Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 5 Liu Jianjun is a Little Devil
Liu Jianjun and a group of villagers kidnapped the four thugs.

Before leaving, Liu Jianjun gave him a special reminder: "Xianzi, remember to get up early tomorrow! Let's go together to see them off to the officials!"

Li Xian had a lot to say.

For example, the name "Xianzi" doesn't sound good, and why should one be called along when sending a bully to see the magistrate?

But Liu Jianjun left as soon as he finished speaking, without giving Li Xian a chance to speak.

Watching the firelight gradually fade into the distance, Li Xian stood at the door for a long time until he heard his wife and children calling him. Only then did he realize that the night was a little chilly, and he hurriedly returned to the house.

As soon as I entered, I saw the anxious eyes of several children.

Li Xian smiled and comforted him, "It's alright, it's alright, you can get a good night's sleep tonight."

Seeing the children's relieved expressions, the last bit of reluctance Li Xian felt towards the bullies vanished.

Liu Jianjun is right. Such evil people are better off dead.

After comforting the children, Li Xian returned to the bedroom, hugged the embroiderer, and repeated words of comfort.

But the embroiderer still looked worried. Li Xian suddenly had a bright idea and remembered Liu Jianjun's teasing words to him.

So he chuckled lightly and teased, "Embroiderer, what do you think of me tying my beard into a braid?"

The embroiderer looked surprised and glanced at Li Xian's beard. She wanted to laugh, as if she was thinking of the way Li Xian would braid his beard.

But when her gaze fell upon the smile on Li Xian's face, she finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears: "Your Highness... you're alright! You're alright! That's wonderful!"

Li Xian didn't say anything, but simply hugged the embroiderer tighter.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

Li Xian got up early, remembering Liu Jianjun's instructions yesterday to take those thugs to see the officials.

Although this was Li Xian's first time going out, he wasn't too nervous.

Because Liu Jianjun told him before he left yesterday: "After you leave your yard, just follow this road into the village. When you see two big Chinese toon trees, I will wait for you there. If you arrive early, you can also wait for me there."

Li Xian thought to himself, "Liu Jianjun is quite thoughtful; he knows I've never been out before and don't know the way."

Li Xian soon saw the two large Chinese toon trees, which were so thick that it would take two people to hug them. The four bullies from yesterday had been tied to the trees.

The villagers were clearly unwilling to provide the four with shelter, so they tied them up here.

After being tied up all night, the four bullies were so listless that they didn't even notice Li Xian's arrival.

Liu Jianjun hadn't arrived yet, and Li Xian didn't want to bother with the bullies, so he looked around the village, searching for Liu Jianjun.

Before long, Li Xian saw Liu Jianjun coming over. He was pulling a cart and swaying leisurely towards him, waving at him as he went, still with that carefree look on his face.

When he reached him, Liu Jianjun smiled and teased him, "Good morning, Xianzi! I thought you couldn't get up!"

Li Xian didn't answer, but looked curiously at the cart behind Liu Jianjun: "What's this?"

“A donkey cart! Haven’t you seen one before? This is on the way to the yamen. I grew some white radishes at home, and I just happened to be passing by, so I’m taking them to the market to exchange them for some millet.”

Li Xian then noticed several cloth bags on the cart, which he assumed contained the radishes Liu Jianjun had been pulling. He nodded and said, "I know it's a donkey cart, but... where's the donkey?"

"Isn't this it?" Liu Jianjun pointed at the four thugs.

……

The four bullies were retired by Liu Jianjun and tied to the front of the donkey cart. The ropes still bound their bodies tightly, leaving only their legs free to move. The four bullies pulled the cart slowly along the mountain road.

Li Xian and Liu Jianjun sat on the cart, each holding two bags of radishes. Li Xian was a little worried, but Liu Jianjun suddenly spoke up: "Hold my radishes tight! Don't let them fall!"

Li Xian snapped out of his daze and looked at Liu Jianjun, who was holding a radish and munching on it without a care in the world.

Li Xian said irritably, "You won't lose it!"

Then, pointing at the four thugs, he said, "Aren't your parents worried that you'll be leading four thugs by yourself, and they'll run away?"

"Isn't that you? Aren't you an adult?" Liu Jianjun spat. "Pah, this radish isn't sweet! Besides, these four people have been tormented all night without sleep, and they're tied up, so their blood circulation is poor and they have no strength."

Li Xian asked curiously, "Did you leave someone with you at night?"

Li Xian thought the villagers had simply tied the four bullies to the tree.

“Not only did we keep them, but last night Liu Laosan was even planning to feed them glutinous rice balls. If I hadn’t said these four were still useful, they would have been dead long ago!” Liu Jianjun said casually, but Li Xian noticed that the four bullies trembled when they heard about glutinous rice balls, and their steps quickened.

Li Xian asked curiously, "Can glutinous rice balls kill people? Did you poison them?"

"What other poison do you need? When that thing is freshly steamed, rinse it with ice water. The surface will be cool, but the inside will be like a ball of fire. If you force it in, they'll all die within fifteen minutes!"

Li Xian thought about the scene and couldn't help but shudder.

"What? Feeling sorry for them?" Liu Jianjun looked at Li Xian with a smile: "In our remote and impoverished area, we don't have many rules or laws. If these people are caught stealing, they can be beaten to death. If I hadn't wasted some breath and promised to personally take them to see the authorities, no one would have bothered with a few petty thieves!"

“I don’t feel any heartache. These people humiliated my wife and children. I would love to tear them to pieces. I’m just worried that they will retaliate against you later.” Li Xian shook his head and continued, “These people are not my evil slaves, but evil slaves kept by my evil slaves. We’ve caught one batch, and there will be another batch.”

Liu Jianjun stuffed the last half of the radish into his mouth: "That's why I sent them to see the officials! Alright, don't worry about this, I know what I'm doing!"

Seeing Liu Jianjun say this, Li Xian also fell silent.

Then, he thought to himself: These four bullies are really unlucky. They only stole some manure, and not only did they get beaten up, they also had to be dragged into the government jail like donkeys.

Then he thought that compared to these four bullies, Liu Jianjun was more like a little devil. If Qiu Shenji had sent Liu Jianjun to humiliate him, he probably would have committed suicide long ago.

Finally, thinking of the terrified looks in his wife and children's eyes, Li Xian no longer felt any sympathy for the four men.

Liu Jianjun is right; evil people should be brought down by even more evil people.

He couldn't be the villain because he had his wife and children to care for, so God sent this little devil to help him.

"Hey! Hey! What are you thinking about!" Liu Jianjun suddenly waved his hand in front of Li Xian.

Then, before Li Xian could answer, Liu Jianjun said to himself, "Xianzi, it's just the two of us on this road. I'll feel restless if you don't talk to me!"

Li Xian's lips moved, but he didn't speak. He felt that even if he didn't respond, Liu Jianjun would continue talking to himself.

Li Xian had never seen such an extroverted person before, as if they didn't know what politeness or a sense of distance was.

Sure enough, Liu Jianjun spoke up again: "Let me tell you, don't think that their stealing of manure is a big deal. Our mountain valley is not like your Chang'an. The crops in the fields rely on that little bit of manure for fertilizer. When I used to work on the mountain, I would hold my pee until I went to my own field before I could pee!"
"By the way, do you know who Liu Laosan is that I just mentioned? He's my second uncle, but guess why he's called Liu Laosan?"

"Because the villagers all call my second aunt Liu Lao Er, as soon as my second aunt shouts 'I'm from Shudao Mountain,' my second uncle immediately stops talking."

"Hey! By the way... do you use manure as fertilizer in Chang'an?"

Li Xian remained silent the entire way.

If only this little devil sent by heaven weren't so talkative...

"A wise son?"

Well, it's best not to worry about calling yourself Xianzi, which is such a strange name.

……

(End of this chapter)