CHAPTER 464: CHAPTER 464: YUSHU VILLAGE

Elder Qin was overjoyed and took the poison and antidote that Gu Jinli handed him, saying, "With these two items, when the time comes to act, this old man will have some confidence in his heart."

Hearing this, Gu Jinli frowned and, looking at the fatigue on Elder Qin’s face, asked, "Grandpa Qin, has there been any change in Yushu Village?"

Elder Qin was a very composed old man, like a stabilizer, who regardless of how many tempests he faces, never wavers or complains. However, from his words, it seemed like there were difficulties with the operations in Yushu Village.

Elder Qin said, "It’s nothing major, just short on manpower. I’m old and have to keep an eye on that group day and night, which is tiring."

He patted the cloth bag containing the poison and smiled, "With what you’ve given me, I can breathe a sigh of relief. If it really comes down to it, the chances of victory are a bit higher than before."

Elder Qin was being somewhat evasive. San Lang had said he didn’t want Xiao Yu to take risks or to get her hands bloodied—such matters should be left to him.

Gu Jinli had figured it out.

She had investigated Zhang Niu’s group; they weren’t few in number, about thirty, but apart from Zhang Niu and his three confidants, the rest were weaklings. Elder Qin knew the tactic of capturing the leader first. With his skills, he alone could capture Zhang Niu and those three confidants.

As for the others, leaving them to the four soldiers from the Military Office to deal with would suffice. If not, they could issue a warrant later; he wouldn’t worry. Yet, he appeared concerned now.

Gu Jinli said to Elder Qin, "If there’s anything you need help with, just tell me."

Elder Qin laughed and said, "No need, no need. Although this old man is aged, dealing with Zhang Niu and his group is not a problem. You just help to secure the end of the village with Han Liu and the others."

Seeing that Elder Qin did not want to elaborate, Gu Jinli let it be. She stood up to go home and brought back a bag of bean dregs cakes and a bag of roasted unsalted soybeans for Elder Qin, "These bean dregs cakes and roasted soybeans have no added spices, so the scent is light. Cover them with some strong-smelling wild herbs. When you’re tailing someone, this way, Zhang Niu and his men won’t catch the scent."

Besides not making a sound, one must also avoid carrying items with a strong odor. Otherwise, the unusual smell might give one away.

Elder Qin accepted them and said, "Thank you, girl. You can go back and have Wang Yongfu and the others guard the village entrance. Don’t let unreliable people enter these next few days."

These days were the most dangerous, and they needed to be extra cautious.

"Alright, don’t worry," Gu Jinli said a few words to Elder Qin and then went home.

Elder Qin soon left with the items; he was currently staying outside Yushu Village with the personnel from the Military Office and not returning home overnight. It was fortunate that Elder Qin was present; without his scouting skills from his military days, the four soldiers from the Military Office alone wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on Zhang Niu and his men.

After Gu Jinli returned home, Third Grandma came running to ask, "Xiao Yu, what did Elder Qin tell you? How long will this matter take? It’s so nerve-wracking every day; I can’t even sleep peacefully at night."

Ever since the incident with County Magistrate Zou, their families had resumed taking turns keeping watch at night. Fortunately, this time they had Wang Yongfu, Old Zhu and his son, Han Liu, Mu Tong, and Ye Dakou, so the old man and Dashan didn’t have to keep watch and could stay home at night, otherwise, she’d be even more restless.

The other families, including Father Luo, Gu Dalin, and Gu Dafu, all had to go and keep watch.

Gu Jinli smiled and said, "Don’t worry, Third Grandma, we just need to endure a few more days for results."

Gu Jin’an had already followed Scholar Shang to the county and handed over the tokens given by the Zheng Family and the Shangguan Family. As long as the encircling operation succeeds and the river bandits are captured, they will be safe and won’t have to worry about the river bandits tracing back to the village through the Qin Brothers to cause harm.

Gu Jinli prepared the antidote with hot water, called the family members together, and had each of them drink a cup. After they finished, he distributed the antidote to them: "Hold onto this and remember to take it once every three days. Also take the poison; if you encounter danger, use the poison without hesitation."

Mrs. Cui was very scared, yet she merely clutched the medicine bag and Brother Cheng’s hand, "Hmm, mother remembers."

Brother Cheng said, "Second Sister, I remember too."

Gu Jinli smiled, pinched his little face, and said with a smile: "Good boy."

That evening, Village Chief He and He Dazhuang returned from the county town and immediately went to the edge of the village to report the county town’s news to Third Grandpa: "That cursed County Magistrate Zou is truly malevolent. He has actually been involved in selling good citizens, and a lot of them, it’s said he sold six to seven hundred people. It’s utterly conscienceless! All sold were men required for labor, each a key support for their families. How many households have been devastated?"

"My uncle lost both his eldest and second sons. At that time, the eldest had just married and hadn’t fathered a child yet, so he let the second son go for labor, saying he died, and because the place was too far to transport the body, he was buried locally, only the worn clothes of the second son were brought back to my uncle."

"Several years later, the eldest went for labor and was also said to have died. When my uncle received the news, he passed away from shock in one breath, luckily the eldest had a son, otherwise, their family line would have ended."

"Also, over at the Lu Family, even an uncle of Lu Tianya was sold! Humph, that was even a cousin of Old Master Lu, and for County Magistrate Zou to sell him, it really serves the Lu Family right."

Village Chief He cursed County Magistrate Zou for 30 minutes, and only stopped when he was tired.

Third Grandpa asked, "With the situation being this severe, what did the Lord County Magistrate say?"

Village Chief He replied, "The Lord County Magistrate said this matter is too significant and beyond his authority, it needs to be reported to the Magistrate Government Office. In a few days, the Magistrate Government Office will send someone to investigate, and then we’ll have our say."

Third Grandpa nodded, "That is how it should be, this matter is no longer just about Tianfu County, but concerns the whole He’an Prefecture."

He sighed again, "County Magistrate Xu is a good official. He’s almost reassigned yet still helped us with this case."

Village Chief He nodded, "Old man also didn’t expect this. I always thought County Magistrate Xu was timid and afraid to offend people, but who could have predicted that he would act so courageously before leaving."

After talking with Third Grandpa for a while, Village Chief He stood up to leave.

Before leaving, Third Grandpa reminded him, "The matter with County Magistrate Zou has disturbed the peace in the whole Tianfu County, our village should also wake up to some extent, to prevent troublemakers from sneaking into the village during the chaos."

Village Chief He responded, "Brother Gu is right, I will talk to the villagers and have them patrol the village, not allowing strangers to enter the village freely, we’ll discuss further after County Magistrate Zou is dealt with."

Village Chief He had just come back from the county town, and he still remembered the crowded scene of farmers in the county town, with everyone crying and cursing; the thought alone terrified him. Fortunately, County Captain Jiang was there to keep order, otherwise, it truly could have turned disastrous.

In the following days, the entire Tianfu County remained tumultuous, with County Magistrate Xu overwhelmed by the crises.

After Magistrate Liang received the letter from County Magistrate Xu, he was significantly alarmed and immediately sent people to Tianfu County to assist County Magistrate Xu with the matter of County Magistrate Zou selling citizens.

When people from the Prefecture Government Office arrived, a group also rushed from the Prefecture to Tianfu County, but instead of going to the county town, they headed straight for Yushu Village.