RPAGF Chapter 361 Food Provided in the Herb Field
Chapter 361 Food Provided in the Herb Field
Lin Qingchuan said through gritted teeth with a cold face, "Your Excellency, these two people stole medicinal herbs from my family's medicinal field. They were caught red-handed but refused to admit it. Now that they are in court, they are still unrepentant and want to turn around and accuse us!"
Several restaurant staff placed the thief's sack and two shovels on the ground in the center of the courtroom, hoping to give the magistrate a clearer view.
With witnesses and physical evidence, let's see how they can deny it now!
The two thieves exchanged a glance and immediately cried out, "Injustice! Your Honor, you must do us justice! We are not thieves, but workers in their medicinal herb field. Yesterday, we left our tools in the field on our way home from work, and only remembered them after dinner this evening. That's when we went back to get them, but who knew..."
"Who knew they would suddenly rush out and beat us two brothers to death without even asking what happened!"
The two brothers took turns pleading their innocence.
Wu Yu and Shui Sheng never expected that these two were actually construction workers. It seemed that they worked hard to earn money during the day and then tried to sneak around and make a living without working at night.
However, upon closer inspection, the two thieves had rather ordinary, vicious appearances; they would have been inconspicuous in a crowd, so it's understandable that they wouldn't have been recognized.
"The evidence is overwhelming, and you still want to deny it!"
Wu Yu was furious. If it weren't for the fact that they were in public, he would have liked to go up and beat the two of them up too.
"We didn't do it! We're truly innocent!"
The two groups each held their own version of events, and the entire courtroom nearly turned into a marketplace.
The magistrate hissed, "Quiet!"
His gaze swept over the two thieves, then fell on Lin Qingchuan and the others, and he had a vague idea in his mind.
His eyes sharpened as he stared at the two thieves. "You two insist you didn't steal the medicinal herbs from the field, don't you?"
The two thieves nodded firmly.
The magistrate then looked at Lin Qingchuan and asked, "You are the owners of the land, do you have proof?"
Lin Qingchuan took out the land deeds that he had prepared beforehand from his clothes and showed them to the county magistrate.
"Alright, in that case, let's send someone to search where they live. If there are any medicinal herbs, they will leave traces."
As he spoke, the magistrate looked at the thieves with a warning, "But once you are found, you must be severely punished. If you confess truthfully, we can give you a lighter sentence because of your timely repentance!"
Upon hearing this, the two thieves were startled and immediately looked at each other. They hadn't had time to sell the medicinal herbs they had stolen the night before. If the soldiers really searched their house, they would be caught red-handed, and their crimes would be compounded!
The two were extremely guilty and, unable to withstand the magistrate's intimidation, had no choice but to confess everything.
"My lord, we confess our guilt. It was all our doing. My brother and I were just momentarily blinded by evil. We beg you to show leniency, considering our prompt admission of wrongdoing..."
They don't want to go to jail; if they really do, their lives will be over!
"Considering this is your first offense, I will spare you from imprisonment today. However, you may be spared the death penalty, but you will not escape punishment. It is a fact that you stole their medicinal herbs, and you must return the stolen herbs to them. If you have already resold them, then return the money you received for the resale. Furthermore, the yamen will record this matter, and if you commit this offense again, you will not be so lenient!"
……
After this incident, Manager Su and others became even stricter in screening workers and controlling the work in the medicinal fields.
Besides managing the restaurant business, Manager Su also devoted more time to the medicinal herb fields.
The medicinal herb field began implementing a system of rewards and punishments to encourage hardworking workers, using both kindness and strictness to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
After the incident, the news that the two workers who stole the medicinal herbs had been caught caused an uproar among the workers.
One or two workers, who were not clear-headed, privately grumbled that Manager Su and the boss had been rather inhumane in sending the man to jail.
However, after being lectured by the other workers who took turns defending Lin Dongjia and Su Zhanggui, some of the workers who didn't understand the situation fell silent.
It was thanks to Mr. Lin and Manager Su that they had the opportunity to work in the medicinal herb field, which gave them the chance to earn money and make their lives better and better.
Without Mr. Lin and Manager Su, they would have been stuck farming at home, barely scraping by year after year. Now, they can not only work in the medicinal herb fields to earn money, but they can also grow medicinal herbs in their own fields. When the harvest comes, they earn one or two times more money than before.
In this way, those two workers, who were receiving wages from Lin Dongjia and Su Zhanggui, actually stole medicinal herbs from the herb field. It was simply outrageous!
"They're utterly inhuman! The employer kindly gave them the opportunity to work in the medicinal herb field, paying them wages on time every month, yet they're still not satisfied and instead have the audacity to steal herbs. They've lost all their conscience!"
"Exactly, they've really lost their conscience!"
“Such scourges are too easy to be sent home. In my opinion, they should be sent to jail to repent properly.”
"..."
"..."
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, cursing the two men and unifying their stance, all indignant on behalf of Lin Qingchuan and Manager Su.
Thanks to this medicinal herb field, everyone has been able to have some stable income these past two years. If the thieves stealing the herbs anger the owner to the point that he stops cultivating the field, everyone will have no choice but to go home and continue living a hard life.
"Listen up, everyone. If anyone tries to cheat again, it won't be as simple as just paying compensation."
Manager Su spoke calmly, but his eyes held a pressure that commanded respect.
Several timid workers nodded repeatedly.
“Master, we’ve all remembered.”
"Master, you can rest assured."
"Let's all work hard."
"Those two guys are scoundrels, they're completely ungrateful! They've forgotten how good the employer was to them."
One of the managers was quite adept at currying favor. Taking advantage of the quiet moment, he stepped forward, patted his chest, and pledged his loyalty with unwavering conviction.
"Master, we will definitely serve you well, supervise each other, and never let such unpleasant things ruin your mood again."
Wu Gang earnestly offered his advice.
"Don't worry, boss, we will definitely not let you worry about such things again."
The other workers immediately echoed this sentiment.
"If anyone is dishonest, we'll make sure they regret it!" another worker shouted.
More and more workers chimed in, creating a lively scene.
Manager Su and Lin Qingchuan exchanged a glance and nodded together.
The theft of medicinal herbs wasn't a major incident, but it wasn't minor either. To prevent similar incidents from happening again, they had to give the workers a warning and make sure everyone was aware of the consequences.
The two thieves have returned the medicinal herbs, and they've calmed down. The herbs weren't worth much money to them anyway.
Manager Su's expression softened, and he said, word by word, "Since everyone has made a guarantee, then we will see how you perform from now on. As long as you are honest, trustworthy, and hardworking, we will never treat you unfairly."