If we continue to buy soybeans for processing, the villagers' profits will be less this time.
But these past few days, so much silver has flowed into the village; anyone with eyes can see it.
"I'll arrange that."
While they were still settling accounts and counting soy sauce, Su Luo and the village chief hadn't left yet.
Chen Ping'an and several villagers slept in the soy sauce factory, remaining vigilant at all times. They were afraid that someone would be envious of such a lucrative business, so they had to guard it carefully.
When there were few people at the soy sauce factory, a dark figure ran over from the entrance.
He grabbed the village chief's trouser leg and knelt down.
"Village chief, I was confused, I was out of my mind, I was wrong."
The voice was choked with sobs, and the person looked up at the village chief, but there wasn't a single tear in their eyes.
"Li Xingye, what are you doing? Let me go."
The more the village chief struggled, the tighter Li Xingye held him, until finally he had his arms wrapped around the village chief's legs.
The village chief lost his balance and fell backward.
"village head!"
Su Luo was a bit far away, and even after shouting, she couldn't help the village chief.
"ah……"
The village chief cried out in pain; he must have injured his left elbow, as he kept clutching it.
"Village chief, are you alright? I... I didn't mean to."
Li Xingye shook his head in worry and fear, but his hands still did not let go of the village chief's legs, preventing the village chief from getting up.
"Li Xingye, release the village chief."
Chen Ping'an and several burly men from the village came over. Two of them helped the village chief up, and the other two forcefully pried Li Xingye's hands apart.
"I'm sorry, village chief. I didn't mean to. Please don't blame me."
Su Luo also ran over, relieved to see that the village chief was alright.
"Village chief, is your elbow injured?" Su Luo asked.
The village chief shook his left hand and said, "It's just a scratch, nothing serious."
Li Xingye was pinned down by Chen Ping'an and a burly man, and Su Luo pointed at him and cursed him in annoyance.
"What are you doing here? Your family is withdrawing its shares in the soy sauce factory. Don't come here unless you have to. Get out."
Chen Pingan and his companion carried Li Xingye out of the soy sauce factory gate.
The village chief also came over, still protecting the soy sauce ledger from the past few days with one hand, looking at Li Xingye with a gloomy expression.
"Li Xingye, what's gotten into you this late at night?"
"Village Chief, Yan Chuan's mother, I regret it. Please let me rejoin the soy sauce factory. I brought all the money with me. The original eighty coins are here, and I'll add twenty more."
I'm also from Changping. I can't be the only one in the village without any shares. Village Chief, Yanchuan's mother, I really know I was wrong.
The incident last time was all because of that wretched woman, Cong Yongwo. She's an ignorant shrew.
"Village chief, please let me join everyone else. I'll never complain about the soy sauce again. I'll do whatever you say."
In the past two days, countless people have come to buy soy sauce, some buying hundreds of kilograms at a time, while others only buy one or two kilograms. Changping Village has suddenly become very lively.
Li Xingye also saw this. The soy sauce sold well, and the village chief and Su Luo received a large sum of money, which was all a benefit to the village.
He initially thought that soy sauce looking like that would never sell, but he never imagined it would sell so well.
If he hadn't returned those eighty coins, he could have earned at least several dozen taels of silver from this batch of soy sauce.
Before the village chief distributes dividends to the village, he needs to quickly get his shares back, plus an extra twenty coins, otherwise he'll be at a huge loss.
Su Luo sneered. Everyone present, including Chen Ping'an, wanted to beat Li Xingye up.
I didn't think much of him before, but now I realize how shameless he is. He acts like a thug when returning money.
Now they're begging the village chief like dogs, putting on this pathetic act for who?
“Li Xingye, when you withdrew your shares, I advised you against it, and you said you would never regret it. Now it’s no use begging me.”
Although I am the village chief, I cannot have full authority over the soy sauce factory, which is the property of the entire village.
If you want to come back, it depends on whether the whole village agrees.
As the village chief, I hope every household in our village can be well. You and your wife have ruined yourselves, and I can't help you anymore.
Li Xingye's current state is entirely his own doing.
The village chief couldn't say anything harsh, but knowing that the soy sauce business had made money, most of the villagers would definitely disagree with Li Xingye coming back to share the profits with them.
Although Su Luo bought his shares, she would never return them.
“But you’re the village chief, how can you ignore me? As long as you speak up, the villagers will definitely agree to my return. Look, I’ve added twenty more coins, that’s quite a lot.”
Twenty wen of silver coins—not even as much as a pound of soy sauce—and Li Xingye had the nerve to say that.
“I said, the whole village agrees, I have no objection.”
Li Xingye still wanted to cause trouble for the village chief, but Chen Ping'an blocked his way and pointed at him.
“Didn’t you understand what the village chief said? He said you can only add the soy sauce factory if the whole village agrees. But let me tell you, I don’t know if others agree, but I, Chen Ping’an, am the first to disagree.”
Su Luo gave Chen Ping'an a thumbs up; this was the first time she had seen Chen Ping'an dare to stand up to someone so boldly.
“We disagree. The soy sauce factory is not a place where your Li family can come and go as they please. Since you’ve left, don’t even think about coming back.”
The four or five burly men were all very annoyed with Li Xingye, and if he kept nagging, they wouldn't be polite.
Seeing that the group of men were tall and strong, Li Xingye stood up shakily and said to them.
“Your word doesn’t count. The village chief said that as long as someone in the village agrees, that’s enough. I’ll make sure everyone agrees. You just wait and see.”
Because of Li Xingye's commotion, Su Luo and the others got home even later.
Go home and get a good rest, and have a good night's sleep.
The next morning, villagers came to tidy up the village roads.
With so many people coming and going in the village these days, we need to keep it clean.
In the morning, there are usually not many people coming to buy soy sauce; those who come to the village to pick it up are almost always dozens of kilograms or more.
Only a very small number of them weigh one or two pounds.
Su Luo watched how the soybean residue was fermenting, while the village chief arranged for people to go elsewhere to collect soybeans.
Li Xingye and his wife brought over a large basin of green bayberries.
Add a little salt to the green bayberries; they'll taste sour and salty.
Farmers don't have much to eat, so they sometimes eat this as a snack to satisfy their cravings, but they don't eat much of it.
"Everyone, you've worked hard. Come and have some bayberries. We put a lot of salt in them, they're very precious."
Li Zhoushi greeted the villagers and handed out the green bayberries to them as they cleaned up.
“Li Zhoushi, you’re up so early today, you even went up the mountain to pick some green bayberries.”
Several women went to Li Xingye's basin and took a few green bayberries to eat.
The mountains are full of green bayberries, but salt is precious and people usually can't bear to eat it.
"Li Xingye, your bayberries taste pretty good because you added salt."
Everyone was chatting and laughing, unaware that Li Xingye and his wife had something to hide.
"If you think it's delicious, then eat more."
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