Chapter 514 Do you think it's worth it?

"Auntie, our family has wronged you!"

Zhao Shagen forcibly stuffed the money bag into Cheng Wanwan's hand, his face full of guilt and unease.

"Here's a thousand taels of silver. I brought it to my aunt as soon as I found it. I'm too ashamed to work in the workshop anymore, so I won't be coming here starting tomorrow..."

He thought marrying Shuiqin was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him.

But after this happened, he realized he was wrong.

If Shuiqin realizes her mistake and corrects it, voluntarily hands over the thousand taels of silver, and then kowtows to her aunt to apologize, he can pretend that nothing happened.

But Shuiqin didn't think she was wrong at all. After giving birth and finishing her postpartum confinement, she went to the city every day to look at shops. She didn't care about the rumors in the village at all, and was only thinking about buying a shop and becoming a city dweller.

Every time she went to the city, he would search the house for the whereabouts of the thousand taels of silver. Today he finally found it; it turned out that Shuiqin had hidden it in the rafters...

Cheng Wanwan looked at the money bag, not knowing what to say.

Ever since Sun Shuiqin did that thing, she has become the target of the villagers' condemnation. Anyone who mentions her name will be cursed, and as a result, the reputation of Guihua Village has become increasingly worse. Meanwhile, there have been constant quarrels in Zhao Shagen's family. Last time, Sun Shuiqin was slapped by her mother-in-law a few times, and she even went to the newly appointed women director of the village to complain. The family is in constant turmoil.

“Auntie, my mother told me to divorce Shuiqin and make her leave Dahe Village, but she just gave birth, and the baby is still so small…” Zhao Shagen stammered, “I will definitely persuade Shuiqin to live a good life, please, Auntie, don’t blame her anymore…”

“I didn’t pursue that matter, so there’s no need to bring it up again. But you, you should think carefully about how you plan to live your life from now on.” Cheng Wanwan returned the money bag. “I’ve already cleared out all the inventory in my warehouse. I haven’t suffered any losses, so I don’t need this thousand taels of silver as compensation.”

In ancient times, when there were no legal constraints, Sun Shuiqin's behavior could not be considered wrong, so she could not accept the thousand taels of silver.

But since Sun Shuiqin dared to do such a thing, she had to bear the risk of being driven out of Dahe Village... It wasn't that the villagers were driving her away, but that after she became a rat that everyone in the village wanted to kill, she simply couldn't live in the village anymore. It was just a pity for Zhao Shagen's family, such a good family, who were dragged down for no reason.

"No, no, no, Auntie, you must accept it!"

Zhao Shagen dared not take the money away again, otherwise he would never be able to eat or sleep peacefully for the rest of his life.

Just as the two sides were declining each other's invitations, Ye Zi hurriedly came in from the door: "Madam, Sister-in-law Shagen is here. She insisted on coming in, but Cheng Jia stopped her."

Ever since Sun Shuiqin was blacklisted, she has been forbidden from entering the courtyard, and the servants in the courtyard look at her with disgust.

Zhao Shagen's expression changed: "Didn't she go to the city to look at shops? Why is she back so soon? Auntie, quickly put the money away, I'll take her back first..."

"Silly Gen!" Cheng Wanwan called out to him, "Do you think it's worth quitting your job as the foreman of the soap workshop for her?"

Zhao Shagen lowered his head and said, "Whether it's worth it or not, this is the only thing I can do."

His wife made such a big mistake; if he still has the nerve to stay and make money off his aunt, he'd be a complete scoundrel.

“Since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t try to persuade you anymore. But remember, you’re always welcome to come back whenever you want.” Cheng Wanwan walked over and solemnly placed the money bag in his hand. “This money doesn’t belong to your wife, but it shouldn’t be given to me either. I suggest you take it and give it to Uncle Village Head to donate to the village’s finances. With this money, the village can be built better.”

Zhao Shagen then grasped the money bag: "Okay, I'll do whatever you say, Auntie."

He turned and walked out, where he saw Sun Shuiqin waiting at the courtyard gate.

As soon as she saw him come out, Sun Shuiqin rushed over and grabbed his collar: "Zhao Shagen, are you crazy? That's a thousand taels of silver, a full thousand taels! Your ancestors for eighteen generations couldn't earn that much money! How dare you give my money to someone else? How dare you!"

"Smack!"

From a distance, Shagen's mother rushed over like a cannonball and slapped Sun Shuiqin hard across the face.

"Ha, the thousand taels of silver are finally back. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Let me tell you, you either live a peaceful life or pack your bags and get back to Osmanthus Village! Without this thousand taels, let's see what kind of trouble you can cause! Sha Gen, hold your wife down and take her back, so she won't embarrass herself here!"

Sun Shuiqin wanted to curse again, but Shagen's mother stuffed a rag into her mouth.

She was dragged back into the yard and locked up with her newborn baby, forbidden from going out.

But she wasn't one to give up easily. After quietly taking care of the child for seven or eight days, she finally found an opportunity to go out.

She went out through the back door, took the mountain path into the city, and sped all the way to Hekou County, heading straight for Manager Hu's shop. However, Manager Hu's batch of goods had long been sold out, and the shop was naturally closed. She couldn't even find Manager Hu. She could only rent another carriage and go to Wanquan County, heading straight for Manager Hu's headquarters.

Shopkeeper Hu runs a cloth shop in the busiest part of Wanquan County. After making a fortune from the end of October to the end of November, he bought the shop next door and combined them together. Now, Hu's Cloth Shop is the largest cloth shop in Wanquan County, with a constant stream of customers. He feels like he has reached the pinnacle of his life.

Just then, a waiter came in to report: "Boss, there's a woman from Dahe Village in Ping'an County who wants to see you. She says she's worked with you before."

Manager Hu's eyes narrowed immediately: "Tell her to get out."

After finishing his business last month, he originally planned to do a second business deal with this woman, but who would have thought that she would offend the people of Sui'an!

If he were to cooperate with this woman again, he would surely anger the people of Sui'an. Why should a lowly merchant like him go against the women of the imperial court? He was already quite satisfied with the money he had earned and was content to run his small business peacefully.

"Wait a minute." Manager Hu took a money pouch out of his sleeve and handed it over. "Tell her to take it and get out of here."

Sun Shuiqin took the money bag, thinking it contained several thousand taels of silver notes, but when she opened it, it contained loose silver, which totaled no more than five taels.

Her blood boiled instantly, and she rushed inside without thinking: "You, surnamed Hu, come out here! You're kicking me while I'm down, aren't you? If you don't give me back the money I'm owed today, I'm not leaving!"

She was originally a village woman who grew up in the countryside. She used to care about her reputation, but now she's become a rat that everyone hates. Why should she care about her reputation anymore?

She shouted loudly, "The manager of this cloth shop is a scoundrel! He embezzled all my hard-earned money! None of you should buy anything here!"

She would chatter on and on like a madman whenever she got a customer.

Even though those people didn't believe her at all, they were frightened by her crazy appearance and quickly left.

Manager Hu's face turned ashen with anger: "If you cause any more trouble, I'll have someone send you to the authorities!"