Chapter 220: Finding The Thief
Everyone except Xie Chong looked disbelieving.
A beautiful butterfly can help someone catch a thief?
But no matter what, the few people who had their money stolen followed, and quite a few others joined the crowd to watch.
The red butterfly flew not too fast in front, so Xie Chong and his group could keep up.
Many people were curious about what was happening.
It’s human nature to enjoy excitement and gossip, so the crowd grew larger and larger.
About fifteen minutes later, led by the red butterfly, they spotted a man walking on the street.
He was looking at a money bag in his hand.
“Heh heh… merchants who come here are indeed rich. There are several hundred taels of silver notes and over ten taels of silver.”
“It’s enough for me to splurge for a while. Today I’ll go gamble with my brothers.”
At this moment, the man didn’t notice a beautiful red butterfly circling above his head.
Qin Wanwan’s tender little voice rang out, “Daddy, it’s him.”
The man turned his head and saw so many people gathered not far behind him!
“That’s my money bag!”
The middle-aged man whose money was stolen looked at the thief with a ferocious expression.
“You scoundrel! How dare you steal my money! I’ll beat you to death, you son of a bitch!”
Seeing that things were bad, the thief turned and ran.
The middle-aged man immediately chased after him.
“Stop! You goddamn stop for me!”
Xie Chong swept his eyes, stepped on a stone, kicked it up, and then kicked it towards the thief.
The aim was very good; it hit the thief’s foot directly.
The thief stumbled and fell face-first onto the ground.
The middle-aged man and his brothers, with ferocious expressions, pounced and held the person down, then proceeded to beat him.
“Damn it, you dare to steal our brothers’ money! You black-hearted, rotten thief! My brothers saved up every bit of our savings to do business, and you just reached out and stole it! Damn it, are you trying to ruin our families!”
The thief was still quibbling, “I didn’t. I didn’t steal your money. You’ve got the wrong person.”
“We might mistake people, but would we mistake this money bag? You still dare to quibble!”
“Nonsense, that money bag is mine. Stop framing me. Why do you say this money bag is yours!”
In short, he refused to admit it.
The group wrestled together, and the thief, being outnumbered and weak, was beaten and cried out.
Xie Chong walked over, “Enough. Send him to the prefectural yamen.”
Two soldiers stepped forward, held the thief down, and arrested him.
The crowd that had gathered to watch started discussing noisily.
“So much money was stolen. If it were me, I’d beat that thief half to death too. I hate these sticky-fingered people the most.”
“It’s truly miraculous. That butterfly could actually help catch a thief. How did it find him?”
“I didn’t believe it before, and now it’s found him so quickly.”
“Isn’t that General Xie’s daughter? I saw the little girl talking to the butterfly. Do you think she can really understand what the butterfly is saying?”
“How can that thing talk? It can’t even make a sound.”
The thief was sent to the prefectural yamen for interrogation. Although he tried his best to quibble, he was a local, and people in the crowd recognized him.
Truly, no matter where you go, there are always some lazy good-for-nothings who mess around and have sticky fingers.
This person was clearly one of them.
“Isn’t that Er Gouzi? He’s always been idle at home, stealing chickens and dogs. How could he have so much money? That money bag absolutely couldn’t be his.”
They all knew each other well; his neighbors were very clear about Er Gouzi’s family situation.
Finally, under duress, Er Gouzi changed his story, saying he found the money bag.
After receiving a beating, he finally admitted he stole it.
After the case was clear, the property was returned to its rightful owners, the culprit was taken into custody, and sentenced to five years of hard labor.
This punishment was a bit heavy, but now theft and robbery in Shahe City are strictly punished. Moreover, Shahe City lacks labor. As long as they haven’t committed murder, they are sent to do hard labor, such as quarrying stones to repair the city walls and roads, which all require people.
Kidnappers are even more severe, sentenced to lifelong hard labor until they drop from exhaustion.
After everything settled down, Qin Wanwan sat on a small stool, holding a hard-boiled egg, slowly gnawing on it while waiting for Daddy to come find her to go home together.
“Little Red Butterfly, you are truly amazing.”
The red butterfly proudly danced in front of her, like a little dancing elf.
It could find anything by scent.
Keke said, “The person who gave you this butterfly must not be simple. Definitely not some beggar.”
Qin Wanwan asked, “Then who is it?”
Keke replied, “How would I know?”
They only discussed it briefly and then dropped the matter.
Xie Chong walked into the room. Qin Wanwan held up the remaining half of the egg and offered it to him.
“Daddy, eat.”
Xie Chong lowered his head and took a bite.
The little one had saved all the yolk for herself, as she didn’t like it and it felt a bit dry.
“Daddy, let’s buy tea and make tea eggs.”
“Tea eggs are delicious.”
Hearing this, Xie Chong nodded, “Okay.”
The little one was picked up again, leaning against her daddy’s chest as soft as if she had no bones, her little mouth chattering non-stop.
“Did the bad guy get punished?”
“Yes, he was punished with five years of hard labor.”
“Will he have to repair the Great Wall?”
“Yes.”
“Daddy, Little Red Butterfly is very good at finding things and people. If you need to find anything in the future, I can lend you Little Red Butterfly.”
Xie Chong paused for a moment, then turned his head to look at the butterfly above the little one’s head.
“I actually do need Red Butterfly’s help.”
Qin Wanwan tilted her head, “Do you need it now?”
Xie Chong shook his head, “Tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
The little milk bun softly agreed, then expertly used the little red butterfly to draw a grand picture for it.
“Little Red Butterfly, work hard for me. Wanwan will grow a very large flower garden for you, all for you.”
The little red butterfly fluttered happily.
Xie Chong looked at his daughter’s innocent and tender appearance, his lips curving upwards slightly, his dark eyes full of doting.
Upon returning home, Qin Wanwan saw Lang Ya at the doorway, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
The young man was now completely gone from his previous thinness, having grown taller and sturdier.
His features were sharp and clear, making him a handsome young man with an exotic charm. His demeanor was increasingly sharp, resembling Father Xie somewhat, a demeanor honed in the military.
When he saw Qin Wanwan, the blue eyes of Lang Ya brightened even more.
“Lang Ya, Lang Ya, where have you been? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
Lang Ya gestured a few times with his hand.
Xie Chong explained, “I sent him to temper and train.”
Xie Chong had organized a cavalry unit with the best training and resources.
If Lang Ya wanted to protect Wanwan by her side, he naturally had to be well-trained.
He placed the person in the cavalry unit to train with them, and from time to time, they had to go out to the grasslands for live combat against the Tartars.
There were no major battles with the Tartars now, but minor skirmishes were constant.
The Tartars frequently harassed some more remote areas, and they would send people to patrol, including the nearby grasslands. When they encountered Tartars, they would fight.
This way, they could both kill enemies and train their warriors’ fighting spirit and martial prowess.
Soldiers on the battlefield are not just trained; only those who have truly seen blood can survive better on the battlefield.
Lang Ya had previously gone to the grasslands with a cavalry unit and fought against a Tartar group.
Although he was injured, he returned alive. Now his injuries were almost healed, and upon hearing the news that Wanwan had returned from Shangjing, he immediately rushed back.
