Lin Mo looked at the dejected crowd, and thought of the attitude of the yamen runner, and couldn't help but weigh it in his heart.
At first, he just wanted to have enough food and clothing, save enough money to be with Su Mu as soon as possible, and provide security for the brothers of the Lin family.
But now it seems that this is not enough. No matter how many more shops the family opens in the future or how much money they make, they will never be powerful enough.
He lowered his eyes, looked at the huge new county government office, and began to ponder.
In a wealthy and prosperous county like Angui County, the person who could become the county magistrate must be a Jieyuan or Gongsheng, that is, either the first place in the Juren exam or above.
Lin Mo, the county magistrate of Angui County, had heard from Shopkeeper Zhang before that this man was originally from Huangcheng. After passing the imperial examination, he was assigned to Angui County as a county magistrate. His surname was Qian.
County Magistrate Qian does not have much presence in Angui County. He is very gentle in dealing with people and always smiles at everyone. Although he is greedy for money, he has his own way of making money.
Lin Mo also heard from Shopkeeper Zhang that the county magistrate basically didn't care about anything. Anyone with a bit of wealth in the entire county and even in the towns under his jurisdiction would give him gifts, and he would turn a blind eye.
When the ferry terminal is opened, the jurisdiction of local towns will be relaxed. It is precisely because of this that the business of Angui County has developed more prosperously than several neighboring counties.
As for judging cases, the county magistrate does not have the power to sentence people to death. Major cases must be sent to the prefect for review and trial. For minor cases, as long as there is sufficient evidence, he will also judge fairly.
In the words of Shopkeeper Zhang, the county magistrate is not a bad man, but he is not a good man either.
It was for this reason that Lin Mo thought of reporting the case. The Zhou family could only be considered a middle-class landlord in Qingshui Town, although in the eyes of the country people like them, they were already a very remarkable existence.
But in the eyes of the county magistrate who governed the huge Angui County and more than a dozen towns, it was not worthy of being mentioned at all. The Zhou family did not even have a student or a scholar.
It’s not certain whether the county magistrate still remembers the Zhou family!
Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, their file will definitely not be biased.
Soon they were taken in. Because Lin Mo had made such a big fuss, especially arousing public outrage, the county magistrate had to pay more attention to the case.
"That's exactly what happened. This Zhou Lao San brutally beat up his concubine and even had his servants beat up innocent people. You saw how ruthless he was.
He could even be so cruel to his own concubine, let alone outsiders like us. If I hadn't been so strong and hadn't had so many onlookers helping me, I'm afraid someone would have died that day!"
"Sir! This Zhou Lao San doesn't take the imperial court's laws seriously, doesn't take the lives of the people seriously, and even more so, doesn't take you, the official, seriously!"
Lin Mo briefly recounted the whole process. Fu Yanzhi's petition was extremely well written and detailed, and he emphasized the last sentence.
His voice was resounding and his tone was excited. Every word he spoke made the county magistrate understand how despicable Zhou Laosan was. He disregarded human lives and oppressed the people in the territory under the county magistrate's jurisdiction. This was a slap in the face of the county magistrate.
Lin Mo knew in his heart that there were countless cases like this that did not involve human lives and were reported by ordinary people.
When high-ranking officials or powerful businessmen bully ordinary poor people, Zhou Laosan is not the most famous one. Most of them do not report to the government. Even if there are really tough ones, they report to the county magistrate.
Without sufficient evidence, those people will find plenty of ways to fabricate stories. Unless someone dies, in the end, big things will be reduced to small things, and small things will disappear.
Lin Mo said this now, firstly to show that many people on that day were witnesses and saw it all, and secondly to put the county magistrate on the same side as himself.
Su Yunxia also turned her head with difficulty at this time, and her face was twisted and distorted with pain, which was too tragic to look at.
The hoarse voice spoke with difficulty and intermittently: "Sir, Zhou... Zhou Lao San not only beat me, but also his other wives and concubines were beaten half to death... Sir, you... you have to take charge of us!"
Although Su Yun was mostly dressed in summer clothes, he was also really afraid of the county magistrate. His voice was hesitant and intermittent, purely because he was intimidated by the county magistrate's official power.
Lin Mo subconsciously glanced at the people who were kneeling in the court with him. They were all hunching their heads in fear, like a group of little quails, and their bodies were trembling slightly with nervousness.
At first, he was quite curious about the county magistrate, and was curious whether the county magistrate in this world tried cases in the same way as he had seen on TV before.
But when I really came in, I realized that it was different. For example, the court here was not big, and there were no two rows of yamen runners standing neatly on both sides, knocking the ground with long sticks.
The county magistrate was not that tall and majestic. Instead, he had a kind face, with squinty eyes as big as soybeans and a thick, sausage-like mouth. His round face did not have the oppressive power of an official, but rather had the air of a wealthy businessman.
His height is at most 1.7 meters, but his weight must be at least 180 pounds.
County Magistrate Qian frowned his short, thick black eyebrows and glanced up and down at Lin Mo, whose aura and courage were extraordinary. He always felt that this man's temperament was not that of an ordinary farmer.
"Sir, please investigate the Zhou family thoroughly. Don't let them exploit the people, disregard the law, and oppress innocent people any longer. Give us justice!"
Lin Mo's tone was sincere and resolute. As soon as he finished speaking, the people behind him also crawled on the ground and wailed for injustice.
County Magistrate Qian nodded repeatedly, even looking at Su Yunxia with a hint of pity in his eyes. He knocked on the chopping board and said, "Send someone to Qingshui Town to invite the Zhou family, especially Zhou Lao San and his wives and concubines. Conduct a thorough investigation of the Zhou family. The case will be brought to court the day after tomorrow morning!"
The journey from Qingshui Town to Angui County takes quite some time, and since they need to collect information and evidence, the lawyer will interrogate each person again. Lin Mo and his group stayed in the county government office for the time being.
On this side, the entire Zhou family was in chaos.
Their third young master had his index finger cut off by a villain. The master and the old lady were furious and even threatened to deal with the Lin family's pickled fish shop. Their precious baby had a broken finger, and they wanted Lin Mo to compensate with five fingers!
But before they could cause trouble for Lin Mo, the county runners knocked on the Zhou family's door.
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