Chapter 216 Search

216 Chapter 216 Search
“I don’t know who did it, but they left footprints and carriage tracks. However, these tracks disappeared after they left the manor.” Chang Shun led her to the back of the cowshed.
As expected, there were some messy footprints and the tracks of five small carts.
Seeing this, Zhou Ying walked around the nearby area. After confirming that the robbers had left the manor, she chased after them.
However, these tracks didn’t disappear after they left the manor. Instead, they had put on shoe covers.
This meant it was at least a ten-person coordinated attack. They followed the blurry mark all the way to the town and finally found the abandoned house where they had stood when they were watching the fireworks.
The house had been renovated, and there were many people living in it.
When Zhou Ying saw this, she and Chang Shun retreated to the side and asked the nearby residents. Only then did they know that a group of local ruffians had lived here before summer, and they often came out to rob others.
Moreover, they had someone on their side in the local authorities. They were also fierce men, so the villagers didn’t dare say anything. Many couldn’t stand it and had already moved or sought refuge with relatives.
When Chang Shun heard this, he knew that these people were not to be trifled with. He hurriedly asked Zhou Ying, “Mistress, what should we do? If we don’t get rid of these people, I’m afraid our village will never have a peaceful day after this.”
“We can’t take them by force and need to plan it out. Let’s go back to the manor and set up some traps. We’ll talk about the rest later.”
“Alright, then I’ll go back first. Be careful.” Chang Shun turned around and hurried back to the manor.
Zhou Ying turned around and returned to the restaurant. When she saw the child beggars occupying themselves, she smiled with relief.
At the same time, she quickly remembered the reason why they had moved here. It was because someone was always stealing their food.
“Qiu Yu,” she called for Qiu Yu. “I remember you saying that someone was always taking away your food. Do you know who they are and where they live?”
“Yes, they’re refugees. They live in that broken house in the southwest corner of the town.” Qiu Yu then asked curiously, “Mistress, why are you suddenly asking about this?
“Let’s just let them be. They have more people than us, so let’s not provoke them.”
“Do you know how many people they have?”
“Mistress…” Qiu Yu urged.
“Don’t worry; I won’t act rashly.”
“I don’t know. They’re always with seven or eight men when I see them.”
“Alright, you can go.” Zhou Ying entered her residence, and Gu Chengrui rushed over just as she sat down.
Zhou Ying asked someone to cook him a bowl of noodles. After he finished eating, she asked, “How are their injuries?”
“It’s just an outside wound. They’ll be fine after a few days of rest. Uncle Chang also told me about that group of people,” Gu Chengrui continued, “so don’t worry about it. I’ll think of a way to solve it.”
“How are you going to do it? They have people in positions of authority. We have to find sufficient evidence.”
“Don’t worry; I won’t mess around. Just take good care of the restaurant.” After Gu Chengrui finished speaking, he turned around and left the restaurant. He found a person introduced by Qian Zhuang. The person was Li Si, and Gu Chengrui asked him to help find out where the beef stall was in town.
At noon, Li Si told him that Butcher Zhang had beef and sheep, but they were all sent to prominent families and unavailable for sale.
After receiving the news, Gu Chengrui only mumbled a few words of pity and paid him 100 coppers.
Afterward, he took out a large bag of laxatives that he had concocted and headed toward Butcher Zhang’s house.