I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 213: Another wave of harvests.

These are clearly handcrafted by highly experienced artisans.

But I can't understand who wants these things, and what they'd do with them?

Floor tiles? That's a bit too extravagant.

Sticking to a wall? Did they have that kind of technology in ancient times?

These look more like floor tiles to me.

Correct answer. These are the jade-colored floor tiles that Zheng Lu Nian customized for the study in his house.

【I don't know, should we take them?】

Dongfang Jin shook his head. "These things were lost near the docks; I reckon someone must have reported it to the police. Let's leave them with the magistrate."

It just so happens that Lu Yunqing hasn't yet made any "new broom sweeps clean" moves since arriving here.

She'll help him out so he can earn more sales.

She heard from Axi that his son's first three years as a county magistrate were for training, and the next three years were for him to be promoted based on his performance.

Whether I can successfully return to Beijing to report on my work depends on these three years.

Lu Yunqing: Thank you. It's just a pity that the yamen doesn't have a case record for this shipment.

Unbeknownst to them, the person who delivered this shipment was acting behind the backs of the main family of the Yun family in the south, and naturally, they dared not make a sound.

I can only swallow my anger and suffer in silence.

If the matter becomes widely known, they will face being abandoned by their master.

What about these things?

We'll accept a portion; we can't leave nothing for the magistrate. He's probably arriving with his men by now.

A little disappointed?

Dongfang Jin pouted, "Yeah, if this guy were in another county, I definitely wouldn't leave them a single brick."

Lu Yunqing is no good, but she's still family. We agreed to lead the whole family to prosperity.

Promoting him is also a way to get rich.

As one wishes……

The Lord's thoughts...

As Dongfang Jin spoke, he took away a box of silver notes, a box of gold ingots, a box of silver ingots, and a box of loose silver.

She didn't take any of the silver notes, gold and silver, jewelry, antiques, or anything else from the other boxes.

She didn't count the gold, silver, and banknotes, but she definitely counted the other items; she couldn't let the secret slip.

After wandering around for a while and finding nothing left to take, Dongfang Jin marked the other exit and decisively turned back to leave.

Under Ruyi's direction, Dongfang Jin found Gu Jingye and Shen Qihui unconscious in a room.

Unexpectedly, even though the two children were unconscious, they were still holding onto one of them with each hand, and she couldn't pry their hands apart.

"That stinky boy."

[Jin-jie, quickly bring them in. Lu Yunqing has arrived at the Zhang residence with his men. That old man is blocking them; he's probably stalling for time for his people.]

So fast? Trying to buy time? Ha, let's blow up all the exits and see how they escape.

"Yes, there's another group of people, not from the county government. The one leading them is the man who helped you at Jin Yu Lou earlier."

[That's even better, otherwise I don't know if Lu Yunqing could even beat the Zhang family's people.]

"You're overthinking it. Someone like him definitely has people around him. Quickly bring the stone in."

【Ruyi, I'll send the four of them in. Watch over them and don't let them wake up. I'm going back to that path, and then we'll throw a grenade at it.】

I refuse to believe that they could escape with their people if the passage was blocked.

That's fine, but I think you should still set a fire, right there in the yard.

Is there firewood in that yard?

[Aren't there grenades in the space? Grenades are too conspicuous, easily giving away information, and what if they harm innocent bystanders?]

Ruyi was speechless; it had just noticed that the shantytown was not far from that house.

Needless to say, those houses over there are all obviously dilapidated. If she throws that grenade, the explosion will definitely cause them to collapse.

At that time, all the merits it had painstakingly accumulated would be wasted, which was not what it wanted to see.

After Dongfang Jin led the four children into the space, she saw the pile of firewood over there, which she and Shen Qijun had just chopped and hadn't taken out yet.

I took a deep breath and decided to give it my all.

Seeing the pained look on her face, Ruyi knew what she was thinking: "You don't have to take it all out. It would be best to make a lot of smoke."

Dongfang Jin ignored her, flashed out of the space, rolled up the things on the bed in the room, and threw them into the space.

Asking her to burn the firewood she painstakingly chopped herself is out of the question.

Didn't you want a cigarette?

This room is full of things: cabinets, wooden beds, stools, tables, blankets, mattresses, and so on.

Ruyi sighed, "Jin'er, could you give these quilts to the beggars in the dilapidated temple outside the city?"

【I said, Ruyi, there's still a lot of stuff here. I'll take it. These clothes, curtains, everything can be burned.】

Okay, hurry up, those people are rushing over here.

Actually, it also meant that these things can be given away as gifts.

I decided to keep quiet after thinking about it. What if this contractor goes on strike? That would be terrible.

After tidying up the room, Dongfang Jin went to the next room and looked at the children lying unconscious on the bed.

Dongfang Jin covered them with a blanket but didn't take it with her. There were already two, and she didn't want to expose them.

If she's not mistaken, those two children must be acquaintances of Shi Tou and Xiao Hui.

I opened the cabinet and took everything inside. These things all looked brand new, and it would be a real shame to burn them.

On the way back, Dongfang Jin took in three more rooms, and then walked along the passage again.

After coming out, Dongfang Jin stood in the courtyard and looked around. The house had dilapidated doors and windows... Ha, isn't this ready-made firewood?

He took out a machete from his spatial storage and started hacking at the doors and windows.

As one wishes……

This master is truly ruthless.

Forget it, it's good to vent. If I bottle it up and something bad happens, I'll feel bad too.

Seeing Dongfang Jin's next move, it didn't know what to say. It always thought everything was useful.

She was quite something; she saw a use for everything. To make smoke, she even thought of throwing snow into the fire.

Now that's good, we have firewood, the fire is burning, and smoke is coming out.

When Lu Yunqing and Wei Ying arrived at the Zhang residence with their entourage, the gatekeeper did not stop them, but they were still stopped by the Zhang family's guards once they entered the courtyard.

Zhang Fusheng, leaning on a cane and supported by two alluring women, walked out. Upon seeing Lu Yunqing, he did not kneel down, nor did he even use honorifics: "I wonder if Magistrate Lu has come to my Zhang residence on business?"

Lu Yunqing looked at Zhang Fusheng. The old man's hair was all white, like snowflakes in winter, strikingly white.

His deep eyes, though cloudy, held a fierce edge. His face was covered with deep and shallow wrinkles, like parched earth, and a wisp of goatee floated on his pointed chin.

He was wearing a brocade robe embroidered with exquisite floral patterns, each petal as lifelike as a real flower.

Dressed in fine silks and satins, this was not something an ordinary merchant family could afford.

"I have received a report that a group of human traffickers have been seen frequently entering and leaving your Zhang residence recently."

Zhang Fusheng feigned innocence and shouted angrily, "Impossible! I've been doing business honestly for most of my life at the docks. Everyone knows what kind of person I am."

Moreover, as Magistrate Lu knows, the rules of the docks are that whenever someone is found trafficking people, my men will be the first to arrest them and send them to the yamen.

The constable Li beside you should know this best.

Wei Ying was too lazy to argue with this old man. Anyone with eyes could see that he was deliberately stalling for time. He took out a token from his waist.

“We are ordered to conduct a thorough investigation. If Mr. Zhang is innocent, let us see for ourselves instead of obstructing us here.”

Upon seeing the token, Zhang Fusheng was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, trembling as he cried out, "Injustice! Who has framed me? I've spent most of my life doing business honestly, how... how..."

As he spoke, he began to roll his eyes repeatedly.