Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 131 Reunion
Zhao Guang stood in the cold wind, watching the carriage slowly disappear into the distance. A wave of sorrow washed over him. How had things come to this? Just over a month ago, everything was fine.

The yamen runners riding donkeys alongside the carriage were now incredibly envious of the county magistrate. They also wanted to return to the yamen; who would want to be exposed to the cold wind on such a day?

The village chief and the others were willing. Their feelings were mixed, but they would soon be able to see their families and have the opportunity to go home. They were content with that alone.

……

Upon entering the village again, Jia Chuan asked the village chief and the others to first go to his home to let him know they were safe, and then go to the temple to find him.

This time, the carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain, and the yamen runners accompanied Jia Chuan to the temple. Jia Chuan went straight to the three courtyard walls and indeed found something different on the back courtyard wall.

very different.

The snow on the backyard wall had been cleared away. Jia Chuan frowned as he looked at it. He couldn't understand why he hadn't noticed it yesterday. When he was going down the mountain to the dry well, he passed by the backyard wall. He could have seen it just by glancing back at it when he was coming down the mountain. But he just didn't notice it. Was his brain frozen?

Even though a day has passed, it's not easy to draw a conclusion now.

Jia Chuan sighed, hurriedly walked out of the temple gate, came to the outer side of the backyard wall, squatted down under the wall in frustration, and carefully examined the open space near the wall.

"Take my advice, don't go down into the cellar to investigate yet." Old Zheng shouted from the yard, "I looked at the footprints next to the cellar, what kind of shoes are the villagers wearing? There are boots among the footprints around here."

Jia Chuan wasn't too surprised and shouted, "There's no one in the cellar right now."

"How do you know?"

“There are marks of heavy objects falling down the wall, so someone must have thrown the body out from inside. There are also boot footprints. Although I didn’t check this place yesterday, but…” Jia Chuan followed the footprints toward the path leading down the mountain.

"Don't go far! We don't know what's going on in this place yet, come back quickly!"

Jia Chuan stopped and looked at the few new footprints on the snow.

“But you checked yesterday and there were no footprints of people carrying heavy loads on the way down the mountain, nor were there any boot prints,” Old Zheng shouted, straining his neck.

Jia Chuan turned and walked back: "Going down the mountain to the dry well is only the west side, and it's not the only way. If we go down the mountain road on the east side and then go around to the dry well, it's not impossible. After that, they will become bolder."

Old Zheng didn't hear what was said.

When Old Zheng saw Jia Chuan return to the temple, he pulled him aside and whispered to him, away from the constables, "You didn't have the constable in charge of the case with you this time, and you don't have any concrete evidence. What you saw and deduced from it, how can it be considered valid? If that Zhao guy makes baseless accusations, it's a small matter that the case will be difficult to conclude, but it's a big matter that it will arouse the Emperor's suspicion of you! Those three constables will definitely not be on your side."

Jia Chuan didn't say anything.

Old Zheng continued, "You asked the village chief and the others to lead the way, but you didn't really mean to let them lead the way, right? You wanted to let them go, didn't you?"

"I want to see if my previous assumptions were correct."

Old Zheng thought for a moment and asked, "You mean, you want to see if they... will escape?"

Jia Chuan nodded.

"If they didn't escape, it means they only embezzled the silver and nothing else?" Old Zheng saw Jia Chuan nod again and then asked, "And then?"

"Then... release them, and keep whatever amount of silver they brought back yesterday, as if what they did before never happened."

"You, oh dear, what if someone finds out one day..."

Jia Chuan smiled and said, "A few dozen taels of silver, the Emperor knows I won't care about it. I'm even worried that no one will speak up for me. I'm still a little embarrassed to tell anyone about this good deed myself."

"Don't be shy. When did you become so rich? Did the Emperor bestow wealth upon you? You kept it from me?"

“Since we came back from Le’an, you’ve been inseparable from me. You know better than I do how much I eat and how much I poop each day. How could I hide a reward from you? I’m anxious too. I guess we have to wait for the King of Han… right? Otherwise, I won’t have an excuse to reward him.”

"Why don't you think the King of Han has made a move yet?"

"Maybe they're hoping for a family reunion during the New Year."

The two men huddled in a corner, chatting away. Several constables stood near what appeared to be the entrance to the cellar, shivering in the cold wind. They were discussing who should step forward to warn the county magistrate, whether to go inside and wait or…

Just then, a commotion came from the temple gate. Jia Chuan turned his head and saw the village chief leading four villagers, who looked tragic.

Jia Chuan felt relieved, but his expression remained unchanged. He asked loudly, "Where is the cellar?"

The village chief was also quite puzzled. The temple was small, and there were only two places where cellars could be dug. Yet, several yamen runners were standing on the empty space where there was no cellar.

The village chief pointed to the back of the main hall.

One of the constables muttered, "No wonder I couldn't find the entrance."

Jia Chuan looked at Old Zheng speechlessly and asked, "You still have the nerve to say that there are footprints all around the cellar entrance?"

Old Zheng's face didn't turn red as he argued, "Where it is doesn't matter. You didn't notice the boot prints here yesterday either, so it's not your fault. There were already so many places to investigate, and no one helped you. Wait, Gao Yuntian and Commander Chen came yesterday. They... oh, you were always thinking about the silver, and then you went down the mountain to check the body..."

Seeing that Jia Chuan first went to look at the pile of footprints he had just seen, and then got up to go to the direction of the cellar that the village chief pointed out, Old Zheng stopped him and said, "You should wait for the Gao siblings to come before you talk. No matter what's down there, with you and those few idiots... you'll only make things worse."

Jia Chuan knew that Old Zheng was frightened after his trip to Le'an, and now that he was all alone with Jia Chuan, it was normal for him to be worried.

Jia Chuan thought for a moment. First of all, there were indeed new footprints, which meant that someone was looking for something. They must have been looking for something for the past few days. They knew how to cover their tracks before, but after the government officials came, they stopped hiding. Since they had been looking for so many days and hadn't found anything, what difference would a day or two make? His life was still very important.

Secondly, he felt that there should be no one in the cellar at the moment. If there were, then these people probably wouldn't live to see next year. If there was no one, then he didn't care about anything else. He could leave it for a couple of days and come back later. Maybe he could catch them red-handed.

So Jia Chuan walked up to the village head and said, "These next two days, don't just think about the New Year. Come up here more often, whether you have something to do or not. If you find anything suspicious, go to the county government office to find me as soon as possible. I'll come back in a couple of days."

The village chief asked in surprise, "No, you're not going to arrest us?"

“What have you done? You’ve handed over all the silver in full. The only problem is that you didn’t report the case in time, but the people in the temple are gone and the temple gates are still closed. It’s understandable that you were frightened. Besides, after discovering the body, you didn’t delay reporting it to the authorities just because the county government was sealed off at the end of the year. That alone cancels out the previous problem. Go back and have a good New Year!” The village head knelt down with a thud, and the four people behind him followed suit. The five of them were about to kowtow when Jia Chuan quickly whispered and scolded, “Get up! If you do this, it will be difficult for me to explain. Do you want to come back with me?”

The five men quickly got up. Jia Chuan patted the village chief and said, "Although you have some greed, who doesn't? It's already commendable that you think of the villagers at this critical moment. I'll come again in a couple of days and visit your home if I have the chance."

The village chief bowed while wiping away his tears.

Old Zheng recalled what Gao Yuntian had once said to him during a casual chat: "This kid's biggest flaw is that he's too kind-hearted."

Clearly, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhao Guang did not think that way. If we were to say who missed Jia Chuan the most during the New Year, it would undoubtedly be these two.

……

Jia Chuan thought he would see the Gao siblings and Shunzi and his wife on the morning of New Year's Eve, but no one came even after noon. He was so anxious that he went in and out countless times.

Yesterday, after returning from outside the city, he took out the little money he had left and asked Old Zheng to buy some chicken, duck, fish and meat. Old Zheng was indignant. Putting aside what he could buy with so little money, he asked why he hadn't taken it out earlier. Didn't the two of them deserve to eat some meat during the New Year?

Jia Chuan advised that he didn't know how long they would be here, and that it would be easier for the two of them to resolve the situation. He suggested that they could simply go to Zhao Guang's house to retrieve some money later, and that keeping this amount of cash was for the future after the New Year.

Old Zheng remembered the bet between Jia Chuan and Zhao Guang and believed it.

But with the year drawing to a close, few shops were open. Old Zheng was unfamiliar with the area, so he inevitably returned empty-handed. Jia Chuan had no choice but to take Old Zheng to the back of the county government office, to Zhao Guang's residence.

When they came back, there weren't enough hands for both of them.

On the morning of New Year's Eve, Old Zheng was busy in his makeshift kitchen. Jia Chuan smelled the faint aroma of meat wafting through the air and felt a pang of sadness. The past three years seemed to have passed in a daze, and he thought he hadn't left any impression. Yet, the smiling faces of those people still flashed through his mind, just as they had in his previous life. The scenes of celebrating the New Year in his previous life, however, did not appear...

Soon, his mind was filled with images of white dresses... This year, he also had someone he looked forward to and waited for. Even standing in the freezing cold, Jia Chuan felt a warm glow in his chest.

Old Zheng stewed everything that could be stewed, but he would stir-fry the rest after everyone arrived, but they were all late.

Jia Chuan couldn't wait any longer. He had been pacing back and forth in the alley outside the county government office for who knows how long, just like a father waiting for his children to come home for the New Year.

"Big brother!"

Finally, a familiar, powerful sound came, and Jia Chuan immediately felt his blood boil and he jumped up and down rapidly.

Gao Yuntian and Gao Yunduo rode horses, followed by a carriage. Dong Yuanyuan stuck her big head out of the carriage window, her face full of excitement.

Gao Yuntian exclaimed, "Why are you calling him? You should let him walk a few more steps; he might just fall flat on his face in a bit."

Dong Yuanyuan's head disappeared from the carriage window, followed by a round thing jumping off the carriage. Jia Chuan felt a sense of relief when he saw the horse.

"Brother! There's so much delicious food here: fried fish, fried rice cakes, meatballs, stewed mutton, candied melon, peanuts, red dates, date buns... I also stewed a chicken, but there was nothing left to pack it in. I was afraid it would spoil by the time I got back, so I drank the soup and ate the chicken before I left."

Jia Chuan kept saying "good, good, good," but his eyes casually drifted towards Gao Yunduo.

Shunzi also got off the carriage and said something with a chuckle, but Jia Chuan didn't hear it at all.

On horseback, Gao Yunduo stood tall and straight like a pine tree. To keep warm, she wore a fine-lined jacket under her brocade coat, and then a fox fur coat over it. Her suede undergarments were tucked into her sheepskin boots, and on top of that, she wore a red cloak. The sable fur around the collar fluttered in the wind. To protect against the wind and sand, Gao Yunduo wore a thin, gossamer-like veil over her hair. As the veil fluttered in the wind, it gave Jia Chuan a touch of ethereal beauty.

"Where are you going if you don't dismount?" Gao Yun got off his horse and asked Gao Yunduo, who was sitting upright on it, with a puzzled look.

Gao Yunduo's cheeks, which were already a little red from the cold, turned even redder, and she hurriedly dismounted.

Jia Chuan was secretly pleased. He stepped forward, patted Gao Yuntian on the shoulder, and asked, "Is there anything you need to take from the car?"

Shunzi quickly replied, "That's quite a lot!"

Jia Chuan glanced at the few yamen runners standing at the yamen gate, and they quickly stepped forward.

The group entered the yamen chatting and laughing, and headed towards Jia Chuan's residence.

Upon receiving the message, Zhao Guang waited at the courtyard gate. When he saw the group, he hurriedly went to greet them, his enthusiasm as if he were welcoming old friends he hadn't seen for many years.

Jia Chuan didn't bother looking at his hypocritical face, so he quickly walked a few steps into the courtyard and met Old Zheng, who came out to greet him.

Old Zheng was very happy to see Shunzi and Dong Yuanyuan, and introduced all the food he had prepared. Gao Yunduo asked unhappily, "Can't you see me?"

Old Zheng chuckled and said, "Your arrival is none of my business."

Gao Yunduo's cheeks flushed again.

Zhao Guang's enthusiasm was ignored by the others. He could only take a bamboo basket from the yamen runner, lift it, find it too heavy, and hand it back to the runner. He then turned and caught up with Gao Yuntian, saying enthusiastically, "Tonight is New Year's Eve. It's difficult for Magistrate Song to prepare any good dishes here. Why don't you all come to my place? There will be plenty of fine wine and food. Besides, you've had a long journey. Take a rest and don't do anything. I'll send someone to call you..."

Dong Yuanyuan said anxiously, "That's exactly what we want—to be busy. Otherwise, what's the point of celebrating the New Year?"

Gao Yunduo said, "Ignore him, let's do it ourselves."

Old Zheng laughed and said, "You're really not dressed like that. Come inside and warm up first, then wait for your meal."

After Old Zheng finished speaking, he directed several yamen runners to put the things away properly. He then asked Dong Yuanyuan to introduce what was inside each item. Upon hearing that a lot of radishes had been brought, Old Zheng complained, "Don't you care about the weight? This place may not be as good as the capital, but you don't have to bring radishes! Wouldn't it be better to bring a few jars of wine? How can you drink just a few jars?"

Dong Yuanyuan quickly said, "My sister said that my brother doesn't drink much, so it's just sitting there."

Old Zheng exclaimed "Oh dear!" and turned to Shunzi, saying, "Can't you put in a good word for me? He doesn't usually drink, but I do!"

Old Zheng and Shunzi, along with Dong Yuanyuan, were discussing the contents of the baskets and bags, while Jia Chuan was seeing off his guests.

Zhao Guang left dejectedly, but he seemed to understand something. The reason he couldn't find out who Song Sheng was was because... those connected to Song Sheng were not officials in the court.

(End of this chapter)