Chapter 295: Chapter 295: Paying Out of Pocket for Clues
"What? The Weston Village is enjoying lavish meals? Don’t be ridiculous, their village is so poor they could eat dirt, let alone lavish meals."
"Weston Village? Poor! So poor that no girl is willing to marry into their village anymore."
"Poor indeed! During famine years, other villages barely move, while they are the first to rush out to find food."
Listening to the news about Weston Village, both Qi Ercai and Qi Quanjin felt heavier at heart, and they began to form a rough guess about why the villagers might have harmed the two children.
Because of extreme poverty, in comparison, Yongping Village is in the heaven, while Weston Village is on the ground.
As they say, desolate hills and bad waters breed unruly people.
This time, it seems like Weston Village’s unruly folks have burst forth.
As soon as the two met, Qi Ercai shared the information he gathered with Qi Quanjin.
Qi Quanjin did not delay and hurried to bring it to Yi Meng.
Yi Meng frowned after hearing it, staring at the ten or so people kneeling in the middle, and only after a long while did he whisper, "Brother Jin, something’s not right."
"What do you mean?"
"Based on the information you gathered, the people in Weston Village should be in a state of barely making ends meet, but look at those people’s appearances."
Yi Meng slightly raised his chin, "Apart from those who are not from the village chief’s family, do the others look like people who are constantly underfed?"
Qi Quanjin looked accordingly.
That family, referred to as the village chief’s household by the people around, while not corpulent, about eight out of ten have shiny faces and some meat on their bones.
Clearly, they’re not in a chronic underfed state.
"I’m going to find Brother Liu."
With a heavy heart, Qi Quanjin quickly passed through the crowd and headed towards Liu Qinghe.
At that moment, Liu Qinghe was talking with someone on the side of the surrounding government officials, seemingly giving some instructions.
Noticing Qi Quanjin approaching, he gave some orders to his subordinates standing nearby, then walked towards Qi Quanjin to meet him.
"Brother Quanjin, what’s up?"
Although Liu Qinghe doesn’t usually have a cheerful face, you could see a hint of a smile.
However, as he approached and noticed Qi Quanjin’s unpleasant expression, he retracted his smile and his tone became noticeably tense, "What’s happened?"
"Brother Liu, can I have a word with you?"
"Over here."
Liu Qinghe hurriedly led him to a quieter spot without people around.
Looking around, Qi Quanjin confirmed that no one was paying attention before he quietly summarized the information he had gathered to Liu Qinghe.
He didn’t forget to remind, "Brother Liu, we aren’t local residents here, and we don’t really know about the villages."
"What I just told you was just what we heard from others. There’s nothing much about it, we just feel that since Weston Village is so poor, why does that whole family live like they’ve never experienced hardship?"
"Maybe the village chief’s family is living the high life at the expense of the villagers. If so, even without our children Manbao and Xiao Shi’s incident, they’re not good people."
Liu Qinghe was at a loss for words after listening to Qi Quanjin’s point.
After some thought, Liu Qinghe then said, "Brother Quanjin, today we are judging their intention to harm your two children. You can see we’re all here, there’s no time to address other things."
Liu Qinghe was in a dilemma.
In his opinion, whether the village chief of Weston Village was exploiting the people or not, it wouldn’t change these people’s fate.
The County Magistrate already intended to build good relations with Yongping Village, but these people caused such a mess, the County Magistrate certainly wouldn’t let them go easily.
But since Qi Quanjin specifically wanted to discuss this matter, Liu Qinghe felt that he wanted to pursue this lead.
If so, it would certainly affect the County Magistrate’s plan for the day.
Liu Qinghe was conflicted about choosing between altering the County Magistrate’s plan or disappointing Qi Quanjin.
Qi Quanjin, however, hadn’t thought so much and directly said, "Brother Liu, the matter with our family is a personal grudge, but if they are living lavishly off the innocent villagers’ backs, it’s public outrage."
"Brother Liu, I know this puts you in a difficult position. How about this, I offer to personally talk with the County Magistrate, and if he holds it against us, I’ll bear all the blame, and not implicate you at all, how about that?"
As Qi Quanjin spoke, he realized it felt wrong and expressed his apologies and sincerity as he noticed Liu Qinghe’s predicament.
Unexpectedly, Liu Qinghe’s face changed, and he scolded lowly, "What do you mean by that? Do you see me, Liu Qinghe, as such a cowardly person?"
"Brother Liu, I..."
Qi Quanjin tried to explain but was stopped by Liu Qinghe raising his hand, "You don’t need to say any more, just go back and wait."
After saying that, Liu Qinghe turned and hurried towards the government office.
This matter had to be quickly reported, otherwise, when the County Magistrate arrived, there might be other problems if it’s mentioned then.
After rushing, Liu Qinghe finally intercepted Hu Kaicheng just as he arrived at the front and was yet to reach the main gate of the office.
"Sir, sir, I have an urgent matter to report!"
Liu Qinghe quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and only after Hu Kaicheng inquired about the matter, did he explain what Qi Quanjin had said.
"Sir, Qi Quanjin said that the grudges against his family are personal grievances, but if the village chief’s family in Weston Village is exploiting the villagers, it’s public outrage."
"From what it sounds like, he seems to want to pacify the public outrage first, and then address their personal grievance."
As Liu Qinghe spoke, he observed Hu Kaicheng’s reaction covertly.
If the County Magistrate showed the slightest displeasure, he’d immediately find a way to smooth things over, ensuring neither he nor the Qi family was dissatisfied at all.
Hu Kaicheng stood there, frowning, without immediately showing disapproval or any other emotion.
After a moment, Hu Kaicheng said to Liu Qinghe, "You take a few people and go to Weston Village. Wait, I’ll give you a written order, and then thoroughly search the village chief’s family. Also, tell the villagers, if anyone provides leads, rewards will vary between fifty coins to ten taels of silver based on the importance and authenticity of the information."
With those words, not only Liu Qinghe, even the steward beside Hu Kaicheng was dumbfounded.
Hu Kaicheng continued, "You can set the price reasonably, don’t be too outrageous. I’ll give you fifty taels of silver in a moment, just use this money for the rewards."
"... Understood!"
Liu Qinghe snapped back from his shock, though he didn’t understand, it didn’t affect him in taking on the task.
Investigating a case wasn’t a first.
But for the County Magistrate to use his own money to buy leads, it was definitely a first.
At this moment, Liu Qinghe realized even more deeply the importance the County Magistrate placed on the Qi family.
