Chapter Sixty-One: Case Closed
The days slipped by quietly amidst the bustling activity at the stalls and the busy work at the county government office. That evening, Xiong Zixiang finally returned to his small courtyard in Zhuohe Village as dusk fell.
His face showed a long-lost ease, and the heavy and brooding look between his brows had dissipated.
Zhang Liuyi was squatting in front of the stove, tending the fire, while a simple vegetable porridge simmered in the pot.
Hearing the familiar footsteps, she immediately got up and went to greet them.
"You're back?" Seeing Xiong Zixiang's expression, Xiao Xin finally felt relieved: "The case... is it closed?"
"Well, it's finally over."
Xiong Zixiang took off his dusty servant's robe, his voice tinged with exhaustion.
He walked to the water vat, filled a basin with water, washed the dirt off his hands, wiped his face, and then sat down on the small stool in front of the stove to warm his hands, which had become a little cold from the night breeze.
Zhang turned up the fire in the stove, making the pot bubbling even louder.
She sat down opposite Xiong Zixiang and looked at him: "Tell me quickly! What exactly happened? Does that land belong to Xizhang Village or Dongzhang Village?" She was clearly very curious.
Looking into his wife's concerned eyes, Xiong Zixiang felt as if the day's fatigue had lessened.
"Have you eaten yet? Let's eat first, I'm quite hungry." After breaking off some flatbread, soaking some porridge, eating it, and washing up, we got onto the kang (heated brick bed).
He cleared his throat, put his arm around Liu Xin, and began to tell Liu Xin the story of the case.
“Li Yang from Xizhang Village was originally an honest and hardworking farmer. Three years ago, his family suddenly suffered a misfortune. It seemed that his mother was seriously ill and urgently needed money. He was desperate and borrowed ten taels of silver from his distant second uncle, Li Gao, who was the village head of Dongzhang Village.”
"Li Gao agreed, but on the condition that Li Yang would mortgage his five acres of prime irrigated land for three years' worth of harvest."
Zhang nodded, indicating that this was quite common.
“But the problem is,” Xiong Zixiang’s voice turned somber, “that Li Gao, as the village chief, harbored evil intentions! He saw that Li Yang was illiterate, so he had wicked thoughts.”
"He took out two pieces of paper that he had prepared beforehand. One was a real IOU, and the other was a land transfer deed! He tricked Li Yang into thinking that both were IOUs and asked him to put his fingerprints on them. Li Yang didn't know anything about these things. Confused, he put his red fingerprints on both pieces of paper."
"Huh?" Zhang Yili gasped, "That's too wicked!"
"Yes," Xiong Zixiang sighed. "Three years later, Li Yang scrimped and saved, finally managing to save ten taels of silver, and repaid Li Gao with interest. He was overjoyed and wanted to reclaim his five mu of land, but unexpectedly, Li Gao reneged on the agreement! He produced the forged land transfer deed, claiming that Li Yang had sold the land to him back then! It was all in black and white, with a red handprint on it, leaving Li Yang speechless!"
"Isn't this...isn't this blatant robbery?" Zhang Yili exclaimed indignantly.
"What's even more outrageous is yet to come." Xiong Zixiang's face also turned cold: "Li Gao, relying on his position as the village head and his influence in the area, dared to sell that piece of land to a newlywed couple in the village who wanted to buy land! To solidify the deal, he even bribed a manager at the town's land brokerage firm to vouch for him, saying that there were no problems with the land! After this deception and sale, the ownership of the land is completely messed up. The young couple has already been cultivating this land; how are they going to compensate for all their hard work?"
"And then what happened? What was the magistrate's verdict?" Zhang listened intently.
Xiong Zixiang adjusted his position slightly while holding her, his hands getting a little numb from being pressed down: "Thanks to the magistrate and the registrar who searched through the old registers and land deeds over the years, and also because we visited many elderly people who might have known about it back then."
"Most importantly, we found the down-on-his-luck scholar who wrote the transfer agreement for Li Gao back then. That scholar later fell ill and became destitute. Seeing that the yamen was investigating hard and fearing that he would get into trouble, he turned himself in. He also handed over the fee that Li Gao paid him for writing the agreement and the details of the conversation at that time. With witnesses and physical evidence, the evidence is irrefutable!"
Xiong Zixiang's voice carried a hint of satisfaction: "The magistrate has ruled in court that the ownership of that land still belongs to Li Yang of Xizhang Village! Li Gao, as the village head, knowingly broke the law, forged land deeds, and defrauded the villagers, so his crime is doubled! He is immediately dismissed from his position as village head, put in shackles, and displayed in front of the yamen for a day as a warning to others! After the public display, he will be given twenty strokes of the cane! The broker who was bribed to give false testimony was also given ten strokes of the cane and fined ten taels of silver! The three mu of fertile land under Li Gao's name was given to the young couple, and they were also given one tael of silver as compensation."
"This is truly gratifying!" Zhang Liuyi couldn't help but slap his knee. "That Li Gao is a greedy and heartless scoundrel! How dare he be a village chief!"
"That's right!" Xiong Zixiang exclaimed. "Think about our village chief and several elders in Zhuohe Village. They are upright and fair in their dealings, and they never bully the villagers. We can live a peaceful and stable life, which is truly thanks to the protection of these elders."
Zhang Liuyi nodded in deep agreement, a feeling of relief and warmth welling up inside him.
In this world, having a good leader is extremely important for farmers.
The case is over, the truth is out, and the evildoers have been brought to justice.
Zhang Yili, however, was wide awake. She felt as if her eyes had been opened, and she was both angry and moved. She pulled Xiong Zixiang aside and asked him many more questions about the details.
The couple snuggled together in bed, one talking and the other listening, occasionally whispering a few words, until the night was deep and quiet, and the embers in the stove had turned to ash before they finally prepared to go to sleep.
However, they got so engrossed in their conversation that night that they tossed and turned until they finally drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning.
As expected, the next morning, Zhang Yili, with obvious bruises on his eyes, forced himself to go to the porridge stall.
While cooking porridge, she almost dropped the ladle into the boiling pot, but luckily Li Xiulan reacted quickly and stopped her.
"Oh my goodness! Look closely! Where has your soul gone?"
Li Xiulan was startled. Looking at Zhang Xiaoyi's listless appearance, she was both angry and distressed: "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Zhang Yili rubbed her eyes sheepishly: "Um... I stayed up too late listening to Zixiang talk about the case..."
Li Xiulan shook her head helplessly: "No matter how important the case is, you can't work without sleep! How can you do anything in this condition?"
Without a word, she took the spoon from Zhang Xiaoxin's hand and pushed her aside, saying, "Go away! Go sit down over there! Don't cause trouble here, or you'll get burned!"
As he spoke, he took a small stool from under the stall and shoved it into Zhang Liuxin's hands: "Sit here and just watch the stall, don't do anything!"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Zhang Liuyi could only sit dejectedly in a corner next to the stall, clutching his stool.
The morning breeze was still cool, and it made her a little more awake, but drowsiness washed over her like a tide. She hugged her knees, rested her chin on her arm, and half-opened her eyes, trying hard to stay awake.
Xiong Zijuan finished tidying up the table and came over. Seeing her like this, she smiled but didn't say anything.
She gently draped the thin sheet she used for covering things over Zhang Xiaoli: "Xiaoli, cover yourself up, don't catch a cold."
Zhang Liuyi gave a vague reply and wrapped the sheet tightly.
Overwhelmed by drowsiness, she could no longer stay awake. Her head lolled to the side, and she hugged her knees, falling into a deep sleep.
It even had a bit of snoring.
Early risers and regular customers began to arrive.
Seeing Zhang Niangzi, who is usually always smiling and quick-witted, sleeping soundly next to the stall wrapped in a blanket today, everyone couldn't help but laugh.
"Oh! Is Madam Zhang tired?"
"Look how sleepy you are, sleeping so soundly!"
Li Xiulan deftly served soup and porridge to the guests while explaining with a smile.
"Sigh, yesterday I was so engrossed in listening to her husband talk about cases in the government office that I stayed up half the night! Now look what's happened!"
The guests' good-natured laughter grew louder.
"This case is bound to be exciting!"
"Officer Xiong is right, and Madam Zhang has learned a lot! Let her get some more sleep!"
Xiong Zijuan smiled with her lips pursed, and moved even more quickly, afraid of waking her up.
Occasionally, passersby would see the sleeping figure beside the stall and smile knowingly, then slow their pace.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky, and she was awakened by hunger, that she groggily woke up amidst the aroma of food and the gradually increasing noise of the guests.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the bustling porridge stall in front of her and the smiling eyes of her sister-in-law and Sister Zijuan. She realized that she had fallen asleep on the stall full of people. She was so embarrassed that she quickly stood up and touched her face. It was really hot, which made everyone laugh again.
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