The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 410: The Unwitted Hong Jiu

Leaving the Government Office, Hong Jiu was confused and lost in thought. Walking under the poisonous sun, he didn't feel the scorching heat at all, and all he thought about was the notice.

Undoubtedly, once the ”Beggar System” described above was officially implemented, the beggars' world in the Capital would inevitably undergo earth-shattering changes. Evil beggars like the Deaf Boss who sat on the ground and shared the spoils would definitely receive…

The greatest benefit, right?

After all, how could senior officials knew the character and talent of beggars?

Wasn’t it time to appoint the most powerful and able to submit to the court for flattery, and then appoint that person as the security chief?

As long as a wealthy and powerful owner like the Deaf Boss was willing to spend money to clear up connections, wasn’t the beggar's bodyguard in Shanxi Lane just like his bag?

Originally relying on force, the Deaf Boss has already ridden on everyone's heads and acted recklessly. If he were to regain his official status and become a true beggar leader, wouldn't small beggars like himself be more willing to let their flesh run wild in the future?!

Although the original intention of the government seemed to be to prevent evil beggars from causing trouble to the public through the Beggar System, there would definitely be requirements in this regard when appointing the Security Leader. The question was, could beggars be considered ordinary people?

Anyway, every time the population of the Capital was counted, they didn't even include beggars. Since they weren’t even counted as people, the officials naturally didn't bother to take care of the shameful behavior of beggars.

Thinking of this, Hong Jiu felt as if he had been blocked by something, feeling extremely suffocated and uncomfortable.

“Brother Jiu! Brother Jiu!”

“Brother Jiu, you've come back.”

In a trance, Hong Jiu suddenly heard two shouts of surprise. He took a closer look and he found himself in a daze. He had returned to the Chenghuang Temple, where he usually lived.

The Chenghuang Temple was very small. It only has one main hall. And because a pregnant woman who was abandoned by her husband once hanged herself in the temple, it has become a well-known evil temple that has been abandoned for many years.

Now there were only Hong Jiu and three other little beggars, who had no place to settle down and had to bravely live in it.

Seeing Er Zi and Black Head were present and came out of the Chenghuang Temple, his face was overjoyed. Hong Jiu couldn't help feeling warm. At least in this world, some people missed him.

“Don't worry.”

Hong Jiu grabbed one hand and smiled, "I'm just...”

“Something big has happened.”

Unexpectedly, the two little beggars were vying to say, "Brother Jiu, you just went out a little while ago, and Niu'er was injured.”

“Yes, Niu'er has shed a lot of blood. I don't know what bit her, and she can't explain it herself. She's just crying incessantly.”

“I said I wanted to help her look at the wound, but she scolded me.”

Upon hearing the words of the two little beggars, Hong Jiu couldn't help but change his face. Without thinking much, he quickly rushed into the dilapidated temple but almost collided with a girl.

This girl was exactly Niu’er, but at the age of thirteen or fourteen, her figure was slightly higher than that of Er Zi and Black Head. At this moment, her eyes were swollen like peaches, and her face was washed black and white with tears as if she had drawn a mask for singing on it.

“Brother Jiu.”

Seeing Hong Jiu coming in from outside, Niu'er exclaimed with both joy and grievance. Just as she was about to pounce into Hong Jiu's arms and cry, she suddenly remembered something and quickly held onto her feet, tightly gripping her legs.

Hong Jiu saw a crimson glow between her legs, and his heart was also in a panic. He quickly grabbed her and asked with concern, "Niu’er, how did you get hurt? Did you get bitten by a snake? Or...”

He guessed several times in a row, but Niu'er just shook her head and said nothing.

Hong Jiu became increasingly anxious and he repeatedly urged her to speak the truth.

Niu'er couldn't resist being forced, so she shyly glanced at Er Zi and Black Head first. After the two of them stepped back a little, she leaned her foot against Hong Jiu's ear to say something.

Hong Jiu was stunned for a while before sighing, "Our girl has grown into a big girl.”

After speaking, he saw that all three of them had a puzzled expression on their faces. He quickly took Niu’er to the side and casually explained a few words about the menstruation cycle. He had only a partial understanding, and naturally, he didn't speak clearly enough.

Fortunately, this girl was raised by him alone, and she trusted him the most. When he said that it was something that all women have, she breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

After comforting Niu'er, Hong Jiu tried again to recall the taboo of eavesdropping on monthly affairs while doing books. He quickly ordered, "Er Zi and Black Head, you two go fetch some water and put it outside to bask in the heat. Later on, I'll have Niu'er wash her hands and face. Currently, she can't touch dirty things, let alone cold water.”

When Er Zi and Black Head went, he searched through the tattered clothes and bedding again, reluctantly selecting a piece of white cloth that looked relatively clean. He also narrowed down some fresh soap pods nearby and put them in a wooden basin, preparing to carefully starch and wash them several times before handing them over to Niu‘er for use.

“Brother Jiu.”

He had just finished his busy work here when Niu’er suddenly approached and muttered, "I... I just need to wash my hands, but... It's better not to wash my face

Seeing her like this, Hong Jiu couldn't help but feel a sigh in his heart.

What kind of girl at this age didn’t love beauty?

Two years ago, Niu’er had to wash her face thoroughly every day before going out to meet people.

In the past two years, she has not only grown a lot, but her originally yellow and scorched face has also shown some color. If she was a woman from an ordinary family, it could be considered a good thing. However, for a female beggar, it was like “a three-year-old child crossing the market with gold,” which easily attracted the saliva of others.

So after experiencing a perilous encounter, Niu'er struggled to dress up in a messy environment, never daring to show her face in front of others. Even Hong Jiu, who was also like a brother and father, had not seen her true appearance for a long time.

At this moment, seeing her in a state of anxiety and fear of bringing about some disaster, Hong Jiu felt even more distressed. He quickly pretended to be arrogant and carefree, patting his chest and saying, "Don't worry, Niu’er. You won't be able to go out begging these days. With your brother guarding you in the temple, can anyone dare to forcibly rob you?”

After speaking these big words, Hong Jiu suddenly felt inappropriate again. Others wouldn't come to this dilapidated temple, but the Deaf Boss's subordinates might not avoid it. If those evil beggars saw that Niu'er was beautiful...

So he quickly added, "But if anyone comes to the temple, you must hide.”

Niu'er nodded obediently, but her black and white eyes showed some eagerness and hope. It seemed that as long as she showed her true face, even if she could only nestle in a broken temple, it was enough to make her feel happy.

The more so, the greater the frustration in Hong Jiu's heart.

In the past, he used to be complacent, thinking that he could bring up a few children and ensure that they could eat some meat every now and then, so he should be considered one of the top beggars.

But a few days ago, he was first bullied by Deaf Boss on the ground for a while, and now he realized that he couldn't even make Niu clean her face and see people.

He suddenly realized how incompetent he was.

It was pitiful and ridiculous that such an incompetent person dared to covet the beauty of Xu-Shi not long ago!

Sigh~

Hong Jiu sighed dejectedly, taking care of Niu'er's messy hair, and then thought of the normal girl she saw on the street, with cute and playful headgear all over her head. However, Niu'er had followed her for five or six years but only left with messy hair like dead branches and grass, which made him feel even more guilty.

So he casually said, "Wait until I get the money tomorrow and buy a hairpin for you, okay?”

Unexpectedly, Niu'er shook her head like a rattle and repeatedly said, "Why do we have so much free money? Besides, didn't Brother Jiu also give away several treasures?”

Several treasures?

Hong Jiu's body froze for a moment, and then suddenly jumped more than three feet tall and patted his head, saying, "Damn it! This is so scary that I forgot about the pottery, pearls, gold, and shells completely.”

As he spoke, he quickly asked Niu'er if he had given her a shell at the beginning of the year and if it was still with her.

Niu'er saw that his breathing was heavy and knew that this shell must be something important. She quickly dug out a small package from the hole behind the City God's buttocks.

Flipping open the rags on the three outer layers, many colorful things were exposed, including colorful small stones, faded half ribbons, and leg stones made of sheep bones.

Almost all of the junk was picked up by Hong Jiu and others, but he didn’t think that she was so precious to preserve the items.

However, at this moment, Hong Jiu couldn't help but sigh. He reached out and searched inside to find the golden shell, trembling his eyes. He widened his eyes and carefully scanned.

Words, words, words...

Be sure to have words!

As long as it was said to be a top-grade pottery, pearls, gold, and shells, then he no longer has to worry about the bullying of the Deaf Boss, let alone lead three children to live such a precarious and secretive life!

At this moment, Hong Jiu's heart was extremely eager.

However, after tossing and searching for a long time, he never saw any golden patterns similar to the text.

Sure enough, he thought too much of himself…

Hong Jiu let out a despondent sigh and was about to put down the shell when suddenly four big eyes, dribbling wildly, were staring at the shell and pounding fiercely. It turned out that Er Zi and Black Head had come back with water.

“Brother Jiu.”

Black Head exclaimed curiously. "What's there to see in a broken shell? It looks like you're about to get into it.”

Er Zi also followed closely and asked, "Is this something of value?”

“This…”

Hong Jiu was originally very disappointed, but on second thought, even a medium-quality golden shell was worth a lot of silver. What was there to be disappointed about?

So he laughed and ostentatiously said, "You're right, kid. This shell is not simple; it's pottery, pearls, gold, and shells from the Western Regions. It's the most powerful one to prosper a family. Just this one can sell for 826 silver coins.”

He then heard someone doubly question, "Can this thing really be worth 826 silver coins?”

“How can there be any fakes? I've checked it carefully.”

Hong Jiu was smug and suddenly realized something was wrong because the questioning voice was not from a few small beggars around him but rather from outside. Moreover, the sound sounded very familiar, as if…

“Deaf... Deaf Boss...”

Just as Hong Jiu exclaimed in surprise, the Deaf Boss, with five or six subordinates, stormed in and grabbed the shell. He put it in his hand, glanced at it a few times, and then sneered, "For the sake of letting me make a profit today, I will be merciful and only break two of your fingers.”

Great compassion would only be merciful by breaking two fingers. If it weren't for this shell, wouldn't he have killed him?!

Hong Jiu hurriedly said, "Deaf Boss, what are you doing this for? I haven't offended you in the past few days.”

“For what?”

The Deaf Boss smiled grimly and put his face before Hong Jiu, gritting his teeth and saying, "Look at it yourself, f*ck. Open your dog's eyes and have a good look.”

Actually, there was no need to take a closer look. Hong Jiu has also noticed something strange. The Deaf Boss's face was unusually red and swollen, as if there were several palm marks printed on it.

Who was so bold as to dare to slap him?!

Hong Jiu was puzzled in his heart but was pushed against the wall by the Deaf Boss with one shoulder and pinched his neck with a sneer, saying, "How dare you dog, bring the poor Master of the Central Judicial Office to my house, causing me a lot of trouble? Can you tell me, this great kindness, can I not repay it well?”

Why did the official of the Central Judicial Office beat the Deaf Boss up just to inquire? Wasn’t this a rush to cause trouble for oneself?!