The package Xiao Shitou brought contained a wool shawl, an essential item for Di women to keep warm.
This shawl is made of coarse wool with mixed colors. It feels prickly to the touch and is the lowest quality, not even as good as the headscarves that Song Liyun usually gives you.
But Lady Yun was overjoyed. She covered her face with her shawl and sobbed for half the night.
February was almost over when a major event occurred in Qili County.
Zuichunlou and Jinxilou were suddenly shut down!
The incident happened so suddenly that Huang Changsheng, who was still checking the ledgers behind the counter, didn't even have time to react.
When he learned that the officer in charge was from the prefectural government and that the investigation was for Lin Qinghua's property in Pingyang Prefecture, he immediately cried out that he was wronged.
These soldiers weren't locals, so all pleas for leniency were ineffective.
They only acted according to the orders from their superiors. The case file ordered them to search Zuichunlou and Jinxilou, and they naturally carried it out without any discount.
Amidst the murmurs of the onlookers and the wailing of the Huang Changsheng and Shen Leyan families as they fought over the land, the two restaurants were not only ransacked but also sealed off.
This is not the first time Zuichunlou has been shut down.
Last year, the county magistrate of Qili County, Jiang Feng, shut down the business once for tax evasion, but it was just a token gesture; the business reopened after the fine was paid.
But this time was different. The large sheet of paper almost completely covered the shop entrance, and the tense atmosphere made the onlookers afraid to make a sound.
Jiang Feng received officials from the capital in the county government's office.
“Magistrate Jiang, this matter originated in your Qili County. According to the law, you should be suspended from your post to avoid suspicion.” The two officials from the capital who came to handle this case were seated at the head of the table.
Jiang Feng was originally a sub-prefect, and his memorials went directly to the emperor's ears. Although the new emperor was busy with affairs, he still forwarded the memorials directly to the Censorate.
At this moment, two officials from the Censorate arrived.
Jiang Feng handed over the county seal: "Lord Zhou, I have been in office for more than ten months and need to take a half-month leave to go home and visit my family."
The man addressed as Lord Zhou stiffened and did not accept the county seal.
The other man smiled and said, "Magistrate Jiang, you are only suspended from your post, you cannot take leave, and you still need to cooperate with the investigation at any time. It is not advisable for you to travel. You should keep this official seal with you!"
Jiang Feng stopped being coy and put the official seal back into his sleeve.
The case files submitted to Beijing before the Lunar New Year are finally being reviewed.
Because it involves officials accepting bribes and engaging in favoritism and corruption, in addition to the young master Lin being taken away from his home, all the officials in Songfeng County and Qili County will also be investigated.
Jiang Feng was naturally not afraid of the investigation from above, and even wanted to take this opportunity to give himself a vacation.
It seems these two adults won't let him leave.
How could he know that the two officials from the capital sitting in front of him had been feeling uneasy ever since they stepped into Qili County?
In other places, these officials from the capital could put on airs, but this is an inauspicious place.
In the west hall of the Censorate, the files of the Yunzhou Suijin massacre six years ago filled half a cabinet, and the severed heads were still covered in blood.
They know better than anyone else what's involved.
Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, it is inevitable that the previous emperor will take this opportunity to suppress the Zhenbei Army.
Therefore, Zhou and Sun, the two officials in Beijing, just wanted to find evidence as soon as possible and leave.
In Suijin Town, Song Liyun had already received news from Tianxianglou. Xiao An even went back to tell her about the sealing off of the two buildings, but his focus was not on the sealing off of the buildings.
"Second sister, Brother Lin said that Tianxianglou can buy Zuichunlou and Jinxilou in the future, so that I can open a rabbit shop!"
Xiao An chuckled, his face beaming with joy.
He had been working in the restaurant for over a month, and being led by a group of soldiers, he began to speak and act wildly.
Song Liyun rolled her eyes at him and teased him, "You sell only one rabbit a day, and you dare to want a restaurant?"
Xiao An got anxious: "It's not that I'm only selling one rabbit, it's that you, Second Sister, won't let me sell it. You said it's 'chicken and duck marketing,' and Brother Lin said that the customers' reservations are booked until next month."
Hearing him describe "hunger marketing" as "chicken and duck marketing," Song Liyun smiled and her eyes narrowed.
Rabbits are in short supply right now, so we can't afford to eat them freely. We can only sell one rabbit a day, and you have to make a reservation. It's quite a gimmick, and people's appetites have been whetted to a fever pitch.
Seeing Song Liyun smiling, Xiao An thought she had said something wrong and quickly counted on her fingers: "Forty rabbits! The little rabbits need to grow up quickly! Grow up quickly! Ah! I'm going back to feed the rabbits!"
Xiao An counted on her fingers twice and realized that there weren't enough rabbits in the backyard to sell.
He didn't linger at Yu Ruixiang either. He ran out the door, mounted his horse, and galloped back to Baolinju to feed the rabbits.
After Xiao An left, Song Liyun said to Abu, who had returned after hearing the news, "Abu, you stay here and keep watch. I'm going to the garrison."
"Young Madam, I just heard Xiao An saying something about not having enough rabbits. Did the rabbits in the backyard run away?"
Abu stared in the direction Xiao An had left, looking puzzled.
In winter, the Uda people from the Huangsha River Valley brought over several batches of rabbits, and now there are several hundred rabbits in the backyard, almost too many to keep.
Song Liyun said, "I went to see Commander Luo to talk about this. I want those dozens of military households to raise rabbits."
Baolin Residence cannot become a rabbit's den.
It's getting hot soon. It was better when there were fewer rabbits, but now that there are hundreds, it's bound to be incredibly noisy.
Although the backyard has a separate door and the rabbit hutch is somewhat separate from the front, it still makes it uninhabitable.
She had previously told Jiang Feng to let farmers in Qili County raise rabbits.
But without seedlings and technology, words alone are not enough, and people don't believe us. So we started by promoting it to the military households in Suijin Town.
Upon hearing that there was a way to make money, Luo Baihu immediately perked up and ordered someone to bring over the dozens of soldiers who had families with them.
These people have already moved here.
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