Chapter 162: Catching the Thief Who Steals Vegetables
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Han Qiao was a good mother who loved her children.
She was also very good at teaching them.
This child, Han Chi, was smart and quick-witted. She had the heart to teach him well and make him successful in the future.
He didn’t let down his sincere desire to call her mother.
He was so eager because he wanted to perform well and get a compliment from her.
She was not stingy with her praise and also had requests.
At night, she said to Heng Yi, “You should find a good horse for Ah-Chi. If nothing goes wrong, this horse will accompany him for many years. Choose a good one. We have money.”
Since Han Qiao said so, Heng Yi naturally understood.
“Don’t worry, I’ll find a good horse for you.”
“A good horse deserves a good saddle. You should also go and ask around to see which family has better saddles and horsewhips. Order a few more sets so that you can also use them in the future.”
Ever since she was pregnant, Han Qiao had always spoken in a gentle voice to stabilize her emotions and give the child a good maternal environment. She hoped that prenatal education would be effective and that she would give birth to a gentle and kind child in the future.
Heng Yi nodded.
He rubbed Han Qiao’s legs.
She wasn’t swollen yet, and her legs weren’t cramped. It was better to ma.s.sage her now than when she really felt uncomfortable in the future.
If Heng Yi was willing to do these things, Han Qiao wouldn’t push him away. This child wasn’t hers alone. Since they were husband and wife, they should share the responsibilities together.
After rubbing for a while, Han Qiao yawned sleepily and quickly fell asleep.
Heng Yi sat and looked at her for a while, then quietly got up and moved the brazier outside. He opened the window a little.
Actually, he didn’t know that putting a brazier in the house would suffocate people.
However, Han Qiao clearly knew more than him, and it was based on evidence. He believed it without a doubt.
On New Year’s Day, the weather was good, and the sky was clear in the morning. Although it was a little cold, it was a good day.
Heng Yi wanted to go hunting.
Seeing that Han Qiao was still asleep, he told Duan Yue to inform his wife about his whereabouts and take Bai Cha with him before riding out of the city and into the mountains.
On his way out, the two of them talked about some unimportant things.
“Big Brother, do you want to go to the manor to take a look?”
“In a while, we’ll put the horses there.”
However, Heng Yi didn’t expect that they would run into the Ming family stealing vegetables, and the Ming family didn’t expect to be caught red-handed.
” L-Lord Heng…”
It was simply embarra.s.sing.
“I’m in a hurry to enter the mountain. I’ll see how much you stole when 1 come back. If you need to compensate me, report it to the authorities.” Heng Yi didn’t want to waste his breath on them. To be honest, he didn’t have a good impression of the Ming family.
The two Ming brothers were frightened.
Was it necessary to report the order to the officials?
However, Heng Yi ignored them, and so did Bai Chi. They tied up their horses and went into the mountains.
“Big Brother, What should we do?”
“Go home and ask your father for the ‘Death’.”
In the past, he had to rely on the Zhong family for food and clothing. It didn’t matter if he used more or less, and he didn’t have to hand over much. However, it was different now. Everything was his own. He needed money to eat, drink, and pee. Although he had a new house, it wasn’t easy to live there.
These people needed money to buy vegetables. Since there were so many crops here, they came to steal some.
The little vegetables planted by the Heng family were tender and green, and they were delicious when fried.
It was not the first time they did this. If they were not discovered, it would not be their last time either.
On the way into the mountain, Bai Cha asked Heng Yi, “Big Brother, what do you plan to do about the Mings?”
“Of course, I’m reporting to the authorities. Although it’s just some vegetables, 1 have to teach the Ming family a lesson and let them know that some people’s things are not so easy to steal.”
“Yes, Big Brother is right to do this. Your ident.i.ty is different, so you have to stand up,” Bai Cha told Heng Yi about his experience in dealing with people.
Even though Bai Cha was only a servant, he was much more knowledgeable than Heng Yi.
Heng Yi wanted to take Bai Cha with him. Although it might sound unpleasant, he wanted Bai Cha to work without receiving any salary. On the surface, it was to serve him, but in fact, it was to make contributions.
There was no need to mention small contributions once or twice, but after making a great contribution, there might be a way to slowly get a good household registration.
Heng Yi could think this far because one, he had a kind heart, then two, Han Qiao gave him ideas.
The government office wouldn’t reject a person who worked for free.
In fact, the smarter people could already guess what Heng Yi wanted to do.
No matter what, Bai Cha would do his best to help Heng Yi.
His knowledge and experience were something that Heng Yi and many ordinary people could never learn in their entire lives.
The two brothers of the Ming family went home in a panic and told their father that they had been caught stealing vegetables. Uncle Ming’s face instantly darkened.
“Didn’t you say that you bought those vegetables?”
The two brothers remained silent.
Uncle Ming was so angry that he almost fainted, “A dog can’t change its ways.” “You two don’t want to live a good life, but you want to steal that little dish. Do you think he’s still a hunter with no one to rely on? He is now an officer in the government office!”
The two Ming brothers were stunned, “Father, what should we do?”
This matter could be turned big or small. The vegetables themselves were not worth much.
However, if Heng Yi reported this to the authorities, their reputation in the village would be ruined, and it would be difficult for them to live in peace.
“Stupid kids.”
It was not just stupid, it was simply too foolish.
Just for the sake of having a few vegetables.
“Father…”
“Go to the intersection and wait.”
This matter had to be curbed. Otherwise, if it spread or reached the government office, their entire family would be finished.
Where did they get the money to redeem themselves? It was a tacit understanding in itself. If they made a fuss, the whole family would be too ashamed to face anyone.
Young Master was kind and saw through it but did not expose it. It was also because they were not kind. The Zhong family had gone through a great disaster and they had even benefited from it.
Uncle Ming stood under the eaves and sighed deeply.
He had a feeling that after moving out of that manor, his days were getting duller and duller.
Meanwhile, in the Heng Manor…
When Han Qiao woke up in the morning, the sun was already out. She stood in the courtyard and basked in the sun for a while. She even slowly exercised for a while before going to see her grandparents and children.
The children had already started learning without her needing to urge them.
Lady Lin taught the five children, including He Cheng, who now could sit still and learn to read with the older kids.
She found Butler Hu and asked him to write a notice outside the city saying that the Heng family was going to harvest winter bamboo shoots.
Or to be specific, she would pay one coin per catty of bamboo shoots buried in the ground.
“Even the sh.e.l.l, Madam?”
“Yes, even the sh.e.l.l will cost one coin per catty. After a few days, when there are more bamboo shoots, it would cost one coin for two catties or three catties. There will be a difference.”
“Alright,” Butler Hu wrote it according to Han Qiao’s instructions and showed it to her.
Han Qiao looked at it seriously. Many of the words were based on guesses. Then, she asked Uncle Hu.
Uncle Hu had been a little reserved in the beginning, but after experiencing some things, he realized that Han Qiao was smarter and more capable than he had imagined.
Hu Jiancheng was teaching the other children how to read and write, starting from memorizing the Three Character Cla.s.sic, so he asked Dong Lai to post them.
Gong Bing also brought his three fellow disciples over.
Although they were called brothers, they did not have the same master. They were only familiar with each other and realized that they share the same ancestor, so they called each other brothers. They seemed to be close and looked out for each other.
Since they were chefs, they didn’t lack food. The three of them were a little fat.
“Let’s go to the kitchen and make a specialty dish first.”
“Yes ”
The three of them were best at braised pork, braised fish, and soup.
Han Qiao took a bite. The saltiness was moderate and the taste was very good..