Great Lawyer

Chapter 6: Rabbit and Duck
It was naturally Du Jiuyan who reached out to support the old farmer.

"No." Du Jiuyan looked at the old farmer, "Where are you from, the accent doesn't look like a local."

The old farmer was not in the mood to chat, but Du Jiuyan helped him just now, and he replied: "I, I am from Xiahe Town, and there is a mountain road thirty miles away from here."

"Oh, then your duck meat must be delicious," Du Jiuyan asked casually, "Is it free-range fish and shrimp?"

The old farmer nodded, "Yes, there is a stream in our mountain, and the ducks are raised in the water, and they grow very fat and tender. The duck meat is different from the duck meat in other places."

"It sounds delicious," Du Jiuyan asked, "You worked so hard to sell ducks, why don't you sell them again?"

The old farmer argued anxiously: "How can I not sell it! But they only give me ten yuan for one...other places give 22 yuan, and I lose 22 four yuan for 260 ducks," and said: "I want to sell No, people in the village thought I had lost the money.”

"So it's like this," Du Jiuyan nodded, "It's really not for sale, otherwise it would be thankless."

The man saw that the old farmer was chatting with a beggar who was neither male nor female, and immediately shouted: "Talk to another place, don't dirty our land."

"Give me back the duck, and I'll leave." The old farmer begged.

The clerk rolled up his sleeves and wanted to make a move out of frustration. At this moment, the shopkeeper came out of the store with a frowning expression on his face. "What are you talking about? Hurry up and drive him away. If you don't leave, you will report to the authorities."

The old farmer shrank back in fright, but was suddenly pulled back by Du Jiuyan, who smiled and said, "Old man, don't be afraid!"

"Little brother," the old farmer said in a low voice, "I don't want this duck anymore."

"I don't have the money to pay paper redemption," the old farmer shook his head, "two ducks are not worth the money."

As long as you report to the official, regardless of whether the plaintiff or the defendant, you have to pay the paper redemption, which is the legal costs of Gongmenli.

"What are you afraid of, someone will pay for you." Du Jiuyan pulled the old farmer, raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Treasurer, report to the official! We are going to order these two ducks today."

The shopkeeper was a little surprised, but he said that in front of so many people, he couldn't go back on his word, so he pointed at the clerk and shouted: "Go ask Mr. Jiao!" Then he pointed at Du Jiuyan, "Wait for me, You'll feel better in a while."

He didn't believe it yet, the ducks all looked the same, and Du Jiuyan could still find out the old farmer's two ducks among the thirty ducks in his backyard.

The arrests came quickly, the three of them, Jiao San, who was the leader, was called San Ye Jiao by the people in Baoqing.

"Su Lu, you know that you are causing trouble for me," Jiao San was playing cards and didn't want to come, but the court has regulations that as long as the people report to the official, they must accept it, otherwise they will be dismissed and investigated. "What's the matter, tell me quickly , don't delay Lao Tzu's effort."

"Third Lord, it's like this..." The evil shopkeeper complained first, pointed at Du Jiuyan and the old farmer, and told the story again, "How could Jufulou steal his two ducks? These two people are clearly here to blackmail you. Grab him quickly."

The flesh on Jiao San's face trembled, and he turned his head to stare at Du Jiuyan. There was a scar on his forehead, he was neither male nor female, and he was dressed in tatters. Shen waved his hand, "Blackmailing on Lao Tzu's territory, arrest him first."

Two of his men came up to arrest people.

"Eh?!" Du Jiuyan raised his hand, "Third Master, if you decide the case sternly, you should listen to us to explain the reason."

Jiao San took a sip, "What the fuck, go back to the yamen with me."

"I, I won't go," the old farmer shrank behind Du Jiuyan in fear.You can't enter the yamen, even if you don't lose your life, you will go bankrupt.

Du Jiuyan smiled, stopped in front of him, and said calmly: "Third Master, Shopkeeper Su said that he didn't steal the duck, and that we blackmailed him. But I can prove that he did steal the duck."

"Proof? How do you prove it?" Jiao San growled impatiently, "Did you mark the duck?"

The old farmer shook his head, "No, no."

"What a fart without you!" Jiao San glared at Du Jiuyan, "You still plan to go in and point at it casually, you are fooling me like I am."

Du Jiuyan shook his head, "I can find these two ducks without a mark."

"If you can't find it, I will go back to the yamen with you, Third Master, and you will be guilty of any crime." Du Jiuyan raised his eyebrows and said, "I will pay double for paper redemption!"

Can't tell, this little beggar who is neither male nor female still has oil and water?Jiao San raised his mouth and shouted: "You said it, I will give you this chance, if you fool me later, or if you can't find a duck, I will kill you!"

"The third master is Qingtian, thank you very much!" Du Jiuyan shook hands habitually, Jiao San's mouth twitched, and he threw his hands away and spat: "You rabbit, go find a duck."

rabbit?The corner of Du Jiuyan's mouth twitched, and then he remembered that this was ancient times, and it was not fashionable to shake hands.

Somehow, she has become a rabbit.

"There's no need to look for it," Du Jiuyan said, "Let Shopkeeper Su get all the ducks out of his store, and kill them all right here!"

As soon as she said that, the audience erupted. Su Lu jumped up and scolded: "No, there are more than 30 ducks, and some of them need to be raised for a few days, so they can't be killed!"

"It's too much," Jiao San stared at Du Jiuyan, "You killed all the ducks, and if you can't find them, you can pay me."

Du Jiuyan spread his hands, and there was an extra ten-two silver note in his palm, "Let's just say that, if I can't find the old man's duck, I will bear twice the loss of shopkeeper Su."

"That's fine," Jiao San nodded. Su Lu turned his eyes and stared at Du Jiuyan. He always felt that something was wrong, but the crowd was too noisy. He couldn't remember it for a while, so he followed Jiao San's words and said, "36 ducks, Double is five taels of silver, if you dare to repudiate me, I will never end with you."

Five taels!The people who watched the excitement erupted. This is gold, which is obviously gold. Shopkeeper Su is blackmailing people.

"What if I found it?" Du Jiuyan chuckled, "You pay five taels of silver and paper from the government office."

Shopkeeper Su gritted his teeth, "If I leave, I will leave!"

"Okay." Du Jiuyan shouted, "Kill!"

Watching the excitement is not a big deal, everyone is making a fuss, plus dozens of quacking ducks, the entrance of Jufulou is more lively than watching lanterns on the Lantern Festival.

"Can you tell if a duck is killed?" someone asked.

"This little brother is bragging, and he's going to run away in a while. I've seen a lot of people like this."

"Maybe ducks can talk, they will speak before they die."

There was a lot of discussion, waiting to see Du Jiuyan's joke.

The ducks quacked and fluttered, and one by one was killed and left alone, unchanged and special.

All dead ducks.

Everyone was curious and anxious, but Du Jiuyan watched calmly.

"Brother, I have troubled you. You are kind, but it's not worth it to pay five taels of silver in one go." The old farmer felt guilty, and Du Jiuyan stood up for him, but he couldn't help her, so he could only worry.

Du Jiuyan smiled calmly, "Since I made a move, there will be no mistakes."

The old man was stunned and coughed twice, wanting to say that this strange and enthusiastic little brother is really confident.

In less than half an hour, the four cooks raised their knives and dropped them. The 36 ducks were completely dead, and their hair and legs fell off.

"Recognize it." Jiao San pinched his nose, the scene was full of blood, he was very manic, "If you can't find it in a while, you eat the duck raw."

　I don't know about other dynasties, but the laws of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were very strict.Generally, small disputes are resolved by prestigious people elected by the neighborhood such as the "neighborhood chief" and "old man".For larger lawsuits or if the family is well-off, you can go outside the Yamen to beat the Dengwen drum.But the government does not work in vain. In a lawsuit, you have to pay "paper redemption" to the yamen, usually ranging from a few dollars!
　　Another thing is that "paper redemption" does not need to be handed over to the imperial court. It is generally one of the important sources of income in small county yamen, and one of the money that county magistrates can control.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)