Yang Fan booked a small teahouse on the east side of the square in advance.
This small teahouse was opened by a businessman from Baoding Prefecture.
After the news of Yang Fan's development of Duolun spread, in addition to a large number of refugees being relocated, some businessmen also saw business opportunities.
Businessmen are the most active group of people in the world. They dare to take risks as long as the profits are considerable.
The owner’s surname is Lu. At first, the popular shops around the square were for sale, but he did not dare to buy a large area. After all, land is real estate and cannot be taken away in an emergency.
At that time, he only bought two independent shops on the street with a height of three floors.
Now with the skyrocketing population of Duolun and the victory of the war, Yang Fan has firmly established a foothold here.
Land prices immediately skyrocketed.
The location here is excellent and it is the main business district in the city.
When I first bought it, according to local regulations, a small building with an area of ten square meters, two rooms wide, five rooms deep, and three floors above and below was spent. A total of 150 taels of silver was spent.
Now the house price has risen to one thousand five hundred taels.
The houses here are generally not very wide facing the street, but very deep.
In this way, the shop area can be enlarged.
Because there are lighting equipment such as carbide lamps and gas, there is no need to consider lighting issues. Every shop is as bright as day.
Boss Lu was so regretful that he wanted to hit the wall.
Fortunately, his teahouse business is very good, so he can make up for it.
The two rooms facing the street on the first floor are equipped with counters, mainly selling tea. In the middle is the patio and the stairs up and down, and at the back is the kitchen. In this era, the teahouse also provided simple food such as rotten pork noodles, chaos, and sesame cakes.
The two rooms facing the street on the second and third floors are private rooms. There are four private rooms in total. The rest are for casual seating, where everyone can drink tea at will.
This teahouse is in a good location, right in the middle of the square.
This morning, people from the Yamen took over the entire teahouse. I don’t know who is coming. The boss and the waiters were all driven to the back kitchen. There were soldiers in front of them, preventing them from coming out.
For the boss, if the money is enough, it doesn't matter whether the venue is reserved or not. He is also happy and happy.
When these people came, they brought water and tea themselves, and those who served the tea were well-trained young men in Tsing Yi. They were not allowed to interfere at all. They didn't even see the guests.
At this time, the partition between the two private rooms on the second floor was opened.
The private rooms of this hotel are decorated in the style of a floor couch. That is, you take off your shoes as soon as you enter the door, and then "get on the Kang". Of course, this Kang is a very large couch, and guests sit cross-legged on it.
There is a Kang table at the window. There are a dozen fruit plates on the table and a pot of freshly brewed green tea.
Yang Fan sat in the middle, and Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru sat on both sides. It was very private here, and the layout of the couch was very casual. Cushions were placed on the wall, making it more comfortable to sit or lie down.
Yang Fan sat cross-legged, picked up the bowl, and took a sip of Mengding tea.
Yang Fan nodded with satisfaction and said: "Not to mention, there is such good spring water in this place in the north of Saibei. The water from the Rex Rabbit Water is really delicious."
Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru were sitting like ducks, one was eating pistachios and the other was holding paper-skinned walnuts with a pair of clips.
The two of them responded calmly: "Well, well, that's right, our family drinks his water every morning."
"His water is not cheap. One liter of water medicine costs ten dollars."
The two of them actually came to see the new play "The Beauty". As for the public trial and whatnot, they were not good friends. They were famous female Rakshasa in the East Factory.
They are beautiful, their skills are powerful, and their background is even more terrifying. No one dares to mess with them.
In their opinion, these are useless things done by the master. The master often does unnecessary and boring things and complicates simple things.
If the prisoner refuses to confess, just give him a beating. They are all cheap men, and there is no one who is dishonest.
What’s so good about executions? Dongchang has many instruments of torture. The master likes to watch them. One day he will take the prisoner out of the prison and perform it for him.
Yang Fan also knew that they had one face in front of him and another face in front of others. They had no concept of the legal system at all. They were absolutely dark and cruel officials.
Soon, the square was filled with people, and everyone who could come arrived early.
He brought his wife, hugged his children, called friends, and kept saying hello to his neighbors, acquaintances, and superiors.
In fact, everyone knows nothing about public trials or legal education.
Mainly because I came to watch the opera. I heard that opera singing started after the public trial, and there were new plays. "The Beauty of Guillotine", "The Legend of White Snake", and "The Lotus Lantern" attracted everyone.
Bang bang bang, after a gong sound, the prisoner was brought to the square.
The presiding official began to read out the prisoner's crime and sentence. At the same time, he introduced which law was violated. How the law was expressed, how it was applied, and why the sentence was given.
What we started to deal with were petty theft, fighting, picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and other misdemeanors.
In every case, the judicial officials explained clearly how to apply the law and why they made such decisions. They spoke in plain language, and the people could understand clearly.
For a time, the people listened with great interest.
Then he committed the crime again.
"Young and old gentlemen, this prisoner is a murderer."
The scene suddenly fell silent, this is amazing.
The officer picked up the prisoner and said, "Tell me why you killed him."
The prisoner looked stubborn, staring with bull's eyes, panting.
"His mother, why did I kill someone? I borrowed three guans from an old man. When it was due, the old man insisted on borrowing five guans. He bullied someone who was illiterate. His grandma was so angry that she hit the old man on the head.
Stick. Who knew that his head was too thin and he died. Can you blame me?"
The law enforcement officer asked: "Can you plead guilty and submit to the law?"
"Bah! I was wronged. Damn, I am even more wronged than Dou E."
The prisoner yelled excitedly and struggled, and the officer quickly controlled him.
Lin Yueru and Xiao Niangpi were amused. They were laughing so hard that they were trembling with laughter. They pointed out the window with their little fingers and said out of breath: "Master, who is this person? He beat someone to death and blamed his forehead for being too thin.
How come there are such arrogant people in this world?"
The official continued: "When the prisoner Li hit the victim with a stick for the first time, the judge could think that he was impulsive, lost control for a moment, and had no motive to deprive the victim of his life. He could consider treating him as an injury crime. But Li continued to use a hard stick.
The victim was hit on the head with a jujube stick, causing his brain to burst. He died on the spot. This was completely intentional homicide, so he was sentenced to death. After a public trial, he was taken to the execution ground for execution."
There was a buzz among the people around, all talking about the government's consideration of law enforcement. They all felt that the trip was worthwhile. When it came to litigation in the Ming Dynasty, it was rare to break it into pieces and give you an explanation.
"In the city of Duolun, we strictly follow the law. We must abide by the law, and the same crime will be punished in the same way. In the same way, if the law does not expressly provide for it, it will not be a crime. In other words, anything that is not prohibited by the law can be done. You will not be punished by the law.
Investigation. Starting from tomorrow, the government will set up a legal consultation office and a notary office. Private loans and commercial activities can be handled at government agencies to avoid disputes."
There was another buzz of discussion in the crowd.
People were very excited. Ordinary people do not know the law, but they do not know the provisions of the law or the principles of its application. It is all what the government says.
When fighting a lawsuit, one's eyesight is dark, and even if one loses, one does not know how one lost.
Therefore, people do not dare to file lawsuits. There is a proverb among the people: "If you have a grudge against someone, persuade them to litigate and build a house."
Nowadays, it doesn't matter if you don't understand the law or you can't read. It's great to go to the government notary office to sign a contract and guarantee that you won't be cheated.
