Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 1123 - 359 Murderer, Opportunity_3

Chapter 1123: Chapter 359 Murderer, Opportunity_3

This Niu Hu had also been part of a gang, with more than one life on his hands. His luck was just better, having escaped from the dungeon, whereas his dozen or so accomplices weren’t so fortunate. On the day they created chaos in their attempt to escape, they were all shot to death with arrows in the cell.

After listening, Yang Bao stroked his beard and exclaimed, "One really must lie in the bed one makes. If he had repented and lived a good life after escaping, he could’ve lived peacefully like an ordinary person for the rest of his life. And yet, he foolishly squandered his chance by causing trouble in Jing City. If that’s not courting death, I don’t know what is."

Mo Yan nodded in agreement. Niu Hu was a man whose death was not worthy of sympathy. Knowing what he had done, she decided to turn him over to the officials directly, never considering that he might repent.

"This time our village captured a fleeing convict sentenced to death; we have indeed done a great service. When we deliver him to the Government Office, they might even give us a reward. Uncle Yang, our village is going to be greatly honored once again."

Yang Bao hadn’t thought of this and, upon hearing Mo Yan’s words, was somewhat incredulous, "Is, is there really going to be a reward?"

Mo Yan nodded with a cheerful smile, "There definitely will be, though I don’t know what it will be."

Yang Bao burst into joy, his face glowing as he said, "No matter what the reward is, it’s our village’s honor, and that’s something you can’t buy with just a few ounces of silver."

At this point, Yang Bao, feeling somewhat embarrassed, added, "If it weren’t for you, let alone capturing Niu Hu, even catching those chicken thieves would’ve been questionable in terms of removing a menace for the people. Truly speaking, your household deserves the reward."

Mo Yan dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand and said, "Uncle Yang, you’re being too formal. I’m a person from Liu Yang Village, so naturally, the honor belongs to the entire village. Besides, when we caught those people last night, the villagers all put in an effort. You can’t attribute all the credit to my family alone."

After Mo Yan said this, Yang Bao really didn’t know what to say.

Mo Yan didn’t want to dwell on the subject and reminded him, "The Government Office will lift the seal in three more days. During these three days, Uncle Yang, please take the trouble to guard this man closely. If he escapes, I’m afraid it will bring endless troubles."

Yang Bao’s expression turned serious, and he said, "Yan girl, I will arrange for people to take turns guarding him every day. I definitely won’t let him have a chance to escape."

"Mmm, Uncle Yang, just see to it that it’s arranged properly," Mo Yan replied.

The two then spoke briefly about the other twenty or so chicken thieves, and Mo Yan left, urged on by Mao Tuan, who was impatient to wash its paws, and took the eager creature home with her.

On the sixteenth of the first month, Yang Bao and about a dozen robust villagers delivered a tightly bound Niu Hu to the Government Office.

On the first day after the lifting of the seal, having a condemned criminal delivered was a very auspicious sign for the Jingzhao Mansion, especially once they learned that the convict was captured by the village of the future Lady Marquis Weiyuan, Princess Hejia. Yang Bao and the others received a warm welcome.

The Jingzhao Yin was also generous for once and, with a wave of his hand, awarded Liu Yang Village twenty taels of silver. He also ordered a plaque to be made immediately, planning to deliver it to Liu Yang Village on an auspicious date to commend the brave actions of the village.

Carrying the twenty taels of silver, Yang Bao and the other villagers returned to the village beaming with joy. It didn’t take long for Yang Bao’s house to become crammed with villagers who had heard the news, inside and out.

In Liu Yang Village, where last year even a lost needle could trigger a fight, twenty taels of silver was not a small sum. Divided among the families who had joined in catching the thief, each household could get two or three hundred wen, enough for a family of three to buy meat for a month.

But now, that two or three hundred wen was not considered much. In the end, it was Mo Yan who suggested that five of the twenty taels be used to build an arch at the entrance of the village to hang the plaque awarded by the Government Office; after all, once the plaque arrived, it couldn’t just be put in a corner to gather dust!

This proposal was unanimously approved by the villagers. The remaining fifteen taels were to be used for the school’s educational fund to reward students with outstanding academic achievements or to assist impoverished children who nevertheless loved to study.

Education was expensive, and the fifteen taels of silver weren’t really enough, only sufficient for perhaps two years. Later, it was proposed by the villagers that at the end of the year, any household with a child studying at the school and an annual income of more than twenty taels should contribute five hundred wen to this fund; those with an income over fifty taels would contribute one tael...and so on, up to a maximum of ten taels.

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