Punish you to take an oath chapter 2

Old Man Johnson jumped off the cart. The round – faced man asked him, “What’s wrong with your ox – cart? Why isn’t it moving?” Old Man Johnson pointed at the ox’s rear end. When the round – faced man went over to take a look, he was shocked! However, instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, a big smile spread across his face. Why? The city was currently cracking down on urban sanitation. There was a regulation that anyone, whether human or livestock, who “relieved themselves” on the street would be fined. The fine could be as little as $10 or as much as $50. With such a large pile of ox dung, the fine couldn’t be light.

The round – faced man pointed at the armband on his arm, then explained the fine regulations, and held out his hand, saying, “Your situation today is particularly serious. You’re fined $50!”

Old Man Johnson was stunned. He thought, I haven’t even delivered the vegetables yet, and now I have to pay a fine? He pleaded with the round – faced man, “Can you reduce the fine? Or, I’ll clean up this pile of dung.” But the round – faced man just squinted at him and refused.

Old Man Johnson saw that the sun was getting higher and higher. He was so anxious that he jumped up and down. He thought, Fine, I’ll pay the fine. It’s like losing 50 pounds of vegetables. If I keep arguing, not only will I be late for delivering the vegetables, but if this beast urinates again, I’ll really be in big trouble. Old Man Johnson fished out $50 from his inner pocket and reluctantly handed it to the round – faced man. Then he jumped onto the cart and was about to leave.

The round – faced man grabbed him, “You think you can leave before the matter is settled?”

“More fines?” Old Man Johnson’s eyes widened.

The round – faced man said with a smile, “Don’t be nervous. This ‘fine’ isn’t about money. It’s about taking an oath.”

Old Man Johnson didn’t understand what taking an oath meant. He stared blankly and asked, “What oath? What should I swear?”

The round – faced man pointed at his ox and said with a giggle, “You have to swear that you’ll love the city’s appearance as much as you love your ox. In other words, you have to promise that your ox won’t defecate or urinate on the street again, otherwise… Hehe!”

Old Man Johnson understood. He thought, So taking an oath here means swearing a solemn oath. Everyone should indeed pay attention to sanitation, but the ox isn’t a human. How can I guarantee that there won’t be any accidents? Unless I block the ox’s rear end. Old Man Johnson shook his head repeatedly, “This won’t work!”

The round – faced man’s face lengthened. He said, “If you don’t take the oath, this matter isn’t over, and you can’t leave! Get off the cart!” Without further ado, he pulled Old Man Johnson off the cart, then pulled the ox – cart to the side of the road and tied the ox to a tree.

What kind of regulation is this? Old Man Johnson shouted that he was wronged.

At this time, passers – by heard the commotion and gathered around. After hearing what had happened, they all advised Old Man Johnson to just take the oath. It was just a few words and didn’t cost any money. What was there to be afraid of? But Old Man Johnson didn’t think so. He thought, How can I just say such words casually? Once I say them, I have to keep my promise. If I can’t, something bad might happen! Old Man Johnson refused to take the oath no matter what. Since he wouldn’t take the oath, the round – faced man wouldn’t let him go, so the two of them were at a standstill.

Originally, the round – faced man was quite proud to have caught such a “big fish” early in the morning. But now, seeing Old Man Johnson being so stubborn and refusing to give in, he got angry. He said to Old Man Johnson righteously, “Do you know that what you’re doing is ‘resisting the law by force’? Let me tell you, we’re serious about cracking down on urban sanitation. The city officials are having a meeting today to discuss how to further strengthen law enforcement. And you, do you want to be a negative example? With your attitude, I’m telling you, it’s too late to take the oath now. You have to pay an additional $500 fine at least.”

“What? Another $500 fine?” Old Man Johnson finally understood. He thought, You just want money! At this point, he decided to stand his ground. He twisted his neck and said, “I won’t take the oath, and I don’t have the money. Let’s see what you can do to me.”

“Fine! I’m definitely going to make an example out of you!” The round – faced man sneered and started to untie the rope of the ox tied to the tree. “You’re not going to sell your vegetables today. Come on, go with me for processing. Damn it, I’ll lock you and your ox up for three days and three nights. Let’s see if you can come up with the money.”

“You… you…” Old Man Johnson was so angry that he gasped for air. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He grinned at the round – faced man and said, “Humph, you can confiscate my vegetables and my ox if you want. But if anything goes wrong, you’ll have to take full responsibility.”

The round – faced man didn’t expect Old Man Johnson’s tone to change so suddenly. He pointed at Old Man Johnson’s nose and said, “Don’t try to scare me. I’m just doing my job. Even if the mayor comes, you can’t leave without paying the money.”

Old Man Johnson smiled. “Did you really say that?” He slowly took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a couple of deep puffs, and then said to the round – faced man, “I advise you to think it over carefully. You’ll have to bear the consequences…”

The round – faced man felt a little nervous. “What do you mean?”

Old Man Johnson couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Didn’t you say that the officials are having a meeting in the city hall today?”

The round – faced man nodded. “Yes!”

Old Man Johnson looked quite proud. “After the meeting, the officials have to eat. There must be vegetables on the table, right?”

The round – faced man was secretly shocked. “Are you saying that your vegetables are for… the city hall?”

Old Man Johnson became even more proud. “Hey, the cafeteria there really likes the vegetables I deliver. They specifically told me that since there’s a meeting today and there will be a lot of people, I have to deliver the vegetables before 9 o’clock so as not to miss the lunch service…”

The round – faced man quickly looked at his watch. Oh my god! It was already 5 minutes past 9! This was a big deal. He couldn’t afford to delay a matter related to the officials. He quickly stuffed the rope of the ox into Old Man Johnson’s hand. “Then hurry up and go!”

Old Man Johnson said, “What’s the rush? Didn’t you say you were going to lock me up for three days and three nights and fine me another $500?”

The round – faced man knew that Old Man Johnson was just being angry. In order to get him to leave quickly, after thinking it over, he took out the $50 he had just fined from his pocket and returned it to Old Man Johnson.

But unexpectedly, Old Man Johnson still refused to leave! He said that if he was going, the round – faced man had to go with him to prove that it wasn’t his fault that the vegetables were late, but because he had been delayed by the round – faced man.

Seeing Old Man Johnson being so persistent, the round – faced man was really scared. He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. He was almost on his knees. “Sir, please go and deliver the vegetables quickly. I won’t fine you anymore, and I don’t need you to take the oath. What else do you want?”

Old Man Johnson said angrily, “What else? You fined me, and then you wanted me to take an oath. You even wanted to confiscate my ox and lock me up for three days and three nights. Humph, I don’t believe our government has such regulations. You’re just abusing your power. You ask me what I want? I’m going to report you!”

“Please don’t!” The round – faced man said with a mournful face. “I’ll apologize to you. Is that okay?”

When Old Man Johnson heard that the round – faced man was going to apologize, he was happy. After thinking for a while, he deliberately put on a straight face and said, “Okay, I won’t report you. But you have to take an oath too. You can’t fine people randomly or lock people up randomly in the future!”