Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei became even more convinced that everything was a play.
Chen Xiaobei remained silent. After He Dali and the others left, he still followed them from a distance, as he had to arrange for the subsequent matters himself.
Cui San clearly had no idea that a calamity was coming, still thinking he was on a trip to the city.
He arrived at the county yamen by carriage. Cui San cheerfully jumped down and was about to step inside when He Dali stopped him.
"Captain He, don't worry, I know where the main hall is, I'll go by myself..." Before Cui San could finish speaking, he looked up and saw He Dali's grim expression, immediately realizing something was amiss.
He Dali, with a grim face, waved his hand. The nearby constables came forward and put shackles on the four of them separately.
Cui San became agitated, "Captain He, what do you mean by this? We are all witnesses, the one who should be arrested is Cui Fugui and his..."
Before he could finish, He Dali waved his hand again, "Magistrate Hu said to let you reflect in the prison first."
He then turned to the constables and made a gesture.
A group of constables immediately escorted Cui San, Chun Xiang, and Cui Dahai away, leaving only Cui Fugui behind.
Seeing Cui Fugui looking dumbfounded, He Dali stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and with a flick of his hand, removed the shackles from his wrists.
"Alright, you can go. Oh, by the way, tell Chen Xiaobei when you see him to come have a drink with me sometime."
Upon hearing this, even the foolish Cui Fugui understood that everything had been arranged by Chen Xiaobei.
After thanking him, Cui Fugui ran off as fast as he could, for fear that He Dali might change his mind.
He hadn't run far when a hand reached out and grabbed him. "Father, stop running, I'm here."
Hearing Chen Xiaobei's voice, Cui Fugui finally stopped and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Oh my, Chen Xiaobei, you almost scared me to death."
Chen Xiaobei smiled calmly. "No need to be afraid, everything has been resolved. By the way, you cannot go back. You should stay at this inn for a few days. Remember not to show yourself until I send someone to find you."
He then pointed to an inn nearby.
Following that, he handed over a silver ingot.
In those days, if you had money to stay at an inn, food and drink would be delivered to your room. You could stay for a year without going out.
After arranging everything, Chen Xiaobei turned his horse and rode back to the village.
Seeing him return, Cui Hongyu rushed to meet him with a worried look. "It's getting dark, and I've been so worried."
Chen Xiaobei waved his hand with a smile. "No need to worry, everything has been resolved. We just need to wait for the show to unfold."
Meanwhile, at Cui Dana's home in Cui Family Village, the maids and laborers saw that Cui San had not returned by dark, and they didn't think much of it.
After all, the Cui family had a good relationship with the government, and Cui San had left by carriage. Moreover, Cui San had made it clear that they should wait for him to return, perhaps the officials had invited him for a drink and a meal.
However, they waited until noon the next day, and still there was no news. Some people couldn't wait any longer. A few of the laborers discussed among themselves and decided to go to the county yamen to inquire.
At this time, in the prison, Chun Xiang had already given up. Crying, she begged to see Magistrate Hu Fan.
However, following Chen Xiaobei's advice, Hu Fan refused Chun Xiang's request.
They had to wait another day before the time was right.
Meanwhile, Chen Xiaobei had already started promoting charcoal in the city with Mu Tan.
He first found Old Wu, who sold vegetables.
Seeing that Chen Xiaobei had brought charcoal, Old Wu was overjoyed and rubbed his hands, saying, "This is good stuff. One jin of charcoal for one coin. Only wealthy families can afford to burn this."
Indeed, one jin of charcoal cost more than one jin of vegetables. Without wealthy families, they truly couldn't afford it.
But Old Wu was naturally interested in this kind of business. After all, he couldn't sell vegetables in winter, and without Chen Xiaobei coming to him, he would be idle at home all winter.
Not only did he accept the business, but Old Wu also made grand arrangements. "Brother Xiaobei, don't worry. Leave the business in the entire county to me. I'll bring this product and visit all the major households in half a month."
With Old Wu's assurance, Chen Xiaobei felt more at ease. "Brother Wu, let's be clear from the start. If you successfully negotiate the deal, all the commissions will be yours. If you fail to negotiate, then I will have to negotiate later..."
Before he could finish, Old Wu laughed heartily. "That's natural. If I can't negotiate it, there's no reason for me to hoard it."
Having secured the business in the county, Chen Xiaobei immediately turned his horse and headed back.
Cui Hongyu was quite surprised to see Chen Xiaobei return so quickly. After hearing his explanation, she was both happy and worried.
"Husband, it is said that a big shop bullies customers, and a big customer bullies the shop. If all the business is monopolized by this Old Wu, then in the future..."
Chen Xiaobei calmly waved his hand. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Old Wu can do as much business as he wants."
"I trust Old Wu's character."
As they were talking, they saw large flocks of birds circling from the woods outside the village, chirping incessantly in the village.
Seeing this, Cui Hongyu immediately said, "Someone is coming down the mountain, and it's a lot of people."
Chen Xiaobei's mind stirred. It should be Liu Ce bringing people back. Right, he had also sent Chen Dayong and the others to find Liu Ce and build a cable bridge. He could ask about the progress then.
Indeed, after about half an incense stick's worth of time, they saw a stir of people outside the village, with dense crowds of people coming down.
Liu Ce had gone up with five hundred people, but judging by the current appearance, at least two thousand people were coming down.
Liu Ce, walking at the forefront, waved and greeted Chen Xiaobei from a distance as soon as he saw him.
"Steward Liu, you're back." Chen Xiaobei went to meet him.
Liu Ce raised his hand, and the้ that followed him immediately stopped in an orderly fashion.
It was evident that he had complete control over this team.
"Brother Xiaobei, look, in just a few days, we've gathered nearly two thousand people. We've basically found everyone," Liu Ce said with pride.
Nearly two thousand people, this was close to the number estimated by Chen Xiaobei and Liu Rumei. Then, there wouldn't be many left on the mountain, and considering the cold weather, if they got lost or lacked sufficient food and warmth, they would likely perish.
"Brother Liu, may I have a word privately?"
Chen Xiaobei led Liu Ce a few steps aside, lowered his voice, and told him about Liu Rumei going to see the Crown Prince.
"You must have already prepared how to arrange so many people."
Liu Ce understood Chen Xiaobei's meaning, which was that although these people obeyed him on the mountain, once they descended, if no one could control them, they would likely disperse again.
If Liu Rumei were present, things would be much easier, but now Liu Rumei was gone.