“Master Li, young masters, we have just raided the hideout of this gang of thieves. Fortunately, we have accomplished our mission and captured three other swindlers. We also had an unexpected bonus!”
"This gang of thieves roams around, not only swindling but also abducting children. We just found two children in the cellar, the very two families who reported them missing to the authorities yesterday. Now, we've solved a case."
Perhaps because these two children were of unusual status, Officer Wang's smile stretched from ear to ear.
Li Zhensheng was pleased to hear this, as it would make things easier for the government office to benefit from the arrangement.
He quickly stood up, returned the greeting with clasped hands, and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Officer Wang! This is a great achievement, and a promotion is just around the corner."
"Congratulations, congratulations." Constable Wang was very polite. "It's all thanks to the young masters that these thieves are quite capable."
"If the young masters hadn't dealt with the four most formidable ones, we probably wouldn't have been able to catch them red-handed."
Li Zhensheng invited him to sit down and have some tea. After listening to his account of the entire arrest process, which he found complete, he asked, "Now that these thieves are in the government jail, what will their punishment be?"
Chief Constable Wang was eager to curry favor, and this was no secret. He said, "According to the laws of Tianwu, the minimum sentence is twenty years of hard labor. If there are other cases, the sentence might even be beheading."
Li Zhensheng's eyes flashed, and he laughed, "The Tianwu Law is still too lenient. Such a villain only needs to perform hard labor? If you ask me, only beheading can truly put the people at ease and allow them to live and work in peace."
"Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep well at night, and the children won't dare to go out and play freely."
Wang, the head constable, understood and immediately replied, "What you say is right, sir. This matter is still undecided. We still have to wait for the county magistrate's interrogation. Nobody knows the outcome yet."
Li Zhensheng then said, "We have caused you all trouble by passing through here. If we have the opportunity, we should really pay our respects to the county magistrate and thank him in person."
"You're too kind, sir. There will definitely be such an opportunity." Officer Wang smiled and cupped his hands in greeting again.
Jiaren and the others listened quietly the whole time.
Cat Brother, being young and impatient, couldn't help but interject, "Father, all our arrows have been taken away. They were made by my sister!"
Li Zhensheng glared at his son before saying to Constable Wang, "Constable Wang, please forgive the child; he's young and doesn't understand. But no wonder he's so reluctant to part with these arrows."
"When they left home, my little niece, the princess, was worried about her brothers' safety. She specially found good iron and entrusted the craftsmen of the Xinting Marquis's mansion to make these arrowheads. It was truly a rare find."
"If the investigation by the authorities is completed, can this arrowhead be returned?"
Upon hearing this, Constable Wang was filled with surprise and quickly replied, "Oh my, so those arrowheads are so precious! They were actually prepared by the princess for my brothers! Don't worry, sir, I'll have someone send them over as soon as we get back."
"Thank you, Officer Wang!" Cat Boy bowed and thanked Officer Wang, which pleased him greatly.
After exchanging a few more words, Officer Wang prepared to leave.
Li Zhensheng escorted him to the door and, without saying a word, discreetly slipped him a silver note.
So, after everyone had eaten breakfast and rested for a while, someone from the yamen came and politely invited Li Zhensheng over.
Li Zhensheng, accompanied by Jiaren, prepared a generous gift and went to pay his respects to the county magistrate, also taking the opportunity to recount the events of the previous night.
The county magistrate's family also lived in Xindu, and he had heard some things about the Li family.
He wasn't familiar with anything else, but he knew that the corn and potatoes that would be planted next year were obtained by the Li family from the foreigners.
And then there's the Li family's powerful backer, Marquis Xinting, who is now the protector of the entire Tianwu.
Even if he had the greatest courage in the world, he wouldn't dare to be anything less than courteous to the Li family.
So the two sides chatted happily, drank two cups of tea, and the matter of last night was over.
On his way back, Li Zhensheng stopped at the inn again and gave the innkeeper some silver.
The shopkeeper had been considering transferring the business back to his hometown to farm because it wasn't doing well.
Having experienced this, they are terrified and are already making arrangements to sell the inn.
Receiving this silver was an unexpected bonus, which not only dispelled my complaints but also made me very grateful.
With all these busy matters, the fleet inevitably stayed at the dock for an extra day.
On the passenger ship, the teachers overheard a few words and then forbade the students from disembarking.
The students assumed the Li family was delayed because of unloading goods or something similar, so they didn't complain.
The fleet finally set sail early the next morning.
Lu Zong and Jia Xu were called over by the teachers and given a few words of explanation.
When they came out, Lu's servant boy approached his master and whispered, "Young master, those swindlers who were involved in the crime yesterday committed suicide in prison. They're all dead."
Lu Zong paused for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling the servant to leave.
Jia Xu was a moment slow to react, but once he came to his senses, he exclaimed, "This is... eliminating the root of the problem?!"
Lu Zong tugged at him, looked at the cargo ships ahead, and said softly, "They deserved it! If it were me, I would have done the same."
Jia Xu took a deep breath and replied, "Yes, he deserves it. That's right, I just thought Master Li looked gentle, but I didn't expect him to be so ruthless."
Lu Zong nodded. "Think about it carefully, how could the Li family have risen from humble beginnings to where they are today without some ability and means?"
“Just talking about Brother Li and his brothers, none of them are simple, and then there’s that… Princess Kang Le, who is already quite knowledgeable at such a young age.”
“Previously, I wrote back to tell my father how to treat the illness, and my father also taught the doctor in the manor and the army doctor in the camp.”
"By sheer coincidence, someone actually choked on a date and was thus saved. This method is truly miraculous and unheard of."
"The Li family didn't ask for anything in return and just made it public. This magnanimity is already beyond the reach of ordinary people."
He thought for a moment and then said, "I have a feeling that we might gain more from this trip to Quanzhou by following the Li family than by following the academy."
"You mean..." Jia Xu guessed his thoughts and was somewhat resistant, as the danger of last night was still vivid in his mind.
Lu Zong laughed, "Yes, just as you think. But I need to prepare a generous gift, firstly to apologize for what happened before, and secondly to be enough to tempt the Li family to let us train with the Li brothers."
Jia Xu sighed inwardly. He couldn't persuade him anymore; he had no choice but to risk his life to accompany him...
Leaving aside the fleet, as they headed towards Quanzhou, the Li family lads stumbled and struggled in this world, becoming stronger with each trial.
Speaking of Suijintan, the weather in winter is getting colder and colder due to several heavy snowfalls, and those who can hibernate are now obediently hibernating.
Of course, the noodle workshop in the second village was as lively as ever.
Because of the cold weather, the meat sauce noodles won't spoil, so production can be increased.
Therefore, in the new village, villagers who have nothing to do will occasionally take odd jobs when the workshops are too busy.
Of course, most of them were women.
The men had to join the patrol team, maintain the fruit trees on the mountain for the winter, regularly clean the cellars, ensure the pigs that roamed freely in the pigsty were well-fed and well-rested, and also chop corn stalks with a chaff cutter to feed the cattle and horses...
In short, hardworking farmers can find work at any time.
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