"Fortunately, those bandits weren't after my life; they only wanted food and money. Otherwise, Changlin wouldn't be alive today," Li Wu said, still shaken by the memory.
Li Dani asked worriedly, "Didn't they catch the bandits? How come there are still some?"
"Judging from the attitude of those yamen runners last time, I'm afraid there won't be any more besides that batch!" Hong Mancang said angrily.
Moreover, they were the ones who caught them! It can't even be said that the constables caught them.
"The world is in chaos, and there are no end to the bandits. There will be a constant stream of people joining the bandits." Qin Yilin sighed, also expressing her worry.
When war breaks out, you'll be dealing not only with bandits and thieves, but also with soldiers and brigands.
Bandits pass by like combs, soldiers pass by like combs; soldiers and bandits are more dangerous than thieves.
Especially since there are only three people in her family, what will happen if they are conscripted for military service...?
The old village chief frowned deeply, looking at the large group of villagers in the courtyard, and couldn't help but sigh.
We had finally gotten better, having survived the floods safely, and even had our first village feast a few days ago. We thought things would only get better, but then suddenly the vassal king rebelled and the world was thrown into chaos.
Natural disasters are hard to overcome, but man-made disasters are even harder. Now, with both natural and man-made disasters, the emperor, princes, and nobles of the court truly don't care about the lives of ordinary people.
Her gaze suddenly stopped when it swept over Hong Mancang. She remembered what he had said to her when he came back last time. Seeing that Shui Qing was also there, she asked again, "Mancang, repeat what you asked that bandit last time."
When Hong Mancang came back last time, he took a moment to tell him what he had asked. He found it strange, but after thinking about it, he couldn't figure out what was so strange about it.
With Hu Shuiqing here today, and this member of the Ding family also being quite knowledgeable, it's a good opportunity to listen to their opinions again.
When the old village chief asked, Hong Mancang cleared his throat and said, "The bandit said that someone came up to him and said that we had rabbit meat and lots of silver on our cart."
I asked the man what he looked like, and he said he came with his head and face covered, so I didn't know what he looked like. His accent didn't sound like mine, but it sounded like the men in our village.
“Mancang is from Nanning Prefecture. It’s normal that the informant’s accent doesn’t sound like him. But it sounds like the accent of the men in our village, so it can only be from Guangning Prefecture. But there are so many people from Guangning Prefecture, and they’re all wearing masks. How can we know who it is?” Li Wu scratched his head, feeling a headache coming on.
“Yes, quite a few people in our village know about selling rabbits, so there’s no way to find them,” Li Qiang said, looking worried.
Shui Qing recalled ancient cases she had read before, where strangers didn't need to conceal their appearance when tipping off someone, since they didn't know each other. Especially in this dynasty, finding someone in the entire prefecture based solely on verbal descriptions of their appearance was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Those who need to conceal their appearance are often not strangers, but acquaintances!
She couldn't discuss the case analysis, so she asked in a different phrasing: "They also said there was rabbit meat and lots of money on our vehicle, so they're determined to get those people to rob and kill us! Are they covering their faces to prevent people from recognizing them?"
The accents in Guangning Prefecture vary from north to south and east to west, but it's a pity I don't know just how similar the bandit's accent was.
While the old village chief Qin Yilin and his companions reacted quickly, a sudden thought struck them.
Even if outsiders know they sell rabbits, they don't know the number or quantity. If they only consider them wild rabbits, they have no idea how much silver they could earn. They shouldn't be envious of such a small amount of money, since there are many people in the city who make more money from their business than they do.
The person who's jealous is very likely, very likely, someone they know!
“Almost everyone in the village is selling rabbits, except for Fan Qian, Zhang Tuzi, and Wang Mazi,” Li Qiang said quickly.
Wang Mazi and his sons separated and lived separately. The old couple were too old to go to the prefectural city even if they were envious and dissatisfied. Zhang Tuzi was even less likely to go; he was someone who could lie down rather than sit. Moreover, there was an even more important point: both families lived in the village, so even if they were envious, it was unlikely that they would risk their lives to go to the prefectural city alone.
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