Ye Xiaotian brought the family of three to a snack bar at the foot of the mountain, followed by Li Yuncong and another runner.
The shopkeeper was reprimanding a waiter, "You must be diligent in your work. When there are no customers, wipe the tables, arrange the stools, and sweep the floor. If you see a customer running out of food or wine, ask them about it. If you move your mouth, you may sell a jar of wine or a few more dishes.
When you speak to a customer, you need to be a bit more sweet. You are a poor laborer, so calling someone 'Uncle' won't make you feel bad. Oh right, do you know how to speak Miao or Yi dialect? Yesterday, there was an idiot who only knew how to speak in Beijing Mandarin. He wanted to be a waiter in my shop … "
Ye Xiaotian hurriedly turned around, "This one doesn't look very clean. Come, let's go to that one."
Hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately pointed at the new waiter and said, "Look, you've made the customer sick of you. Hurry up and wipe the tables! "
After reprimanding the waiter, the shopkeeper quickly chased after him. Ye Xiaotian had already walked with large strides to the entrance of another snack bar. The old shopkeeper of this shop was wearing a dark green coarse shirt with a green headscarf draped over his head and a handkerchief draped over his shoulder. His back was stooped and he humbly greeted him. The shopkeeper who had just caught up to him walked back resentfully.
Ye Xiaotian said to the shopkeeper, "Three servings of breakfast."
The shopkeeper hurriedly complied and hurried to the kitchen to give the order.
Li Yuncong frowned and muttered to himself, "Where did he get the money from? Did he commit a crime, or did he hide it on him?"
The runner beside him said, "Dianli, in my opinion, he must have stolen it. If he had the money yesterday, why would his family starve? "
"Stole it?" Li Yuncong's eyes lit up and he turned to look at the street.
There were many people on the street. Two young men were walking very slowly, their eyes constantly darting left and right. When they saw someone wearing extravagant clothing or shopping extravagantly, they would quietly approach that person. At this moment, they were following behind a middle-aged man wearing a copper coin embroidered outer robe.
Li Yuncong's eyes lit up and immediately went over, cupping his hands in greeting, "Good morning, Officer Hong."
"Ah! Good morning, Mr Li. "
Officer Hong was counting his prayer beads. When he saw Li Yuncong, he quickly returned the greeting with a smile. The two men stopped and chatted for a while. Suddenly a monk passed by with an alms bowl in his hand. Hong Yuanwai quickly took out some money and respectfully placed it in the monk's bowl. He put his palms together and repeatedly said, "Amitabha."
He put his palms together and said, "Amitabha of the Officer Hong of the Buddha of the Buddha."
Hong Yuanwai respectfully sent the monk off with his eyes. Then he turned to Li Yuncong and said with a smile, "Reverend Hui Neng of Qian Chuan Temple said I have the root of wisdom, a good seedling to cultivate Buddhism. A pity, of of of me of my of. of a pity, I have. When I can can, he of of of of Monk of a family of. of. of of of.
Li Yuncong quickly said, "Ah, your son is already of a family. Officer Hong should be waiting for a grandson to enjoy the happiness of a family. Now, as a Buddhist monk, you can also cultivate your Buddhist nature. Why must you become a monk? "
The two young men following Officer Hong saw Officer Li and Officer Hong talking. They frowned and wanted to walk away. Li Yuncong and Officer Hong chatted for a while more, then cupped his hands in farewell. He immediately caught up with the two young men and coldly said, "You two have big guts. Hong Baichuan is a famous philanthropist in this county. You dare to have ideas about him?"
The two young men quickly smiled apologetically and bowed, "Master Li, you are magnanimous. We have eyes but cannot see. We won't dare to do it again."
Li Yuncong's face turned cold, "Less nonsense! I have a task for you to do. If you do it well, it's fine. If you don't, you will be arrested and beaten. "
The two thieves quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes. Master Li, please instruct us."
Li Yuncong pointed at the shop where Ye Xiaotian and the others are. He said, "Do you see the family sitting in the shop?"
The two thieves looked at each other and said, "Yes, Master Li, you want to …"
Li Yuncong said, "Go and steal all their money. If there is even one coin left, you can forget about staying in Gourd County!"
"Ah?"
The two thieves never thought that the county government official would ask them to steal things. They looked at each other and asked cautiously, "Master Li, are we really going to steal?"
Li Yuncong glared at them and scolded, "Nonsense! Do you know how to do other things? "
A thief stealthily glanced at the people following behind Li Yuncong. Although they were dressed casually, with their eyesight, they could tell at a glance that they were the attendants of an official. With an embarrassed smile, they said, "Master Li, we are usually very respectful to you. Please don't set a trap for us."
Li Yuncong snorted and said, "Why should I catch you? Even I don't have enough money to pay you. Do you think there's a free prison meal for you in the county government? Cut the crap and go! "
The other thief said, "Yes, yes, yes. This is what Master Li told us to do. After we steal the money, we will immediately give it to Master Li. "
Li Yuncong waved his hand and lightly said, "The money you steal will be your reward. As long as you do this, he will not have a single coin left. "
The two thieves agreed and quietly stared at Ye Xiaotian and his entourage. Ye Xiaotian did not notice anything. After breakfast, the family went to buy a basket full of bamboo shoots for Fuwa, who had not eaten yet. Fuwa happily followed behind Ye Xiaotian. It also knew that only this person could solve its food problem.
Then the family went to buy grain. Ye Xiaotian planned to temporarily live in the local god's temple. He did not need anything else, but he still needed to buy grain. Ye Xiaotian came to the grain store and negotiated the price of a bucket of rice with the shopkeeper. He reached into his pocket and his face suddenly changed.
Shuiwu asked, "Brother Ye, what's wrong?"
The shopkeeper looked at Ye Xiaotian's face and understood. He couldn't help but say, "Sir, don't be careless on the way and let the thieves steal your money?"
Ye Xiaotian's mind flashed like a spark. He suddenly remembered that he was bumped into by a man who came out of the alley. Could it be …
Ye Xiaotian immediately said to Shuiwu, "You guys wait here, don't run around!"
Ye Xiaotian rushed out of the grain store. The place where he bumped into the man was not far away. It was at the entrance of the alley. Ye Xiaotian ran to the entrance of the alley and chased after the man for a while. He saw the man and another man walking side by side, talking and laughing.
Ye Xiaotian roared, "Stop right there!"
When the two men heard his footsteps, they turned around and saw him. Ye Xiaotian roared at the same time, and the two of them had already broken into a mad dash. As they ran, Ye Xiaotian was even more certain that they were the ones who had stolen the pouch, and immediately chased after them with all his might.
A pair of beautiful pink thighs appeared on the side of the road. It was another Miao girl in a short skirt. But Ye Xiaotian had no time to look at her. In his eyes, the two shifty-eyed fellows in front of him were much more attractive than this Miao girl in a short skirt.
Ye Xiaotian couldn't help but be anxious. If the money was stolen, they would really have nowhere to go. In the eyes of Xue Shuiwu and Le Yao, he was the sky, the pillar that they relied on to survive. He didn't want them to run into obstacles and suffer with him. They were even more disappointed in him.
Ye Xiaotian's thoughts were not because of his vanity. When necessary, he would not hesitate to show weakness to the enemy. A child who had grown up in the imperial prison and lived in the streets would not value his reputation above all else.
But he cared about Xue Shuiwu and Le Yao. He even cared about that Fuwa that ate non-stop all day. He was a family man. Even though he and Xue Shuiwu were not related by blood and were not husband and wife, but emotionally, he had already treated them as his family.
This kind of feeling was not simply because he wanted to marry a beautiful, literate and good woman as his wife. It was a kind of kinship that had naturally been born along the way. Even though Shuiwu was already married and could not marry him, he could not treat her and Yaoyao as passersby anymore.
As they chased, a short and fat man dressed in purple satin and a purple scarf appeared at the intersection ahead. The man twisted his slender waist and held a handkerchief in his hand. He was escorted by five or six young men.
When Ye Xiaotian saw this person, his expression changed. It was a narrow road for enemies. Why was Brother Fengling here?
If Ye Xiaotian had walked calmly on the street, Fengling might not have recognized him. But he was chasing after the two thieves. How could Fengling not see him? Fengling took a closer look and her eyes widened. She pointed with her orchid fingers and said, "Good, you still dare to show yourself. Catch him for me!"
The group of youths behind Fengling immediately rushed forward and pounced on Ye Xiaotian. Ye Xiaotian braked suddenly. With one leg in the air, he slid more than ten feet on the bluestone road. Then he turned around in the air and fled.
Ye Xiaotian hurriedly fled five streets. The group of people behind him still relentlessly chased after him. They had good stamina. As for Li Yuncong and the yamen runner, they had long been left behind. As Ye Xiaotian ran until his legs were weak, a group of people suddenly came out of the inn in front of him.
"Eh? It's you! " Like the stars surrounding the moon, a girl stood in the middle of the group. She was dressed in silver ornaments. She was pretty and lively. It was Zhan Ning 'er. Zhan Ning 'er looked at Ye Xiaotian curiously and said, "You came to find me so quickly? There's no need to run so fast. "
At this time, the group of people behind them had already caught up. When they saw the group of people in front of them blocking Ye Xiaotian, they immediately shouted, "Quickly stop him. He's a thief! He's the thief who snuck into my 'Toad Palace Garden' to steal money and clothes last night! "
"What?"
When Zhan Ning 'er heard this, her expression suddenly changed!
Steal money and clothes? From another angle, this explained why he was dressed like that at 'Toad Palace Garden' yesterday. Zhan Ning 'er was already suspicious of how he had succumbed to the current situation so quickly and settled down to engage in such a lowly business. After hearing his words, she immediately understood that she had been tricked by him again. The emotional reason from last night was probably all fake.
Zhan Ning 'er was furious, "Good lad! You lied to me again! "
The moment the tigress showed her might, she unsheathed her treasured sword and pointed it forward. She saw that Ye Xiaotian was already ten feet away, swinging his arms and legs as he ran away.
"Chase after him!" With Zhan Ning's order, a dozen men of the Miao Family immediately joined in the chase to kill Ye Xiaotian … …
… …
County Magistrate Meng and Register Wang walked out of the yamen side by side. When the officials who were entering and exiting the yamen saw them, they quickly moved to the side of the road and greeted them.
County Magistrate Meng smiled, "Today is Qi Mu's birthday, Register Wang has to give him some face no matter what. I invited you personally, you can't refuse."
Register Wang put on a fake smile and said, "County Magistrate, you're too courteous. You only need to let someone know, there's no need for you to come personally. "
As the two of them were talking, they arrived at the entrance of the yamen. Suddenly, a figure jumped in from outside the door, panting heavily like a dog that had been chased by someone. County Magistrate Meng and Register Wang were stunned when they saw this person. They asked in surprise, "You … you're in such a hurry, what are you trying to do?"
Ye Xiaotian put one hand on his back and the other on his chest. He said breathlessly, "I … I'm here to be an official!"
