Chapter 49 Sending Away the Beggars

Village Chief Lin was annoyed by Shang Wan's aggressiveness and said angrily, "We just lost thirty taels of silver, and it hasn't been found yet. Where can I get eighty taels to compensate you?"

He pulled out a tael of silver from his sleeve and threw it at Shang Wan's feet. "This is all we have left at home. Please apologize to Mr. Lu on my son's behalf."

Shang Wan glanced at the small silver nugget under his feet, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

Who would apologize with such an attitude? Old Man Wu and the others were furious and wanted to help Shang Wan, but Shang Wan was faster. He grabbed Village Chief Lin's right arm and, under Village Chief Lin's stunned gaze, pressed the silver and mud into it.

The screams like a pig being slaughtered reached the sky, and trickles of blood flowed down his arms. Village Chief Lin was shaking with pain.

Everyone was stunned. How could this be possible?

After being surprised, the Lin family rushed forward to rescue them. Shang Wan kicked each of them aside.

Village Chief Lin's face was twitching in pain, but Shang Wan was too strong and he couldn't even retract his arm.

He glanced at Old Man Wu and the others for help, his lips trembling, and just as he was about to speak, another cry of pain came out.

Zhang Er couldn't bear to see this and wanted to say a few words of advice, but when he thought of how Village Chief Lin had humiliated such a talented person like a beggar and brought trouble upon himself, he gave up the idea of ​​persuasion and turned away.

Old Man Qiu, who had just dared to point at Shang Wan's nose and curse him, was so scared when he saw the bloody arm of Village Chief Lin that his legs were shaking. He looked at Shang Wan with such fear as if he had seen the King of Hell, and did not dare to say a word.

"The apology must be sincere. I believe the village chief understands this." Shang Wan exerted force, and the silver was embedded three inches deeper into the flesh.

Village Chief Lin's face was distorted, he screamed continuously, and cold sweat soaked his clothes again.

Xiaohuan and Shitou, one covered Yuanyuan's eyes and the other covered Yuanyuan's ears, to prevent the little guy from having nightmares.

As for Lu Chengjing, not only did he not wake up, his head tilted and he seemed to be sleeping even more soundly.

Shang Wan stared at the twisted face of Village Chief Lin and put on a friendly smile. "As for me, I am the most reasonable person. Village Chief, go home and think it over. I believe you know the best way to do it."

She let go of her hand, and Village Chief Lin fell to the ground weakly. The two Lin brothers ran forward to help him. Lin Jianshan's hand just touched Village Chief Lin's right arm embedded with silver. Village Chief Lin howled miserably, and the two brothers were so scared that they dared not touch him.

Shang Wanyouyou reminded: "If we send it to Doctor Yuan now, the arm can still be saved. If it's too late..."

She didn't finish her words, but everyone understood that if she was too late, the move would be useless.

Lin Jianshui did not delay any longer. He rolled up the hem of Village Chief Lin's clothes and stuffed it into his mouth to block his voice. He then carried the man on his back and ran quickly towards Yuan's house.

Liu was so shocked that she fainted. Lin Jianshan carried Liu on his back and was about to run to Yuan's house, but Shang Wan stopped him, "Jade pendant."

Lin Jianshan gritted his teeth in hatred, but he didn't dare to refuse. He asked Zhou to take out the jade pendant from his arms and hand it to Shang Wan.

Zhou's hands were shaking as she handed over the jade pendant. If Shang Wan hadn't taken it quickly, the jade pendant would have fallen to the ground.

Lin Jianshan ran away carrying Liu on his back, Zhou hurriedly followed, and Chen Guifang followed with the support of Old Man Qiu, lowering her head and not daring to look at Shang Wan.

"Sister, wash your hands." Li Xiaoshan diligently took a small wooden bucket to fetch well water, smiling so hard that his teeth were showing.

Shang Wan squatted down, washing the blood off her hands while looking at him. After witnessing what had just happened, this guy wasn't afraid of her at all.

Li Xiaoshan was not only not afraid, but also very proud.

Ever since Shang Wan saved Old Man Li, Li Xiaoshan had already treated Shang Wan as his own sister. He saw clearly that the Lin family was wrong just now. If his sister hadn't been so powerful, she would have been the one being bullied.

Shang Wan washed the blood off his hands, and Li Xiaoshan immediately offered his clothes to wipe the water off Shang Wan, like a lackey.

Shang Wan didn't wipe the water on his clothes. After shaking off the water droplets on her hands, she rubbed his head and said, "Go find Yuanyuan to play."

"Okay." Li Xiaoshan agreed and ran away.

Shang Wan then turned around and looked at Old Man Wu and others who were still standing aside, thinking that Lu Chengjing's guess was quite accurate.

Old Man Wu and Old Man Liu looked at each other, and after a confrontation of glances, Old Man Wu was defeated.

"Madam Shang, I have something to ask you."

Shang Wan waved his hand: "I can't bear the burden of asking for advice. Uncle Wu wants to ask if the Wu and Liu families can continue to stay in the village?"

"That's right." Old Man Wu nodded. He glanced at the sleeping Lu Chengjing. It was obvious that the person he really wanted to ask was Lu Chengjing.

"My husband told me before he went to bed, and asked me to pass it on," Shang Wan said, "The Wu and Liu families are both registered in Yushu Village and are under the jurisdiction of the government. The village chief has no right to drive you away. If you really leave, you will be breaking the law."

The Wu and Liu families all showed joy on their faces. Old Man Wu couldn't help but confirm, "The village chief really can't chase us away?"

Shang Wan reassured the two families, "Not only the village chief, but even the head of the village cannot do that. If the village chief does that, you can go to the government office and sue him. He will definitely win."

Ordinary people would never go to the government office for no reason. However, after Shang Wan said this, knowing that even the government was on their side, the Wu and Liu families felt much more at ease and could go back to work.

Old Man Liu stepped forward and said, "Madam Shang, has the scholar explained whether the method of recording work points by labor can still be used?"

"Of course we can. We've already agreed on this in the village," Shang Wan said. "The village belongs to everyone. If the Lin family isn't satisfied, they can just join in. We're not stopping them from working."

The Lin family's house was already well-built and well-located in the village, and it was largely undamaged by the earthquake. Who would want to work when they could just sit back and collect pay? This was part of the reason Village Chief Lin opposed the work-point system.

Shang Wan understood this, as did most of the villagers. Those severely affected by the disaster would firmly choose to side with the labor-point system, even for their own benefit.

Doesn't Village Chief Lin know that he has no right to drive the villagers away? Shang Wan thinks he should know. The reason he said this is just to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, deliberately intimidating the villagers to do what he says. After all, there is no precedent for this before, and the villagers don't know whether the village chief has this right.

But now that there is the scholar Lu Chengjing, the villagers would think of asking him first when they encounter problems, so Village Chief Lin’s plan naturally fell through.

"Then let's go back and get back to work." Old Man Wu waved his hand to encourage everyone, "Everyone should help each other and restore our village to its original state as soon as possible. Better days are yet to come."

Everyone echoed in twos and threes. Li Dashan scratched his head and said, "Madam Shang, I also have something I want to ask you."

Shang Wan looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

Li Dashan said, "No one in the village can write. Could you please ask the scholar to help keep the accounts? If the scholar is willing, we have already agreed that keeping accounts is also labor, so we will give the scholar two points."

Except for Yuan Musheng, no one else in the village knew that Lu Chengjing's right hand was disabled and he could not hold a pen. They just thought he was used to using his left hand.

Shang Wan didn't agree directly on behalf of Lu Chengjing, but only said: "I'll ask him for you when he wakes up."

"Okay." Li Dashan smiled innocently.

(End of this chapter)