I played as an assistant in ancient times

Shen Xiaoye watched her uncle follow her great-grandfather towards the gate and whisper something, but she couldn't hear clearly. She hesitated and followed him out to see what was going on.

However, Lin stopped her with a look and said, "If they decide to send him to the authorities, they would like your uncle to go with the head of the village, which would be more appropriate."

“So, uncle is going to the county town again.

That's not right. If my uncle wants to take the imperial examination, he can't do this kind of litigation." Shen Xiaoye remembered that sending someone to the court is not just a matter of sending someone there. There is a set of procedures to go through when filing a complaint at the county government office.

After all, disputes over marriage and land in the village cannot be settled by the village elders. If you appeal directly, you will be beaten first regardless of the facts. Of course, lawsuits involving human lives are different.

Although the perpetrator has been caught, the person who first filed the complaint must first have a standard complaint. After submitting it, it must go through the clerk in the yamen's receiving and issuing office to get a number, and then be handed over to the county magistrate to issue a ticket to both parties. The case can only be heard on the day of the complaint.

In the process, they had to deal with the county government everywhere, and the famous saying that the gate of the government office should face south was often displayed. If my uncle, a scholar, went there, it might save some money and be more convenient.

Alas, the common people in the countryside are not brave enough in front of ordinary yamen officials, let alone going to court.

She said, "My uncle is here to assist in the lawsuit. What if the Grand Master of the Academy of Daoism hears about it and stops his exams?"

"Is it so serious?" Li Zi became nervous. She came here to talk to Sister Xiaoye and ask Uncle Shen to help her father when he went to the county government office.

Lin patted her hands to comfort her, and asked her granddaughter to sit down closer, saying, "When we get to the county town, the village head will take care of everything. He knows more clerks and bookkeepers in the six rooms than your uncle does.

But your uncle was one of the first people to arrive after the incident, so he had to be a witness.

But with him here, it will be easier to find someone to write the petition, and he is a student after all, so he can give everyone courage. "

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Changsui walked quickly to the main hall and said, "Mom, my uncle said that the eldest brother Qian and his father knelt down in the mill and begged to spare Hang Shi, but Qian Er went to make trouble again.

The elders in the village were worried that something unexpected might happen if they delayed for too long, so they decided to send the person to the authorities right away without waiting for the strong laborers sent out to look for him to return.

I was thinking of asking Xiaoye and my sister-in-law to take over from Geng Ge'er to accompany the guests."

"Okay. Shall we leave now?" Lin also felt that it was inappropriate to tie people up in the village. If time went on for a long time, if some of the elders in the village sided with Hang and tried to persuade for peace, Qian Wu would most likely take revenge himself.

Alas, I heard from my sister-in-law that a few years ago, Hang pushed Sang and shoved my niece's wife, causing Tang to have a miscarriage.

"I'll leave after Geng Ge'er comes back." Shen Changsui couldn't abandon his guests and leave immediately, and it would take time to borrow and harness two cars from the head of the village.

Shen Xiaoye agreed: "I'll go back to replace my cousin right away." She was worried that the food her aunt brought would not be enough for both mother and son, so she went to get some more food.

Li Zi also said that she would go with her, but she was rejected, and Qian, who couldn't sleep, came out to send her home.

Unexpectedly, Shen Xiaoye and her aunt, who had taken over their cousin's job, did not see their cousin come back until the sun was about to set after watering the fields.

Because it was inconvenient to water the plants at night, the two of them blocked the canal and returned home while it was still daylight. As a result, only grandma was at home cooking dinner.

"Mom, peeling chicken beans and rice is the most tiring and laborious. Let me do it." Huang brushed the dirt off her body, washed her hands and took over the job.

"Grandma, my uncle and cousin haven't come back yet?" Shen Xiaoye was not idle in the afternoon. He picked a lot of grass and flowers at the foot of the mountain.

Lin didn't throw away the basin and continued to peel the chickpeas. "No, the county's Dianshi and Captain Lu took people to Qian Wu's house, examined the injuries, questioned many people, and then left.

Before leaving, he instructed the Taoist priest to treat the patient with all his heart and to save his life.

It is said that County Magistrate Tan attached great importance to the case and wanted to collect all confessions and evidence for immediate trial.

Your uncle and his family, including Master Jiechen, are being kept in court as important witnesses, and they will probably all stay in the county town tonight."

"It seems that criminal cases do not have to wait until the day of the trial." Shen Xiaoye thought about it and understood. In criminal cases involving human lives, although the county magistrate does not have the final independent authority to decide on punishments above flogging, he is still responsible for accepting various local cases, investigating, arresting, and trying cases in court.

The county government is most afraid of murder cases. Even if the murder is unsuccessful and the injured person is not dead, as long as the victim complains, the case must be investigated as soon as possible.

Moreover, if a case is not solved within the deadline set by the court, it will affect the evaluation of officials.

After washing her hands and face, she joined the bean shelling: "Master Jiechen went to the county town, so where is my cousin?"

"The herbs are not complete, so I followed the Taoist priest to Lingshan Temple to get some." Lin remembered something and said, "I asked Geng to send the other pheasant that was not stewed to Qian Wu's house."

"Of course I should. I heard that Tang is pregnant, so I should also take some supplements with her." Huang was never stingy.

She is also very good at needlework and cooking, and her stir-fried chicken, rice and beans are salty and delicious.

Shen Cungeng, who had been running for half the afternoon, ate with such relish that he said as he put down the bowl, "Mom, if this is paired with red date millet porridge, I can eat two more bowls."

"If you want to eat, I'll make milk for you tomorrow." Being able to eat is a blessing. Mrs. Lin likes her children to eat well and grow tall.

But these three little ones, I don’t know if it’s because they lost some energy in the past two years, or they’re just growing taller, but each one is thinner than the other.

Shen Cungeng immediately smiled: "Milk, you are the best milk in the world."

"Hahaha..." Lin was delighted to hear that.

"Don't act like a good kid and go help your sister soak the woad." Huang took away his bowl.

Shen Cungeng sighed, "Xiaoye, don't be so diligent. It makes me look so lazy."

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and picked up four wooden buckets to fetch water.

But he got closer to see it clearly, "You are not woad, right?"

"It's indigo. I planted some seeds on the hillside near our house last year, and it actually grew quite well.

Look, there are also these red flowers. After picking more flowers, we can squeeze out some pigments for you and your fourth uncle to use for painting when making dyes. "Since summer, Shen Xiaoye has had almost no time to visit the twenty acres of mountain land, but he didn't expect to get it by accident.

Shen Cungeng grabbed some red flowers and said, "Just two handfuls. Not worth the effort."

"I'm only experimenting when there's less." Shen Xiaoye had never used safflower to make pigment before, and this was her first attempt.

However, she had tried to make indigo from Ma Lan last year. Although the color was not ideal, she had practiced it several times and was gradually improving it.

She was confident: "Cousin, if we have more dyes, we can dye the cloth when we receive it, and the price will go up immediately, and we can make twice as much money."

"But the problem is, we won't happen to encounter soaked Songjiang cotton cloth again." Shen Cungeng certainly hopes to make more money.

Shen Xiaoye compacted the indigofera branches and roots in the jar, filled it with water, and pressed it with stones, saying, "It's hard to find Songjiang cloth at such a cheap price, but the white cloth woven in our village is not only strong, but also very cheap.

It’s just that ordinary people don’t dye it, so they sell it at a lower price.”

Shen Yougeng said, "If you dye them and sell them at a high price, can you still sell them to the people in the village?"