Chapter 235 234. In public, please pay attention, old couples
"I never thought that besides accepting bribes, he would even dare to extend his hand to the trafficking of young children."
Lei Li sneered, "I was saying, how could a small household registration officer, two pawnbrokers, and a few insignificant village traffickers possibly conceal their crimes and perpetrate them under the nose of the magistrate?"
"Xu Xingzhe doesn't look like Meng Yao."
"Meng Yao is a rookie who just started out. If he hadn't been lucky enough to be valued by the new emperor, he wouldn't have come to Qingmi County, where the people are relatively simple and honest. He wouldn't be in that remote and poor place where unruly people are born."
"With our help and the Meng family's immense wealth, I'm afraid they would have been sidelined by those local tyrants long ago."
That’s true.
Zhou Yi nodded in agreement.
He didn't think that he and Lei Li were particularly smart, nor did he think that Meng Yao was able to gain a foothold so quickly because of their help.
But Meng Yao really doesn't have any scheming intentions.
Before becoming an official, he grew up in the Meng family in luxury. He read books of sages and learned to be sensible. He had never seen the dark side of human nature and was naturally simple.
If it weren't for Meng Luo as a contrast, it would probably be Meng Yao who was called a silly naive by Lei Li.
"And what about Xu Xingzhe?"
Lei Li said coldly, "He came from a humble background. Before his ten-year term in Qingmi County, he served as magistrate in another county for five years. He worked cautiously and cautiously for more than a decade, so he naturally understands the importance of money, silver, and power."
"If I don't take more money, how can I pass on money to higher-ups? How can I smooth the way and climb up to the big city?"
"The funny thing is, he planned everything, but was intercepted by someone with connections. If it were any other person, they would be devastated or depressed for a while."
"Xu Xingzhe remained silent while climbing the corporate ladder, and when he failed, he didn't tell anyone. He rolled up his sleeves and got back to working on improving people's livelihoods. As soon as the promotion paperwork arrived, he left without a second thought."
Lei Li laughed again, his tone cold and contemptuous. "If he hadn't gotten carried away and left too quickly, and only hit the household registration clerk and the pawnbroker, and hadn't cleaned up his mess, we wouldn't have been able to track him down."
At the beginning, they did sympathize with Qingzhi and wanted to do their best to help the girls and boys in the brothels.
They were just two common people with a little money. Even if they sympathized with the girls and boys who were sold and could not stand the practice of selling children, it was impossible for them to overturn this mountain of customary rules that had no laws to control them.
After all, according to the laws of the Dayou Dynasty, human trafficking based on the "voluntary principle" is not illegal.
Xu Xingzhe colluded with the household registration clerk, the owner of the pawnshop and others to secretly sell ignorant children, which gave them the opportunity to rescue those children, women and husbands, and to a certain extent, to restrain brothels.
As for those children who were sold through illegal channels, the county government will try its best to rescue them, help them restore their status as good citizens and lead a normal life.
"It is human nature to desire promotion and wealth, but a gentleman should seek wealth in a proper way."
Zhou Yi shook his head and sighed, "I used to think Xu Xingzhe was just a profit-seeker, but I didn't expect him to be so unscrupulous, even involved in the trafficking of young children... I'm afraid he has no bottom line in his pursuit of advancement."
"Do your job well in your position."
"As the people's father and mother, the officials bribed the people into selling their children. They should have been birds catching insects and protecting trees, but in the end they became the biggest insects... How despicable and lamentable."
"What's there to sigh about?"
Lei Li rolled his eyes and snorted, "His merits don't outweigh his faults. This kind of person would be a nuisance even if he became an official, and a major nuisance even if he became a high-ranking official... eh?"
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck him. "General Xiang Chong has been with the Meng family for so long, and the new emperor values the Meng family so highly. Could Meng Luo's father have some way of passing on information to the higher-ups?"
"Maybe."
Zhou Yi and he exchanged a glance. Having been married for over ten years, he immediately understood what Lei Li meant. "Do you want to report Xu Xingzhe?"
"How can this be called snitching?"
Lei Li frowned and snorted softly, his peach blossom eyes seemed to be annoyed but also smiling, with the cunning of a fox and the sharpness of an eagle. "I just want to let the court know how hardworking and dedicated our Lord Xu is."
"You're right."
Zhou Yi glanced at him and smiled, then patted his head, but he dodged with a snort of laughter and instead touched his chest, his naughty hand almost reaching into Zhou Yi's collar.
Zhou Yi's face flushed and his heart beat fast. He quickly grabbed his hand and held it tightly.
"This matter can be handled by Meng Yao. Solving a major case of illegal human trafficking will also be beneficial to Meng Yao's career. The Meng family should do their best to pass it on."
"The household registration clerk was also very cunning. He told Xu Xingzhe that everything was handled, but secretly kept a copy of the account book. The pawnbroker, in order to atone for his mistake, also handed over all the evidence he had kept."
These two men committed serious crimes, and they knew it well. They knew that simply confessing and providing evidence would not be enough to offset their crimes, so they did not expect to escape the death penalty. Instead, they used these evidences to exchange for the safety of their wives and children.
They are the main culprits, the bosses above the human traffickers. Whether their wives, children and the elderly are unaware of the situation or are aware of it but are hiding it, they cannot stay in Qingmi County.
Rumors can melt metal.
Just gossip can kill them.
Meng Yao issued them a pass and sent the wives, children and elders of the household registration clerk and others out of the county. It was up to them to choose whether to go to other counties or the provincial capital.
—
The relief work in the county town is still going on, but life in Sanlihe Village remains ordinary.
Time quickly entered the end of September.
Little Jiang happily celebrated his eighth birthday, and then it was the birthday of the Earth God. Every member of the Lei family went to the Earth God Temple in the county town to worship, holding rice ears or fruits in their hands.
Along the way, the people brought their families with them.
Some carried half a basket of rice ears, some carried a basket of sweet potatoes, and some people were short of money and only carried two eggs, duck eggs or fruits.
Some families were well-off and would directly bring a cart of grain to the Temple of the Earth God to donate, and also donate a lot of incense money, and set up a perpetual lamp in the temple to pray for their family.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi also offered a lamp.
The golden-red candlelight flickered on the small lamp, dragging out a little dark smoke, as if it was walking into the deep night smoke.
dull.
And practical.
It is very lively outside the Temple of Diguan Dadi.
There are many more stalls and vendors on the way to the temple than usual, selling food, toys, incense, as well as some cultural and creative products such as wood carvings, ceramics, calligraphy and paintings related to the three emperors.
Lei Li's family chatted and laughed, walked around, and when they came across things that adults and children liked, they bought a lot of nice little gadgets, adding to the number of decorations in their home.
November.
The autumn harvest in Sanlihe Village, the village school holidays, and the village celebration all happened at the same time, making the whole month full of excitement and joy.
Previously, it was Xu Xingzhe who came to attend the village celebration, and this year it was Meng Yao.
Although both were county magistrates, the former was just going through the motions, visiting village schools to promote basic education, while Meng Yao was really involved.
The preparations for the village celebration are tedious, including creating a competition schedule, a list of participants, dividing the venues for each competition, preparing fruits and prizes for the celebration, and finding judges for each competition.
Meng Yao was very enthusiastic and helped without hesitation when he could, and watched from the sidelines when he couldn't help. In the end, he served as a judge in several competitions, including calligraphy competitions, poetry singing competitions, musical instrument competitions, etc.
Meng Yao is here.
Yu Ge'er was there too of course.
He was holding a chubby white baby in his arms. The little chubby girl had a round face and thick arms, like lotus root nodes. She stared at the pastries on the table, sucked her fingers and drooled.
"This baby is so well taken care of, it looks just like a New Year picture."
Lei Li pinched the chubby baby's face and poked it again, but the little chubby girl remained unmoved and continued to stare at the pastries with the same concentration as her father saw a book.
"I'm still worried."
Yu Ge'er's eyes were smiling, but her eyebrows were slightly furrowed. She was happy that her child was praised for being good-looking, but she was also worried about her weight. "We listened to you and didn't dare to take too much supplements when Xue Niang was pregnant, for fear that the child would be too big and difficult to deliver."
"It's just that Xue Niang was well-fed in the womb. After she was born, she was strong and had a good appetite. When she was breastfeeding, she ate more than other babies."
"Now that she's six months old and can eat some solid food, she's even more greedy. She wants to eat everything she sees. Whether it's cakes, fruits, vegetables, fish or meat, there's nothing she doesn't like."
Yuger became pregnant soon after getting married. Meng Yao was very happy. He already loved Yuger very much, and now he took even better care of her, even a little too much.
However, Yuger's pregnancy was not as smooth as Lei Li's. She had severe morning sickness and loss of appetite in the first three months. It was not until the second half of the pregnancy that she gradually recovered and gained back her appetite bit by bit.
Lei Li also borrowed Nanny Fang. Everyone in the county government was surrounding Yu Ge'er. He had a normal pulse twice a month, so it would be strange if the fetus was not being well taken care of.
"It is a blessing for children to be able to eat."
Lei Li smiled, pinched Xue Niang's chubby little arm, and said, "But you do need to control it a bit. Children don't know how to feel full, they only know how to be greedy. You can't give her whatever she wants to eat, nor can you give her food all the time."
"Zhou Yi said that people who are too fat or too thin are more likely to get sick, and that it's best to be in the right weight range."
"If Xue Niang has a good appetite, you should pay attention to her. She should eat small meals frequently and move her hands and feet regularly to get more exercise. When she can walk and run, let us, Jiang, take her to play football. She will definitely not get fat."
"That's good."
Yu Ge'er smiled and felt tired from holding Xue Niang with his left hand, so he changed to holding her with his right hand.
"Your Jiang and Zhou Zhou are both doing well and have rarely had any minor illnesses. I'll raise my Xue Niang with you. She will definitely grow up to be a beautiful and healthy little girl."
"Xue Niang is up to you, and will definitely be beautiful."
Lei Li said with a smile. Seeing that he wanted to change hands again, he picked up Xue Niang and kissed the chubby girl's little face. "When Xue Niang grows up, Uncle Li will take her to play football, okay? Uncle Li can play football very well."
"After playing football, Uncle Li took Xue Niang to get some snacks."
dessert!
The little fat girl immediately turned her head, her eyes shining, and babbled.
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