Thinking of this, Chen Tingmei's heart suddenly felt warm. He turned his head and said to the country man seriously: "The English are good at boating and oscillating, and they are all over the world, and they are also dominating in Thailand. However, how can such elite troops in our dynasty wars be able to resist the enemy? A few days ago, at the mouth of the Gambia River, our fleet defeated the British under the wise command of Chief Lu, sinking more than ten ships, killing more than a thousand enemies, and seizing countless. Now, our fleet has moved forward smoothly, and maybe we can return to the court soon."

"Hey, I'll just say it!" The militia director clapped his hands excitedly and said, "I will definitely take a boat to Zhenhai Fort on the day the fleet comes back. I will kill more than a thousand enemies. Chief Lu is really a god-like figure. This is a great achievement! Alas, it's a pity. I haven't seen what Chief Lu looks like. Back then, I was a musket soldier on the "Sea Literature" and Chief Han often saw him. Chief Lu was the commander of the fleet, but he never had the chance to see him. Later, I heard that the "Sea Literature" was sunk in the war with the British. It's a pity. There seemed to have many people killed in that battle, including naval brothers and army brothers, and several of them were from our village..."

Listening to the man talking about the past in a confusing manner, Chen Tingmei didn't feel impatient at all and kept listening with a smile.

The three of them chatted and rushed on the road. After a while, the village was in front of them. Chen Tingmei stood on the small hill at the entrance of the village and saw the village ahead.

This is a standard village of fifty families. The traditional Chinese style red brick and green tiled houses are hidden among the lush orange trees. The vines in the yard of the house climbed half of the wall along the weaved reed brackets, and some birds fell on the top of the wall from time to time, chirping and looking at the courtyard.

A group of naughty children at the entrance of the village seemed to be playing some game. A dozen children of all sizes shouted and were having a lot of fun. Several hunting dogs followed them shaking their heads and tails, as if they were sharing their simple happiness.

What a quiet rural picture! Chen Tingmei was a little intoxicated when she looked at it. He suddenly understood the mentality of the militia director. Yes, if it were me, I wouldn’t believe that our fleet was gone, and I wouldn’t believe that our beautiful and peaceful life would be broken.

Who said that our fleet was gone?! Chen Tingmei roared silently in her heart.

Several naughty children at the entrance of the village were playing war games. A leading child was wearing a big black-brimmed cap that he got from somewhere. With this military cap that the children saw as "sacred" in the eyes of the children, the child naturally became the leader of the group of children and issued orders to the others.

"The enemy is coming!" The older child pointed the wooden stick in his hand towards the direction where Chen Tingmei and the other two walked, and shouted in a tender voice: "There are all in the row, five** shoot, prepare... to release!"

Then a group of children held the wooden guns in their hands and lined up in a decent manner, accompanied by the auxiliary word "papapa" in their mouths, and "scampapa" shot at the three of them.

The militia director laughed and rushed over, and hugged the leading child in the middle of chaos, instantly disintegrating the children's "military formation".

"Uncle Sun, you are slutty! You have been beaten into a hornet's nest before rushing over! Oh, you are slutty!" The child twisted and twisted in the arms of the militia director and muttered dissatisfied.

Chen Tingmei looked at the two people who were playing around with each other, and felt peace in her heart. The child looked ten years old, with chestnut hair and a Central Asian face, and looked quite cute.

"This kid is pitiful." The village chief next to him suddenly sighed and said softly: "It was said that their family of three were sold to us from the black seaside. The one who left the country was miserable enough. Later, his father was summoned to the army and went to sea with the navy, and never came back. The superiors quickly paid a pension of 200 yuan, but the family lacked a pillar. How could they live? Fortunately, his wife was still smart and bought half of the pension of 20 acres of land, and then rented it to an Italian who begged for food. He agreed that the harvest would be half of the harvest, and the mother and the two barely survived."

Chen Tingmei remained silent.

The militia director put down the big child, put the military cap on his head, then walked over with his hands, and said, "Today is Sunday, and there are no one to care about the naughty children on holiday. Malati and the others are playing war games, haha."

Chen Tingmei stepped forward and raised her hand to pat the boy on the shoulder, and encouraged him: "Little Malati, you are a man now. You must study hard in the future, strive to go to high school in the future, and then go to the Institute of Natural Sciences to further your studies and be a scientist, so that your mother can be proud of you."

"I don't want to be a scientist." The child raised his face stubbornly and said, "Little Malati will ride a horse when he was five years old. In the future, I will go to military academy and then be a soldier and kill all the British!"

"Malati, why do you hate the British so much?"

"They killed my dad!" Marathi said with red eyes: "No one will ride a horse with me, hunt and sleep with me, so I will kill them."

Listening to the child say something amazing in plain language and extremely serious attitude, the adults present sighed indifferently.

Malati's home is at the entrance of the village. Chen Tingmei and the other two followed the child. At the door was a lush Paranathine. Chen Tingmei, who was sharp-eyed, saw that a piece of bark at the bottom of the pine tree was carved with a few simple patterns with a knife. It seemed that two people were riding horses and playing. The smaller person in front was riding a foal, and the larger person in the back was riding a tall horse. There was also a woman behind the two horses standing under the tree and watching their long-haired hair quietly. The strokes of the knife were relatively tender, but it could be seen that they were extremely attentive.

Chen Tingmei could only sigh again in her heart.

This is a standard housing issued by the government, divided into three rooms on the left, center and right, with kitchens, utility room, yard and walls. The utility room was converted into a sheep pen, with four or five bleating goats in the pen. There was a big dog lying in front of the sheep pen. When he saw the person coming in, he shook his head and wagged his tail and threw himself into Malati's arms. Malati caressed the soft fur of the big dog, and his expression was gentle as if it was not at all like the boy who had just said he was about to kill all the British.

The mistress of the house was not here, maybe she went to work in the field. An Italian in the yard was killing two fish by the well. When he saw the village chief, the militia director came in with a stranger and stood up a little restrainedly and stared at them blankly.

"Malati, you're back." The Italian said in a somewhat unfamiliar Chinese, "I caught two fish by the lake and killed them for you to eat later."

Marathi snorted, playing with the dog on his own, ignoring him.

The Italian was suddenly embarrassed. Even though his face was covered with beards, Chen Tingmei could still see his face turned red.

"Ahem." The village chief cleared his throat and said, "Zampalini, I have handed over your materials to the county. In a while, the county will send you an ID card. From now on, you will be a citizen of our East Coast Republic of China. Remember, you must abide by the laws and regulations, be loyal to the country, serve in the military on time, and pay taxes. There is nothing else to remind you. You are lucky, so you should cherish it."

The Italian nodded with some joy.

After the village chief finished speaking, he said to Chen Tingmei awkwardly: "This Italian named Zamparini came from La Plata to make a living. It has been more than a year since he came. He was originally a tenant from this family, renting twenty acres of rice fields, and usually helping the family to cut grass and put sheep. A few months ago, Malati's mother came to me and told me to... want to marry Zamparini...what...and I also asked me to apply for Zamparini's household registration. I think it's true that there is no man in this family, and they are willing, so I followed their wishes to report to the county. Well, a few days ago, I heard that the county had already approved it, and the ID card could be issued in a while."

Chen Tingmei nodded in agreement. Now the country is invented and lacks a population. It is naturally a matter of encouragement to remarry a widow to increase the fertility rate. However, he finally understood the reason why Malati was cold towards this Italian. The child must have a deep affection for his father, so he became extremely disgusted with the cheap stepfather in front of him, which is also a common human nature.

Seeing that Chen Tingmei didn't say anything, the village chief said carefully: "Their family has twenty acres of paddy fields, five goats and two pigs. Their property valuation has exceeded the 50 yuan property tax threshold stipulated by the state. However, I considered that their family's life was not easy, so I took the initiative to report his property to forty-five yuan, so his family did not pay taxes..."

Chen Tingmei was the clerk sent by the superiors to check the accounts. He would start checking the village accounts later. There was no reason not to notice the village chief's small actions. Therefore, the village chief saw that others were easier to talk to, so he plucked up the courage to speak out first.

Chen Tingmei smiled and said, "You are doing right by village chief. The country has just issued new regulations, and families of military martyrs have been exempted for ten years, and they also enjoy various preferential policies. The martyrs sacrifice their lives for the country, so how can we live people bully their orphans and widows? So, you are doing right by village chief."

After listening with a smile, the village chief said, "So, clerk Chen, we will now start sorting out accounts and counting the supplies?"

"Okay, the country is fighting with the British. If this matter is done earlier, you can do your best for the country as soon as possible." Chen Tingmei nodded and said.

...
Chapter completed!