Falsifying the Evidence, Aren't You?

This donkey wasn't picky at all; it ate whatever was given to it, and after finishing, it kept nudging Zhou Wanwan.

Lingbao looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "It's full, so it's my turn now, right? How about we split these herbs in half?"

Zhou Wanwan flipped through the list and gasped. Wild ginseng, century-old gastrodia elata, sika deer antler, Sichuan fritillary bulb, dendrobium officinale, red ganoderma, bezoar, musk, anoectochilus roxburghii, cordyceps...

Lingbao said with a smug look on his face, "I can identify medicinal herbs. I don't even look at the inferior ones; I only choose the top quality ones."

Zhou Wanwan took out half of the medicine and said, "Then I'll brew the herbal medicine for you first..."

Zhou Wanwan boiled all the medicinal herbs into a pot, and after it cooled down, she saw the Little Ginseng jump into the soup and say, "Comfortable, comfortable..."

Zhou Wanwan looked at it and said, "It must be very difficult for you ginseng to become sentient, right?"

Lingbao looked at her and said:

"It's one in ten thousand! Ginseng that can gain sentience is extremely rare. Many people say that if we weren't tied with a red string, we could run away."

But in reality, very few ginseng roots can actually run.

Zhou Wanwan looked at it and said, "Do you think the herbal bath you took after your bath was effective?"

"It works! Drinking it long-term can prolong life, although the effects aren't very noticeable yet."

"It will be obvious enough when I grow tall and strong," Lingbao said with a smile.

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "You know what, our family members have really improved their health after drinking your herbal soup."

Previously, their older brothers were all thin and small, looking malnourished.

Zhou Wanwan was worried about whether they could grow to 1.7 meters tall, since most people in ancient times were very thin and short.

Very few people can grow to be over 1.7 meters tall.

But recently, her three older brothers have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. Zhou Wanwan thinks the first reason is that the family is eating well now, and the second reason is that everyone in the family is now drinking this kind of herbal soup.

Lingbao would always suck all the medicine out of the container, leaving only some colorless and tasteless broth.

However, according to Lingbao, this broth is very good for both people and the livestock in the house.

Zhou Wanwan often drinks its bathwater and sometimes uses it to wash her face, and she has found that this water is very good for her skin.

It's more effective than any cosmetic; she's using it as a toner now.

After finishing, Zhou Wanwan fell asleep immediately.

The next day, they found that a large number of government officials had arrived and rushed in to conduct a chaotic search.

Zhou Wanwan was still taking a nap at home when Liu Sanlang barged in and said:

"Oh no! The government officials have arrived and have turned our village upside down!"

They might come here too, so why don't you hide for a bit?

Zhou Wanwan scoffed coldly, "What's there to hide from? Lingbao, send your Donkey Friend straight up the mountain. I want to see what these government officials are up to."

Her family appeared to be extremely poor; they even kept their livestock in the mountains.

Sure enough, a dozen or so officials climbed up the mountain path, cursing and swearing. "We've seen poor people, but we've never seen anyone this poor."

"That's right! I've been to every village, but I've never seen one this poor. From the first house to the last, I didn't see a single chicken."

"Exactly! Then why did we come up the mountain?"

"Didn't we take money from the Jiang Family? Since we took their money, we have to do their bidding."

They rushed into the courtyard, startling Zhou Fusheng, who stammered, "Sir... sir... what brings you here?"

"Of course we need to talk to you. We recently encountered a group of thieves who stole some things, and we need to search their property."

Zhou Fusheng quickly nodded and said, "Please feel free to look around..."

The officials looked around and were both amused and exasperated. "No, you don't cook at home? What do you eat and drink? You're so poor you don't even have a single grain of rice."

Zhou Wanwan, wearing a tattered cotton-padded coat, came out and said, "Dad, I'm hungry. When can we eat? Didn't Mom say she was going to get some tree bark? Waaah... Baby's hungry..."

Zhou Qingyan, Zhou Qinghe, and Zhou Qingchen also came out looking pitiful.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the government officials and said, "Sirs, are you here to save us? We have no food to eat, sob sob sob... Can you please give us a bite to eat?"

An official pulled out 200 coins from his pocket and said, "Here! Go buy some rice and vegetables for the children. This is really unacceptable of you. How have you become so poor?"

The other officials said gruffly, "Gu Chaoyang, are you out of your mind? You always want to help anyone who's having a hard time."

Gu Chaoyang looked at them and said:

"I've never seen anyone help everyone who's having a hard time. Look how hungry this child is!"

I just couldn't bear it, this child is about the same age as my son...

"Tch, your stupid son? Hahaha, you finally had a son, and he's an idiot."

Gu Chaoyang said angrily, "My son wasn't born stupid, it was later... later someone hit him on the head."

The officials chuckled and said, "Oh! Poor thing! I heard your wife can't have children. Why don't you buy a concubine?"

Gu Chaoyang said with a straight face, "If I don't want to have any more, then I don't want to. I only need one son in my life."

"Hahaha... Yes, yes, even a silly son is still a son!"

Seeing how poor the family was, the group left immediately. Back in Jiang Family Village, they shook their heads and said, "I don't know why Liu Family Village is so poor. Every household has very little food; I only saw some coarse grains."

Jiang Wu poured them tea and said, "Sirs, we'll have to trouble you with the affairs of our village. Could you please try to find the thief?"

The officials all shook their heads and said, "We really can't find any. Take Liu Family Village, for example. They're so poor, we can't exactly slander them, can we?"

Jiang Wu directly took out several silver Yuanbao and said:

"Gentlemen, thank you for your trouble. Actually, this matter is very simple. Liu Family Village is the closest to us."

"Once you determine that they have a problem, then they have a problem, right?"

Gu Chaoyang frowned and said, "Isn't this just a charade?"

The other officials sneered, "What do you mean by 'falsifying'? I have a feeling something's off about Liu Family Village. If you don't want to take this money, then leave!"

"Isn't that right? He's always going against us. Gu Chaoyang, take this job or leave it. You don't need to come on duty tomorrow."

Enraged, Gu Chaoyang threw the knife on the ground and said, "Fine, if you don't want to do it, then don't. I will never associate with people like you. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"Hahaha... If we're talking about retribution, then you're the one who's really getting your comeuppance! You got a stupid son, and you're still happy about it all the time."

"Isn't that right? I saw it last time. That stupid son can't even speak or eat. Tsk tsk tsk, isn't that karma?"