Miao Chu

Chapter 112 Search
Zhang Zheng approached and saw Qin Jie's confidant. He laughed and said, "Why is it you who came? Zheng Yan is still on leave. We need to ask him to come back to the yamen to work. Is it really impossible for Judge Qin to handle such a difficult matter personally?"

With just a few words and a gentle provocation, he made his confidant secretly groan. He could only say, "Judge Qin originally intended to come himself, but due to replies from several places in other prefectures, he was held up and had to come first to report the news."

Zhang Zheng continued, "What can compare to what Zheng Yan is doing here? Am I not busy? Yet I still came here myself."

After saying that, he did not get entangled with his confidant, but bypassed him and went straight to Han Li, and said with a smile: "Zhengyan, you and I have not had much dealings. I have come here today to ask you something."

He told them about the search that would be launched in the city to find the source of the dried meat.

"You played a significant role in the previous Lantern Festival case and gambling den case, during the city's search. This time, the scope is much wider, and my men are insufficient. Therefore, I have come to invite you to assist in the overall planning and personnel deployment for the search."

He explained the matter clearly in two sentences, and then said, "Judge Qin has already given his approval, and Prefect Zheng is also aware of this matter. It just depends on whether you can free up your hands here."

Seeing Zhang Zheng's words and attitude, Qin Jie's confidant was so anxious that he wanted to break his toes. He wanted to give Han Li a signal, but he was too short and his position was not good. He was sweating profusely with anxiety.

—The letter hasn’t even been opened yet. If this inspector uses his clever words and flattery to fool Han Zhengyan, how will he explain it to Judge Qin when he returns to the yamen?

But to his surprise, and to Zhang Zheng's surprise as well, Han Li refused outright, saying, "Thank you for the invitation, Inspector Zhang, but I am not capable enough, and I already have plans for tomorrow."

Zhang Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then tried to persuade him again, offering both a reward and a subsidy.

Han Li simply declined.

Zhang Zheng had no choice but to ask what the urgent matter was. He said he could discuss it with the Imperial Academy, and then added, "If you don't have anything urgent, could you postpone it? I'll talk to the Right Academy and ask them to give you a few more days off!"

After he finished speaking, he saw Han Li's expression freeze for a moment, and knowing that he had a chance, he immediately seized the opportunity and asked, "So you had a few days off?"

Before Han Li could speak, his trusted aide immediately interjected, "Lord Qin has transferred him for five days."

"Selling his father's land without a second thought," Zhang Zheng said without hesitation. "If you lend a hand, I'll talk to Prefect Zheng and Judge Qin and get you five extra days off, making it a full ten days of leave!"

Han Li was waiting for this sentence.

He was outspoken and assertive, but he never wanted to be a maverick when it came to rules and regulations. It wasn't difficult to request leave, but it was difficult to get a long leave in a reasonable way without causing dissatisfaction among his superiors and subordinates.

***
Han Li was in a hurry to return to the capital's government office, so the small pot of mountain snail and old hen soup ended up benefiting Master Chen and Cheng Zijian, as well as Xiao You carrying a basket.

Late at night, the rain continued to fall outside, but inside the house, a fragrant aroma filled the air.

The three of them sat around the table, each receiving a bowl of sweet and mellow soup. They shared the chicken and finally sucked on the mountain snail meat, feeling both comfortable and uncomfortable while eating.

Master Chen finished gnawing on the chicken, drank every last drop of the chicken soup, and even sucked the broth from the last snail twice. He couldn't help but curse, "That Zheng Yan, in this pouring rain, when did he go to find stall owner Song? Doesn't he care about bothering others? How could he eat all by himself?!"

He added, "They only brought back this much; is that enough for anyone to eat?"

Xiao You nodded countless times in her heart, but said aloud, "It's late at night, sir, you can't eat too much. A small bowl to soothe your stomach will be enough..."

"My intestines are so long, how could this little bowl be enough to moisten them?"

Cheng Zijian, however, mustered his courage and whispered, "I have been promoted to a higher level of education. I had asked Miss Song to help me prepare two banquets. One banquet is for me to thank Brother Han, and the other is for me and my classmates to thank you, Teacher. I was going to send the invitations over in the next two days, but I'm just letting you know verbally first—would you be able to attend the banquet, Teacher?"

In March alone, Master Chen had refused countless literary gatherings and banquets, but upon hearing the words "Miss Song," his throat immediately began to itch.

After coughing twice, Master Chen said, "A group of students don't get much in subsidies. Fine, I'll treat you to this meal. You students wouldn't dare invite your teachers to a banquet, for fear of damaging your reputation. But if you say it's on me, I'm sure you'll all come!"

Cheng Zijian hurriedly waved his hand, trying to come up with many ways to refuse, but how could a naive and inexperienced man like him compete with an old fox like Master Chen? Master Chen first said that he would come to invite him again after he got an official position, and then said that he would not refuse the kindness of an elder. In just a few words, he was dismissed.

Having settled on this arrangement, Master Chen was not satisfied and said, "Why do you still want to invite Zheng Yan separately?"

Cheng Zijian quickly recounted how Han Li had previously given him guidance on his writing.

Master Chen had actually heard about it before, so his question at this time naturally had a deeper meaning.

He asked, "Zhengyan is currently on secondment to the Kyoto Prefectural Government. Does he still have time to give you pointers?"

Cheng Zijian only said that once he had collected enough articles, Han Li would come back and help review them each time.

"Have they all been approved?"

"I was supposed to grade it tonight... The student already had the paper with him, but then Brother Han ran into an emergency..."

Master Chen stroked his beard and laughed, saying, "Zhengyan is very busy and probably doesn't have the time for this—bring me your article, and I'll revise it!"

Cheng Zijian was both surprised and delighted, and quickly got up to thank him.

Master Chen said, “Don’t be in such a hurry to thank me. If you want to invite him separately, I’m sure the young man has something to say, so I won’t join in the fun. But since I’ve revised your article this time, I’ve shared his burden. At the banquet the day after tomorrow, could you please save some food for me and bring it back?”

Cheng Zijian was stunned, but his actions were faster than his thoughts. He subconsciously took the stack of articles wrapped in oil paper from his pocket.

Xiao You, who had just finished sucking on a snail and was wiping his hands, saw this and quickly swallowed the snail meat and the delicious broth in his mouth. He coughed and said, "There's so much, how can you possibly finish watching it all? I'll lend a hand too—just leave me half a portion of the food later!"

***
Little did Song Miao know that the meal she hadn't even prepared yet had already made Cheng Zijian's practice essays highly sought after.

The next morning, she and Cheng Erniang set up their stall and delivered meals as usual, braving the rain.

The rain stopped for half the night last night, but it started raining again early this morning.

Suanzao Lane is on slightly higher ground, so the water level has receded considerably, while Taoyuan Street, which leads to Taixue Food Lane, is already flooded.

Song Miao's cart was half-submerged, but luckily she had prepared in advance and placed a tall bamboo frame under the cart floor, which prevented the dirty water from touching the food.

Even so, one of the stoves was soaked in water, and it would have to be thoroughly washed and dried before it could be used again.

Songji's losses weren't too great. Some stalls in the food alley were completely empty, with no customers. The mutton offal soup vendor next door had already arrived, set up his stall, and discovered that the lid of his soup pot had been tilted and water had gotten inside.

Another steamed bun vendor, because the water was so bad when he arrived, couldn't see the road clearly and encountered a pothole. His cart tilted, and a whole steamer full of meat buns was soaked with water.

A group of people gathered around, cursing and swearing. Then someone came to ask Song Miao a question, and Song Miao couldn't help but curse the heavens a few times.

But there was one advantage to those who persisted: with more monks than porridge, long queues formed at almost every stall, and before long, all the food prepared by each stall was sold out.

Song Miao's stall always sells out the fastest, and today was no exception.

The students in line bought food and didn't forget to come and persuade her.

"The streets are flooded. I heard that several streets down below are also flooded. If it keeps raining like this, Mr. Song should probably take a break for the next few days!"

"That's right, we'll just have to endure the kitchen for a few more days—Miss Song, your safety is the most important thing!"

"We can buy it ourselves, why should we tolerate the kitchen!"

"What do you mean, 'go to the door'? Do you think those fresh vegetables and meats are grown and raised by the young lady herself? She still has to buy them from the market! Setting up a stall isn't safe, but buying things is?"

Everyone was talking.

"Once the water recedes, stall owner Song, please make sure to cook more to make up for all the missed meals—when will we have lunch?"

"If there's no time for lunch, you can make dinner!" So many mouths kept bringing up the same old story, chattering away, one person saying a sentence at a time, that Song Miaohui couldn't keep up with.

She had already discussed it with Cheng Erniang last night and decided not to set up her stall or deliver breakfast tomorrow. She was about to tell the students when she realized they had already thought of it, so she thanked them repeatedly and kept responding.

After the food was sold out and most of the other orders were received, Cheng Zijian hurriedly came to pick up his breakfast.

As soon as he arrived, he was busy apologizing to Song Miao for being late, and then thanking her for the delicious soup last night and for her cooking skills.

"My writing was hardly worthy of Master Chen's attention. If it weren't for the delicious soup made by stall owner Song and the other food that tempted him, I wouldn't have had this good fortune—Last night, Scholar You instructed me until the third watch of the night!"

He then hurriedly explained to Song Miao that two more meals should be ordered for Han Li's table for takeout, and that the other table would have more people than originally planned.

"The Master said he would host the next meal, and that the dishes would be decided by the stall owner, Mr. Song. There was no need for too much or too much trouble; simple home-style dishes would suffice."

As he spoke, he untied the heavy three strings of coins wrapped around his waist, saying, "These are from the teacher. Tell stall owner Song to keep an eye on them so he doesn't have to work for free."

Although it was called one table, it should actually be two tables including the students. But even so, it was just home-style cooking, and they were still very generous to give three strings of cash for two tables.

The more money she received, the more money she could repay. Song Miao was very happy, took the money, and then asked about the time.

The date hasn't been set yet; we'll have to ask the teachers and students. But Cheng Zijian said he'd come and tell Song Miao as soon as it's confirmed.

After everything was settled, Cheng Zijian picked up the food and hurriedly said before leaving, "Last night, Brother Han was taken away by people from the government office. They said he might not be able to return today and asked me to tell the stall owner Song on his behalf. They also said that if there is any further news, they will send someone to deliver a message."

Song Miao paused for a moment, then nodded without asking any further questions.

When she returned to Suanzao Lane, only Xiaolian was looking after the house, and Cheng Erniang did not return for a long time.

Seeing that it was raining heavily outside, Song Miao was very worried. She brought rain gear and was about to go out to look for someone when she saw Cheng Erniang carefully pushing her cart towards her at the entrance of the alley.

She breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over to ask him questions.

When Cheng Erniang saw Song Miao come to pick her up, she said anxiously, "It's nothing, it's just that there was too much water on the street. I saw many people fall and get hurt, which was quite frightening, so I took a detour and got lost. I finally managed to find my way back by asking people along the way. There's no need for you to come to meet me, madam. I should have walked faster!"

He added, "Who knew the floods in the capital would be worse than in our rural Fuzhou? This has truly broadened my horizons!"

Back home, the two first cleaned the kitchen utensils and then tidied up.

After finishing all the other tasks, Song Miao took the time to take stock of the grain stored at home.

The Song family had no savings before, and she was rushing to pay off her debts with all the money she earned.

Fortunately, by March, there were many more delivery orders, and Zhu brought another wave of customers. Chen Fuzi and Jin Mingchi had another meal together, which brought in extra income. In addition, Qin Zong and Han Li had left some savings with her, which allowed her to save some money.

When it rained during the Qingming Festival, the weather was bad and the celestial signs were not very auspicious. Taking advantage of the low grain prices, she stored some commonly used and durable grains, flour, beans, and rice at home. If she set up a stall, they could last for a long time. If she didn't set up a stall, the three of them in her family could eat until next year, and even if three or five more people were added, there would still be left over. She wasn't worried.

We still need to buy some meat and vegetables, just in case.

Seeing that the rain outside showed no signs of letting up and the clouds were thick, Song Miao decided not to wait any longer. She said goodbye to Cheng Erniang, picked up her basket, and prepared to go out to buy vegetables.

Cheng Erniang was worried about Song Miao being alone, so she quickly packed rain gear, gave her daughter instructions, and insisted on going out with her.

Sure enough, there was water in many places along the way. The two took a detour and only when they reached the nearest vegetable market did they learn that it was flooded and closed for the day. They had to ask around again and head to a larger vegetable and meat market further east.

***
While Song Miao and Cheng Erniang were searching for open shops, Han Li, in the capital's government office, received a map of the capital city with the locations of various shops circled on it.

Zhang Zheng invited him to assist in the overall planning, but the emphasis was not on the word "overall planning," but on "assistance."

Qin Jie was able to let him take charge because he really had no one else to do things. He was also used to seeing Han Li do things, so when he was ordered around, although he complained and questioned from time to time, he basically did as he was told without any discount.

Zhang Zheng, however, was different.

He has judges under him, and he has enough manpower. Not only are his subordinates familiar with him, but they are also determined to make contributions in the two major cases recently handled by the Right Court.

The reason for bringing in Han Li was twofold: first, because of his ability to coordinate and manage thousands of people at once; and second, to give his men a spur and keep them on their toes to prevent them from slacking off.

After bringing the man back, Zhang Zheng convened a meeting with his subordinates, introduced Han Li, assigned him the task, and then handed him over to the Left Court Judge, telling him to ask the judge for any requests he might have.

Since Han Li was already there, he didn't bother with all that.

Because of the tight schedule and the lack of a roster, he bluntly asked for the source of the manpower borrowed this time, the time of deployment, the method of concentration, and so on. He also asked for a map of the locations that needed to be searched.

The judge, of course, had no time to deal with such trivial matters, and instead called over a patrol inspector to take over.

The inspector came by, arranged for two minor officials to pick out the items he needed, told them to be at his beck and call, and then left.

After Han Li finished his research, he asked how the key areas to be searched were divided, and why the other neighborhoods were searched carefully, while the southeast and northeast areas were not.

The two minor officials couldn't answer, so they had to go to the higher-ups, the inspectors.

In the dead of night, everyone in the Left Courtyard was busy and no one could sleep. The inspector who had been called in had been searching outside for two days and had only slept half-heartedly. In fact, he was already full of anger. Although he had heard about Han Li, the borrowed outside helper, and knew that he could not be negligent, he was still somewhat impatient.

He's just a student at the Imperial Academy. The amazing skills he's supposed to possess are nothing more than two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. What's so special about that?
He said, "Just do your job. There's a reason why we've arranged things this way. It's not something that can be explained in a sentence or two."

What if we overlook the crucial point because of this?

Hearing Han Li's question, he became even more irritated and said, "I've already told you to just do your job. Those places have already been ruled out as suspects. It's pointless to look for them!"

Han Li didn't get entangled with him. Two hours earlier than the judge had given the time, he arranged the manpower. Sure enough, based on the location and situation of each person, he arranged who was responsible for relaying messages, who was responsible for integrating information, who was responsible for which team, and which team was responsible for which street and which places. He also arranged and explained clearly how long it would take to get a reply, how long it would take to complete all the investigations, how to make up for any unfinished investigations, why this arrangement was necessary, and how much manpower and time it would save.

He even gave instructions on how to report any useful leads and how to conduct follow-up investigations.

The inspector's attitude immediately improved a lot.

Han Li then circled a few locations with a charcoal pencil and asked, "If I want to add these places, please have the patrolmen search them carefully, is that alright?"

The inspector leaned over for a look, then frowned and said, "These places have been searched many times already."

He added, "You think you can pick up the scraps because these are all clues given to you by your subordinates?"

He chuckled and said, "Investigating cases isn't that simple. We searched the locations where there were clues, almost digging three feet into the ground. We checked several times afterward, but there were no problems. Do you think that others can't find anything, but you can find something wrong as soon as you come to check?"

Han Li asked, "If we're only three feet away from digging, then we haven't actually dug three feet, is that right?"

He added, "In that case, after the handover at noon, I will lead a team to check several places again during lunchtime—whether the inspectors have any objections?"

The inspector frowned and said, "It's fine if you don't eat, but do other people not eat either?"

So around noon, Han Li, along with several familiar constables from the Zhuque Gate patrol station, and seven or eight patrolmen who had been seconded to conduct searches before and were already well-known, all of whom were willing to skip meals, followed him onto Ma Xing Street.

They immediately went to the slaughterhouse where Cheng Erniang had worked.

(End of this chapter)