"Master He is here too!"
Then someone else shouted.
Lao Liu came out quickly, "Brother Ma, Lord He, you've arrived just in time. Please come in!"
It was quite a coincidence that Ma Fuquan had stumbled upon this place by accident. A few days earlier, County Magistrate He had mentioned the issue of summer flood prevention, and Ma Fuquan had casually mentioned a few contingency plans and measures. County Magistrate He thought they were good, so today he asked Ma Fuquan to take a few yamen runners for a walk along the river.
The two of them walked along the Chen River and turned to the T-junction. Ma Fuquan saw a group of people gathered outside the bamboo shed of the inn, so he called County Magistrate He to come and take a look.
"What happened?" Ma Fuquan walked in and saw Old Ding and Mrs. Meng.
"Sir! Please help me!" The woman took advantage of the moment when Liu was stunned after hearing that the county magistrate was coming, and she got up and ran towards Lord He and Ma Fuquan. She fell to her knees on the ground and accused Lao Liu and the mother-in-law Meng with tears streaming down her face.
After hearing her story, Ma Fuquan immediately sent a message to Jian Ning, asking her to rush to the county town. He also informed her that Old Ding and Meng had also come to the inn for some reason, carrying luggage with them, and it looked like they were going to stay in Shajiabang permanently.
After receiving the letter, Jian Ning asked Mr. Ding San to harness the carriage and asked Mrs. Chang to prepare lunch. Then he went to the field to find Ding Youtian.
"That's easy." Ding Youtian thought for a moment, then whispered to Jian Ning in his ear for a while. Jian Ning burst out laughing and said, "I knew you were full of tricks. Okay, then I'll tell Brother Ma that I'll go with Third Uncle. Sister Chang will make lunch, and I'll be back this afternoon."
"Actually, there's a folk remedy for water phobia. A while ago, someone in the village was bitten by a dog, and the village head cured him using this folk remedy. You don't have to make this trip."
"Oh, what's the folk remedy?"
Ding Youtian took off his straw hat, fanning himself with it and grinning, "This method does work, but it's a bit... as you'd say, a bit bloody and violent. You need to smash the brain of the cat that scratched the kid, then apply the brain to the wound. Do this for three to five days and it'll heal you."
Jian Ning frowned, "Forget it, I'll go there myself. It's not that I pity the cat, but I just don't know if your method will work. Human life is at stake, and this is no joke."
"It's up to you whether you believe it or not." Ding Youtian put on his straw hat again and spat twice into his palms. Jian Ning said, "Huh?" and glared at him, "I've told you many times that it's filthy. Can't you use tea?"
"Pooh!"
Ding Youtian spat into his palms twice, then swung the hoe and dug out a large lump of earth along with weeds and soil. Then he glanced at Jian Ning provocatively with his narrow eyes.
Tch, childish!
Jane Ning rolled her eyes at him. This man was acting like a child sometimes. She was about to turn around and leave. But after a few steps, she felt uneasy and turned back, kicking over the kettle on the edge of the field.
Let you have water but not use it!
You are unhygienic!
After taking revenge, she felt much better, and then she walked away with Ding Youtian's laughter.
On the way to the county town, Jian Ning sent a message to Ma Fuquan, telling him about the folk remedy that Ding Youtian had mentioned. Ma Fuquan replied that County Magistrate He also knew that method, but Shopkeeper Tong's son cried and refused to harm the cat's life.
Shopkeeper Tong's wife was also hesitant because the cat was so good at catching mice, and she wasn't sure the child would contract hydrophobia. She had come to the house simply to demand compensation from Lao Liu. Six months ago, she had been scratched by the cat herself, but nothing had happened since.
Jian Ning sent several messages to Ma Fuquan in succession. After reading them, Ma Fuquan whispered a few words to County Magistrate He while Old Ding and the others were arguing with Manager Tong and his wife.
County Magistrate He nodded.
"Stop, everyone! What's the point of making such a fuss?" County Magistrate He frowned, his gaze sweeping across the two sides. He sternly declared, "I've already given you a solution to this matter, but you're just making a fuss, completely disregarding me. If this kind of noise were to happen in court, you'd each be flogged a hundred times until your skin was torn!"
"Since you are unwilling to follow the method I have prescribed, then fine, you, you, and you..." He pointed at Mrs. Meng, Mrs. Liu, and Mrs. Tong, the shopkeeper's wife. "You three were the first to engage in public brawl and then to disrespect me. According to the laws of our dynasty, fighting is punishable by a fine of 500 coins, and disrespecting an official is punishable by acupuncture."
"Come here! Bring these three, and these few others, back to the government office!"
He pointed at Old Ding, the eldest brother and Manager Tong.
The yamen runners who had followed them immediately rushed forward. Meng was almost frightened to the point of peeing. Old Ding fell to his knees and said, "My Lord, my husband and I just arrived at the inn. What happened here has nothing to do with us. Please make a fair judgment, please make a fair judgment!"
The eldest brother also knelt down and said, "Qing, Qingtian Master, my husband and I came here with my parents, and we just arrived at the inn. We don't know anything. Please have mercy on us, Master! Please have mercy on us!"
Magistrate He snorted coldly, "What's the point of saying this now? Let me ask you, is the owner of this inn related to you?"
"No!" Old Ding answered very straightforwardly, "We were just passing through here. We just came in to stop by, have a meal, and rest for a while before leaving."
"What nonsense!" Shopkeeper Tong's wife shouted, then glanced at County Magistrate He and lowered her voice, "They are clearly from the same family. Your Excellency, please be vigilant. If they weren't, how could they have come up and assaulted me?"
She glared at Meng and Liu hatefully.
County Magistrate He looked at Lao Liu and said, "You are the shopkeeper here, right? Tell me, what is your relationship with them?"
Lao Liu glanced at Lao Dingtou, thinking about what he had just said. It had nothing to do with him. He made up his mind and went along with it. He said loudly: "It doesn't matter. I don't know them."
Old Ding secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and Meng's heart, which had been in her throat, also fell back to normal. She didn't want to be tortured with acupuncture. She had lived for most of her life, and if she was really tortured with acupuncture and branded, how would she have the face to walk around the village?
"Since it's not a problem, then find another place to stay and rest. This inn cannot continue to operate until the matter is resolved." After County Magistrate He finished speaking, Lao Liu became anxious.
"Sir! This shrew is clearly trying to blackmail us. Is the life of an animal more important than her child's life?"
Shopkeeper Tong's wife asked for two hundred taels of silver.
Two hundred taels would be enough for him and Xiaoyu to live on for several years. Besides, the problem was not unsolvable. He could also ask his fourth sister-in-law to come. His fourth sister-in-law was an excellent doctor and she must have other ways to prevent and treat the disease.
However, in front of Old Ding and Mrs. Meng and the others, he couldn't mention Jian Ning for the time being. Feeling anxious, he looked at Ma Fuquan, expecting him to say something for him.
Old Ding secretly winked at Meng, then glanced at the eldest brother. The eldest brother pulled Liu, who was still in a daze, and the four of them stumbled and fled from the inn amid the murmurings of the onlookers.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
