Chapter 508 - 39: Bao Gong Solves the Case (Part 2)
"Otherwise, I’ll make you wish you were dead, unable to live or die!"
After saying this, Sunday stood quietly for a moment, and seeing no other indigenous people acting suspiciously, nor anyone stepping forward, he and Chen Shou escorted Zhao Shu towards the factory.
...
Not long after the true culprit was found, the indigenous people who had been roused and put through the ordeal were finally given orders to go home and rest.
A few long-standing, honest members were called by Chen Fu to clean the Temple.
The remaining indigenous people, after a tense "test," were wide awake.
On the way home, they walked in small groups, discussing what Zhao Shu was thinking and where he got the nerve to beat the Leader’s cat.
As for how Zhao Shu was exposed, they had no desire to delve into it.
The Leader is inseparable from mystery; for the long-standing residents of the island, no matter how outrageous the situation, it is nothing unusual—
God can access people’s inner thoughts, that’s normal.
They just marveled at how Zhao Shu, who usually looked so timid and unlikely to be brave, could do such a thing.
Maybe this is what Mr. Saturday meant by "you know a person’s face but not their heart"!
...
Until he was locked in the cell, Zhao Shu still felt dazed.
Looking at the cold floor and the towering walls around him, he felt that the past few days seemed like a dream.
A dream of sudden success and soaring to prominence.
However, a dream is ultimately a dream, and once transferred to reality, it changes form.
From the moment the thought occurred to him until he put it into action, he acted impulsively. He hadn’t even figured out a way to deceive the Leader before he was inexplicably found out and ended up here.
Now, his feeling is regret—deep regret.
He wished he could return to two days ago, to when the idea was still just a thought.
But everything he could touch at this moment was telling him—
It’s over, everything is over.
...
"What kind of punishment will there be for beating the Leader’s cat?"
While in the cell, Zhao Shu kept pondering this question.
He thought, a severe beating was inevitable, and perhaps he would even have an ear or a finger chopped off—
Such punishments were not uncommon in their tribe.
"So, which ear will be cut off, which finger chopped off?"
In the dim cell, as he touched his ears and fingers, thinking that one of them would possibly leave him forever, Zhao Shu felt particularly reluctant.
Of course, he also thought about "breaking out" and escaping from this cage.
But this cell was located on the factory’s first floor, originally used as a small storage room, with walls built of reinforced concrete, and the door made of thick planks edged with metal.
Even if Zhao Shu had been unshackled and given a small knife, there’s no way he could escape in a short time.
After nearly a sleepless night and the ordeal in the early morning followed by a beating, Zhao Shu found his mind getting somewhat muddled while he thought about it.
The thought of "a dead pig fears no scalding water" slowly formed in his mind,
Many people in the tribe continue to live after losing some parts of their bodies, and Zhao Shu figured that losing both ears was the worst that could happen; as long as he didn’t lose his life, he didn’t care about any punishment.
For now, sleeping was more important.
...
A rhythmic snoring sound appeared in the cell.
Hearing this, Chen Lu, who was responsible for guarding the cell, chuckled helplessly.
He couldn’t imagine what mindset this comrade, who had committed such a major blunder, must have had, to be able to sleep soundly in this situation.
At that moment, Zhao Shu, who lay sleeping on the cement floor of the cell, couldn’t have known that the punishment awaiting him would be far more severe than having his ear or finger chopped off.
...
The lights in the second-floor office were on again.
Looking at Sunday, who had come to report, Chen Zhou asked for the third time.
"Are you sure there’s no miscarriage of justice?"
After receiving a positive reply once more, he sighed.
Before this, except for the anomaly that was the zebra, he had always thought most indigenous people were simple and honest, not capable of bad deeds.
He preferred to believe that Tiger Head had been scratched by other animals or injured by accident, rather than know the indigenous people had the nerve to do such a thing.
Confirmation of the result meant he could no longer see the indigenous people with the old perspective.
It also clearly indicated that the isle today was no longer adaptable to the previous way of interaction.
As future capture operations continued, the number of indigenous people on the island would keep increasing.
As the saying goes, there are no rules without standards.
From now on, he must establish a comprehensive, standardized, fair, and strict set of laws or rules for the indigenous people to learn and understand.
Besides the law, the era of bartering among the indigenous people couldn’t continue any longer.
Such a primitive economic method could only suit a basic tribe; for various handicrafts and resources to circulate, the use of currency was necessary.
However, as a science and engineering guy, Chen Zhou knew almost nothing about law, and he was completely clueless about economics. Designing a code of law and setting up a currency system was really challenging for him.
The backlog of unfinished work was already there, and now there were two additional challenging new tasks.
Even though he hadn’t started studying law or considering how to mint currency, he already felt an inherent ache in his temples.
...
"How to deal with him?"
Seeing that Chen Zhou appeared somewhat fatigued, Sunday sensibly prepared to wrap up the work and asked one final question.
Chen Zhou leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, then said.
"Call the zebra over later, have him find a few skilled carpenters in advance, and fix up the gallows.
Also, break up and burn the black box used to test the indigenous people; we might not need that thing anymore."
Having said that, Chen Zhou waved his hand.
Seeing this, Sunday slightly bowed, turned, exited the office, and didn’t forget to gently close the door.
...
After Sunday left, Chen Zhou pulled out a piece of paper, intending to first establish a simple legal framework; recalling the black box, he couldn’t help but show a smug smile.
Actually, it would have been possible to find the culprit through direct interrogation.
But a high-profile trial would not only delay work on the island, it might also alert the culprit, causing unrest among the people.
If the indigenous person who injured Tiger Head caught wind early and fled into the forest, it would be a hidden danger.
Reflecting on ancient Chinese case stories and some detective novels, Chen Zhou quickly found inspiration.
He heard that Bao Gong once used "heaven" to resolve cases.
Letting those who lied enter a dark room to touch something; those with clear consciences dared to touch it, those with guilty hearts did not.
So, based on whether their hands were blackened, he could determine if they had lied.
Thus, he created a black box with an iron bar coated in charcoal inside.
He deliberately added a layer of mystery to it, declaring that the object could test if someone lied. Under the supervision of Sunday, Fu, and Lu, this unique truth-seeking ritual began.
The whole affair progressed more smoothly than he had anticipated; the indigenous people, inexperienced with such tactics, truly believed the object in the black box could see into their hearts. During the test, a few, panicking, even prematurely confessed to the "bad deeds" they’d done.
Of course, what these few considered "bad deeds" were nothing more than secretly picking tomatoes from the fields, pulling scallions, cutting sugarcane to take home for chewing—in contrast to the indigenous person named Zhao Shu, these would count as good deeds.
...
Although the misdeeds of other indigenous people didn’t affect the big picture, they served as a wake-up call for Chen Zhou.
With more and more indigenous people, neither he nor his trusted subordinates could possibly monitor everyone.
Today’s "small mistakes" could later become "big mistakes," even leading to extreme actions like Zhao Shu’s.
In the past, rewards and punishments depended on Chen Zhou’s mood; the indigenous people had no clear way to earn rewards.
Even the zebra, adept at handling interpersonal relations, could only rely on getting chummy to climb ranks.
Once unified rules, clear reward, and punishment procedures were in place, the frequency of sly and harmful schemes should drop significantly.
After hastily scribbling a few lines on paper, his thoughts drifted from "Bao Gong solving cases" to the wounded Tiger Head, revealing a trace of fierceness in Chen Zhou’s eyes.
Once laws are properly established, such behavior wouldn’t be punishable by death.
Yet, the law still resided in the "new folder" stage, the whole island under his sole rule.
This person dared to blatantly disregard his authority and have the audacity to commit such an act; regardless, they wouldn’t escape death.
Besides, if Zhao Shu weren’t eliminated, there would always be another "Zhao Shu."