Chapter 141 If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext.
As Xiumei said this, Xiao Qidi was carrying cleaned herbs into the main room through the back door, and the little girl followed him in after smelling the aroma of meat.
Upon hearing this vicious curse, which sounded like an irreconcilable feud, not only Ning Jinli was stunned, but Xiao Qidi also froze on the spot.
What's going on?
How is this related to Xiao Qidi?
What did he do?
Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and bewilderment in each other's eyes.
"Mommy, Mommy! It smells so good! What delicious food did you cook?" The little girl's question broke the silence.
Xiumei quickly wiped away her tears. "Come quickly, come quickly! Fairy sister has brought us lots of delicious food. Quickly kowtow to fairy sister!"
The little girl's eyes were fixed on the bubbling, steaming pot.
She was too short to see what was cooking in the pot on the stove, but she could smell the aroma, which made her eyes light up and her mouth water.
Even so, she held back and walked up to Ning Jinli, ready to kneel down.
"No, no, no!" Ning Jinli quickly stopped her, taking the little girl's hand and saying, "Are you starving? How about we, the older sister and this big brother, have dinner with your family?"
"Okay!" The little girl nodded her head vigorously, her eyes full of anticipation.
Xiao Qidi frowned, his thin lips moved slightly, intending to ask Xiumei why she said those things.
However, before he could speak, Ning Jinli noticed and subtly gave him a wink, signaling him not to ask those questions in front of the child.
So he silently handed the bamboo basket containing the herbs to Xiumei.
Xiumei said, "You guys eat first, I still need to go and brew the medicine."
The little girl opened her mouth and called out towards the inner room, "Grandma! Eat—"
Xiumei quickly covered her daughter's mouth and whispered, "Sweetie, let the fairy sister and big brother who are visiting our house eat first. Grandma, Daddy, and Mommy can eat last."
“No way,” Ning Jinli said immediately, “If we’re going to eat, we’ll eat together.”
Xiao Qidi asked, "Are these herbs of yours effective?"
Xiumei's eyes reddened, "It only helps a little, it makes him feel less pain... I have to brew the medicine, otherwise he won't be able to drink it later, and he'll feel terrible..."
“Wait,” Ning Jinli said, “If you trust me, hand your husband over to me.”
Xiumei burst into tears again, "The fairy is willing to save him?"
"You, your daughter, and your mother-in-law eat first. We'll take your husband for a bit and we'll be right back."
After Ning Jinli finished speaking, she exchanged a glance with Xiao Qidi.
Xiao Qidi naturally understood and went directly to the inner room, and soon carried Xiumei's husband, who had fallen into a deep sleep, out on his back.
Since it was a fairy who had rescued her, Xiumei was more than happy to accept it and dared not ask any more questions. She stood in the main room and watched Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, who was carrying her husband, leave the thatched hut.
Ning Jinli led Xiao Qidi to the time portal she had just opened, connected the time portal to Medicine King Valley, and then they went inside together.
Given the current situation, it would be more convenient to send Xiumei's husband to Medicine King Valley.
After the two left.
Xiumei's daughter, smelling the aroma from the pot, asked longingly, "Mother... I'm hungry, can I eat?"
Seeing her daughter's expectant look, Xiumei felt a pang of heartache, but she still said, "My dear daughter, just bear with it a little longer. We'll eat together when the fairy sister and brother come back."
“Okay…” the little girl licked her lips.
Xiumei thought for a moment, then picked out a small piece of meat, broke it in half, fed one piece to her mother-in-law and handed the other to her daughter, saying, "Mom, An'an, you two try it first."
"Ah, what is this... what is this? How can it be so delicious!" The moment the old lady put it in her mouth, it was as if even her blind and cloudy eyes regained their light.
The little girl jumped up and exclaimed that it was so delicious.
Xiumei didn't know how to explain it to her mother-in-law. Even she herself, despite having heard the fairy's explanation, still didn't quite understand.
"Hey! What are you eating? It smells so good! I could smell it from far away!" Suddenly a voice rang out, and a man dressed as an official strode in.
“Zhao… Officer Zhao…” Xiumei’s face changed drastically, and she hurriedly stepped forward, “You… why are you here…”
Officer Zhao took a few deep breaths, narrowed his eyes, and glanced behind Xiumei as he said, "Don't you know what you've done? Why are you pretending not to know?"
Xiumei hurriedly said, "I will... I will definitely make up the money."
"Where are those two people?" Officer Zhao asked.
Xiumei forced a smile, "This humble woman...doesn't know."
"You don't know?" Officer Zhao grabbed Xiumei by the neck. "That man and woman led you through the checkpoint by force, and now you're telling me you don't know where they are?"
"Mother!" An'an rushed to Constable Zhao's side, grabbing his trouser leg and shouting, "Let go of my mother!"
"Get out of the way." Zhao Bu casually lifted his leg and knocked the little girl over.
"Granddaughter...Granddaughter!" The old lady trembled and panicked, following the sound to kneel on the ground and hug the little girl into her arms.
Xiumei said with difficulty, "An'an... be good, don't make a fuss, come... come with Grandma into... into the inner room..."
"Officer Zhao, we've searched the entire area, but we didn't find those two people," several constables rushed in to report.
"You really don't know where they went?" Officer Zhao stared intently at Xiumei's increasingly flushed face.
Xiumei shook her head, "I...I don't know...they...I really...don't know..."
Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Officer Zhao let go of her hand, then strolled to the stove, staring wide-eyed at the food cooking in the pot. "Huh? Your family eats so well?"
The other officers also gathered around, their mouths watering as they stared at the pot.
"We've been busy catching those two guys so much that we haven't had lunch yet," said Officer Zhao, swallowing hard.
Xiumei knew she couldn't handle the situation, so she could only force a smile and say, "You've worked so hard. If you don't mind... please have some..."
"You said it yourself," Officer Zhao waved his hand, "Brothers! Let's eat!"
As soon as they finished speaking, the group began to wolf down their food without any hesitation.
A pot of stewed cabbage and pork with vermicelli, and a pot of rice, were devoured in no time by them.
An'an was almost in tears watching from the side, but she didn't dare to say anything more.
"Tsk tsk!" Officer Zhao smacked his lips with lingering satisfaction, exclaiming in surprise, "Just these vegetables, meat, and rice are not something ordinary families can get, and the taste... is simply the best I've ever tasted before. I'm afraid even our county magistrate has never tasted anything like it. Xiumei, has your family struck it rich?"
Xiumei shook her head repeatedly and said with a wry smile, "Officer Zhao, you know what kind of situation my family is in. How could we possibly make a fortune?"
"That's strange," Officer Zhao said, licking his fingers with suspicion in his eyes. "Then tell me, where did these things come from?"
"I...I...this..." Xiumei didn't know how to explain for a moment and stammered.
"Hey? Boss, look, this pot is really special!" A policeman picked up the iron pot.
I was so focused on eating that I've now discovered that the pot is no ordinary pot either.
The police officers were all amazed:
"I've never seen this shape before!"
"The craftsmanship is truly exquisite; it's almost as if it could be forged by human hands!"
"More than that! Look at the texture! It doesn't look like bronze..."
The police officers' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Officer Zhao snatched the iron pot, examined it closely, his pupils began to tremble, and he exclaimed in surprise, "This seems to be made of refined iron!"
"Refined iron?!" The other patrolmen were stunned. "Boss, are you sure you're not mistaken?!"
Constable Zhao's eyes shone brightly, his fingers trembling as he stroked the iron pot. "That's right, absolutely right! I once had the honor of seeing a wine cup made by the top blacksmith of the Yu Kingdom, refined iron using their most advanced iron-making techniques! And these two pots are probably the finest of refined iron!"
"The top-quality iron used to forge these two pots alone is probably priceless!"
"Plus such exquisite craftsmanship... a masterpiece among masterpieces, a treasure! Absolutely a treasure!"
Hearing these words, the police officers' hearts pounded wildly, and their eyes became incredibly fervent.
Officer Zhao took several deep breaths to calm himself down before asking again, "Xiumei, how come your family has such good things?"
Xiumei had no other choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Actually... it was a gift from a deity..."
"A gift from a deity?" Officer Zhao pressed. "What deity?"
Xiumei gritted her teeth, "Anyway, they're like gods."
Officer Zhao's expression turned to surprise and uncertainty.
Such a treasure is not something an ordinary person could obtain; it's quite reasonable to say it was a gift from a deity.
He wouldn't believe it if someone said it was an heirloom or something he found or bought.
For a fleeting moment, he considered snatching the two pots away, but as a government official, he couldn't very well do that. Now that he heard they were a gift from a deity, he was even less likely to act openly.
After a moment's thought, Officer Zhao had an idea. He put down the iron pot, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth, saying, "Xiumei, do you know that you've already committed a crime?"
Xiumei knelt on the ground and whispered, "Officer Zhao, I promise you that I will make up for the money I owed when I returned from the checkpoint today."
"When will you make it up?" Officer Zhao asked slowly. "I can give you time, but our county magistrate can't."
Xiumei continued, "I haven't received my wages for the odd jobs I did a few days ago. I went to collect them this afternoon, and I will definitely pay them back later."
"The toll can be paid..." Officer Zhao's voice suddenly turned stern, "Then do you know what a serious crime it is to let outsiders break in without paying?!"
"Ah!" Xiumei looked up and said, "Didn't I tell you that I don't know those two people at all, and... and their intrusion has nothing to do with me!"
Officer Zhao glared and shouted angrily, "If you don't know that man and woman, why would they help you?! Tell me! Who are they?!"
“I really don’t know!” Xiumei tried her best to argue. “I have never left Hewan County in my life. Only when my husband was bedridden and we couldn’t afford a doctor or medicine did I go out to gather herbs in the mountains a few miles away. Since they are from out of town, how could they know me?”
Officer Zhao said angrily, "Still dare to argue? Fine, even if you don't know them, if they are some kind of assassins, bandits or robbers who want to do something bad in Hewan County, you won't be able to escape responsibility!"
Xiumei blurted out, "They are definitely not bad people!"
"Whether they're bad people or not isn't for you to decide!" A cold look crept onto Constable Zhao's face. "I now suspect that those two might not just be ordinary criminals, but possibly spies from an enemy country! Don't you know that Da Xuan is about to go to war with Yu Kingdom? And yet, at this crucial moment, two unknown individuals have barged into Hewan County..."
Upon hearing this, Xiumei panicked. She realized that Officer Zhao was deliberately trying to pin a huge blame on her.
She had already noticed that Officer Zhao had his eye on the two pots.
But it was a gift from a fairy, and she couldn't bear to give it to anyone else.
The situation was getting increasingly bad. She thought to herself that now that they were being watched, given her family's circumstances, she was afraid that in the end she wouldn't be able to keep the two pots.
“Officer Zhao…” Xiumei said through gritted teeth, “I am truly innocent. If you want to punish me, I will accept it. I only beg you to consider that I have elderly parents, young children, and a seriously ill husband, and show leniency.”
When someone is determined to find fault, they will always find a pretext. She couldn't fight against the officials, so she had no choice but to compromise and back down.
Officer Zhao's lips curled up, and his tone immediately softened. "That's the right attitude! In the end, I'm just a fellow villager of all the people in Hewan County, and I don't want to have a falling out with you. Considering your family's situation, I won't arrest you and send you to jail, but the fine will still be substantial."
"Yes... Officer Zhao, please speak." Xiumei closed her eyes helplessly.
Officer Zhao then said, "After looking around, I don't think you have anything to cover the fine. How about these two pots?"
Xiumei's fingers tensed, her nails digging into the soil. "I'll do as you say, Officer Zhao."
"Alright, alright!" Officer Zhao beamed. "Then I'll be off. I still need to search for those two outsiders!"
Xiumei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Take care..."
Zhao, the head constable, immediately took off his coat, wrapped the two iron pots in his arms, and swaggered out of the thatched hut with several of his constables.
After walking a little further away, Officer Zhao immediately said to his men, "Don't say I didn't take care of you. We all have a share of these two treasures, but nobody is to tell anyone, or don't blame me for being impolite!"
Several subordinates nodded repeatedly.
"Absolutely! We understand! Don't worry, boss!"
"If anyone dares to leak this, not only you, but all of us will not let them get away with it!"
At this moment, one of the patrolmen suddenly said, "Boss, what if Xiumei tells her family? Do you think she'll be happy if such a good thing falls into our hands? Even if she can't get it back, as long as she tells others... won't we be targeted by those who covet it?"
Upon hearing this, everyone, including Constable Zhao, changed their expressions.
"Why don't we go all the way and make a throat-slitting gesture tonight..." someone whispered, making a throat-slitting motion.
Officer Zhao glanced back at the dilapidated thatched hut not far away, his eyes growing increasingly gloomy. "We are constables, not robbers who kill and steal."
The police officers looked grave and were at a loss for what to do.
Officer Zhao then changed the subject, "But that doesn't mean we can't do anything."
The police officers' eyes lit up. "Boss, what do you mean?"
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