From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 483: Chapter 484: Stolen

Although Jin Qianqian had long been mentally prepared, her heart tightened as she saw the increasingly desolate land and rugged roads.

To keep up their pace, they often sought lodging in villages.

Today, as dusk began to fall, they hurried along and finally found a village.

The leader of the escort at the front of the caravan sent someone back with a message. They had been delayed by a few hours and wouldn’t reach the city before the gates closed, so they would have to make do here for the night.

Since they were unfamiliar with this place, he specifically warned them to stay alert and be careful.

The caravan entered the village holding torches, immediately triggering a chorus of barking dogs.

After some negotiation, the village was willing to spare a few houses. Unfortunately, with too many people and too few rooms, it was impossible to accommodate everyone, so they had to squeeze in.

Jin Qianqian’s group received special treatment and was given a small courtyard.

Although it was a private courtyard, it only had three rooms.

Lichun and the others quickly replaced all the bedding left by the original owner with their own.

Meanwhile, Lin Dapeng and his men heated the kang-style beds in the rooms until they were nice and warm. Everyone would have to make do here tonight. Even sleeping on the floor was much better than facing the bitter cold outside.

Jin Qianqian, her child, and the four maids squeezed into the main house, while the nanny and an older maidservant took another room.

That left only the largest side room for Lin Dapeng and his men.

However, they couldn’t all sleep tonight; they had to arrange a rotating watch. In this way, they managed to get by.

The night passed peacefully, but the next day, shouts and curses erupted from the other houses where people were lodging. It turned out that some of the merchants’ goods had been stolen.

Lichun and the others immediately checked their belongings. Finding nothing missing, they breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Guard Lin, take some men and see what’s going on."

Lin Dapeng told his subordinates to be on high alert and left with only one guard.

Li Qiu brought hot water for washing from the kitchen. "Madam, didn’t the leader of the escort tell everyone to be vigilant when we arrived yesterday?

What’s wrong with these people?"

Jin Qianqian took the cloth and first used it to gently wake up Luo Luo, who was sitting on the kang in a daze.

"We don’t know the situation yet. Let’s wait for Guard Lin to return."

Just as they finished tidying up, Lin Dapeng returned. "The two sides are arguing right now. The merchants from the caravan say their goods are gone, but the villagers feel they’ve been wronged. They kindly gave everyone lodging for a night, only to end up in this mess.

Now the villagers have gathered at the front, saying they won’t let us leave until this matter is sorted out."

Jin Qianqian asked, "Were many things stolen? Were they valuable? Is it possible they just misplaced them while packing?"

Lin Dapeng replied, "They’re arguing about that right now. Someone has already mentioned reporting it to the authorities."

Jin Qianqian frowned. If the authorities got involved, it would cause another delay.

"Go to the front and see what’s happening. Also, tell the leader of the escort to avoid conflict with the locals as much as possible."

Lin Dapeng knew how serious this was. If a conflict really broke out, they, as fellow travelers, would inevitably be dragged into it and face the locals’ anger.

’They say even a mighty dragon is no match for the local serpent. I hope these merchants don’t do anything foolish.’

Lin Dapeng hurried away. Lidong asked worriedly, "Should we still pack our bags?"

Jin Qianqian said, "Get everything packed first. That way, we won’t be in a rush if we’re able to leave."

"Yes, Madam." Seeing how calm Jin Qianqian was, the others also settled down and began to busy themselves with their tasks.

Apparently, they had been too optimistic.

Before long, news arrived. Even if the merchants were willing to concede and accept the loss of their goods, the villagers were no longer having it.

They felt this was an insult that was ruining their village’s reputation. They insisted on getting to the bottom of the matter before letting anyone leave.

Naturally, Jin Qianqian wouldn’t let her people get involved. She began to restrict her group to the small courtyard.

They had plenty of supplies in their carriages anyway, so they could just treat this as a rest stop.

She had thought they could leave once the others finished negotiating, but unexpectedly, she was dragged into it after all.

"The County Magistrate of Ping County is here to pay a visit?" Jin Qianqian wondered if she had misheard.

"Madam, the villagers reported it to the authorities. It was the merchants who brought up your identity," Lin Dapeng said. He had been watching coldly from the sidelines, and by the time he might have stopped them, it was already too late.

Jin Qianqian shook her head. "I’m just a woman from the inner quarters. I don’t know how to investigate or judge a case. What’s the use of dragging me into this?

Guard Lin, go tell the Lord County Magistrate that I am merely a woman with a child and it is inconvenient for me to show my face in public. Please ask for his understanding."

’Stepping forward now would please neither side, and I’ve always hated looking for trouble.’

Fortunately, she didn’t have a flighty personality. She had spent the entire journey quietly in her carriage with her children. Many in the caravan had never even seen her face, so this excuse would be plausible enough to fend them off.

Lin Dapeng relayed Jin Qianqian’s words in front of the villagers and the merchants.

The local villagers quietly breathed a sigh of relief. They were glad she wasn’t getting involved, fearing the Lord County Magistrate would not side with them otherwise.

Some of the merchants, however, were annoyed. They were all traveling together, yet she wouldn’t even grant them this small bit of face.

Lin Dapeng had been observing their expressions. He made a mental note of those whose faces had changed. ’It’d be best if they don’t try anything,’ he thought. ’If they do, I’ll teach them a lesson.’

The County Magistrate of Ping County realized his previous actions had been inappropriate. He quickly put on an apologetic smile for Lin Dapeng. "Please, trouble this young brother to relay another message to Mrs. Gu. I was mistaken earlier. Please ask Mrs. Gu to rest here for a while longer. I will get to the bottom of this matter quickly and will absolutely not delay her journey."

Lin Dapeng cupped his fists. "We’ll be counting on you, my lord."

"It is my duty, my duty..."

...

The merchants took stock of all their goods again. They were indeed missing some items.

To show fairness, the County Magistrate also ordered all the villagers to cooperate with a search, but the result was the same: nothing was found.

"You probably lost your things on the road and just want to blame us! Look, nothing was found. Shouldn’t you be apologizing to us?"

"That’s right! We were just being kind by letting them stay for a night, and they turned around and bit us. If we’d known this would happen, we should have just driven them out when they tried to enter the village."

"These people are outrageous! They’ve delayed our farm work by a whole day and nearly got us wrongfully accused.

We can’t let them off so easily! Otherwise, who knows if another caravan will try the same thing next time!"

The merchants who had been robbed were conflicted. Nothing had been found here, but their goods were definitely missing.