Chapter 21 Chapter 21: Cleverly Identifying Human Traffickers in Chaos
As the news that there was a kidnapper on the street spread, the stall owners and people having fun were in chaos. The patrol officers became more diligent and a team of patrol officers passed by this side.
Then a man came slowly with his daughter in his arms to buy drinks. The man had a serious look in his brows and a smiling face. The little girl was holding a rattle in one hand and licking a melted sugar figure in the other. The man held the little girl and rocked her gently.
Seeing that her little daughter was already fast asleep on her shoulders, Baozhu reminded her, "I just heard that a child was lost on the street. Sir, please keep a close eye on her."
As he said this, his hands moved slowly, "If you bring your own bowl, I'll give you a few cents--"
The man held the child in one hand and waved the other, "No need."
Baozhu was relentless, asking if the mint juice could be replaced with rose sauce, and then she asked if she wanted to add some osmanthus sauce, which was sweet and children loved.
"All right, all right." The man didn't show it on his face, but there was a hint of impatience in his words.
Baozhu saw another team of patrol officers approaching, and then handed over the bamboo tube filled with drinks.
The man took it and walked away with a somewhat hurried step. Baozhu immediately asked Xu to keep an eye on the man's direction, while she avoided his gaze and reported to the approaching team of officials, saying that there was something wrong with the man who had just held the little girl.
After he finished speaking, he realized that the leader was none other than Pei, the Inspector, whom he had met several times before.
The subordinate following behind frowned, thought about the families who had reported missing people, and replied, "It sounds like the wealthy Zhang family who just reported that their daughter was missing."
Inspector Pei didn't bother to say anything. He just picked out two people, took a look at the direction Xu pointed, and chased after them. He picked out another one from the rest and asked him to lead him to continue patrolling the streets.
This matter should not be made public. If the kidnapper finds out, he will probably strangle the girl to death and throw her into the river.
With the direction pointed out by Xu and Baozhu's description of the kidnapper's general appearance, Pei Xun chased for a while and soon caught the man. His men first took the girl back to the yamen to wait for her family to pick her up, and then took the kidnapper to find the remaining accomplices.
Pei Xunshi was young, and although he had just become an inspector, he had solved several cases by chance and was even more skilled in trying people. Despite his young age, all his subordinates were convinced of his power, and although he moved quickly, it was already too late by the time he had arrested all the people.
When Baozhu was about to close the stall, Pei Xun came over in a hurry to express his gratitude. He just bowed and
"Thank goodness you were so careful, if you were a step later, this group would have hidden themselves and left the city."
Yu Baozhu only needed to do a little work, so she waved her hand nonchalantly, "Your Excellencies, it's hard work patrolling the streets. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to run these small businesses peacefully."
Pei Xun blushed when he heard this. "The families who lost their children heard that it was you who saved them, so they specially collected some money and gifts to thank you in person."
Baozhu didn't want to go at first, but the man said, "It would be bad not to go. They're already in a state of panic after losing their child. Accepting the child will put their minds at ease and teach them a lesson."
Hearing this, Baozhu had no reason to refuse; after all, she had truly saved someone. She, Xu, and Ah Xiu packed up their stall and returned home. Her eldest brother had just closed his stall, and upon learning of the incident, he followed them to the government office.
This was Baozhu's first time in the government office, and she looked around curiously. A'niang seemed to be familiar with the place, although she was not familiar with the Inspectorate General's Office - but she often went to the Household Registration Office to help with paperwork and often dealt with the officials there.
Maybe because he was often away from home, the place where the patrol commissioner worked was quite simple. There were four or five victims standing inside. They all came out to play with their children tonight. Just now, someone from each family came to take the children back. I don’t know what kind of medicine the kidnapper had given to those children, but they are still sleeping and unable to wake up.
Those who were anxious to find their children were all loved ones at home. Several poor people each contributed two taels of silver, which added up to more than ten taels.
Just now, a gentleman mentioned the little girl from the wealthy Zhang family. One of the servants, dressed as one of the Zhang family's servants, kowtowed to Baozhu upon seeing her. Baozhu naturally refused to accept the offer and together with Xu pulled the girl up. I don't know what this gentleman Pei said, but the Zhang family servant was very grateful. After thanking him profusely, he took off his purse from his waist and
"Please be sure to accept it, benefactor."
Pei Xun took the purse and handed it to Baozhu, saying, "Don't refuse it. This is what you deserve, young lady."
One day, Baozhu was feeling dizzy from being busy. She returned home in a daze and opened her purse. Inside was a handful of gold beads the size of a fingernail. No wonder they felt so heavy in her hand. After weighing them, she found that the handful must have weighed at least seven or eight taels.
Add to that the ten taels of silver contributed by those poor people, and even if I set up my stall for a whole day, it wouldn’t be enough to cover this money.
In addition to the silver and money, there were also cloth and eggs, which were all things that the families had given to each other. The inspector sent a car to bring them all back.
Baozhu took out two taels of silver and asked the adults who were sending her mother home to use it to buy some wine. However, the adults refused to take it and whipped their horses and drove them away.
Although it was late, they still celebrated the festival. They moved out the table, worshiped the moon, and sewed in front of the moon. The day was done.
Zhen's father had not returned yet. People in Bianjing always liked to eat and drink during festivals, so Fanlou was the busiest during festivals. Xu was worried and opened the door to check several times.
It was almost midnight before Zhen's father came back. Now that the curfew was lifted, there were places that stayed open all night, so coming back at midnight was no big deal.
The children had been busy all day and went to bed early. Xu waited until now and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them come back.
"There's hot water on the stove."
Zhen's father lowered his voice, "I understand. You should go and rest. The shopkeeper has approved your leave. Tomorrow I have to go to the house of that familiar guest to prepare a banquet. After that, I can rest for two days."
There are two days off in January. Zhen's father has been tired for more than a month, and it is only these two days that he can rest.
When the two of them lay down on the bed, Xu told Zhen's father about the kidnapper she had met today. Zhen's father also laughed and said, "Our eldest sister is the most courageous and careful person."
The Zhen family never asked their children to hand over the money they had. Even when they were in the most difficult time some time ago, they never asked their children to help. Yesterday, Xu asked Baozhu to keep the money given by others.
Baozhu was planning to buy some things for everyone in the family. Grandma bought a set of clothes, and Dad got a black iron kitchen knife from Liu's Blacksmith Shop. When Mom pawned her land, she took the gold bracelets to the smithy, who forged a new pair. While not as thick as before, they were still of good quality.
I bought a pair of Yunjinji shoes for my eldest brother, a good ink painter for my second brother, and Baorong's ears had completely healed, so I bought her a pair of jade earrings.
After all the money was spent, they were all surprised when it was handed to each of them. Since they came to Bian Jing, Xu had never bought anything for them. While saying that she was spending money recklessly, she put the bracelet on her hand with a smile.
There were several heavy rains in July, and even the well water became muddy, so the stalls could not be set up. Several consecutive heavy rains poured into the city of Bianjing, and the water in the river was about to overflow. Business could not be done, and the brothers and sisters all stayed at home.
The water bought outside is not very clean, so I have to get a few more tanks of water to let it settle first.
There are still people ordering meals from the Imperial College these days, but not many. In addition to bibimbap, there are also people who want to eat clay pot rice. My eldest brother accepted all of them and prepared them at home and delivered them as usual.
Baorong was drawing flower patterns at home. She had recognized Madam Gu from the embroidery workshop before. She went to negotiate a business deal with her. She would be paid five strings of cash if she drew a book of flowers and plants of the four seasons. If the paintings were good, she would be given other business in the future. Therefore, she had been drawing at home these days using the paper and pen left by her second brother.
Baozhu also had her own work to do. The fermented sauce she had previously made was ready. She mixed it and sealed the jars. Besides the sauce, she also collected two baskets of garlic and placed them in several jars specifically for pickling sugared garlic.
Ah Xiu moved a low stool and sat under the eaves to help peel and wash garlic.
Baozhu carefully measured the appropriate amount of each ingredient. Vinegar, sugar, sauce, and wine were all necessary for the pickled garlic. Although her cooking skills were not very good, Baozhu had studied these little things in depth. She pickled seven or eight jars of garlic from the two baskets, sealed them to prevent them from going bad, and they could be eaten after soaking for a month or so.
This batch of garlic was fresh, and when it was soaked, it was sweet and less spicy. After soaking, it was cooled with cold water and tasted as icy as those precious fruits. In the past, in Suzhou, many regular customers would ask the Zhen family to help pickle garlic when they came. For this garlic alone, the Zhen family restaurant's business was not bad.
It took two days to pickle the two baskets of pickled garlic before the jars were sealed. The rain was still falling intermittently outside, and it didn't look like it would stop for a while. Xu came back with an umbrella and said that the water in the Bian River had already reached the stone steps.
He folded his umbrella and leaned against the door to let it dry. With his other hand, he handed Baozhu the dried flowers she wanted. There were two packages, one containing osmanthus and the other rose. Through the oil paper packages, one could faintly smell the faint floral fragrance inside.
Dalang also returned from delivering food to the Imperial College, completely soaked. Without waiting for his family to ask what had happened, he explained, "On the way, we met soldiers on their way to secure the riverbank. They were all young men, and they just ran through the heavy rain. So I gave them my umbrella to at least keep them out of the rain."
The rain didn't stop for a while, and the people who were under it were getting anxious. They wanted to find something to do to feel better, so Baozhu started to make flower sauce after pickling the garlic.
The heavy rain continued for seven or eight days before the sun came out. It started raining again within an hour, making people feel like there was a hole in the sky. When my second brother came back to get clothes and dry food, he said that several low-lying counties nearby were flooded and the dam in a town was broken.
Baozhu thought of the fields in Xuzhou. The rain never stopped falling, and she became even more worried.
Beans are a sun-loving crop, and if the rain continues, the seedlings will probably rot. Since buying the house, these fields have become the majority of the family's wealth. The thought of not being able to harvest much in the first harvest is a source of distress for the whole family.
The eldest brother also looked worried. "I'll go check tomorrow. There's a passenger ship that arrives in Xuzhou every five days, and tomorrow's the day."
Baozhu had been to Shizhuang before, so she naturally knew the terrain there. "The fields in Shizhuang aren't low at all, so there's just some waterlogging. If the rain doesn't stop, we'll dig ditches to divert the water away early this time, so we can save as much as possible."
Zhen Jia Dalang hurriedly picked up the umbrella at the door and went out. He was going to the dock to ask whether the passenger ship to Xuzhou would leave tomorrow.
The rain was already falling and everyone was feeling uneasy. Zhen Jia Dalang learned that the boat would leave the next day, so he came back and carried a few bags of mud and sand. He piled them at the foot of the wall to prevent it from getting soaked and rotting.
The Zhen family lived in a high-altitude area and did not realize that the water was almost overflowing the bank. When he went to the Bian River, he realized that the river water was about to overflow the bank. All the officials of Bianjing City led their subordinates to build dams. If the dams collapsed, the entire Bianjing City would probably be flooded.
My aunt sent someone to deliver a letter, asking the Zhen family to close their doors at night because the city is in chaos and they must not let anyone steal things.
It was raining heavily and it was difficult to view the house. Xu had no work and only completed one order this month. If this continued, she would have to pay some money this month.
There was also water in the Zhen family courtyard. The ditch in the corner was blocked by dead branches and mud. It was above the ankles when he woke up in the morning. The threshold was high and the water could not drain out. The house was built solidly. Although the base of the wall was soaked, it did not look greasy. In addition, the ditch was blocked by the bags of mud and sand that Dalang brought back, so the impact was not great.
The water in the yard could not be drained away, so the family had to use gourd ladles to scoop it out. After scooping water from this yard, they went to the next yard. After Mr. Zhao left, the yard was empty and no suitable tenant had been found yet. Mrs. Xu was not in a hurry, as she was going to find a good person to live in this time anyway.
I was originally thinking that the stall business would not be able to be done if it rained. Although I didn’t lose money, I made much less profit. It has been raining for several days now, and I don’t think about whether I can make money or not. I just hope that the rain will stop soon and not turn into a disaster.
Zhen Jia Dalang had only been gone for two or three days. One night, while he was sleeping, he heard someone banging on pots and buckets outside, saying that the dam had broken.
Baozhu was startled when she heard this and stood up immediately, her heart still pounding. She hurriedly put all the valuables upstairs, and called her parents, grandmother and Baorong. After everyone came out, she opened the door and looked out.
The neighbors all opened their doors and started asking who had heard the loud cry. Some of them had family members working in the government office, but they just said they hadn't heard anything.
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