"...What should we do, Dad?"
Liu trembled, her whole being filled with fear.
Manager Li was also frightened. Although he had many thugs at home, he quickly drove them all away.
But two fists can't fight four heads. If the entire city of Ping'an really comes to cause trouble, then they... are in grave danger!
After thinking for a moment, Lady Liu said, "Shall we go find Prefect Huo?"
"Can he help us?"
Manager Li clearly didn't believe it.
"We'll help if we can, and if we can't... at least we won't be killed."
"That makes sense."
After the two discussed it,
That very night, under the cover of darkness, they quietly slipped away to the gate of the Huo residence.
Having experienced the previous nighttime raid by the petty thief, Cheng Shisi is now extremely vigilant. He immediately spotted the two men, tied them up, and brought them to Cheng Shanshan.
Cheng Shanshan was spraying water on the cabbage seedlings when she saw them being pushed in. She didn't stop what she was doing: "I wonder what brings you two here so late at night?"
"We've brought you rice."
Shopkeeper Li casually pulled out a small bag of rice, his face beaming with a smile: "It's too much for me to carry, but it's a small gift with a lot of meaning."
Although Liu felt a little embarrassed, she still smiled and agreed, "My manager is right."
"Thank you, put it there."
Cheng Shanshan still didn't want to talk to her.
At this moment, Manager Li went all out and knelt down on the ground: "Madam Prefect, please save us."
Cheng Shanshan looked at him: "What does Manager Li mean by this?"
“I did some bastard things before, but I really didn’t damage the greenhouse that everyone built.”
Madam Liu nodded: "Even if he had the intention, he wouldn't have the guts."
Cheng Shanshan scrutinized the two of them, and seeing that they weren't lying, asked, "It really isn't you?"
"Definitely not."
Manager Li's answer was very straightforward: "Besides, think about it, we've already angered everyone, what benefit would I gain from doing this?"
“At first, we just wanted to make more money and didn’t think too deeply about it. Later, we learned our lesson.” Liu sighed as she spoke. “But now, even though we didn’t do it, they’re trying to pin the blame on us. They’re even threatening to kill us. We’re really wronged.”
Looking at the two of them, Cheng Shanshan was filled with doubt.
At first, she also doubted Manager Li, but after thinking about it carefully, she felt that what Manager Li and Madam Liu had said earlier was not wrong.
They have already angered the public, and causing more trouble would truly be a losing proposition.
Who else could it be but them?
Seeing that Cheng Shanshan seemed to believe him, Manager Li quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "I dare not ask you for anything else, I only ask that you help us find out who the real culprit is, so that we can clear up this misunderstanding and live a normal life in the future."
"Yes, yes, we adults are alright, but my poor son can't go out and cries at home every day. I'm really afraid something will happen to him," Liu said, wiping away her tears.
"Don't worry, if you didn't do it, no one can frame you."
"Okay, okay, then we'll go back and wait."
...
Although there were some minor setbacks in the planting greenhouse.
Fortunately, the first batch of cabbage seedlings had been planted. To prevent any further accidents, Huo Mingchen arranged for two groups of people to be on duty during the day and at night.
Seeing the bok choy growing better and better in the field, people felt a sense of hope. As for the previous incident, although they suspected that Manager Li was responsible, they had no evidence and could only let it go for the time being.
But on this day, an accident occurred.
The granary of Li's Rice Shop suddenly caught fire.
Manager Li immediately led his men to put out the fire, but the fire was too big and the water source was too far away, so he and his thugs couldn't save it.
Manager Li knelt before the crowd gathered at the door to watch the commotion: "Please help me put out the fire! That contains all of my Li family's stored grain!"
"Who cares about you? Don't you even think about the bastard things you did back then?"
"That's right, why didn't you care about our lives back then? Now you have the nerve to beg us?"
"We can help you put out the fire, for 10,000 taels of silver per bucket of water."
"Ten thousand taels?"
Manager Li stared wide-eyed.
Even after so many years in business, he couldn't have saved up this much money.
Besides, what can you do with a bucket of water?
The indifference of these people chilled him to the bone. At this moment, Liu was already sobbing uncontrollably: "It's all gone, it's really all gone now, why did they do this to us? Waaaaah!"
The fire grew larger and larger, and soon it was completely out of control.
Manager Li's initial humility turned into a growing madness in his eyes: "You useless lowly people don't deserve to live in this world!"
What are you saying!
"Manager Li, you're penniless now, just like us. What right do you have to scold us?"
Faced with the crowd's insults, Manager Li merely glanced at them, seemingly memorizing each person's appearance.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by.
Everyone felt a strange chill.
Many people applauded this incident afterward, but some were also worried.
After all, Manager Li's last look was a bit scary, and I couldn't help but feel a little worried: "But thinking about it, there's not much he can do. After all, those thugs used to be after money, but now that he has nothing, they've all scattered. What can an old man with nothing do?"
"That's right, his fierce wife, Liu, has already divorced him!"
"Wouldn't that mean families would be torn apart immediately?"
"He deserved it!"
As he spoke, the man spat on the ground: "This is what they call karma, which is why people shouldn't do bad things, or they'll suffer retribution."
"..."
Those present looked at each other in bewilderment.
Some people couldn't help but wonder, "Isn't it a bad thing for them to just stand by and watch someone die?"
However, no one dared to say it.
In the first few days, people were still talking about this matter, but as the days went by, the discussion faded away. However, Cheng Shanshan stood in the burned ruins and picked up a small piece of burnt charcoal from the ground to examine it closely.
Huo Mingchen walked over and looked at what she was holding: "What's wrong?"
"I find it very strange."
Cheng Shanshan twirled the items in her hands: "That day, Manager Li and Liu came to me and said that the damage to the vegetable greenhouses had nothing to do with them. A few days later, a fire broke out. I always felt that something was wrong."
This is too much of a coincidence.
"Um."
Huo Mingchen nodded: "I did find out that the matter was unrelated to them; it was someone else."
Cheng Shanshan looked at him: "Who is it?"
"yes……"
Huo Mingchen had just uttered one word.
Suddenly, Madam Jiang called out, then swayed her hips as she walked over: "Oh dear, what are you two doing in such an unlucky place?"
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