HLnovel Chapter 433: Abandoning Evil and Doing Good
Chapter 433: Abandoning Evil and Doing Good
Everyone congratulated Huo Qi, but Huo Qi, whose alcohol tolerance was average, naturally dared not drink cup after cup with everyone. He could only stand up, fill his own cup three times, and toast everyone together.
Scarface was filled with thoughts. He began to understand Xiaotang's words back then: if possible, let the brothers go to the government to turn themselves in. If the government could give them a lenient sentence because of their surrender, they would have already cleared their names and could have become ordinary citizens sooner.
Huo Qi was wrongly accused, but now that his name has been cleared and he can live like an ordinary person, he is honestly envious from the bottom of his heart.
He downed several glasses of wine and made a decision in secret.
The crowd toasted and drank, and many got drunk, lying sprawled out in disarray.
Big Beard didn't like drinking, but loved eating, so after they had eaten and drunk their fill, the task of carrying the drunken brothers back to their rooms fell to him.
He dragged the person up while cursing and throwing him into the room.
The next day, after sobering up, Scarface found Lin Xiaotang and went to the stream with her.
"Uncle, is there something you need from me?"
Scarface's expression was slightly solemn. He curled his lips and said, "Xiao Tang, I thought about it a lot last night and I think what you said earlier makes sense. In the past, we were all lazy and did some robbery, which led to us having to hide and not be able to face anyone."
Nowadays, we can eat our fill with our own hands and even get rich by growing medicinal herbs. There are many of us and great strength. In a year or two, the medicinal herb fields on this mountain will definitely not be enough to grow them. Besides, it is troublesome to transport medicinal herbs down the mountain. It is more appropriate to buy land to grow medicinal herbs when we have money.
But the brothers' identities make it difficult for them to show their faces in public. Those without criminal records can easily go down the mountain and start anew, but those with cases will likely face difficulties.
Lin Xiaotang paused for a moment, then looked up and said, "Then let's split into two groups. Those who don't have cases to solve will go down the mountain to buy land to farm, while those who do will stay on the mountain. We'll discuss this further later."
If anyone is willing to turn themselves in to the authorities, they should do so as soon as possible. Unless it's a capital offense, even if they go to jail, they'll eventually get out and come back to work with everyone.
Scarface frowned and said, "The problem is that some of them are afraid of death and dare not turn themselves in to the authorities. We can't force them to do this, but those who go down the mountain and those who stay on the mountain must keep in touch. If they cause trouble for the brothers who go down the mountain and are accused of collusion, we'll be in a difficult situation."
His concerns are valid!
Those who have no criminal record or who have turned themselves in and gained a chance to start anew can go down the mountain to buy land and farm. If they then start showing their faces in public and continue to associate with their brothers on the mountain, and if someone discovers this and reports it to the authorities, then things will get really serious.
This is something we really need to think about carefully!
She thought for a moment and said, "We're all brothers. We can't betray those who don't want to turn themselves in just because we're going to turn ourselves in and get a chance to start anew."
But if we all go down the mountain, leaving some people behind without anyone to care for them, things might end up like before.
Scarface thought Lin Xiaotang's words made a lot of sense. He sighed and felt caught in a dilemma.
Seeing Huo Qi so relaxed after being exonerated, he was very envious and suddenly understood.
Lin Xiaotang's parents can run a large restaurant. If they could cleanse themselves of their sins and become honest ordinary people, they would have the opportunity to earn more money, buy land, buy houses, and hire servants to live the life of rich masters.
After a long pause, he looked a little embarrassed and asked, "Xiao Tang, if we go down the mountain to buy land and farm, how much silver can each of us earn?"
Lin Xiaotang chuckled and affirmed, "As long as you're willing to work hard, you can earn countless amounts of money!"
Countless amounts of silver?
Scarface never imagined he could earn countless riches in his lifetime, because he had no business acumen. As a child, he lived a life of hunger and cold, and as an adult, he was a bandit who lived a hand-to-mouth existence. How could he possibly make money?
Upon hearing that he could earn countless sums of money, Scarface was overjoyed and grinned like a fool.
He said, "Xiao Tang, don't lie to your uncle. Your uncle is not literate and has little education. He will believe whatever you say."
Lin Xiaotang smiled slightly, her eyes clear and bright, as if they could illuminate the other person's heart.
She said, word by word, "If I were lying to you, I would not have come back from the capital. The reason I came back is to fulfill my promise, to lead everyone to prosperity, to live normal lives, and to no longer have to be a bandit or worry about being killed by the imperial court."
Scarface nodded emphatically and said, "I'll listen to you. You give me the ideas, and I'll lead my brothers to follow you."
Lin Xiaotang never imagined that one day she would become a respected figure in a bandit's den.
If she can truly guide these people to abandon evil and do good, then this would be a very meaningful thing she has done on her road to wealth.
She said, "Since Uncle trusts me, let's start making plans. Before the herbs are ripe, you and Huo Qi should investigate everyone's backgrounds. No one is allowed to conceal their crimes."
Those without criminal responsibility formed a team to transport the medicinal herbs down the mountain to sell when they ripened, while those who had committed crimes stayed on the mountain to dig for herbs.
Scarface asked in confusion, "Then how should we handle the matter of turning oneself in to the authorities?"
Lin Xiaotang whispered, "Don't reveal this matter yet, so that everyone will have too many concerns and be unwilling to truthfully confess their crimes. After the investigation is completed, let Uncle Huo record it clearly, and then we can discuss the matter of turning oneself in based on everyone's situation."
The matter of turning oneself in needs to be discussed with everyone; it cannot be forced.
Scarface nodded in agreement, "Alright, I'll go find Huo Qi to make the arrangements right away."
So, Scarface acted swiftly and immediately found Scarface and began investigating everyone's background and past offenses.
Ten days later, Huo Qi was sorting through a thick stack of papers, which had writing on them to varying degrees.
Lin Xiaotang entered Huo Qi's room, where Scarface and Big Beard were both present, and the four of them discussed the matter together.
Huo Qi sighed heavily and said helplessly, "Alas, Xiao Tang, all of our brothers on the mountain have committed crimes to varying degrees. How many of them are clean-cut and would come up the mountain to become bandits?"
She had already guessed these things. Just as Huo Qi said, people with clean backgrounds would not come to the mountains to become bandits.
She frowned as she skimmed through the papers Huo Qi had written down, picking out a few that didn't contain any major mistakes.
"Uncle Beard looks fierce, but he is actually quite timid and doesn't dare to do anything immoral. He has done a lot of petty things, mostly stealing chickens and robbing people on the road, but fortunately he has never killed anyone."
The most serious incident was the kidnapping of the Xue family's young master a few years ago for ransom. Fortunately, the kidnapper escaped, and the ransom was not obtained.
She thought for a moment and said, "There is actually a chance for this to turn around. The government has been after you for several years. In addition, Xue Ruifeng returned to the Xue family without any danger. He was rescued by me and my father. I think if Uncle Hu and my eldest uncle come to Xue’s house to apologize sincerely, it will move Mr. Xue. He will then let bygones be bygones and the case will be closed."
Upon hearing this, Hu Zi's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously, saying, "Alright, as long as the Xue family doesn't pursue the matter, even if they make me kneel, I will kneel."