W Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Affluent Magistrate Lin

Xiao Liucun.

Xu Youfang sat at the doorway embroidering under the light when her eyes suddenly stung, and she couldn’t open them. The pain was so intense she didn’t dare move her eyelids at all.

She put down the embroidery in her hand, covering her eyes with her palm, feeling worried, frightened, and a little lost.

Shen Lai, who was squatting outside playing with stones with Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia, unintentionally looked up and noticed that Xu Youfang had been covering her eyes for a long time without moving. He quickly dropped the pebbles and hurried to the doorway.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

Hearing her child’s voice, Xu Youfang endured the pain and spoke to reassure him, “Mom’s fine, go play and don’t worry.”

She kept covering her eyes, which made Shen Lai even more uneasy.

“Mom, where does it hurt? I’ll go ask Doctor Sun from the next village to come and see you.”

Saying that, Shen Lai ran out. Xu Youfang tried to stop him but gave up.

Her eyes really hurt, so it would be good to spend some money to see what was going on.

Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia were very well-behaved. Without being told, they knew to stay with Xu Youfang.

The two children sat obediently on the threshold, their little faces full of worry.

Shen Lai ran to the neighboring village, pulling Doctor Sun along the way. The time it took to return home was faster than normal walking.

At this time, Xu Youfang was holding a cloth to her eyes, which Xiao Chun had helped her get.

Doctor Sun approached, gasping for breath, quite exhausted.

“Your little fifth is really something, able to run so fast. Come, let me see what’s wrong.”

“The child is a bit mischievous, please bear with him, Doctor Sun.”

Xu Youfang put down the cloth. The stinging in her eyes wasn’t as intense now, and she could open them slightly.

“My eyes suddenly felt like they were being pricked with needles, and I don’t know why.”

Doctor Sun responded and reached out to pry open Xu Youfang’s eyes to examine them carefully.

Remembering the previous anomaly, Xu Youfang added, “Some time ago, there was also a foreign object in my eyes. When I took it out, it was quite viscous, and I don’t know what it was.”

Doctor Sun listened quietly, taking Xu Youfang’s pulse.

Combining the pulse reading with the observation of her eyes, and what Xu Youfang herself had said, his gaze finally landed on the half-finished embroidery on her lap.

Xu Youfang squinted, not daring to open her eyes fully, “Doctor Sun, what kind of illness do I have?”

Doctor Sun pointed to the embroidery and asked her, “You used to stay up all night doing embroidery when you were young, right?”

Xu Youfang nodded.

Back then, she had to buy medicine for eldest son Shen Hai, so she could only do embroidery day and night.

“That’s it, your eyes are severely strained. When you were younger, your body was good, so you didn’t feel anything, but now that you’re older, it’s all showing up. Nine out of ten embroiderers go blind; the one who doesn’t quits early. If you want to save your eyes, you’d better stop doing embroidery.”

Doctor Sun’s words made Xu Youfang very troubled.

The family needed money.

And Ling Xing’s brother had finally been found, and she heard from second son Shen Hui that he was seriously injured.

His legs and throat were damaged, and it would take a hundred taels of silver to recover.

As his mother, how could she not help out a bit and let a “ge’er” (Ling Xing) bear so much silver?

If she didn’t do embroidery, where would she get the money to help her child?

After thinking it over, Xu Youfang asked in a low voice, “Doctor Sun, if I continue to do embroidery, how long will my eyes last?”

For rural families, it wasn’t easy to have a skill to support themselves.

Doctor Sun also lived in the village and knew how hard life was for the villagers, how difficult it was to save copper coins.

Many times, they were willing to risk their lives for a few taels of silver.

He never advised people to take care of their health. That’s how it was in the village: they worked hard to earn money while they could, and then stopped when they couldn’t anymore.

“Two or three years, maybe. As you get older, your eyes will deteriorate more quickly.”

Xu Youfang calculated the time. Two or three years would be enough.

She would do more embroidery to help Ling Xing through this difficult time.

Doctor Sun knew Xu Youfang had made a decision and didn’t prescribe any medicine.

If she continued to strain her eyes with embroidery, taking medicine wouldn’t help; it would only be a waste of money.

He only charged five “wen” (currency) for the consultation fee.

Before leaving, he kindly reminded her, “If you stop or reduce your embroidery now and find a doctor in town who can do acupuncture, it can help your eyes recover a bit. You won’t go blind so quickly when you’re older.”

“I understand, thank you, Doctor Sun.”

Xu Youfang smiled and saw him off. Everything that needed to be said had been said. Doctor Sun didn’t say anything more, nodded, and left the fence gate.

Shen Lai rushed over to ask questions first, followed by Xiao Chun and Xiao Xia.

As far as Shen Lai was concerned, if the doctor didn’t leave medicine, it meant the person wasn’t sick.

The thought that his mother was okay made him very happy, and he looked up at her, smiling to confirm, “Mom, why didn’t Doctor Sun give you medicine before he left? You’re okay, right?”

Xu Youfang was slightly stunned, then nodded, “Yes, Mom’s fine. The sun was just shining in my eyes, and it hurt, but it’s better after putting a cloth on them.”

Shen Lai immediately said, “Then, in the future, when Mom does embroidery, I’ll get Mom a cloth to put on her eyes!”

Hearing her child say this, Xu Youfang was very gratified. She touched Shen Lai’s head, “Little Fifth has grown up and knows how to care for Mom.”

…

After searching for the child for a few days, Zhao Ping saw that there were no leads and became increasingly irritable.

He couldn’t get angry with his mother or Zhao Erbao and Zhao Sancai, so he could only beat and scold Zhu Qiuyue.

Blaming her for not watching the child properly, which caused him to run away.

Zhu Qiuyue was pointed at and scolded, and received several slaps, which ignited the fire in her heart.

She was already anxious and angry about losing the child.

She usually lowered her eyebrows and obeyed, but now her face was burning with pain. Listening to Zhao Ping’s unbearable insults and Zhao Laotai’s nagging blame,

her blood rushed to her head, and she rammed into Zhao Ping’s stomach.

Caught off guard, Zhao Ping was pushed back several steps. If Zhao Erbao hadn’t been nearby and grabbed him in time, he would have fallen on his butt.

“You old son of a b*tch! You don’t want to live, do you, woman! How dare you attack me!”

Zhao Ping was furious, his dark face fierce, his eyes wide as copper bells, gnashing his teeth as he stepped forward and grabbed Zhu Qiuyue’s hair.

The women in the village also did farm work every day, and their strength was not small, but compared to the men, it was still lacking.

Zhu Qiuyue was no match for Zhao Ping in his rage. She only felt a pain in her scalp, followed by a sense of weightlessness, and she couldn’t tell which direction she was facing.

When she came to her senses, she had been thrown heavily to the ground, her whole body aching terribly.

Before she could get up, Zhao Ping was already straddling her, waving his fists and punching her fiercely.

“I’ve had eight lifetimes of bad luck to marry you, you jinx! You can’t even have children! I’ll beat you to death today!”

Zhu Qiuyue had nowhere to hide and couldn’t break free from Zhao Ping. At first, she could still swing her arms randomly to hit Zhao Ping, but later she could only cover her head to prevent injury to her brain.

Zhao Ping’s fists were getting harder and harder. He was blinded by anger and didn’t know how to control himself.

Zhu Qiuyue screamed in terror.

“Stop hitting me! You’re going to beat me to death! Mom! Help! He’s going to beat someone to death!”

Zhao Laotai wore a sullen face, pretending not to hear. Zhu Qiuyue’s attack on Zhao Ping was a major taboo in Zhao Laotai’s eyes.

She had never heard of any wives or “fu langs” (male wives) daring to treat a man like that.

She deserved to be beaten! She should be taught a lesson to remember.

She’d see if this b*tch dared to attack her eldest son again in the future.

Zhu Qiuyue’s screams echoed throughout the courtyard, and the surrounding neighbors could hear them clearly.

Zhao Daland (Zhao Ping) usually seemed honest and simple, but who would have thought that after beating the son he bought, he would become addicted to beating people.

Now he was even beating his wife.

The sounds were so intense, it sounded like he was trying to kill her.

The neighbors on both sides listened by the walls, but no one came to stop him.

Before, when Zhu Qiuyue beat the son she bought, she was so cruel that she broke the child’s leg. They had kindly come to persuade her, but she had pointed at them and cursed them back.

Saying that they were meddling in other people’s business and that they were disciplining their own son, which was none of their business.

After arguing with her for a few words, she even got angry and said that she would beat them too if they interfered again.

They were glad that there were no deaths in the village, which would damage the village’s reputation.

It’s not like they were eager to interfere.

This time, when Zhu Qiuyue was being beaten, no one came to stop him.

They didn’t want to get involved in Zhao Ping’s affairs.

In the end, they, the neighbors, would be the only ones who were wrong.

They didn’t know how long he had been beating her, but Zhao Ping’s hands were covered in blood.

Zhu Qiuyue’s voice was getting weaker and weaker.

Zhao Erbao and Zhao Sancai were afraid that their uncle would beat their aunt to death, so they exchanged glances and gritted their teeth before stepping forward to pull him away.

Zhao ErbaoPersuasion: “Uncle, don’t beat her anymore. If you continue, someone might die.”

“You dare to interfere with me too?”

Zhao Ping raised his head and glared fiercely at Zhao Erbao, the flesh on his cheeks trembling, his eyes frighteningly fierce.

“I’m going to beat her to death today! She can’t have children after marrying in, and she even lost the child we bought. Doesn’t she deserve to die?”

The two Zhao Erbao brothers were startled by the murderous look in his eyes and didn’t dare to say anything more, quickly retreating.

Just as Zhao Ping was about to strike again, there was a knock on the door.

It was the village chief of Zhaojia Village, Zhao Shanshui.

“Zhao Daland, stop beating her. Your Baogen has probably been abducted!”

Village Chief Zhao arrived in time, saving Zhu Qiuyue from certain death.

She lay dying on the ground, her vision blurred with blood, the azure sky sometimes clear and sometimes gray.

It hurt, it hurt so much.

Who would come to save her and stop the pain?

Zhu Qiuyue cried out in her heart, turning her head and looking imploringly at Zhao Laotai.

Her lips, stained red with blood, opened and closed, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible.

“Mom, save…”

Before she could finish speaking, she fainted.

It was inauspicious for someone to die suddenly in the house, so Zhao Laotai reluctantly put aside the whereabouts of her grandson and tried to feel Zhu Qiuyue’s breath.

There was still some, so she would leave her alone for now.

She ignored Zhu Qiuyue and went to the village chief to listen to him.

“It just so happened that my third daughter came back to her parents’ home. She said that a child in her husband’s village, Xiaoniu Village, disappeared after the peddler left. Everyone said that the peddler had abducted him. The village chief and the li zheng (village leader) went to the county yamen to report the case. Guess what happened?”

Zhao Ping said anxiously, “What happened? Village chief, tell me quickly, aren’t you killing us with suspense!”

Village Chief Zhao knew that Zhao Ping was anxious to find his child and didn’t want to keep him in suspense.

“It turned out that there were quite a few people in this situation! The day your Baogen was lost, a peddler came to the village. Your Baogen was probably abducted by that peddler!”

Hearing this, Zhao Ping slapped his thigh, feeling regretful and worried.

“I knew my Baogen couldn’t run away again. He even called me Dad, he recognized me!”

“Then what are you going to do now? Do you want to report it to the authorities?” the village chief asked.

Zhao Ping hesitated for a moment.

If he reported it to the authorities, he would still have to pay the child’s share of taxes when the tax was due, even if the child wasn’t found.

That was 300 “wen.”

Village Chief Zhao saw Zhao Ping’s hesitation. After all, he wasn’t his own son, and he was so reluctant for a few hundred “wen” of tax money.

He didn’t want to persuade him, but he felt sorry for the many children who had been abducted before.

He heard from his daughter that the child who was abducted in Xiaoniu Village was the only son in the family. The grandparents knew that the child had been abducted and went straight to bed.

The child’s parents cried all day long, and a good family was ruined.

Village Chief Zhao shook his head and sighed, saying casually, “I heard that the more people who report to the authorities, the more attentive the yamen will be. Maybe they can find him before the taxes are due. Even if you buy another one, that will cost several taels of silver.”

Zhao Ping thought it made sense, so he would report it to the authorities.

If he still couldn’t find him after the autumn taxes were paid, he would give up.

“Okay, please trouble the village chief and the li zheng to go to the yamen to report the case for me.”

Zhao Ping didn’t dare to go to the yamen. He was afraid, and he also thought it was bad luck.

He felt that if he got too close, he would be stained with the air of prison, which was unlucky.

The villagers generally didn’t want to get close to the yamen, and Village Chief Zhao knew the reason.

He had been there more than once or twice, always with the li zheng, to deal with matters in the village, and he was used to it.

“Okay.”

When he was about to leave, Village Chief Zhao looked at the ground, “Don’t beat her to death, or it will affect the other men in the village from marrying wives and fu langs.”

Zhao Ping didn’t want to argue with the village chief and be targeted, so he could only nod.

“I know what I’m doing, don’t worry, Village Chief.”

It was other people’s family affairs, and Village Chief Zhao didn’t want to interfere too much.

Saying this was already fulfilling his responsibility as the village chief.

Village Chief Zhao didn’t stay long. He had to hurry from the village to the yamen before dark.

In the evening, Zhu Qiuyue opened her eyes and found herself still lying on the ground in the yard.

Her whole body ached terribly, and it was difficult to move. She opened her swollen eyes and looked at the gradually darkening sky.

Although it was evening, the house was already dark.

Zhao Laotai sat on the edge of the bed, speaking in a low voice to Zhao Ping.

“Daland, you lost your temper this time. Don’t beat Qiuyue again in the future. If you really beat her to death, will you marry again? If you marry again, some things might not be able to be hidden. If you don’t marry again, people will be suspicious, not to mention that you can’t live well alone.”

She felt that Zhu Qiuyue deserved to be beaten for resisting the man in the house.

But discipline was one thing, and taking a life was another.

If she was really beaten to death, it would be a troublesome matter for the Zhao family.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of the yamen coming.

In this kind of matter, as long as you gave some money to the in-laws and asked them to tell the yamen not to pursue the matter, everything would be fine.

It was that she was afraid that the secret that her Daland couldn’t have children wouldn’t be able to be kept.

Marrying a woman who couldn’t have children was the woman’s fault, but if you married a second one who still couldn’t have children, people would always be suspicious.

Zhao Ping also thought of the key point, clenching his fists, half of his face in shadow.

“I understand, Mom.”

Zhao Laotai nodded reassuringly.

“By the way, if the ge’er that Erlang is keeping outside gives birth to a boy, then don’t look for Baogen anymore. Anyway, we’ll know the gender of the child in a month or so. If it’s really a boy, we won’t have to pay more tax money when we go to the yamen to cancel the household registration.”

Zhao Ping nodded in agreement, hoping in his heart that it would be a boy. He had dreamed of having a son.

*

Recently, peddlers entering and leaving Yunshui County were being checked very strictly. The peddlers gathered together to exchange information. They usually went through the streets and alleys, and they had the most up-to-date news.

In a few words, they understood why they were being checked so strictly.

It turned out that there was a child snatcher who often pretended to be a peddler to abduct children.

The shopkeepers of various “ya hang” (brokerage firms) were also called to the county yamen. The officials repeatedly said that they were not allowed to take in abducted people.

The shopkeepers nodded as usual, no matter what they said.

As for how to operate specifically… as long as it didn’t violate the law on the surface.

Lin Qingyu, who was peeking behind the screen, knew that these people were fooling him just by looking at their expressions.

Child abduction cases were more difficult to investigate than murder cases.

As long as people were abducted and left the area, even if they went to another county, it would bring great difficulties to the tracking.

Different jurisdictions, different county magistrates, different political factions.

If you were lucky, the county magistrate of the county involved was an accomplice, and he would be willing to help you and look for people in their jurisdiction.

But once or twice was okay, not more than that.

By the time they applied for an entry and exit order from the prefectural yamen, the traffickers would have already taken the abducted people.

If you were unlucky and met a different political faction, they would make things difficult for you even if you had an entry and exit order.

For no other reason than to lower your political achievements.

The “peddler” had been reported a year ago.

At that time, the yamen had already started investigating.

But the other party was very slippery and couldn’t be caught at all.

Even if they were caught, the number of people reporting the case was too small, and if the people who were confirmed to have been abducted were alive and well, the most they would do was fine them and imprison them for a few months.

Accumulated over a year, the number of people reporting the case exceeded ten, which was considered a major case in the county.

In this case, even if all the abducted people were alive, it was enough for this person to spend several years in prison.

Lin Qingyu had been holding back for a year, just for this moment.

He had reminded the “ya hang” to stop those small actions in the future.

At least during his term of office, they were not allowed to have them.

If they were caught and punished for violating the law later, they couldn’t blame him, the “father and mother official,” for not treating them like children.

Quietly retreating, Lin Qingyu noted down the names of the people he cared least about.

After going out, he asked the clerk to keep a closer eye on those three “ya hang” during the search operation in two days.

After instructing this matter, Lin Qingyu stroked his beard, thinking of a clever plan.

He slowly said, “Today, send people to post notices in all towns and villages to publicize. Anyone who has news about the peddler or the children he abducted, as long as they come to the yamen to inform us and it is confirmed to be useful, there will be a reward of five taels of gold.”

Gold and silver were different.

Five taels of gold could be exchanged for fifty taels of silver.

The clerk’s eyes widened as he listened. Fifty taels of silver just for moving his lips!

He only knew that the county magistrate was rich, but he had underestimated how rich he was.

“Sir, can the information we find out count?”

Lin Qingyu nodded, not caring about the money. “It can count.”

He glanced slightly, his gaze sweeping over the clerk’s excited and flushed face.

He said casually, “But if this official finds out that someone is stealing information from the people, however much they take, this official will make them swallow that much gold.”

The excited mood was like being poured a basin of ice water, freezing the clerk so that he shivered.

Swallowing gold, that was life-threatening.

All the crooked thoughts disappeared at this moment. The clerk cupped his hands in salute, accepted the order, and withdrew.

The news spread by the Yunshui County Yamen caused a great storm throughout Yunshui County.

Where had the common people seen so much reward money?

In the “ya hang” of Yunxia Town, Zhao Baochai suddenly grabbed the hem of his pants on the outside of his thighs after hearing the clerk announce the reward. He stood unsteadily, excited and agitated.

He took a step back before standing firm again, his face showing a deranged look.

He knew all the information the yamen wanted!

Five taels of gold for a piece of news!

Zhao Baochai was really going to make a fortune!