So what if you flee from famine? Start all over again and live a good life every day

"Mr. Qian, don't worry. These unruly people are all itching for trouble. They will behave themselves after a few beatings. It won't be long before they hand over your family's secret recipe." The county magistrate smiled flatteringly at Mr. Qian who was sitting beside him.

"Yeah," Qian nodded, then frowned as he looked at Sui He who was being beaten with a stick, sighed helplessly, and said in a worried tone, "Why are you so stubborn? That thing is something that a flat-headed boy like you can own? You'd better return it to me quickly."

Sui He's lips moved, but the sound was so small that people around him could only see his lips moving but could not hear the sound.

"Stop, stop, Chen Suihe, are you ready to confess?" When the county magistrate saw Suihe talking, he immediately stopped the people around him.

One of the yamen runners came up to Sui He and listened attentively. He only heard Sui He muttering softly.

"I didn't do it, I don't admit it, I don't admit it"

The yamen runner's face flashed with doubt and complexity, and he was reluctant to get up for a long time.

"What is he mumbling about?" Hearing the question from above, the yamen runner stood up and bowed to the county magistrate: "Your Excellency, he said he didn't do it and he doesn't admit it."

When these words came out, the whole audience was in an uproar. Even the onlookers outside the government office were dumbfounded. No one had ever been so tough after being beaten.

At the same time, a thought flashed through everyone's mind: "Could it be that Chen Suihe was really wronged?"

"You're still stubborn. Keep beating me!" The county magistrate, who had vowed to do so, didn't hear the answer he wanted to hear. He was so angry that his teeth were itching. He continued to order the yamen runners around him.

"Sir, if you keep beating him, he won't be able to bear it." The yamen runners looked at each other in bewilderment. In the past, the prisoners would confess after being beaten twice, but this one didn't give in even after being beaten ten times. He didn't look very old, still a boy. If they kept beating him, he might really die.

"What? You guys won't listen to me?" The county magistrate felt that he was being humiliated and was so angry that he blew his beard and glared: "Beat him until he confesses. I don't believe that I can't punish him today."

The bailiff could only obey the order: "Yes," and raised the board in his hand, ready to hit again, when he heard a shout from outside.

"Stop, wait a minute, I know the secret recipe, I know the secret recipe, stop hitting me." Zhao Dazhuang, who was limping, was supported by Lin Youxiang and stood at the door.

The county magistrate slammed the gavel and told Zhao Dazhuang, the man at the door, to let him in. "Oh, bring it up."

Zhao Dazhuang let go of Lin Youxiang and limped into the lobby. He glanced at Qian Yuanwai and Wang Quan who were watching the show, carefully helped Chen Suihe up, knelt beside him, and said with red eyes: "Brother Chen..."

The county magistrate asked: "Who are you and how do you know the secret recipe?"

"Sir, this man is Zhao Dazhuang, an accomplice of the prisoner Chen Suihe." Wang Quan glanced at Zhao Dazhuang and reported to the county magistrate.

"Sir, Chen Suihe and I are neighbors. I was present when he was making maltose, so I know the secret recipe." Zhao Dazhuang knelt on the ground.

"Oh, then tell me quickly." The county magistrate knew that Zhao Dazhuang knew the secret recipe, and he immediately became interested. He asked the people around him to prepare paper and pen.

"Cough...cough..."

A cough from the corner interrupted the county magistrate's words. He looked at Qian Yuanwai who was coughing with his hands covering his mouth, and immediately came to his senses. He said, "Write down the secret recipe and give it to Qian Yuanwai, and let Qian Yuanwai recognize it."

"Yes." Zhao Dazhuang took the paper and was about to pick up the pen when the pen in his hand was grabbed by a hand.

"No, I can't write." Sui He held up his weak body and grabbed Zhao Dazhuang's pen.

Zhao Dazhuang looked at Sui He, his voice choked with sobs: "Brother Chen, we can't beat them, if they want it, just give it to them." Zhao Dazhuang looked at the bloodstained corner of Sui He's clothes with red eyes: "You can't bear it, I can't watch you get beaten to death by them"

Sui He shook his head, holding the pen tightly in his hand, and said word by word.

"I..told..you.are.not.allowed.to.write..."

"Brother Chen" Zhao Dazhuang was anxious. Why is this guy so stubborn?

"Sui Sui, give it to him!" Grandpa was also shouting outside, his face was pale and his voice was trembling

"I won't, I won't." Sui He held his breath, slowly propped himself up, and climbed up from the ground. His sweat-soaked hair hung on his forehead, and his bitten lips were bleeding. "Why? You took the tofu business away, and now you come to steal the secret recipe of maltose. What about next time? What are you going to steal next time? Why do you want to take away everything you like?"

Sui He raised his head and looked at the county magistrate with a firm gaze, "Even if you kill me today, I will not give the secret recipe to you greedy people!"

"This man has been beaten up like this, but he still refuses to change his words. Is there really some hidden secret?"

"It's hard to say. I guess the secret recipe does belong to that young man, but someone wants it because it's the secret recipe of sugar. Who wouldn't want it?"

"I want it too, but I don't have the luck to get it. Mr. Qian is a wealthy man in our town. There is nothing he can't get if he sets his eyes on it. I think this man is in trouble today."

"This is an attempt to force a confession. Is there any law?"

"The king's law? Here, they are the king's law. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, who will take care of it?" The villagers who were watching were chattering and discussing non-stop.

Hearing the discussion of the onlookers, the county magistrate was so angry that his face turned green. "Well, you are a jerk who refuses to accept my toast and drinks the forfeit! Come on, keep beating me!"

The yamen runner standing by held the water and fire stick in his hand, and Sui He was pressed to the ground again. The yamen runner looked reluctant and said, "Child, listen to my advice, don't be stubborn, just accept it."

Sui He tried hard to steady his body that was shaking with pain, gritted his teeth, and said nothing.

Seeing Sui He like this, the yamen runner had nothing to understand and could only raise the board helplessly. Seeing that the board was about to fall again, Zhao Dazhuang hurriedly hugged the yamen runner's legs, "Sir, calm down! Please spare Brother Chen! He is weak, and if you beat him again, he will die!"

"Pa pa pa!" Just when the atmosphere was tense, there was a sound of slapping at the gate of the yamen.

"Who is causing trouble here?" The county magistrate was already very angry with Sui He, and he became even more impatient when he heard the slap.

"County Master, you are so majestic!" a cold voice came from outside

Following the sound, I saw two men walking slowly towards the lobby. The man in black clothes had stern eyebrows and pursed lips, looking cold and indifferent. The man in light blue clothes who followed him in had slightly curved eyes and a smile on his lips, looking as gentle and modest as jade.

The two men were not annoyed when they were stopped. The man in black clothes took out a token from his arms. The guards who stopped them saw the token and showed fear. They looked at each other and immediately let go, allowing the two men to enter.

"Greetings, General Cui!" The still angry county magistrate saw who was coming and was so scared that he immediately stood up from his seat, walked to the man, his legs went weak, and he knelt down with a plop.

Cui Yian didn't say anything, but glanced at Mr. Qian standing beside him.

Being locked in this gaze, Mr. Qian felt a chill down his spine, the smile on his face faded, and he knelt down in horror: "I greet General Cui."