Travel back to ancient times and open a Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 253

Until this point, the Jiang family still did not know about the serious crime of human trafficking.

Zhuang Laosi, who came following behind, was so frightened that his legs became weak and he could not even stand.

"Sun Tao sued you for colluding to trick her into drinking a potion containing a knockout drug, and then sent her to Qianniu Village to marry Zhuang Laosi and charged her thirty taels of silver. Is this true?"

"...No, it's not true, sir!" Old Mrs. Jiang was so scared that her tears and snot were streaming down her face. All the Jiang family members knelt with their heads down and dared not utter a word.

The county magistrate said with a serious face, "Just answer yes or no."

"No, no!" Jiang Si Niang, the more stable one among them, spoke out.

The other members of the Jiang family hesitated and could not explain clearly.

At this moment, an old man's voice suddenly came from outside the court, "Sir! Sir! What they said is wrong!"

The onlookers made way for an elderly couple, who walked in supporting each other.

"It's Grandpa Fan and Grandma Fan!" Jiang Qin looked surprised.

The lawyer looked at the county magistrate and saw him nod, so he signaled to the officer to let the two men in.

As soon as Grandpa Fan and his wife came in, they knelt down tremblingly and said, "I greet you, sir."

The county magistrate waved his hand and said, "The two elders, please stand up and speak first."

The old couple put the backpacks they carried on the ground and stood next to Sun Tao and others.

Sun Tao called out "Uncle" and "Auntie" with tears in her eyes.

The county magistrate slammed the gavel, "Silence!"

The court fell silent for a moment.

"Jiang Wangshi, are you going to sell your eldest son's three children and your eldest daughter-in-law?"

Old Lady Jiang opened her eyes wide in shock, "Sir! Sir! I didn't sell them on purpose. It's just that my family is in financial difficulty and we can't make ends meet, so I thought of selling them to a pawnshop to see if I could find a good family. The money from the sale is also to make our family's life better. After all, we have several children at home, and I can't just watch them starve to death! Sir."

She looked panic-stricken, as if she was really helpless and had to resort to this desperate measure as she said.

Sun Tao opened and closed her mouth again and again, almost unable to hold back and burst out laughing.

He was stopped by Zhong Ruyi who pulled his clothes.

The county magistrate did not listen to these sophistry and only asked, "So you admit that you sold the three children and the eldest daughter-in-law?"

Old Lady Jiang looked at the two characters and then at her daughter, a little bewildered, "Sir, it's not me who admits it, I sold it because I couldn't make ends meet."

"Just tell me whether it is true or not?" the county magistrate asked again with a serious face.

The Jiang family members hesitated and dared not answer.

"Since you don't want to say it, let others say it. You two old people can speak first." The county magistrate looked at Grandpa Fan and Grandma Fan.

Grandpa Fan then honestly told the whole story of what had happened.

"My family and the Jiang family live next door to each other. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I heard Jiang Wang talking to someone next door, asking them to tie up Sun Tao's hands and feet and send her away quickly, in case she wakes up and is discovered by others."

He sighed, "I was scared and didn't dare to make a sound, so I just hid nearby. After the people left, I couldn't sleep when I got home. The next day, I heard Jiang Wangshi telling the villagers that Sun Tao had run away with someone."

The county magistrate asked again, "What about the three brothers and sisters of the Jiang family?"

"We didn't see Jiang Qin and the other two. We just haven't seen them for a few days. When we asked about them, Jiang Wangshi said she sent them away."

The county magistrate asked, "Where are Zhuang Lao Si and his people from the pawnbroker business?"

Zhuang Lao Si shook his legs and said, "My Lord, I am Zhuang Lao Si."

It was not the first time Huang Guanghua met the county magistrate, so he was not nervous. He knelt down and responded obediently.

"How did you reach an agreement with Jiang Wangshi on the sale of Sun Tao and others?"

Zhuang Lao Si glanced at Jiang Wangshi and spilled the beans, "When I was sleeping at home, the matchmaker from the village brought Jiang Wangshi to me and said that there was a good match for me."

"I asked the girl if she was willing," he said with a wry smile. "After all, I have a bad temper and everyone in the village knows it. No one is willing to marry me, so I asked a few more questions. Mrs. Jiang said that the girl she wanted to see was her widowed eldest daughter-in-law, who was filial and fertile. I really wanted a child at my age, so I agreed."

The county magistrate nodded and looked at Huang Guanghua.

Huang Guanghua also told the truth, "Old Madam Jiang brought some people to the dental clinic to ask, and I happened to be the one who received them. They said they had three children in their teens who stayed at home all day without working and just ate for free. They asked me if I would accept them and if so, how much would it cost."

"I told the truth and also said that as long as it was voluntary, if it was not voluntary it would be considered trafficking and the person would go to jail. Mrs. Jiang assured me that the three children were all willing, but when they were sent here they were drugged and the money had been taken. I thought since it was voluntary then it should be fine, but when they woke up they started making trouble saying that they were not aware and did not sell themselves voluntarily."

Both of their statements confirmed that Old Lady Jiang drugged the person and made him unconscious before selling him.

There are laws in Dazhao that stipulate that unless the buying and selling of human beings is voluntary, the offender will be imprisoned if it involves involuntary trafficking.

Old Mrs. Jiang was trembling a little. She finally saw clearly how things had developed to this point.

What the county magistrate wants to investigate now is the fact that she sold out Sun Tao, Jiang Qin and others, not for anything else.

She was just an old lady who had never read the law and had worked in the fields all her life. How could she know that trafficking in human beings would result in imprisonment if it was not voluntary?

The other members of the Jiang family were also horrified. It was the first time they heard of the crime of human trafficking.

Although the world is peaceful now and the selling of children is rare, it does not mean that it does not exist.

As long as the person being sold is truly willing and life at home is truly difficult, the law will not severely punish these people. They can barely survive, and selling their children is an act of helplessness. Do we really have to force them to die?

However, there are clear legal provisions for cases like giving people drugs and then selling them.

The county magistrate looked at the Jiang family with a cold face, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Old Lady Jiang couldn't kneel any longer. She fell to the ground and murmured, "I, I'm only doing this for their own good."

"Since you said it was for their own good, why didn't you sell your own grandchildren and children, but only sold your eldest son and his family who had no blood relationship with you?" the county magistrate asked in return.

"How can I sell my own children?" Old Lady Jiang stuttered, looking at her two sons and one daughter. "I worked so hard to give birth to them, how can I sell them to other families to be slaves? As a mother, I can't bear it!"

What a confused old woman, Zhong Ruyi thought, if you can't bear to give up your own children, how can you be willing to give up other people's children?

He sold out his eldest son's family, who had worked like slaves for him and occupied the new house and fields that he had worked so hard to build. He couldn't bear to do that to his own children.

The crowd outside the court was stunned.

"So there are such people in the world?"

"They occupied the eldest son's house and land, and even sold off his three children and wife? Is this something a human being would do?"

The old woman of the Jiang family had red eyes, and she glared at Jiang Qin, Jiang Rong and the others fiercely, "I worked hard to raise your father, but now you turn around and sue us. If I had known that I would strangle him to death instead of raising him!"