Miao Chu

Chapter 114 Saliva
The judge of the left court was momentarily stunned, still chewing his food. Suddenly realizing something was amiss, he glared and asked, "Who's leading this?"

"Han Li, that Imperial Academy student on loan from the Right Academy!" the visitor hurriedly replied.

The judge still refused to believe it, and said in surprise, "Nonsense! Wasn't he helping to coordinate manpower in the yamen? I just received the documents he had compiled. How could he lead people out to dig up some meat?"

As he spoke, he immediately looked at one of the people in the room and called out, "Old Yao! What's going on?"

Inspector Yao, who had been assigned to liaise with Han Li, immediately stood up upon hearing this, but his voice was somewhat weak as he said, "That doesn't make sense... those places have already been searched several times! Your subordinate..."

He paused for a moment, feigning humility, then quickly turned to the messenger and urgently asked, "Where was the rotten flesh dug up? What's the story behind it? Is he truly the suspect in this case?"

This person is just a messenger; how could he know so much?

Soon, the messenger was summoned in.

He was a constable from the Vermilion Bird Gate.

The young patrolman, with pimples on his face, was incredibly excited as he stumbled upon such a major case for the first time.

Fearing he might not have explained things clearly, he hurriedly recounted how the group arrived at the slaughterhouse, how they searched inside, how they checked the kitchen and backyard, how they dug three feet into the ground, and how the manager was so eloquent and flattering. He explained everything in great detail, even gesturing with his hands and feet, and almost demonstrated how he used the shovel himself.

The judge's face darkened upon hearing this, but he had no choice but to offer praise and a word of thanks for his hard work. Only after the man had left did he glare at his inspector and demand, "How could such a major oversight occur in a place that has already been inspected three or four times?"

The inspector wanted to ask his subordinates, but he couldn't find anyone for the time being, so he could only stand there and keep wiping his sweat.

This kind of thing can be investigated in the time it takes to eat a meal.

It turns out that besides the slaughterhouse, there were actually many other clues reported by the patrol stations that day.

The government officials did not neglect their duties; they searched the premises, and searched them more than once.

The first time, the inspectors split up to search. Because it was raining heavily that day, the inspector who went to the slaughterhouse led his men to search inside, but they didn't find anything wrong. Although there was a bit of a stench, which slaughterhouse doesn't stink?

The next few times they investigated, it was just ordinary police officers and patrolmen who came out.

What seven or eight people dug up after a long time is something that bystanders can only glance at briefly and naturally cannot be found.

Before the judge could get the details straight, the suspects and evidence brought back by Han Li and the others had already been delivered to the yamen.

The judge hurriedly ordered the inspectors to take the person for interrogation.

The managers and helpers at the slaughterhouse didn't need any interrogation skills at all; they answered whatever was asked and cooperated perfectly.

The one in charge, in particular, knew far more inside information than anyone else. The more effort he put into concealing the truth before, the more readily he confessed now.

It turns out that this slaughterhouse has been making venison cakes and dried venison for one or two years.

The owner's surname was Zhan. His family was originally very poor. More than ten years ago, the three brothers went to Hejian with their father to do business. Only the second brother died. He brought back a sum of money and learned the skills of a butcher from somewhere. He opened a meat stall.

He not only knows how to slaughter pigs and sheep, but most remarkably, he also knows how to slaughter cattle.

At this time, unless there is a special reason, killing cattle is prohibited in the community, but it is impossible to prevent people from slaughtering and selling cattle privately.

Some butchers who follow the rules dare not kill cattle that do not come through legitimate channels, for fear of causing trouble. But Zhan Er is not afraid. Not only is he not afraid, he also actively seeks out customers and kills cattle quickly and well.

Over time, he made a name for himself. He started with just a small slaughterhouse, but after a few years, it had become a large-scale slaughtering business.

With money, Zhan Er naturally made friends and indulged in debauchery, drinking, gambling, and prostitution with a group of people.

Living like this, no amount of money will be enough.

Last spring, he gambled away all his savings, even mortgaged the house he had just bought. When he left the gambling den, he couldn't even pay his workers.

Just when they were at their wits' end, an old acquaintance from Hejian came to visit.

The two men drank and chatted. Zhan Er poured out his heart, and the other man, in his drunken state, mentioned a quick way to make money. He said he had accidentally come across a recipe from the sea: skin a dead horse, cut it into large pieces, bury it in mud for a day or two, then dig it up, clean it, and the color and appearance would become exactly the same as fresh meat.

But at this point, the horse meat only looks good; when you smell it, it smells like rotten meat. It still needs to be marinated with salted fermented black beans and other spices, and then cooked for a whole day.

The cooked meat is dried again, and it looks and tastes exactly like venison or deer jerky; ordinary people can't tell the difference at all.

Horse meat is extremely cheap, while venison and deer meat are expensive. Even with the cost of firewood and fermented black beans, the price difference is so large that it's much more profitable than honestly running a slaughterhouse.

Zhan Er was immediately tempted.

After seeing off his old acquaintance, he collected some dead horses the next day. After processing them in the same way, the resulting jerky was indeed of excellent quality and was sold to teahouses and taverns, where demand far exceeded supply.

Zhan Er was initially cautious, but later, finding everything calm and no one reporting any health problems, he became more uninhibited and sent people everywhere to collect dead horses.

Since March this year, there has been continuous rain, causing many horses to fall ill and die. As a result, the price has dropped ridiculously low, practically like giving them away for free.

Zhan Ercai lost another large sum of money and then took a fancy to a courtesan in Little Sweet Water Lane. He was worried about not having enough money, so he was overjoyed and took back all the money.

The slaughterhouse processed all the dead horse meat. Because the quantity was too large, restaurants and teahouses couldn't handle it all, so they hired some small vendors to sell it at low prices.

Zhan Er dared not show himself, fearing that other taverns and shops would discover that he had two sets of prices, so he spent money to find some out-of-town merchants to help him resell the goods.

He was a traveling merchant who would sell his goods and then leave, so the local government couldn't find him no matter how hard they looked.

Upon discovering this, the inspector in charge of the case immediately dispatched personnel to arrest Zhan Er and search for the whereabouts of his friend. He also summoned people to draw up arrest warrants so that the businessmen could be brought to justice.

Seeing that the case still needed to be investigated and that it was getting late, Han Li stopped worrying about it, greeted someone, and learned that the judge was with Zhang Zheng, so he simply went to find Zhang Zheng.

The servant announced the arrival, and as soon as Han Li entered, Zhang Zheng and the judge inside both stood up.

Zhang Zheng was very hospitable, not only offering seats but also personally pouring tea. He laughed and said, "Zhengyan, did you know all along that the slaughterhouse was problematic? If you were so sure, why didn't you just tell them directly? Instead of using your own people, you went out to find patrolmen and constables?" Han Li replied, "After all, I wasn't entirely sure. The judge initially wanted his men to finish their business in the afternoon before going with me, but I was afraid that things might change if I waited too long. Luckily, I ran into a few acquaintances, so I went to investigate along the way, and who knew that our investigation would be so accurate."

The judge's face was originally very ugly, but when he heard Han Li speak, every word of which covered up for him, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, even though he knew his superiors wouldn't believe him. When he looked at Han Li again, his eyes were filled with gratitude.

As for Zhang Zheng, he couldn't help but praise him again and again, and finally said: "It's a pity that you are still learning, otherwise, based on this time, I can guarantee you a great merit!"

Han Li did not respond to this, but only said that he was going to take a vacation after finishing his business, and also wanted to treat the patrolmen and the guards to a meal, so he came to give them some instructions.

Seeing that Han Li had no intention of taking credit, Zhang Zheng's face stretched into a wide grin, and he said, "How can I ask you to come and pay for it?"

After saying this, he asked how many people were in the household and told the judge to fetch a thousand coins.

After everyone left, Zhang Zheng said, "Zhengyan, the higher-ups were pressing hard this time, and this achievement..."

Han Li said, "I am just a student. It is not appropriate for me to interfere in the performance evaluation of the prefectural government. Besides, the inspector is generous and Prefect Zheng is fair. He will certainly not treat those patrolmen and constables who found the source unfairly..."

Since he had specifically asked for it, Zhang Zheng, even if he hadn't originally intended to, wouldn't refuse now and said with a smile, "Of course, a commendation document is indispensable, but the yamen has always had its own practices for internal rewards. I will ask someone to add three points, but it's not good to add too much, lest it get out and have a bad influence."

Han Li thanked him and praised, "Inspector Zhang is very generous."

He added, “Everyone has been out since early morning and hasn’t even had lunch yet. They’re so busy. I wonder if the Inspector could send a letter to each place to ask for another day’s leave so that they can rest at home tomorrow and have a little respite.”

Having already given away the lion's share, Zhang Zheng was even less concerned about the small amount, saying, "I don't think it's a big deal. Just give them a list later and tell them to follow it."

Seeing that everything else had been settled, Han Li said, "There's one more thing..."

He explained how he obtained the clues from Song Miao, then questioned Cheng Erniang and her daughter, and that's why he went to Zhan Er's slaughterhouse first today. He added, "I wonder if it's possible to ask for some reward for Song Xiaoniang and Cheng Erniang?"

Zhang Zheng clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "What a meticulous young lady! If all the inspectors handling cases were like her, I wouldn't have to live such a hard life!"

He readily agreed, saying, "That's easy. Once I report back to Prefect Zheng, it'll be a matter of just a word."

Han Li thanked them, then said, "The more reward money the better, but this matter involves a lot of people. I don't know if Zhan Er has any accomplices outside. Let me go and ask them. If they are unwilling, then we won't post a notice. Is that alright?"

It was already a favor, and since Han Li had given up the subsequent credit, the Left Academy had already gained a great advantage. Zhang Zheng naturally agreed without hesitation.

When the judge returned with the money, Han Li signed for it, immediately took his leave, and didn't delay for a moment.

As soon as he left, Zhang Zheng's smile vanished. Staring at the judge, he couldn't help but curse, "What are all these people doing here? The patrolmen brought the clues to our doorstep, saying someone smelled something was off about the slaughterhouse, and they still let some borrowed student take the lion's share of the credit!"

The judge hurriedly explained, "So that the inspector may know, we have been working tirelessly from top to bottom. Even if Han Li doesn't dig anything up today, they have already found clues and will be able to reach the workshop where the dried meat is being dried by tomorrow or the day after at the latest..."

Zhang Zheng hated it when his subordinates made excuses. He pointed to his face and said, "Look at this, do you see it?"

The judge looked up and saw a large face facing Zhang Zheng's dark face. He didn't know if he should see it, what he should see, or how to respond.

Seeing his dumbfounded look, and recalling how Han Li had bargained with him earlier, Zhang Zheng couldn't help but scold, "Yesterday, the prefect summoned me and spat all over my face. I didn't even dare to wipe it off. If it weren't for Han Li today, I wouldn't have even dared to go see him. Are you going to wait until tomorrow or the day after?"

"Or is it because my mouth is too dry, and I haven't been giving you enough teasing lately? That's why you lead a team to handle a case like you're slowly drinking wine, taking three bites to eat a single pine nut?"

After finishing his tirade, seeing the judge drenched in sweat, he wanted nothing more than to spit in his face and yelled, "What are you standing there for?! Hurry up and expedite the case!"

Watching his subordinates stumble and walk out the door, Zhang Zheng was both angry and furious.

People are more mad than people.

Why isn't this judge surnamed Han?
***
The judge who wasn't surnamed Han got scolded and went to scold his subordinates, urging everyone to hurry up and handle the case. The student surnamed Han, however, summoned all the patrolmen and constables for the day and slowly and methodically told them about Zhang Zheng's promise.

They all lived near the Vermilion Bird Gate. They had set out early in the morning and were exhausted after a busy day. When they heard about the reward, they cheered. When they heard about the subsidy, they were happy again. They also heard that they would get a day off tomorrow. The first two benefits were not yet visible or tangible, but the holiday was right in front of them, which made them instantly lose all their fatigue.

One of them couldn't help but shout, "Let's go for a drink! I'll treat Brother Han to a feast!"

So everyone wanted to contribute.

Han Li then said that he had asked Song Miao to help prepare food, and added, "It's getting late today. I've been busy all day, so I'll just have a simple meal. I asked the stall owner, Song, to make some appetizers. I wonder if it will be rice noodles or noodles—I'll treat you all to wine another day!"

In an instant, the dozen or so people in front of them became restless. Some of the younger ones even started walking away, but after a few steps, they turned back and urged, "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for? First come, first served. If we get here first, we won't wait for you—don't blame us if you finish eating!"

It was completely dark by then, long past dinner time, and it was still raining outside. Han Li hired two carriages and took them directly to the end of Suanzao Alley, so they didn't have to walk.

The streets were flooded, and the carriage swayed back and forth, causing many of the patrolmen and constables, who had been busy all day, to fall asleep. When they jumped off the carriage, they were all sleepy-eyed and dazed, completely unaware of where they were.

But as soon as their feet touched the wet ground, before they could even settle their feet, everyone couldn't help but sniff.

Some people, without even rubbing their eyes, took two deep breaths and asked, "What's that smell!"

It has a very complex aroma, very strong, spicy, and with an extremely sour fermented smell. As soon as it enters the nose, it wakes you up and makes you feel wide awake.

The doors of Song Family Restaurant were wide open. Song Miaozhi sat on a stool by the door. Hearing the commotion outside, she quickly lit a lamp and came out to invite everyone inside.

Seeing that everyone's faces were oily and their eyes were glazed, Song Miao said, "We're having rice noodles tonight—why don't you all go to the back and wash your faces? You'll be eating soon!"

As he spoke, he called out "Second Mistress" to the person behind him.

Cheng Erniang greeted them with a smile and led them towards the well.

Everyone else went to the back, but Han Li didn't follow. Instead, he stayed by the stove, greeted Song Miao, and said, "Thank you for waiting so late, stall owner Song."

Then he asked, "It smells so good, what kind of noodles do you want?"

(End of this chapter)