"Huo, what's this smell? Oh my god!~" Yun Daman covered his nose, almost gagging.
It smelled like someone had pooped inside.
This smell!
"You've seen it, you've looked, you should leave quickly..." Yun Wangcai said with heartache.
"The pickled vegetables in the vegetable cellar have gone bad, and if you can't stand the smell, don't let the officials get sick from it!~"
Little Xi Tian didn't believe his nonsense.
Yun Wangcai was clearly guilty.
"Dad, I'll go down and take a look!" Yun Erman said.
"Be careful, there might be worms in there..." Old Man Yun was worried.
If a vegetable cellar isn't used for a long time, mice and worms will crawl in.
Old Man Yun was almost bitten by a worm when he went to his own vegetable cellar before.
People like Yun Wangcai, who don't manage their households well, rarely use their vegetable cellars, so he wouldn't be surprised if a bear was squatting inside...
"It's fine!~" Yun Erman straightened the ladder and climbed down nimbly.
You don't know until you look, and you'll be shocked when you do.
Yun Wangcai's vegetable cellar was too big.
It was five to six times larger than an ordinary family's...
Why did their family dig such a large vegetable cellar, to hide from disaster?
Or to hide things?
As soon as Yun Erman's feet touched the ground, he tripped over something.
Little Xi Tian really wanted to throw her second brother a flashlight, but she couldn't take it out in front of so many people...
"Erman, what was that? Are you alright?" Old Man Yun asked, peeking into the vegetable cellar.
Yun Erman didn't speak; his eyes were a little blurry, and he needed to adjust to the darkness.
He reached out and touched the cold wall, then took two steps forward.
Then he heard a muffled 'bang' as he bumped into something hard, and his nose started bleeding...
"Ouch, damn it, hiss, it hurts!~" Yun Erman cursed as he squatted on the ground, licking his teeth.
"Erman, did you find it?" Yun Daman was anxious, "I'll come down and help you find it!~"
"No... no need, pfft!" Yun Erman spat out a mouthful of blood, his gums also bleeding, "Dad, Big Brother, I found it. The bricks are all piled up in the vegetable cellar, not a single one missing!~"
He had just hit a pile of bricks and almost fainted.
Little Xi Tian, upon hearing this, glared angrily at Yun Wangcai, "You really stole it!~"
This family was truly not afraid of being tired, moving five thousand bricks into the vegetable cellar and stacking them neatly...
This was no small feat!
Yun Wangcai took two steps back, planning to slip away.
Xiao Jinheng narrowed his cold eyes and ordered Kong Xingzhuo, "Hold him down!~"
You old dog, stealing and trying to run away...
Yun Wangcai was pinned to the ground like a sack, shouting, "That... that wasn't me who stole it, it was all Gou Dan's fault for not doing proper business, he took a fancy to the Yun family's bricks and tiles, it has nothing to do with me!~"
"Shut up!~" Left Advisor glared at him and ordered the constables, "Light the torches and go down to take a look!~"
This vegetable cellar was abnormally large.
Besides bricks and tiles and wood, there were probably other things hidden...
The villagers who had come to watch also swarmed in.
As items were brought out one by one, the villagers were stunned.
"Oh my, isn't that the pickaxe I lost last year? How did it end up here?"
"Huh? No, why is my big iron pot here? You little brat, so it was Yun Wangcai, that old dog, who stole it!~"
"That's my water bucket!"
"This is Zhao Gen's dad's pipe bowl, pure copper, worth quite a bit of money!~"
"......"
The villagers found their lost items and hated Yun Wangcai even more, spitting on him.
"Thief, your whole family are thieves, pfft, I spit on you!"
"You even steal water buckets, if you can't afford to live, just drink rat poison, don't waste air and food!~"
"Officer, hurry up and send him to jail, so he never comes out to harm people again!"
"......"
Left Advisor's head ached from the noise.
Even if the villagers didn't say anything, Yun Wangcai's family couldn't escape.
In the Great Liang Dynasty, theft was a serious crime.
Anything over one tael of silver was enough to be sentenced to two years...
Moreover, the Yun family's more than five thousand old bricks, plus tiles and wood, were worth at least thirty to forty taels of silver.
At Yun Wangcai's age, he would probably spend the rest of his life in prison.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Lu Jinping turned to run.
Unexpectedly, Liu Cuirong stuck out her foot and tripped her. With a 'thump,' Lu Jinping fell face first...
"Still trying to run, I'll beat you to death!~" Liu Cuirong swung her stick and hit her on the backside several times.
Left Advisor frowned at Lu Jinping and asked, "Did you steal bricks too?"
"Wuwuwu, I didn't steal, it was all my father's instigation. He wanted to build a small house to live in himself, but he didn't have money to buy bricks, so he went to steal..."
Lu Jinping cried and accused him.
Yun Wangcai, upon hearing this, wished he could strangle this daughter-in-law.
How could she expose her father-in-law?
Left Advisor continued to glare at Lu Jinping, "I'm only asking if you stole bricks?"
"No... no, I went back to my maiden home yesterday, I didn't know they were stealing bricks at home!~"
Lu Jinping cleared herself completely.
Liu Cuirong kicked her and cursed, "You lie without even drafting, your maiden family died seven or eight years ago, did you go to the underworld to find them?"
Fu Daqiang's wife, Wang Suzhen, also said, "Don't listen to Lu Jinping's nonsense, she was still cracking melon seeds at the door yesterday, what maiden home are you talking about..."
Left Advisor had a clear idea. He looked around and said, "Where is Yun Gou Dan?"
"He disappeared long ago!~" Yun Wangcai said indignantly.
If his son had stayed to go through the hardship with him, Yun Wangcai wouldn't have been so panicked...
But that beast didn't take any responsibility and ran away faster than a rabbit.
Little Xi Tian walked over, tugged on Left Advisor's sleeve with her small hand, and sweetly called out, "Uncle Shiye!~"
"Oh my, Tian Bao Bao!~" Left Advisor's face was full of joy, and he quickly squatted down and felt in his pocket.
He remembered buying some candy for his youngest son yesterday. After searching for a long time, he managed to find a piece and stuffed it into Little Xi Tian's hand.
"Here, Tian Bao Bao, eat candy..."
This little girl is so cute.
He wanted to secretly take her away.
No wonder Governor Chen and the Prefect were so eager to please the Yun family.
If he had such a daughter, he would burn incense and kowtow to Buddha every day...
"Thank you, Uncle Shiye!~" Little Xi Tian unwrapped the candy and handed it to Left Advisor's mouth, "Uncle, you eat the candy, my tooth hurts, I don't want candy!"
She didn't want candy; she just wanted justice for her family.
Yun Wangcai being arrested was a small matter, but the loss to his family was significant.
Not only did it delay the construction of the house, but it would take at least a day or two to move those five thousand bricks out of the vegetable cellar...
Although it wasn't too difficult to put them in, moving them out was time-consuming and labor-intensive.
"Tian Bao Bao is so good!~" Left Advisor's eyes disappeared with joy.
Little Xi Tian explained her family's losses.
Left Advisor, chewing on the candy, asked, "Then what compensation does Tian Bao Bao want?"