Li Xiang'an sat silently to the side, waiting for Village Chief Yang's attitude.
Although the village chief's attitude wouldn't have much impact on him, since his mother had said to be polite to the village chief, he was willing to give him some face. It all depended on whether the village chief knew how to appreciate it.
However, Village Chief Yang quickly realized that the Li family was a kind and righteous family, and Yang Quan and Yang Bao had schemed against them first, so this matter was beyond his control as a village chief.
So Village Chief Yang stood up and said, "Second Young Master, as the village chief, I bear some responsibility for the emergence of such a scoundrel in our village."
I have no objection to how you want to punish them.
But the other villagers in our village are all good people, and I hope that the second young master won't hold a grudge against the villagers of Dayang Village because of this incident.
Village Chief Yang knew he couldn't save Yang Quan and Yang Bao, but many villagers still worked in the Li family's workshop. If they lost their jobs because of this, it would be a huge loss.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiang'an smiled and said, "Don't worry, Village Chief Yang. Our family has always been fair and just and will not hold grudges against innocent people."
Even if the workshop hires more workers in the future, it won't discriminate against the villagers of Dayang Village.
Village Chief Yang was relieved to hear this and thanked Li Xiang'an repeatedly.
Finally, Village Chief Yang asked Li Xiang'an how he planned to deal with the two men.
Li Xiang'an replied calmly, "We are just ordinary people, what right do we have to deal with them? Naturally, we should send them to the government and let Magistrate Ling handle them impartially."
However, our workshop will no longer be able to employ these two people, nor will their families be allowed to work in our Li family workshop.
Village Chief Yang sighed and said nothing more. Once they were handed over to the authorities, the two brothers would basically be finished.
After seeing Village Chief Yang off, Li Xiang'an went to Yan Qingqing's room and told her about catching Yang Quan and Yang Bao the night before, as well as Village Chief Yang's purpose in coming.
Yan Qingqing was not surprised to hear this. Some people are just like persistent ghosts. Yan Qingqing really wanted to kill Shen Tongzhi to solve these big problems once and for all.
However, firstly, Magistrate Shen was far away in the prefectural city, and secondly, Yan Qingqing's strength did not allow it, so she could only swallow this bitter pill for the time being.
However, Yan Qingqing wouldn't let it go so easily. Did they really think they were made of clay?
Thinking of this, a hint of malice flashed in Yan Qingqing's eyes, but her face quickly returned to normal.
Looking at Li Xiang'an, he smiled and asked, "How do you plan to handle this matter?"
Li Xiang'an replied, "Send them to the authorities! Although I wish I could kill these two people, Mother and my elder brother are both officials now, and many eyes are watching them. If we handle this privately, it will inevitably give others something to say."
Yan Qingqing nodded. Actually, there was no other good way to do it except to hand it over to the authorities.
They couldn't actually kill someone, or they'd be accused of disregarding human life, which would be troublesome. Besides, Yan Qingqing was a modern person, and she didn't want to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary.
Besides, these two people were just momentarily tempted by greed and were simply taken advantage of.
Yan Qingqing then asked, "Is it possible to find out how many preserved eggs they stole in total, and which jars were touched?"
Li Xiang'an replied, "I asked, but they themselves couldn't remember. They just randomly took them from the jar every night without marking them."
Yan Qingqing fell silent upon hearing this. This was a difficult situation. If they couldn't find out which jars had been tampered with, how would they deliver the goods to the merchants?
Yan Qingqing waved her hand and said, "Alright, go ahead and get busy. Tell Lord Ling that these two people cannot be released easily."
Even if their crimes don't warrant death, they should still serve as a warning to others.
Li Xiang'an nodded repeatedly, and went to deal with the matter without even having breakfast.
Yan Qingqing was racking her brains trying to figure out how to deal with this mess.
She kept tapping the table with both hands, and Ruyi didn't dare to speak, afraid of disturbing Yan Qingqing's thinking.
A glint quickly flashed in Yan Qingqing's eyes, followed by a smile on her face. She said to Ruyi, "Let's set the table."
Ruyi quickly agreed upon hearing this.
After dinner, Yan Qingqing went to the workshop again and asked Li Sanniu to convey that she wanted to hold a group meeting.
Li Sanniu knew it was still because of Yang Quan and Yang Bao's matter, so he didn't dare to delay and quickly agreed to gather his men.
Not long after, Li Sanniu returned, panting, and said, "Second Sister-in-law, everyone has been gathered. Shall we go over now?"
Yan Qingqing nodded, stood up, and followed Li Sanniu.
Currently, their food processing workshop has more than 200 employees, and it has initially taken shape in terms of scale, but its system is not yet perfect.
Yan Qingqing looked at the two hundred or so people standing in front of her and said, "In the past, I trusted everyone and we were all from the same village, so I never made strict demands on you or said harsh words to you. But now that theft has occurred in the workshop, this is something I absolutely cannot tolerate."
I'm very angry about what happened to Yang Quan and Yang Bao. If your family is really going through a tough time, you can come to me or your young master. But it's absolutely unacceptable for them to collude with outsiders to scheme against our workshop and damage its interests.
You might think that stealing a few preserved eggs isn't a big deal, but we've already agreed with the customers beforehand that each jar contains fifty preserved eggs.
What will happen if they receive the goods and find that the quantity is insufficient? Will they think we lack credibility and cut corners?
Why would they cooperate with us again? If they are unwilling to cooperate with our workshop, then we don't need to produce anymore. You can all go home and do what you need to do.
I've paid you a decent wage, so if you're not comfortable here, you can leave anytime.
Don't harm others and cut off their livelihoods.
No secrets stay hidden forever, and since Yan Qingqing never intended to conceal it, many workers already knew about Yang Quan and Yang Bao's affair.
The workers, who had initially thought nothing of it, now realized the seriousness of the problem.
If it's really as Yan Qingqing said, where would they find such a good job?
Therefore, everyone was filled with righteous indignation and demanded that Yang Quan and Yang Bao be severely punished.
This is also the effect Yan Qingqing wanted to see.
Yan Qingqing waved her hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said, "Although I am angry, the country has its laws and the family has its rules, and I will not deal with them privately."
I have already had them handed over to the authorities; the magistrate will handle them accordingly.
Yan Qingqing's words silenced the more than two hundred people. To be honest, what ordinary people fear most is seeing officials. Faced with such matters, they would rather be beaten up and settle it privately than go to the government.
However, Yan Qingqing's actions left them speechless, but they did serve as a wake-up call for them.
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