In the era of cold weapons, murder and arson were never in short supply!
Cheng Qingyan tied the men to the oxcart; he couldn't let this bitter pill get to him.
Returning to the town, Cheng Qingyan did not go to the pawnshop immediately, but instead went to Wanfulou.
The cart was full of people, all tightly bound, attracting a lot of onlookers along the way.
When Liu Baisheng saw Cheng Qingyan return with a cart full of people bound hand and foot, he was shocked.
"Brother Cheng, what's this?"
Cheng Qingyan casually pointed to the oxcart: "To be honest, brother, we encountered bandits on the way back. Thinking that we couldn't let them harm others, we kidnapped them."
The onlookers and diners immediately pointed and whispered about the people on the oxcart, praising Cheng Qingyan for single-handedly defeating so many robbers.
He rid the people of harm; he was a good person.
Liu Baisheng carefully examined Cheng Qingyan and asked, "Brother Cheng, are you alright?"
"We're fine. I know a little bit of martial arts. But we'll have to trouble you, brother, because I'm not very familiar with things in this town."
Liu Baisheng laughed heartily: "Brother, what are you saying? It's getting late. Why don't you stay at my Wanfu Restaurant and give your elder brother a chance to entertain you?"
"Then thank you very much, Brother Liu. Jiang Jiang, come here and greet Uncle Liu." Then she introduced him to Liu Baisheng: "Brother, this is my child, Jiang Jiang. Jiang Jiang, greet him quickly."
Jiang Jiang sweetly called out, "Jiang Jiang greets Uncle Liu, hello Uncle Liu~"
The little baby is exquisitely beautiful, with fair skin, chubby cheeks, and is very adorable.
Liu Baisheng was overjoyed and quickly squatted down to talk to Jiangjiang: "Jiangjiang, Uncle Liu's shop has lots of delicious food. Shall we go in and give Jiangjiang some delicious food?"
Jiang Jiang clapped her little hands: "Okay~ Okay~"
Just before entering, Cheng Qingyan glanced back at the oxcart: "What about them?"
Liu Baisheng laughed and said, "They have their own places to go. Let's talk inside, let's talk inside."
Sure enough, once inside the private room, Jiang Jiang was immediately overwhelmed by the variety of food available.
One piece in the left hand, one piece in the right hand.
Cheng Qingyan coughed lightly and stopped him, saying, "Jiangjiang, you should pay more attention to your image! We really don't need to eat like this. Your father will earn money to buy you and your mother lots of delicious food."
Jiang Jiang immediately sat up straight, and her eating manners became more refined. She was completely different from the child who had been eating pastries almost one after another.
Liu Baisheng stroked his beard, his smile deepening. This little kid was quite interesting.
Thinking about the pawnshop incident, Cheng Qingyan apologized to Liu Baisheng: "Brother, I concealed the truth from you outside. Actually, those people outside were from the West Street pawnshop."
Liu Baisheng paused, stroking his beard: "Brother, how did you manage to offend the pawnshop people?"
Cheng Qingyan looked somewhat embarrassed and heartbroken: "To be honest, brother, in order to get this child registered as soon as possible, I pawned my family's heirloom jade beads. It's my fault for being careless, because they actually set their sights on me."
Liu Baisheng slammed his fist on the table: "That old bastard Li Shouheng actually did such a heinous thing! You wait, I'm going to find him and make him give you an explanation!"
Liu Baisheng hurriedly left, and Cheng Qingyan looked at Ye Lingyu and shrugged.
"My wife, look at this?"
Ye Lingyu took a sip of tea: "It's alright, Manager Liu knows what he's doing. Let's wait, maybe the pawnshop manager will be here soon."
"Weren't we reporting to the authorities? What's he doing here? Is he going to start a fight?"
Ye Lingyu tapped her index finger on the table: "Reporting to the authorities is just an official statement. If you really want us to produce evidence, all we have are the few words they said."
Cheng Qingyan cracked open, and there was no recording function at this time!
Before they were convicted, those individuals could recant their testimonies at will.
"Wife, what should we do? Didn't you say we couldn't let this loss go unpunished?"
"Of course I can't just eat for free. Just watch, Li Shouheng will be here soon."
Cheng Qingyan didn't understand: "Wife, if he denies it to the authorities after reporting it, and then bribes the officials afterwards, wouldn't that be the same?"
Ye Lingyu shook her head and patiently explained, "Once we meet with the officials, he won't have a choice. Besides, he's guilty, and since he doesn't know our identities, he won't dare to meet with the officials rashly."
"Oh, then what's he doing here? To plead for me?"
Ye Lingyu said calmly, "I've come to give you money."
This money has to be spent. Given the same price, we'd rather give it to Cheng Qingyan than to the government.
Once you're involved in a case, the authorities won't care whether you're guilty or not; they'll shut down your shop first and then take you back for a thorough interrogation.
They don't have any performance requirements, and there are plenty of empty cells in the prison.
Detaining someone for ten days or half a month is enough to make them suffer.
Cheng Qingyan began to understand. Liu Baisheng had gone to inform Li Shouheng that she was at Wanfu Restaurant. If Li Shouheng didn't want to see the officials, he would definitely come to beg her.
You won't come empty-handed if you ask her for help, will you?
Sure enough, not long after, Liu Baisheng returned with the pawnshop manager.
Liu Bai was so angry that his beard was all messed up: "You old bastard, you'd better apologize to my brother Cheng right now!"
Li Shouheng bowed deeply to Cheng Qingyan.
Cheng Qingyan sulked and ignored him.
Li Shouheng was somewhat embarrassed: "Please forgive me, sir. It was I who was greedy for money and had wicked thoughts. I have come here to apologize."
He cupped his hands and offered the beads that Cheng Qingyan had pawned earlier, but Cheng Qingyan stepped back and did not accept them.
Cheng Qingyan frowned and said, "The beads have already been pawned, and it's still a dead pawn. I don't accept returns or refunds."
Li Shouheng straightened up and said respectfully, "No, no, I've come to return what you owed me. As for the money, you don't need to return it; consider it a small compensation from me."
Cheng Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that they weren't there to ask for money.
Her wife remained silent and made no comment. Even if it were a chest of gold and silver, she wouldn't dare accept it, let alone some broken beads!
"No need, I'm not a heartless person. My wife said that a person should have a conscience, otherwise what's the difference between them and pigs or dogs!"
Ye Lingyu straightened her sleeves. She had never said that, and she denied it.
Li Shouheng quickly apologized: "Yes, it was my fault for being blinded by greed and making a grave mistake. Please give me a chance to make amends."
They must have done this kind of thing—keeping an eye on customers—a lot before.
However, Cheng Qingyan was not an official and did not want to meddle in such matters.
Judging from Liu Baisheng's attitude towards Li Shouheng, it seems they have known each other for a long time. Since they have already met, it means that his wife never intended to take Li Shouheng to court in the first place.
Cheng Qingyan thought for a moment: "Take the beads back. Since I said I'd pawned them, I meant it. As for your apology..."
She glanced at Ye Lingyu, who held up three fingers. She had originally intended to offer three times the pawn fee, but Cheng Qingyan had misunderstood.
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