sbdcsierra Chapter 21 is all about proving the murderer's innocence!
Chapter 21 is all about proving the murderer's innocence!
Inside the yamen (government office) of Anping County—
Constable Chen brought the news of the investigation back to the county government office.
"Impossible! I absolutely did not make a mistake!"
When the gang leader heard Constable Chen say that it wasn't Xia Moshi who went to smash up the casino, he immediately became excited and shouted.
Constable Chen argued: "It takes half an hour to travel one way from Anping County to Anjia Village, and an hour to go back and forth. When I arrived, the little girl had already been hunting wild animals in the mountains an hour earlier."
"No, I'm sure, the person who smashed up the casino was Xia Mo!" The gang leader looked down at the pain in his toes, recalling the figure he had seen inside the casino, and was absolutely certain.
“The girl was not alone; there were also villagers with her,” Officer Chen said again.
The aggrieved leader couldn't accept it, his eyes widening in anger, veins bulging on his forehead.
He knew perfectly well who the culprit was who smashed up the casino! But all the evidence pointed to the culprit's innocence!
The ringleader was in a daze, emotionally agitated, and unable to accept this reality.
"There were 22 thugs present when she smashed up the casino! They can all testify to that, as can the seven thugs who went to Anjia Village with me!" The gang leader was extremely aggrieved.
Officer Chen said, "The young girl has time to prove it, and there are witnesses. I've also interviewed them. Unless she can fly or disappear like in the stories, it's impossible!"
The leader's body jolted violently as if he had been electrocuted, his mind filled with thoughts of "flying and disappearing into the ground"!
* * *
Early the next morning—
Beside the morning market street in Anping County —
The entire Xia family arrived and set up a stall selling smoked wild game next to the market.
There were many people at the market in the morning, but the Xia family set their prices high, and several groups of people had already come just to ask about the prices.
Xia's mother whispered to Xia's father, "How about... we lower the price a little?"
“Mom and Dad, no, that won’t do,” Xia Mo suggested softly. “We sell smoked wild game. If we lower the price to that of smoked domestic game, it won’t stand out.”
"This... don't stick your head out, stand in the back," Xia's mother thought Xia Mo was right, but then realized that Xia Mo was sticking her head out, so she hurriedly blocked her from behind.
"Mom and Dad, look at them selling things, they all shout out their wares. Should we try it too?" Xia Mo suggested softly.
Xia Mo didn't know how to set up a stall, but her divine sense condensed into fine threads and she walked through all three streets with morning markets, coming to the conclusion that the stalls where vendors hawked their wares sold out quickly.
"This……"
Xia's father and mother couldn't bring themselves to say no.
After giving her family a sweet, ingratiating smile at the end of summer, Xia Mo opened her mouth and shouted loudly into the street.
"They've smoked wild game, and I guarantee it's all wild game caught in the mountains!"
The Xia family was startled and quickly shielded Xia Mo behind them, hiding her well, fearing that she might be targeted by someone with ill intentions.
The people on the street all strangely heard Xia Mo's voice, clear and sweet, which refreshed their spirits and made them feel inexplicably happy.
Xia Mo used a bit of her mental energy to amplify her voice.
Immediately, people passing by the Xia family's smoked wild game stall turned their heads to look at the Xia family members, curiously trying to figure out where that clear and sweet voice had come from.
Xia's father and the others gave awkward, forced laughs to the dozens of people looking over, and said sheepishly, "My stall sells smoked meat made from wild game from the mountains, hehe..."
Seeing her family's tense and embarrassed expressions, Xia Mo couldn't help but smile.
She enjoys spending time with her family and cherishes every moment spent with them, which warms her heart.
"Is it really made from wild game hunted in the mountains and then smoked?"
Xia Mo's shout just now caused several customers to stop in front of the stall.
Xia Mo whispered, "Mom and Dad, we can slice off a small piece of smoked meat and let the guests taste it."
Xia's father and mother looked nervously at the five customers standing in front of the stall.
The five guests who had stopped looked up curiously at Xia Mo, who was completely obscured. They couldn't see anyone, but they were certain that the pleasant voice was coming from behind.
Brother Xia and Brother Xia's second brother nervously covered Xia Mo even more tightly.
Xia Mo knew about her father's worries. In fact, after arriving in the county town, she had used her mental power to temporarily put an illusion on her face, just like last time. Only people with upright minds would see her appearance remain unchanged.
Mr. Xia hadn't seen any other stalls offering samples, but his youngest daughter suggested it. He took out a small knife, sliced five very thick pieces of smoked meat, and handed them to the five customers who were standing in front of the stall.
"It doesn't taste fishy at all!"
"The meat smells so good!"
"It tastes amazing!"
Three guests couldn't help but exclaim their praise, while the other two, who had tasted the delicious food, suppressed their excitement at discovering something good and couldn't help but roll their eyes at the three guests who had spoken up.
If they've already praised it so much, how can you negotiate a lower price?
“We sell these at the restaurant. These are 300 coins each, which is too expensive. Let’s lower the price to 150 coins each. I’ll buy all of these from your stall,” said Customer A, the restaurant’s purchasing agent.
"I'm also a purchasing agent for the restaurant. I'll buy everything from your stall. I'll pay 160 coins per piece!" Customer B chimed in.
"I'll pay two hundred coins for one, and I'll buy everything else from your stall," said customer C, who was clearly also out shopping.
"At your price, I'll buy all the smoked wild game from your stall. If you can still produce this flavor in the future, you can continue to go to the county town, to the Wei family, I'll buy it all," the customer Ding Cai replied magnanimously.
Wei family!
Xia Mo extended a thin strand of spiritual energy to look at the arriving guest, Ding.
She recognized him as the Wei family servant who had been exchanging information with people on the street earlier.
Xia's father was overjoyed.
Xia Mo smiled sweetly, her eyebrows curving upwards, but in reality, her heart was calm. She asked, "Three hundred coins each, we'll sell them. Would you like us to deliver them to your door?"
After pushing her into the river, Ma Yiyi never returned to the village. Instead, she hid in the county town, staying in the Wei family's house there.
“You have more than forty of them on your stall, so we’ll deliver them to your door,” said Ding, a servant of the Wei family in Anping County.
Wei Zhi listened to the pleasant voice and looked in the direction of Brother Xia and Second Brother Xia, but the two of them were blocking his view so well that he couldn't see the little girl speaking.
"I'll pay ten coins more per piece!" Customer A felt the pinch, but he didn't want to give up such good smoked meat.
"Wild game smoked meat is already eighty coins more expensive than poultry, so we can't raise the price any further. If you want it again next time, it will still be three hundred coins per piece, no extra charge."
The sweet voice of the person who refused the offer at the end of summer left the customer, A, with only regret for missing out on a delicious meal, without any other negative emotions.
Mr. Xia and his family were very nervous, but when they found that the customers who didn't buy anything didn't complain, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Customers who didn't manage to buy anything left, but couldn't help turning back to see what Xia Mo, who made such a lovely voice, actually looked like.