Chapter 5 (Part 2): The Culinary Tycoon

Catching a Thief

Chang Le quickly let go of the man’s hand and turned to face Chang Hao, gesturing to explain what had happened.

Chang Hao watched his brother’s gestures, nodding occasionally, his face displaying a hint of anger. Grandfather Chang also looked at the kneeling man with disgust.

The villagers couldn’t understand Chang Le’s gestures, but they could understand the expressions of Chang Hao’s expression. Their faces immediately turned serious. Wen Li, who had initially been watching for entertainment, and that Huzi, also had a change in expression.

This man must have done something bad and was caught!

After a while, Chang Le stopped gesturing, and the villagers turned their gaze towards Chang Hao.

Chang Hao turned his head, raised his hand, and pointed at the man, saying to everyone, “Village Chief Uncle, Uncles, my brother says this man was trying to steal our cow!”

What? Stealing a cow?

Cows were their most valuable possessions! In the entire village of forty to fifty households, there were only eight cows in total. Except for the three wealthier households, each having one cow, the other families had to pool their resources to buy cows. Some households couldn’t afford to buy even when they pooled their resources together!

Their farming, plowing, grinding, and transporting all relied on cows. And now someone was trying to steal their cows!

The villagers grew angry, glaring fiercely at the man.

“Take him to report to the officials! Someone like him deserves a lifetime in prison!”

“Yes! Send him to the authorities!”

Stealing cows was a serious crime.

The triangular-eyed man panicked upon hearing this and quickly denied it.

“Nonsense! I didn’t steal any cows! I just, I just…” The man struggled to find an excuse, stuttering for a while before saying, “I saw a snake in the water and helped the cowherd bring the cows up! Yes, that’s what happened!”

Upon hearing the man’s stuttering words and seeing his guilty expression and eyes, there was no need to ask any further.

The fact of stealing the cow was undeniable!

The Village Chief’s face turned serious. Adhering to the principles of presenting facts and requiring solid evidence for conviction, he asked Chang Hao cautiously, “What happened? Explain it clearly.”

Chang Hao replied, “My brother arrived early this afternoon. When he crossed the stream and reached the intersection, he saw that man forcefully pulling the rope of a water buffalo from the pond. The buffalo had already been brought onto the shore by him. If my brother hadn’t arrived, he would have driven the cow away for sure! As soon as he saw my brother, he ran, but my brother chased him all the way here and caught him!”

Upon hearing the mention of the “water buffalo in the pond near the intersection,” the Village Chief’s heart tightened. Wasn’t that their water buffalo?

“Nonsense! I didn’t steal any cows!” The triangular-eyed man never expected the mute boy to be able to explain, let alone describe the incident so accurately. However, he couldn’t admit to the crime, or his life would be ruined. He desperately struggled, trying to break free from the restraints. He needed to escape quickly.

“Stay still!” Although his left foot was injured, it didn’t affect the strength in his hands. With a forceful move, Yu Qingze pressed the man back down. “If you didn’t steal it, why did you run? Why are you so flustered? Guilty conscience!”

That’s right! If you didn’t steal, why did you run? The villagers wholeheartedly agreed.

Chang Hao snorted coldly and pointed towards the intersection, saying to the Village Chief, “Village Chief, the cow he was trying to steal is your big water buffalo. Look, our family’s basket is still over there.”

Everyone looked in that direction and saw the head of a cow peeking out from the water pond next to the intersection. There was indeed a basket placed by the roadside. After gaining its freedom, the cow had returned to the pond to cool off, only exposing its head and enjoying a comfortable bath, completely oblivious to the near-miss of being stolen.

Confirming that it was their own water buffalo, the Village Chief became furious.

He glared fiercely at his third son, who was hiding in the crowd, shaking upon the gaze of his father. If he couldn’t even watch over the prized water buffalo, what use was he?

Knowing that he had caused trouble, the Village Chief’s third son cowered behind the crowd, trembling. He would surely get beaten when he went home today.

With solid evidence and eyewitnesses, the Village Chief waved his hand and said, “Tie him up and take him to the authorities!”

A few men immediately fetched some ropes and securely tied up the cattle thief. Just as they were about to take him away, Chang Le suddenly remembered that the thief was carrying a large sack when he tried to escape. He tugged on his younger brother’s clothes and informed him about it.

“Wait,” Chang Hao called out to the Village Chief and the others, saying, “My brother says that the big sack over there belongs to this person too.”

A villager brought the sack from the water pond, opened it, and found it filled with stalks of rice grains cut by a knife.

“Wow, this little thief not only stole the cow but also stole rice!” Some villagers couldn’t hold back their anger and kicked the cattle thief a few times. Kicking him was the only way to relieve their fury!

Among the villagers was a boy, who had noticed that some of the rice stalks in his own field had been cut off, and now he knew it was this thief’s doing!

The cattle thief cowered, realizing that he had truly run into bad luck today, encountering a mute boy with incredible strength. He had intended to steal some rice and managed to steal half a sack. When he saw the water buffalo in the pond and the young cowherd sleeping, he couldn’t resist the temptation. But he never expected to be caught in the act.

This thief’s life was going to take a turn for the worse.

The Village Chief, accompanied by a few men, took the cattle thief to the county authorities. Chang Le, as the victim and witness of the theft, went along, and Chang Hao went as the translator.

Initially, Grandpa Chang was worried and wanted both grandsons to go together, but Chang Le stopped him. The round trip to the county town would take over an hour, and they didn’t know how long the proceedings would last. Grandpa Chang was getting older, and Chang Le didn’t want him to exert himself by running around.

So, Grandpa Chang and Yu Qingze stayed behind to thresh the grain. Without the two extra pairs of hands, they couldn’t finish the field and had to leave a portion for the next day. Chang Le didn’t go home, so they left the threshing machine in the field.

True to their expectations, the brothers came back very late, well past nine in the evening.

Food was left for them at home, and as Chang Hao ate, he recounted their visit to the county authorities, his face brimming with excitement.

It was their first time entering the county yamen and standing in court to punish the bad guys!

And he played such an important role as a translator! He was proud, wasn’t he?

Chang Le ate his food, watching his younger brother shaking his head and smiling helplessly.

According to Chang Hao, the cattle thief tried to escape on the way but was quickly caught and knocked down by the villagers. In order to prevent any further mischief, Chang Le simply carried the culprit all the way to the county authorities.

Once they were in court, the cattle thief initially refused to plead guilty and claimed to have been framed by the mute boy. But with Chang Le’s gestures and Chang Hao’s translations, the county magistrate verified the testimonies one by one. In the end, the cattle thief was given a severe beating with a bamboo paddle before finally confessing.

“Grandpa, Brother Yu, you won’t believe it, but that cattle thief was really wicked!” Chang Hao swallowed a mouthful of food, tantalizingly building up suspense.

Yu Qingze played along and asked, “How wicked was he?”

Chang Hao, with great kindness, told them, “That cattle thief was actually a habitual thief. This wasn’t his first time. Recently, he had stolen from every village in this area, specifically targeting people’s rice fields during the midday nap and at night. According to his confession, he had already stolen seven or eight bags of grain! He even served a one-year sentence before for theft. The county authorities said he had been released not long ago.”

Both Grandpa Chang and Yu Qingze were astonished to learn that they had caught a habitual thief.

“Oh, by the way! The county magistrate even praised my brother!” Chang Hao proudly puffed up his chest, as if the praise was directed at him.

Grandpa Chang and Yu Qingze couldn’t help but laugh at Chang Hao’s demeanor, and Chang Le gave his brother a playful slap. “Stop showing off!”

Yu Qingze teased him, “Oh really? How did they praise him?”

Ignoring his brother’s playful slap, Chang Hao’s face turned serious. He placed his hands flat on his lap, cleared his throat, and imitated the county magistrate’s tone, “Chang Le of Niutou Village, for capturing the thief and meritorious service, according to the law, is awarded one yuan of money.”

His imitation was spot-on and brought laughter to everyone. However, they were surprised to learn that the county authorities actually awarded him one yuan of money! Grandpa Chang and Yu Qingze were quite astonished.

Meanwhile, Chang Le set aside his bowl and took out a cloth pouch from his pocket, placing it on the table and opening it. One yuan of copper coins lay silently on the cloth.

One yuan of money could cover the expenses of an ordinary farming household for half a year.

After everyone had enjoyed the spectacle and had enough fun, Chang Le wrapped the yuan of money back up and handed it to Grandpa Chang.

Grandpa Chang waved his hand and smiled, telling Chang Le to keep it himself.

After Chang Hao finished showing off, he turned to Grandpa Chang and said, “Grandpa, Village Chief said that if we need oxen in the future, we can go to his place and borrow them first.”

Grandpa Chang smiled and said, “Alright, then we’ll be able to plow the fields faster from now on.”

Having caught the thief, received praise, and even obtained a reward, everyone was happy.

Yu Qingze looked at the wooden board in his hand, realizing that he needed to accelerate his own plans!

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