Chapter 25: The Crimson Wooden Box's Bloodshed (5)

  Tianyang State, Yuxiang County was divided into Qingxi County, Qinglin County and Qingshui County. Qingxi County was further divided into Linjia Village, Chenjia Village, Zhaojia Village and Zhangjia Village. The county magistrate of Yuxiang County, Shi Wen, was a jinshi (a successful candidate in the imperial examination) of the third year of the reign of Emperor Zhaoyang of Tianyang State. His hometown was in Yuxiang County, so he returned to his hometown to serve as an official. For seven years, he worked diligently and conscientiously, without achieving any great merit or committing any minor fault. Moreover, Shi Wen himself insisted on staying in the countryside and not leaving. The emperor also allowed him to do so, and fortunately, he managed Yuxiang County very well.

  Mrs. Shi had always wanted a daughter, and it was no secret to anyone in Yuxiang County that she had given up on the idea only after giving birth to three sons and suffering damage to her body that made it impossible for her to become pregnant again. The three young masters of the Shi family, Shi Yu, Shi Yuan, and Shi Qi, found their mother's desire for a daughter quite speechless. Mrs. Shi, nee Shi, had finally welcomed the arrival of her eldest son's wife, who had become pregnant, but when she gave birth, it was another boy. Now, the second and third young masters of the Shi family were still too young to marry and have children, leaving Mrs. Shi disappointed. On that day, Lin Chun had originally gone with Da Shan Bo Bo, Qian Da Shu, and the owner of Qian Fu Yuan shop in the county town to discuss literary matters with Shi Wen, but feeling too young and afraid that his words would carry no weight, he went to the backyard and let Qian Da Shu and the others handle everything. Unexpectedly, he ran into a gloomy-looking Mrs. Shi.

  Here is the translation:

  Moreover, when Mrs. Shi saw Lin Chunjie wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket and braiding two cornrows with a red ribbon tied on her head, she looked exactly like her own daughter in her dreams. She burst into tears, scaring Lin Chunjie who didn't know what to do. Fortunately, Nai Nai explained the situation in time, resolving Lin Chunjie's embarrassment. Seeing Mrs. Shi so emotional, Lin Chunjie was also deeply moved. With Mrs. Shi's genuine affection and the matchmaking of Qian Uncle and others, Lin Chunjie eventually became Mrs. Shi and Master Shi's adopted daughter. Initially, Shi Wen didn't particularly like Lin Chunjie, but after hearing about her good deeds in the village from Da Shan Bo Bo and Qian Uncle, he changed his attitude and began to pity her. Looking at Lin Chunjie being sensible and polite, yet also lively and intelligent, he gradually grew fond of this nine-year-old girl who was sometimes clever and lovable, and sometimes wise and understanding.

  It was New Year's Eve, and the Lin family was busy from early morning. Before dawn, a horse carriage quietly entered Linjia Village and stopped at Dashan's house. After the carriage was parked, several officers and a middle-aged man with a serious face walked towards Lin Chun's house in the west of the village. The one leading the way was Dashan, and the middle-aged man was naturally Shi Wen, Lin Chun's adoptive father. The group walked quickly and quietly, and soon arrived at Lin Chun's house. Lin Chun had already prepared tea and pastries, and Da Tou and Er Ya were also up. When Gege and Dudu saw many strangers coming to their home, they barked loudly. Da Tou and Er Ya hurriedly hugged them to calm them down. The two small dogs saw that the visitors did not have malicious intentions towards Lin Chun and her sisters, so they stopped barking too.

  Lin Chun took two pieces of cake and gave them to Da Tou and Er Ya, letting them feed Guai Guai and Du Du. As Shi Wen's yamen arrived, one of the men was very fond of dogs and couldn't help but go forward to tease the two little dogs when he saw how clever and agile they were. Da Tou and Er Ya were also delighted, and Guai Guai and Du Du started playing with several people, wagging their tails and running back and forth happily among everyone.

  After drinking tea and eating pastries, Lin Chun's rice porridge was also ready. It was clear, fragrant, and thick, paired with a few small dishes. Everyone ate happily, and Da Tou and Er Ya also had two bowls each. The remaining porridge naturally went to Dou Dou and Guai Guai. Fortunately, Lin Chun had cooked a lot, using up two pots. After everyone was full, they started working. Lin Chun began assigning tasks. Behind the two small rooms in the house, a cellar was dug out. Since it was mountainous terrain with rocks underneath, it was somewhat difficult. However, no matter how hard it was, many people couldn't be stopped. In about an hour, a simple cellar was built. Lin Chun packed some household items into wooden boxes and put them inside, hiding them well.

  In the small cottage where Lin Chao slept, the red sandalwood grain patterned trunk was very eye-catching. Everyone who saw it thought that there must be gold, silver, and jade inside, or silk fabrics and precious artifacts. Lin Chao carefully took out the key and opened it, and the few people who entered the house all widened their eyes to take a first glance at what was inside the trunk. As Lin Chao moved, the trunk lid slowly opened, and Shi Wen and Da Shan were very curious, hastily walking forward to take a look. After taking a closer look, everyone was beyond expectation - the imagined gold, silver, and jade had vanished into thin air. Inside the trunk lay row upon row of new books: on top was a set of primers including "Three Character Classic", "Thousand Character Essay", " Hundred Family Surnames" and so on. Shi Wen flipped through several volumes below, which included books on geography, natural wonders, historical anecdotes, and other miscellaneous subjects covering all sorts of fields.

  Everyone suddenly realized and felt ashamed of their own shallow knowledge. In this world, only those who read a lot and have extensive knowledge are truly the richest people! Shi Wen and Da Shan were deeply inspired, Lin Chun didn't know that today's actions would trigger a wave of reading in Yuxiang Town in the future, and also raise the cultural quality of the old and young people in Yuxiang Town to a new level, leading to the prosperity of Yuxiang Town in the future and the firmness of people's minds and long-term vision.

  "Uncle Da Shan, leave this box here. We'll move these books into the black wooden box, and then carry it under the bed. I have my own use for this red wooden box. I'll lure them in, shut the door and beat the dog, and finally send them all to prison." Lin Chun's tone grew colder as he instructed everyone.

  Everyone was busy moving forward, while Lin Chun went to the side of the bed and put away the quilt and new sheets, replacing them with semi-old coarse linen sheets. After everyone finished moving the books, Lin Chun took a few old mouse traps from behind the door and placed them in the empty red wooden boxes, covering them with a layer of red cloth, making it look very valuable, as if there were many gold, silver, and jewels underneath... Everyone felt terrified, thinking that if they got caught... just thinking about it made their hands ache!

  Then Lin Chun let everyone out of the house, and arranged the remaining mousetraps and several rounded wooden sticks in the house. He covered the door and exited the house, entering the adjacent room. In the adjacent room, several bailiffs had moved the tables, stools, and other items to the corner of the courtyard, covering them with straw. The things in the room were also packed into wooden boxes, except for a large wooden bathtub behind a thin gauze curtain, which was barely visible. At this point, Lin Chun ordered the bailiffs to dig seven or eight holes of various sizes in the room, each hole containing some fine wooden needles. The needle tips were not very sharp, but they would still be painful if stepped on. The holes were covered with straw. Lin Chun also sprinkled some powder on the bathtub, then exited the house and closed the door.

  The kitchen was no exception, with mouse traps and pitfalls all over the place. Uncle Dashan said that after this incident, he would rebuild a larger kitchen for his family, which would also be convenient for workers to boil water and cook meals when building the house. So Lin Chun didn't mind, leaving some embers in the stove, with flammable straw and firewood piled up around it, and the iron pot on top had been removed. As long as something flammable fell into the stove, it would definitely catch fire.

  Digression

  Here are today's two chapters, and there is another chapter that has been added as a bonus for breaking 10,000 clicks. Due to the website's recommendation requirements, from now on I will update once a day, with each update being around 2,500 words. There may be occasional additional updates. I hope everyone will collect, click, and comment more, and also help the author catch errors. This is the author's first time posting on this website, so please forgive any mistakes such as typos...