"Xiao Nian, Xiao Nian."
Granny Li called out in a very urgent voice. Qin Nian put down his bowl in a hurry and looked up at her: "Grandma, what's the matter?"
Mrs. Li said, "Tell me, is it possible that Mrs. Qin and Li Dahua's two ghost soldiers did it?
Last time they came to ask for strawberries but we didn’t give them any, I don’t know how much they hate us.”
Qin Nian shook his head: "It's unlikely. Think about it, their family's situation, they can't even get enough food, it's impossible for them to have money to buy kerosene.
Besides, it’s unlikely that Mrs. Qin and Li Dahua would come out in the middle of the night with kerosene to set a fire.”
"If it was really their family who set the fire, that bastard Qin Rongsheng would definitely follow them, and maybe even take one or two of their sons with him."
Mrs. Li really looked down on Mrs. Qin and was extremely disappointed with Li Dahua, so whenever she mentioned their family, she always thought of the worst.
Geng Feng said, "Grandma, setting fire in the dark of night is something most women wouldn't dare to do. Granny Qin probably doesn't have the courage."
Qin Nian said: "I feel the most likely person is Mr. Zhang.
We have to find a way to investigate, if it’s really him——”
Qin Nian didn't say the following words. Mrs. Li glanced at her and knew what Qin Nian would do if it was Mr. Zhang. She could guess what she would do.
A young girl's days of hard work were destroyed in a fire. No one could accept this.
Mrs. Li said, "We were tricked this time and burned by fire. We must think of a way to avoid being burned by them again next time."
Qin Nian said: "This is easy, see if anyone in the village has puppies and take two.
The leftover soup and food from the stew restaurant customers is enough to feed two dogs.
If there are dogs and someone comes at night, the dogs will wake us up to check and set fire to our house, and the problem will be solved.”
Ye Meizi sighed, "In the past few years, people have barely survived, and there is not even a dog left in the village."
Qin Nian ignored the fact that there were no dogs in the village.
"That's fine. I'll go into the city and report to the county government, then go to the market and see if I can buy two puppies."
Geng Zhenjiang said: "I will go back to Lihua Village in a while. There are several hunters living at the foot of the mountain over there. They are the ones who sold eggs to us.
They make their living mainly by hunting, and they have hunting dogs at home. I will go and ask if they have any puppies to sell to us."
Geng Tian said: "Hunting dogs are very smart and brave. They don't eat anything casually, so they are easier to discipline than ordinary dogs."
Qin Nian nodded: "It would be even better if we could buy a hunting dog."
After saying that, he stood up and prepared to go to the county town to report the case to the government. Geng Feng said, "I'll go with you."
Ye Meizi was very pessimistic: "Will it be useful to report it to the authorities? The government won't do anything at all."
Qin Nian said: "No matter whether the government intervenes or not, we should report it first. This will not be wrong."
Qin Nian and Geng Feng went to the county town to report to the authorities.
The previous county magistrate colluded with Mr. Zhang and tried to get back the land he had sold, so King Xuan sentenced him to exile.
The current county magistrate was recently appointed by the imperial court. His surname is Wen and his name is Wen Xinglan.
When the new official took office, the biggest headache for him was that a while ago, a prisoner in the jail, along with another prisoner who had been in jail for many years, beat up a group of jailers and escaped.
The jailers didn't even know the specific names of the two prisoners, especially the older one.
He has been locked up in this prison for many years, and the jailers don't know where he came from or what crime he committed.
We could only send someone to the place of exile to ask the previous county magistrate, but the person we sent hasn't returned yet.
Qin Nian came to report a serious arson case. After careful questioning, he learned that the former county magistrate was exiled because of this girl.
He had some opinions about Qin Nian in his mind and initially ignored him, but he didn't know why Qin Nian knew King Xuan.
Prince Xuan was known for his cruelty and ruthlessness, and he was afraid of offending the prince, so he had to ask a few questions reluctantly.
He ordered the legal advisor who came with him to record Qin Nian's incident and deal with it perfunctorily.
Coming out of the county government office, Geng Feng said angrily: "Look at the county magistrate, he doesn't take our matter seriously at all.
No one was sent to investigate the fire scene.”
Qin Nian said: "I didn't expect him to help us solve the case, so I asked my family to clean up the debris after the fire.
The reason for reporting to the police is to ensure that there are no errors in the procedures.
No matter what happens in the future, no one will blame us for not reporting it to the police or for stealing from the company."
Geng Feng didn't have Qin Nian's knowledge, so naturally he couldn't think of these things.
Not long after the two of them returned from the county town, Mo Yue arrived.
Mo Yue is King Xuan's personal bodyguard and rarely leaves King Xuan. Qin Nian was a little surprised that he suddenly appeared here.
King Xuan did not send anyone else because he was worried that Qin Nian would not believe what strangers said, would be on guard, and would refuse.
He must send someone Qin Nian can completely trust.
Mo Yue said: “King Xuan said that the strawberries grown by Miss Qin are good in appearance and taste good.
Now that the New Year is approaching, King Xuan wants to buy all the strawberries from Miss Qin.
This place is not far from the capital, and we could have easily gotten there by car two years ago."
Qin Nian smiled bitterly and recounted how the picking shed and the vegetable shed were burned down last night.
"I just came back from reporting to the authorities. Please tell the general that all the strawberries have been burned. Not a single one is left."
It is true that you can earn more money by supplying fruits to the royal family, but if you are not careful, you will get into trouble.
Qin Nian just wants to live a down-to-earth life and doesn't want to have anything to do with the royal family.
When Mo Yue arrived, he had already seen signs of fire on the land, but he did not expect that the fire was set by someone.
They also poured kerosene on it. If the people in the house didn't wake up, wouldn't they all be burned to death?
Even Mo Yue, who had seen many storms, felt scared.
He looked at Qin Nian with complicated eyes.
"Miss Qin, the picking shed has burned down. We can rebuild it when the weather gets warmer.
But you have to be extra careful, beware of them setting houses on fire and burning people, don't be careless."
Qin Nian nodded: "I will be more careful."
Mo Yue gave another instruction, then rode away on a fast horse with his men.
After noon, Geng Zhenjiang came back, carrying two puppies in a basket.
The puppies were just two months old, one black and one yellow, and both were very weak. The hunter didn't ask for more than two hundred coins each.
Geng Feng's family built three rooms on the edge of the field, one for Ye Meizi and one for Yao Hua.
The innermost room is where Geng Feng and his two brothers live, and now they have two more puppies.
Qin Nian named the puppies Black Arrow and Yellow Arrow, hoping that the two dogs would be as fast as a shot arrow.
This is the only way before the New Year, and I lost a lot of income. Fortunately, Qin Nian has lived two lives and can take things in an open-minded way.
This blow is nothing.
As for Mo Yue, he and his guards rode fast horses day and night.
After reaching the West, he entered the capital and came to King Xuan's study. He told him about Qin Nian's picking garden, which was burned down by a fire and not a single strawberry was left.
King Xuan narrowed his deep eyes and looked up at Mo Yue.
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