"Little boy, where did this rice cake come from?"

The house was drafty, the roof was covered in cobwebs and had small holes, let alone any valuables. How could someone so poor eat rice cakes?

Where did the money come from?

"Grandma asked Mom to make this for me with new rice. There are still several pieces left, but I won't give you any! This is mine! If you dare to steal any, I'll kill you!"

Wanbao was only five years old, but he spoke with unusual ferocity.

It seems she's been spoiled rotten.

The officer's expression turned slightly cold as he turned and left.

"Reporting, boss, we didn't find anything!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Duomiao's family was about to smile.

He was so frightened by what was said next that he started trembling all over.

“But when we came out, we saw the old woman’s grandson eating a rice cake the size of his head. He said he had a lot more at home, which I found suspicious.”

You should know that the rice cakes here are all made from refined rice.

Grind the rice into powder using a stone mill, then add brown sugar to the cooked rice and pound it into a cake-like consistency before placing it in a bowl.

The rice flour is sifted onto the rice cake, wrapped up, and then steamed in a pot until cooked through, resulting in a soft exterior and a chewy interior.

One piece is enough to make an adult feel about 50% full.

Naturally, an extremely large amount of rice was used, along with expensive brown sugar.

It's not something ordinary families can afford.

Even in their family, they only make a few pieces on specific holidays, which are then shared among the dozen or so family members.

The Sun family was so poor they couldn't even afford to eat rice cakes, how could they possibly afford them? Letting a tiny child eat a piece all by himself, what does that say?

This means their family doesn't lack food.

Where did the extra grain come from?

As soon as he finished speaking, not only Zuo Li, but also all the onlookers fell silent.

Everyone knows what's going on.

No one said it out loud.

"Are you going to confess honestly, or should we continue searching? Let me make this clear: if you confess voluntarily, you'll receive a lighter sentence. But if I find anything, well, that's another story."

Zuo Li's voice was like that of a terrifying Black Impermanence.

The only difference is that one works for the living world, and the other works for the dead world.

"No, no, absolutely not. The rice cakes were just made from some of our own food supplies right after the autumn harvest, because we thought the kids were really craving them."

Sun Duomiao's voice was hoarse and filled with fear.

As if some shameful secret had been discovered, Zuo Li, who was used to seeing criminals, understood immediately.

"Okay, Zuo Er, keep an eye on them. The rest of you come with me inside to search."

When the boss takes charge, one is worth two.

Yan Xia also joined in the fun.

They first went to the storeroom, which was piled with firewood and a bag of bitter grass, which had dried up and was probably something they had dug up but forgotten to eat.

Zuo Li tapped and banged around, and touched the unevenness of the wall.

No abnormalities were found.

Then they went to the kitchen, the outhouse, and every other room, but found nothing.

Now only the courtyard and Sun Duomiao's room remain.

"Go check the yard for cellars and hidden caves."

After giving his instructions, Zuo Li stepped into Sun Duomiao's room. The room was small, with a muddy floor, moldy wooden beams, and crumbling walls that made people feel physically uncomfortable.

The only furniture was a three-legged cabinet and a bed.

Zuo Li opened the wobbly cabinet, which was full of clothes. Lifting it up, he could see a purse that was black in color, probably never washed.

There was one or two taels of silver inside, plus more than 400 coins.

He tossed the purse back into the cabinet, then reached out to touch the wall and stomped on the floor.

Everything is normal.

Zuo Li crouched down and peered under the bed.

There was nothing there, but just as he was about to stand up, he noticed that the mud under the bed was strange; it was unusually loose, as if someone had dug it out and then put it back on.

He pushed the wooden bed aside; it wasn't as heavy as he had imagined.

As the sunlight shone through, the floor beneath the bed came into view.

Zuo Li kicked away the soil, revealing a wooden plank less than a meter in size.

Once opened, the bottom reveals a cellar.

It's probably just been dug up.

It was extremely damp inside.

Zuo Li ordered two of his men to take out the sacks, and then he searched the yard.

Fortunately, the yard is normal.

Five bags of rice were piled up in front of Sun Duomiao's house.

Everyone sighed in dismay.

"Wow, there really is grain! They're really bold to steal 500 catties of rice. We'd better stay away from everyone in her family in the future, lest they steal everything from our house. Like father, like son. If the elders are all wicked, what kind of good children can they raise?"

"Pah! This grandson of the Sun family is always bullying people. He has hit my granddaughter with stones several times. This little beast, so this is the family tradition. No wonder, bad bamboo can't produce good shoots. From the old to the young, they are all bad seeds!"

"I was just fooled by her pitiful act. She's so greedy. Look at Manager Li. The two families were in similar circumstances before, but now it's a different story. So, you have to be down-to-earth and not always think about taking advantage of others. Now look what happened. She didn't get any advantage, and she ended up in jail."

“............”

Sun Duomiao's face turned blue and red from the villagers' scolding.

Her old hands were shaking uncontrollably.

"Sir, it's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. The storeroom was full, so they put the grain in my room. Maybe I'm mistaken. The yield per mu is indeed 500, right? It's all a misunderstanding. I didn't know anything about it. I've been too busy at home lately, and I'm confused."

Yan Xia chuckled.

Is this an attempt to play dumb and get away with it?

No way!

"Officer Zuo, what good is it to apologize after killing someone? If a thief is caught stealing money, is it believable that he was just joking? A crime is a crime, and facts speak louder than words. I, Yan Xia, never falsely accuse an innocent person. The evidence is here. I request that Officer Zuo arrest this person and interrogate him thoroughly!"

Zuo Li nodded.

"Take Sun's family away."

These words were spoken.

Sun Duomiao collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness on the spot.

Zuo Li didn't tolerate her either, and pulled out a large knife and held it to her neck.

The weather was slightly cool, and the moment the cold broadsword touched her neck, her whole body began to feel cold.

I don't know if it was from the cold or from being scared.

Sun Duomiao woke up instantly.

She stopped pretending to be dizzy.

Yan Xia put her rice onto the oxcart, signed a contract with Li Changtao, and then went home with her son.

Together with the officials.

The curtain has now been drawn.

Back at the shop, Yan Xia looked at the piles of sacks in the backyard and felt a little worried.

A total of 140 bags of rice were harvested from 100 mu of land.

The two empty rooms are already full.

There was nowhere to put your feet in the courtyard.

Moreover, the rice needs to be husked, which is another headache.

There are two ways to shell the shells here. One is to use a tool similar to a stone mill, which is more convenient, but there are only one or two in the village, so you have to queue up to use it. The other way is to use a stone mortar and pestle.

This is physically demanding work, and it takes a very long time.

It's not an easy task at all.

Yan Xia gave up her plan to take all the rice home and contacted a familiar grain shop owner.