“How did this happen?”
The Chief did not understand him. How could the mountains be owned by other people?
“Then Jiuyue… No, why did Old Tu build a house on the mountain? No one stopped him. Did you ask?” he asked.
The mountains near the An Clan Village were all part of the Lianjing Mountain Range. Did they all belong to one person?
If so, how did An Jiuyue manage to live on the mountain? Someone must have known about it when An Tu built the treehouse. Did no one object to it?
“I—” The Junior Officer opened his mouth.
He did not want to mention this to the county official because he did not want to cause trouble for An Jiuyue, but he could not help it.
However, he was confused by the response he received.
“I did mention it, but they said it concerns the higher-ups, so it’s not something low-ranking officials like them can interfere with. They told me not to get myself in trouble and to leave just like that.”
There was a look in the Chief’s eyes.
This suggested that An Tu was permitted to build a treehouse on the mountain. He must have been capable if he could do that on a mountain range belonging to someone else while the other villagers could not.
“You should keep an eye on those gossipy people in the village next time. Don’t provoke Jiuyue.”
If An Tu was capable, how could An Jiuyue not be? It was better for them not to provoke An Jiuyue.
“Can the people in the village be controlled?” The Junior Officer shook his head with a smile. He felt that the Chief had hit the nail on the head.
If they could control these people, they would not be gossiping all the time.
Besides, if they were to interfere more and tell them to keep their mouths shut, rumors that An Jiuyue had a relationship with them might circulate in the village.
The thought of it gave him a headache.
Why can’t they live their own lives? Why must they act as if they will only feel better if others are worst off?
In his opinion, none of them lived comfortably either. He was worried.
The Chief agreed and could only say, “Alright, let’s pretend we don’t know anything.”
What else could he say? All of them were talkative. They could not do anything to them.
…
On the mountain…
An Gouzi stomped his feet in anger when he saw that the straw shed was larger than his house.
However, when he looked at An Jiuyue’s back as she walked towards the straw shed to help, he gave up on his anger.
He could not afford to offend this woman. He could only work without complaint. Would he be willing to be beaten up if he did not do a good job?
He wondered what this woman grew up eating. Her arms were so strong it hurt when she hit him. He was still breaking out in cold sweat from the pain.
“Brother Dog, didn’t you say you can’t get out of bed? Why are you here?” An Feng tossed a tree branch he had brought back aside and ran over with concern.
An Gouzi was speechless.
How can I not be here? If I stay in bed anymore, An Jiuyue will really make me stay in bed forever.
He was just being lazy. He did not want to be crippled.
“I rested for a while and am much better. I rushed over to help you.”
He spoke kindly despite his thoughts, acting as if he could not bear to let his brothers share his burden.