allonlinenovel Chapter 42 Whipping Him
Chapter 42 Whipping Him
When Magistrate Yang Shaofeng arrived at the artificial lake with a group of village chiefs and community leaders, the able-bodied men of the artificial lake were eating meat buns brought by the young widows.
"Smells, it smells so good!"
"If we don't work hard, we'll be letting down the meat buns and bone broth that the master gives us!"
"Look at this soup, there's even a layer of oil on top!"
"I wonder how much longer they can keep digging this lake. If they finish digging it all, will they start digging the next one?"
"I wonder when I'll be able to eat steamed buns with meat on them again!"
"..."
Although the filling for these buns is still mainly wild vegetables, compared to the previous fillings of wild vegetables and eggs, this time the buns with lard and pork truly give you the feeling of "your mouth is full of oil".
The bone broth, especially the one with a few pieces of fatty meat in the broth and oil floating on the surface, made these young men's mouths water.
Seeing the young and strong men wolfing down their food, and then thinking back to his own picky eating habits in his previous life, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but feel a little wistful.
If the young and strong, who are the main breadwinners of their families, react like this when faced with meat buns, what about the other people?
Just as Yang Shaofeng was feeling sentimental, a strong young man took a carrying pole and two plates of steamed buns, placing the buns from one end of the pole to the other. He then filled a bowl with bone broth.
The young man, who had placed the steamed buns on the carrying pole, boasted: "These are fifteen steamed buns. If I eat them all in one go, you will each lose one coin to me. If I don't eat them all, I will lose one coin to each of you!"
As soon as the young man finished speaking, Yang Shaofeng's expression changed drastically.
Damn it, these bastards still have the nerve to shut down gambling games? They must be starving!
And me too, I just wasted my breath and sighs!
As the saying goes, anger rises from the heart. Feeling that he had wasted his emotions, Yang Shaofeng strode over to the young man who was setting up the steamed buns, kicked him to the ground, and shouted: "You dogs! I have repeatedly ordered that you not to play poker. Are you ignoring my words? And you want to bet on eating fifteen steamed buns in one meal? Are you out of your mind?!"
After berating the young man, Yang Shaofeng turned to look at the lame man: "Who does this idiot work for? Drag him out and give him ten lashes, and drag that bastard who's working for him out and give him five lashes too!"
Limpy Wu chuckled, his face contorted with rage, and stepped forward, picking up a whip and lashing out at her.
"One, two, three... ten!"
After finishing the young and strong men's punishment, Limpy Five, amidst their screams, turned his gaze to the group of constables: "Whose henchman is this idiot? Come out and receive your punishment!"
A constable with a limp, just like Crippled Five, stepped forward, cupped his hands to Yang Shaofeng, and said, "Your Excellency, the idiot who was just beaten worked under me, Yang Liuqi. I, Yang Liuqi, failed to supervise him properly and am willing to accept the punishment!"
After saying that, Yang Liuqi lay down on the ground and turned to Limpy Five, saying, "Fifth Brother, please carry out the execution!"
Limpy Five nodded, and then began to whip Yang Liuqi fiercely. In just two lashes, Yang Liuqi's clothes were torn apart. After five lashes, Yang Liuqi's body was covered in blood and flesh, and he looked even more miserable than the young man who had just been whipped.
Despite his discomfort, Yang Shaofeng addressed the constables and able-bodied men with a stern face: "I'll say it again, no gambling! Anyone who dares to gamble, even for just one penny, will be beaten to death if caught by me!"
After reprimanding the constables and young men, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to the village chiefs and community leaders: "And you, from now on, keep a close eye on them. If you find anyone playing the game, just report it to me. If you know about it but don't report it or intentionally cover it up for them, I will punish you all!"
Seeing the bailiffs, their flesh and bones mangled from being whipped by the lame man, the village heads and community leaders were startled and quickly bowed, saying, "Yes, we've got it."
Yang Shaofeng then snorted coldly and ordered Limpy Five, "Take these two idiots back to treat their injuries."
This was the first time Yang Shaofeng had ever lost his temper like this, and the first time he had ever lost his temper in front of a group of club presidents and village chiefs.
It was precisely because Yang Shaofeng suddenly lost his temper that the group of village leaders and elders remembered that the young man with a still somewhat immature face who was always smiling was, in the end, the magistrate of Ningyang County.
After Limpy Wu took away the young men who had bet with others and the constables who had been implicated, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to the group of young men: "From now on, if anyone dares to bet with others again, these two idiots who got beaten up today will be their role models!"
Yang Shaofeng cursed angrily, "Damn it, we just took over the land, and instead of thinking about making a good living, they're thinking about shutting down gambling matches?"
"If you dare to bet one penny today, you'll dare to bet ten pennies tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow you might dare to bet your entire fortune!"
"But can't you think about what would happen if you lost the bet?"
"Are my parents, wife, and children still alive?"
"I have no idea how stupid you all are!"
Seeing the group of young men filled with remorse after being scolded, not even daring to raise their heads, Yang Shaofeng simply snorted coldly and directly instructed the village heads and elders: "Let them continue eating. Come to the county office to see me again tomorrow morning!"
As Yang Shaofeng turned and left, the group of club presidents and village elders darkened their faces and launched a barrage of abuse at the young men: "You damn idiots! We told you long ago that the master forbids you from turning off poker games, and you all have donkey hair stuffed in your ears?"
"A bunch of scoundrels, eating the meat buns and drinking the bone broth that the master gives you, and then disobeying the master's orders to gamble, and getting caught red-handed by the master!"
"I think you're all just damn bastards, you've only had a couple of good days and you're already feeling miserable!"
"From now on, if anyone dares to disobey the master's orders to shut down gambling matches, I'll kill you bastards before the master even holds me accountable!"
……
As soon as he returned to the county government office, Lame Wu approached Yang Shaofeng and whispered, "Your Excellency, those two idiots have cleaned their wounds and applied wound medicine."
Yang Shaofeng nodded and said, "I'll have to trouble Brother Limpy Fifth to deliver some food to the brothers who got beaten up today, and also apologize to them on my behalf."
The lame man bowed and replied, "Yes, I've remembered it all."
Yang Shaofeng sighed slightly: "Gambling is the most harmful thing. It was repeatedly banned during the Song Dynasty but could not be stopped. The Tartar court did not care at all, so gambling became rampant. Many people became addicted to gambling and formed gambling habits. Some even ruined their families and businesses because of it. If I don't do anything about them, I'm afraid many people will not even be able to keep their seventeen acres of land and will inevitably become vagrants in the end."
"It's one thing for these bastards who love gambling to become vagrants themselves, but what have their parents, wives, and children done to deserve this misfortune along with them?"
The lame man bowed and said, "Your Excellency is right. The brothers who were beaten today will surely understand Your Excellency's good intentions."
Yang Shaofeng nodded and turned to go back to the backyard of the county government office.
Today's incident is not only about preventing gambling from becoming a problem, but also about Yang Shaofeng taking advantage of the situation.