Chapter 186 Catching the Escaped Fish
After venting her frustrations, Xu Cuilian began to complain about Zhang the butcher: "You brag about how many people you know every day, but it's been two whole days and none of your cronies have found Liu Erleng."
Butcher Zhang explained in a muffled voice, "Qingcheng is a larger area than you think. It's normal that you can't find it in two days."
Xu Cuilian rolled her eyes at him, and was about to retort when Sheng An quickly interrupted, "Uncle is right. There are hundreds of villages and towns under Qingzhou's jurisdiction, and it would take a lot of time to find them one by one."
After saying that, she gratefully said to Butcher Zhang, "So it turns out that my uncle asked someone to help find them. I'll invite them to Shengyuan later and prepare a few tables of good food to entertain them."
Butcher Zhang waved his hand: "Those people are all my good friends, there's no need to make special arrangements for them."
Sheng Anxin knew that the person had not been caught, so there was no rush to treat them to a meal. He nodded and did not insist.
Xu Cuilian was very anxious, fearing that Liu Erleng, the one who had slipped through the net, might escape and would be secretly watching Shengyuan to report back at any time.
After all, there are only those who steal for a thousand years, not those who guard against thieves for a thousand years.
Seeing her so anxious, Xu Chenglin reassured her, "We've already found guards, and they'll be moving in tomorrow. There will be patrols from morning till night, so Liu Erleng won't have a chance to cause trouble."
Upon hearing this, Xu Cuilian breathed a slight sigh of relief: "We should have hired a guard earlier. If a guard had been with us the day before yesterday, we wouldn't have encountered such a distressing situation."
Sheng An was a little embarrassed: "I didn't realize before that we were a wealthy family, and I never thought about hiring guards."
In my previous life, the social order was so good that ordinary wealthy people didn't need to hire bodyguards.
Upon arriving in this time and space, she didn't feel that she was so wealthy that she needed someone to protect her.
It wasn't until I was almost kidnapped the day before yesterday that I realized I had become easy prey for criminals.
Hearing Sheng An say this, Xu Cuilian's family expressed their understanding, saying that they wouldn't have thought of this either.
Everyone speculated about where Liu Erleng might be hiding, but no one could come up with a consensus. So the topic shifted to Xu Jinnian, who was still in Jinling.
Knowing that he would be back in a few days, Xu Cuilian couldn't help but praise, "Second Brother was so farsighted. He found Jin Nian an excellent teacher from the very beginning, which saved Jin Nian from taking many detours."
Butcher Zhang wholeheartedly agreed: "Master Jiang is exceptionally knowledgeable and has a wide network of connections. He is not only skilled in teaching, but also adept at paving the way for his students. I heard that Huaining has found a scholar to be his tutor. I wonder what kind of background this scholar has."
For an ordinary person, it would be quite an achievement to be able to study under a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations, but compared to Jin Nian's teacher, this scholar is still far inferior.
Huaining is very hardworking. She passed the county and prefectural examinations this year with good results, so she should be able to pass the provincial examination next year.
Zhang the butcher had fallen out with several of Xu Jiaba's brothers-in-law, but he had no problem with Xu Huaining himself and hoped that he would do better and better.
Sheng An knew Zhao Juren's background, so he simply said, "He also came from a farming family and studied hard for many years before passing the imperial examination. He has brought a change of fortune to the Zhao family."
Xu Cuilian greatly admired scholars, especially those like Zhao Juren who came from poor backgrounds and changed their fate through their own hard work.
Looking at Zhang Zhaodi's six-month-old belly, a deep expectation appeared on her face: "The doctor took my pulse the other day and said this baby is a boy. I wonder if he'll have the brains to study."
Before anyone else could speak, Zhang Daikui honestly said, "Like begets like. The Zhang family hasn't produced a scholar in the last five generations, so Mother, don't count on my son."
Xu Cuilian didn't like hearing this, and without thinking, she slapped him on the back: "What do you know! The Xu family hasn't produced a scholar in the last five generations, but in your cousin's generation, two of them have emerged all at once!"
Butcher Zhang chimed in with a curse: "Your mother is right, nothing good can come out of your dog mouth."
Zhang Daikui: "..."
These days, you get beaten up for telling the truth. He's having a really tough time!
Sheng An and the others were both amused and exasperated, feeling that Zhang Dai Kui was in a rather pitiful situation, caught in the middle.
Zhang Zhaodi felt sorry for her husband and tried to smooth things over: "As long as the child is strong and healthy, studying or butchering pigs are both good options. If all else fails, you can learn bamboo weaving with me and you'll never lack food or clothing for the rest of your life."
"Yes, yes, my grandson will have a bright future."
Xu Cuilian echoed her words, then turned and scolded Zhang Daikui: "Learn from your wife, if you can't speak properly, learn from your father and shut up. Don't interrupt when Zhaodi teaches the children in the future."
With such a simpleton as her father, she must not lead her grandchildren astray.
Zhang Daikui felt even more aggrieved, muttering under his breath, "I'm the son of you two old folks, and it's your fault for making me so clumsy and tongue-tied."
Xu Cuilian's eyebrows shot up: "What are you babbling about?"
Zhang Zhaodi quickly pulled her husband aside, telling him to shut up: "Da Kui said that you and Dad know how to teach children, and that you and Dad can help take care of the baby after it is born."
Xu Cuilian rolled her eyes at her eldest son and snorted, "Do you even need to tell me that!"
After saying that, she said to Zhang Zhaodi, "Don't worry about who will take care of the child. There are so many people in the family. If we are really too busy, we can hire someone. It won't cost much money per month."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhaodi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and her smile brightened even more: "I'll do whatever you say, Mother."
Having an enlightened mother-in-law is really great. After the baby is born, she won't have to take care of the baby all the time and can devote most of her energy to the workshop.
The next day, the eight guards that Xu Chenglin had asked someone to find moved into Shengyuan.
Sheng An only made a brief appearance, leaving the rest to Xu Chenglin.
Xu Chenglin had worked as a guard for several years and knew the ins and outs of the place very well, so he set detailed rules and regulations for the eight guards from the beginning.
The remuneration was agreed upon after discussions with Sheng'an, amounting to three taels per person per month, with adjustments made for meritorious service.
The treatment was similar to that of other wealthy families, and the eight guards had no objections. They made patrol arrangements that very day to ensure that if any thieves broke into Shengyuan, they could detect and warn them in time.
With the guards around, Sheng An slept much more peacefully at night.
They thought Liu Erleng had gone into hiding or had fled elsewhere, and that they wouldn't be able to catch him anytime soon. But two days later, Ah Shui, who had been assigned by Sheng An to keep an eye on Liu Huazhi, suddenly showed up at their door:
"Sister-in-law, it seems that Atu and I know where Liu Erleng is hiding."
Sheng An's spirits lifted: "Where is it!"
Ah Shui glanced around, looking as if afraid of being overheard, and only lowered her voice to make sure no one was eavesdropping before saying, "It's at the house of the woman surnamed Liu. She's been acting very strangely these past few days; she goes out to buy groceries every morning."
Sheng An was puzzled. Wasn't buying groceries every day a normal thing?
Ah Shui quickly explained, "It's normal for other people to buy vegetables every day, but not for the woman surnamed Liu. Her family is very poor. Before, she would secretly steal vegetables from other people's gardens. At most, she would go to the market to buy some eggs, but these past few days she has been buying them every day. I even saw pork."
Hearing this, Sheng An also sensed something was wrong, and his expression became unusually serious: "You and Atu should hide well, and make sure that Liu guy doesn't find out."
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