Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 386: Dog bites dog, people praise people
When Zhang Shou left the county government office, he only took Ah Liu and Xiao Huasheng with him. However, when he returned to the county government office, there was a large group of people following him.
Among them, Xu Ba, who was wearing a white turban, was the one who least wanted to come, but he had to come because Ah Liu was eyeing him covetously. In addition to Cen San, who was holding Mr. Huang, and the three boatmen that Cen San had fought, there were also many people who were just joining in the fun. However, when everyone arrived outside the gate of the county government, they heard a loud noise coming from inside.
"Unfair, I was just following orders from Master Huang! I have achievements, Zhu Tingfang, you can't torture me, otherwise you will be against all scholars in the world!"
Zhang Shou glanced at Mr. Huang, whose face was almost deformed with anger, and laughed again. Then, he saw that Cen San, who had been grabbing people just now, suddenly changed his expression and then let go of his hand naturally. He couldn't help but be a little surprised, but when he saw the smile on Ah Liu's face flashed and disappeared, he knew that this kid must have passed on the message to someone.
Sure enough, Young Master Huang didn't react at all to the fact that someone else had let go of him. He thought he had broken free from the grip himself, and rushed into the county government office like a gust of wind, followed by the angry roar of someone.
"Bi Yunru, you gave me advice and encouraged me, and now you dare to push it onto me alone? Who are you? You are just a poor guy who only passed the imperial examination and never achieved anything. You don't know criminal law, and you don't know money. You are just a little smart. If my father hadn't taken you in, you wouldn't be in this situation!"
As if Master Bi was too frightened to speak, Master Huang's scolding became even louder: "If you hadn't used my father's and my name to swindle people, would you have cheated me so badly?"
"Huang Wei, you were so daring on Mount Maliu that you were teased by Miss Zhu and you became so angry that you said something outrageous. As a result, you were kicked off the mountain. You couldn't swallow this anger and ran to Cangzhou to seek revenge. It was you who asked me to give you advice, but you still want to push the blame on me when something goes wrong? You are blind! If you didn't have a good father, who would you be! A useless person who couldn't even pass the examination to become a scholar!"
After hearing the yelling of Mr. Huang inside, Master Bi, who seemed to be frightened by the roar at first, also started to yell. The two of them soon began to confront each other and sabotage each other. Zhang Shou couldn't help but scratch his ears, and then he laughed.
Although the people behind him who came to watch the fun could not see his smile, they could still hear the dog-eat-dog scene in the county government office, and naturally they talked about it a lot.
It was not until this time that Zhang Shou turned around and said to everyone, "Is it that Hejian Prefect Huang did not teach his son well, so that his son, in order to vent his anger, listened to the instigation of the accompanying Bi Shiye and stirred up trouble in Cangzhou in the name of his father; or is it that Bi Shiye used the names of Prefect Huang and Mr. Huang to deceive people. I am afraid that this matter will not have any result for a while. After all, Bi Shiye is also half a member of the Huang family. Even for a man as capable and decisive as General Zhu, it is difficult for an honest official to judge family affairs."
He said to everyone with a sincere face: "As for the matter of Cangzhou, I can't guarantee anything else, but I have already reported all the circumstances to the court with General Zhu, and with the old Grand Tutor Ge as a witness, we will definitely not let one or two insignificant people ruin the stability that Cangzhou has finally achieved."
Seeing everyone immediately shouted "good", he paused again, smiled and nodded to Cen San.
"As for the 100 guan notes that Cen San just handed over, they are Mr. Huang's personal belongings. I cannot give them away generously, so they must be returned to their original owner. But you were able to give up the generous reward and bring him here. The government should reward you for such a righteous act. Of course, the reward is not much. I am not the wife of the prefect who can easily give out 8,000 guan for her son's pocket money."
After teasing for a while, seeing that Cen San was surprised, Zhang Shou smiled and said, "You are worthy of praise for forgetting money for the sake of justice. The ten-string reward is what you deserve!"
As soon as these words came out, those who were curious were immediately envious, and the three boatmen who had fought with Cen San at the beginning could not help but make a noise. One hundred strings of cash may seem like a lot, but you have to send the person to the capital, and then row the boat back yourself. When the canal is low in water, sometimes you have to hire boatmen. Although you will definitely earn more than ten strings of cash in the end, it is still a lot to pay.
It's not like now, if you hand over a damn prefect's son, you'll get a ten-string reward!
As for whether Cen San would suffer revenge, no one cared anymore - or rather, having just witnessed a county magistrate being hacked to death a few days ago, and today hearing with their own ears the son of the prefect and his legal advisor shirking responsibility and bickering, the people of Cangzhou no longer took the Hejian prefect seriously.
In other words, most people felt that the Hejian prefect was already counting down to his resignation.
When Cen San received the ten strings of cash reward, he immediately smiled and patted his chest and said loudly, "Don't worry, Dr. Zhang. From now on, I will keep my eyes open. If there are any criminals who want to get on board, I will definitely arrest them and send them to the government! Who doesn't want our Cangzhou to get better and better?"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile when he heard the loud responses all around him. He had never thought that he would go to the canal wharf today just to eat and eat, but he would encounter such an incredible story. He said a few words to everyone with a smile, and when he turned around and entered the county government office, he saw that Ah Liu had directly dragged in Xu Ba, who had a bitter face and a white turban.
He stopped and asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Ah Liu, what are you doing? Where is his business cart?"
"This guy is very sneaky. He almost wanted to run away just now." Ah Liu grabbed the man's shoulder without any hesitation, and then said patiently, "As for his business cart, don't worry, young master. I saw him call an acquaintance to take it away. Otherwise, this guy would dare to complain to you that he was wronged because he came here and lost his food."
Xu Ba's plan was exposed by Ah Liu so simply and directly that he dared not hope for the slightest chance. In addition, he dared not play any tricks now that he was in the Changlu County Government again. So, he immediately said honestly: "How dare I have such blackmailing thoughts? Just now, when Dr. Zhang wanted to arrest the prefect's son, didn't I raise my arms to call for it..."
"People ca n't run away ." Ah Liu seemed to be very annoyed that his words were useless, and interrupted him harshly, "Mind your own business."
"Yes, yes, brother, you are so powerful, he can't run away anyway, but there is no guarantee that he won't make a fuss and ruin Dr. Zhang's reputation, right?" Seeing that Ah Liu just snorted, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Zhang Shou in a flattering manner, "It was my fault for stealing things before, but before... can I consider it as a sin for my merits?"
Seeing Zhang Shou looking at him with a half-smile but not a word, he rubbed his hands and said anxiously: "I know that the bottle of chili I stole must be very expensive, and I can't afford to compensate for such a small contribution. But I have old people and young children at home..."
Ah Liu interrupted him again: "You are the only one in your family."
Xu Ba was exposed again for his little trick. He could not help but pull off the white scarf on his head to wipe the sweat off his face. He stole a glance at Zhang Shou and finally said honestly: "I am the only one in my family, but the neighbors next door have seven or eight children. They just refuse to learn from others and either drown them, throw them into charity halls or give them away. I would rather work hard to earn money to support them. Sometimes I also help them a little..."
Afraid that Zhang Shou would not believe him, he quickly explained, "Really? Although I can't afford to give them anything valuable, I just gave them the rice noodles that were not sold that day! Business was so good the other day that the rice noodles were sold out, so I bought them some cakes."
"If I really get sued for this theft, one or two of their family members might starve to death... Please have mercy on me, old man. I will definitely keep this restless hand under control in the future..."
This time, Zhang Shou finally smiled. He stopped trying to scare people and said calmly, "You stole something without permission, which is indeed a crime. If you want to say that the bottle of chili is valuable, it is indeed something that has never existed in the Ming Dynasty before. It can be said to be priceless. But if you want to say that it is cheap, it can also be easily grown from seeds. It's just that it comes from overseas, so it's actually not that valuable."
Seeing that Xu Ba was frightened at first, and then a little relieved, his face wrinkled with worry, he said calmly: "It's just that since you used chili to make food that others like and praise, it can be regarded as a good deed. So, I can let this matter go. Moreover, I can give you some more chili."
Xu Ba's eyes suddenly widened as big as copper bells, and then his face was instantly filled with ecstasy - not only the ecstasy of surviving the disaster, but also the ecstasy of making an unexpected fortune. But he quickly suppressed the urge to laugh out loud, swallowed hard, and stammered, "Are you...are you serious?"
"Really?" Zhang Shou laughed and said very naturally, "It's just that the quantity won't be too much. You just need to tell people who like this taste that it comes from far away overseas, that's enough."
"Yes, yes, I will say that, I will say that!" Xu Ba was so happy that his voice changed, and he nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. "Dr. Zhang, you are really magnanimous and kind-hearted. In the future, the people of Cangzhou will worship you like a Bodhisattva and burn incense to you every day..."
"No thanks. I'm not that kind of person. I can't afford such a courtesy." Zhang Shou interrupted the guy's endless flattery in a bad mood, and then said with a smile, "You only have one task, spread the word to ten people, and let more people know that you have a special spice from overseas. Of course, I don't have much stock here, so I can't give you more."
"If someone really breaks down your door just for a bite of food, it's none of my business."
Hearing this cold joke, Xu Ba wiped the sweat off his forehead with his white headscarf, and felt that he was almost fainting from happiness. Not only did they not pursue his crime of theft, but they also kept giving him such good things? Oh my god, there are still such good people and good deeds in the world, he is so lucky! People broke into his house for food? That's great, he welcomes people to beat him!
He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, yes, I will do it. Don't worry, Dr. Zhang!"
"Okay, that's it. I'll ask Ah Liu to find you later. You go back first!"
If he said how much he didn't want to come here just now, then Xu Ba didn't want to leave even more at this moment. Even Ah Liu's expressionless face, which always looked a bit ugly, seemed so cute to him at this moment - how could a person who could allow him to continue doing business and earn more every day not be cute?
He looked back every few steps, reluctantly waving goodbye, and after leaving the county government office, he couldn't help but jump three feet high, waving his fist like a child to express his joy, and then he ran towards the west gate, ready to leave the city and continue his business. Just this back and forth time, he was delayed a lot, he should let Cen Sanfen give him some reward!
As he left, Ah Liu, who followed Zhang Shou to the lobby, couldn't help but snort again. This time, Zhang Shou comforted him without even turning his head, "He did steal something, but he actually wanted to be beaten up by you to vent his anger, but I don't think you would do that, would you? If a condiment like chili is to be deeply rooted in people's hearts, it must be spread first. He is at least a channel."
Ah Liu whispered unhappily, "There are so many people selling food."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh: "There are many restaurants and hotels in Cangzhou, but who made him so lucky to be brought back by you, and then accidentally stole something? Anyway, if you are not satisfied, you can teach him a lesson when you find him later..."
When he finished speaking, he just climbed the last step and saw the scene in the hall clearly. He saw that the aggressive Mr. Huang was being ridden by Mr. Bi! Mr. Bi, who had been acting pretentiously in front of Shopkeeper Hua, now had disheveled hair and punched Mr. Huang desperately, still muttering indignantly.
"You can't do anything, you don't understand anything, what else do you have except a good father!"
"You treat me like a servant, have you ever thought that I was your senior in the imperial examination? Even a student had to go through so much trouble to pass the examination, and you still have the nerve to call yourself a scholar? Don't you feel ashamed?"
"You blamed me for not getting things done, and now that things have come to light you're still blaming me, you irresponsible thing!"
Zhang Shou looked up and saw Zhu Tingfang sitting leisurely in the main seat in the center, watching the absolutely unequal fight coldly, as if he didn't care at all whether the poor Mr. Huang would be beaten to death.
Thinking that this ignorant boy had scolded Zhu Ying, and then ran away and came to Cangzhou to seek revenge, his last bit of sympathy disappeared. In short, he deserved it!
He thought Zhu Tingfang was waiting for him to show off his power, but he didn't expect that when he saw him come in, Zhu Tingfang suddenly said, "Come here, take these two people who cheated, incited the people, and fought in the court and put them in jail!"
