Chapter 51 Attempt to extort money, but failed.

Qian Huahua perked up again upon hearing this. She had heard that this family also owned an oxcart. Anyone who could afford an oxcart must be wealthy. Thinking of this, she immediately made an outrageous demand: "30 taels of silver is too little compensation. You should compensate us for the oxcart as well. You cut off Er Gouzi's leg, and we need to use the oxcart to take him to town to get his leg checked!"

Wang Tiezhu nodded stiffly: "Yes, you have to compensate us for the oxcart as well, otherwise we won't do it!"

Liu Ye thought to herself, "You guys are really bold. I'll give you a good slap." She nodded, and Village Chief Wu thought she had agreed. He would get at least half of the 30 taels of silver from the Wang family, and he could use the oxcart whenever he wanted. Although his family had an oxcart, wouldn't it be better to use someone else's than his own? He was overjoyed. With 15 taels of silver, he could find a wife for his son.

Wang the Cripple and his family were overjoyed. Exchanging Wang Ergou's leg for 30 taels of silver and an oxcart was a great deal. The whole family was so happy they almost cheered.

But Liu Ye's next words poured cold water on them: "Fine, since Village Chief Wu is siding with the burglars, then I choose to report it to the authorities. Brother Bai, you drive the oxcart to the town to report it to the authorities. Explain the situation to the officials and ask them to bring more people. There are quite a few people who are protecting thieves. I heard that the crime of protecting thieves is not uncommon, and they will also be punished with beatings and fines!"

Bai Zilin looked at Liu Ye with concern and said, "I'm worried about leaving you home alone...!"

Liu Ye raised the blood-stained woodcutter's knife in her hand and said in a soft, sweet voice, "If anyone dares to bully me, I'll chop them up with this woodcutter's knife. If they don't die, they're lucky; if they do, it's because they bullied me! Brother Bai, you can go in peace."

Bai Zilin nodded and was about to leave when Village Chief Wu saw that he was really going to stop him: "Stop! Where are you going!"

Wang the Cripple, Wang Ergou's older brother, also stretched out his arm to stop Bai Zilin from reporting to the authorities.

Bai Zilin snorted and said, "Didn't Village Chief Wu hear that? Of course I went to report it to the authorities. We've only been in the village for two days and we've already been robbed twice. The people are really honest and kind. I have to report all of this to the government so that they can reward Village Chief Wu!"

Village Chief Wu was panicking, feeling guilty. No, he couldn't let the authorities report this. If the government found out, he'd lose his position as village chief. Thinking this, he forced an awkward smile.

"Hehehe, Nephew Bai, you've misunderstood. I was just joking with you. What compensation? Wang Ergou was caught stealing in the middle of the night by Liu Ye and had his leg chopped off. He deserved it. I didn't cover for him. Hehehe, we're all from the same village. It's not good to go to the yamen for such a trivial matter. Hehehe."

"You are now also from Erdaogou Village. If our village's reputation is ruined, you will also lose face. Hehehe, I think we should just let this matter go. I will discipline the villagers properly in the future. Later, I will have Widow Zhang send the grain back to you. Is that acceptable to you?"

Bai Zilin looked at Liu Ye and said, "You're the one who's been wronged. If you say it's right, then it's right; if you say it's wrong, then I'll go to the yamen and report it to the authorities!"

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wu hurriedly looked at Liu Ye and said with a bitter smile, "My dear niece, I apologize for my bad attitude just now. Please forgive Wang Ergou for the sake of us being from the same village. You've already cut off one of his legs, and I won't let the Wang family ask you for money anymore. Let's just let this matter go!"

"Uncle assures you, in the future, if there is anything between your two families, Uncle will definitely be there in person and with gifts, and will handle everything clearly and transparently for you."

Liu Ye's eyes darted around. She and Bai Zilin didn't have any land yet, so she had to take this opportunity to ask for some. She didn't care if it was good or bad, as long as she had land: "Alright, since Village Chief Wu has said so, I'll give him face. However, as villagers of Erdaogou Village, Brother Bai and I don't have any land yet. Originally, we planned to talk to the village chief about land tomorrow, but something happened tonight...!"

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Wu immediately clapped his hands and said, "It's just farmland, Uncle will arrange it for you right away. I will give each of you five mu of mountain land, on the back slope, which is close to your home. I will have someone deliver the land deeds to you tomorrow. Hehehe, about Wang Ergou's matter..."

Liu Ye nodded readily. Mountainous land is still land, though it's certainly not as good as fertile fields. But that doesn't matter, she has spiritual spring water. Any land in her hands becomes a treasure trove; even planting stones can yield gold. "Alright, for the sake of Village Chief Wu, I won't pursue the matter of Wang Ergou's theft. Village Chief Wu, let them take him away."

Village Chief Wu nodded with an awkward smile, then gritted his teeth and shouted at Wang the Cripple, "Wang the Cripple, why don't you hurry up and carry Wang Ergou back? This scoundrel has lost a leg, which is a lesson for him, so he won't keep coming out to steal chickens and dogs and ruin our village's reputation!"

As soon as Wang the Cripple opened his mouth, he was glared at fiercely by Village Chief Wu. Enraged, Wang the Cripple glared fiercely at Liu Ye, and then he and his eldest son carried Wang Ergou away. Wang Ergou's mother also picked up Wang Ergou's broken leg.

Afterwards, Village Chief Wu and the villagers left. Bai Zilin was worried about Liu Ye: "Liu Ye, why don't I stay with you? I'll stay in the lower room so I can hear if anyone comes at night."

Liu Ye said nonchalantly, "No need, Brother Bai, you should go back and rest. I cut off Wang Ergou's leg today, and the villagers are scared. Even if there are any brave ones, they won't dare to come back for a while. You should go back. I'm safe to stay here by myself."

Bai Zilin agreed, "Then I'll go back. Call me if you need anything."

Liu Ye nodded. After Bai Zilin left, she took out a shovel from her spatial storage and shoveled the blood from the doorway into the garden. By the time she finished cleaning up, it was already dawn.

As the saying goes, "The early bird catches the worm," and Liu Ye got up early again. She stretched at the door, and a new day began.

Suddenly, she saw two bags by the door and a basket next to them. That's right, she remembered that Village Chief Wu had told Widow Zhang and the others to return the stolen goods yesterday, and these had been returned.

She jogged to the door and saw that it was the thing she had lost. She opened a bag of rice and saw that it contained mixed grains, which seemed to be pure. However, she noticed that the mixed grains seemed to be missing. She reached out and lifted it, and sure enough, the weight was wrong. At least 10 jin of the 50 jin of mixed grains were missing. She lifted another bag and found that it was also missing about 10 jin.

She checked the contents of the basket again. Half of the wolf meat was gone, but some worthless items were still there. Damn it, what a triangular basket! Well, it's good that it was returned at all. It's okay if it's a little less.

Liu Ye rummaged through the kitchen, wondering what to make for breakfast. The smoked wolf meat had been stolen and then returned, which she found rather unappealing. Who knew if they had malicious intentions and had urinated on it? She did have some meat and quite a few wild duck eggs in her storage space. Perhaps she should find an excuse to go up the mountain today.

Liu Ye cooked half a pot of mixed grain porridge, but the porridge had gone cold, and Bai Zilin hadn't come over yet. What was going on? Could something have happened to Brother Bai? No, she had to go check on him. Just as she reached the gate, she saw Bai Zilin coming down from the mountain behind the house, carrying game on his shoulder and in his hand.

It turns out Brother Bai went hunting in the mountains, and it seems he had a good haul. Brother Bai is really amazing; now she'll have meat to eat again. Well, she'll keep the wild boar, the domestic pig, and the brooding pig in her space. Anyway, her space has a preservation function, so nothing will spoil. She'll just wait to secretly throw away the wolf meat.

In the blink of an eye, Bai Zilin arrived carrying his prey: "Brother Bai, you're amazing! You've caught another prey. What is this?"

Bai Zilin carried his prey into the courtyard, saying happily, "Liu Ye, it's the right decision for us to settle in Xiancheng. There's plenty of prey in the mountains. I caught a wild deer. Besides tigers and bears, it's the most valuable animal on the mountain. Every part of a wild deer is valuable. After we finish eating, I want to take it to town to sell. We can get a good price while food is still plentiful."