It only took a little over a day to get in, but it took a full seven or eight days to get out.
This is even with the fact that they can ride horses from time to time; if they relied on their own two legs the whole time, it would probably take even longer.
When the group emerged from the forest again, they found several constables waiting at the city gate.
"Everyone, keep all the horses under control. There are too many people here, so don't startle them. If they run away, I won't go back to catch them again!"
We had already left the deep mountains, and we saw quite a few people outside. After arriving outside the county town, there were even more people.
Lin Xue had to remind these people that she was already doing well to tame the horses, and she couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't run away in the future.
"We understand, thank you for the reminder, Guard Lin!"
Once everyone had led the horses out of the woods, the yamen runners waiting outside the city gate immediately spotted them and rushed over to help them lead the remaining horses.
"Officer Zhang, Guard Lin! I never expected you to have such a bountiful harvest this time. So many mares are worth a fortune!"
The young yamen runner stroked the horse's mane, his eyes filled with envy.
While someone came to help, a junior yamen runner quickly ran towards the county government office to report to the magistrate.
At the same time, many curious people gathered around to watch the horses behind the crowd.
There was a lot of discussion among the crowd. Some people said that these horses were captured from deep in the mountains and forests, while others said that these horses were sold from other places.
In short, there were all sorts of opinions in the crowd.
Lin Xue and her group ignored them and led more than thirty horses to the county government office in a grand procession.
"Guard Lin, I didn't expect to bring back so many horses this time. I was thinking of doubling the size of the original stables, but it seems there's no room for them now!"
There were too many people in the county government office, and the original number of horses was simply not enough. Most of the time, the constables, except for the captain in charge, had to run around on foot to solve cases.
Seeing so many horses, the magistrate's face beamed with joy.
"Your Excellency, I have successfully completed my mission and captured these horses. They should be able to relieve our county government's urgent crisis!"
Lin Xue bowed to the magistrate, as she was not accustomed to kneeling and had always treated him with the etiquette of the martial arts world.
Fortunately, the county magistrate was an honest and upright official who didn't care about her breaking the rules.
Not to mention Lin Xue, even the other constables in the county government rarely kneel before the county magistrate, unless it is under special circumstances or when they have made a mistake and are being punished.
Our county magistrate is usually very easy to talk to, but if you make a serious mistake, he will punish you severely.
Lin Xue and her group had done a great service this time, and the magistrate specially instructed his wife to prepare a large feast to welcome them back.
"This time it went so smoothly thanks to Guard Lin and Mr. Mei. It's just a pity that Mr. Mei came and went like the wind, and I didn't even have a chance to express my gratitude!"
Apart from Lin Xue, everyone at the dinner table was a man.
No one was being formal; they ate, drank, and talked about the capture of the wild horses.
"Yes, thanks to Guard Lin and Mr. Mei, we've hunted quite a lot of game and brought it back. With this much meat, we won't need to buy any for the entire winter!"
"And those several large sacks of ginger, I reckon we won't be able to use them all even after the New Year!"
“Your Excellency, you may not know this, but we really broadened our horizons this time when we went to the deep mountains with Guard Lin! You have no idea how big the antlers of those sika deer are. We even found several antlers that had fallen off the heads of male deer on the way. We will give you two pairs to keep for your enjoyment!”
In fact, when they first returned to the county government office, the constables divided up half of the items and sent them to the back office. The county magistrate was well aware of the types of items they had brought back.
The reason everyone is bringing it up again is simply to join in the fun and liven up the atmosphere.
"Besides the prey, we also dug up a lot of medicinal herbs, including five or six ginseng roots!"
"These remote places are indeed full of good things! My lord, I suggest that we organize a team to go in once a year. The things in the mountains are just sitting there anyway, so why not bring them out to relieve the pressure on the county government's treasury!"
The county government's treasury didn't have much silver, mainly because although Qingshan County was vast, it was sparsely populated.
Moreover, most people are living in poverty, haha, there are simply no projects that can generate income.
"well!"
While they were chatting happily, Lin Xue focused on eating her food.
But as she ate, her gaze fell upon the glass of wine that Constable Zhang had poured for her on the table.
The wine was pale yellow in color and had a faint aroma of grains. She couldn't resist taking a sip out of curiosity, only to find that the alcohol content was rather low.
And in terms of taste...
To be honest, it was something that Lin Xue, who was used to drinking fine wine, found hard to tolerate.
"What's wrong, Guard Lin? Is the food not to your liking?"
Lin Xue's sudden sigh piqued the county magistrate's curiosity, wondering what had caused her to feel so melancholy.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"Just because I took a sip of this wine, I was reminded of the fine wine my master usually brews, and I couldn't help but sigh. Our county government is really too poor!"
"They don't even have a decent glass of wine, they can only drink this cheap stuff..."
As Lin Xue spoke, she noticed that everyone's eyes were focused on her.
"Guard Lin, you may not know this, but while this wine isn't the best in the entire Great Yun Dynasty, it's still considered average!"
"I wonder what kind of wine Mr. Mei usually drinks that makes Guard Lin find our wine so hard to swallow?"
Besides the county magistrate, Constable Zhang was the best drinker here. Unable to contain his curiosity, he immediately asked the question, disregarding the magistrate's presence.
"Please wait a moment, everyone. I'll go get a jar of wine that my master usually drinks. You'll know once you've tasted it!"
Lin Xue didn't say much, quickly got off her seat, and left the county government office.
When she reappeared, she was carrying a large wine jar in her arms.
When she opened the mud seal on the wine jar, a delightful fragrance wafted out.
"Why is this wine so fragrant? It's even more delicious than the finest Drunken Spring Flower wine!"
The magistrate was a connoisseur of fine wine, and just by smelling it, he knew that this jar of wine was more fragrant and mellow than any he had ever tasted before.
"My lord, please have a taste!"
Lin Xue glanced at the magistrate, who still had some yellow wine in his bowl, and then handed the wine jar to Zhang, the constable next to him.
It's already quite generous of her to share her fine wines with everyone; expecting her to serve and pour wine for each person individually is simply unrealistic.
Ultimately, this wine was brewed by her in her spare time.
Authentic grain liquor, the taste is truly authentic.
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