94 The Hateful Yellow Four Dog
◎Do you know that someone stole your mushrooms?◎
Uncle Zhao disappeared stealthily at the end of the path, and Ye Yunzhao immediately followed him. Liu Mazi, who was still shocked just now, and two yamen runners also quickly followed. The five of them disappeared into the night one after another.
After following him for about an incense stick's time, Ye Yunzhao watched him climb over the wall and enter a house. Just as she stopped, several yamen runners who arrived late almost bumped into her.
A young yamen runner asked curiously, "What is Mr. Zhao doing? Why did he run out in the middle of the night..."
Liu Mazi's face was also filled with confusion. He turned to look at Ye Yunzhao, but saw that she was not surprised. After a moment's thought, he whispered, "County Magistrate Ye, could it be that when you said it was hard at night, you had already guessed that Mr. Zhao would go out in the middle of the night?"
Ye Yunzhao nodded. "He has a scar on his left hand, and he doesn't have a mushroom shed at home. So where does he get his woven mushrooms?"
Another yamen runner asked, "Why didn't he go into the mountains to pick them?"
Before Ye Yunzhao could speak, Liu Mazi tutted, "Stupid! It's already deep winter. If there's no heated mushroom shed, how can we harvest the woven mushrooms now?"
"That's right. So I guess if he's selling mushrooms cheap, he must have stolen them." Ye Yunzhao gave him a look of affirmation. "Besides, even if he's selling them cheap right now, it's still a considerable profit. Now that he's tasted the sweetness, he won't stop easily."
The remaining two suddenly realized and said, "The county magistrate is wise."
Ye Yunzhao looked at the house in front of her and felt that it looked familiar. However, every house in Xixiang had adobe walls, and in the dark night, she couldn't tell whose house it was.
"I just don't know which family's weaving fungus he stole. Do you know?"
"It seems to be Xia Hua's home." Liu Mazi said.
He had a good relationship with Lu Dayuan, and he had come to join in when Lu Dayuan was helping Cuihua build a wall. Now, judging by the location and size, it was definitely Cuihua's home.
Hearing this, Ye Yunzhao was stunned and said in disbelief: "Really? If I remember correctly, Xia Hua was once the daughter-in-law of Mr. Zhao. She carried on the Zhao family's bloodline. How could Mr. Zhao have the nerve to steal the woven mushrooms of a widow like her?!"
"Who said it wasn't true? Uncle Zhao is such a jerk! Not only did he kick Xia Hua out of the house before, but now he's doing something like this."
While Ye Yunzhao was angry, he also felt a little confused. The mushrooms were so precious, and the mushrooms in his own garden were becoming less and less every day. Could it be that Xia Hua didn't notice it at all?
The young yamen runner felt a little sleepy and complained in a low voice, "Madam Xia Hua is so foolish! Why didn't she report to the authorities when so many of her own weaving mushrooms were lost? It made it so difficult for us to find them..."
Suddenly, there was some noise from the other side of the earth wall. Ye Yunzhao quickly made a gesture to keep quiet, and the four of them quickly retreated and disappeared into the night.
After a while, I saw Uncle Zhao, who was about 60 years old, sitting on the wall. He threw a bulging cloth bag over his shoulder, jumped down with very skillful movements, patted his clothes, and disappeared into the night again very quickly.
Watching his receding figure, Liu Mazi's mouth twitched. "Uncle Zhao, how can you say you're almost sixty?... County Magistrate Ye, should we arrest him?"
Ye Yunzhao shook his head and stood up: "Go home."
*
The next morning, County Magistrate Han drove to the backyard of the county government office early and stood at the gate of the county magistrate's courtyard. He raised his hand and clapped twice: "County Magistrate Ye? County Magistrate Ye?"
He repeated his request two or three times, but no one answered. Then, across from a large banyan tree, the door of the courtyard opposite opened. Xiao Chunhua poked her head out and said, "Uncle Han, Sister Ye isn't here. I saw her leave early this morning."
Hearing her address, County Magistrate Han's mouth twitched a few times. He was only a dozen years older than County Magistrate Ye, so why did she call her sister and himself uncle...
Seeing that no one was around, he took a few steps forward, a very kind smile on his face, and asked in a very friendly and low voice: "Why do you call me uncle? Am I very old? Xiao Chunhua, take a closer look, what's the appropriate name?"
Since moving into the county government office, Xueniang and Chunhua have been well fed and warmly clothed every day, and they look much plumper and happier than before.
Xiao Chunhua blinked, but didn't answer. She just repeated obediently, "Sister Ye went out early in the morning."
Han Xiancheng then remembered his own affairs and asked, "Do you know where she went?"
Xiao Chunhua shook her head and said sweetly, "I don't know."
Before he could speak again, a figure moved quickly in the distance. When County Magistrate Han turned around, Ye Yunzhao was running breathlessly on the spot: "County Magistrate Han...you...you're looking for me?"
He was startled when he saw this, raised his finger, pointed at the sweaty Ye Yunzhao, and asked, "County Magistrate Ye, what are you doing?"
Ye Yunzhao gradually stopped and frantically performed a few "stretching" movements that he couldn't understand. He smiled and said, "I went to exercise. What's the matter?"
County Magistrate Han was stunned for a long moment before explaining his purpose. "I heard from Liu the yamen runner that you caught Mr. Zhao red-handed last night weaving mushrooms. Why didn't you take him back to the yamen? Selling weaved mushrooms at a low price is not something you can tolerate..."
After hearing this, it was Ye Yunzhao's turn to be at a loss. County Magistrate Han had never cared about these matters, so why had he been so concerned these past two days? First, he had taken on all the responsibility and asked him to investigate the underselling, and now he was urging him to punish them quickly. It was really rare.
"I know what's going on, don't worry."
County Magistrate Han looked at her suspiciously, secretly planning his own promotion. The cultivation of woven mushrooms, which he had previously ignored, was now thriving, which made him anxious.
Speaking of this matter, we have to first talk about the letter written to him by his former classmate a few days ago. He heard that the new magistrate of Yuezhou City will go to the capital to take up his post after the New Year, and the person who will take over this position is a second-class Jinshi who graduated in the same year as Ye County Magistrate.
This matter wasn't a big deal, but it was certainly not a small one. If Ye Yunzhao was acquainted with the second-class Jinshi, his dream of promotion would be impossible. Because of this, County Magistrate Han was currently trying his best to take on the task of weaving the hat mushrooms himself. If that wasn't possible, then the credit would have to be shared equally between the two of them.
In this way, although my political achievements are similar to hers, I have more experience. If someone must be promoted, I am naturally more suitable.
After thinking this through, County Magistrate Han finally felt relieved. He shook his sleeves and spoke with a hint of displeasure: "County Magistrate Ye, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but selling the weaving fungus at such a low price right now is such a big deal, and it's harming the interests of so many ordinary people. How can you still have the mind to exercise in the morning... Forget it..."
Ye Yunzhao was puzzled by his behavior and was about to explain, but County Magistrate Han slipped away so quickly that he could only scratch his head and look at his receding back.
"Sister Ye." Xiao Chunhua leaned over and smiled at her.
Suddenly, another round head popped out from above her. Zhuang Xue said with a smile, "County Magistrate Ye, I made some pancakes today. Want some?"
Ye Yunzhao's eyes lit up, and she put aside her previous unhappiness and flew into her yard like a butterfly:
"eat!"
Zhuang Xue also raised a few hens in her small yard. People who used to sleep in the open air can now occasionally eat a delicious egg pancake.
Ye Yunzhao took the fragrant and soft wild vegetable egg pancake, his cheeks puffed up, and smiled and reminded: "Xue Niang, your cooking skills are getting better and better. Why are you still looking for wild vegetables in such a cold weather? It's really not safe. Don't you know about Sun Da's situation?"
Zhuang Xue handed Xiao Chunhua another egg pancake. The three of them sat in the kitchen, warmed by the fire, feeling very comfortable. "Don't worry, I'll just pick some edible wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain and won't go deep into the mountains."
The salty fragrance filled his mouth. Ye Yunzhao finished a piece of cake happily, took out a small handkerchief from his bosom and wiped his mouth. He asked, "Xue Niang, are you hiding something from me?"
Hearing this, Zhuang Xue was stunned for a moment, then said to Xiao Chunhua, "Have you eaten? If you're full, let's go to the county school first."
Xiao Chunhua nodded tactfully, went to the main room to get her small cloth bag, and skipped out the door.
Zhuang Xue then sighed deeply, "County Magistrate Ye, I...ah...I knew I couldn't hide it from you, but these trivial matters aren't worth wasting your time on."
"What are you talking about?" Ye Yunzhao's mouth tightened. "If the yamen runners hadn't mentioned it, I'm afraid I still wouldn't know that Huang Sigou wanted to harass you again. How could you hide such a thing from me? Aren't we friends!?"
Zhuang Xue fought back tears, looked out the window with a somewhat resentful look, and murmured, "It's... I... I can't bear to see Shitou suffer... I saw Shitou wearing only a thin spring dress a few days ago!"
"It's so cold now, he has a lot of frostbite on his body... I thought of giving Huang Sigou some money and asking him to return Shi Tou to me. Even if he doesn't return it, he should be nicer to Shi Tou, because he is his own son! But I didn't expect him to be so greedy... County Magistrate Ye, what should I do... Wuuuu..." As Zhuang Xue spoke, she covered her face and burst into tears.
Ye Yunzhao then remembered that when the two of them broke up, Shitou was raised by Huang Sigou and Chunhua was raised by Zhuang Xue.
She quickly raised her hand and gently stroked her back, saying firmly, "Don't worry, I will definitely find a way to help you get the stone back."
Zhuang Xue suddenly looked up, grabbed her hands tightly, and asked in disbelief, "Really? Seriously?!"
"Seriously." Ye Yunzhao held her hand and said, "But you have to promise me that you will never see Huang Sigou again. He is just like his name, he is definitely not a good person."
Zhuang Xue nodded quickly and sobbed, "I promise you! I promise you! County Magistrate Ye, please save Shitou..."
Ye Yunzhao's face was solemn: "Don't worry."
She comforted him for about a quarter of an hour, and only left after Zhuang Xue's emotions had stabilized.
Ye Yunzhao did not go towards Huang Sigou's house. There was an important matter waiting for her to do.
She headed west, turning left and right in Xixiang, and it took her a while before she found Xia Hua's mud house.
Seen during the day, the courtyard wall is not too low. Although it is not big, it looks quite good compared with many dilapidated courtyards in Xixiang. The wood of the courtyard gate is also a whole piece of thick new wood, which looks very solid.
Just as she was about to raise her hand to knock on the door, it was opened from the inside. Xia Hua, carrying a basket on her back, was startled by Ye Yunzhao standing outside the door: "Oh!"
"County Magistrate Ye? Do you have something to talk to me about?" She calmed her tone, smiled, and turned sideways, revealing the backpack behind her. "Hey, I was planning to go to Yuezhou City to sell woven hat mushrooms!"
Ye Yunzhao got straight to the point: "Did you know someone stole your weaving mushrooms?"
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