Border Cook

Chapter 23 Damn it
The leader was a captain named Han, who was in his thirties and tall. After roughly understanding the situation, he spat at the thief, "How dare you steal property in Jinqiu County? You really don't want to live!"

When the new dynasty was established, strict laws were enforced. In order to ensure that the people could live and work in peace and contentment, theft, robbery and other crimes were severely punished. Even if one stole a few taels of silver, he might be sentenced to death by forced labor.

As Captain Han shouted at the thief, he grabbed the thief's hair and dragged him up.

With the help of the lanterns held by the yamen runners and the light from the stars in the sky, Xia Mingyue and Lu saw the face of the thief clearly. They were both startled and asked, "Is it him?"

It was Zeng Liu who had asked for five hundred coins during the day.

"Do you know this thief?" asked Captain Han.

"This man's name is Zeng Liu, but I don't really know him. He just went to North Street during the day looking for a familiar bricklayer to build a brick bed in his home. This man came to talk to me and wanted to take the job, but I didn't agree at that time." Xia Mingyue answered truthfully.

Captain Han's face was filled with anger. "So you are so angry that you want to steal the silver?"

This kind of person is even more hateful!
"Don't worry, young lady. We will bring this thief back to the county government office for thorough interrogation and punishment. We will not let him off easily." Captain Han added, and took the opportunity to use more force to drag Zeng Liu's hand.

Xia Mingyue frowned when she heard this.

It was only when I went to North Street during the day that I heard about Liu Caisheng's "theft".

Logically speaking, this kind of thing has just happened around and the government has not caught the real thief yet. It is the time to pay attention to the thief. Even if Zeng Liu has the intention to steal, he should stay out of the spotlight and wait for some time before taking action.

Can't wait like this...

Xia Mingyue's eyes fell on the small trowel under the apricot tree.

I walked over and picked it up, and sure enough, I saw the words "财生" engraved on it.

"Captain Han." Xia Mingyue handed over the masonry knife. "This is not from my family. I think it belongs to Zeng Liu. But for some reason, the words 'wealth and prosperity' are engraved on it."

Captain Han took it and saw that the word on it was indeed "wealth" as Xia Mingyue said. His eyes widened immediately and he kicked Zeng Liu. "You are so good, Zeng Liu. You did something bad and still want to frame others! Let me ask you, were you the one who stole the money from the Shi family earlier?"

"I didn't, I didn't..." Zeng Liu gritted his teeth and refused to admit it.

But his voice was small, and he looked guilty.

"It doesn't matter if you don't admit it. There are plenty of guys in the prison to make you tell the truth." Captain Han snorted coldly and asked others to take Zeng Liu to the county government office.

The yamen runners hated those who committed crimes the most. Zeng Liu not only had evil intentions and dishonest actions, but also had no courage to take responsibility for his actions. He even wanted to frame others, which made the yamen runners dislike him even more.

It was said that Zeng Liu was brought back to the yamen, but in fact he was dragged back.

Drag it face up.

The howling sounds like that of a pig being slaughtered echoed all the way from Xia Mingyue's home to the gate of the county government office, waking up countless people living along the street.

"Boss, this filthy fellow is really noisy. Do you want to shut his stinky mouth?" The ears of a yamen runner who was dragging Zeng Liu were a little sore from the noise, so he reached out and rubbed his ears.

"Let's make a scene." Captain Han disagreed, "Let the people of Jinqiu County hear what happens when they steal other people's property."

Hearsay is not intimidating. You have to see it with your own eyes to feel the impact.

To serve as a warning to others, that's what it means.

The bailiff understood what was going on, chuckled, and kicked Zeng Liu again.

Zeng Liu's wails became louder and louder, and his face was twisted into a mask of pain.

This damn Xia didn't let him work during the day and also spoke for Liu Caisheng. He was so hateful. He just wanted to make Xia suffer and lose money at night.

Moreover, he had inquired and found out that Xia lived alone and there was no one else at home. He also came to check the place out in the afternoon and did not see such a big dog. How could he be entangled by this vicious dog?

How could I be so unlucky! ...

After the yamen runners left, worried that Xia Mingyue would be scared, Lu simply stayed awake and asked Zhao Dahu and Zhao Erhu to accompany Xia Mingyue.

First, they worked together to wash away the blood that Zeng Liuliu had shed in the yard.

Then he boiled a pot of hot tea and drank tea and talked in the main room.

He first scolded the thief Zeng Liu, and then praised Wu Jin.

"It's a good thing that my sister-in-law adopted Wu Jin, otherwise I really can't imagine whether Zeng Liu would have hurt my sister-in-law's life if he couldn't find the silver under the apricot tree."

The more Mrs. Lu thought about it, the more frightened she became, and her face turned pale.

"Yes, thanks to Wu Jin." Xia Mingyue was also quite fortunate, "If it weren't for Wu Jin, even if I found Zeng Liu stealing, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to catch him. Wu Jin has made a great contribution this time!"

After receiving the praise, Wu Jin opened his mouth wide, stuck out his tongue, and his tail almost turned into a propeller.

"I'll go to the butcher's shop early in the morning and buy some more meat bones to reward you!"

Xia Mingyue stroked Wu Jin's forehead with a smile.

Wu Jin rubbed Xia Mingyue's palm excitedly, then turned around on the spot.

Just say it!

Protect this home well, and you will never have to worry about food and drink!
The new owner is better than the previous one...

It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to!

Because of this accident, both families did not sleep in the second half of the night, and began their daily busy lives when the sun rose.

When Xia Mingyue went to the butcher shop, she specifically asked for some large bones.

"I heard that Madam Xia's family caught a thief last night." Butcher Hong said as he packed the meat and bones, "Madam Xia must have bought so many bones to reward Wu Jin."

Butcher Hong is as well-informed as ever.

It was just something that happened a few hours ago, but he knows it so clearly.

Xia Mingyue did not hide anything and just smiled, "Yes, Wu Jin is amazing, he should be rewarded well."

"Yes, it's a reward. Madam Xia was also frightened last night. This big bone is a gift from me. Madam Xia, just take it back."

There is not much meat on the big bones, and only those who want to eat meat but can't afford it would think of buying some to stew at home. Xia Mingyue is a regular customer of the butcher shop, and the amount of meat he uses is only increasing, so the butcher Hong is very generous.

"In that case, I won't be polite." Xia Mingyue did not refuse, "Thank you, Brother Hong."

"Madam Xia, why are you being so polite to me? Since your Wu Jin likes this, I will keep the bones for you in the future."

"Okay." Xia Mingyue said with a smile, "But we still have to calculate the money next time. We can't let Brother Hong suffer any loss."

"It's a bit cheaper!"

Butcher Hong laughed heartily, and Xia Mingyue could still hear it clearly when she reached the corner of the street.

After arriving home, Xia Mingyue first gave Wu Jin a whole piece of bone.

The pig was just slaughtered, and the shank was extremely fresh, with a lot of meat still left on both sides of the bone. Wu Jin was so happy that he ran around the yard for several laps with the bone in his mouth. Then he came back to the nest and started to chew on it happily.

　Masonry knife (dialect), have you seen it? When we were young, we helped each other when building houses in the village. Those who could build walls were skilled workers, and those who could not do it could only move bricks and mud as laborers. Those who could be skilled workers had their own masonry knife. My dad also had one, which was polished to a bright shine. When I was young, I thought it was a great skill to chop off half of a brick with one knife!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)