Chapter 16: I Have a Solution

Breaking the silence, Li Xing spoke up.

“Boss, I have a plan.”

“Go ahead, tell us!”

“Boss, previously we had no leads at all. But now, after dealing with Chen Fan’s matter, we discovered that this Huang Ya is involved in trafficking women. According to our investigation, he’s uneducated and idle; his wife doesn’t work either. Yet, they never lack food or drink, and their household stores plenty of grain. He’s always leading a group of scoundrels, either drinking in taverns or gambling in dens. Clearly, he must be the head behind the trafficking in Zeng County. There must be wealthy merchants supporting him from behind the scenes. Now that he’s dead, his underlings will surely take over his operations. We can follow this thread to catch them all. But I think we shouldn’t act rashly; we should spend these few months gathering intelligence, preparing thoroughly, and then strike at the start of the new year to imprison them all.”

Detectives Sun, Zhao, and An exchanged glances. Sun said, “Your idea is excellent. Let’s discuss the details further.”

Detective An nodded with satisfaction, recognizing Li Xing’s progress. The junior detectives also looked at Li Xing with approving eyes.

That night, the county magistrate’s study remained brightly lit, while outside, darkness blanketed the surroundings. Magistrate Cao had been reading Chen Fan’s proposal all day. He had just sent someone to summon Chen Fan.

At home, Chen Fan was soothing his wife when he received the message, and he hurried to the study.

“Chen Fan pays respects to the magistrate,” he said, bowing in the same manner Li Xing had before Magistrate Cao.

“Chen Fan, you’ve truly surprised me by writing such practical and feasible methods. I found many new terms I’d never seen before—like ‘productive forces’ and ‘production efficiency.’ At first, I didn’t quite understand them, but after reading your explanations, they make perfect sense.”

The magistrate resumed reading with great enthusiasm.

Assuming the magistrate might be hinting at his lack of understanding, Chen Fan said, “Since I was twelve, I haven’t read much, so I don’t know how to write official language properly. I had to create my own vocabulary. I hope Your Honor will forgive me.”

“Keep it up. Writing like this is excellent and carries a distinctive personal style. When I once read Mr. Lu You’s masterpiece ‘On Essays’ in the society, I learned a point: truly great writers can invent new words when composing. It’s precisely these new terms that enrich culture. Writers who can create culture are the truly great ones. You need not conform to prevailing trends; write according to your own ideas. From now on, I will inform Chief Clerk Du and your colleagues that you may freely borrow books from the archives. Once you’ve finished reading, submit a twenty-thousand-word reflection. Then I will decide whether to grant you access to my study’s books. For now, you need not work. Show us your methods—cooking, hunting, for example.”

“Magistrate, hunting requires preparing materials and making tools, which takes time. Cooking skills were taught to me by my two wives. I merely follow their instructions. Tomorrow, I will prepare materials to set traps and hunt in the mountains to demonstrate efficiency. I want my wives to showcase their cooking skills, so we can finish quickly. However, this will require some help, so I hope the magistrate can arrange some assistants, though not many.”

“From your proposal, I’ve estimated the costs—indeed, not high. Very well, as you say. Your wives will take charge of the kitchen tomorrow; all ingredients will be supplied from the county storehouse. Let us taste their cooking. I will assign some servants to accompany you to the mountains for hunting. I trust you have other arrangements.”

“Thank you, magistrate!”

Chen Fan hurried back to his quarters and embraced his two wives as soon as he entered.

“Is it true that the magistrate called you for good news?”

“Yes! Just follow what I say tomorrow!”

“Maybe you’ll have jobs after this.”

“What’s going on?”

“The taverns in the county are struggling. I have some excellent recipes. Tomorrow, you’ll cook for the magistrates. If the food is good, you might become official cooks!”

“Really? That’s wonderful!”

“Tonight, I’ll teach you five dishes. You must master them thoroughly.”

“What are the five dishes?”

“They’re called: Braised Pork, an improved Beggar’s Chicken, Mapo Tofu, Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes, and Steamed Sea Bass.”

Chen Fan then explained the recipes in detail.

“These dishes sound complicated, with many seasonings and steps!”

“Don’t worry. I’ve arranged everything with the magistrate. You won’t lack ingredients. Also, I visited all the taverns in town today. These dishes will utterly surpass theirs—provided you can make them!”

“Yes! We definitely can!”

At dawn, Liu Jia and Wang Si, carrying gifts, knocked on the grandest house in the East Market.

A butler opened the door.

“What business do you have? If none, please leave quickly!”

He then tried to shut the door, refusing them entry.

Liu Jia pushed the door open with one hand and pinched Wang Si with the other.

Wang Si hurriedly threw the two gifts inside the door. After tossing them in, the door was shut, pinching Liu Jia’s hand.

The two sat dejectedly on the steps outside the Xia residence, heads bowed.

The butler inspected the two gift boxes.

“Master Xia accepts them.”

“Manager Liu accepts them!”

Manager Liu actually knew them; they had often come by when Xia Ya was still alive.

Liu Jia opened the box and saw a large silver ingot. His eyes lit up.

He tucked it into his bosom and quickly opened the door to welcome them inside.

“Honored guests, apologies for the earlier neglect. Please come in! Please come in!”

The two tidied their fine clothes and followed Manager Liu into the Xia residence.

Meanwhile, Li Xing and the others had spent the entire night discussing their work.

Each detective eagerly voiced their long-held ideas and suggestions. In truth, they were using work as an excuse to sneak in personal agendas.

At first, they proposed many constructive plans. After much debate, they ultimately decided to adopt Li Xing’s original proposal.

Detective Sun spoke up decisively, “Let’s go with Li Xing’s plan. Li Xing will take full responsibility. Li Xing! Li Xing!”

“Li Xing, wake up! The boss is calling you!”

“Ah! What? Is there a result?” Li Xing woke from his sleep, confused.

“Yes! We’ve decided to use your plan. Go down and formulate the detailed methods.”

“Ah! Okay! I’ll come up with the best approach!”

The group dispersed listlessly.

Li Xing muttered to himself that he wasn’t good at writing strategies—he could narrate case details, which was just storytelling, but composing essays was truly not his forte.

He believed Chen Fan would have ideas, so he set out to find him.