Chapter 82

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

"Is Chai Youqing home?" someone outside shouted.

So Chai Youqing and Chai Mi went out.

There were about seven or eight people outside, all wearing solemn expressions. The leader was a tall, thin man in his thirties or so, with a wart the size of a pinky fingernail on his left cheek, dressed in a standard shirt, suit trousers, and leather shoes — precisely the Xiao Liuzi Chai Mi had spoken of.

Chai Mi didn't know what Xiao Liuzi's real name was, but in the jianghu he was known as Sixth Brother. He was a functionary in the xiang, though what exactly he was responsible for was unclear; anyway he held no real power, just a runner who handled legwork.

Seeing it was Xiao Liuzi, Chai Mi didn't panic. After all, one look told her the matter wasn't too serious; if it were a big deal, the Police Station would have come, not just a runner like Xiao Liuzi.

Xiao Liuzi pointed at Chai Youqing: "You're Chai Youqing, right?"

Chai Youqing nodded: "That's me. What's up? What do you want with me?"

"Hey... someone reported you for stealing timber from the state-owned forest farm..." Xiao Liuzi said, "So we have to search your house."

Chai Mi laughed as she retorted: "Our xiang doesn't have any state-owned forest farm. At most there are a few trees on the mountain top. Besides, for a baseless accusation, someone reports it and you come to search? Then I'll report that the purlins for the front courtyard's Laozhai were all stolen."

Chai Mi was right — the timber for the front courtyard's Laozhai was indeed stolen.

That was the real theft of trees from the Da Shulinzi... and most of it was stolen by Chai Youqing.

"One thing is one thing. We're just following orders; there really was a report. Otherwise we wouldn't have come..." Xiao Liuzi said, "Just a simple check, best if there's nothing."

"No way." Chai Mi refused directly: "The state has state laws, the family has family rules. You're not police, and you don't have a search warrant — you say search and we just let you?!"

This was the first time Xiao Liuzi had encountered this situation; wherever he went before, no one ever spoke to him like this, and he said with some anger: "But there really was a report, and we really have to check."

Chai Mi shook her head: "No. If it's official business, today I definitely won't let you in. But to speak plainly, I know Sixth Brother you're a person of standing; not letting you in wouldn't be right. You can still come in a personal capacity, just to take a look. But only to look."

Chai Mi's words were clear: looking was fine, but even if there was timber at home, it would just be going through formalities.

Xiao Liuzi wasn't a fool; he was an old hand at this.

He adhered to the principle of "better one less thing than one more," and a single log wasn't a crime; rather than lose face, he might as well go in and look.

So Xiao Liuzi agreed readily: "How old is the little girl? Does she know me?"

"Who in the village doesn't know Sixth Brother's great name?" Chai Mi said, neither humble nor pushy, with reason and evidence: "Sixth Brother isn't an unreasonable person. We do have a tree at home, but it was cut when someone in the neighboring village died. My father feared that tree would be in the way, blocking the village's road up the mountain, and went to the hard trouble of moving it. He did a good deed of helping others, acted as a righteous and brave good person. Don't know which bastard with nothing better to do spouted nonsense and turned it into us stealing."

Xiao Liuzi frowned, calculating in his mind how to close the case today.

Right then, Village Chief Liu Zhanggui came running from afar, shouting as he ran: "Oh my... what wind blew Little Sixth Brother you here?"

Seeing Liu Zhanggui arrive, Chai Mi instantly felt reassured.

Liu Zhanggui's skill at muddying the waters was truly top-tier.

Though, has he just been bored with nothing to do lately?

How does he know so fast whenever there's the slightest stir on our side?!