Squeezing through the crowd, Qin Xiaozhou saw seven or eight people kneeling in the hall, with two others slumped beside them, their heads covered in blood. Above them sat people in official robes. This was the first time Qin Xiaozhou had ever seen a court hearing.
After listening for a while, I learned that the two people lying on the ground were accused by the two kneeling people of stealing sheep from the sheepfold last night while it was raining. At this moment, both sides had their own version of events, and it was impossible to determine who was telling the truth.
The family that raises sheep keeps them at the foot of the mountain, about forty or fifty of them. They said they heard a dog barking last night, so they got up to check and saw the two people running around the sheepfold. What else could they be doing at night if not stealing sheep?
The other two men kept denying that they had stolen anything. Their families kowtowed repeatedly until their foreheads bled, determined not to admit to the crime of theft. "Your Honor, please investigate! My husband and brother-in-law did not steal anything! Please investigate!"
They kowtowed to the sheep farmer again, saying, "Please let us go. They really didn't steal anything. It was raining heavily last night, and they couldn't sleep, so they went to the fields at the foot of the mountain to see if there was any water. They startled your dog, and that's how they misunderstood."
The other person kneeling was the village chief, who looked worried. The county magistrate couldn't make a judgment either, so he could only send people to the accused's family and the location of the sheepfold to investigate. And that was the end of the commotion.
Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng walked home through the rain, and couldn't help but ask, "What would happen if those two really stole the sheep?"
The family accused of theft kowtowed so violently that it hurt her to watch.
The Lu family also raises chickens, ducks, and geese on the mountainside and in the ravines. Although these places belong to the Lu family, there are people like Wang Daneng who are not uncommon.
Lu Yunfeng was literate and knew some laws. "Theft and robbery are serious crimes. If someone is caught stealing chickens or dogs, you can beat them as long as you don't kill them. But if someone steals something valuable like sheep, pigs, or cattle, you can take them to the yamen after beating them. If it is determined that it was stolen, the sentence will be double the amount of silver stolen, and you will also have to compensate the victim for their losses."
"Actually, being sentenced to prison is not the most important thing. If a family has a thief, that family will be ostracized and bullied in the village, and most likely they will not be able to stay. The village chief will also be implicated. At best, he will lose his chance to be the village head, and at worst, he will be dismissed from his post immediately. So, unless it is absolutely necessary, villagers will not easily become thieves. Our dynasty has not been established for long, and the remnants of the previous dynasty still exist. In order to stabilize the situation quickly, the punishment for thieves, robbers, mountain bandits, river bandits, or homeless people is very severe."
Qin Xiaozhou nodded. Although the laws here were strict, they were still quite protective for law-abiding people like them. Stealing even a tael of silver would result in a two-year prison sentence if caught. No wonder there had been a severe drought in the past two years, yet few people in the village dared to steal chickens or dogs. Moreover, if one couldn't make a living in the village, no other village would want them. Without a registered residence, one would truly become a vagrant. The law was harsh on vagrants; in this dynasty, no one would care if someone without a registered residence was killed. They might even be able to fabricate a charge of being a remnant of the previous dynasty and claim a reward from the government.
The price of this theft was indeed high.
On the day the braised food shop opened, Qin Xiaozhou did not show up. She did not want to be associated with the shop in public. It wasn't until evening that she heard that the braised food shop was doing well, so she just waited for her share of the profits.
Zhao Fang and Lu Yanxiao also arrived after the rain stopped, followed by Lu Yunxing and several baskets of fruit. "Brother and sister-in-law, the fruit in the orchard ripens quickly after the rain, so we can pick a lot every day from now on."
Qin Xiaozhou asked him to deliver it every day, saying, "We'll hire another worker at home to pick the fruit."
The variety of products in the shop has increased. As the weather has gradually warmed up in the past few days, hot milk tea is not as popular as fruit tea. Qin Xiaozhou began to secretly study how to make ice to preserve milk from spoilage. Ice is a product controlled by the imperial court, and being caught would result in beheading. Therefore, she only dared to make it in the house. After making it every day, she would pour it directly into the well, so no one would notice when she drew water from the well.
Lu Yunfeng didn't trust anyone else to draw well water, so ever since ice was added, he took over the task of drawing the well water himself. The head of the household and the manager were both diligent people, so Jing and Jingyue didn't notice anything amiss.
At the end of April, the weather suddenly turned hot. Qin Xiaozhou and Li Ji discussed delivering two buckets of milk and two buckets of yogurt every day. Li Ji readily agreed. Later, Li Yang also joined him in delivering milk. That morning, after carrying the milk into the kitchen, Li Ji pulled Lu Yunfeng aside and whispered a few words to him before leaving.
After dinner that evening, once the business at the shop was finished, Lu Yunfeng took a break and brought up what Li Ji had said: "Brother Li said his brother-in-law is also of marriageable age and thinks you're a good match, Auntie. What do you think, Auntie?"
Lu Yu knew that Li Yang had been delivering milk for the past few days, but because of the need to avoid danger, she hadn't seen his face clearly or spoken to him. So she had no idea what he was like and couldn't say for a moment, "I don't know."
Qin Xiaozhou was already used to Lu Yu's unyielding personality. "I think Li Yang is good-looking, and he has two little tiger teeth when he smiles. He seems quite shy, and he works hard and efficiently. His age is also a good match for my aunt. However, I still need to find out more about his family situation and his character in private."
Some people are just good at pretending. They seem perfect in front of outsiders, but there are plenty of them who are not good to their wives and children.
Lu Yunfeng nodded, "Then when he comes tomorrow, you can hide and take a look. If you're satisfied with his appearance, I'll have someone inquire about his family background."
The next morning, Lu Yu hid by the window in the room. The window was slightly ajar, and she soon saw Li Yang. He wasn't as tall as her nephew, nor was he as big, but he was still a head taller than her, and his shoulders were much broader. In terms of appearance, he was quite good-looking, and she slowly blushed.
But why would such a fine young man only start getting engaged at eighteen or nineteen?
Li Yang was also nervous when he entered Lu's shop. He liked Lu Yu at first sight, but she ran a shop in the county town and raised hundreds of chickens, ducks and geese. Her life was much better than his. She would never look at a poor boy like him. He could only keep his feelings to himself. But he couldn't hide it from his sharp-eyed second sister, who quickly tricked him into revealing his feelings.
My second brother-in-law said that the Lu family was not the kind of family that looked down on the poor and loved the rich. As long as you have good character and live a good life in the future, the marriage might be possible. So my second brother-in-law talked to the Lu family about the matchmaking.
Knowing that the matchmaking would take place at the shop this morning, he was so nervous last night that he couldn't sleep. When he carried the milk in, he was so clumsy that he almost tripped over himself.
Li Ji, watching from behind, couldn't bear to look.
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