had no sympathy and would target the Ye family.
How shameless!
Mr. Ye worked tirelessly to plug the gap in the ditch, but his body is still cold.
These people have no emotion in their hearts. They actually want the Ye family to bear the compensation for the common people. Are they still human?
The subordinate official on the side was reluctant: "Dean Wang is also a judge, and there are iron bars of law in the officialdom! If something goes wrong, someone must take responsibility. This is common sense."
Magistrate Wang is not here, so they are not afraid of this master.
"We didn't say that the county magistrate was definitely dead, but eighteen people did die outside, including people from our county government."
"There are still some people whose bodies have not been found anywhere. If a superior officer is held accountable, how should we respond? Should we also imitate these little kids and bury our heads in tears?"
They stood there like a high, cold wall, unable to let out the slightest warm breeze.
But the faces of the government officials are not pretty.
Mr. Wang is an upright official, but his attitude has always been tougher, but he has never treated his subordinates harshly.
Now, even if something really happened, before the first seven days have come, everyone is making sarcastic remarks and turning their backs on each other.
It’s so chilling!
Everyone was angry and said one after another.
"It's not too late to discuss this matter in the future, it's important to find the adults first!"
"Yes, let's find an adult first."
The subordinate looked indifferent, "Of course we have to find it, there are many people outside waiting to ask for money."
Wang Juren had a dark face and pointed at the subordinate official with trembling fingers.
Ye Chongwen's red eyes stared fiercely at the hall. He wanted to say something but was held down by Chen Ping.
He Qingxuan, with tears still hanging on his face, laughed angrily, suddenly pushed everyone away and walked out directly.
Chen Ping glanced at everyone with cold eyes, stood up and said to Ye Chongwen: "Chongwen, let's send the teacher back first."
"The teacher is a scholar and loves to be clean. He cannot walk away with dirt and dust all over his body."
"Let's take him home."
Chen Ping's words made Ye Chongwen's heart suddenly twitch.
Yes, I want to take grandpa home, go home...
"Chongwen!" He Qingxuan came back with his servants, carrying a stretcher, and said heavily: "Let's go."
"Don't let the teacher look at these ruthless people."
"Teacher, let's go home!"
Ye Chongwen gritted his teeth and nodded, carefully helping his grandfather's body onto the stretcher.
When everyone is about to leave.
The subordinate official who always spoke coldly suddenly looked outside.
Among the crowd, a few people immediately walked out.