Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

The tall, thin man took the string of coins and put it in his pocket. As he turned around, his steps suddenly became more brisk.

Zhao Xie stood behind Sun Jizu and took in the whole scene.

The second man to arrive was a burly fellow with a reddish-purple bump on his forehead. He walked up to Sun Jizu and pointed to his forehead.

"Magistrate Sun, I was just hit by a bandit with a wooden stick. Look at this bump, it's as big as an egg... Ouch... It hurts so much..."

Zhao Xie took half a step forward and glanced at the bump on the man's forehead. He reached out and pressed down next to the bump. The man's lips twitched, but he held back and didn't flinch.

"You bumped into it yourself," Zhao Xie said casually, withdrawing his hand.

The man froze, his eyes widening instantly: "What? Who are you? What makes you think I hit myself?"

Zhao Xie gave a cold laugh. "You had an old scar on your forehead, which is now covered by this bump. The scar is vertical, and it's from four or five years ago. The new bump is pressing on top of the old scar, and its edges are rounded."

"A person who bumps into a wall will have a flat bump, while a person who is pounded with a stick will have a long, narrow bump. Your bump is round and bulging; it's from hitting your forehead against a door frame."

The man opened his mouth, his face flushed red, and he looked like he was about to explode in anger.

Zhao Xie snorted, the tip of the sword still resting on the ground. He picked it up and changed his posture. The dark red stain on the sword, which was not yet completely dry, dripped down from the blade and onto the mud.

"You've had that bump on your hand for about 45 minutes. Go back and get a cool towel to rub it in. Trying to be clever in front of me? You're still too green!"

The man glanced at the long sword in his hand, but ultimately didn't dare to retaliate. He touched the egg-sized bump on his forehead, stomped his foot, and turned to leave.

The third, fourth, and fifth people impersonating the injured were all recognized by Zhao Xie.

Some of the mud on the trouser legs had seeped outwards, clearly indicating that they had gotten it themselves while squatting on the ground.

Some of the abrasions on his arms were in the wrong direction. Normally, when a person falls, the abrasions go from the elbow to the wrist, but his went from the wrist to the elbow, as if he had rubbed himself against a wall.

Another young man clutched his ankle, saying he had sprained it. Zhao Xie told him to take a few steps, but after three, he gave himself away. A person who has sprained their left ankle wouldn't instinctively step over the threshold with their right leg first...

One by one, those who had their rewards cancelled returned to the line, their expressions shifting from embarrassment to resentment, but no one dared to say anything more.

Those young men who were truly injured by the bandits were all beaming with joy.

They were honest people to begin with, and dared not compete with those troublemakers who risked injury for a seat. They never expected that Zhao Xie had such a sharp eye, and not one of them could get away with it.

Each person held a string of coins, solid copper coins in their hands. Several people untied the strings of coins, counted them one by one several times, and only stuffed them into their pockets after confirming that they were correct.

Some people squatted in the corner, carefully tying copper coins to their belts, afraid that they would be lost if they were bumped into and put in their pockets.

A middle-aged man who hadn't dared to step forward squatted on the edge of the crowd, staring at the gleaming copper coins in other people's hands, his Adam's apple bobbing several times.

A familiar face next to him waved a string of coins at him, grinning with his yellow teeth, "Old Cui, why didn't you go up earlier?"

"I'm afraid of getting stabbed."

"If you're afraid of getting ripped off, you'll make money slowly. Look at them, they all have that."

Old Cui turned his gaze away from the copper coins and swallowed hard. He stood up and walked over to Elder Liu, his voice low: "Uncle Liu, are there any more thieves?"

Before Elder Liu could answer, several young men nearby heard the commotion and gathered around.

A young man chimed in, "Yeah, only two hundred thieves? That's not enough for us to share! Is there any more?"

Another, older man slung a hoe over his shoulder, mustered his courage, and bared his teeth at Sun Jizu, "County Commandant Sun, are there any more thieves?"

Sun Jizu scanned the faces around him. When he promised a reward of thirty strings of cash for each death, only a hundred men were willing to follow him into the village. Now that the reward was in hand, their eyes had all changed.

Sun Jizu smirked. "Yes, there are still over two hundred bandits near the abandoned dock..."

Before he could finish speaking, a buzzing sound arose from the crowd.

Some people started to weigh the hoes in their hands, while others untied the hemp rope from their waists and tightened it again.

"This time I'm going to the front line!"

"Of course! There are archers shooting arrows, and if we follow them, we'll be picking up money!"

"That's right! But, Second Uncle, you're not a volunteer, you can't come along..."

"Bullshit! I've carried a hoe for half my life, and I can't even kill a few petty thieves?" An old man with gray hair glared and pushed his way forward; he was a long-time resident of Wangjiazhuang.

"Second Uncle, at your age..."

"So what if I'm old? Don't you want a reward for being old? I'm saving up to make a silver bracelet for my granddaughter-in-law!"

Someone nearby chimed in, "Second Uncle, your granddaughter-in-law hasn't even entered the family yet, and you're already eyeing the bracelet?"

Old Wang turned around and spat, "We'll have it after this battle!"

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

A boy, barely out of his teens, squeezed through the crowd, carrying a sharpened bamboo pole. His face was flushed red. "Dad, I want to go too!"

His father turned around and slapped him on the back of the head. "Go back and ask your mother! Can your father make that decision?"

The boy shrank back slightly, then straightened up again. "My mom said if I can earn a reward, I can go!"

A man carrying a shoulder pole, the end of which was still covered in wet mud, squeezed through the crowd and shouted to Sun Jizu, "County Commandant Sun, just say the word, when are you leaving?"

"Let me be clear from the start: if you're late, all the thieves will be gone, and you won't be able to find any money!"

Another middle-aged farmer patted the two loops of hemp rope hanging from his waist. "I've got all the ropes ready, just waiting to tie people up. I missed it last time, so nobody can take it from me this time."

Someone joked with him, "Liu Laosi, you've never even tied up a chicken, and you want to tie up a living person?"

Old Liu spat, "Tying up a chicken is tying it up, tying up a person is tying them up too. At worst, we'll just wrap it around a couple more times!"

Before the laughter had even subsided, a more mature-looking volunteer squeezed through the crowd, walked up to Sun Jizu, rubbed his hands together, and said, "County Commandant Sun, it's not that we're greedy. It's just that we understood what happened in that battle just now."

"These thieves look fierce, but they're not easy to take a beating. Once the archers' arrows fly over, and we surround them like this, they'll fall into disarray."

He pointed to the dark mass of people behind him, "Look at these people, they were just vomiting by the wall, and after they finished, they got up and their eyes lit up when they heard there was going to be a battle."

A voice from the crowd chimed in, "Exactly! Spitting a couple of times is nothing; after that, we'll still fight the thieves!"

A tall, thin man peeked out from the crowd and gestured with his chin towards the person next to him, "Look at his legs, they're still shaking."

The person being pointed at slapped his leg and said, "Shaking may be, but it won't stop me from running! That was my first time, I'd never seen anything like it before. Now I know what to do."

Sun Jizu originally planned to go to the dock at night.

Forty archers were to return to the city to replenish their arrows, along with fire oil and fire arrows; a night raid would be the safest option. However, there were too many people surrounding them, all with their eyes gleaming with greed, so he changed his mind.

The five hundred volunteers were excited when the people of Taiping Township finally arrived.

Three hundred brave men marched in a long procession along the village road. The village head, who was at the head of the group, saw the strong young men squatting at the entrance of the village, each holding copper coins in their hands, and quickened his pace.

He was covered in sweat from running, and when he arrived at Sun Jizu's place, he repeatedly bowed and said, "County Commandant Sun, we're late. Are there any more thieves?"

Sun Jizu tilted his head slightly towards the abandoned dock: "Yes."

The team from Taiping Township didn't have time to rest and immediately followed the main force.

More than 800 people were divided into 16 teams and walked along the direction of the abandoned dock. People were everywhere, on the ridges of the fields, along the paths, and along the riverbanks.

Hoes were slung over their shoulders, sickles tucked into their waistbands, and kitchen knives held in their hands. Passing through several villages along the way, some people squatting under locust trees at the village entrances to cool off were terrified by the sight of this large group, thinking it was a band of mountain bandits.

Once they found out there was a reward, some of the bolder ones rushed back to their villages, grabbed their weapons, and followed.

When the group arrived at the abandoned dock, the procession had grown to over a thousand people.

Sun Jizu had already explained the strategy to the village heads, who were also the temporary team leaders, and they surrounded the abandoned dock from all directions.

Upon hearing the report from his men, Boss Huo rushed out of the warehouse. However, when he saw so many people surrounding him, each with gleaming blue eyes and hostile expressions, he was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of his head.