Among the three-person team, the one who suffered the most was undoubtedly Master Feng.

Although Feng Mubai was still a bit confused and didn't dare to lay a hand on his parents, thanks to Madam Feng's protection, the wealthy Feng didn't manage to hit him more than a few times.

As for Master Feng, he was only thinking about teaching Feng Mubai a lesson, but he was ambushed by Madam Feng and suffered repeated defeats.

Poor Master Feng, already old, couldn't withstand such a beating. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

"Brother Zhou, you don't need to lift a finger now."

Zhou Hongtao nodded and said, "That's even better. Fighting them would really get our hands dirty."

Feng Mubai stood in the room, bewildered, still not understanding the situation. When he heard Zhou Hongtao speak, he immediately exploded: "Who the hell are you, you bastard? Who gave you permission to come to my house?"

Jing Zhe glanced at Feng Mubai, then at Zhou Hongtao, thinking to himself that he hadn't kicked hard enough earlier!

"Brother Zhou, they say the son pays for the father's debts. If the father is no good, he can beat the son!"

"..."

Zhou Hongtao understood immediately and charged forward to fight without saying a word. Feng Mubai was already thin and weak, and had been indulging in drinking and womanizing for many years. He was also covered in injuries, so he was no match for Zhou Hongtao.

After a few punches and kicks, he was unconscious again.

"Someone come here!"

At this moment, Jing Zhe shouted outside again, and immediately a team of constables rushed in.

The reason Zhou Hongtao was able to enter the Feng family mansion without hindrance was because Jing Zhe had arranged for constables to come and guard outside, so the Feng family servants naturally didn't dare to stop him.

"Take them both back to the jail!"

"Yes, President Jing!"

The constables agreed and walked towards Master Feng and his wife. The smarter ones first took Madam Feng into custody, since Master Feng was old and unconscious, and it would be too much trouble to take him into custody!

"By the way, there's a shortage of cells in the prison right now. Just put Master Feng and Xu Wenchang in the same cell! Oh, and also put the old monk Kongjing in the same cell with them. They're all old acquaintances, so they can catch up!"

It was Master Feng and his wife who framed the Zhou family back then. Their crimes did not extend to their children, so Jing Zhe did not intend to arrest Feng Mubai. Of course, whether or not he was arrested was no longer important. Without the Feng family, he was already ruined.

As for the Feng family's assets, Jing Zhe plans to go back and discuss it.

...

After leaving the Feng family's residence, Jing Zhe took Zhou Hongtao back to the Lin family's residence.

For more than ten years, Zhou Hongtao had been using the name "Lin Hongtao" and claimed to be a distant nephew of Lin Changjun, so the servants of the Lin family all knew him.

It was already evening.

Perhaps having already guessed the outcome, Lin Changjun had already instructed his servants to prepare food and wine to welcome the two.

During the meal, Jing Zhe recounted the events of the day: the old monk's arrest, Magistrate Xu's arrest, and the arrest of the Feng couple. This shocked everyone, especially Lin Changjun and Lin Wan'er, who were witnessing Jing Zhe's methods for the first time and were filled with astonishment.

However, after hearing the crimes they had committed, no one sympathized with them anymore.

At this moment, Jing Zhe asked again, "Brother Zhou, the two members of the Feng family and Xu Wenchang will receive their due punishment, and your Zhou family will also be exonerated. However, the dead cannot be brought back to life, so we can only give you something else as compensation. What are your thoughts on this?"

Zhou Hongtao picked up a glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. He had lost count of how many glasses he had drunk today. He put down the glass and smiled with some relief, "President Jing, I am already extremely grateful for what you have done for me and for the Zhou family today! As for everything else, I still stand by what I said before, it is entirely up to President Jing to decide!"

In fact, Zhou Hongtao wasn't stupid. From the conversation Jing Zhe had with him today, he could tell that Jing Zhe wanted to return the Feng Family Restaurant that he had taken back, but he didn't want it and couldn't accept it.

The reason Jing Zhe helped him so much was probably because of Lin Changjun's sake, and he should be grateful. If it weren't for Jing Zhe, he wouldn't have been able to take back the restaurant, let alone even curse the Feng family.

Therefore, besides gratitude, he didn't want anything more. Over the years, he had become accustomed to life in the countryside and the simple life with his wife and children. His only unresolved issue was the tragic deaths of his parents and family. Now that Jing Zhe had helped them avenge their deaths, it was as if his unresolved issue had been resolved. He had no more attachments and desires.

Jing Zhe nodded and said seriously, "In my opinion, Feng Family Restaurant was built from Zhou Family Restaurant, so Feng Family Restaurant should rightfully belong to Zhou Family. Since Brother Feng doesn't want it, I will buy the restaurant from Brother Zhou at an equivalent price."

"No need!"

After hearing this, Zhou Hongtao waved his hands repeatedly: "President Jing, I heard that you are coming to this restaurant to open the Da'an Newspaper. This is not only His Majesty's decree, but also a matter of benefiting the people. So I plan to donate the restaurant to the court and the Da'an Newspaper!"

"..."

In fact, Jing Zhe could accept the result, but he couldn't bear not to compensate Zhou Hongtao in some way.

After thinking for a moment, he added, "The Feng family's wealth over the years all came from the Feng Family Restaurant and doesn't belong to them at all. So, my next step is to send people to seize the Feng family's assets, and all the seized property will belong to Brother Zhou!"

Zhou Hongtao's refusal of even the Feng family restaurant shows that he truly takes a detached view of material possessions like money. So he picked up another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp, saying, "President Jing, I don't want the restaurant, and naturally I won't take the money either! As for the money, may I share my thoughts?"

Jing Zhe nodded: "Please speak freely."

"President Jing, in the early stages of setting up the Da'an Newspaper Office, you need money for everything from purchasing materials and manpower to decoration. Let's use that money to cover the costs! I've also heard that the Da'an Newspaper Office needs money to publish its newspapers. Could I use that money to buy the first issue of the newspaper for the people of Jiangling, so that all the people can have a newspaper to read?"

"..."

After listening, Jing Zhe gave Zhou Hongtao a thumbs up repeatedly.

Actually, the biggest difficulty was distributing the newspaper in Jiangling. He had considered that the people of Jiangling were already resistant to newspapers, and it would be even more difficult to get them to spend money to buy them.

So he once thought that in order to establish a good reputation, the first issue of the newspaper would be free. Surely no one would refuse something free?

As long as they read the first issue, Jing Zhe is confident that they will be willing to read the second issue of the newspaper.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Hongtao was so sensible, refusing a single penny and even using the money to do good deeds. In the end, it will not only demonstrate the Zhou family's magnanimity but also expose the Feng family's ugliness and treachery. At the same time, it will also help promote the newspaper, killing three birds with one stone!

————