The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 255 Hero Who Slays Bandits
After the door closed again, Shang Wan looked at Zhou Gua, who was standing silently, and said, "As for you, work on your courage. Give your seat to someone else first. Whether it's a fine or something else, let Qin Zhang decide."

It's not that you can't hide when you encounter danger, but hiding without informing your family is a very dangerous thing.

Zhou Gua was prepared to be sold to a brokerage firm, so Shang Wan's leniency made him truly relieved.

After thinking for a moment, he recommended, "Master, you might want to consider Liu Laosi. He is a man of great courage and skill, and is suitable for the position of guard commander."

Shang Wan remembered everyone in the caravan. In the melee just now, this Guard Liu had fought three against one and hadn't lost.

"Bring him in."

"Yes." Zhou Gua accepted the order and left, finally feeling relieved that a huge weight had been hanging over his heart.

By the time Shang Wan had finished dealing with all the matters concerning the caravan, it was already dawn outside.

Xiao Huan went to the kitchen and cooked a big pot of porridge, and also steamed several baskets of buns. The side dishes were freshly pickled, salty, but crisp and refreshing, perfect with the porridge.

Lu Chengjing brought over breakfast on a tray, placing the porridge and steamed buns on the table, and said to Shang Wan, "You've been busy all night, have something to eat."

"Hmm." Shang Wan's eyes were glued to the ledger, and she agreed but didn't move.

Since there was no one else in the house, Lu Chengjing simply picked up the bowl and fed his wife a bite of side dish and a bite of porridge.

After reading the last bit, Shang Wan closed the ledger, picked up her chopsticks, and ate a steamed bun.

She could taste it now and asked, "Did Xiao Huan make this?"

"Mmm." Lu Chengjing fed the last spoonful of porridge in his bowl to Shang Wan before picking up his own bowl to eat.

"Was it you who reported it to the county government?"

Lu Chengjing nodded with a mouthful of porridge in his mouth.

Shang Wan asked, "After we go down the mountain, will you go with your classmates or with us?"

Lu Chengjing naturally wanted to go with his family, but, "I made an appointment with them to visit Mr. Chi Ran, and it would be inconvenient to break my promise."

Mr. Chi Ran was a great Confucian scholar of our time, and he had excellent handwriting. Shang Wan once heard Lu Chengjing mention him.

She took a bite of the steamed bun, swallowed it, and then asked, "Is the gift ready?"

"Yes, I prepared it on the way."

Shang Wan thought for a moment and said, "I just saw in the ledger that the caravan received two Duan inkstones. Go and take a look in a bit, and if you think they're suitable, add them to the gifts."

Shang Wan had met all of Lu Chengjing's classmates who had traveled with him. They were all of good character, but apart from Qiao Yu'an, none of them had much of a family fortune.

The gifts the group prepared for the journey were probably a bit lacking.

Lu Chengjing nodded, feeling comforted by Shang Wan's consideration for him, and his eyes curved into a smile.

His smile startled Shang Wan, who suddenly remembered the importance of settling scores later.

She reached out and pinched Lu Chengjing's earlobe, twisting it between two fingers. "You're quite capable, Scholar. You dared to break into a bandit camp all by yourself at night?"

Did all those promises you made before you left go to waste?
Lu Chengjing choked on his porridge and immediately explained, "I didn't plan to venture in; I just came to take a look."

"What are you looking at?"

"I think the bandit stronghold is on Chencang Mountain. I want to come and look for it tonight. If I can find it, I will go back and inform the government."

Shang Wan narrowed her eyes: "Aren't you afraid of being eaten by wolves?"

"I know what I'm doing, and I even have the medicine prescribed by Physician Duanmu on me." Lu Chengjing's ears were hurting terribly, but he didn't dare to flinch. He said gently, "You're all waiting for me at home, why would I risk my life?"

Shang Wan gave a soft snort, let go of his hand, and rubbed his bright red ears.

She got down to business: "We can all guess that the bandit stronghold is on Chencang Mountain, how could the government officials not guess?"

"So what if I guessed it, or so what if I didn't?" Lu Chengjing picked up a steamed bun. "It's just a matter of protecting myself."

Officials like Lord An who work for the benefit of the people are few and far between; the court is full of those who hold positions without doing their jobs.

Don’t seek merit, but seek no faults.

Thinking on the darker side, it's possible that the bandit stronghold and the county government of Baoji County are even connected.

"Then can we send these bandits to collect the reward?" Shang Wan realized she had asked a stupid question as soon as she finished speaking. Regardless of what the county government and the bandit camp did in private, wiping out all the bandits would be a great achievement.

The county government might even commend them with gongs and drums.

Shang Wan stroked her chin and said to Lu Chengjing, "Have Qin Zhang go to the county government office later and tell them that these bandits were captured by the caravan."

When caravans travel, they are bound to encounter these kinds of troubles, and she can't always arrive just in time.

It's essential to show off the caravan's power; ideally, other bandits wouldn't dare lay a finger on it just because they heard its name.

Lu Chengjing had also considered this point, so naturally he did not disagree.

After everyone had breakfast, Shi Tou carried Yuan Yuan and walked around the bandit camp with several guards to make sure the wild animals had left before calling everyone to go down the mountain.

Among those abducted, besides the caravan, were mostly local people living around Baoji County.

"Who are these five?" Shang Wan pointed to the young men who were huddled at the back of the crowd, dressed exactly the same.

“They are all Tiger Mother’s husbands,” Xiao Huan said after glancing at them. “They were also kidnapped and brought up the mountain. They were forced to marry Tiger Mother and can’t even leave the village gate on weekdays.”

The music that Shang Wan heard was played by these five young men.

Tiger Mother is getting married and wants them to play music in the wedding hall. The five men are worried about making mistakes and being whipped, so they rehearse diligently.

The five young men looked different, but they were all quite good-looking.

Shang Wan clicked her tongue inwardly, thinking to herself, "Tiger Girl is living a pretty comfortable life."

Xiao Huan leaned closer to Shang Wan and whispered, "Sister, wouldn't leaving them here be a potential problem?"

What if one of these five people falls for Tiger Girl?

What if they come looking for revenge later?

"Let them come." Shang Wan didn't care at all. She wouldn't be afraid even if a hundred more like them came.

Xiao Huan felt relieved after hearing her sister's words, and her gaze towards the five young men was no longer as cold as before.

Nearly two hundred people descended the mountain in a grand procession, and then entered the city in another grand procession, attracting considerable attention.

"Who are these people?"

"Didn't you see what the sign says? Damn bandits."

"Hey, this bandit leader is a woman, huh? How come she's missing her front teeth?"

"Thank God, they finally caught those bastards, and my son can come home now."

……

Amidst the murmurs of the people, Qin Zhang led his caravan, suppressing the bandits, and strode proudly into the county government office.

Half an hour later, the entire caravan became heroes for eliminating bandits, receiving a reward of 130 taels of silver from the government and being commended with a public notice.

Seeing a group of soldiers hurrying out of the city, Shi Tou asked in confusion, "Brother-in-law, the bandits have all been caught, what are they doing leaving the city now?"

"The bandits have been caught, but we haven't taken any of the money they stole," Lu Chengjing said coldly.

Shi Tou scratched his head and turned to look at his sister.

Didn't his sister put all those things away?

His sister even said this trip was worthwhile.

"A bunch of jackals who've caught a whiff of blood." Qiao Yu'an sneered sarcastically.

When faced with danger, they hide behind others; when there's profit, they swarm like flies. With such profit-driven and treacherous officials and soldiers, it's no wonder that the bandits here have become so powerful.

He shook his head and turned to leave.

Lu Chengjing also withdrew his gaze: "Let's go back to the inn first."

"it is good."