Facing the impatient warden, Rong Hongsheng silently nodded his head.
Losing his wife in middle age had almost turned his hair white overnight.
Not a single tear had fallen, but he forced himself to face the brutes who had harmed his beloved Xue'er.
"Who was it? Who made you do this?"
He let out a low, hoarse cry, only to receive a muffled response: "Ugh... ugh ugh..."
Old Fifth opened his mouth, and blood trickled down the corner of his lips. During the cleansing, the tongues of the five brothers had also been ripped out, and now they could hardly speak.
Unable to obtain the desired information, Rong Hongsheng raised the cane in his hand and severely beat them one by one, but in the end, he still did not kill them.
The five men would undoubtedly die the next day, and there was no need to add to the trouble.
In the dark of night, his gaze resolute, he inwardly vowed to uncover the truth. Based on his understanding, the five men's kung fu was not enough to silently and effortlessly abduct Xue'er from the Rong Mansion.
There must be someone else behind this, and he had already sent people to interrogate the maids and nannies around Xue'er.
Rong Hongsheng forced himself to swallow his grief and returned to the mansion to continue the search for clues.
The next day, as noon approached.
Qi Huan sat on the second floor of the restaurant, leaning against the window and watching the five prisoner carts roll by.
By the roadside, passersby stopped to watch, pointing and discussing.
"What crime did these five big men commit? ... Look at the one in the middle, do they really need to behead him? He looks like he's already dead."
Upon hearing this, an old woman immediately spat out a mouthful of saliva and retorted, "Tsk, these scoundrels! Even if they're dead, they should still be beheaded. I heard they brutally tortured and killed the young mistress of the Rong Mansion, so don't they deserve to die?"
"Madam Lu, you're exaggerating. My nephew's neighbor's great-uncle's younger brother, who works in the yamen, says that Miss Rong committed suicide by running into a wall."
"How am I exaggerating?" Madam Lu protested, "If it weren't for them, Miss Rong would be a well-behaved young lady from a good family. How could she have committed suicide by running into a wall?"
"Hey, you two, stop arguing. In my opinion, Miss Rong had it coming. She was always dressed up so flamboyantly, so how could the flower thieves not target her?"
This notion of blaming the victim quickly provoked the criticism of many women.
Amidst the heated debate, some women hidden in the crowd glared hatefully at the five men in the prisoner carts, their eyes glistening with tears. The nightmarish experiences they had endured could finally be avenged.
They angrily picked up stones and hurled them fiercely at the half-dead five brothers, leaving them with bloody heads.
In the window above, Qi Huan observed the entire scene.
The reason she had allowed them to live for two more days was to let these poor women vent their rage.
Detecting the external information, the system in her mindscape praised her, "Host, this action of yours truly warms the heart. The five flower thieves have all been punished, host's good deed +5, points +5.
The victimized women throwing stones to vent their pent-up anger, host's good deed +23, points +23."
At the same time, in the vegetable market, the executioner's blade rose and fell, and the five men immediately spurted out blood, their heads falling to the ground, their crimes dying with them amidst the cheers.
The scene was too bloody, and Qi Huan couldn't be bothered to watch, so she went to the store to check the accounts.
Soon, a hue of charcoal grey caught her eye.
Li Shuchen appeared before her, wearing the scarf she had knitted.
Qi Huan secretly took out the one she had knitted for herself from her space and wrapped it around her neck, smiling sweetly, "Shuchen, look, a matching couple set."
"Mm." Li Shuchen nodded slightly, then added, "It's beautiful."
It was already March, but the snow was still falling incessantly in the northernmost Mo County.
According to the previous owner's memories, it would not start to warm up until May or June.
After walking home hand in hand with Li Shuchen, Qi Huan went into the room and took out the 100 skeins of yarn she had previously restocked from her space.
She had used her points to exchange with the system to change the colors of these yarns, with a variety of hues, except for the charcoal grey, as that was the color that belonged to her and Li Shuchen.
After packing the yarns into an empty delivery box, she asked Xu Mingda to send a message, arranging to meet Yue Ming at the Yue Ming Restaurant.
"Yue Ming, can you still contact the carpenter from last time? I'd like to ask him to make a cabinet to be placed behind the counter in the Worry-Free Mahjong Parlor.
You know, among the regular patrons of the mahjong parlor, there are quite a few old women who are very curious about many things. I want to take advantage of this curious nature and start a yarn-selling business."
As she spoke, Qi Huan removed the scarf from around her neck and handed it to Yue Ming to examine.
"In Mo County, most people have high collars to keep warm, and scarves are rarely seen. But scarves are actually very warm, so I want to do this yarn business to help everyone stay warm through the winter, and we can also make some extra money."
Yue Ming had no objections to this. She held the scarf, feeling its soft texture, and she liked it very much.
"Huan, can I try this one first?"
"Of course."
After helping her put on the scarf, Qi Huan asked with shining eyes, "How is it? Comfortable, right?"
"Comfortable and so warm! ... Huan, I want to buy one."
Qi Huan never expected that her first yarn sale would be to Yue Ming.
She thought for a moment, then reminded her, "Just buying the yarn isn't enough, you also need to know how to knit to have a scarf."
"Oh, I see. Then you'll have to teach me quickly."
Yue Ming picked a skein of milky white yarn and started learning clumsily from Qi Huan.
By the time Yue Ming had finished knitting her first scarf, the carpenter had also completed the cabinet. After wiping it clean, the various colored yarns were soon stocked inside.
When it came to pricing, Qi Huan negotiated with the system in her consciousness, "System, if I sell the yarns a little cheaper, so that more people can afford and use the warm scarves, will you give me a few more points?"
"0.5 points, no more than that."
"I thought you couldn't do small decimal calculations anymore? Let's just round it up, System."
"... Forget to tell the host, I've already been upgraded. Small decimal additions and subtractions are no problem at all."
Qi Huan was at a loss for words.
But even a small mosquito is still meat, and 0.5 points will do.
In the end, she joyfully priced the yarns at 100 wen per skein.
She then found some xuan paper and wrote a few large characters to stick above the cabinet.
"Let love surround you..."
Yue Ming curiously read the characters aloud and then asked, "Huan, what does this mean?"
"It means that besides knitting for yourself, you can also knit for your parents, children, friends, and loved ones, to bring them warmth and let love surround them."
"Oh, I see. Just like you and Master Li, one for each of you. So this is to envelop him."
Yue Ming nodded in understanding.
She also bought a skein of xiang fei colored yarn, planning to knit one for her mother. As for the milky white yarn she had just bought, she had other plans for it.
Soon, the word spread, and the scarves became popular throughout Mo County. On the streets and in the alleys, one could often see people wearing them around their necks.
By the end of the month, in the private room, Qi Huan and Yue Ming sat together tallying the accounts, and this month, the Worry-Free Mahjong Parlor, combined with the yarn business, had earned nearly 300 taels.
After a 50-50 split, Qi Huan's little treasury had grown by 147 taels and 5 qian in silver.
Taking out 10 taels, Qi Huan decided to distribute porridge at the restaurant and the noodle shop on the first of the next month.
Most of the money she had earned came from the prosperous families of Mo County. The severe cold weather and inconvenient transportation meant that there were still many people here who were going hungry.
Now that she had amassed a surplus, using a bit of the silver to give back to society was not a bad idea. Moreover, charitable acts also had point rewards.
With her mind made up, Qi Huan called for Xu Mingda. He now held the dual roles of accountant and manager, so this task was best entrusted to him.
"Mr. Xu, here are the ten taels of silver. Please arrange to have someone purchase some rice and congee supplies. From now on, on the first of every month, we will provide free congee at the entrance of our restaurant and noodle shop. The cost will be taken from my account."
"Very well, Master. You can count on me."
After saying this, Mr. Xu took the silver and went downstairs to use the abacus to calculate how much rice, red beans, and other ingredients to purchase.
Upstairs, the waiters continued to bring out dishes, and Qi Huan cheerfully welcomed everyone to start eating.
At the same time, she marveled inwardly that this was the first time in her life she was experiencing the joys of being a wealthy person - no longer needing to cook, just going to a restaurant and having food served to her. How wonderful!
After the pleasant meal, Qi Huan took a sip of tea, but suddenly noticed that Yan Wu and Yan Qinghe across the table were looking at them with puzzled expressions.
