Chapter 89
Gu Ran couldn't hold back and asked more questions, but Li Jieguan - no, it's time to call him Uncle Li now, Uncle Li remained silent and had no intention of explaining anything to Gu Ran.
So even though Gu Ran was curious, he was never able to pry open Uncle Li's mouth and find out why he was also exiled to Xiaxi Village.
After dinner that day, when he took a bath, enjoyed the cool air and went to bed, Gu Ran thought about this matter and his heart was still full of doubts.
When they were escorting the prisoners, Officer Li's performance was remarkable among all the other officials. He was both brave and resourceful. The Mai mother and daughter also had good opinions of him. Later, when Feng Duojin got into trouble, they took the prisoners to the snowy forest to look for traces and clues. When they encountered a pack of wolves, it was thanks to Officer Li's timely reaction and bravery that he saved so many people and even picked up the wolf meat for them to fill their stomachs.
Later, when they encountered an avalanche, cooperation with other teams of prisoners was even more helpful. Otherwise, they would not have won the favor of Chen Jieguan from the capital. In Damao City, they took the initiative to apply for the deployment of Li Jieguan, who was on a short journey, to go another distance and help escort the prisoners directly to Puzhou.
During that escort, Li Jieguan also saved the lives of most of the prisoners. No matter how you look at it, his performance was not bad. How could such a capable officer be thrown to Minzhou like himself in just one year?
What kind of mistake was made?
With suspicion, Gu Ran couldn't help but take a few more glances at Uncle Li when he saw him early the next morning.
Uncle Li pretended not to see it and followed the donkey cart into the miasma forest to work as he did the day before.
After three days of this, the five people worked together and successfully cleared three acres of forest land.
Of course, there was the precedent of Uncle Yang wanting to cut down branches to use as firewood on the first day. The trees on the second acre of land were divided between Wu Dalang and Lin Erlang, and the trees cut down on the third acre of land went to Gu Ran.
Uncle Li doesn't need it.
He had just arrived in Xiaxi Village not long ago. He was alone and ate with Uncle Wu San's family. Naturally, he didn't need to use firewood.
Now the front of Gu Ran’s cottage is also piled with tree trunks and wood - they have just been cut down and need to be dried before they can be used as firewood.
At this time, Gu Ran's five acres of wasteland had also been cultivated. After the Shen family had used the plowing horses, they taught the old master to follow Gu Ran into the miasma forest. Within a day, they had plowed and harrowed the three acres of wasteland. Only then was Gu Ran's eight acres of wasteland considered to be cultivated.
Now that the land has been cultivated, according to the experience of old masters, if you want to grow good crops, you still need to maintain the land.
It is now early September and staple food cannot be planted. Gu Randan is looking after these fields by himself and has no intention of planting anything. He plans to leave them idle for a few months and wait until the spring of next year to plant some more crops.
Her plan was the same as before for the six acres of land, hiring someone to farm it.
Therefore, when reporting the results of the land reclamation to Village Chief Wu - Village Chief Wu was responsible for supervision, he naturally had to report the results of the new households' land reclamation to the county government truthfully, so that the county government's Ministry of Households could collect taxes according to the actual number of acres.
"Village Chief Wu, when you report it, just say that the ten acres of land I was ordered to reclaim have been reclaimed!"
"Is everything finished? Aren't there still two acres of mountain land?"
"You know those two acres are mountainous land. I think there's no need to clear them out specifically. I can just use them to grow something."
"What to plant?"
"For example, the fairy grass I'm growing now, or konjac, both are fine."
"Can he survive?"
"The fairy grass should be able to survive."
After all, wild grass can grow anywhere in the mountains.
"Then I will report ten acres for you. When you pay the grain tax in the future, it will be collected based on the grain output of twenty acres. Is that okay?" Village chief Wu asked tentatively.
"That's feasible." Gu Ran nodded, and then said, "Also, I plan to use the five acres of land to grow rice, wheat, or something like that. Village chief, could you please ask if there's anyone in the village willing to rent it and grow crops there?"
I guess no one would dare to cultivate the three acres in the miasma forest, but the five acres outside the forest can still be considered for use as paddy fields.
"Your place is close to the miasma forest. I'm afraid you won't be able to find anyone there normally..."
"Wuwu, whoever cultivates those five acres of land for me will get half of the harvest." Gu Ran said.
"That's fine. I'll ask for you."
The family that Village Chief Wu found to be willing to let Gu Ran cultivate the five acres of land was Uncle Yang's family.
Uncle Yang's family had rented two acres of land from Gu Ran for farming before. Today, in order to earn forty cents a day, they went in and out of the miasma forest. They were not as afraid of the miasma forest as other families. Although these five acres of land were in front of the miasma forest, they were all connected and easy to take care of, and the output would be split fifty-fifty. As soon as Village Chief Wu asked, Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang agreed to it immediately, and Village Chief Wu didn't need to ask anyone else.
So, with the witness of Village Chief Wu, Uncle Yang and Gu Ran drafted a deed, and the five acres of land would be handed over to Uncle Yang in the future. Gu Ran only had to wait for the harvest next year.
Gu Ran breathed a sigh of relief as the land reclamation work was successfully completed.
After returning to the cottage, I happily made myself a bowl of Bak Kut Teh.
Bak Kut Teh is a soup made by boiling bones with some medicinal herbs. The flavor varies depending on the type and proportion of the herbs and the meat and bones used. Some have a rich soup base, while others have a light one. Therefore, each family has their own cooking methods for Bak Kut Teh, and each has its own unique characteristics and flavor.
Gu Ran prefers a lighter dish called white soup bak kut teh, so the ingredients are simpler and the cooking time is naturally shortened a lot.
Originally, white pepper was used instead of the medicinal herb, but it was not available at that time. However, it didn't matter, as there were betel leaves. So Gu Ran picked some betel leaves and washed them, then added washed garlic cloves with skin, and added pig bones, and boiled it for two hours.
After fishing out the dragon bone building, you will get a jar of clear white soup Bak Kut Teh. The soup made in this way has a light taste, almost no medicinal taste, but the betel leaves add spiciness to the sweet soup, and there is a faint garlic aroma. It is already late autumn, and after drinking a bowl of such Bak Kut Teh, you will not only feel refreshed all over, but it is also just right to dispel cold and strengthen the spleen.
The stewed dragon bones, dipped in green sauce, are also a satisfying meat dish.
Drinking the soup alone is certainly not enough, so when making Bak Kut Teh, Gu Ran had already prepared a bowl of cooked rice noodles. He poured the boiling hot Bak Kut Teh into it, and then he could slurp the noodles and drink the soup.
If you still feel it is not enough, you can continue to stew it on low heat next to the stove, add tofu and mushrooms, and eat it after they are slightly cooked until you are full.
After Gu Ran finished his meal to his satisfaction and was lying in the courtyard digesting the food, he couldn't help but think of Li Jie Guan - no, Uncle Li.
A year ago, they were in a relationship of an official and a prisoner, but a year later, they were both exiled prisoners. This made Gu Ran sigh.
As for why Uncle Li was dismissed from office and became an exiled prisoner, Xu Sanlang later explained it clearly when he came to Xiaxi Village to visit Gu Ran.
Xu Sanlang came to Xiaxi Village to greet Gu Ran in advance.
He will be transporting the earliest batch of mature tangerines back to the north in October. Gu Ran has already boasted that he can be responsible for the production of 500 kilograms of tangerines. Now that it is September, it is natural for him to come and say hello.
"Don't worry, Xu San. You don't have to urge me when the time comes. I will definitely send it to the county town for you personally." Gu Ran was not worried at all.
Ever since receiving the fifty-two taels deposit from Xu San, Gu Ran had resisted eating the oranges he had stockpiled in his spare time, and even ate less orange jam. He thought of sending a few more cans to Xu San first. When Xu San could sell them at a high price, he would definitely come back to buy them from him.
"But your konjac sauce is really amazing."
The merchant ship sent to Zhengzhou returned, naturally bringing with it information on the sales of konjac sauce.
Just as Gu Ran expected, most of the chili peppers in the Dasheng Dynasty are now from dogwood. Now there is a sauce that is completely different from the dogwood chili peppers, and it also has a unique spicy flavor. Naturally, it is very popular. Although it is not as exaggerated as Gu Ran said, that a jar costs five hundred taels of silver, the seller has more than increased the price tenfold.
Xu San only took ten jars from Gu Ran. The quantity was limited. In addition to the four jars that his family kept as favors, he only planned to sell six jars. Two of the jars were bought for a large sum of money in Zhengzhou, and in the end, only four jars were shipped to the capital.
As a result, the four jars of konjac sauce were highly sought after by diners and sold at sky-high prices in the social circles of the powerful and wealthy families in the capital. Even many stewards of wealthy families came to inquire about the origin of the konjac sauce.
The Xu family members did not dare to be overconfident. They followed Xu San's instructions and said that the tea was made from rare crops found in the dangerous areas of the south, and the output was very small, with only six jars produced each year.
Even so, the gluttonous foodie was still reluctant to give up on the konjac sauce and wanted to find someone from the Xu family to place an order for it at a large price.
Xu Sanlang, who was in charge of purchasing, did not go back with them. The Xu family was used to doing business, so when they heard such a request, they reported it to Mr. Xu first.
Mr. Xu did not dare to offend the powerful people in the capital, and of course he did not dare to accept the deposits from these managers. He just wrote down the orders from each prefecture according to the first-come, first-served rule, and then hurriedly ordered the merchant ship to return to Minzhou. He wrote a letter to Xu Sanlang, asking him to guarantee that this matter would not go wrong.
So Xu San came to Xiaxi Village to find Gu Ran first. Ostensibly, he came for oranges, but in fact, he came to order a batch of ten jars of konjac jam for next year.
"Huh!" Gu Ran chuckled and glanced at him when he heard Xu San came to order konjac sauce.
Although Xu San remained calm, Gu Ran guessed that the konjac sauce must be selling very well, otherwise, it would take almost a year for the konjac sauce to be produced, and Xu San would have placed an order so early.
"Mr. Xu San, you want to pre-order that konjac sauce. I guess this sauce has a good future?"
Xu San smiled faintly, picked up the fan and fanned himself: "Gu Er Niang, to be honest, it's true, otherwise I wouldn't have come to place an order with you so early, right?" Gu Er Niang was a smart person, even if he didn't say it, she would have guessed it, so Xu San had no intention of hiding it.
"Since it's selling well, can I raise the price of my konjac sauce?"
"Ten taels for a jar." Xu San made the final decision. "For this reservation, I can pay you the full amount in advance. How about that?"
That's one hundred taels.
Gu Ran was secretly delighted when she heard Xu San say, "It would be even better if you could make a few more jars." She immediately shook her head, pretending to be embarrassed: "It's not that I don't want to make more, but the ingredients are limited. I can only pick so much in a year, only enough to make ten jars."
You can't make more than you want. If you make more, won't it disrupt the current market price of konjac sauce?
So Gu Ran shook his head repeatedly, looking like a good cook cannot cook without rice.
"Then I'll sign a contract with you for ten jars. If next year's harvest is good and we can make more, the price will be negotiated."
Gu Ran nodded.
Manager Xu swiftly took out the contract that had been written early in the morning. After Gu Ran looked at it and had no objection, he signed the contract with Xu San. Then he took the heavy box of silver and hugged it happily.
Sure enough, making konjac sauce is a wise choice!
I haven't even started yet, but I've already earned one hundred taels of silver from the order.
Seeing Gu Ran's money-hungry look, Xu San also laughed: "You laugh like this... If you deliver those 500 kilograms of oranges to me on time later, the silver will be even more. Wouldn't you laugh your teeth off?"
Gu Ran wasn't afraid of Xu San laughing at him, so he continued laughing for a while. Suddenly, he remembered that some of the men on Xu San's merchant ship had probably returned to Zhengzhou. Uncle Li was the escort officer at the Zhengzhou government office, so he asked, "Xu Sanlang, do you still remember the officer who escorted you back then?"
"You mean, Li Ji?"
"Li Ji? Is that Li Jieguan?"
"If the Li Jieguan you're talking about is the chief Jieguan who escorted us from Zhengzhou to Damao City, then Li Ji is Li Jieguan."
"Then, do you know that he has been exiled to Minzhou?"
"Have you seen him?"
Gu Ran nodded.
"Where?"
"In our village."
Xu Sanlang was stunned for a moment, then sighed, "What a coincidence, I was exiled to the same village as you."
"I was also extremely surprised when I saw him." Gu Ran also sighed, "Do you know what crime he committed to be exiled here?"
"There was a man named Feng among the officers who escorted us back then. Do you remember him?"
"Feng Duojin?" Gu Ran blurted out, "Is this related to him?"
Xu Sanlang nodded.
It turned out that although Li Ji was often responsible for escorting prisoners to the place of exile, this was the first time that he was the chief officer and Feng Duojin was the adjutant.
Feng Duojin had escorted prisoners from Zhengzhou to Damao City many times without any accidents. However, this time, Xu San and others lost their lives, which made Feng Duojin's family extremely dissatisfied.
Although the Feng family did not have much power in Zhengzhou, Feng Duojin's uncle was Feng Tongpan, a capable assistant relied upon by the Zhengzhou prefect. Feng Duojin bullied the exiled prisoners because he could not do so in the Zhengzhou government office. However, outside Zhengzhou, he could bully the prisoners and humiliate them at will during his exile.
Among the officers who had previously escorted the prisoners with Feng Duojin, some did not dare to offend Feng Tongpan, while others wanted to curry favor with Feng Duojin and gain close ties with Feng Tongpan. They all turned a blind eye to Feng Duojin's actions on the road, and used sweet words to cover up for him in front of Feng Tongpan, which further indulged Feng Duojin's arrogant nature.
Who could have expected that this time, Feng Duojin, who was escorting the prisoner on the road as usual, would never return?
After hearing that he had an accident, the Feng family sent people to Qingyi to dig up his body and bring it back to their hometown. They also took the opportunity to inquire about the details of Feng Duojin's accident. Although the matter was left unresolved, the Feng family hated Li Ji, the chief judge.
The same was true for Judge Feng.
Because Feng Duojin had a very good reputation in the government office and was praised by many officials, Feng Tongpan did not investigate the truth. He thought that his nephew was smart and capable, a promising talent with great potential in the future, and might even become another talented person for the Feng family.
Why did my nephew, who could always complete his escort duties smoothly and return to Zhengzhou safely, get into trouble when he went with Li Ji?
Feng Tongpan hated Li Ji deeply, thinking that Li Ji, as the chief official, had neglected his duties and failed to supervise the government properly. Naturally, he suppressed Li Ji many times in the government office and almost ended Li Ji's official career.
Li Ji also knew that there was a difference between close and distant relatives, and knew that Feng Tongpan might be biased towards him because of this matter, but he asked himself if he had a clear conscience and did not care.
However, the Feng family was unwilling to let Li Ji go easily.
"In March of this year, a murder occurred in Zhengzhou. Li Ji was sent to apprehend the suspect, but before he could be brought to justice, the suspect was killed on the way. Later, an eyewitness testified that Li Ji had violently enforced the law and beaten the suspect to death. Magistrate Feng rebuked Li Ji again for his disregard for human life and then had him thrown into prison." Xu San looked at Gu Ran and said, "What happened next must have been the same as ours. He was exiled to Fujian and ended up here."
Gu Ran was silent for a long time before he said quietly, "I don't think it's possible that Li Jieguan would intentionally kill innocent people given his character."
"There's something fishy going on here, but with Magistrate Feng here, who would dare to investigate?" Xu Sanlang folded his fan. "Perhaps he's secretly delighted that Heaven has given him the opportunity to avenge his nephew's death!"
Gu Ran remained silent.
After all, she knew best how Feng Duojin died.
At that time, she thought that Pei Liuniang and she had escaped the disaster, but unexpectedly, the disaster would fall upon Li Ji a year later. It was really fate.
"Even the Zhengzhou government was able to take advantage of the empress's ascension to the throne to clear up your grievances. I thought the administration of Dasheng was clean and honest, but I didn't expect that there would still be officials who could cover up everything." Gu Ran sighed, "It seems I was wrong."
"You are indeed wrong. No matter who sits on the top, whether it is a prince or a princess, the real beneficiaries are only the powerful people in the capital. The privileged officials below them are even more accustomed to using their backers in the court to bully others. For us ordinary people, whether you are a husband or a wife, you are all weak people and can never avoid the day when you may be wronged and humiliated." Xu Sanlang sneered and spoke with emotion.
Gu Ran didn't say anything.
After all, the facts are right in front of us.
"Speaking of the capital, a big event happened recently. The source is in your county. Have you heard about it?" Xu Sanlang changed the subject.
"What's the big deal?"
"Master Du Jiang of the imperial court has been apprehended by the emperor, and the entire government is investigating his crime."
"Master Du?"
Gu Ran tried hard to find some impression of Lord Du in the original owner's memory, but Xu San on the other end had already told him the story.
"More than a decade ago, before being promoted to an official position in the capital, Du Jiang was the director of the Maritime Customs Office in Quangang, Minzhou. Our dynasty's maritime trade was thriving, and from time to time, pirates from Japan and other foreign countries would come to burn, kill, and abuse the seas. To maintain safety along the shipping routes and protect the merchants and civilians, the court dispatched several generals to the coastal shipping routes to lead troops and repel these pirates who harassed our people. The one sent to Quangang at that time was General Qiao, who was born in Damao City."
"When General Qiao first arrived in Quangang, he fought victorious battles year after year, repelling numerous pirate gangs along the Minzhou coast. However, eight years ago, General Qiao neglected his duties, allowing a large group of pirates to invade. They looted all the grain ships, slaughtered villages along the Minzhou coast, burned the county seat, and penetrated deep into the interior, causing Minzhou to lose several cities in succession. Later, General Wang dispatched troops from Damao City to recapture the lost territories one by one, finally driving the pirates out of our Great Sheng Dynasty."
"Our dynasty boasts a prosperous maritime transport system. A hundred years ago, Emperor Wu trained the navy, invented firearms, built ships, and established the Maritime Customs Office. With our military might and weaponry, we were far superior to the Japanese and other foreign nations. Logically, General Qiao shouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat. Afterward, we learned that General Qiao was too ambitious to properly manage his military equipment before the Japanese invaders launched their massive invasion. As a result, his sailors were drunk and made ineffective during the incident. The hastily deployed firearms, however, were not properly stored, became damp, and all of them became duds."
"One city was lost, and then many more were lost. Thousands of civilians suffered at the hands of the Japanese pirates, not to mention the burned-down county town." Xu San said sadly, "The emperor was furious at the time and stripped General Qiao of his title and nobility. He also punished all the military officials who had caused the incident. However..."
"Something happened to General Qiao?" Gu Ran asked nervously.
"That's right. When General Qiao was being detained and taken to the capital to be tried for his crimes, his soldiers rioted, disobeyed the emperor's orders, and rescued him. They have since disappeared, and their whereabouts remain unknown to this day."
Xu San let out a long sigh. "Everyone thought that General Qiao had fled, fearing his punishment. The emperor was furious and blamed General Qiao's entire clan, wiping out all nine of them. No one dared to object. But, just a few months ago, a secret letter stained with blood from the Zhou family in Minzhou revealed the truth behind General Qiao's defeat and disappearance."
"What is it?"
"Lord Du is the culprit behind the defeat of General Qiao and his soldiers eight years ago. Du Jiang accepted a large bribe from the Ying bandits and had drugs laced with the wine given to General Qiao and his soldiers, causing them to become listless and unable to fight effectively. He also deliberately sabotaged the army's firearms, rendering their firebombs ineffective and their magical weapons useless," Xu Sanyu said, his indignation growing. "Even more infuriating is that they detained General Qiao and, when they were taking him and his men to the capital, they sent people to fabricate the illusion that the soldiers had rebelled and General Qiao had fled for fear of punishment."
"But General Qiao holds the military power. How dare Du Jiang be so presumptuous?"
"Du Jiang was the director of the Quangang Maritime Customs at the time, the highest-ranking official in charge of maritime affairs. How could he be so unscrupulous?" Xu San fumed. "Afterwards, he shamelessly accepted compensation from the court, exploiting the emperor's sympathy for the people of Quangang to be promoted to a Beijing official. Yet, the missing General Qiao has been imprisoned by them for years, leading him to a life worse than death."
"General Qiao is still alive?" Gu Ran was shocked.
"I'm afraid he's still alive. The current emperor was furious and sent two officials to Jianzhou to investigate the incident and restore justice to General Qiao and his soldiers. However, the Zhou family, who colluded with Du Jiang, were wiped out by the number one thief."
Gu Ran gasped.
"How is this matter related to the Emperor's Number One Thief?"
Then he immediately remembered that there was a period of time in the county when the government imposed martial law in order to arrest the assassin of the number one thief. Could it be related to this?
"Of course it's related." Xu San nodded, picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea before saying, "There's a Geyan County in Jianzhou, and the Zhou family lives in this county. A few months ago, the Zhou family's entire mansion and hundreds of people were killed for no reason."
"At first, County Magistrate Ge Yan thought the Zhou family was being targeted by their enemies, but on the second day after the Zhou family was exterminated, a murder also occurred at the Changlai Inn in Yongchang County..."
"Two assassins who were considered the emperor's number one thief died in the wing room?"
"You've heard of this?" Xu San was surprised and looked at Gu Ran.
"That's right." Gu Ran nodded.
That was considered the most sensational case in the county, and she even went to the Changlai Inn, the crime scene!
"After the county officials took over the case, they found a blood-stained secret letter on the assassin's person. It's said that the letter contained complaints from the Zhou family about the increasingly harsh treatment they had received since Lord Du's promotion. They also brought up the old incident involving General Qiao and threatened Lord Du to obey them, threatening to hand General Qiao over at any time and perish along with him."
"Your county magistrate is a discerning man, realizing the gravity of the matter. He took the letter and went to Geyan County, where he learned of the Zhou family's murder. He connected this secret letter with the identity of the assassin who died at the inn, and immediately understood the whole story. It was clear that Lord Du, seeing that the Zhou family was out of control, had hired the number one thief to silence them. He immediately dispatched a trusted confidant to deliver the secret letter to the capital at full speed, leading to the recent shocking revelation of Du Jiang's serious crime eight years prior." Xu Sanlang tutted his lips and shook his head. "It's a pity that General Qiao's ancestor was one of the ten great generals since the founding of our Great Sheng Dynasty. His descendants were also outstanding and brave, yet they were slandered by such a treacherous villain, their entire family was wiped out, and he himself was imprisoned innocently. It's a pity! It's infuriating! Now, everyone in Kyoto wishes he could eat Du Jiang alive."
Gu Ran also sighed repeatedly.
"Well, it was the Zhou family who imprisoned General Qiao, but the Zhou family has been killed. Then General Qiao..." Could it be that he was also killed by an assassin?
"It's very possible. But, we'll have to search for him before we can finally give up, right?" Xu Sanlang said, "As for the possibility of accidental killing, no, this was clearly Du Jiang's order. He wanted to kill Zhou, who knew the inside story, and also silence the only witness, General Qiao. Only when he was dead and there was no evidence, could Du Jiang rest easy. Who would have thought that this number one thief would die in the inn and expose such an important secret letter?"
It was estimated that the assassin wanted to bring back the number one thief to use as leverage to control Lord Du Jiang, but he didn't expect that he would be killed on the way back.
"As for the number one thief who may have assassinated General Qiao, the emperor has also issued an imperial decree, ordering local authorities to hunt down and kill this evil person without mercy."
Gu Ran's eyelids twitched involuntarily: "How come you know so much, Xu San?"
"Oh, after all, my family is a royal merchant, so we have quite a few connections in the capital. Right now, the people of the capital are all shocked by this heinous case. Everyone in the streets and alleys is talking about it. Add to that your Konjac, and several high-ranking officials from powerful families have come to inquire about the matter. They've also revealed a few things to my father during their casual chats, so naturally they've figured out the truth."
It turned out that it was Mr. Xu who told Xu Sanzhi.
No wonder.
"There are already officials from the imperial court who have been sent to Minzhou to investigate this matter. They will definitely intervene in the Zhou family extermination case as well. I'm afraid Jianzhou will be in turmoil for some time."
"Hey, our county is not under the jurisdiction of Quangang. It is far away inland. Let them investigate the case. It has nothing to do with a commoner like me." Gu Ran waved his hand, not caring at all.
While Gu Ran was receiving Xu Sanlang, Village Chief Wu and Mrs. Lin Er were also questioning Lin Erlang.
"During the past three days, you followed Gu Erniang into the miasma forest, and you didn't find anything?"
"Er Niang always finds some kind of mountain treasure every time she goes into the miasma forest. How come you haven't found anything in three days? Three whole days?"
"Aiya, A'niang, A'fang, I'm going to work, not to follow Gu Erniang into the mountains to look for things. How can I have the time to check for anything? How can I have the time to look for anything?" The taciturn Lin Erlang was forced to speak eloquently. "There are so many eyes watching us, everyone is working, how can I not do it?"
Village Chief Wu rolled his eyes at his second son, and Mrs. Lin also sighed, thinking that her husband was really useless.
Lin Erlang scratched his head in distress.
Village chief Wu let his son go for the time being.
I heard that Gu Erniang's three acres of land is right next to the miasma forest, so I guess there's nothing good to find there, but...
Village Chief Wu picked up the medicine bag, mugwort and mask that Gu Erniang had prepared for Lin Erlang when he entered the miasma forest.
On the first day his son entered the miasma forest, Village Chief Wu asked him in detail. He had also seen Gu Er Niang wearing a mask and medicine sachets when she came back from the miasma forest.
The mugwort bundle was the herb they usually used to repel mosquitoes. Inside the medicine sachet were also some common snake repellent herbs. But this mask...
Village Chief Wu picked it up and sniffed it again. Because it was something Lin Erlang had not used since he entered the forest, it still emitted a faint scent of medicinal herbs.
How is this mask made? There's no medicinal herbs in it, so why does it smell like them?
Have you ever been infected?
Gu Erniang dared to enter and exit the miasma forest unscrupulously, which may be the key reason.
After all, miasma invades the body through breathing and causes illness, but wearing a mask prevents the miasma from entering the body from the outside?
Village chief Wu tried putting on the mask, felt it, and took it off again.
"Mother, Second Mother Gu said she made this mask. Wearing it will only reduce the possibility of inhaling miasma, but it won't completely eliminate it." Lin Erlang saw his mother fiddling with the mask again and explained, "Even if you wear this mask, without Second Mother Gu's skills, it's still dangerous to enter the miasma forest."
Village chief Wu glanced at his son, hummed, and let go of the mask.
As the village chief, she naturally knew what he said.
She had already inquired about the hunters who had gotten into trouble in the miasma forest a few days ago.
Some were poisoned by snakes and scorpions, some were injured by attacks from big beasts, some fell down because they were unfamiliar with the mountain terrain, and two of them were poisoned by inhaling miasma.
In other words, if you want to enter the miasma forest to pick up mountain products and sell them for money, you not only have to face the poison of the miasma, but also have to guard against poisonous snakes and insects, large beasts and birds of prey, and even the steep cliffs inside, which are all dangerous.
What the son said was indeed true. If it weren't for Gu Er Niang's ability, it would be a matter of life and death for ordinary people to easily enter and exit the miasma forest.
Otherwise, why are there fewer and fewer hunters coming to Xiaxi Village, thinking they can make a fortune in the forest?
With the evidence before him, Village Chief Wu had to gradually give up the idea of relying on the mountain to make a living.
If one wants to solve the problem of the miasma that drifts into the village after the rain, it would be great if Gu Erniang could teach others the skill of how to enter the miasma forest safely.
Unfortunately, according to her nephew, hunters from the neighboring village wanted to ask Gu Er Niang to be their guide and take them into the miasma forest, but she flatly refused, fearing that she was hiding something from them.
But Village Chief Wu couldn't blame Gu Er Niang.
Usually, every family has a secret technique or recipe, which they keep strictly secret. That skill is the lifeblood of Gu Er Niang's life. If she refuses to teach, others naturally cannot force her.
Village chief Wu expressed deep regret.
Gu Ran, who had no idea that Village Chief Wu had planned to take action against him, came to the village that day with the letter sent by Pei Liuniang.
"Why are you showing me the letter that Pei Liuniang wrote to you?"
"Liu Niang originally went back to Qinghuai Village to reclaim wasteland, but later heard about her elder sister's whereabouts, so she turned around and went looking for her. It may be a while before she returns." Gu Ran raised the letter and said, "Words are not enough, so I came to you with her handwritten letter to report."
The letter was received at noon today.
Gu Ran already knew that Pei Liu went out on leave just to look for his elder sister, so he was very understanding and relieved. Village chief Wu knew that the elder sister Pei Liu was looking for was in Minzhou, so he did not doubt that this was true. Without reading the letter, he nodded to indicate that he understood.
"I hope Pei Liuniang can find his sister as soon as possible." That way she can live peacefully in Xiaxi Village.
Gu Ran also nodded in agreement.
At this time, Pei Liu was certainly not looking for someone because he had found clues about his elder sister.
However, after arriving at Qinghuai Village, he paid money to hand over the reclamation of the wasteland to the Liu family father and son, and then he returned to the county town to find out the details of the killers sent by the number one thief this time, so as to prevent them from finding clues and finding him.
The two killers he had been targeting recently, the one who called himself Mr. Jia, had already left the county town, while the one called Mr. Liu remained in the Changlai Inn, inquiring about the information of the patrons who came and went in the inn one by one.
In other words, they probably obtained the guest list of the Changlai Inn on the day of the incident. Is this Mr. Liu responsible for finding the regular customers of the Changlai Inn who come and go in the county?
Mr. Jia was nowhere to be found, so Pei Liu focused on keeping an eye on Mr. Liu.
While he's alone, should we kill him like before?
Pei Liu thought about it.
If I kill him now, wouldn't that be exposing myself?
This is equivalent to clearly announcing to the number one thief that the real murderer who killed the three assassins was hiding in the county town.
So he decided to hide in the dark and keep his troops in place.
But on the fifth day, when Master Liu was still chatting with people at the dining table in the lobby of Changlai Inn, a group of officers and soldiers in black clothes came hurriedly, filed in and blocked the Changlai Inn.
"The police are investigating the case. Everyone in the inn, please be patient and calm down."
Seeing the people in the inn making noise and panic, the leading Captain Lin said.
"Captain Lin, are you investigating that number one thief and assassin again?"
"Captain Lin, isn't this matter over?"
Several guests who stayed at the inn recognized Captain Lin and asked in surprise.
"This time, it's our county magistrate who's here to review the crime scene. This has nothing to do with you, so don't worry." Captain Lin said, and then asked the shopkeeper who had greeted them, "Is the crime scene still there?"
"Hey, keep it, keep it." The shopkeeper didn't dare to say that he had made a lot of money from the crime scene. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly.
When Master Liu heard that they were here to assassinate his colleague, he was startled but remained calm on the surface.
Not long after, the magistrate of Yongchang County really showed up at the Changlai Inn, but he was accompanied by another middle-aged man in casual clothes.
Although his attire was not official, his bearing revealed that he was a veteran who had been immersed in officialdom for many years.
Young Master Liu noticed it, and Pei Liu, who was outside the inn and noticed the commotion, also noticed it.
"County Master, please."
"Master He, please."
The county magistrate respectfully walked into the inn with Mr. He.
Then followed the two officials in, and two tall and strong guards.
Looking at their figures, limbs, and the aura they exuded, Pei Liu immediately recognized that these two were probably martial artists.
After Lord He and the county magistrate entered the inn, they bowed to the guests dining in the inn, and then were led up to the second floor by the county magistrate.
The shopkeeper knew the purpose of the county magistrate's visit, and he and Captain Lin went to the sealed room early in the morning.
"When I received the report, Captain Lin and his officers arrived at the Changlai Inn and discovered that the two assassins had been killed in this very room."
Lord He walked into the crime scene from a few months ago and looked at the inn's clever arrangement, and couldn't help but sneer.
"This scene?"
The county magistrate and Constable Lin thought it was just an ordinary room, but they never expected that the people from the inn had moved in a scarecrow to create a weird crime scene. They were both angry and amused, and glared at the innkeeper fiercely.
The shopkeeper broke out in a cold sweat, but didn't dare to say a word.
The county magistrate is scary, but the power of this Lord He is even scarier, so the less he says about him, the better.
"Sir He, we have detailed records of the crime scene in our county government office. You can compare them with our on-site records later." The county magistrate also wiped his sweat.
Although he was dissatisfied, Lord He still looked around the room carefully. He also opened the window, looked around, and then closed it again. He looked at the scarecrow holding a hoe and a kitchen knife, shook his head, and said to the county magistrate, "Go back!"
"Well, I obey your command." The county magistrate and Captain Lin followed him and went downstairs.
After the two officials walked out of the Changlai Inn, the official in black clothes who was originally in the inn also followed Captain Lin out.
After the two masters got on the carriage, this group of people, together with the two martial artists, followed the carriage and escorted them back to the county government office.
"Hey, that one is our county magistrate, who is the other one?"
"Lord He?"
"Of course I know he is Mr. He, but, seeing how the county magistrate treats him, he shouldn't be too respectful. What is his background?"
"Are you here to investigate the murder of that number one thief assassin?"
"Didn't they say it was an internal conflict, one person killing one person? Are they overturning the verdict again?"
"I don't know, boss?"
The shopkeeper pursed his lips and waved his hand, indicating that he had nothing to say.
"Hey, I can't tell you yet. It seems that Mr. He is quite important!"
Master Liu, who was listening with his ears perked up, was also suspicious in his heart: How come Lord He suddenly appeared?
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