“A few days ago, I met two men while I was on patrol. They asked where the shampoo was. Lately, there have been a lot of outsiders asking about it, so I didn’t think much of it and brought them here!” Lightning Dad said, pointing to the spot under his feet.

"Then they took out a piece of paper and handed it to my wife. My wife looked at it and went to help her get the goods. Before leaving, my wife was worried that the two of them wouldn't be able to carry it all, and asked me to help her! I originally wanted to help them carry the goods, but they refused repeatedly and didn't cause any trouble in our village, so I didn't think much of it! A few days later, this Mr. Zhang came to pick up the goods!"

"This batch of goods is actually the same as the batch that the two men took away last time, so Mr. Zhang insisted that we broke our promise!" Ultimately, it was his wife who had been wronged, and at the end, Lightning Dad glared fiercely at the man with her bull-like eyes.

Although Mr. Zhang was angry, he knew that he was not on his own turf, so he could only suppress his anger and look at Jiang Yaojie, saying, "Mr. Jiang, what do you think should be done about this? I have never asked anyone to pick up the goods. Our master is waiting for this batch of goods. Many people have already given our master their deposits. You can't ruin our master's reputation!"

"Auntie, were those two people one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, and one of the men had a black mole the size of a fingernail on his face?" Jiang Yaojie ignored Mr. Zhang's words and turned to ask.

Lightning Girl was shocked upon hearing this. Her mouth dropped open, and she stammered for a long time before asking, "You... how did you know? It really is those two people!"

Jiang Yaojie looked at Jiang Ling helplessly. Even if he knew now, there was nothing he could do. The names and whereabouts of those two people were still unknown.

“Mr. Zhang, we are aware of the situation, but it will take some time. Actually, we would love to bring the person back to you right now, but that's simply a pipe dream. How about this, you inform your father, and we will compensate you tenfold for the losses this time? As for the future, we will try to minimize the probability of this happening again!” Jiang Ling said this with a sense of helplessness. Although she had the goods, they were all pre-ordered. She couldn't possibly transfer other people's goods to supply them; that would be even more unethical.

Mr. Zhang seemed surprised that Jiang Ling agreed so readily. For a moment, he was stunned and stood there, somewhat flustered. After a full minute, he looked at Jiang Ling with an incredulous expression and asked, "You... what did you say? Ten times?"

Jiang Ling nodded, her attitude still sincere. "Yes, please inform your master. At most, we can only offer ten times the compensation. That's what's written in our contract!"

Mr. Zhang nodded, intending to leave Lujia Village immediately to tell his master in Qinchuan about this matter.

Just as he turned to leave, Jiang Ling suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "Mr. Zhang, please wait a moment. I have a few questions for you."

"you say."

"How many people have seen this delivery note in your hand? Was it lost or forgotten along the way, but then found again?" Jiang Ling suddenly remembered the source of the forged delivery note and quickly asked.

Mr. Zhang's steps froze in mid-air. He scratched his head and fell into deep thought. After a long while, he shook his head with a somewhat disappointed expression and replied, "The delivery note is only between me and my husband. As for the situation you mentioned, such as it being lost or missing along the way, I would have to ask my husband. He usually keeps these things himself!"

"Okay, then I'd be very grateful if you could ask for me, Mr. Zhang!"

Mr. Zhang didn't exchange any more pleasantries with Jiang Ling and strode away from her sight.

As soon as Mr. Zhang left, Lightning Girl, pale-faced and biting her lip, walked to Jiang Ling's side and asked tremblingly, "Ten times? I..."

"Sister-in-law, you don't need to take this money. Didn't I already say that this has nothing to do with you? Don't worry!" Jiang Ling quickly reassured her, worried that Lightning Mother might overthink things.

Jiang Ling never expected that Lightning Girl would stubbornly shake her head and say, "No, no, I'm clearly also responsible for this. How can you bear it all alone? Even if you're rich, you can't withstand this kind of torment. I have some here, don't think it's too little!"

As she spoke, Lightning Girl took out some loose silver from her purse and placed it in Jiang Ling's hand.

“That’s right, Jiang, you’ve always been so good to us, how could we stand idly by when something like this happens!” The speaker was a worker from the shampoo factory. Jiang Ling remembered him; he had been a refugee before and had come to Lujia Village with others.

He was hardworking and capable, and didn't talk much. Jiang Ling saw that he was honest, so she kept him at the shampoo factory.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Big sister, you're back?" Hu Yue'er, heavily pregnant, pushed through the crowd and rushed in with a worried expression.

Seeing Jiang Ling's concerned expression, he asked.

"It's nothing. It's inconvenient for you to go in and out with such a big belly. You go back first, and I'll come find you after I've finished dealing with this!" Jiang Ling glanced at Hu Yue'er's belly and quickly said, not wanting her to worry.

Before Jiang Ling could finish speaking, Hu Yue'er grabbed Jiang Ling's hand, pouted, and said, "Big sister, you're lying to me. The news has spread, how could you be alright?"

As she spoke, Hu Yue'er's gaze fell on Lightning Girl and she said softly, "Lightning Girl, can you tell me what happened?"

"I..." Lightning Girl felt her brain buzzing, and for a moment she didn't know who to listen to.

The village chief, noticing Lightning Mother's predicament, coughed lightly and said to Hu Yue'er, "Miss Yue'er, you're pregnant and shouldn't get excited. Why don't you go back and rest for a while?"

“No! I am a member of Lujia Village, and I regard Jiang Shi as my own sister. How can I, as her younger sister, back down when my sister is in trouble?” Hu Yue’er shook her head and firmly refused the village chief.

Seeing this, the village chief didn't know what to say, so he could only shake his head helplessly and stand in the crowd again.

"Mrs. Jiang, this is what I've saved up over the past few months. Please don't think it's too little..."

"Yes, yes, without you, we wouldn't be living like this now. Keep this money! If it's not enough, we'll figure out how to scrape together some more!"

"Yes, please don't be shy about the money..."

Jiang Ling was deeply moved by everyone's words. Just as she was about to speak, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

All eyes turned toward the sound of hooves. The carriage was very ornate and obviously very valuable.

The carriage stopped not far from Jiang Ling. The driver carefully lifted the curtain, and a man in official robes appeared in everyone's sight.

He held a bright yellow silk handkerchief in his hand. Even though these people had little experience with such things, they could roughly guess what the bright yellow silk handkerchief was.

He coughed lightly at the crowd, slowly unfurled a silk handkerchief, and said in a slightly shrill voice, "Imperial decree has arrived!"