Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 215 Exchange
When Aliang woke up, he found himself lying on the grass by the river. His body was dry and his clothes were not wet.

"Hey, Aliang, are you awake?" Aniu's voice sounded with tears. "How could you do such a stupid thing? If it weren't for the two adults saving my life, you would be dead."

Only then did Aliang see that Brother Ren and Sister Yao from the Gou Chen Division were standing beside him. It was obvious that they were the ones who saved him.

His nose felt sore and he said with tears in his eyes: "Thank you both for saving me, but I really don't want to live anymore."

"Why?" Ren Yuan asked.

"In order to support my studies, my family has been struggling to make ends meet. I thought that since I can write and do math, and have decent handwriting, I should be able to support my family, even if I can't make a name for myself." Ah Liang shed tears and said:
"But until now, I haven't found a proper job... I'm not eligible to participate in the village election, and I've failed the grammar exams in the state and county. I have no choice but to keep lowering my expectations. I thought I could be a clerk in the county, right? But in the end, there was no hope..."

This failure was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, making him completely lose hope and there was no light in his eyes at all.

"I came after you just to tell you about this." But Ren Yuan said, "After you left, someone from the government office came out and took down the notice, saying that it was wrong and they would post a new one later."

"There's no place for me in that." A Liang said dejectedly, "Didn't you see, sir? They openly hired even their own dog, so why would they give us common people a chance?"

"Let's take a look, just in case." Ren Yuan didn't say anything and pulled the two of them away.

When I went back to Yaqian Street, I saw that there was indeed a new list, and the first name on it was Aliang's - Wang Liang.

There is also Ah Niu’s name at the end - Hong Niu.

"Hey, I won!" Ah Niu recognized his own name and jumped for joy.

Aliang also shed tears with mixed emotions.

Ren Yuan patted his shoulder and said, "Just tell me, don't try to kill yourself so easily, maybe there will be a turning point in the next moment."

Aliang knew clearly that this must be the help of Ren Yuan, Chen Baxian and others, but he was a smart boy and knew that he should not talk nonsense at this time, so he nodded with tears in his eyes.

"Go in and report quickly." Ren Yuan smiled and pushed the two men. The two men bowed deeply to him and then entered the yamen together.

~~
The official residence of the county lieutenant in Jiankang County Yamen.

Having achieved their goal, Yang Zhong and Chen Baxian clasped their fists and said to County Magistrate Liu, "I am sorry for causing trouble to the Shaofu."

"Alas, it was our negligence that we missed such a talent. We really shouldn't have done that." County Lieutenant Liu shook his head and smiled.

Although the ghostwriter was only an eighth-rank official, and was far lower than him, the county lieutenant of Jing County, County Lieutenant Liu did not dare to neglect the two of them.

First, he was in charge of public security and catching thieves, so there were many places that asked the Gou Chen Si for help. Second, the Gou Chen Si itself also had the responsibility of supervising officials. How could he offend two people for the positions of just two clerks? Third, haha...

"Then we won't bother you anymore." Yang Zhong and Chen Baxian stood up and said goodbye.

"Please stay, both of you. I just happen to have something to ask of you." County Lieutenant Liu changed the subject.

"Please go ahead." Yang Zhong nodded.

"I wonder if your company has noticed that since the beginning of the year, there have been signs of an increase in missing children cases in the capital," County Lieutenant Liu asked softly.

"I haven't noticed it," Yang Zhong said softly, "It was a bit of a commotion last year, but then we caught a few human traffickers and it died down."

"Yes." County Lieutenant Liu nodded and said, "Yes, but in February alone, our county received more than 40 reports of missing children."

After a pause, he said, "I heard there are more in Moling County."

"My goodness, one hundred children are missing in less than a month. This is no longer an ordinary case of missing children. We must strike hard!" Chen Baxian said in a deep voice. "..." Yang Zhong rolled his eyes at him and turned to County Lieutenant Liu and said, "Is there a demon or evil spirit causing trouble?"

"It has not been found out yet, but as Brother Chen said, the kidnappers are so rampant, but they have never been discovered. It is hard not to think about that." Then County Lieutenant Liu said:
"So I would like to ask you two to report it on my behalf and see if the Gou Chen Si can also keep an eye on it."

"Okay." Yang Zhong responded.

~~
After coming out of the county government office, Yang Zhong blamed Chen Baxian.

"Why are you so excited? They are obviously trying to drag us into the blame."

"I know." Chen Baxian said nonchalantly, "I'm just sitting around doing nothing anyway, maybe I can make some contribution."

"But it could also be a trap. Be careful of Lord Xue Wei's rage." Yang Zhong looked up and sighed. He was simply endlessly angry with this guy.

At this time, Ren Yuan and A Yao came over and praised the two men, saying, "You two brothers really did it easily."

"This is easy. It's a good deal to exchange two mere clerks for our favor." Yang Zhong said with a smile.

"By the way, do you know where that dog came from?" Chen Baxian couldn't help laughing.

"What's the origin?"

"It's the county lieutenant's own dog." Chen Baxian said happily, "He uses public money to raise his own dog and can also give him a salary. This calculation is more clever than the second brother..."

Then he patted Yang Zhong on the shoulder and said, "Learning never stops, Lao Er."

"..." Yang Zhong slapped his hand away in anger and said, "But it is true. Basically, they are related to officials in the county or prefecture, or they spent money. It is normal for Aliang and Aniu to be squeezed out."

"Those two brothers are really proud of themselves. They squeezed out two relatives as soon as they showed up?" Ren Yuan said softly, "Could they have some other intentions?"

"Alas, the third brother is the one who understands." Yang Zhong said with a bitter face: "There is a case that they want us to help with."

"You agreed?"

"It's already been done, how can I not agree?" Yang Zhong sighed and said, "If you don't follow the rules in this place, you won't be able to survive in the capital."

~~
After returning to the yamen after patrolling, Yang Zhong reported the whole matter to Zu An, and naturally he was scolded.

However, Zuan mainly scolded them for doing private things under the banner of the Gou Chensi.

"We didn't show partiality, did we?" Chen Baxian said with wide eyes, "We didn't take a penny from the gifts from the two children. We just couldn't stand it and went in to say a few fair words."

"You are so arrogant, and you still want to talk about fairness?" Zuan said unhappily, "Don't you know that we should stay out of each other's way with the county? This is what we are afraid of."

He walked out angrily, cursing as he walked: "What are you two doing standing there? Go report to me!"

"Oh oh." The two hurriedly followed. "The deputy team leader still wants to meddle in this matter?"

"Nonsense, there are a hundred children!" Zuan said as a matter of course: "Can you just ignore it now that you know about it?"

"Otherwise, why would I admire our deputy captain?" Chen Baxian flattered Shan Xiang: "He has a strong shoulder to shoulder the moral responsibility, and a strong jaw to distinguish between loyalty and treachery!"

"Hahaha, if you can speak, just say more." Zuan shook his head happily.

(End of this chapter)