328 Handling
Among the 40 to 50 boxes, half of them were filled with what looked like pieces of armor, while the other half were filled with military books.
Moreover, more than half of those books had been heard of by Old Master Hu, but it was said that they had been lost in circulation.
However, these boxes had been in the cave for a long time. They had probably been there for at least 70 to 80 years. Those books had already become very fragile. If they were not careful, they would easily be destroyed.
The villagers knew that books were very precious. Usually, a rough book would cost hundreds of copper coins, and a slightly more exquisite book can cost one tael of silver.
Not to mention these ancient books, even if they sold their bodies, they would not be able to afford one.
Old Master Hu made a prompt decision. “I’m afraid we have to report this to the county magistrate.”
The other elders didn’t say anything. They couldn’t make up their minds immediately.
The government’s power did not extend to the villages. Most of the time, the officials would not care about the matters in the villages.
The villages were mostly run by the landlords and wealthy families, as well as the village chiefs.
They could manage all matters by themselves, big and small. The more unreasonable villages could even claim independence and could avoid being sentenced to death by the government.
For example, if the villagers decided to drown someone in a pig cage, the officials would not care even if they knew.
However, they felt that the things in these boxes were too troublesome. There was no need to mention the armor pieces. They looked tattered, which eliminated the suspicion of rebellion.
But how should they explain the presence of the military books?
The villagers had already laid eyes on these things. If news of this spread, their village would be finished.
It had only been 17 years since the war ended. It was said that the remnants of the rebel army from the previous war had not been completely eliminated. They could not afford to be stained by the conflict for no reason.
On the other hand, Elder Ma looked at Old Madam Wang and turned his head to Old Wang. “Old Wang, in your opinion, how should we deal with this matter?”
Old man Wang stuck his head out, wanting to see what was in those boxes. When he was suddenly called out by Elder Ma, his entire body trembled.
“Why are you asking me about this?” Old man Wang was confused. He had never liked to participate in the village’s matters, nor could he participate.
His brain was not suitable for politics.
“What can you get out of him?” Old Madam Wang said, “If you want to seek my opinion, just say it. Why beat around the bush? How can that old man withstand your scare?”
Old Wang: “…” Why did these words sound so wrong?
Elder Ma puffed up his face. “Who’s asking you? What can a woman know?”
Old Madam Wang rolled her eyes. “I can’t be bothered to advise you anyway!”
She turned around and looked at Old man Wang. “Are you leaving? If not, I’ll leave first.”
When Village Chief Hu saw this, he hurriedly stopped her. “Aiya, Madam Wang, Elder Ma’s temper is like that. Please bear with it. In the end, what happened today was because your Ah Yu found the cave. Logically speaking, we should ask your family’s opinion.”
Although the items were placed in their village, the truth was that if Ah Yu did not tell them and had asked the flying helpers to secretly transport the items to the Wang family, they wouldn’t even know about this.
After all, those people seemed to be highly skilled in martial arts. It might really be possible to transport the items away without anyone knowing.
But they didn’t do that.
“What’s there to think about? This is not something our village can keep. Old Master Hu is right. Just hand it to the county magistrate and everything will be fine.” After Old Madam Wang finished speaking, she dusted her hands. “I still have something to do at home, so I won’t be staying. Think about it yourself.”