Lai Tou’s stomach was beginning to feel hungry. He had been so absorbed in gambling that he hadn’t eaten all night and hadn’t felt hungry, but now, being isolated in a cell, once he settled down, he felt an intense hunger.
Yet he had already had his morning meal in the cell, and he would have to wait until the afternoon to have his evening meal.
To prevent them from having too much energy to cause trouble, the jail provided no midday meal, not even water was given to Lai Tou.
Lai Tou swallowed his saliva and crawled to the door, calling out for something to eat or drink, but no one paid attention to him.
After shouting for a while, Lai Tou gave up.
Only in the afternoon when someone brought a bucket and bowl to distribute the evening meal did Lai Tou, swallowing saliva, rush to the entrance to wait. Only to watch the jailers deliver the evening meal to a cell around the corner before turning to leave.
Lai Tou was taken aback and quickly rattled the bars as he called out, "Officer, officer, me too, me too!"
The jailer turned back and saw him, as if just remembering him. He showed him the inside of the empty bucket and said with a knock, "I forgot to tell the kitchen there was an extra person today, there’s none for you today, you’ll eat tomorrow."
"But, officer, I’ve not eaten for a whole day and night, I’m truly famished, just give me a steamed bun please."
"A steamed bun? You’re still thinking about steamed buns?" Before the jailer could respond, the prisoners inside the cells started making noise first, laughing uproariously, "Even outside you can’t always get a steamed bun, if there were steamed buns in here, who wouldn’t want to be locked up?"
The jailers knocked on the wooden bars of the cells and scolded, "All of you act properly! If you’re going to eat, eat; if not, pour it back."
Then they yelled at Lai Tou, "What’s all the noise for, you won’t die from not eating for a day, just bear with it, at least you won’t be starved to death."
After saying that, they carried the bucket away, ignoring Lai Tou no matter how much he shouted behind them.
Lai Tou’s heart was filled with panic, even more so than the last time he was brought in to be beaten and have his fingers squeezed.
The beating this time was especially severe; he felt like he couldn’t straighten his waist, and he couldn’t see the injuries on his back but felt a sticky sensation as if he was bleeding.
The last time after he was beaten, a medical examiner came to check on him and applied medicine, but this time he wasn’t even given water.
Locked away alone deep in the cell, suffering from both pain and hunger, Lai Tou couldn’t help but have wild thoughts. Now he actually hoped the officer would question him, but he waited until even the light from the small window connecting to the outside dimmed, and still no one came for him.
Meanwhile, County Magistrate Tang had just finished reviewing a stack of documents. He twisted his stiff neck and stood to stretch his arms, glanced at the outside that had darkened, and asked, "What about that Lai Tou?"
"According to your instructions, he hasn’t been given food or water all day."
County Magistrate Tang nodded his head, thought for a moment, and then ordered, "There is another task for you. Choose two astute and reliable bailiffs to go to the cell, preferably those on duty. I have some instructions for them."
County Magistrate Tang gestured to the jailer to come closer, whispered in his ear, then laughed and said, "Go ahead, just find two clever bailiffs, and if this is done well, I will personally pay for you all to have lamb soup."
The jailer smiled and bowed, "Then I thank you in advance, my lord."
County Magistrate Tang smiled and waved his hand, walking out with him. He planned to give his eyes a rest, "Do your superiors often treat you to food?"
The jailer bashfully smiled, "Lord Yang is generous and cares for his subordinates."
County Magistrate Tang chuckled, thinking to himself: Must be nice to have money to burn, huh?
He glanced at the County Governmental Office of Luojiang County in the fading twilight and nodded slightly. Upon seeing a secretary coming out of a room to greet him with a bow, he smiled and asked, "The Land Officer and the Chief Clerk have gone home. Why are you still here?"
"I am in charge of the county’s archival documents. How can I leave before milord does?"
County Magistrate Tang looked at him and then asked with a smile, "Since you’re in charge of the archival documents, do you ever read them?"
"I read some when organizing the materials. Does milord need to look up any documents?"
County Magistrate Tang asked, "How long after a baby is born is it usually registered in the records here?"
The secretary thought for a moment and replied, "It varies. Some children are registered at the age of three, others at five, and in some remote areas, they might not be registered until they are eight years old."
County Magistrate Tang frowned, "It’s not standardized?"
"Every parent would prefer to wait until their child can stand on their own feet before registering them. However, there is a record at the Land Officer’s the moment a child is born. Every year before the New Year, the Land Officer has to report the number of children born that year."
County Magistrate Tang asked, "Is there a record?"
"Yes, but it’s only the number of children. For more specific details, you’ll have to ask the Land Officer," the secretary sighed. "Paper is expensive, and some Land Officers don’t keep very detailed records."
County Magistrate Tang then asked, "Generally, how soon after a child’s birth is it reported to the Land Officer?"
"Between three days to a month," the secretary replied. "If the child passes away before the end of the year, some Land Officers may erase the record and not report it, while others do record and report it truthfully. Different County Magistrates have had different requirements over the years. County Magistrate Yang has been very strict about this. He required every newborn’s name and date of birth to be recorded, and if they died in between, that had to be recorded too."
That was indeed Yang Heshu’s style of doing things.
County Magistrate Tang smiled and asked, "That must cost quite a bit, doesn’t it?"
"Yes, the expenditure for paper given to Chiefs each quarter is significant. Since it is a requirement set by the County Magistrate, we can’t expect the Chiefs to pay for it themselves."
County Magistrate Tang nodded, "But no matter, your Luojiang County isn’t short on funds now, is it? The grain seed business alone must have brought in a fair amount of money?"
The secretary shyly bowed his head and chuckled.
Three years ago, Yang Heshu had forcefully intervened in the grain seed and food trade, causing the local gentry and major merchants of Luojiang County quite a bit of pain before finally opening up the food trade, as long as they did not hoard supplies to deliberately raise prices. Yang Heshu didn’t interfere much otherwise.
However, Yang Heshu kept a firm grip on the grain seed trade, but he didn’t monopolize it.
The business was conducted in the name of the County Governmental Office, yet for the last two years, besides the county’s share, figures like County Magistrate Yang, the Land Officer, the Chief Clerk, and even the secretary knew that Governor Ming from Yizhou City had a stake in it.
The secretary cast a surreptitious glance at County Magistrate Tang. Apart from this County Magistrate Tang, it was well known throughout the County Governmental Office that he and County Magistrate Yang of Huayang County were not just family friends but also classmates and very close.
So close that they exchanged letters every month, and at times when communications were frequent, a letter would be sent back and forth every three to five days.
After some idle chat with the secretary, County Magistrate Tang watched the servants light up the lamps in the County Governmental Office and then said, "Please find the records of newborns from Qili Village from ten to thirteen years ago and send them to me later."
County Magistrate Tang paused and then added, "Also, find all the official documents exchanged with the County Governmental Office from ten to thirteen years ago, as well as copies of the notices posted on the public bulletin board."
The secretary felt his scalp tingle, "Milord, it’s almost dark. Are you sure you can go through so much?"
County Magistrate Tang smiled at him, "Don’t worry, I’m young, I can pull through."
The secretary: ...As if to say he was old.